St. Paul’s, London, had, at the end of the thirteenth century, two amices; one an old one, embroidered with solid gold wire: “Amictus breudatus de auro puro; amictus vetus breudatus cum auro puro.”[68] [66] Mr. Raine, St. Cuthbert, p. 209. [67] Dugdale’s Mon. Angl. t. viii., p. 1363. [68] Dugdale, p. 318. The use of golden stuffs not unlikely woven in England, but assuredly worn by royalty here, is curiously shown by the contrast between the living man clothed in woven gold, and the dead body, and its frightful state at burial, of Henry I., set forth by Roger Hoveden; who thus writes of that king: “vide ... quomodo regis potentissimi corpus cujus cervix diademite, auro et gemmis electissimis quasi divino splendore vernaverat ... cujus reliqua superficies auro textile tota rutilaverat,” &c.[69] Often was this splendid web wrought so thick and strong, that each string, whether it happened to be of hemp or of silk, in the warp, had in it six threads, while the weft was of flat gold shreds. Hence such a texture was called “samit,” a word shortened from its first and old Byzantine name “exsamit,” as we shall have to notice further on. Among several other purchases for the wardrobe of Edward I., in the year 1300, we find this entry: “Pro samitis pannis ad aurum tam in canabo quam in serico,” &c.[70] And such was the quantity kept there of this costly cloth, that the nobles of that king were allowed to buy it out of the royal stores; for instance, four pieces at thirty shillings each were sold to the Lord Robert de Clifford, and another piece at the same price to Thomas de Cammill.[71] Not only Asia Minor, but the Island of Cyprus, the City of Lucca, and Moorish Spain, sent us these rich tissues. The cloth of gold from Spain is incidentally spoken of later in the Sherborn bequest, p. lvi. Along with other things left behind him at Haverford castle, by Richard II., were twenty-five cloths of gold of divers suits, of which four came from Cyprus, the others from Lucca: “xxv. draps d or de diverses suytes dount iiii. de _Cipres_ les autres de _Lukes_.”[72] How Edward IV. liked cloth-of-gold for his personal wear, may be gathered from his “Wardrobe Accounts,” edited by Nicolas; and the lavish use of this stuff ordered by Richard III. for his own coronation, is recorded in the “Antiquarian Repertory.”[73] The robes to be worn by the unfortunate Edward V. at this same function were cloth of gold tissue. “Diverse peces of cloth of gold” were bought by Henry VII., “of Lombardes.”[74] [69] Annalium, &c., p. 276, ed. Savile. [70] Liber Quotidianus Garderobæ, p. 354. [71] Ib., p. 6. [72] Ancient Kalendars, &c., ed. Palgrave, t. iii., 358. [73] I. p. 43, &c. [74] Excerpta Historica, p. 90.