Note 60 — CHARLECOTE, WARWICKSHIRE.
Reading edition
The painting is so well described by Washington Irving that we quote his words:—
“The picture gives a lively idea of the costume and manners of the time. Sir Thomas is dressed in ruff and doublet; white shoes with roses in them, and has a peaked yellow, or, as Master Slender would say, a cane-coloured beard. His lady is seated on the opposite side of the picture, in wide ruff and long stomacher, and the children have a most venerable stiffness and formality of dress. Hounds and spaniels are mingled in the family group; a hawk is seated on his perch in the foreground, and one of the children holds a bow; all intimating the knight’s skill in hunting, hawking, and archery, so indispensable to an accomplished gentleman in those days.”