Copper alloy, 36.11 grams; 52.18 mm. Circa 15th century AD. A rare horse harness banner pendant displaying a peacock facing left on each side with its feathers raised; probably the crest of the Manners family, The Duke of Rutland of Belvoir Castle. The peacock could be a clue to the family this represents but has not been researched. Reference: Mills, N. Medieval Artefacts page 69. Good fine condition.

The title Earl of Rutland was created for Edward Plantagenet, (1373–1415), son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, and grandson of King Edward III. Upon the Duke's death in 1402 Edward became Duke of York. The title Earl of Rutland fell in to disuse upon his death at the Battle of Agincourt, and was assumed by other members of the House of York including first earl's nephew Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the father of King Edward IV, and his second son Edmund. Thomas Manners (c. 1488–1543), son of the 12th Baron de Ros of Hamlake, Truibut and Belvoir, was created earl of Rutland in the peerage of England in 1525. His mother, Anne St Leger, was Richard Plantagenet's granddaughter. The barony of 'de Ros of Hamlake, Truibut and Belvoir' (sometimes spelled Ros, Roos or de Roos) was created by Simon de Montfort with a writ of summons to the House of Lords for Robert de Ros (1223–1285) in 1264. The title may pass through the female line when there is no male heir, and accordingly, when the 3rd earl, Edward Manners (c. 1548–1587), left no sons, the barony of Ros passed to the family of his daughter Elizabeth (d. 1591) who became the wife of William Cecil, Earl of Exeter. Edward Manners' successor as the 4th earl was his brother John (d. 1588). The barony of Ros was restored to the Manners family when Francis Manners, the 6th earl (1578–1632), inherited it in 1618 from his cousin William Cecil (1590–1618). However, Francis died without male issue and the assumption of the courtesy title of Lord Ros for the eldest son of subsequent earls appears to have had no legal basis. On the death of the seventh Earl in 1641 the Earldom passed to his distant cousin John Manners of Haddon Hall, grandson of the second son of the first Earl. The 9th earl John Manners, (1638–1711), was created Duke of Rutland and Marquess of Granby in 1703 by Queen Anne.