13th Century Couter (elbow cop)

by David Counts

FAQ … Couters in the 13th Cent. A.D. (version 12/29/1999)
Copyright David A. Counts 1999

(i) Blair states, "[d]isc-shaped plates (couters) attached to the elbows of the hauberk are found as early as c.1260 on the effigy of William Longespee the Younger (Salisbury Cathedral), but I have been unable to trace any other examples earlier than the first decade of the 14th century." (p.39)

(ii) Hurtig has a picture of this effigy, but it is taken at an angle that does not show the knight's right arm (the left arm is hidden behind the shield). (fig. 204)

(iii) Dr. Nicolle provides a distressingly small line drawing of the effigy, but it does clearly indicate a couter on the knight's right elbow. The effigy is dated to c.1270-80, and he states "the ... couter to protect his elbow suggests a date closer to the end of the 13th century." (p.72; fig. 177)

(iv) Laking does not provide a photograph of the Longespee effigy, but he does provide a fairly detailed rendering from Stothard's "Monumental Effigies." (Laking's Volume I; p.123; fig.153)

The couter appears to be a shallow-dished form of irregular outline.

Anyone else who wishes to search should seek the effigy of: William Longspee the Younger, Wiltshire that is in situ in the Cathedral in Salisbury, England. Be sure you get "the Younger" for there is also the effigy of the elder, William Longspee. If you find a good illustration, please let me know where it is located.

Sources:
(a) Claude Blair's "European Armour circa 1066 to circa 1700" (1979 reprint of 1958 edition)
(b) Judith W. Hurtig's "The Armored Gisant before 1400" (1979)
(c) Dr. David Nicolle's "Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era 1050-1350" (1999)
(d) Sir Guy Francis Laking's "A Record of European Armour and Arms through Seven Centuries" (1920)"





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