English Church Brasses from the 13th to the 17th Century

The study of monumental brasses is a fascinating means of delving into history and it is a technique much used by historians, art and otherwise, and by genealogists. This book, written by a man with an extensive background in ecclesiastical art, has hardly been superseded as a handbook of the subject. Beginning with a short history of brasses, the author discusses the factors responsible for the destruction of so many of them, and goes on to treat the armor depicted, from the 13th century to the time it fell into disuse during the Tudor and Stuart periods. He deals extensively with the costumes shown on the brasses and supplements this with material on the chalices, canopies, borders, crosses, and brackets depicted on the brasses. Also provided is a dictionary of terms relating to armor, and a chapter on the inscriptions and their translations. In addition, he discusses means of making and preserving rubbings and, most important, concludes with an extensive list of the locations of the monumental brasses.