Hudson Gurney, who, without following his predecessor
through the line of his arguments, contented himself with briefly
stating the three following reasons for ascribing the tapestry to
Matilda, wife to the Conqueror[90].--_First_, that in the many buildings
therein pourtrayed, there is not the least appearance of a pointed arch,
though much pointed work is found in the ornaments of the running
border; whilst, on the contrary, the features of Norman architecture,
the square buttress, flat to the walls, and the square tower surmounted
by, or rather ending in, a low pinnacle, are therein frequently
repeated.--_Secondly_, that all the knights are in ring armour, many of
their shields charged with a species of cross and five dots, and some
with dragons, but none with any thing of the nature of armorial
bearings, which, in a lower age, there would have been; and that all
wear a triangular sort of conical helmet, with a nasal, when represented
armed.--And, _Thirdly_, that the Norman banner is, invariably, _Argent_,
a Cross, _Or_, in a Bordure _Azure_; and that this is repeated over and
over again, as it is in the war against Conan, as well as at Pevensey
and at Hastings; but there is neither hint nor trace of the later
invention of the Norman leopards.
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