During the reign of Edward IV. the exact form of these obsequies was prescribed. Not only were the noblemen's own heralds there, but the king's also; and not in tabards bearing the sovereign's, but the deceased's arms.
So preposterously fond of funeral rites were monarchs and their subjects, that the obsequies of princes were observed by such sovereigns as were in alliance with them, and in the same state as if the royal remains had been conveyed from one Christian kingdom to another. Individuals had their obsequies kept in various places where they had particular connexions.[[3]]
Is it too much then to presume that in the midst of all this pomp and affectation of grief, the hatchment of the deceased nobleman would be displayed as much, and continued as long, as possible by the widow? May we not reasonably believe that these ladies would vie with each other in these displays of the insignia of mourning, until, by usage, the lozenge-shaped hatchment became the shield appropriated to the sex?
These hypotheses are not without some foundation; but if any of your correspondents will enunciate another theory, I shall be glad to give it my support if it is found to be more reasonable than the foregoing.
Broctuna.
Bury, Lancashire.
Footnote 3:[(return)]
Noble.