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Illustration of Costume and Soldiers from the

Romance of Alexander
The legend of Alexander the Great
Flanders, 1338-44AD. Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 264, Oxford


A larger image of f.66r, in right column. Flemish knights in the 'Romance of Alexander', Flanders, 1338-44AD. Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 264


Date: 1338–1344
Place of origin: Flanders
Description: Finished by the scribe in 1338 and by the illuminator, Jehan de Grise, in 1344.
Decoration: Important miniatures, borders, initials.
Contents: Part 1: Romance of Alexander (ff. 3-208). The Romance of Alexander in French verse, with miniatures illustrating legends of Alexander the Great and with marginal scenes of everyday life, by the Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-44.
Source: Romance of Alexander, Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 264, Oxford

Also from this Manuscript:
Archers & Crossbowmen in the margins of the 'Romance of Alexander', Flanders, 1338-44AD. Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 264, Oxford
Spearmen in the margins of the 'Romance of Alexander', Flanders, 1338-44AD. Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 264, Oxford
Lance training, baggage, espringal & trebuchet in the margins of the 'Romance of Alexander', Flanders, 1338-44AD. Bodleian Library, Ms. Bod. 264, Oxford



This is the source for "LOW COUNTRIES MAN-AT-ARMS c.1340" in Armies of the Middle Ages, volume 1 by Ian Heath:
The figure depicted here is from a Flemish ms. which is dated 1338-44, i.e., almost precisely the period of the Anglo-Imperial alliance against France. The equipment portrayed in this source is notably different from that worn by contemporary Englishmen and Frenchmen, particularly in the widespread use of coats-of-plates of sundry types, worn without surcoats. That worn by this man is of the same form of construction as the one described under figure 13 in Armies of Feudal Europe, with the sides wrapping round the body to be tied together down the middle of the back, while others are shown with lacing down the sides.



Other 14th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers