Of Armor and Men in Medieval England The Chivalric Rhetoric of Three English Knights' Effigies

The book centers on three specific effigies: Robert I de Vere (Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex), a high-ranking aristocrat; Richard Gyvernay (Limington, Somerset), a lesser county knight; and Henry Allard (Winchelsea, Sussex), from a merchant family with questionable knightly status. Despite their similar appearances—chain mail, surcoats, shields, swords, and distinctive crossed legs with an aggressive sword-handling pose—these figures represent men of vastly different social ranks. Dressler argues that the effigies employ a visual rhetoric of chivalry, emphasizing fighting prowess, elite status, and sexual virility, but often mask the reality of the men’s lives, which didn’t always align with this ideal.