All-

I'm looking for some good sources for photographs and/or drawings of knighly effigies, particularly from the 14th century, and even more specifically from England and France. I find the drawings particularly helpful, since they often more clearly delineate the details that might be masked in poorly exposed photograph.

I just purchased J.H. von Hefner-Alteneck's "Medieval Arms and Armor: A Pictorial Archive", and it's precisely the type of information I'd like to get more of. It contains drawings of many German effigies, among other drawings of weapons and armor and illustrations reproduced from manuscripts, stained glass, etc.

I've seen numerous 19th century illustrations of English effigies and brasses in this forum and elsewhere. Is there a book I can buy that hosts a collection of these? The web may be another source. I'd like to hear of either type.

Thank you,

-Paul

One such book to which I find myself referring constantly is Stothard, C., The Monumental Effigies of Great Britain, London, J. McCreery, 1817 (in a private re-release by KnightTime Publishing). A more readily-accessible source is Clayton, M., Catalog of Rubbings and Brasses and Incised Slabs, HMSO, 1968. The former source is superb and a must have if possible to find but is out of print and apart from small private releases can almost never be found. The latter source, however, while covering a broader period than your specific area of interest (and being almost exclusively focused on British examples) is superb and, I believe, more widely available.

Might I also suggest one of the more famous (but rare) titles: David Edge's and J.M. Paddock's Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight. Though it doesn't cover effigies exclusively, there is a considerable amount of discussion (and photos) of effigies and tombs. If fact, when you open the book to the table of contents, right there is a splendid photo of the Earl of Cornwall's effigy (John of Eltham, ca. 1334). :)

I have moved this topic to the Off-topic Talk forum.

Please note the description for this forum:

"Discussions of general history and other miscellaneous topics relating to arms and armour that do not specifically fit our other forums"

Thank you.

The Stothard book is supposed to be great, but can cost $600 or more. The Clayton book mentioned is fantastic, though it's on brasses, which are technically different than 3D effigies. Maybe you could say the brasses are a subset of effigial monuments. I've seen far more books on brasses than ones on effigies.

Here are links to info on that book and others from our Bookstore:

http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=B0007JWFVG
http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=0112900879 (Clayton book)
http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=B0007K5UZI
http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=0851529399
http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=B0007IVD2O

There are plenty more, but I have all of these and can recommend them. If you follow the links, you'll find more info on them and even some reviews by me. There are a couple more on brasses on my Reading List but they have no pictures or not very good pictures.

There was a website called gothiceye.com that had a ton of effigies and brasses. It appears to be defunct.

Here's another link. They have pics: http://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/

Many books on arms and armour, like the one Ted mentioned rely on them heavily and publish many pictures. Ted's suggestion is good. Vesey Norman's book (http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=0706400348) pictures a number of them. Ashdown's 19th century book (http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=185326914X) has many in line drawings as well.

First, thank you all for your help!

Hugh-

I'll keep a lookout for the Stothard book in libraries. It sounds like exactly what I'm looking for - I'd love to have my own copy. This may be a decade-long quest. The Clayton book also sounds very promising and looks like it may be more easily accessible, based on Chad's Amazon link.

Edward-

I do have a copy of Edge and Paddock, and their examples are excellent. Ultimately what I'm looking for is a "catalog" of effigies so that I can survey large numbers of examples.

Chad-

Thank you for the additional links. This helps round out the picture. I've put three into my Amazon wish list already, and may decide to get them over this week.

-Paul