oak sih 1

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"fashion," not vcry transient, for belts were attached this way from circa 1225-1325. The short end of the belt, at the top of the scabbard, is broad and has two slots cut in it. The long part, wrapped round the scabbard, ends in rwo "tails." When worn, the short, upper part of the belt goes toward the wearer's right side, across his stornach, while the long, lower end goes to the left, round his waist at the back, round to the front again, where the two tails are pulled through the two slots in the short piece and tied in a knot.

Figurę 81 shows an actual sword of exactlv

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the same datę, from Spain. This was found in the coffin of an Infante of Castile, Don Fernando de la Gerda, who died in 1270, one of the sons of King Alfonso el Sabio. Here you can compare the actual with the representational sword. For sonie reason the belt of this sword has been cut off instead of being wrapped around the scabbard. Figurę 82, the sword hilt from an English monumental brass from the church in the village of Acton, in Suffolk, is dif-ferent. The principle is the same, but there is only one strand of leather across the front of the scabbard, instead of two crossed over, and the belt is secured with a handsome buckie. This monument to Sir Robert de Bures is later than the other two bv sonie forty vcars, but the difference in the man-ner of fastening the belt is morę of a regional fashion than a dated one.

There is plenty of literary evidence for the use of the "Grant Espee," sonie of it in poetry or rhymed chronicles or sober histories, or perhaps morę usefully, in the totally factual texts of wills and inventories. However, care has to be used with sucli rcference, particularly in poetry, for here rhyme or meter is often much morę important (to the poet) than accurate meaning. Even so, there is so much of this evidence that, used selectively, can providc excellent information. In wills and invento-ries, of course, accuracy was important, but the modern scholar still has to be careful because, what to the 1 3th-century knight's family or executors was totally understood and taken for granted, may seem obscure todav - besides, with either will or inventory, thesc very objects were there under their noses. They could go and look at them, and we can't. The terms used in the Middle Ages, too, were generally vague and never standardised as they

Figurę 80. Figurę of the benefactor Count Ekkchard of Naumburg Cathedral, c. 1260.