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AKETON. A padded coat worn beneath the mail in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and also often used as a
defence in its own right.
AILETTES. Wing-like additions to the shoulders, normally
rectangular, sometimes found laced to the mail in the later
thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. Thought once by
many writers to have had a defensive purpose, but they were
probably purely decorative and often serving heraldic
significance, to display the wearer’s arms. There use was
almost wholly confined to England, France and Flanders.
ARMING POINTS. Cords furnished with tags and attached to
the arming doublet, hose and shoes for tying on elements of
armour, usually threaded through holes in the upper vambrace,
couters, cuisses and sabatons.
AVENTAIL. A tippet of mail attached to staples (vervelles)
along the edge of the face-opening of the basinet to protect the
throat and neck, and the top of the shoulders.
BACINET. The bacinet was originally a light helmet (the
word means ‘little basin’ in French), but it was later applied
to what is now called a great-bacinet, and eventually, in the
sixteenth, the tilting-helm.
BESAGEW. The besagew was usually round or oval, and could
be on the elbows, or even (horizontally) as a guard on the haft
of an axe.
BEVOR. A defence for the lower part of the face.
BREASTPLATE. Protection of the chest, generally formed by
one main plate of steel, but in the fifteenth century often of
two plates, an upper and lower, the latter overlapping the
former.
CAPE. A term used in this article to describe the lower
part of a coif or aventail which covers the top of the shoulders
and upper chest.
CANNON. One of the tubular plates protecting the upper and
lower arms.
CHAPE. The metal terminal of a scabbard or a belt.
CIRCLET or CIRCLE. A narrow fillet around the brow of the
head, worn over the coif. Sometimes circlets are
decorated, at other times they are plain. In some case the
plain examples may represent a strap, possibly securing a metal
scull-cap under the coif.
COAT ARMOUR. See surcoat.
COAT-OF-PLATES. It consisted of metal plates attached by
rivets to a textile cover or, more rarely, lining. It
started to come into use from the first half of the thirteenth
century. Gowns lined with such plates, often only
identifiable by the heads of the rivets holding them.
COIF. A hood. The mail coif fitted closely to the
head and neck, and a flap crossed the chin and was fastened at
the side, leaving only a portion of the face exposed. At
first it was an extension of the hauberk, but about the middle
of the thirteenth century it was made independent of it, falling
to the shoulders.
COUTER. The defence for the elbow.
CREST. Heraldic device surmounting the helm, introduced in
the second half of the twelfth century, but not common until the
fourteenth century.
CUISSE. Armour for the thigh. Cuisses on effigies
are often represented as mail, leather, metal and in some
instances quilted.
CUSP. A curved projecting point in the ornamentation of
architectural arches and armour decoration.
DAGGER. The dagger is first recorded as an accompaniment
to the sword in the late thirteenth century. It first
appears on English effigies in the early fourteenth century.
ENARME. A loop on the inner side of the shield grasped by
the hand or through which the left arm was passed.
GAUNTLET. Defensive glove.
GORGET. Defence of the neck and throat, and upper part of
the chest.
GREAVE. Plate armour for the leg between knee and ankle,
introduced at first for the protection of the shin only and
strapped over the mail in the second half of the thirteenth
century. Closed-greaves consisting of a front and back
plate, modeled to the calf and hinged together, came into use
in the fourteenth century.
GRIP. That part of a weapon (e.g. of the hilt of a sword
or dagger between the pommel and the guard) which is grasped in
the hand.
GUSSETS. Mail patches sewn to the arming-doublet to cover
parts not protected by plate: the armpits, elbows and fork.
HAUBERK. A shirt of mail.
HELM. The great helm, covering the entire head and face
and reaching nearly to the shoulders, was introduced at the end
of the twelfth century.
HOSE. Mail stockings.
LAMES. A thin plate, especially one of metal.
Mobility was achieved by means of loose-fitting rivets and
internal leathers.
LOCKET. Metal band encircling the scabbard, including that
at the mouth of the sheath.
MAIL. Flexible armour made of iron or steel rings, each
passing through its four neighbours.
MUFFLER. Muffler is the term for a mail mitten. A
bag-like extension attached to the sleeve of a hauberk or
gambeson with a separate stall for the thumb. The mail did
not extend over the palm of the hand, which was covered by
either fabric or leather, with a slit so that the hand could be
released when fighting was not imminent.
ORLE. The orle was a roll worn around the skull of the
bacinet. It was often represented as if decorated with
precious stones and pearls.
PAULDRON. Plate defence for the shoulders, attaining its
maximum development in the large Italian pauldrons of the
fifteenth century, when it had large extensions covering the
armpits before and behind.
POLEYN. Plate defence for the knee introduced to reinforce
mail in the second half of the thirteenth century. It
later had a fan-shaped wing on the outer side, and was
articulated both to the cuisse and to the greave.
POMMEL. The spherical or other-shaped termination of the
hilt of the sword or dagger on the end of the grip farther from
the blade, acting as a counterpoise to the blade and giving
support to the hand.
QUILLONS. A quillon is one of the two bars forming
together the cross-guard of a sword.
SABATON. Armour for the foot, comprising a toe-cap and a
series of overlapping lames crossing the instep.
Introduced early in the fourteenth century.
SALLET. A light helmet shaped like a sou’wester, that in
England, France and Germany during the second half of the
fifteenth century virtually supplanted every other form for use
in the field. The basinet survived only for the
tournament.
SCABBARD. The sheath of a sword or dagger.
SCHYNBALD. A plate defence for the lower leg, which was
strapped over the hose.
SKIRT (of lames). A defensive skirt consisting of a series
of hoop-like lames descending from the waist of the breastplate
and overlapping upwards.
SKULL. That part of a helmet covering the cranium and
occiput, sometimes referred to by old writers as the "basnet" or
"bassinet-piece. Also used of a light steel cap.
SPAUDLER. The spaudler is the early term for the small
version of what was to develop into the pauldron.
SPURS. Early spurs were of the prick variety, that is to
say furnished with a simple goad or spike, often mounted on a
ball, or cone. The rowel spur, with a wheel of five or
more points, was introduced in the thirteenth century, but only
became general in England from about 1330.
STANDARD OF MAIL. Upstanding collar of mail, frequently
worn in the fifteenth century.
SURCOAT. A sleeveless garment worn over the mail in the
thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. It was
gradually shortened, until in the second half of the fourteenth
century it became brief and tight fitting.
SWORD. The medieval knightly sword was of simple cruciform
structure with a straight, double-edged blade either with a
central hollow, or sometimes of diamond section. Its
component parts were the hilt and the blade with its tang, of
which the former consists of the pommel, grip, and quillons.
TASSET. One of several shaped plates that normally hang
from the front of the skirt, but also sometimes from the sides
and rear (hind tassets).
VENTAIL. A flap of mail on the coif, drawn across the
lower part of the face-opening and secured to the side of the
temples.
VERVELLES. Staples along the edges of the bacinet.
Over which a leather band with corresponding holes attached to
the upper edge of the mail aventail was secured by means of a
lace passed through them.
ABACUS: the flat slab on the top of a capital
ACANTHUS: decoration based on a Mediterranean plant. Stylisation
of the acanthus leaf began in Greek and Roman decoration,
especially on the Corinthian capital.
AEDICULE: the frames surrounding a classical doorway or window
flanked by a pair of columns and topped by a pediment, but which
has its origins in the architectural treatment of the shrines of
the classical period.
APRON: panel at the bottom of a hanging wall monument, often
with decorative carving.
ARCH: the spanning of an opening by reasons other than that of a
lintel
ARCHITRAVE: the lintel extending from one column to another.
ALTAR TOMB: Monument with a tomb chest. They were never actually
used as altars.
ARCHIVOLTS: bands or mouldings surrounding an arched opening.
BALLFLOWER: a globular motif often used in concave moldings on
tombs in the first half of the 14th century. It looks like a
flower with three (or sometimes four) petals nearly closed over
a central ball.
BARBED QUATREFOIL: a four-lobed geometrical motif with a
triangular projection at the intersection of two adjacent foils.
BALDACCHINO: a type of early l7th century English tomb featuring
a central stage-like area, revealed behind curtains that are
pulled open at each side either by being tied to columns
or else manually by standing (and occasionally seated) figures.
These include angels, putti, and allegorical figures, as well as
armed servants and soldiers.
BAS-RELIEF or LOW RELIEF: sculpture in which the carved forms
project only slightly from the background.
BASE: the architectural element on which a column or pier rests.
BATTLEMENT or CRENELLATION: a parapet with alternating openings
(embrasures) and raised sections (merlons).
BEAD AND REEL: a decorative motif consisting of oval motifs
alternating with round or elongated bead-shaped motifs. Much
used in the ancient world and copied in the Middle Ages.
BILLET MOULDING: a molding composed wholly or in part of a
series of billets: small cubes, cylinders or prisms placed at
regular intervals, so that their axis and that of the entire
series is parallel to the general direction of the molding.
BLIND ARCADE: a row of decorative arches applied to a wall.
BROKEN PEDIMENT: a pediment with the raking cornice interrupted
at the apex, the outline of which usually consists of a pair of
S-curves tangent to the cornice level at the ends of the
pediment, rising to a pair of scrolls on either side of the
center, where a finial often rises between the scrolls.
CANOPY: the architectural roof-like projection over a monument.
CARTOUCHE: Ornamental or inscribed wall tablet, with an
elaborate scroll-like frame resembling curling pieces of
parchment, common in Baroque work.
CHEVRON: a zig-zag motif.
CIBORIUM: a canopy resting on columns over the tomb chest.
CINQUEFOIL: a five-lobed ornamental shape.
COADE STONE: an artificial stone manufactured in London in the
late 18th and early 19th centuries, used for figure sculpture,
monuments, architectural dressings, and decorative work.
Essentially a type of clay, fired in a kiln at high temperature,
it was named after Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), who set up in
business in Lambeth in 1769.
COLONNADE: a row of columns carrying an entablature or arches.
COLUMN: an upright pillar or post.
CORBEL: a supporting architectural bracket or block projecting
from a wall.
CORINTHIAN CAPITAL: A capital used originally by the Greeks and
used often in the medieval period in a system of supports called
the Corinthian order. It is decorated with 3 superimposed rows
of carved foliage (acanthus leaves) around the capital. At the
comers of the capital there are small volutes.
CORNICE: the uppermost section of moldings along the top of a
monument.
CROCKET CAPITAL: A simplified adaptation of the Corinthian
capital commonly used in the Gothic period.
CROSS SLAB: a stone monument which has an incised or relief
cross as the main feature. They were especially common in the
period to 1300.
CUSP: a curved, triangular-shaped projection from the inner
curve of an arch or circle.
DENTIL: one of a series of closely spaced, rectangular blocks
that form a molding. Dentil molding usually projects below the
cornice.
DEPRESSED ARCH: a flattened arch, slightly pointed on top. It
appears in Late Gothic tombs of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries.
DIAGONAL RIBS diagonal ribs: the moldings which mark the diagonals
in a rib vault in a tomb canopy.
diaper: a pattern formed by small, repeated geometrical motifs
set adjacent to one another, used to decorate stone surfaces on
monuments.
DOG TOOTH: an ornamental motif consisting of a square,
four-leafed figure, the center of which projects in a point.
DORIC ORDER: the earliest of the Greek orders also adapted by
the Romans.
EFFIGY: the carved figure representing the person commemorated
by the monument.
EGG AND DART: a repetitive decorative motif often used in
classical antiquity and copied in the Middle Ages. It consisted
of oval (egg-shaped) motifs alternating with dart-like motifs.
ENTABLATURE: superstructure which lies horizontally upon the
columns and constituting the architrave, frieze, and cornice.
EVANGELIST SYMBOLSE symbols for the authors of the four
New Testament books which are narratives of the life of Christ.
These symbols were often seen on incised slabs and brasses. The
symbols were: Matthew: angel (man); Mark: lion; Luke: ox; John:
eagle.
FAN VAULT: a vault of a tomb canopy which consists of
fan-shaped half cones which usually meet at the center of a
vault.
FLEUR-DE-LYS: stylised lily which served as symbol for the
French monarchy.
FINIAL: a formal ornament at the top of a canopy, gable, or
pinnacle.
FLUTING: shallow, concave grooves running vertically on the
shaft of a column, pilaster, or other surface.
FOLIATE CAPITAL: a capital decorated with foliage elements.
FRIEZE: a horizontal band that runs below the cornice. The
frieze may be decorated with designs or carvings.
GESSO: raised decoration made from calcium sulphate or calcium
carbonate and animal glue.
GREEK KEY: an ornamental motif consisting of continuous bands
arranged in rectilinear forms.
HANGING ARCH: an arch which has, or seems to have, no vertical
supports.
HANGING WALL MONUMENT: Mural monument mounting some distance
above the ground.
HOOD MOULDING: a projecting molding on the wall above an arch.
INCISED SLAB: a monument with the design cut into the stone
slab.
INTERLACE: a decorative motif consisting of threads passing aver
and under each other like threads in lace.
IONIC CAPITAL: a capital used originally by the Greeks in a
system of supports called the Ionic order. An Ionic capital has
a volute, or a spiral scroll-like carving, on each side as its
major decoration.
IONIC ORDER: an order that originated in Asia Minor in the
mid-sixth century B.C.
JAMB: the vertical face of an arch.
LEDGER SLAB: a floor monument with inscription, often below an
achievement or shield of arms.
LIERNE: a minor rib in a complex rib vault. Liernes do not
spring from the main springers.
LINENFOLD: decorative motif in the form of a folded piece of
linen cloth, usually carved in low relief.
LOZENGE: a diamond shape.
MANDORLA: an almond-shaped motif in which Christ sits; sometimes
used also for the Virgin.
MONUMENTAL BRASS: brass: an engraved copper-alloy plate used as
a commemorative monument. Sometimes these were set murally or in
the back wall of a tomb recess, but usually they were set
horizontally, flush with the pavement of a church.
MOSAIC: decoration created by setting small pieces of glass,
stone, or marble in a matrix. This was most popular for
monuments in the Victorian period.
NAIL-HEAD: an ornamental motif of small pyramids, said to
represent the heads of nails, very popular in the 12th century.
NICHE: a vertical recess in a wall monument or tomb chest,
usually arched and containing a ‘weeper' figure or saint.
OBELISK: a tall, tapering shaft of stone, usually monolithic, of
square or rectangle section and ending pyramidally.
OCULUS: a circular opening in a canopy.
OGEE ARCH: an arch with a pointed apex, formed by the
intersection of two S curves usually confined to decoration and
not used in arcade arches.
PASTIGALIA: raised decoration made from calcium sulphate or
calcium carbonate and animal glue, commonly termed gesso.
PEDIMENT: a low-pitched triangular gable on the front of a
monument.
PENDANT: a hanging architectural member formed by ribs. They
often appear in conjunction with fan vaults.
PILASTER: a rectangular support that resembles a flat column.
The pilaster projects only slightly from the wall, and has a
base, a shaft, and a capital.
PLINTH: the base of a monument.
POLYCHROMY: the painted decoration applied to medieval stone
tombs. The stone was initially sealed by a layer of size,
perhaps animal glue; next a thin layer of lead white was applied
to form a ground; and finally a thin layer of oil sealant added
to prevent absorption into the porous ground of binding media
from subsequent paint layers, and thus to ensure that the
translucency of the polychromy was not compromised. The complex
and sophisticated applied decoration involved, as well as the
layering of pigments, the use of raised decoration and gold and
silver leaf beneath translucent glazes.
PUTTI: chubby angel-like figures seen on post-Reformation
monuments.
QUATREFOIL: a decorative moulding often seen on tomb chests
composed of four equal lobes, like a four-petalled flower.
RIB: an arch of masonry, often molded, which forms part of the
framework on which a vault rests. Ribs generally project from
the undersurface of the vault.
ROUNDEL: a circular ornament or moulding.
RUSTICATION: masonry cut in massive blocks, sometimes in a crude
state to give a rich and bold texture.
sarcophagus: a stone coffin, often bearing sculpture,
inscriptions, etc.
SEMI-EFFIGIAL MONUMENT: a monument with a figure of the person
commemorated shown only in part, such as a bust or the head and
feet, usually shown in apertures in the slab.
SHAFT: the trunk of a column between the base and the capital.
SOFFIT: the underside of an arch, opening, or projecting
architectural element.
SPANDREL: the triangular space between the side of an arch, the
horizontal above its apex, and the vertical of its springing;
the surface between two arches in an arcade.
SPIRE: a tall, pyramidal, polygonal, or conical structure terminating in a
point.
SPRINGER: the lowest voussoir on each side of an arch. It is
where the vertical support for the arch terminates and the curve
of the arch begins.
STRAPWORK: a kind of ornament consisting of a narrow fillet or
band folded, crossed, and interlaced.
TERRACOTTA: fired but unglazed clay, used mainly for monuments
in sixteenth century.
TIERCERON a major rib in a complex rib vault Tiercerons spring
from the main springers.
TRACERY: the ornamental work in canopies and on tomb chests,
often used decoratively in blank arches.
TUSCAN ORDER: a Roman order that resembles the Doric order but
without a fluted shaft. In the Tuscan order, the column had a
simpler base and was unfluted.
VOLUTE: a spiral scroll on an Ionic capital.
VOUSSOIR: a brick or wedge-shaped stone forming one of the units
of an arch.
WEBBING OR INFILLING: the vault surface between the ribs of a
rib vault.
WEEPER: a figure in a recess in a tomb chest, often representing
a relative or associate of the person commemorated.
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