172 DUFFIELD CASTLE. 



figure of a human body, with the four members and a point 

 representing the head ; a human figure head downwards naturally 

 represents the demon, that is, intellectual subversion and folly, 

 etc."* 



Surely when the Norman mason placed the stone bearing this 

 mark in the foundations of Duffield Castle, he must have blundered 

 and reversed it ; hence the upheaval of the Castle, and the ruin of 

 the Ferrers ! 



VIII. — Traces of the Castle Occupants. 



The iron details of Norman date found within the keep, or in its 



immediate vicinity, are 

 numerous and varied. 

 There is a considerable 

 supply of nails of varying 

 kinds, from the short, 

 square - headed clout 

 nails used for the 

 strengthening the stout oak of outer doors or gates for defensive 

 purposes, to the ordinary spike nail of different sizes. There are 

 also several hinges, some from doors, and others that have been 

 used for the shutters to windows or window openings. One of 

 the most interesting iron relics is a Norman spur, of which an 

 illustration is here given, about a third of the true size. The 

 rowel spur did not come in till a later date. The Anglo-Saxon 

 spur was a goad or prick spur like this, but the goad was 

 closer to the spur itself, and not separated, as in this example, by 

 a long neck. In the Norman spur the point is like a spear head, 

 though thick and pyramidal ; the Roman spur was also somewhat 

 of this character, but more like an obtuse spike or nail. The 

 Duffield spur closely resembles those shown on the Bayeux 

 tapestry as worn by the Norman Knights. 



* The Mysteries of Magic, by Arthur Edward Waite (1886), pp. 136-7. 



