Denys brass, Olveston
Encyclopedia
The Denys monumental brass
in Olveston
Church, Gloucestershire, dates from 1505, and is one of only about 80 Monumental brasses of Gloucestershire
surviving today. It was erected following the death of Sir Walter Denys in 1505, and shows the latter together with his father Maurice Denys
, both Sheriffs of Gloucestershire. The Denys family were at various times lords of the manors
of Alveston
, Earthcott Green, Siston
and Dyrham
in Gloucestershire.
(of which he held the advowson) where the fer de moline of his canting arms is shown in the form of a cross moline). Bottom R (4th. Q): 1st:Denys; 2nd:Russell; 3rd:Gorges; 4th:prob.Danvers. Armorials repeated on tabard fronts and sleeves. Maurice Denys
the father to L in Dexter position of honour. Russell was his heiress-mother, Gorges a former Russell heiress. On the R. is Sir Walter Denys, the son, with the arms of his co-heiress 2nd. wife, Agnes Danvers, in the 4th. Q.
, over all a bend engrailled. With tinctures it becomes:Gules, 3 leopards' faces or jessant-de-lys
azure, over all a bend engrailled of the last.The Denys arms blazoned with these tinctures survive earliest in BL Add.MS 45131,f.54, a 1509 drawing of Hugh Denys of Osterley(d.1511) at the deathbed of Henry VII. The armourials are the arms of Cantilupe of Candleston Castle
, Glamorgan, probably granted as "arms of patronage" to their feudal officials or tenants the Denys's, differenced by the imposition of a bend engrailled, probably before 1258. Cantilupe arms, reversed for difference, are still borne as the official arms of the See of Hereford, http://www.herefordcathedral.org/ in honour of St. Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, canonised in 1320. The Denys arms are a rare ancient exception to the rule "no colour on colour or metal on metal" propounded by John Gibbon in his 1682 Introductio ad Latinam Blasoniam, in which he lists (pp.150-1) some exceptions, including Denys: "Now for my reader's diversion and delight I will insert what hath fallen under my observation". The Denys arms are also shown sculpted on the wings of the nearby Tudor mansion Siston Court, built by Sir Maurice Denys(d.1563), great-grandson of Maurice Denys(d.1466), yet there they have been altered to a neater composition, with the bend passing between the leopards' faces, and the latter composition was also adopted by the Denys family of Pucklechurch, lords of that manor until 1701.
Russell:(of Kingston Russell
, Dorset & Dyrham, Glos.)Sir Gilbert Denys
of Siston had married c. 1404,as his 2nd. wife, Margaret Russell, eldest da. and later co-heiress of Sir Maurice Russell
of Dyrham.Argent, on a chief gules 3 bezants. She was the mother of Maurice Denys.
(Bezants are Byzantine gold coins, thought to have been very popular with the Crusaders who plundered Constantinople in 1204, not having received the previously agreed funding from the Emperor.)
Gorges
(of Knighton, Isle of Wight; Wraxall, Somerset; Bradpole, Dorset). Sir Theobald I Russell(d.1341) of Kingston Russell, Dorset, grandfather of Sir Maurice Russell of Dyrham, had been the ward of Sir Ralph III de Gorges, 1st Baron Gorges(d.1324), and had been married-off by his warder to his 2nd. daughter Eleanor de Gorges. Eleanor's 3rd. son Theobald II Russell inherited from his uncle Ralph IV de Gorges(d.1331), 2nd. Baron, the former Gorges estates and changed his name to "Gorges", adopting their arms, apparently as part of the arrangement. The armorials of Gorges are of interest. They were originally canting arms of a Gurges, which is Latin for whirlpool, then c. 1300 were changed voluntarily to Lozengy, or and azure, in recognition of the de Morvilles, ancestors of the Gorges. Yet there was a celebrated dispute in 1347 (see Warbelton v. Gorges
) when these lozengy arms were claimed by John de Warbelton against Theobald II Russell "de Gorges" and a court of honour adjudged the arms to Warbelton. Instead of adopting completely new arms, Theobald merely added a red chevron as a difference, blazoned Lozengy or and azure, a chevron gules. These arms are known as "Gorges Modern". The Denys family should logically have quartered the undifferenced arms of their ancestor Ralph III de Gorges, not those of Theobald II Russell "de Gorges", their cousin, unless as appears to have been the case, it was customary to apply such heraldic judgements retrospectively.
Danvers(of Cothorpe, Oxon.)Maurice Denys's 2nd. wife, and Sir Walter's mother, was Agnes Danvers, co-heiress of Sir Robert Danvers(d.1467), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. The arms blazoned in the 4th. Q. on Sir Walter's tabard appear as A chevron between 3 roses, yet the arms given by Burkes 1884 for this family are quite different Argent, on a bend gules 3 martlets (house martens) vert legged or. The arms of Danvers of Warwick however are closer to those depicted here: Gules, a chevron between 3 mullets (stars) of 6 points or.
ConclusionThe brass is likely to have been erected well after the date of the interment, so if indeed there are errors on the part of the engraver, or in the instructions given him, it may have been felt acceptable to let the matter rest, rather than incur considerable expense in having it remade. On the other hand, if the arms are all correct, there are major lacunae in the literature and official records of Denys family history.
Her lyeth buryed in ye midde. of the quere (i.e. choir/chancel) Maurice Denys esquyer sonne and here of sir Gylbert Denys knyght lorde of the maner of Alveston & of the maner of Irdecote (i.e. Earthcott Green) & also sir walter Denys knyght sonne and here to the seid morys denys esquyer ye. whiche sir walter denys decessed the first day of the moneth of Septembre in the xxi yere of the reigne of kyng henry the vii (i.e. 1506) whose soules Jhesu pardon amen. All ye that this rede and see of yor. charitie seye for their soules a pater noster and an ave (i.e. Hail Mary).
On banner above
Miseremini mei miseremini nostri saltem vos filii et amici nostri quia manus domini tetigit nos. (Be ye all pitiful of me, be ye all pitiful of us, at the least ye our sons and friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched us)(Job 19:21, altered)
On banner from mouth of Maurice
Unicus et trinus bone jhesu sis nobis Jesus (One and Three o good Jesus, you are to us Jesus)
On banner from mouth of Sir Walter
In trinitate perfecta sit nobis requies et eterna vita(In the perfected Trinity may there become to us rest and eternal life)
Monumental brass
Monumental brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood...
in Olveston
Olveston
Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. Alveston became a separate parish in 1846...
Church, Gloucestershire, dates from 1505, and is one of only about 80 Monumental brasses of Gloucestershire
Monumental brasses of Gloucestershire
About 80 ancient monumental brasses survive in Gloucestershire, many in Cirencester Church. They may be divided into three categories: Ecclesiastical, Military and Civil. Many have been lost to theft over the ages. The first complete listing of brasses in Gloucestershire was made by Cecil T...
surviving today. It was erected following the death of Sir Walter Denys in 1505, and shows the latter together with his father Maurice Denys
Maurice Denys (Sheriff)
Maurice Denys, Esquire, was twice Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1460 and 1461. The Denys family were stated by Sir Robert Atkyns, the 18th.c...
, both Sheriffs of Gloucestershire. The Denys family were at various times lords of the manors
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Alveston
Alveston
Alveston is a commuter village of roughly 3000 people about south of Thornbury, South Gloucestershire and approximately north of Bristol, England. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur Eure, France. It has two hotels, a variety of small shops, several parks and fields, two churches and a...
, Earthcott Green, Siston
Siston
Siston is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England east of Bristol Castle, ancient centre of Bristol, recorded historically as Syston, Sistone, Syton, Sytone and Systun etc. The village lies at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon...
and Dyrham
Dyrham
Dyrham is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England.-Location and communications:Dyrham is at lat. 51° 29' north, long. 2° 22' west . It lies at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level. It is near the A46 trunk road, about north of Bath and a little south of the M4 motorway...
in Gloucestershire.
Identification of Armourials
The armourials are as follows: Top left(Dexter (1st) Quarter (to bearer's R, viewer's L)): Denys; Top right: (Sinister) Russell. Bottom L (3rd. Q ): 1st: Denys; 2nd:Russell; 3rd:Gorges;4th: a cross moline or fer de moline, is for the family of Eleanor Ferre, da. of Sir John Ferre, of Tothill, Lincs., an heiress of the Gorges. (Raymond Gorges, History of the Family of Gorges, Boston USA, 1944; The arms of Sir Guy Ferre(d.1323), possibly his brother, can be seen above the pedestrian gateway of Butley PrioryButley Priory
Butley Priory was a medieval monastic house in Suffolk, England. Only the gatehouse remains today, which is very well preserved and displays stone sculpted heraldic escutcheons of its many benefactors, similar to the surviving gatehouse of Kirkham Priory in Yorkshire....
(of which he held the advowson) where the fer de moline of his canting arms is shown in the form of a cross moline). Bottom R (4th. Q): 1st:Denys; 2nd:Russell; 3rd:Gorges; 4th:prob.Danvers. Armorials repeated on tabard fronts and sleeves. Maurice Denys
Maurice Denys (Sheriff)
Maurice Denys, Esquire, was twice Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1460 and 1461. The Denys family were stated by Sir Robert Atkyns, the 18th.c...
the father to L in Dexter position of honour. Russell was his heiress-mother, Gorges a former Russell heiress. On the R. is Sir Walter Denys, the son, with the arms of his co-heiress 2nd. wife, Agnes Danvers, in the 4th. Q.
Blasoning of Armorials
Denys:3 leopards' faces jessant-de-lysJessant-de-lys
Jessant-de-lys is a heraldic term denoting a fleur-de-lys issuing out of any object. It is most frequently seen in conjunction with a leopard's face, meaning in heraldic language the face of a lion.-Description:...
, over all a bend engrailled. With tinctures it becomes:Gules, 3 leopards' faces or jessant-de-lys
Jessant-de-lys
Jessant-de-lys is a heraldic term denoting a fleur-de-lys issuing out of any object. It is most frequently seen in conjunction with a leopard's face, meaning in heraldic language the face of a lion.-Description:...
azure, over all a bend engrailled of the last.The Denys arms blazoned with these tinctures survive earliest in BL Add.MS 45131,f.54, a 1509 drawing of Hugh Denys of Osterley(d.1511) at the deathbed of Henry VII. The armourials are the arms of Cantilupe of Candleston Castle
Candleston Castle
Candleston Castle is a 14th.c. fortified manor house, in ruins since the nineteenth century southwest of Merthyr Mawr, former Glamorgan, Wales, and just northwest of Ogmore Castle, separated by the River Ogmore. Candleston's original long and narrow rectangular structure lay across the western...
, Glamorgan, probably granted as "arms of patronage" to their feudal officials or tenants the Denys's, differenced by the imposition of a bend engrailled, probably before 1258. Cantilupe arms, reversed for difference, are still borne as the official arms of the See of Hereford, http://www.herefordcathedral.org/ in honour of St. Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, canonised in 1320. The Denys arms are a rare ancient exception to the rule "no colour on colour or metal on metal" propounded by John Gibbon in his 1682 Introductio ad Latinam Blasoniam, in which he lists (pp.150-1) some exceptions, including Denys: "Now for my reader's diversion and delight I will insert what hath fallen under my observation". The Denys arms are also shown sculpted on the wings of the nearby Tudor mansion Siston Court, built by Sir Maurice Denys(d.1563), great-grandson of Maurice Denys(d.1466), yet there they have been altered to a neater composition, with the bend passing between the leopards' faces, and the latter composition was also adopted by the Denys family of Pucklechurch, lords of that manor until 1701.
Russell:(of Kingston Russell
Kingston Russell
Kingston Russell is a large mansion house and manor near Long Bredy in Dorset, England, west of Dorchester. The present house dates from the late 17th century but in 1730 was clad in a white Georgian stone facade. The house was restored in 1913, and at the same time the gardens were laid out...
, Dorset & Dyrham, Glos.)Sir Gilbert Denys
Gilbert Denys, knight
Sir Gilbert Denys of Siston, Gloucestershire, was a soldier, and later an administrator. He was knighted by Jan 1385, and was twice knight of the shire for Gloucestershire constituency, in 1390 and 1395 and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire 1393-4...
of Siston had married c. 1404,as his 2nd. wife, Margaret Russell, eldest da. and later co-heiress of Sir Maurice Russell
Maurice Russell, knight
Sir Maurice Russell of Kingston Russell, Dorset and Dyrham, Glos. was a prominent member of the Gloucestershire gentry, the 3rd son, but eventual heir of Ralph Russell and his wife Alice. He was knighted between June and December 1385 and served twice as Knight of the Shire for Gloucestershire in...
of Dyrham.Argent, on a chief gules 3 bezants. She was the mother of Maurice Denys.
(Bezants are Byzantine gold coins, thought to have been very popular with the Crusaders who plundered Constantinople in 1204, not having received the previously agreed funding from the Emperor.)
Gorges
Gorges family
The House of Gorges is an ancient English family with Norman origins. Radulph, Lord of the Château de Gorges came over to England from Gorges in the canton of Périers in Normandy in the army of William the Conqueror in the year 1066 and acquired a knighthood. He had thus started the history of...
(of Knighton, Isle of Wight; Wraxall, Somerset; Bradpole, Dorset). Sir Theobald I Russell(d.1341) of Kingston Russell, Dorset, grandfather of Sir Maurice Russell of Dyrham, had been the ward of Sir Ralph III de Gorges, 1st Baron Gorges(d.1324), and had been married-off by his warder to his 2nd. daughter Eleanor de Gorges. Eleanor's 3rd. son Theobald II Russell inherited from his uncle Ralph IV de Gorges(d.1331), 2nd. Baron, the former Gorges estates and changed his name to "Gorges", adopting their arms, apparently as part of the arrangement. The armorials of Gorges are of interest. They were originally canting arms of a Gurges, which is Latin for whirlpool, then c. 1300 were changed voluntarily to Lozengy, or and azure, in recognition of the de Morvilles, ancestors of the Gorges. Yet there was a celebrated dispute in 1347 (see Warbelton v. Gorges
Warbelton v. Gorges
Warbelton v. Gorges was one of the earliest heraldic law cases brought concerning English armory, in 1347. It concerned the coat of arms blazoned Lozengy or and azure, that is a field of yellow and blue lozenges...
) when these lozengy arms were claimed by John de Warbelton against Theobald II Russell "de Gorges" and a court of honour adjudged the arms to Warbelton. Instead of adopting completely new arms, Theobald merely added a red chevron as a difference, blazoned Lozengy or and azure, a chevron gules. These arms are known as "Gorges Modern". The Denys family should logically have quartered the undifferenced arms of their ancestor Ralph III de Gorges, not those of Theobald II Russell "de Gorges", their cousin, unless as appears to have been the case, it was customary to apply such heraldic judgements retrospectively.
Danvers(of Cothorpe, Oxon.)Maurice Denys's 2nd. wife, and Sir Walter's mother, was Agnes Danvers, co-heiress of Sir Robert Danvers(d.1467), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. The arms blazoned in the 4th. Q. on Sir Walter's tabard appear as A chevron between 3 roses, yet the arms given by Burkes 1884 for this family are quite different Argent, on a bend gules 3 martlets (house martens) vert legged or. The arms of Danvers of Warwick however are closer to those depicted here: Gules, a chevron between 3 mullets (stars) of 6 points or.
ConclusionThe brass is likely to have been erected well after the date of the interment, so if indeed there are errors on the part of the engraver, or in the instructions given him, it may have been felt acceptable to let the matter rest, rather than incur considerable expense in having it remade. On the other hand, if the arms are all correct, there are major lacunae in the literature and official records of Denys family history.
Transcription of Gothic Text
BelowHer lyeth buryed in ye midde. of the quere (i.e. choir/chancel) Maurice Denys esquyer sonne and here of sir Gylbert Denys knyght lorde of the maner of Alveston & of the maner of Irdecote (i.e. Earthcott Green) & also sir walter Denys knyght sonne and here to the seid morys denys esquyer ye. whiche sir walter denys decessed the first day of the moneth of Septembre in the xxi yere of the reigne of kyng henry the vii (i.e. 1506) whose soules Jhesu pardon amen. All ye that this rede and see of yor. charitie seye for their soules a pater noster and an ave (i.e. Hail Mary).
On banner above
Miseremini mei miseremini nostri saltem vos filii et amici nostri quia manus domini tetigit nos. (Be ye all pitiful of me, be ye all pitiful of us, at the least ye our sons and friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched us)(Job 19:21, altered)
On banner from mouth of Maurice
Unicus et trinus bone jhesu sis nobis Jesus (One and Three o good Jesus, you are to us Jesus)
On banner from mouth of Sir Walter
In trinitate perfecta sit nobis requies et eterna vita(In the perfected Trinity may there become to us rest and eternal life)
Comparisons
Sources
- Davis, Cecil T., The Monumental Brasses of Gloucestershire, London, 1899, pp.106-109, no.44, Olveston
- Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, vol 12, 1888, p.326, “Olveston Church”