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'Pageant of the Birth, Life and Death of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick’
attributed to John Rous, c. 1485-90. British Library MS. Cotton Julius E IV
Plate XXXVII (p74) How Earl Richard besieged the town of Caen.
John Rous’ 'Pageant of the Birth, Life and Death of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick’ of c. 1485-90.
Cotton Julius E. IV, art. 6, f.19
Caption: Pageant XXXVII. Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, receives the surrender of Caen castle, 19 September 1417.
On the left, Warwick emerges from his tent to give orders to a gunner who is kneeling by a cannon.
Below, is an armed ship.
On the river bank three archers take aim with crossbows.
Title of Work: Beauchamp pageants
Shelfmark: Cotton Julius E. IV art.6
Place and date of production: S. Netherlands [Bruges?]; after 1483
Source: British Library Images Online
SIEGE OF ROUEN FROM THE BEAUCHAMP PSALTER (sic)
British Library, Cotton MS Julius E IV, f. 19
This scene from the pageant of the life of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick (1389–1439), produced in about 1485, shows the siege of Caen in 1418.
At the bottom right three crossbowmen, only wearing sallets and no other armor, are shooting from behind the protection of large shields, pavises, propped up on a single leg.
The ship at the bottom left is armed with artillery, and the walls of the city are being bombarded by a large breech-loading cannon.
The soldier behind the cannon is holding the powder chamber in his left hand.
Source: p.281, Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact by Kelly DeVries & Robert D. Smith (2007)
Next: How Earl Richard was at the Siege of Rouen.
Back to 'Pageant of the Birth, Life and Death of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick’ of c. 1485-90, attributed to John Rous. British Library MS. Cotton Julius E IV
A Crossbowman with Pavise in Armies of the Middle Ages, Volume 1 by Ian Heath, based on 'Pageant of the Birth, Life and Death of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick’ by John Rous