Brass Rubbing: Robert Beauner

From Horowitz. 2002. This brass represents a Benedictine monk dressed in the monastic habit worn for centuries. He wears a tunic covering his body and a full overgown with long sleeves. On his shoulders rests a hood piece originally worn for inclement weather. His head has a shaved spot (tonsure) worn by most of the clergy. In his hands rests a bleeding heart, most likely a symbol of Christ and salvation. Due to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s and the confiscation of monastic property, only some 30 monks exist today in monumental brasses. Little is known concerning Beauner (or Beauver, the letter is uncertain). Most monks lived apart from the secular world. He seems to have held several offices at St. Albans Abbey for more than 40 years and died about the year 1460.

Horowitz, Mark R. The Monumental Brasses of England: The Horrowitz Collection. Morton Grove, IL: Portcullis Productions, 1980 (1979). p. 26-27. Horowitz, Mark R. The Monumental Brasses of England. The Horowitz Collection. New Edition, 2002. p.31-32.