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The Importance of the Ashmolean Roll of Arms for the Study of Medieval Blazon

Allen M. Barstow

The Antiquaries Journal / Volume 54 / Issue 01 / March 1974, pp 75 ­ 84DOI: 10.1017/S0003581500030092, Published online: 29 November 2011

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How to cite this article:Allen M. Barstow (1974). The Importance of the Ashmolean Roll of Arms for the Study of Medieval Blazon. The Antiquaries Journal, 54, pp 75­84 doi:10.1017/S0003581500030092

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ASHMOLEAN ROLL OFARMS FOR THE STUDY OF MEDIEVAL BLAZON

By ALLEN M. BARSTOW

THE oldest examples of heraldic language that are known to us occur in literarytexts of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.1 Literary heraldry, howeversymbolical or colourful, is often incomplete and vague, which is to say that it is notreally blazon at all. It is not until the appearance of blazoned rolls of arms that wediscover the description of armorial bearings to be a highly developed art. Not onlyis the lexicon well established in the mid thirteenth-century Bigot and WalfordRolls,2 but there is also a rigorous syntax, for in these armorial lists may be foundmany of the conventional locutions, phrases, and other structures which are charac-teristic of classic medieval blazon.3

Between 1250 and 1350 rolls of arms appear with increasing frequency. Themajority are of English origin, and they are proof of a continuous period of intenseactivity in heraldry, particularly at the courts of Henry III and the three Edwards.Some thirty of these rolls are blazoned in French. They indicate that from 1250 onthe development of blazon is gradual, with no more than a handful of innovationsin any particular roll. From one generation to another, however, there is often asignificant difference.

The history of blazon in the thirteenth century is amply documented in Gerard J.Brault's recent work Early Blazon^ but relatively little has been written aboutfourteenth-century blazon.5 There is, of course, no sudden leap from the one to the

1 The basic study of twelfth-century literary le role d'armes Bigot—1254', Archives Hiraldiquesheraldry is Louis Bouly de Lesdain, 'fitudes Suisses, lxiii (1949), 15-22, 68-75, a n d 115-21.heValdiques sur le xne siecle', Annuaire du Cornell H. Stanford London, 'Glover's Roll', in Rolls ofHiraldique de France, xx (1907), 185-244. Consult Arms. Henry III (London, 1967), [Aspilogia, gen.also Paul Adam-Even, 'Les usages hiraldiques au ed. Sir Anthony Wagner, ii], pp. 89-96 andmilieu du xne siecle d'apres le Roman de Troie de 103-66.Benoit de Sainte Maure et la literature contem- 3 Gerard J. Brault is the first scholar to recognizeporaine', Archivum Heraldicum, lxxvii (1963), the importance of going beyond mere lexicography18-29. Several illustrative passages are given by in studying blazon. In 'The Emergence of theSir Anthony Wagner in Appendix A of Heralds and Heraldic Phrase in the Thirteenth Century', TheHeraldry in the Middle Ages (London, 1939)- For Coat of Arms, viii (1964-5), 186-92, Brault stressesthe thirteenth century, see Le comte de Marsy, 'Le a syntactical and structural approach to blazon,langage heValdique au xme siecle dans les poemes which he has maintained in more recent studies.d'Adenet le Roi', Mtmoires de la Sociite" des Anti- 4 Early Blazon. Heraldic Terminology in thequaires de France, 5e serie, xlii (1881), 169-212, Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries with Specialand especially Max Prinet's penetrating studies: Reference to Arthurian Literature (Oxford: Claren-'Les armoiries dans le roman du Chatelain de don Press, 1972).Coucy', Romania, xlvi (1920), 161-79, a n ^ ' ^ e s A brief view is found in W. H. St. John Hope,langage heraldique dans le Tournoiement Anti- A Grammar of English Heraldry, 2nd edn., rev. bychrisf, Bibliotkeque de l'£cole des Chartes, lxxxiii Anthony R. Wagner (Cambridge, 1953). See also(1922), 43-53. Max Prinet, 'Les usages hiraldiques au xiv*5 siecle

2 Paul Adam-Even, 'fitudes d'heYaldique me'die'- d'apres les chroniques de Froissart', Annuaire-vale: un armorial francais du milieu du xme siecle, Bulletin de la Sociiti de I'Histoire de France, liv

76 THE ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

other after the year 1300. On the contrary, between 1295 and 1305 there appearsome twelve rolls of arms, of which six are blazoned.1 It is unfortunate thatBrault's cut-off date falls in the middle of such an active decade, for there is littledifference between Stirling and Galloway Rolls (not included in Early Blazon) asopposed to Falkirk and Nativity Rolls (which are included). Yet little by little, asone advances into the fourteenth century, new tendencies appear and a few tradi-tional habits disappear.

During the reigns of Edward II and III, heralds continue to adapt traditionalblazon to the description of new, modified, or amplified coats of arms. The changeis gradual, but none the less remarkable, so much so that one can to some extentevaluate and even date a blazoned roll purely on the basis of style. This is par-ticularly true if the sample is large enough to furnish a basis for statistical com-parison.

For the early years of the reign of Edward III the best illustration of new tend-encies is the Ashmolean Roll, a list in Anglo-Norman blazon of 486 potentates andknights with their arms. It was compiled in 1334 and 1335, probably in the northof England, but it is a general rather than an occasional roll. Although the originalhas disappeared, its blazon has been preserved in a late fourteenth-century copy.2

The roll begins with two emperors, nineteen kings, the senator of Rome, and tenEnglish earls. The remainder consists of English lords and knights, distinguish-able by the title which precedes each name.3

(1916), 3—16. For a more thorough study, consultAllen M. Barstow, 'A Lexicographical Study ofHeraldic Terms in Anglo-Norman Rolls of Arms:1300-13 50', Dissertation Abstracts International,xxxi (1970), 2866-A (University of Pennsylvania).

1 Ten Anglo-Norman rolls are listed by SirAnthony Wagner, A Catalogue of English MediaevalRolls of Arms [CEMRA] (London, 1950), [Aspi-logia, i], pp. 24-37. To these may be added theFrench Chifflet-Prinet Roll and the Tournoiementas Dames de Paris.

2 Bodleian Library, Rolls 4 (formerly 14A)[hereafter abbreviated as AS]. The manuscriptconsists of six leaves of vellum sewn end to end androlled, containing recto a copy of the AshmoleanRoll of Arms (with twenty-four sixteenth-centuryentries appended), verso the Ashmolean Tract(a fifteenth-century treatise on heraldry in English).The manuscript is described by W. H. Black in hisCatalogue of the Ashmolean Manuscripts (1845),p. 7, and by Wagner, CEMRA, pp. 57-8. Thebeginning of the manuscript is partially torn andmutilated, but it is possible to decipher some of thefirst five entries, and most of nos. 6—15. There is noheading or introduction. There are two sixteenth-century tricks of this manuscript (College of ArmsMS. Vincent 164, fols. H 9 v - i 3 4 v and Queen'sCollege, Oxford, MS. 158, pp. 403-33). Although

these tricked copies contain no text, they are usefulin interpreting the meaning of some mutilated orbadly copied entries in AS. The copyist has mademany errors, but he writes in a clear hand, and doesnot seem to have consciously altered the originaltext. Noel Denholm-Young points out that thecopyist has altered the title in some eleven entriesto indicate the status of the family in the earlyfifteenth century (The Country Gentry in theFourteenth Century with Special Reference to theHeraldic Rolls of Arms (London: Oxford UniversityPress, 1969), pp. 97-9).

3 The lords are termed h sire de (nos. 33-59,61-79, 81-90, 94-105, 109-10, 118-19, 200-1,271-2). Nos. 91-3 are called ba\ron\, while thereis no title for nos. 112-14, I 2 I~4> l2&~7> H 0 *and 475. The rest (364 in all) are simple knights,with the title mons1 de. Denholm-Young (loc. cit.)names two knights among the lords and nine lordsamong the knights; note that his numbering systemdoes not include the kings and earls, and that histotals are twelve earls, forty-eight lords, and 406knights. He thinks that 'for the most part it seemsto have been made at or near York and to containpersons who were there or passed through on theirway to the north' when the seat of government hadbeen moved to York for the duration of Edward'sScottish campaigns.

THE ASHMOLEAN ROLL OF ARMS 77

In this analysis I will consider first the field designators: tinctures, dividers, andpowdered fields. Principal charge terms (including ordinaries) will be followed bysecondary charge terms, and finally positioning phrases and locutions.

The most frequent item in medieval blazon is the field designator, and its veryfrequency may explain its conventional nature. In AS one finds the eight traditionaltinctures of the period: the metals or and argent, the furs ermine and vair, and thecolours azure, goules, sable, and less frequently, vert.1 In addition there are isolatedexamples of vermeil2 and purpre.3 This is the first attestation of vermeil in a roll ofarms, although it occurs often in earlier literary contexts. In AS and Cotgrove'sOrdinary of c. 1340 (hereafter called CG),4 this tincture is restricted to a chapletof roses. Purpre (which is never used for the field) is unusual in medieval blazon.5

The lion of Lacy and the Malemeis bend are consistently purpre,^ and all otherexamples are for eagles and lions.7 This indicates that purpre is not simply asynonym of azure, but a distinctive tincture with a consistent and restricted use.There is no trace in AS of the numerous thirteenth-century synonyms for tinctures:blanc, jaune, indejpersjbleuf, rouge] sinople, and noirfi

Some modern heralds do not repeat a tincture, preferring to substitute anexpression such as 'of the same' or 'of the first' and so on. The earliest attestationof this type of phrase is in AS 237: Mons Herry Hertlington port d'argent a unlion de goules corone* de li mesmes.

A divider designates a field divided into equal parts of a metal and a colour. Itslinguistic structure is a phrase consisting of a past participle (the divider proper)plus the two tinctures. A good example is in AS 104: Le sire O. de Ingham portparti d'or et de vert a un croiz recercele' de goules. We find this traditional patternin AS with the dividers parti, endente (party indented), quartere, quartere endente,burele, chequere, and vaire.

What is more important in the AS herald's blazon is a greatly increased tendencyto specify the number of elements in a divided field, as in AS 98: Le sire de Bray

1 Unlike several continental rolls, there is little Grimaldi's Roll (Grimaldi ed.); ST = Stirlingconfusion in AS between vair (veirjver) and vert, Roll; WNS = Sir William le Neve's Second Rollalways spelled with a /. (Society of Antiquaries MS. 664, vol. i, fols. 25 -

2 AS 18, 187 and 188. 26V). Approximate dates are as follows: MP—3 AS 5, 299 and 372. 1244; 6—1253; C—1275; FW—1275;* Reference letters for rolls cited here are those D—1280; G—1282; H—1298; K—1300;

listed by Wagner in CEMRA, p. 176. B = Glover's M—1300; ST—1304; LMS—1310; N—1312;Roll (London ed.); C = Walford's Roll (London O—1322; WNS—1325; CG—1340; P—1350.ed.); CG = Cotgrave's Ordinary (Nicolas ed.); 5 See C. R. Humphery-Smith, 'Purpure', TheD = Camden Roll (Greenstreet ed.); FW = Coat of Arms, iv (1956-7), 19-20, and Brault,Heralds Roll (Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum Early Blazon, p. 263.MS. 297); G = Segar Roll (Greenstreet ed.); 6 L a c y : p w 593, G 33, H 1, K 1, WNS 15,H = Falkirk Roll (Greenstreet ed.); K = Caer- N 4, and P 49; Malemeis: M 46, N 296, AS 372,laverock Poem (Nicolas ed.); LMS = Lord CG 80 and 352.Marshal's Roll Old, Part II (London, Society of 7 MP. II 72, B. I 6 ( = II. B 4), M 64, ST 69,Antiquaries MS. 664, vol. i, fols. 2o-2ov); M = N 750, 999, 1024, 1078; O 180, AS 5, 299;Nativity Roll (Greenstreet ed.); MP = Matthew CG 80 and 352.Paris shields (Tremlett ed. in Aspilogia ii, pp. 8 These terms tend to appear in literary heraldry1-86); N = Parliamentary Roll (Nicolas ed.); rather than in rolls of arms (see Early Blazon,O = Boroughbridge Roll (Greenstreet ed.); P = passim).

78 THE ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

port bane de sis peces cT azure et £ argent. This more precise pattern is unusual inearlier fourteenth-century rolls,1 but in AS with the dividers bende, barre, pale,onde, dance, and gerone the number of elements is specified in four out of every fivepossible cases. One of the significant characteristics of the Ashmolean blazon isthis marked effort to achieve greater precision. It is as foreign to thirteenth-centuryblazon as it has been familiar since the Ashmolean Roll.2

It is noteworthy that the AS herald further reduces the number of divided fieldsby transforming a traditionally barry field into two or three bars. This too is indica-tive of the movement towards greater precision in blazon. It occurs during a periodwhen features which had been indifferent or variable (such as the number of stripesin a striped field) are becoming distinctive, thus calling for more exactitude on thepart of the herald.

In thirteenth-century heraldry a multiple charge powdered on the field is usuallyblazoned simply with a past participle, for example, croisele d''argent. The numberof crosses is unspecified, and varies according to the area to be powdered, but it isusually six (three, two, and one) if the entire field is charged. The AS herald usesbillete, croisele, and besante traditionally, adding a new term pomele in preferenceto besante for roundels, regardless of tincture.3 But in a few cases the number isspecified, the herald blazoning the semy as he would any charge: a sis croiselezd'argent. In other cases we find the termpoudre de followed by the charge, as in someearlier rolls (Walford for example), but there is no trace of the continental Frenchexpression seme de . . A

When the multiple charge is in orle the AS herald blazons simply orle de merlez,or whatever the charge may be.5 Such a charge was usually blazoned bordure de . . .in the thirteenth century. The term orle was generally restricted to describing abordure in earlier blazon, but there is no trace of orle with this meaning after 1300.

Turning now to the principal charges, one must remark that in blazon there isno structural distinction between an ordinary and a charge—one uses simply anoun (or a noun phrase) in both cases. With the tendency towards more compli-cated and more precise coats of arms in the fourteenth century there is a concomi-tant increase in the number of charge terms, and even more important, an expansionof the charge term into a phrase which may attain considerable length.

The principal separator used is a, with almost no use of od or et. In this respectthen AS is quite different from the Parliamentary Roll (in which et predominates),but similar to the thirteenth-century Glover's Roll (B.III) and Walford's Roll (C).The principal charge is usually blazoned before any secondary charges, and also

1 From 1300 (Galloway Roll) to 1334 (Second with the meaning 'botonny' in describing the crossDunstable Roll) the number of'pieces'is announced of Tonlouse (une fausse crois . • . pommeli).little more than 10 per cent of the time. 4 Semi de . . . (or a . . . seme") is used in both the

2 Brault cites ten examples, of which half occur continental rolls, Bigot and Chifflet-Prinet, butin a literary context. The earliest of the five there are only a few scattered examples in Anglo-examples from rolls of arms is 1300 (Chifflet— Norman rolls (see Early Blazon, s.v. seme").Prinet Roll ly.fessii de . . . et de . . . a 6 pieces). 5 Orle de . . . occurs for the first time with thisThe other four are from later versions of thirteenth- meaning c. 1255 in B.II 23 and 186, but it doescentury rolls (C.II.B 9, H.II 16, 36, and 60). not reappear until the Boroughbridge Roll (1322).

3 Pommeli occurs earlier in ChifHet-Prinet 131

THE ASHMOLEAN ROLL OF ARMS 79

before a semy, as in AS 174: Monsire de Saltmaries port d'argent a troiz setfoilesde goules croisele' de goules (cf. AS 182).

The traditional ordinaries appear in AS: fes, barres, bende or baston, chef, estaches'pales', croiz, sautour, escuson, bordure, label, and frete. Many of these have modi-fications, a few of which give rise to new descriptive terms. For fusils conjoined infess, in addition to the traditional fesse engrelee, we now find fesse fuselee, a neolo-gism.1 In both cases the number of lozenges is specified. Along with dance, 'fessdancetty', we find the new diminutive dancelet. Two new bend terms occur in AS:bende losengee 'fusils conjoined in bend' and bende bataillee 'crenelated bend'(compare Modern French bende bastillee). Estache for a pale/pile is also a new term.2

It is in the early fourteenth century that the fretty field begins to be drawn asa fret. The linguistic parallel to this change is the switch from, frett to a une frete,which first occurs in the Galloway Roll (1300) and predominates by the time of theCotgrave Ordinary (c. 1340). The AS herald, however, prefers the old style, asin 334: Monsire de Sandeby port d'argent frette d'azure. This is one case whereAS does not indicate the trend of contemporary blazon, nor does the Carlisle Roll(1334) in which frete does not appear at all.

Normally fourteenth-century heralds blazon plain crosses simply as crois, butin AS we find crois passant in six out of seven examples.3 Similarly the mill-rindcross, traditionally termed fer de moulin, is here blazoned crois recercelee in fourout of six examples.4 The AS herald blazons the cross floretty as crois ou les boutzflenretes {crois fleuretee is equally frequent in contemporary blazon). The crosspatonce is crois patee and fusils conjoined in cross are called a crois engrelee. Finally,there is one example of the cross of Toulouse borne by John de Melton and termedcrois patee percee boutonee.

Before going on to other principal charges, it should be noted that one findsconsiderably more ordinaries charged in the fourteenth century than in thethirteenth, just as the ordinary more often separates a multiple charge. Thelinguistic problem posed by this increased combination of charge and ordinary willbe discussed below.

Most of the principal charges are as traditional as the knights who bear them.The most frequent is the lion, with its many possible modifications, originallydecorative, but which have now become distinctive. The lion may be fork-tailed,crowned, collared, armed, and he may hold a battle-axe. There is occasionallya charge on the lion, usually at the shoulder or else semy. His attitude is rampant,unless specified as passant, but we find in AS the first written example of the lionsaliant in 318: Monsire de Sturmy port de sable a un lion sailant d'argent. (Thelion saliant, of course, is the jumping lion, which is depicted with both hind legson the ground.) AS is also the first roll in which the blazon specifies that the lion

1 The AS herald is traditional in avoiding the 2 Estachli de . . . et de . . . occurs in thirteenth-use of endente" with any ordinary consisting of century continental heraldry, cf. Early Blazon.conjoined lozenges. The Parliamentary Roll is an 3 Walford's Roll, the Nativity Roll, and theunreliable guide—it is the only medieval roll which Raine-Dunn Roll are the only other medieval rollsconsistently violates this tradition, with some four- in which this term occurs,teen examples of fesse endentee. 4 Crois recercelee is used earlier in C 160 and 177.

80 THE ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

is armed: ongle et arme.1 The AS herald expands the traditional epithet corone intothe phrase charge d'une corone on two occasions, while in describing a tail forkedand crossed in saltire, he uses the term noue, the entire phrase being lion rampant. . . od la cowe noue (AS 19). The blazon of the lion holding a battle-axe (for theKing of Norway) is un lion ram-pant. . . a un hache ireis entre ses pedz (AS 17). Itseems curious that the battle-axe of Norway should be called ireis 'Irish'. This termdoes not appear in any other roll except Thomas Jenyns' Roll 4 (which is an exactcopy of AS 17); although three battle-axes are called daneys in the ParliamentaryRoll (N 969) and the Carlisle Roll (CA 183), neither entry is for Norway.

Other animals in AS are the leopard, the griffin, the greyhound, and the pike-fish of Lucy. The leopard is usually assumed to be passant, but in AS the attitudeis specified: lipardes passantz.2 The only new animal charges are the bull: torel,and the hedgehogs: herisons (canting arms for J. Heriz).

The heraldic eagle is displayed, but earlier heralds do not ordinarily mentionthis feature.3 In AS we find seven examples of egle espanie, with the further speci-fication that the bird is membered, the latter indicated by adding bek et pedz degoules after eagle and griffin entries (just as the herald adds ungle et arme after lionentries).

There are some new terms in AS for birds in a multiple charge. Eaglets aretermed eglenceux, probably by analogy with lion/lionceaus,* while a similar diminutivesuffix occurs in heronceux (canting arms of Heron). For ravens the AS herald usesthe term cornils, along with the traditional corbins.5

A semy of roundels is either besante (twice) or pomele (four cases). As we mightexpect, however, the AS herald prefers to specify the number, dropping the pastparticiple for the substantive form. It is surprising that the noun he chooses forroundels is pelotz (fifteen examples), avoiding the customary besanz and othercontemporary synonyms (gastel, maille, rondel, rouele, tourtel, etc.). In any case thetincture of roundels is always specified. Although pelotz is not new with AS, itdoes occur more often here than in all other thirteenth- and fourteenth-centuryrolls combined.

The same tendency is apparent with crosslets—AS frequently has croiseletz,specifying the number, whereas simply croisele predominates in other rolls. Theparticular type of cross-let is not usually blazoned in medieval rolls, but the crosslet

1 There are a few earlier examples of an eagle espany) and 3 {egle desplaye).armed: B 204, beke et les pees; LMS 1, bek et 4 Eglencel is not mentioned in the standard Oldjambes; WNS 81, 82, 98, enarme. French dictionaries (Godefroy, Tobler-Lom-

2 Denholm-Young draws attention to the matzsch, REW, FEW). The diminutives of aigle'peculiarity' of the spelling lipard for lupard in AS in Modern French blazon are aiglon, aiglet, andas proof of a poor copyist {Country Gentry, p. 98, n.). alglette (d'Haucourt-Durivault, Le Blason (Paris,This is inaccurate, since lipard occurs regularly in 1949), p. 82).the Boroughbridge and Carlisle Rolls, whereas 5 OF comille, from CL CORNICULA {FEW,lupard appears only in the Parliamentary Roll, ii, 1190). Brault cites an example of corneille inwhich should not be used as a reliable guide to Cleomadis, see Early Blazon, p. 150. Corbinsfourteenth-century blazon. The most frequent appear earlier in D 62, H 27, N 938 and 939, andspelling is as in modern English. WNS 78.

3 The only exception is in C.I.A I and 68 (egle

THE ASHMOLEAN ROLL OF ARMS 81

is ordinarily drawn crossed, botonny, and often fitchy. In AS there is no precisionabout the crosslets in nineteen cases, but they are called Jiche five times, while thereare solitary examples of the new expressions croisele . . . pe agou 'fitchy', croiseletz lesboutz jumelz 'crossed', croisele botone 'botonny', and croisettes pates and croiz pates'crosslets patonce'.1 Only the last two are distinctive crosslets.

Among the less frequent charges there are some new terms. The shields ofPortugal are called targetz assises (AS 10), while the Fleming cushions (AS 89)appear for the first time as oreillers. We also find pygotz 'pick axes' (AS 356) ascanting arms for Pigot.2

After the list of sovereigns there is a curious entry for the Senator of Rome:port de goules a cynk letres d'or, c'est assavoir S.P. Q-R- et il les port enbelif en ses armes,que signifient Signatus populus que Romanus. I know of only one other example ofthis coat—in the late fourteenth-century Libro del Conoscimiento, where it is paintedGules, in bend a crosslet patonce and the letters SPQR or.3 Perhaps the AS heraldis thinking of the crosslet (which he omits) when he states that there are five letters.Note also his substitution of signatus for senatus. This is the earliest example ofletters borne on a coat of arms.

Mascle alone signifies 'lozenge' in medieval heraldry, and it is so used in AS.4

In addition, however, we find mascles voides 'mascles, voided lozenges' for the firsttime in AS 255 (Roger de Saint Andreu). At the turn of the century Anglo-Normanblazon was clear in this respect—the lozengy field was mascle de . . . et de . . .,lozenges were mascles^ while voided lozenges were specified as such by an epithet(perce or fause).5 The herald of the Parliamentary Roll distinguished full fromvoided lozenges by introducing losenge alone for all examples of voided lozenge, butthere is no evidence that this innovation was accepted by other heralds. The termmascle disappears altogether after AS, being replaced in Cotgrave's Ordinary andGrimaldi's Roll by losenge or fusele 'lozenge'. Only in the late fifteenth century willmascle reappear, but with the new meaning 'voided lozenge'.

The simplicity of the earliest medieval heraldry disappears gradually in thefourteenth century. In earlier rolls the ordinary (or principal charge) is often theonly element to be blazoned. When there is an ordinary, it is charged less than10 per cent of the time. Between 1300 and 1350, on the contrary, roughly threein five of the ordinaries are either charged or separate a multiple charge. It is

1 Fiche" first appears in all three of the rolls versions of Glover's Roll. In medieval rolls mascleblazoned c. 1334 (Carlisle, Second Dunstable, and is used to blazon the lozenges of Croupes, Rivers,AS). Botone and pate" had been applied to crosslets Guise, Gorges, Fleming, Charles, Frevill, andbefore this time, the former in WNS and the Withacre, none of which is voided.latter in N. 5 There are few exceptions, and they are of

2 Compare CG 359: pieces. doubtful authenticity. The lozenges of Kent are3 Ed. by Marcos Jimenez de la Espada (Madrid, called losenges in B.III 21 (but not in any other

1877). The entry for Rome is N 25. version of Glover's Roll). The seven mascles of• Mascle appears twice in B.III.B 8 and 21. William de Ferrers are blazoned losengez in H. I.

In no. 21 it describes the lozenges of Kent (Burgh), B 61 (but losenges persees in the older Wrest Parkbut in no. 8 mascles refers to the voided lozenges of version), while in B.III.B 8 the WinchesterWinchester. I believe that the latter blazon may be mascles are incorrectly called mascles (see n. 34).spurious, since it does not appear in any of the other

82 THE ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

essential to know the relationship between the various elements, and in many waysthis was the most difficult linguistic task which presented itself to the herald.

There are five solutions to the problem. One can blazon each of the elements inthe arms, specifying the location by means of a locution (en la betide, en le chef,etc.). This method is preferred in every fourteenth-century roll except the Parlia-mentary Roll, in which the herald uses a positioning phrase of the type fesse etmerloz, crois ou molez. This second solution is unsatisfactory in some cases, sincethe preposition linking the two elements gives no indication whether the ordinaryis charged or separates a multiple charge. The locution and the positioning phraseaccount for 85 per cent of the charged ordinaries.

Occasionally the herald simply lists the elements without linking them in anykind of phrase, relying on the order of items alone to indicate the position of thecharge. This method is, of course, no more precise than the positioning phrase.1

The fourth solution is to indicate the charge by means of a past participle; forexample, a une bordure d'azure besantee d'or. Although in this example the tincturesindicate that the bordure is probably charged, this is not necessarily so, becausethere is a lack of consistency in the order of items in medieval blazon, and theroundels could be on the field.

The final method is to indicate a charge by reference to another coat of arms,using the formula armes plus a proper name. For example, a une bende des armes deFrance. This is quite clear and precise as long as the arms referred to are wellknown, but it is generally restricted to marshalled arms.

In AS we find all five solutions employed, with the emphasis on the first two(55 per cent and 25 per cent respectively). It should be noted that once again, theParliamentary Roll is a bad guide to contemporary blazon, giving undue attentionto the positioning phrase and the participle, hence creating more than the usualconfusion in the position of the charges.

What is noteworthy in positioning in AS is a tendency to develop the traditionallocution (such as en le chef, en la fesse, en la crois) into a more precise term, as may beseen from the following examples:AS 132: a un baston ... en le goules (i.e. in the first and fourth quarters of a quarterly

field).AS 112: a un baston . . . parmi le goules (idem).AS 327: a un buche ...en le point myluyeu (a water bag in the centre of a fess engrailed).AS 21: a cressant. . . sur le pis de Pegles (a crescent on the eagle's breast).AS 311: a un eschun (sic) . . . en la jointure de sautour (an escutcheon on the joint of

the saltire).AS 361: a un escuson . . . en mylieue (an escutcheon in the middle of the field).AS 179: a un fes. . . sur le lion sailement (a fess on the lion only).AS 181 and 454: a un flure de liz . . . sor Pespaule de lion (a lion shouldering a fleur de lis).AS 120: a un losenge en le point de la bende (a lozenge-escutcheon on the upper part

of the bend, i.e. in dexter chief).1 One can often ascertain the position of a charge by application of the rule against placing metal on

metal or tincture on tincture.

THE ASHMOLEAN ROLL OF ARMS 83

AS 262: a un molet. . . en le point devant (in dexter chief, above a fess).

AS 439: a un molet. . . en la point de la bende (on the bend in dexter chief).

AS 355: a un molet. . . milieu la cro'vz. (on the cross at the junction of the arms).

No slave to the conventions of traditional formulae, the AS herald tries to clarifythe position of a charge when he deems it necessary to avoid confusion. For amultiple charge counter-changed, he uses the traditional phrase de Vun en I'autre(three examples).1

Each roll has its particular style, created by the peculiarities and preferences ofthe individual herald. The most striking stylistic trait in AS is doubtless thefrequency of the formula armes plus a proper name. This system of reference firstoccurs in the Great Roll (c. 1312) and appears in every subsequent work, but neverat a rate higher than 6 per cent except in AS, where it is employed in 12 per centof the entries.

This armes . . . phrase normally refers to a coat of arms well known to all, that ofthe King of France, for example. In many other cases, the AS herald refers to aless well-known coat, but one which is mentioned earlier in the roll; it is thus theequivalent of 'see above' or supra. There are a few cases, however, where the armes. . . formula is rather obscure, reference being made to a little-known coat of armswhich does not appear elsewhere in the roll.

The armes reference has basically two different uses. It usually indicates a basiccoat of arms, to which the herald adds a difference or other distinctive feature forthe armiger in question. In other cases, however, the armes . . . phrase indicatesarms which are marshalled on an ordinary.

In the fourteenth-century rolls such marshalling occurs on an escutcheon, bend,bordure, label, quarter, or chief.2 The practice of marshalling arms by quarteringwas in use at this time, but it was perhaps only for convenience or display, sincethere is no trace in the rolls of this practice for an Englishman.3

Another reference used by medieval heralds in order to avoid repetition ismesmes les armes, referring to the preceding entry. A new type of reference to thepreceding entry is le revers, i.e. the same arms with the tinctures reversed; thisexpression first appears in AS, where it is used eleven times.

Having examined in detail the blazon in AS, it is now time to evaluate the placeof this roll in the development of Anglo-Norman blazon and to sum up the par-ticular stylistic traits characteristic of the AS herald.

The author of this roll was clearly a professional working in the mainstream ofheraldic activity in the early years of the reign of Edward III. His close contactswith traditional blazon have been noted in several ways. There is a restricted useof tincture terms and dividers, while the traditional ordinaries and charges areretained along with their many modifications. Endente is not used in describing

1 See Brault, 'Ancien francais de Pun en Pautri, in fourteenth-century Anglo-Norman rolls includeRomania, lxxxviii (1967), 84—91. the Kings of Spain, Sicily, Cyprus, Bohemia,

2 There are no examples of arms marshalled on the Duke of Burgundy, Wolfrod/Gistelles, anda fess in this period. Montagu.

3 Foreigners with arms marshalled by quartering

84 THE ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL

an ordinary of conjoined lozenges. A multiple charge is positioned on an ordinaryby means of a locution, or (less frequently) by a positioning phrase. De I'un enVautre continues to designate a multiple charge counter-changed. In AS, orle de ...(which first occurs in 1322) is regularly used.

There are no clear indications of archaic blazon in AS, but we have noted twoconservative aspects. AS is the last roll in which mascle describes a lozenge. It isalso the last roll in which the traditional frete is preferred to a une frete. Thesedetails are minimal, however, compared with the considerable number of innovationsin this role.

A few charges occur for the first time in AS: bende bataillee, lion saillant, herisons,picots, and letres en belif. Other aspects of blazon described earliest in AS are thelion ungle et arme, the tincture vermeil and the tincture reference phrase de li mesmes.

We have also seen that there are a number of new terms and phrases describingtraditional charges:pomele,fessefuselee, bende losengee, estache, dancelet, a lionfleurete(shouldering a fleur de lis), a lion ou la coue nouee, a lion holding une hache ireise,an eagle espanie, and armed (bek et pedz). In addition there are eglenceux, cornils,heronceux, targetz, oreillers, mascles voides, and crosslets fiche or with pe agu. Lerevers is a new reference term to the preceding entry.

But more important than the list of new terms appearing in AS is the recognitionof significant new trends. The AS herald is the first to give considerable attentionto specifying the number of elements in a striped field, the number of lozengesconjoined, or the number in a multiple charge. He tends regularly to expanddescriptive phrases and positioning locutions whenever there is any doubt about theprecision of the traditional formula. This is also the first roll in which considerableuse is made of the reference formula armes plus a proper noun.

It is hoped that this study has pointed out the particular character and value ofthe Ashmolean Roll of Arms, and will serve in a small way to make up for the lackof attention it has received from scholars. It is an important document, of whichI am preparing a critical edition. The Ashmolean Roll is the best indication wehave of the new directions taken in Anglo-Norman blazon in the early years of thereign of Edward III.

SUMMARY

In the fourteenth century coats of arms become increasingly complex, thus rendering more difficult thetask of expressing concisely and clearly the relationships between the elements in a blazon. The authorof the Ashmolean Roll {compiled c. 1334) is a professional herald. Faithful to traditional conventions,he is nevertheless innovative in his effort to respond to the need for greater clarity by expansion andadaptation of the linguistic structures of his trade. The well-known Parliamentary Roll is shown tobe less reliable than the unpublished Ashmolean Roll as an indicator of trends in early fourteenth-century blazon.