The Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, Volume 3 (of 3)Williams, Leonard
History
The Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, Volume 3 (of 3)
Williams, Leonard
Decorative arts -- Spain -- History
The Ordinances of Granada (A.D. 1532), from which we learn that cloth
was also manufactured at that capital, contain the usual dispositions
relative to the stamping of this product by the city officers. The
stamps were in a box which was kept in a corner of the cathedral and
closed by two keys, guarded severally by a councillor and an inspector
of the trade, or _veedor_. On every day except a public festival,
between the hours of ten and eleven of the morning, and three and four
of the afternoon, it was the duty of these two authorities to proceed to
the Alcaicería, and ascertain if any cloth required stamping. If so, the
stamps were fetched forthwith from the cathedral, the cloth was marked,
and the stamps were solemnly restored to their chest beneath the double
key.
Among the woven fabrics other than those of silk, and which are
specified in the Ordinances of Granada relative to the _tundidores_ or
shearers, are cloths of Florence, Flanders, London, Valencia, Zaragoza,
Onteniente, Segovia, and Perpignan; _velarte_ (a fine cloth manufactured
at Granada), red _burel_ (kersey) of Baeza, black kersey of Villanueva
and La Mancha, _ruan_ (Roan linen), fustians, friezes, and _cordellate_
(grogram) of Granada, Valencia, Toledo, Segovia, and Cuenca. According
to Capmany, cloths of the commoner kind, and which were popular about
this time, were the _granas treintenas_ and black cloths of Valencia,
the white or yellow _veintiseiseno_ cloths of Toledo, the white cloths
of Ciudad Real, the green _palmillas_ of Cuenca, and green
_dieciochenos_ of Segovia, the _contrayes_ of Cazalla, and the
_pardillos_ of Aragon. Spanish cloth was also manufactured at Vergara,
Cordova, Jaen, Murcia, Palencia, Tavira de Durango, and Medina del
Campo.
[Illustration: XII
EMBROIDERED CHASUBLE
(_Palencia Cathedral_)]
Laborde says: "In the archives of the Crowns of Aragon and Castile there
is a notice of the duties paid from the thirteenth to the end of the
seventeenth century for foreign cloths sold in Spain, and for other
articles of consumption coming from abroad. The principal cloths came
from Bruges, Montpellier, and London; the velvets from Malines,
Courtrai, Ypres, and Florence. This trade became so injurious to Spain,
that Ferdinand and Isabella thought themselves bound to limit it
entirely to the stuffs required for ornaments of the church, which of
itself was a considerable quantity. Their prohibition is the subject of
the rescript of September 2nd, 1494, for the provinces of the Crown of
Castile. Even so far back as the Ordinances of Barcelona in 1271,
mention is made of the taxes levied on the cloths of Flanders, Arras,
Lannoy, Paris, Saint Denis, Chalons, Beziers, and Reims."[35]
[35] In the reign of Francis the First, the importation of Catalan cloth
into France was prohibited altogether.--Levasseur, _Histoire des
classes ouvrières en France_, Vol. II., p. 73.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account