Shakespeare alludes to this custom
when, in _Hamlet_, he makes Laertes say:--
His means of death, his obscure burial--
No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones,
No noble rite, nor formal ostentation.
You can see the armour of the Black Prince over his tomb at
Canterbury, and at Westminster the shield of Henry V that probably did
its duty at Agincourt. Several of our churches still retain the arms
of the heroes who lie buried beneath them, but occasionally it is not
the actual armour but sham, counterfeit helmets and breastplates made
for the funeral procession and hung over the monument. Much of this
armour has been removed from churches and stored in museums. Norwich
Museum has some good specimens, of which we give some illustrations.
There is a knight's basinet which belongs to the time of Henry V
(_circa_ 1415). We can compare this with the salads, which came into
use shortly after this period, an example of which may be seen at the
Porte d'Hal, Brussels. We also show a thirteenth-century sword, which
was dredged up at Thorpe, and believed to have been lost in 1277, when
King Edward I made a military progress through Suffolk and Norfolk,
and kept his Easter at Norwich. The blade is scimitar-shaped, is
one-edged, and has a groove at the back.
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