Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/254

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236
REMAINS OF SHOBDON OLD CHURCH.

border of Herefordshire, and I am told that they are found on other monuments on the borders of Wales.
No. 3. Figures of Welsh Knights, from Shobdon.
The late Mr. Gage Rokewode called attention to the singularity of these figures as represented in the sculptures at Kilpeck, in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries in 1842[1], and pointed out the remarkable character of the costume. In the figures at Kilpeck church, (built about 1135, and therefore contemporary with those at Shobdon,) the cap or helmet (a sort of Phrygian bonnet) is seen to more advantage than in those at Shobdon, from the circumstance of the heads being represented in profile. The rest of the dress is precisely the same, except that in the Shobdon figures it appears to be more ornamented, and that the knotted belts of the knights of Kilpeck are wanting. The two figures at Kilpeck are armed respectively with a sword and a kind of mace: one of those represented in our cut has a club, and the other Shobdon knights have similar weapons. The close vests, trousers, and shoes, are very peculiar to these figures, and of rare occurrence elsewhere. Mr. Rokewode points out some resemblance between this costume and that of the ancient Britons, as described by old writers, and as represented on some of the Roman coins of the Britannic type. The resemblance is perhaps rather imaginary than real. The third or inner pillar of the large arch at Shobdon is much larger than the others: the ornaments of the one on the right side, of which a

    form as his work on Kilpeck, and we heartily wish that he may obtain a sufficient number of subscribers to enable him to put his design in execution. In a few years, these remains may have fallen into a hopeless state of dilapidation. A good work on the architectural antiquities of the churches on the borders of Wales is much wanted.

  1. Printed in the Archæologia, vol. xxx. p. 62.