Tombs and Heraldry in the Angevin Dynasty

Hosted by Maria Carriere and Rose Rugendorf

Tomb effigy of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury (d. 1226) in Salisbury Cathedral (uncredited photograph)

In this podcast, Maria Carriere and Rose Rugendorf introduce us to the  tombs of two members of the Angevin dynasty, Count Geoffrey V the Fair of Anjou (d. 1151) and William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury. (d. 1226)  They discuss the significance of their tombs, and their survival, and what we can learn from the heraldic decoration –most notably the patterned lions or lioncels– that appear on both men's shields. You can consult high quality images of the tombs as they look today: Geoffrey V in Le Mans cathedral (credit: Wikimedia Commons) and William Longespée in Salisbury Cathedral (credit: Wikimedia Commons) . 

Bibliography: 

Amt, Emilie. "Ela Longespée's Roll of Benefits: Piety and Reciprocity in The Thirteenth Century," Traditio 64 (2009), 1-56. 

Brown, Elizabeth A.R., "The Oxford Collection of the Drawings of Roger de Gaignières and the Royal Tombs of Saint-Denis," Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 78:5 (1988), 1-74. 

Christophe, Delphine A.R., "La plaque de Geoffroy Planatenêt dans la cathédrale du Mans," Hortus Artium Medievalium 10 (2005), 75-80. 

Dressler, Rachel, "Cross-Legged Knights and Signification in English Medieval Tomb Sculpture," Studies in Iconography 21 (2000), 91-121. 

Fox, Paul A., "Crusading Families and the Spread of Heraldry," The Coat of Arms 3, 8.2 (2012),  59-84. 

Taburet-Delahaye, Elisabeth, "Effigy of Geoffrey Plantagenet," in Enamels of Limoges, 1100-1350. Edited by John P. O'Neill. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996)