ed from the reign of Richard II. to James
I.; and even the brief notice here given would enable the reader to
determine the date of any building if the royal arms and supporters
were placed within it.

Heraldry had taken too firm a hold of the minds of the higher classes
of society to escape the notice of the architects who were engaged by
the sovereigns of England and by the wealthy barons, to erect those
splendid ecclesiastical edifices that still exist as the architectural
gems of Britain. Westminster Abbey teems with heraldic ornament, not
only in the gorgeous chapel of Henry VII., but in those parts of the
structure erected at a much earlier period. During the time when
those styles of Gothic architecture prevailed that are now called the
decorated and the perpendicular, the roof, the columns, the stained
glass windows, the seats, altar, tombs, and even the flooring, were
filled with emblazonment. A branch of art which our forefathers found
so useful as an ornament to architecture cannot be beneath the notice
of those who are desirous of treading in their footsteps.

Nor was heraldic ornament confined to architecture. It formed the
grand embellishment of the interior of the palaces and baronial
castles,

"The gorgeous halls which were on every side,
With rich array and costly arras dight."

The canopies of state, the furniture and plate, were all emblazoned
with the arms of the royal and noble owners. And even at the present
day, heraldry is far more effective for interior decoration than the
unmeaning Italian scroll-work that is substituted for it. Some idea of
the value of both may be formed by glancing at the interior decoration
of the new Royal Exchange; and it is to be regretted that the shields
containing the arms of the different countries should not have
occupied the walls, as an indication of the spot where the natives
of those countries might be found; and that the compartments of the
ceiling, if such ornament should be found in a building of this
kind at all, should not be filled with the Italian floral scroll
decoration.

In a preceding chapter of this Manual, the reader has been informed
that the arms of a knight were emblazoned on the surcoat or outer
garment that was worn over his armour, which was the origin of the
term Coat of Arms. Heraldic emblazonment was plentifully strewed over
the mantles of the nobility when they assembled on state solemnities.
Nor was this ornament confined to th