heraldryofyorkmi01custuoft

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THE HERALDRY OF YORK MIXSTEK.
without altering the bordure, for it is charged with ermine alternately.*
This is
probably the coat of Henry de Beaufort, second son of Thomas
de Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, third son of John
Swinford.
of Gaunt and Catherine
Henry de Beaufort was Prebendary of Riccall in York Minster,
1390, and Bishop of Lincoln 1397; Bishop of Winchester 1426, and afterwards
Cardinal of St. Eusebius. Torre mentions in the east window of the
south transept of the Choir, the arms of Scrope of Masham, with a bordure
compone or and -gules, probably being the achievement of some illegitimate
member of that house, but the shield does not exist now.
The bend, however, is
probably the representation of the baldrick, a
broad belt or scarf worn over the right or left shoulder, either simply as
an ornament or to carry a weapon or a horn. As the former,
it was often
the gift of the lady-love of the gallant knight perhaps her own scarf
and sometimes a token of honour conferred by the King. Spenser, in his
Fairie Queene (book i., chapter 9, stanzas 29, 30), represents Prince Arthur
as thus adorned :
" Athwart his breast a bauldrick brave he wore,
That shined like twinkling stars with stones most precious rare ;
And in the midst thereof one pretious stone
Of wondrous worth, and eke of wondrous mighte,
Shaped like a lady's head, exceeding' shone,
Like Hesperus amongst the lesser lights,
And strove for to amaze the weaker sight."
Planche, in his Cyclopaedia of Costume, gives some illustrations of this,
viz., a figure from the book of Caesare Vicellio, carrying a hawk on his
wrist, and wearing the baldrick, probably as the badge of his master in
whose household he is a member. 2. A figure from the military costumes
of Flanders and Holland, by Michael Vosmer, 1578; probably one of the
Counts of Holland. He is in full armour, carrying his shield round his
neck, and wearing a long vestment with ample sleeves; his right hand
leans upon a long two-handed sword, and across his breast, nearly down
to his left knee, hangs a broad baldrick, evidently of costly material and
workmanship, to which is suspended a jewel. 3. A figure of a nobleman
of the close of the fourteenth century bearing a baldrick over the left
shoulder, decorated with bells.
The baldrick, or a broad strap worn like the baldrick, sometimes
bore the shield when it was carried at the back. Meyrick, in his
Ancient Armour, gives a fancy illustration, suggested by a tomb in Ash
Church, Kent, of Aymer de Valence so adorned. Hewitt, in his Ancient
Armour and Weapons in Europe, gives an illustration of the brass of
Sir Roger de Trumpington, representing a recumbent figure, with the shield
slung over the left arm by a strap or baldrick, which passes over the right
* See coloured illustration.