and Saracenic styles of textile patterns ensued; and this peculiarity is demonstrated in many of the rich fabrics attributed to south and north Italian weavers from the 12th century onwards. From Palermo
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| A. Apparel of a Dalmatic woven in Venice late in the 15th century,with the Virgin in glory. |
B. Part of Orphrey with the Virgin and Child (Siena weaving, 1425-1450). |
C. Part of Orphrey, with the Annunciation (Florentine weaving, late 15th century) |
| Fig 40 | ||
the art of ornamental weaving in this style soon extended into the mainland, and from Apulia a bishop of St Evroul in Normandy is mentioned as having obtained a number of silicen goods in the 12th century. From the 13th century onwards Lucca, Florence, Milan, Genoa and Venice became important centres, using not only imported silk, but also such as was being then cultivated in Italy, for sericulture had become an Italian industry early in the 13th century. Wandering Saracenic and Byzantine v/eavers even before that time had strayed or been taken to work at places in Germany, France and Britain, but the output of their productions in northern countries was almost infinitesimal as compared with that of the far greater Italian output, nevertheless they were sowing the seeds of a harvest to be reaped centuries later by these more northerly European countries.
To the influence of these early sporadic weavings we seem to trace a distinctive class of work, which was done by inmates of monasteries and convents as well as by devout ladies, in little looms, for use as stoles, maniples, orphreys and similar narrow bands. A rhyming chronicler of the 13th century paraphrases the older record by Eginhard of the skill of Charlemagne's daughters in silk weaving, “ouvrer en soie en taulieles” or small looms.[1] The illustrations in fig. 39 give varieties of this class of work between the 7th and 15th centuries, for which Cologne especially seems to have become famous in the 15th century. Venice also made work of corresponding character: and the designs were evidently furnished by or directly adapted from the compositions of such artists as those who produced the notable German and Venetian woodcuts of the 15th century (fig. 40).
Whilst the bulk of the Italian patterned stuffs issuing in great lengths from large looms were of silk, a good many also were woven in wools, or wools intermixed with silks. The earlier of the silk textiles—Persian, Syrian and Byzantine— were of the nature of sarcenet and taffetas; later in development are satins, damask satins, brocades, and still later i.e. about the end of the 14th century) come Italian velvets and cloths of gold, which quite transcended the ancient and less substantial attalic cloths of the early Roman period. Medieval inventories and records contain many names of textiles, but the exact technical meaning of several of them is uncertain. Cendal, Sandal, Syndonus seem to relate to such materials as sarcenet or taffeta: zetani, from low Latin, is held by some writers to be of the same class as samit or examite, so called because the weft tlireads were only caught at every sixth thread of the warp; damask, now regarded as a special class of textile, the ornamentation of which depends upon contrasting sheens in the surface of the stuff, whether of silk or linen, got its name from Damascus, much in the same way as Baudekin comes from Baldak, or Baghdad. Baiidekin, and an apparently somewhat earlier word ciclatoun, seem to have been general terms for rich-looking textiles, in which gold thread played an important part, and possibly was applicable to early brocades. Carrnoca or Carmuk (Arab Kamlila, from the Chinese Kimka—also brocade) was another handsome stuff corresponding in a way with Indian
Kincobs. Velvet (Italian velluto—shaggy) is veluiau in French documents of the 14th century, and is a finely piled material of silk, and on that account may have been called Samit, as the German word
Fig 41—Piece of North Italian Silk Weaving of the 14th century, with pattern planned on an ogival basis with fantastic birds, some of which are of a Chinese type, and Persianesque cone forms containing sham Arabic inscriptions.
Sammet implies velvet, as does the Russian Axamitt. Diaper (Italian diaspro, meaning patterned) was used not only to denote a regular and geometric patterning but in some cases a special sort of linen or silk. Muslin from Mosul, and gauze from Gaza, are two
- ↑ See Recherches, &c., by Francisque Michel, i. 93-94.
