ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

Chaucer and John of Gaunt in Wycliffe. The elaborate belts worn by both figures
suggest that he must have also paid close attention to the accompanying text which
stated that
the reign of Edward III. presents us with an entire change of costume.
The long robes and tunics, the cyclases and cointises of the preceding
reigns vanished altogether. A close fitting garment called a cote hardie,
buttoned down the front, and confined over the hips (which it barely
covered) by a splendid girdle, was the general habit of the male
nobility. 148
A sketchbook filled with costume studies for the Manchester Town Hall murals
confirms that undertaking considerable historical research before commencing a
major history painting was a discipline Brown continued to practice throughout his
career. 149
Furniture and Architecture
Furniture was another area in which Ford Madox Brown strove for historical accuracy
using The Pictorial History of England as a source. The unusual reading desk used by
the protagonist in Chaucer appears to have been taken from the illustration Library
Chair, Reading Table, and Reading Desk (Fig. 112). 150 Brown mentions a further
148 Op. cit. at note 34, p. 869.
149 Sketchbook, 1859-1875, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, accession no. 859.
150 As suggested by Surtees (Op. cit. at note 66, p. 12). Knight often recycled illustrations in his
publications making it difficult to pinpoint an exact source. However, this illustration does not appear
to have been used in any other book.
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