The Divergent Mermaid: Personal Heraldic Surcote by THL Isolda Fairamay Completed May 2020 Part 2 of 4

*Please note sources are listed at the bottom of Part 4 of this project*

The Importance of Books of Hours in Relation to Heraldry and Women:

Before I continue on to present the inspiration and design of my own heraldic surcote I must first talk about a particularly important exhibition of heraldry for women in the Middle Ages: the book of hours. The most popular devotional manuscript by the beginning of the 14th century was the book of hours. (Hand, 2013). On the surface, books of hours were pretty little books of prayers, but they meant so much more to women beyond that. Books of hours for noble women provided avenues for religious and political declaration, as well as genealogical lineage and heritage whereby the inclusion of heraldry would be of the utmost importance. (Hand, 2013) During a time that appeared to belong mostly to men, the commission of books of hours specifically for women significantly added to their cultural and spiritual contribution to society. (Hand, 2013) Books of hours were often commissioned as gifts for women upon significant occasions, such as marriage, and served to solidify family alliances. (Hand, 2013). It is important to note that women even commissioned these prayer books for their own keeping, which would serve to record the most important parts of themselves, such as personality, religious expression and personal missions. (Hand, 2013) Once a book of hours changed hands such as through inheritance or as a gift from mother to daughter, it served to propagate religious ideals and family heritage, but subsequent alterations that were frequently made also served to propagate issues that were not only religious, but secular in nature. (Hand, 2013). It is for all these reasons that I am most excited to share the inspiration for my heraldic surcote design.

My Personal Heraldic Surcote Inspiration:

I chose a beautiful depiction of a heraldic surcote worn by Isabella Stuart in The Hours of Isabella Stuart. It displays impaled heraldry on the skirt with what appears to be fur trim on the top.

Fig. 21 Folio 20r. The Hours of Isabella Stuart, France, Angers. C 1431. MS 62

Fig. 22 Closeup of Inspiration Garment.

How excited I was to learn about its history. According to the information from the Fitzwilliam Museum, The Hours of Isabella Stuart is a “highly personalized combination of images and texts. It was completed by 1431 for the learned and powerful Duchess of Anjou, Yolande of Aragon. Over the next three decades, the manuscript belonged to three other women and was continuously adapted to suit their devotional needs and dynastic aspirations.” (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

History of The Hours of Isabella Stuart:

Yolande of Aragon (1381-1442): The manuscript was originally ordered by Yolande of Aragon with a start date of sometime after the death of her husband, Louis II of Anjou in 1417, and produced by the group of artists known as “The Rohan Masters.” (The Fitzwilliam Museum) Yolande of Aragon appears in the manuscript in 3 of the miniatures in the act of praying. (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

Yolande of Anjou (1412-1440): The manuscript was completed in 1431 and likely given to Yolande of Aragon’s daughter, Yolande of Anjou, around the time of her marriage to the future Duke Francis I of Brittany. (The Fitzwilliam Museum) She was most likely the woman originally depicted in the heraldic surcote that is my inspiration in Folio 20r. (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

Isabella Stuart (1427- after 1494): After the death of Yolande of Anjou, the manuscript was adapted for the second wife of Francis I of Brittany, Isabella Stuart, at the time of their marriage in 1442. (The Fitzwilliam Museum) Her portrait was painted over the original image of Yolande of Anjou in Folio 20r by the Breton artists of Nantes and her arms were also added. (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

Margaret of Brittany (1443-1469): Margaret inherited the manuscript from her mother, Isabella. Images of Margaret were added to the manuscript around 1455 by the Breton artists of Nantes, marking her marriage to Francis II of Brittany. (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

The ancestry belonging to this manuscript adds a great amount of personal inspiration to this project in that this book of hours is a perfect example of the purpose of heraldry for female identification of status, propagation of personal ideals and the inheritance of such an important piece of penned and painted publication from woman to woman.

Dating of the Surcote Design Represented in the Illumination:

When it comes to the design of the surcote garment itself, there are considerations that affect the reliability of its portrayal in Isabella’s manuscript. In general, the date of a person’s death may appear on a monument, but the effigy itself may not have been created until years after the date of death; the clothing depicted therefore may have been designed after fashion of the present day and not the clothing of the person portrayed. (Piponnier et al, 1997) The clothing represented in manuscripts would not necessarily represent actual pieces of clothing as artists would often copy earlier images and then update them with inspired fashions of the day even if the persons depicted would not have worn those pieces. (Piponnier et al, 1997) The media itself may create limitations with respect to colour, size and method. (Piponnier et al, 1997) And finally, there is the aspect of artistic license; clothing may have been exaggerated and figures were not necessarily portrayed with realistic technique until the 14th century. (Piponnier et al, 1997)

We can see some evolution of the clothing depictions from the original patron in Folio 20r to Isabella in the headdress. Due to the use of different pigments, variations can be seen using near infrared imaging where it is clear that the original portrait depicted the kneeling woman with a large oval headdress but was later painted over to modify it to a small ducal coronet. (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

Closeup of Headdress Fig. 23

Near Infrared Imaging Fig. 24

Considering the fact that Isabella Stuart’s Book of Hours was a manuscript passed down through generations, and without an extant piece available, it is difficult to know whether or not this surcote existed and was worn by her. The artistic modifications from one generation to the next in manuscripts is reason enough to question the validity of clothing styles depicted in any one period. With that said, if I am to choose to believe in the existence of Isabella’s heraldic surcote, I need to take a leap of faith that the surcote styles seen in the effigy and manuscript art I have shared in this paper are depictions of the style at the time within reason and that these pieces could have existed, if only for ceremonial purposes.

Designing the Arms for My Heraldic Surcote:

Isabella herself was born in 1427, daughter of James I of Scotland and Lady Joan Beaufort, which is the origin of her familial coat of arms. (Harthan, 1997) Francis I of Brittany gains his arms from the Duchy of Brittany. (Harthan. 1997) As a result of her marriage to Francis I of Brittany, the arms of Isabella of Scotland, Duchess of Brittany, are the impalement of her family’s coat of arms with her husband’s family coat of arms. (Harthan, 1997)

Fig. 25 Royal Arms of Scotland, origin, King William the Lion who reined from 1165-1214: lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory gules

Fig. 26 The Coat of Arms of Brittany, origin 1318 as the emblem of the Duchy: ermine plain

Fig. 27 The Arms of Isabella of Scotland, Duchess of Brittany: a lion rampant gules within a tressure flory counter-flory

Fig. 28 Isabella Before the Virgin and Child, f. 20, The Hours of Isabella Stuart, Duchess of Brittany c. 1431. A reminder: The process for illustrating marriage on a female’s arms would show the husband’s arms on the dexter and the female’s arms (family arms) on the sinister. (Slater, 2003)

In the closeup of the manuscript page, one can clearly see Isabella’s arms on the surcote. In the manuscript, the lion’s paws almost seem to be cut off in the design which might lead one to believe that the arms have been dimidiated (split) in their marshalling. However, since most of the image is visible, I am guessing it has more to do with artistic licence than anything. If the arms were truly dimidiated the lion’s shape would be much more cut in half. Also, considering that the Fitzwilliam Museum, which holds this piece, lists the arms depicted as impaled, it’s safe to say that the arms are impaled. (The Fitzwilliam Museum)

In full disclosure, I originally interpreted Isabella’s arms as presented in dimidiation and even went through the process of designing the placement of arms on my surcote design as such:

Fig. 29 My bizarre creation! Honestly, I think it would have been glorious!

However, I sincerely wanted to create a heraldic surcote as authentically as possible so, interpreting Isabella’s arms as impaled on her surcote, my full arms would be placed on the dexter and Spurius’ full arms would be placed on the sinister.

Reminder:

Dexter: right (from the point of view of the shield bearer) (Slater, 2003, page 124)

Sinister: left (from the point of view of the shield bearer) (Slater, 2003, page 125)

Fig. 30 Spurius Genucius Rutilus Heraldry

Fig. 31 Isolda Fairamay Heraldry

Transposing the Arms to a Surcote Pattern Design:

Thankfully, I have a resourceful husband who was able to get his hands on a projector that I then used to blow up the images of our arms and trace onto a paper pattern of the garment. I then used parchment baking paper to trace out the shapes I would then use for applique. The fabric used for the applique pieces would be cut from the same cloth as the skirt itself in corresponding colours. I also used some iron-on stabilizer to reduce fraying.