File:Various heraldic coat of arms associated with the pendant. (FindID 105891).jpg

English: An incomplete cast copper alloy heraldic horse harness pendant with remains of enamelling, dating to the 13th/ 14th century AD (length: 32.1mm; width: 20mm; thickness: 2.4mm; thickness at loop: 6mm; weight: 5.75g). This shield-shaped pendant has a suspension loop at the top that is due to wear and corrosion and with decoration on the front only in the form of a black strip of enamel running diagonally from the top left corner down to the right. There are three incised six-pointed stars appearing at irregular intervals on along the black enamel, with the remains of red enamel to the top and bottom fields of the decoration. There is no decoration on the back of the artefact. The pendant is in a worn but fair condition with a dark green patina.

The heraldic pendant and its coat of arms have been studied by Irene Szymanski with the help of Jim Halliday, who clarifies the following information:

‘The design is unique amongst recorded arms. The piece probably shows the arms of Alan Elsfield - when new, the background would have been divided into four with two of the segments red (still visible); the other two would have been silver. The red segments would have had a lattice pattern in gold. The diagonal band (known heraldically as a "bend"), would have been black, and the stars (mullets of 6) would have been gold (the whole thing is illustrated in the enclosed picture passed on by Mrs Szymanski (arms1.jpg). The leftmost of Alan Elsfield's arms has "a fret" instead of "fretty" – both arms are recorded, but I'm not sure which was on this pendant - I can see a diagonal line there, but that's about it. Elsfield was probably a knight of Oxfordshire; Elsfield is a few miles NE of Oxford itself. I say probably re Alan, because nothing is known of him other than his name, which occurs alongside a note of his arms in three places (Segar's Roll, circa 1282; The Lord Marshall's Roll, circa 1310; Collins' Roll, circa 1295). He wasn't necessarily alive at all of those dates, but it does place him broadly as a contemporary of Edward I, and presumably involved with that monarch's wars against the Welsh and the Scots. There are two men who share the name Elsfield, Gilbert and John, who are thought to have been related to Alan. Their arms are not identical, but similar; note how they use the same palette of colours. Gilbert is known to have been a knight of Hugh Despencer's, and Alan's arms suggest that he was also. Again, if you look at the picture, you'll see that Alan's arms bear a notable resemblance to Despencer's arms; you expect this sort of similarity if there is an overlord/knight relationship’.

Blazons of relevant arms:

• Alan Elsfield: quarterly argent, and gules fretty or, over all a bend sable charged with three mullets of six

• Gilbert Elsfield: barry undy argent and sable, a label gules

• Hugh Despencer: quarterly argent, and gules fretty or, over all a bend sable

I would like to say a big thank you to Irene Szymanski and Jim Halliday with their help in writing this record.