Brass Rubbing: Simon de Felbrigg

From Horowitz. 2002. Behind the altar rails of the church there are places for four brasses representing two couples. The first figure is Simon de Felbrigg, Lord of Felbrigg Manor, dressed in civilian costume. He wears the beard and mustache popular at the time, and his head is bare, showing long hair and a receding hairline. His short tunic is closed at the waist by a girdle, and beneath this robe he wears a garment buttoned at the sleeves. A cape or mantle is worn over his shoulders, where it is fastened on his right (dexter) side by three buttons. Simon wears a short sword (anelace) at his waist for protection. He is in a posture of prayer and stands on a bed of grass. Sir Simon was the son of Sir Roger Bigod and became Lord of Felbrigg Manor after 1316 when he apparently adopted the place-name as his surname. He married Alice, daughter of Sir George de Thorpe. His inscription does not mention his status as a knight and, in fact, he may have preferred to wear civilian garments. He died about 1351 and was buried in the church. The inscription under all four figures states that his wife, Alice, was buried elsewhere, although she was portrayed in a brass next to him. Her brass is now completely missing; half of it was intact one century ago. The other two figures, still extant, were his son, Roger (died c. 1380) and his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth. The four brasses were probably made around 1380 by Simon's grandson, Sir Simon de Felbrigg, whose magnificent brass resides in the same church.

Horowitz, Mark R. The Monumental Brasses of England: The Horrowitz Collection. Morton Grove, IL: Portcullis Productions, 1980 (1979). p. 10-11. Horowitz, Mark R. The Monumental Brasses of England. The Horowitz Collection. New Edition, 2002. p.20-22.