The Butler Tomb Effigies, St. Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, Ireland: National Identity through Dress

In the first half of the sixteenth century in Ireland a particular type of tomb effigy sculptures was erected in memory of members of noble families. The effigies may be double, of husband and wife, or of single individuals; the men are shown wearing archaic armour and the women archaic dress. The armour would seem to be that of a hundred years' earlier, and the female gowns and headdresses are in the fashions of at least the same period. Many of these effigies are found in the lands around Dublin, within the area of strong English influence known as the Pale.