Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 2).djvu/272

 after the funeral of the King in 1422. By the courtesy of the late Dean of Westminster the present writer was permitted to have the helm, shield, and saddle removed for the purpose of being illustrated for this work. It is no more likely that the shield actually belonged to King Henry V than that the saddle was his; it must be regarded as part of the arming for a man with one "cote armor" (tota armatura pro j homine cum j cote Armur) that was delivered to the sacrist of the abbey—all the more so, since as in the case of the helm, there is the record of the payment of 20s. to Thomas Daunt "for beating of a shield of the King's arms":

Item eidem Thome pro vapulacione unius scuti de armis Regis..

An actual size reproduction of the silk damask with which the "Henry V" shield is lined

The shield is much more nearly spade-shaped than that of the Black Prince, and in its section more curved. The foundation, which is visible at its extreme base, is of smooth oak, covered on the front with a strong fibrous substance, which is overlaid with four thicknesses of coarse linen. These coverings are, for the most part, torn away towards the lower half of the shield; but the larger portion at the top remains in position. It is very obvious that the original face was covered with thick plaster or gesso, upon which was painted the blazonry. Although a scaled portion of the plaster remains, there is no trace of the original red and blue coloured quarters. The interior of the shield is, however, in a far better state of preservation, and tells us a more vivid story of its past splendour. Here, again, immediately on the wooden foundation are three layers of coarse linen, over which is placed a padding of hair felt; over that again are two layers of strong linen, covered with silk, once a rich blue colour, which is figured with a very small pattern of delicate ivy leaf woven into the silk itself (Fig. 596). The whole of this brocade is powdered with fleur-de-lis, hand-embroidered in yellow silk. The arm pad is of crimson velvet, on which are worked in yellow silk the arms of Navarre, viz.:—Gules, a cross saltire and double orle of chains linked together Or—a charge which somewhat resembles an escarboucle. As we have said, there is now no trace of colour on the face of the shield; but in Dart's "History of Westminster Abbey," published in 1725, the illustration