Some fragments of metallic embroidery on silk, of the 12th and 13th centuries, may be seen in the library of Worcester cathedral. They were removed from the coffins of two bishops, William de Blois (1218-1236) and Walter de Cantelupe (1236-1266). A fragment of gold embroidery from the tomb of the latter bishop is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington, and others are in the British Museum. In the 13th century English embroidery was famous throughout western Europe, and many embroidered objects are described in inventories of that time as being _de opere anglicano_. During that century, and the early part of the next, English work was at its best. The most famous example is the "Syon cope" at South Kensington, belonging to the latter half of the 13th century (see COPE, Plate I. fig. 2). It represents the coronation of the Virgin, the Crucifixion, the archangel Michael transfixing the dragon, the death and burial of the Virgin, our Lord meeting Mary Magdalene in the garden, the Apostles and the hierarchies of angels. The broad orphrey is embroidered with a series of heraldic shields (Plate II. fig. 9). Other embroideries of the period are at Steeple Aston, Chesterfield (Col. Butler-Bowden), Victoria and Albert and British museums, Rome (St John Lateran), Bologna, Pienza, Anagni, Ascoli, St Bertrand de Comminges, Lyons museum, Madrid (archaeological museum), Toledo and Vich. During the course of the 14th and 15th centuries embroideries produced in England were not equal to the earlier work. Towards the end of the latter century, and until the dissolution of the monasteries in the next, much ecclesiastical embroidery of effective design was done, and many examples are still to be seen in churches throughout the country. In the Tudor period the costumes of the wealthy were often richly adorned with needlework. The portraits of King Henry VIII., Queen Elizabeth and their courtiers show how magnificent was the embroidery used for such purposes. Many examples, especially of the latter reign, worked with very effective and beautiful floral patterns, have come down to these times. A kind of embroidery known as "black work", done in black silk on linen, was popular during the same reign. A tunic embroidered for Queen Elizabeth, with devices copied from contemporary woodcuts, is an excellent example of this work. It now belongs to the Viscount Falkland. Another class of work, popular at the same time, was closely worked in wools and silks on open-mesh material like canvas, which was entirely covered by the embroidery. Figures in rich costume were often introduced (Plate I. fig. 6). This method was much practised in France, and the term applied to it in that country, "_au petit point_," has become generally used. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries embroidery in England, though sometimes lacking in good taste, maintained generally a high standard, and that done to-day, based on the