members. High churchmen and wealthy laymen and -women insisted that they and
members of their family be buried within the walls of the church rather than outside
of it, reminding the living—via their effigies—to pray for them. Typical is the tomb of
Robert d’Artois (d.1317), commissioned by his mother, Countess Mahaut d’Artois
(in northern France). (See Plate 7.5.)
Plate 7.5: Tomb and Effigy of Robert d’Artois (1317). Although Robert was only seventeen years old when
he died, the sculptor of his tomb effigy, Jean Pépin de Huy, gave him a sword and buckler (the
accoutrements of a knight) and placed a tame lion at his feet (the symbol of his power). At the same time,
his prayerful pose and the lion alert viewers to the life to come: his uplifted hands signify Robert’s piety,
while the lion (mother lions were believed to waken their still-born cubs to life by their roars) recalls the
hope of resurrection.