{"id":5369,"date":"2025-10-06T08:14:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T08:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/?p=5369"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:17:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T12:17:44","slug":"head-to-toe-heraldry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/2025\/10\/06\/head-to-toe-heraldry\/","title":{"rendered":"Head-to-toe heraldry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Horses appear to be having something of a moment on the Centre blog. Between Camille Vo Van Qui&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/2025\/03\/10\/turning-my-thesis-into-a-picture-book\/\">picture-book on the training of horses<\/a> (based on her PhD research) and <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/2025\/03\/24\/looking-back-on-the-medieval-warhorse-project\/\">the conclusion of the WARHORSE project<\/a>, the equestrian section of the CMS has the bit firmly between their teeth. (Sorry &#8211; Ed.) The trend continues this week, as we&#8217;re delighted to welcome a new contributor to the blog: Laura Burnett, whose work spans the medieval and early modern periods. Laura is currently completing her PhD on 17th-century trade tokens, and has worked as a Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme; in this post, she shares some insights from a recent co-authored <a href=\"https:\/\/trivent-publishing.eu\/home\/200-375-the-horse-in-history-a-festschrift-in-honour-of-john-clark.html\">chapter<\/a> (with Rob Webley, lately of this parish) on later medieval heraldry, and how it was applied to mounts on and off the battlefield. Prepare to meet some extremely dapper-looking horses.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the year 1300 heraldic decoration has a bit of a fashion moment in Western Europe. Knights of the time were decorated with heraldry from helm to spur, reminding me of nothing so much as Danniella Westbook in Burberry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"588\" height=\"462\" data-id=\"5385\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.1.png 588w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.1-300x236.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 588px) 100vw, 588px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Head to toe heraldry, from the Luttrell Psalter, c.1320-40 (British Library, MS Add. 42130, fol. 202v) &#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"733\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5387\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.2-733x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.2-733x1024.png 733w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.2-215x300.png 215w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.2-768x1073.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.2-1099x1536.png 1099w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB1.2.png 1167w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8230; and the infamous picture of Danielle Westbrook, and daughter, in Burberry checks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A particular favourite of mine are the short-lived\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theheraldrysociety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Boulton-Coat-of-Arms-2018.pdf\">\u2018ailettes\u2019<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 ridiculous boiled leather things sticking up from the shoulder, which appear minimally protective while providing an excellent heraldic canvas for side views. They are perhaps the medieval equivalent of the extra-large puffy tongues on trainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"485\" height=\"500\" data-id=\"5393\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB2.1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB2.1.png 485w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB2.1-291x300.png 291w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rider in chailmail, aliettes and co-ordinating surcoat from an early 14<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;century manuscript (British Library Royal 14 E III, 118r) &#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"838\" data-id=\"5395\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB2.2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB2.2.jpg 646w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/LB2.2-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 646px) 100vw, 646px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8230; and a modern large-tongued trainer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Horses were similarly bedecked with heraldic mounts on everything, from bridle to stirrup. Based on the archaeological evidence, they positively jangled with pendants: no fewer than 48 pendants were found on a single breast band excavated at Caherduggan,\u00a0Ireland. There were even fans and projecting decorations on horses&#8217; heads with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/finds.org.uk\/database\/artefacts\/record\/id\/1005946\">rotating arms<\/a>\u00a0ending in more small pendants, like glittering toy windmills.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A newly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/trivent-publishing.eu\/home\/200-375-the-horse-in-history-a-festschrift-in-honour-of-john-clark.html\">published chapter<\/a>\u00a0I co-wrote with Rob Webley summarises some of the recently identified forms of enamelled copper-alloy mounts used to add heraldic display to horse harnesses. It covers nine points on horse gear where we know mounts were attached. The chapter was inspired, in part by this wonderful, large,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/finds.org.uk\/database\/artefacts\/record\/id\/994716\">mount<\/a>\u00a0from Cothelstone, Somerset, and its associated pendant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"481\" data-id=\"5399\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/SOM4F5A80-1024x481.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/SOM4F5A80-1024x481.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/SOM4F5A80-300x141.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/SOM4F5A80-768x361.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/SOM4F5A80-1536x722.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/08\/SOM4F5A80-2048x963.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Large mount found at Cothelstone, Somerset (<a href=\"https:\/\/finds.org.uk\/database\/artefacts\/record\/id\/994716\">SOM-4F5A80<\/a>; to view the pendant, follow the link). Much of the enamelling survives but the gilding is mostly obscured or lost to corrosion. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The mount&#8217;s impact was enhanced by movement and noise, particularly for those that hung and swivelled. Chaucer described his pilgrim Monk, in the General Prologue to the <em>Canterbury Tales<\/em>, as having a bridle that &#8216;eek <em>(echoes)<\/em> as loude as dooth the chapel belle&#8217;. Even pieces that only moved with the horse, as opposed to the rider, would have flashed and glittered, thanks to the widespread use of gilding (on top of the already shining metal, colourful enamelling, and engraved and punched decoration).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In England, the 1300s was a period when the basis of aristocratic power was shifting, with military might and royal offices being supplemented by land, genealogical connections and an increasingly defined \u2018noble and gentry\u2019 class. Knighthood was becoming even more of a standardised status marker rather than about individual military involvement. The romantic, formal and chivalric aspects of knighthood, rather than military requirements, were being promoted, as a way to encourage people to take on this status. Equipping a knight cost a lot of money, so families might balk at doing this, especially for several sons. When the future Edward II was knighted at Whitsuntide 1306, noble and smaller gentry families supplied\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk\/documents\/4856\/47p251.pdf\">259 of their young men<\/a>\u00a0to be knighted at the same Feast, to make personal links with the prince and other high nobles, and for the kudos of being called a \u2018swan knight\u2019. The romantic Prince and his \u2018Swan Knights\u2019 might be familiar to Tolkien fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heraldry, customarily displayed on a knight\u2019s shield, fitted well with this trend. As\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/englandinthirtee0000unse\">John Cherry<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.co.uk\/books\/edition\/Heraldry_Pageantry_and_Social_Display_in\/7SL1bVtfP08C?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1\">Peter Coss<\/a> and others have argued, heraldry was a particular focus of elite self-definition in 13th- and 14th-century England. It provided an opportunity to publicly claim nobles&#8217; traditional \u2018military\u2019 status and role, as well as a position within a lineage based \u2018elite\u2019. The choice of design could display familial, lineage, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theheraldrysociety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Fox-Coat-of-Arms-2018.pdf\">personal<\/a>\u00a0and clientage relationships.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heraldry, as a formalised system, had been developing in Europe over the 11<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0and 12<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0centuries, becoming more widely adopted and regulated. Rolls of arms (recording the heraldry used by individuals on military campaigns and at tournaments) became more common from 1250 in England.\u00a0\u00a0Heraldry was used on everything, from chests, carts, clothing, stained glass and tombs, to dog collars. The horse, and their riders, was a natural canvas for this display. Horse riding and ownership had similar resonances: of martial use, elevated (literally) status, legal freedom of movement and a level of financial resources. The warhorse, including work on their equipment by my co-author, Rob Webley, was examined in the recent excellent book by Exeter academics discussed in a previous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/2025\/03\/24\/looking-back-on-the-medieval-warhorse-project\/\">blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The extensive use of these enamelled copper-alloy harness mounts was, however, short-lived. They may have continued being used in leisure riding and by household members, but in formal jousts and battles they were replaced with the even larger canvas of caparisons (cloth coverings) previously mainly used by royalty and high nobility. These draped over a horse from nose to tail as the \u2018logos\u2019 went from small to huge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"617\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5411\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.57.08-617x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.57.08-617x1024.png 617w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.57.08-181x300.png 181w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.57.08.png 712w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 617px) 100vw, 617px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harness pendants (Trinity College, Cambridge, <a href=\"https:\/\/mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk\/manuscripts\/uv\/view.php?n=R.16.2#?c=0&amp;m=0&amp;s=0&amp;cv=48&amp;xywh=1988%2C1440%2C1176%2C2083\">MS R.16.2<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5407\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.51.52-edited-576x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.51.52-edited-576x1024.png 576w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.51.52-edited-169x300.png 169w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/Capture-decran-2025-09-01-a-11.51.52-edited.png 589w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nike T-shirt and tracksuit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"694\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"5409\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/LB4.1-1-694x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/LB4.1-1-694x1024.jpg 694w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/LB4.1-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/LB4.1-1-768x1134.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/339\/2025\/09\/LB4.1-1.jpg 991w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 694px) 100vw, 694px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heidelberg, Universit\u00e4tsbibliothek, <a href=\"https:\/\/digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de\/diglit\/cpg848\/0364\/image,info\">Cod. pal. germ. 848<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laura Burnett shares her recent work on horse heraldry, and its surprising modern resonances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2709,"featured_media":5419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[293,455],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Head-to-toe heraldry - Exeter Medieval Studies Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/2025\/10\/06\/head-to-toe-heraldry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Head-to-toe heraldry - Exeter Medieval Studies Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Laura Burnett shares her recent work on horse heraldry, and its surprising modern resonances.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/medievalstudies\/2025\/10\/06\/head-to-toe-heraldry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Exeter Medieval Studies Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ExeterMedievalStudies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T08:14:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta 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