DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62931#0031
CLOTH OF GOLD
“ In sanguin and in perse he clad was, alle
Lined with taffeta and with sendalle.”
Sarcenet.—Since the 15th century, cendal has been described as
sarcenet.
Satin is a glossy silken fabric, first mentioned in English
inventories during the 14th century, and Chaucer speaks of it in his
Man of Law's Tale :
“ Clothes of gold and satins rich of hewe.”
Camoca, or camah, is mentioned in the inventories of the
14th century, for church vestments and the draperies of beds
of state. Edward the Black Prince bequeaths to his confessor “ a
large bed of red camoca.” This material was probably of fine
camels’ hair and silk, made in Northern China (page 39).
Cloth of Tars, or Tarsus, is a similar fabric to camoca, but richer
in colour, being a royal purple. Chaucer tells us of the “ King of
Inde ” that “ his cole armure was a cloth of Tars couched with perles.”
Cloth of gold.—Gold had been used from remote times as a
material for weaving, either alone, or interwoven with linen, silk,
or cotton.
The Asiatic kings and nobles of the time of Alexander the
Great wore robes splendid with gold and purple. Quintus Curtius,
the historian, describes the dress worn by Darius thus: “ The waist
part of the royal purple tunic was woven in white, and upon his
mantle of cloth of gold were figured two golden hawks, as if pecking
at one another with their beaks.”
Of its early use, without any other material for weaving, Pliny
says, “ Gold may be spun or woven like wool, without any wool
being mixed with it.”
Some indication is given of the sumptuousness of the apparel of
Imperial Rome, in the record that Agrippina, the wife of the
Emperor Claudius, wore a robe woven entirely of gold.
The wife of the Emperor Honorius died about A.D. 400, and in
1544 her grave was opened and the remains of the golden tissues,
in which her body had been shrouded, were melted, and it amounted
to thirty-six pounds of gold.
These early tissues of gold were undoubtedly the products of
Asiatic looms, whilst at a later date they were woven in Cyprus,
Sicily, Lucca, Venice, and Southern Germany.
There is no doubt that some narrow cloths of gold were woven
upon the English looms of the 14th century, but the larger
pieces of this material in use during this period were from the
Cyprian or Lucchese looms.
7
“ In sanguin and in perse he clad was, alle
Lined with taffeta and with sendalle.”
Sarcenet.—Since the 15th century, cendal has been described as
sarcenet.
Satin is a glossy silken fabric, first mentioned in English
inventories during the 14th century, and Chaucer speaks of it in his
Man of Law's Tale :
“ Clothes of gold and satins rich of hewe.”
Camoca, or camah, is mentioned in the inventories of the
14th century, for church vestments and the draperies of beds
of state. Edward the Black Prince bequeaths to his confessor “ a
large bed of red camoca.” This material was probably of fine
camels’ hair and silk, made in Northern China (page 39).
Cloth of Tars, or Tarsus, is a similar fabric to camoca, but richer
in colour, being a royal purple. Chaucer tells us of the “ King of
Inde ” that “ his cole armure was a cloth of Tars couched with perles.”
Cloth of gold.—Gold had been used from remote times as a
material for weaving, either alone, or interwoven with linen, silk,
or cotton.
The Asiatic kings and nobles of the time of Alexander the
Great wore robes splendid with gold and purple. Quintus Curtius,
the historian, describes the dress worn by Darius thus: “ The waist
part of the royal purple tunic was woven in white, and upon his
mantle of cloth of gold were figured two golden hawks, as if pecking
at one another with their beaks.”
Of its early use, without any other material for weaving, Pliny
says, “ Gold may be spun or woven like wool, without any wool
being mixed with it.”
Some indication is given of the sumptuousness of the apparel of
Imperial Rome, in the record that Agrippina, the wife of the
Emperor Claudius, wore a robe woven entirely of gold.
The wife of the Emperor Honorius died about A.D. 400, and in
1544 her grave was opened and the remains of the golden tissues,
in which her body had been shrouded, were melted, and it amounted
to thirty-six pounds of gold.
These early tissues of gold were undoubtedly the products of
Asiatic looms, whilst at a later date they were woven in Cyprus,
Sicily, Lucca, Venice, and Southern Germany.
There is no doubt that some narrow cloths of gold were woven
upon the English looms of the 14th century, but the larger
pieces of this material in use during this period were from the
Cyprian or Lucchese looms.
7