NARRATOR: Lord John Dynham was a naval hero, Knight of the Order of the Garter, and Lord Treasurer of England at the end of the fifteenth century. This large tapestry carries his heraldic symbols, and would have been combined with other hangings in a series of furnishings for a room in his manor. It was almost certainly commissioned at the time of his induction into the Order of the Garter, and carries the signs and symbols of his profession. Although large, this tapestry is a fragment. The lower portion is missing. In the lower center of the piece is a shield bearing Dynham's arms or heraldic devices—four ermine lozenges on a faded red field—and his crest—an ermine astride a helmet with a barred visor between two lit candles. The shield is presented by two stags. Lord Dynham's arms are repeated in the upper left, and on the upper right are combined with the arms of his mother's family, the Arches. Framing each of these shields is a blue garter inscribed with the motto of the Order of the Garter. Spaced across the dark blue millefleur background of the piece are eleven copies of Dynham's badge: the broken mast and topcastle, or crow's nest, of a medieval ship, armed with five spears and flying the flag of St. George. Every detail in these heraldic pieces has meaning. The ermine is associated with Brittany. The stags draw in another family. Dynham's badge refers to his military exploits when he was young, for which he was later awarded the title of Lord and elected to the Order of the Garter, whose membership was limited to "gentlemen of blood and knights without reproach."