King and knight - Dresses of ceremony for solemn occasions, particularly with persons in exalted stations, suffer fewer changes in the course of time, than those in common use. This picture represents a king of the latter end of the twelfth centry dressed in his robes of state; but we may probably take it as a good example of the regal costume during the 12th and 13th centuries. Both the figures on the plate are taken from MS Reg. 2 A XX. The dress of the king in this drawing bears a close resemblance to that presented in the monumental effigies of this period. He is clad in the long dalmatica (or tunic), and the royal mantle; the latter thrown back loosely on the shoulders, to exhibit the richness of the undergarment, with its jewelled collar and girdle. The dalmatica is here ornamented with fleurs-de-lys. The dress and armour of the knight underwent much more frequent variation than those of the king. This one exhibits all the characteristics of a warrior of the age of Richard I. and the crosses seem to show that he was a crusader. He is dressed in a coat and hood of mail; and wears over it a surcoat, probably of silk, ornamented with crosses.His legs are clad in the chausses, and the spur, a simple spike, is attached by a single strap of leather, and a buckle. Beneath the coat of mail, we see, over the chausses, the chausson, or breeches, an article of the knight's dress which is less frequently represented in the old pictures. Even the aillet on the knight's soulder has here the form of a cross. The helmet, which appears to be held by his armour-bearer, is also of that flat-topped cylindrical form which came into fashion in the reign of Richard I. The ventail, or aventaille, a moveable grating which protected the face in the hour of combat, is here represented as closed.