John,
I think that may be a variant of a US usage. At least at Gettysburg, a
horse with one leg raised means the rider was wounded; two means he
- the rider - died on the field.
Tom Izbicki
On Fri, 3 Dec 1999, John Carmi Parsons wrote:
> Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 12:03:44 -0500
> From: John Carmi Parsons <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> To: Anna Sander <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: effigies
>
> There's also an old canard that it's possible to tell from an equestrian
> statue whether its rider was ever wounded in battle: if the horse has one
> leg raised the rider was wounded once, two legs he was wounded more than once,
> three legs he died in battle. Pure nonsense; the simple fact is that a statue
> of a horse with all four legs on the ground is static and boring so at least
> one leg is always shown raised. Similarly it used to be thought that knightly
> effigies with crossed legs represented crusaders but this has now been
> discounted as antiquarian imagination. So I'd have reservations about whether
> animals could represent crusading status any more than they represent battle
> scars.
>
> John P.
>
>
> On Fri, 3 Dec 1999, Anna Sander wrote:
>
> > Dear Jim,
> >
> > The consensus from the DPhil workroom here is that a dog under the feet
> > of a knight's tomb effigy means he died at home, and a lion means he
> > died on the Crusades. (!) The consensus is also that there isn't a
> > documented meaning, which means that this is a guess. A dog under the
> > feet of somebody's wife's effigy, however, indicates fidelity, as per
> > another answer.
> >
> > Anna Sander
> > Centre for Medieval Studies, York
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Jim Kerbaugh wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Listmembers,
> > >
> > > Last week I led a group of American undergraduates on a tour of
> > > cathedrals & castles in the UK. At Salisbury, one of my students
> > > asked if the dog at the feet of knights on tomb effigies meant
> > > anything. Being <indifferent honest,> I said yes, but I've forgotten
> > > what. I've been searching my bookshelves all week without any luck,
> > > so I'd be eternally grateful for the information. I solemnly promise
> > > not to forget again.
> > >
> > > Desperately yours,
> > > Jim Kerbaugh
>
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