Apeil 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



83 



by adding together those letters ia the legend which have 

 a numeral significance. 



The first Englishman to appear on a medal was -John 

 Kendal, Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the Knights 



SS3>, 





a;-- 



-*«' 



'\' 



John Ivexdal, l-tSO. 



of St. John, Grand Prior of the Hospital in London, and 

 Turcopellier, or commander of the cavalry against the 

 Turks. The medal (Fig.l) is by an Italian hand, and 

 bears the date 1480. 



The medallic series, however, does not really begin 

 until the time of Henry VIH. Then we have a series of 

 contemporary portraits, as of Anne Boleyn, Thomas More 

 (No. 1), Thomas Cromwell, and Henry ^'IlI. himself 

 (after a portrait by Holbein). The portraits are powerful, 

 though often lacking in finish. They are usually cast, and, 

 in some cases, chased. Struck medals do not become 

 common until the seventeenth century. The fine portrait 

 of Michael Mercator, or Michael of Gueldres, who was 

 often in England on diplomatic business, can hardly be 

 called an English medal, as it was executed by himself ; 

 but it is illustrated (Fig. 2) in order to show the difference 

 between Dutch and English work at this time. It is of 

 silver, cast and chased. 



Besides the portrait medals, we have, in the reign of 

 Henry YIIL, one medal of historical importance, which 

 records Henry's title as Supreme Head of the Church : 

 FIDEI DEFENSOR ET IN TERR ECCLE. ANGLI. ET HIBE. 



SVB CHRIST. CAPVT SVPREMVM. The inscription is 

 repeated in Greek and Hebrew on the reverse. The medal 

 is dated l.oniUni, 1545, but the title had been confirmed by 

 Parliament in 1534. 



A somewhat similar triple inscription occurs on the first 

 of English coronation medals, recording the coronation of 

 Edward VI., on the 20th February, 1547. 



To the connection of England with Spain in the reign 

 of Mary are due a number of medals by -lacopo Trezzo, 

 an Italian, who worked at Madrid in the service of 

 Philip II. His style is well illustrated by a medal with 

 portraits of Philip and ilary. The piece here illustrated 

 (No. 2) is a small replica of a larger medal, and is of very 

 fine workmanship. 



With Elizabeth, we enter on the most interesting 

 century in the medallic history of England. The Italian 

 medallist is still en evidence — one of the finest pieces being 

 the portrait of 3Iary Queen of Scots by .Jacoj-O 

 Primavera (No. 6). But undoubtedly the most important 

 medals are those relating to the Spanish Armada, and 

 these are of English workmanship. 



They represent on the obverse the bust of the Queen in 

 very rich attire, with sceptre and orb, and the motto 



DITiOR IN TOTO NON ALTER CIRCVLUS ORBE. The field 



of some specimens is delicately ornamented with an 

 engraved floral design. On the reverse is an island, 

 on which stands a bay tree ; in the background a city. 

 Round the island a storm is raging, but, as the motto 

 says, NON IPSA PERICULA TANGVNT (No. 3). The medal 

 was cast and elaborately chased. The bay tree was 

 supposed not only to be incapable of suffering injury from 

 lightning, but also to provide immunity from various ills, 

 such as falling sickness and devils. Another variety of 

 this medal has on its reverse an ark riding quietly on the 

 stormy waves: SEVAS tranqvilla PER VNDAS, The 

 name of the English flagship on the occasion of the defeat 

 of the Armada was the lloi/al Ark. 



These medals both record the defeat of the Armada, but 

 the former is also signiScant of the fact that other dangers 

 were averted. "The Queen of Soots was dead; James 

 of Scotland had been conciliated ; the Duke of Guise was 

 dead, and France and the Vatican were batfled." It will 

 be noticed that these medals are made with a loop for 

 suspension, and a specimen in silver in the British Museum 

 has the original chain attached to it. In fact, there is 

 little doubt that these pieces, which were made in all 

 three metals, were distributed as rewards. We thus have 

 in them the prototype of our later war medals. 



The style of these pieces is clearly not equal to that of 

 the Italian or Dutch work of the time, but it nevertheless — 

 especially as seen in the elaborate decoration of the bust — 

 has a certain barbaric splendour. 



Among the portraits of the period, one of Mary Queen 

 of Scots, by the Italian Giacomo Primavera, has already 

 been mentioned. Most interesting are a series of portraits 

 by Stephen of Holland, who executed a considerable 

 number of private commissions when he was in England, 

 chiefly m the year 1562. The portrait of Maria Newce 



"K 





^v 



MicnAEL SIeecatoe, by himself. 



(No. 4), the wife of John Dymook, is characteristic of 

 Stephen's neat and tasteful style. 



The medals of the reign of James I. are of comparatively 

 small interest, with the exception of certain portraits and 

 one small medal (No. 5), of Dutch workmanship, which 

 commemorates the discovery of the " Gunpowder Plot." 

 On the obverse is a snake among lilies and roses : 

 DETECTVS QVI latVit so. On the reverse is the radiate 

 name of Jehovah within a crown of thorns, and the chrono- 

 grammatic motto : NON DorMItastI antIstes IaCobI. 

 The medal was struck in Holland by order of the Senate 

 (hence the letters s. C. Senatus consnlto, on the obverse). 



One of the finest portraits of men of the Jacobean age 

 is that of Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Oxford 

 University Library (No. 14). In this case the medal is 

 by a Frenchman, Jean Warin ; but as Warin was _born 



' Medallic Illustrations," I. jjl 154. 



