[413] “Vitæ St. Alban. Abbatum,” p. 40; Rock, p. cxi. That the walls were covered with tapestry in the thirteenth century is supposed to be proved by the description of Hrothgar’s house in the Romance of Beowulf. We are told that the hangings were rich with gold, and a wondrous sight to behold. “History of Domestic Manners, &c., in England during the Middle Ages,” by Thomas Wright, p. 2.
[414] Matthew Paris, in Dugdale Monast., ed. 1819, ii. p. 185.
[415] Quoted by Michel from MSS. in the Imperial Library, Paris.
[416] This was a writ to the Aldermen and Sheriffs of the City of London, principally levelled against the dealings of “certain Frenchmen which were against the well-being of the trade of the Tapissiarii ... by petition of Parliament at Westminster.” Calend. Rot. Pat. Edward III., p. 148, “De Mysterâ Tapiciarorum,” Lond. M. 41.
[417] Called “verdures” in French inventories.
[418] Rock’s Introduction, p. lxxix.
[419] “The art of weaving tapestry was brought to England by William Sheldon, Esq., about the end of the reign of Henry VIII.”—See Dugdale’s “Warwickshire” (“Stemmata:” Sheldon), 2nd edition, folio, vol. i. p. 584; also Lloyd’s “State Worthies,” p. 953, quoted by Manning and Bray, “Hist. of Surrey,” vol. iii. p. 82. But we have an earlier notice of a spirited attempt to make fine tapestries at Kilkenny. Piers, Earl of Ormonde, married the daughter of Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, “a person of great wisdom and courage.” They brought from Flanders and the neighbouring provinces artificers and manufacturers, whom they employed at Kilkenny in working tapestries, diaper, Turkey carpets, cushions, &c. Piers died 1539. Carte’s Introduction to the “Life of James, Duke of Ormonde,” vol. i. p. 93 (Oxford, 1851).
[420] William Sheldon at his own expense brought workmen from Flanders, and employed them in weaving maps of the different counties of England. Of these, three large maps, the earliest specimens, were purchased by the Earl of Orford (Horace Walpole), by whom they were given to Earl Harcourt. He had them repaired and cleaned, and made as fresh as when out of the loom, and eventually gave them to Gough, the antiquary, who bequeathed them to the University of Oxford. The Armada tapestry, which is stated to have been designed by Henry Cornelius Vroom, the Dutch marine painter, and woven by Francis Spiering, appears to have been, in 1602, in the possession of Lord Howard, Lord High Admiral and the hero of the Armada. Fuller particulars are given in Walpole’s “Anecdotes,” i. p. 246, under the name of Vroom, Sandart being the principal authority. Part of them were in the House of Lords till 1834, when they perished in the fire. These had been engraved in 1739 by John Pine, but it appears that at that time there were in the royal wardrobe other pieces, now lost.
[421] Lloyd’s “Worthies.”
[422] Calendar of State Papers, cx. No. 26, James I., 1619-23.