The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 36, September 10, 2007, Article 13

WHY KNIGHTS CROSS THEIR LEGS

In my London Diary last week I mentioned noticing that the
effigies of English knights I saw at the Victoria & Albert museum
all had crossed legs.  I wondered why this was and could only
come up with the smart aleck answer, "because eternity is a long
to go without getting up to use a toilet."

Gar Travis writes: "In the second quarter of the 13th century
effigies of were first presented with crossed legs, it became a
'fashion' which continued throughout Europe until the demise of
the chivalric period of the knights. It is often thought that
the crossing was particular to knights of the Knights Templar,
though there is no fact to support this. It has been discussed
over time as to why the legs of knights were crossed and it
seems to now be of thought that it was a decision made by an
early sculptor / artist that it made, the knights in death
appear more comfortable or serene.

"I know these facts from previous readings and visits to
England and questions answered by guides."

[A web search located the following entry on the InfoPlease.com
web site, which provides a more specific answer. -Editor]

"Cross-legged Knights indicate that the person so represented
died in the Christian faith. As crusaders were supposed so to do,
they were generally represented on their tombs with crossed legs.

"'Sometimes the figure on the tomb of a knight has his legs crossed
at the ankles, this meant that the knight went one crusade. If the
legs are crossed at the knees, he went twice; if at the thighs he
went three times.' —Ditchfield: Our Villages, 1889.

To read the original InfoPlease entry on cross-legged knights, see:
Full Story

 WAYNE'S LONDON DIARY 31 AUGUST, 2007
 esylum_v10n35a13.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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