Capwell & Easton: Medieval knightly monumental brasses & effigies

[@KnyghtErrant]

Fantastic! So much excellent information! Thank you Matt and Toby!

[@matteocasentini4739]

You three should make a video/collaboration together! Would make an extremely interesting video

[@KnyghtErrant]

I'd love to meet these guys... if it wasn't for that pesky Atlantic Ocean! :)

[@matteocasentini4739]

Something over the internet like Lindybeige and Skallagrim did in Lindy's latest video about salt I mean. The ocean would be a problem for making a video face to face ahaha

[@twodogsbob1786]

+Knyght Errant Just think of it as a working holiday ;) I for one would certainly up my Patreon pledge to see it happen...

[@Murdo2112]

+Twodogs Bob I'd propose we put a task force together to head over there and kidnap him: bring him back and force him to make videos with Messrs. Easton and Capwell. But I've a suspicion he may be a bit of a handful.

[@MootingInsanity]

It's amazing to think of how important ritual is to human society, in death and beyond. I'm glad to see you don't limit yourself to discussing arms and armor (as fascinating as those things are).

[@KorKhan89]

Yeah, the whole cultural history aspect adds such a fascinating extra dimension.

[@GeorgeMoonie]

35 years ago . My Masters in Advanced Analytical Chemistry (University of Bristol) . I analysed samples from medieval brasses across the centuries and the country . Confirmed the inflection point when the monumental brasses changed to gun metal, thanks to King Henry VIII

[@Dumbo8234]

I love these videos with Dr. Capwell, he is great at explaining rather complex topics and I hope there are more to come!

[@markstouse3377]

Matt, this is one of your very best videos to date -- congratulations! I think enlarging the historical and social aperture around the arms and armour topic is hugely valuable, and moves it beyond what can be a narrow, pedantic topic into something of broad human relevance. Well done to you both -- and Dr. Capwell's book is terrific!

[@blxtothis]

As a kid in the 1950s, church effigies of this type really lit my fascination with the Mediaeval World, I remember being horrified to see vandalised examples with noses smashed or embellishments chiselled away. Funerary effigies have always been a must-see when exploring somewhere I’ve not previously visited.

[@jeffreycierniak8536]

Listening to you two talk is a treat in every single video.

[@gideonwhitehead8062]

Capwell and Easton! It's the best thing since King Kong vs. Godzilla

[@knutzzl]

You never truly die, as long as you are remembered.

[@KorKhan89]

Brilliant! I could listen to Toby go on like that for hours; so many fascinating insights. I look forward to the next video.

[@MaciejNaumienko]

Dr Toby is such an asset to this channel. More Dr Toby!

[@JetConvoy]

Capwell is such a brilliant guy and a great speaker. Love the synergy between him and Matt, cannot wait for more videos with both of them!

[@blakewinter1657]

I always enjoy these videos with Dr. Capwell. Thanks to both of you for taking the time to put these together!

[@davidschlageter5962]

So much better than ANYTHING available on the cable networks! LUV IT!!!

[@thiagodunadan]

Capwell & Easton sounds like a comedy series. Amazing video, though.

[@Yeknodathon]

Without getting into a religious debate, the church would have likely looked and be experienced very differently before the Reformation and later Cromwell in a riot of colour, paintings on the walls telling stories with drama; patterns on the pillars and angels and saints staring down, rood screens, incense, mystery and the speckle of stained glass in shadows. A place where the rites and creeds were not repeated in the vernacular, a place where holiness may be somewhat different from today. How would the effigy be experienced in this environment? Perhaps with more awe and wonder in the swirl and juxtaposition of the supernatural and the familiar?

[@gdk7704]

What an amazing series(by that I mean all of your Wallace collection/Tobias Capwell videos)! Absolutely stellar! I am really surprised at how few views these videos have compared to the quality and amount of credible historical information they contain. I believe you should reupload some of them or make a new video directing new subscribers to the series. I have been digging through your videos for over an year and this is the first time I am coming across most of these. Legendary stuff! Cheers Matt and Tobias!

[@AeolethNionian]

The broken crossguard was bugging me the whole video.

[@timinimification]

Same dude

[@Robert399]

Someone probably broke it off as a souvenir. It's still a bloody nice sword though.

[@Kwijiboz]

Same

[@faeembrugh]

A lot of churches and their contents were damaged during the reformation.

[@kollow]

Where I live the oldest buildings that exist are maybe 140 years old. Cemeteries might have graves starting in the mid to late 1800s. There is some ancient Native American rock art but it's not easily accessible. As lover of European history I wish I had access to these places. I love that this channel gets me there virtually though.

[@twodogsbob1786]

That was the most informative video I have watched on this subject. It needs to continue...for accurate history's sake! I know you two are super busy already, having met you both a few times, but please, please keep going along this road.

[@sportsboy5570]

Really informative video Matt, great job. Would you ever consider doing a video on the arms and armour of the Knights Hospitaller?

[@Bitemis]

Maybe Matt can use it as an excuse to take a vacation to Malta.

[@sportsboy5570]

Too right!

[@zombieteenager007]

YES. YES. YES. AS A MALTESE PERSON I HIGHLY APPROVE OF THIS.

[@keesjanhoeksema9575]

Very inspiring info for a modern artist with a interest for Armor, arts and Ancient beliefs! Thanks Toby & Matt,

[@Doniazade]

Toby is great, I hope we'll have a lot more videos with him :)

[@bcpantea]

Enjoyed this a lot, looking forward for more episodes like this, Mr Capwell rocks!

[@5chr4pn3ll]

Great video. It always looks a bit strange when you both don't have a fixed target you're "talking at" though. Towards the end when you're just talking at each other it looks fine, I wish you did that throughout the video.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes, fair point.

[@NotAllBooksSmellNice]

Wonderful video, Matt isn't only knowledgable, he knows what to say to best bring out Mr. Capwell's extensive knowledge

[@AGermanFencer]

That "Capwell & Easton" thing alone ... awesome *-* :D

[@Valkanna.Nublet]

Very interesting. I'd love to see more.

[@carlosacevedo2306]

By the way, we Catholics still believe and practice intercessory prayer. From Rosaries to Masses for the death. Don't know if other Christian Churches do too.

[@MrEolicus]

Erudition and swordsmanship. The pen is as mighty as the sword and both go hand in hand. Cheers.

[@humungus3]

Utterly fascinating.

[@WardancerHB]

That was so interesting and insightful...many thanks you two for putting so much effort into this - and then giving it to us for free!

[@Divertedflight]

I might be getting soft in my old age, but I found the long departed knight and wife holding hands quite touching at 27:03

[@ianthered9283]

So what you're telling me is the lord this effigy is representing is basically a real life Sir Barristan Selmy. Nice!

[@Likexner]

Why do you need a fantasy character to compare this man to though? It would make more sense to say that Selmy is "basically a fantasy version of this man".

[@ianthered9283]

@@Likexner Sure, I apologize for miswording my praise of this person 4 years ago.

[@Likexner]

@@ianthered9283 All right, i will let this one slide, but be careful in the future, ok?

[@Williamstanway]

CAPWELL & EASTON , sounds like an early eighties prog-pop band band , but really you are an early 2000s medieval history super group .

[@Williamstanway]

I mean that in a fantastic way, I wasn't being sarcastic, I find KZbin comments can come across the wrong way sometimes .

[@Paelolithic]

I was thinking more of a 70s crime fighting duo who get the job done by breaking rules and bucking authority. Or a local insurance company...

[@Williamstanway]

+Paleolithic haha haha or a makers of fine Marmalades jams and chutneys .

[@ChimpFromSpace]

The Law Offices of Capwell & Easton.

[@233NATOMAN]

Really informative and much new information for me. Looking forward the the next installment.

[@Dftba_hitch]

The bromance between you two is strong.

[@TheOhgodineedaname]

Was the guy embalmed like royalty and high nobility? I always found it curious how those guys had their entrails buried in one spot, their body in the next and their heart somewhere else. Was this a common practice or was it only reserved for the creme de la creme of medieval society?

[@lakewooded4929]

I always assumed the person was vaulted under the effigy . . . a great informative video.

[@davidleavold9560]

They usually were-see my recent comment above.

[@azn567]

Dr. Capwell makes a very clear factual error at 5:40 in the video. On the contrary, medieval Christians believed that most people went straight to hell when they died, rather than the majority of souls being eligible to enter purgatory. Also at 6:20 he states that purgatory is a sort of void where a soul exists in a state of intense boredom. This is also incorrect, since the medieval Christian belief was that souls suffered greatly in purgatory, and that the pains suffered there are similar to those of the fires of hell, the difference being that purgatory is temporary and not eternal.

[@bdjoliat]

Thanks for your accurate reply. DR. Capwell is very weak in theology!

[@cd21234]

It is impressive how much very interesting content there is on youtube -- such as this. You do have to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

[@MoonfaceMartin88]

Yeez Matt! Either zoom in digitally on the one who talks or try to look at your oppisite instead of looking around. Thanks for the great Video! Cheers

[@JustGrowingUp84]

"They've been taken for granted,[...], we get used to seeing them" - look at them British boyz flaunting their effigy privilege! Not everybody has awesome s**t like that lying around in their churches...

[@Williamstanway]

lol "effigy privilege" so true , I forget how privileged I am living in Europe, the access to history is palpable.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

William Stanway I'm also European, and unfortunately that's not true everywhere in Europe...

[@KorKhan89]

+William Stanway It's true. So many castles, walled cities, gothic cathedrals and Roman ruins all over the place, it becomes easy to overlook them.

[@Williamstanway]

+TheFilthyCasual maybe not abseolutley everywhere, but surely most inland European countries have a fair amount of historical architecture and folk law etc to keep a man entertained of a weekend .

[@JustGrowingUp84]

William Stanway I agree, but in most cases you actively have to go look for it, and most people don't encounter it so often that they become used to seeing it... My original comment was mainly just a joke about how often the word "privileged" is thrown around on the internet, but seriously, for every person who passes daily near the Tower of London or Notre Dame de Paris or Moscow's Kremlin etc., etc., there are hundreds that might not encounter such things their entire lives unless they purposefully try to visit them... Sure, most citizens of Florence might be immune to her charms, but most people in Europe at large aren't that "privileged".

[@666Eva]

Wonderful and facinating

[@Yeknodathon]

Excellent video, thank you for sharing. Interesting to watch discussions that adds context to the practice of HEMA and opens a window into past times; so different yet strangely so similar to today. Fascinating, and done with such knowledge and enthusiasm. May be the videos will open more avenues for study such as shared and unknown material from viewers, KZbin is likely to reach a wider audience than a published book? Perhaps a video like this can be accompanied with other videos: the effigy > symbolism and iconography > the sword > the armour > the social life and status of the knight in society > role and status of women. Perhaps the mindset of the Medieval person informs and enriches the practice of HEMA? Hoping there will be more!

[@Ofotherworlds]

This sort of connection to the past is part of why I love being part of the Anglican communion.

[@Pompelipom33]

I really like these videos.

[@seanrea550]

could not help but to notice the place where the tabernacle was.

[@ironpirate8]

Very interesting, looking forward to more on the subject!

[@MsFlamingFlamer]

I love these videos. Amazing

[@MedievalTrebuchet]

awesome! love the videos you do with toby

[@Kane856]

Fascinating video - can't wait for more :)

[@gideonwhitehead8062]

It belongs in a museum lol

[@gregi112]

great Video! one big Question Comes to my mind: 23:48: how can you argue that the effigy-carver had certain parts of the armour not available as an example and therefore made "Fantasy parts" like shoulders or helmets? the majority of 14th and also 15th century armour didn't survive, especially English armour almost didn't survive at all (compared to Italian or German examples). So I think this is very risky to say "this shoulder in this shape here is Fantasy"...

[@JohnWiedenhoeft]

what a wonderful and informative video, thank you!

[@BigZ7337]

Thanks for the excellent video

[@skykid]

So is CapwellxEaston a legit bromance now? If so just call me the FedEx guy, cuz I ship that

[@MarcRitzMD]

call me slash fiction guy cuz I write that

[@atticus6572]

Nah, SamidarexEaston is a thing already.

[@CarnalKid]

"I'm sorry honey, date night is off this week. Why? Because...because I'm going to Toby's house to play Warhammer."

[@davidleavold9560]

This is an interesting documentary, but a bit misleading as to the burial places of the remains. The corpses of those whose tomb is featured here were, no doubt, ( as cited in the written evidence), buried in the churchyard. In many cases, however, the remains were placed in a vault or sometimes a grave, directly below the tomb chest. This is certainly the case as regards the royal tombs in Westminster Abbey, some of which were opened in the nineteenth century. The bodies of Elizabeth and Mary, for example, which occupy the same tomb, rest in a vault beneath the tomb chest which bears their effigies.

[@nancytestani1470]

Right on..

[@nancytestani1470]

They are amazing…the ones in Italy are gorgeous…but this one gorgeous..not about carving..

[@Sophocles13]

@ 11:36 when Matt fully regrets asking "Why is he in armor?" Dr. Capwell- uhh bekos he's a ball swingin' king bodyguardin' land ownin' Agincourt battlin' goddamn badass whose grave we're still talking about hundreds of years later... sorry who were YOU again? Uh, mr eastin wassit'?

[@GamenRyder]

Great video, cheers!

[@99IronDuke]

Fascinating historical stuff.

[@57WillysCJ]

Purgatory, the halfway house between heaven and hell.

[@Strategiusz]

So they believed in some holy social platform with prayers as "like" buttons.

[@kennethpryde966]

I literally laughed out loud on reading this.

[@CottonPanzer]

You can say that, yes. Rituals, ideals, customs, culture, routine, and fellowship has always been important to humanity. People ignorantly bash on religion for simply being "superstition". It's not about the superstition.

[@Albukhshi]

It's a funny way of putting it, but oddly, it's a pretty accurate analogy.

[@stephenandersen4625]

well, if you believe in eternal life, there is nothing different between praying to help the living than praying for the dead. only lifists would say otherwise. ;-) the difference of course an insincere or not thoroughly thought out "like" won't work.

[@edheldude]

Having personal meaning doesn't mean it's not a superstition. This effigy exemplifies the typical belief in souls and the idea that certain rituals could affect them, their ultimate destiny, and/or change the worshipers' god's mind. Rituals and transitional rites are important to people even when they have no superstitious content, and often religions include them in their dogma. This happened with e.g. marriage and Christianity.

Very nice Video

[@Catsincages]

"...Balding and not very nice looking." Oh dear.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Matt sad :-(

[@SibylleLeon]

You're not wrinkly, though, so there.

[@gdk7704]

@@scholagladiatoria 🤣

[@mooncat7009]

matt is is pretty handsome… just saying

[@myNameisUsedFromAIdi]

Hey Matt do you have any plans to make podcasts?

[@irradix213]

beautiful stuff, thank god for luther

[@RabidMortal1]

Superlative video! More more more!! (and thank you)

[@def_not_dan]

Does this guy have his own KZbin channel? If not, he should make one. Very entertaining and informative. +1's for everyone!!

[@scholagladiatoria]

He doesn't have time unfortunately - Toby is the curator of arms and armour at the Wallace Collection (museum) in London and also jousts competitively. He is also always working on several books.

[@def_not_dan]

scholagladiatoria Ah well, looks like you'll just have to do more videos with him and keep all those thumbs up for yourself. ;-)

[@JC-Denton]

Thanks. Can hardly wait for the next video... :-)

[@cosmasindico]

Love the video, but where the heck is that guy's accent from?

[@scholagladiatoria]

A mixture of American, Canadian, English and Scottish I presume, as he's lived in all those countries.

[@cosmasindico]

lol. That's a ghoulash if I ever heard one. It was mostly American but several of the words were pronounced anything but the way an American would say them. Great guy though. Wish I had that life experience.

[@chefdontrun7436]

Very informative, I enjoyed this video.

[@subbss]

Awesome video, really interesting!

[@ZiePe]

Heeeeyyyy the sidekick is back

[@SarahExpereinceRequiem]

I like to imagine you going on a roadtrip to look at Effigies.

[@gorbalsboy]

Similar to the Egyptian notion of ensouling a statuette as a focal point , a pair of grand lads 😊

[@elipadgett1078]

Purgatory is s place of suffering where we are purged of the temporal punishment of sins. Hence the need for indulgences and prayers which lessen your time or that of a relative in purgatory. Do you even Thomas Aquinas bro?

[@MarcRitzMD]

you know Matt. Tobias dedicated a large chunk of his life to the study of this. You gotta wonder... how much time did he waste simply traveling? We already have the technology to create 3d images of sculptures with greater detail than a human eye could make out. When will we get a 3d, high definition database of historical artefacts?

[@DavidB5501]

Not that I'm a feminist, or even a woman, but there are two people on that monument. Will we hear anything about the other one?

[@christiangudmundsson8390]

If I'm not mistaken, the woman would always be the wife. Not the lords favourite woman, not any distinguished woman in general, just his wife for no other reason than her being married to this glorious man who could pay for an effigy.

[@scholagladiatoria]

I refer to the lady in the next video and she was a very interesting woman, who Toby and I discussed quite a bit off camera, but unfortunately we didn't have time to discuss her much on camera - mostly because this channel is about arms and armour, which she isn't wearing.

[@CottonPanzer]

+scholagladiatoria what if I told you she's actually wearing a 1400s "social armour"; called a dress?

[@5chr4pn3ll]

That is still not that relevant to a channel that is focused on weapons and combat armour

[@DavidB5501]

Fair enough! Presumably, apart from being interesting in their own right, the female effigies would be useful in dating the monuments. I guess that women's fashions in dress changed often enough to give at least a cross-check on the other data. E.g. if a particular style of wimple came into fashion in the 1460s, an effigy showing that style could hardly be earlier.

[@christiangudmundsson8390]

Are effigies a particularly British Ilses phenomenon? I have never seen anything like them here (Sweden, granted I don't visit many churches) And if so, is it the same for this particular belief i.e. that the prayers of the living can affect the movement from purgatory to heaven and/or if this process can be aided by some object acting like a magnifying lense if you will? Are there effigies in say France, Germany or Italy?

[@TomtensKanal]

Det finns en del här i Sverige också och syftet är detsamma. Här har du Birger Jarl tex: 4.bp.blogspot.com/-WKryizjve18/T1DBcohb9mI/AAAAAAAAADk/0ueuSA0GI5Y/s1600/Birger+jarls+grav.jpg

[@christiangudmundsson8390]

+Tomtens Kanal Tack!

[@Wolfbane192]

Huh, and I always thought they were buried underneath their effigies. I thought that was the case with a lot of the tombs in Westminster Abbey (Henry III, for example).

[@shrekas2966]

this kind of content i like

[@DrSpeedNL]

Fascinating

[@higfny]

Is there any examples of complete armours from the 15th century surviving?

[@williamscherr4193]

Great video, thank you so much

[@stevedunn5546]

Absolutely brilliant explanation of medieval thinking. I always wondered how purgatory came into religion. Buying your way out of it lol. Magic.

[@starwolf2125]

do you have any tips for leather grip maintenance/coverage/replacement?

[@MarcRitzMD]

are they common in England? I don't remember them in Germany

[@KorKhan89]

I can't speak for Germany, but you do see them in Switzerland, albeit with far lower density and usually in worse condition compared with the UK. I'm sure the Protestant reformation and the associated destruction of religious iconography had something to do with it.

[@hjorturerlend]

Indeed, that very effigy they are talking about had it´s hands "iconoclasted" during the Reformation :P

[@WillJohnson138]

Which knight is the effigy made out of? He sounds like a good warrior, having been through Agincourt.

[@martshearer498]

Superb!

[@danielburgess7785]

"The medium is the message."

[@SedanChair]

CAPWELL AND EASTON *horn music plays*

[@martindhw]

I understand that the focus is the knight and his kit, but not ONE word about the woman beside him. Was her effigy included in his will? Where is she buried? Don't women count?

[@jobdylan5782]

oh heavens, no

[@bdjoliat]

Can’t believe how wrong Capwell is on Purgatory. Has he read Dante’s Il purgatorio? That’s a great read and contemporary explanation.

[@Wetcorps]

Fascinating, thanks :)

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

Why don't they restore the broken cross guard of his sword?

[@Bandit213]

I feel like you may have addressed this before, but my memory fails me. Why does the man have his feet elevated and toes pointed over a gold bird?

[@nikitaonassis6090]

They could not find a gold pommel..

[@problematic7993]

if i can spend one thousand years being bored i can spend another ten thousand years being bored

[@ExUSSailor]

"Capwell & Easton" sounds like the name of a 70s prog duo.