Commercial Intercourse.
No. 3. 14th Century Textile showing Heraldic influence.
The establishment of commercial intercourse had great influence on the arts, and did much to modify local character, as it was found necessary to study market conditions in order to secure sales; and goods were therefore made to suit foreign requirements and taste, thereby resulting in confusion and difficulty in defining the original source.
Notable, for instance, were the Sicilian weavers, who, contrary to their local traditions, introduced heraldry into the patterns of their fabrics, so as to conform to the taste of the crusaders.
The Phœnicians were the early merchant adventurers, and traded in work of Tyrian and Sidonian production with remote parts of Europe, taking back local produce in exchange. Later on, through the medium of the Hanseatic league, brass work from Flanders and cast-iron fire-backs from Sussex were distributed through-out the area of their operations; of which surviving examples demonstrate that local taste and requirement were considered and embodied.