Group III

Heraldic:

Names, Initials, and Dedicatory Inscriptions:

In many vestments, especially among those of early date, the embroidery is of a distinctly Oriental character, which, if not actually Byzantine, is founded on Byzantine models. These were popularized throughout Europe by the Mohammedan weavers and their successors of the royal establishment in Sicily. Often vestments are found bearing Arabic or other Oriental inscriptions; these are sometimes meaningless, like the patterns formed with Arabic letters on many Eastern shawls and cloths of modern times, but occasionally they give important information as to the date and origin of the vestment which they decorate. The coronation vestments of the German Emperors, now at Vienna, are of entirely Eastern character, and the cope bears inscriptions in Cufic characters, telling us that it was made at Palermo in 1133. Occasionally the Eastern ornaments and inscriptions are forged (alas, for mediaeval morality!), in order to counterfeit the workmanship of the highly popular Eastern looms. Sometimes we find clumsy imitations of Arabic words treated ignorantly by the forger as ornaments, the word being written correctly, though in an obviously amateurish manner, from right to left, and a replica reversed set opposite to it, in order to balance it symmetrically!

No country excelled England in embroidered work in the middle ages. Matthew Paris's story of Pope Innocent IV's admiration of some English vestments is well known. His holiness, 'seeing some desirable orphreys in the copes and infulae of certain English ecclesiastics, asked where they had been made. "In England," was the answer. "Truly is England our garden of delights," said he; "truly is it a well inexhaustible; and where much is, thence can much be extorted." Whereupon the Pope, allured by the lust of the eyes, sent his sealed letters to nearly all the abbots of the Cistercian order in England (to whose prayers he had just been committing himself in the chapter-house of the Cistercian order) that they should not delay to send those orphreys to himself—getting them for nothing, if possible—to decorate his chasubles and choral copes.' Matthew Paris concludes his narrative by telling us that the London merchants were gratified enough, but that many were highly offended at the open avarice of the Head of the Church.[81]

This leads us to another point to be noticed with regard to mediaeval vestments—their value as articles of merchandise. In the 'Issues of the Exchequer,' 24, 25 Henry III (A.D. 1241-1242), there are several entries of expenses involved in purchasing vestments. Thus we find 4l. 19s. paid to Adam de Basinges 'for a gold cope purchased by our command and placed in our chapel at the feast of the Nativity of our Lord in the 25th year of our reign: also to the same 24l. 1s. 6d. for a cope of red silk given to the Bishop of Hereford by our command in the same year and day: also to the same 17l. 18s. 10d. for two diapered and one precious cloth of gold, for a tunic and dalmatican entirely ornamented with gold fringe purchased by our command and placed in our chapel the same year and day: also to the same 47s. 10d. for a chesable of silk cloth without gold purchased by our command and placed in our chapel: also to the same 7s. 2d. for an albe embroidered with gold fringe purchased by our command and placed in our chapel: also to the same 17l. 1 mark for two embroidered chesables purchased by our command and placed in our chapel.'[82] The same year the enormous sum of £82 was given by the King for a mitre.

It has been calculated that the present value of money is fifteen times greater than it was in the thirteenth century. Applying this principle, we obtain the following results, which give a clearer idea of the value of the vestments purchased by the King: