Everything was embroidered: vestments and cloths for the church; shoes,
gloves, hats and clothes of men and women; and cushions and draperies
for the house. Notwithstanding the lavish use of tapestry, the taste for
embroidered materials was ever on the increase. The entire furnishings
for a bedroom were often the product of the needle; for instance, the
“embroidered chamber” of Jane of Burgundy, Queen of Philip V, at her
coronation at Rheims in 1330, was ornamented with 1321 parrots, with the
arms of the King, and 1321 butterflies, with the arms of Burgundy.
In Mediaeval days, the word “_chambre_” had a broader signification than
it has to-day. By _chambre_ was meant the whole of the rugs, curtains,
hangings and upholstery that adorned a bedroom. There was a distinction
drawn between “_court pointerie_” and “_tapisserie_.” “_Court
pointerie_” included everything pertaining to the bed, such as the daïs,
mattress, head-board, etc. The “_tapisserie_” was changed every season
like the altar cloths and vestments of church and clergy. Cords were run
across the rafters, and the curtains and canopies were hung on these
with hooks. Thus the rooms at the various seasons received such names as
the “Easter,” “Christmas,” or “All Saints’ Chamber.” Then again the
rooms were named after the subjects (mythological, historical, romantic
or religious), of the tapestry that adorned them, such as the Chamber of
the Cross, of the Lions, of the Conquest of England, of Queen
Penthesile, of the Nine Paladins, of the Unicorn and Maiden, etc., etc.
Plate II shows how the canopy and curtains of the bed were usually
supported. Sometimes, however, the hangings were attached to the rods by
means of tenterhooks.
The inventories and chronicles of the Middle Ages frequently mention
textiles; but it is difficult to know from the numerous terms the old
scribes employ whether they are describing woollen and silk tapestry,
brocades, damasks, velvets, or embroidered material. The fabrics are of
many varieties, and their names vary with the details of production and
places of manufacture, as well as the material of which they are
composed, and the subjects they depict.
A great deal of Byzantine tapestry, with other hangings and carpets, was
brought into Western Europe, by those returning from the First Crusade
(1096–1099); and after 1146, when Count Robert of Sicily brought home
from his expedition into Greece some captive silk-workers, and
established a manufactory for brocades and damasks at Palermo, beautiful
materials were carried northward from Italy.
During the early centuries the use of tapestry was very extensively
devoted to the decoration of churches, and therefore represented scenes
from the Scriptures, and lives of the Saints and the Virgin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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