IMC 2019: Sessions

Surviving examples of medieval arms and armour are comparatively rare. Fortunately there remains much artistic evidence of what it looked like. The three papers in Medieval Arms and Armour, II focus on what medieval effigies can reveal about such material. Despite its central position in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula the presence of Sir Richard’s tomb remains something of a puzzle. Not only was it unusual for prominent Tower officials to be interred in the Chapel, the tomb has been moved on two known occasions, and when opened in the late 19th century was found to be without a body. Every tomb has its own particular story, and this paper will look at the ‘life’ of Sir Richard’s tomb, from the time of his death to the moment when the tomb achieved its final resting place in the Chapel. The fine effigy of Sir John Marmion (d. 1387), clad in armour and surmounted by an exceptional medieval funerary hearse, lies in the church of St Nicholas, West Tanfield. The second paper examines the tomb with particular regard to the development of late 14th-century armour and also the function of the tomb, the memorialisation of the Marmion family and the role of the hearse. Scotland has a rich heritage of sepulchral sculpture and, despite the ravages of social upheaval, many details of their producers' intricate work can still be made out. The final paper gives an overview of the corpus of these sculptures and highlights some similarities and differences in the armour to that depicted on effigies of other realms.