bitants of Britain. We have seen the cists of Saxon
times, the coffins formed of several stones placed together in the form
of a table. The Normans introduced stone coffins for the sepulchre of
their great men, many of which may be seen in our cathedrals and old
conventual churches. On the lids of their coffins they frequently cut a
single cross. When the style of architecture changed to that of the
Early English and Decorated periods, monumental slabs were ornamented
with much greater richness and elaboration, and inscriptions were added,
and also some device which showed the trade, rank, or profession of the
departed. Thus the chalice and paten denoted a priest; a sword showed
the knight; an axe, a forester; an ink-horn, a notary; shears, a wool
merchant.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century it occurred to someone to
preserve the likeness of his departed friend as well as the symbols of
his rank and station. So effigies were introduced upon the surface of
the slabs, and were carved flat; but ere fifty years had passed away the
art of the sculptor produced magnificent monumental effigies. Knights
and nobles lie clad in armour with their ladies by their sides. Bishops
and abbots bless the spectators with their uplifted right hands. Judges
lie in their official garb, and merchants with the emblems of their
trade. At their feet lie animals, usually having some heraldic
connection with the deceased, or symbolical of his work--_e.g._ a dragon
is trodden down beneath the feet of a bishop, signifying the defeat of
sin as the result of his ministry. The heads of effigies usually rest on
cushions, which are sometimes supported by two angels.

A peculiar characteristic of the military effigies in England is that
the knights are often represented with the legs crossed. Many
speculations have been made with regard to the meaning of this fashion
of cross-legged effigy. It is a popular superstition, in which for some
years the writer shared, that such effigies represented Crusaders. We
were told in our young days that when the knight had his legs crossed at
the feet he had gone to the Crusades once; when at the knees, that he
had been to two Crusades; and when crossed at the thighs, he had been
thrice to rescue the Holy City from the hands of the infidels. All this
seemed very plausible and interesting, but it is undoubtedly a myth.
Many known Crusaders have their effigies with uncrossed legs, and many
who never went to the