Southampton’s Symbolism
It seems obvious the Tower portrait of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, is full of symbols, from the cat to the cuffs. It’s been suggested the symbols are Rosicrucian and Masonic, from the diamond windows to the shape of the ribbon on the book. What does it all mean? I know less about Rosicrucian and Masonic symbols than I do about Alpha Centauri, but I’m always willing to learn.
I did find this on the symbols but they’re not specific to any group.
“There is a pretty legend that this was Southampton’s favourite cat, and that when he was imprisoned it found its way to the Tower and joined him. But personally I prefer the suggestion of the late Lesley Hotson that the cat is there not as a pet but as a symbol. To the Elizabethans a cat stood for the desire for liberty, since cats, as any cat owner will tell you, have zero tolerance for closed doors. And if the cat is symbolic there’s a fair chance everything else in the picture is freighted with hidden meaning too. The fortress visible on the right of the picture is presumably the Tower: the inscription in Latin refers to Southampton’s imprisonment, proclaiming ‘In vinculis invictus’, ‘In chains but unconquered’. A book lies behind him, its ribbons untied. He has stripped off one glove so we are treated to a view of his left hand, dramatically pale against a dark ground, bare but for a single small ring and what appears to be a string of rubies round the wrist. Why? What do the rubies signify? And as for the ring – it has an irregular outline and appears flat and dark. I think it may be a mourning ring. These often had hexagonal bezels with a death’s head mounted in the centre. If it is, then taken together with the sombre clothes and expression I would bet money there is a reference to the dead Essex here. When James became king he would speak sentimentally of Essex as ‘my martyr’, because though they never met Essex had been secretly writing to James for years. But Essex burned their correspondence before he was arrested and there was little mention of the Scottish king at his trial. Just as well. Elizabeth would not have taken kindly to the thought that her dear cousin of Scotland was so impatient for her crown that he’d been in cahoots with a rebel.”
http://elizabethangeek.com/costumereview/
The cross on the book appeared on a coin issued by Louis the Pious (778 – 840 AD). The four dots apparently represent the four gospels.
Diamond windows were around in Medieval times and may have been more practical than symbolic.
Wikipedia says: “The diaper shape of the panes gave greater stability than square-cut straight-set panes and hence are more common. It was also convenient to cut diamond shaped panes from a single “crown” of glass with less waste than that caused by cutting square panes.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadlight
This room in the Bloody Tower looks as it might have when Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned there. Note the windows.
www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/tower
I don’t know if there’s significance to the broken pane but if there is it might have to do with wanting freedom, a desire to break out. I don’t think it has anything to do with the broken window in Oxford’s room that Dr. Nelson mentions. 
Maybe the pane really was broken; that might indicate a certain neglect.
If this was an appeal to James (who would want to commemorate an experience like this?), it’s effective.
I haven’t been able to find much on gloves but they indicated status and were usually leather. The “crosses” on the cuffs resemble heraldic crosses, I think, unless they’re X’s. They’re not unlike the ones that appear on imperial crowns. One topped Elizabeth’s crown in her coronation portrait. Maybe this is a reminder of who had him imprisoned just because he tried to overthrow her?
Or are the X’s saltires?
“A saltire, Saint Andrew’s Cross, or crux decussata (though it is never called the last in heraldry), is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross (×) or letter ex (x). Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross.
It forms the national Flag of Scotland…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltire
The Flag of Scotland, according to Wikipedia, is the oldest continuously used sovereign flag in the world, reportedly in use since 832 AD. And James was, guess what, Scottish.
Rubies represented many things but in this case I’d suggest the bracelet represents drops of blood referring to the Crucifixion or Essex’ execution. Or is it a symbol of undying devotion and love – but for whom?
