The Dukes of Anjou, Orleans, Berry and Burgundy, had very valuable sets.
Charles VI also had fine pieces. He bought from Nicholas Bataille, a
Flemish worker, who calls himself a citizen of Paris in 1363, about 250
hangings. Bataille produced many superb pieces for the wealthy houses of
the day, and many sets for Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. A
fellow-worker, Jacques Dourdain, who died in 1407, made tapestries for
the Duke of Burgundy, to whom he sent in 1389 _The Conquest of the King
of Friesland by Aubri the Burgundian_, _The Story of Marionet_, _Ladies
setting out for the Chase_, _The Wishes of Love_, _The Nine Amazons_,
_The History of Bertrand Duguesclin_, and _A History of the Romance of
the Rose_. The latter must have been very choice, as it was woven “in
gold of Cyprus and Arras thread.” He also furnished this rich patron
with other hangings, the greater number of which were cloth of gold.
The marriage of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, to the daughter and
heir of the Count of Flanders, in 1369, greatly helped the Flemish
tapestry-workers, who soon equalled those of Paris. For instance, the
Duke gave an order to Michel Bernard of Arras for a fine piece, called
_The Battle of Rosbeck_, of colossal dimensions. It measured 285 square
yards, and cost 2,600 _francs d’or_. Other sets purchased from the Arras
looms were: _The Coronation of Our Lady_, _The Seven Ages_, _Story of
Doon de la Roche_, _History of King Pharaoh and the People of Moses_,
_Life of St. Margaret_, _The Virtues and Vices_, _History of Froimont de
Bordeaux_, _Story of St. George_, _Story of Shepherds and
Shepherdesses_, _Life of St. Anne_, _Story of Percival the Gaul_, _Hunt
of Guy of Romany_, _History of Amis and Amile_, _History of Octavius of
Rome_, _History of King Clovis_, _History of King Alexander, and of
Robert the Fusileer_, _History of William of Orange_, and a _Pastoral_.
The Flemish looms thus early acquired a great reputation, rivalling
those of the midland and northern provinces of France. Paris, Arras,
Brussels and Tournay were the chief centres for the most beautiful
high-warp tapestry. Arras was celebrated as early as 1311, when
Marchaut, Countess of Artois, paid a large sum for “a woollen cloth
worked with various figures bought at Arras”; and in 1313 she ordered
from the same town “five cloths worked in high warp.” The name became
generic: the Italians called all woven tapestries _Arazzi_; the
Spaniards, _Panos de raz_; and the English, “Arras,” a name that was
used for many centuries. Polonius hides “behind the arras,” in _Hamlet_,
and Spenser, in _The Faerie Queen_, says:
Thence to the hall, which was on every side
With rich array and costly arras dight.
Book I., Canto iv.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account