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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/18212-8.txt b/18212-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1ad3c04 --- /dev/null +++ b/18212-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10702 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages, by Julia +De Wolf Addison + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages + A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance + + +Author: Julia De Wolf Addison + + + +Release Date: April 19, 2006 [eBook #18212] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE +AGES*** + + +E-text prepared by Robert J. Hall + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 18212-h.htm or 18212-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212/18212-h/18212-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212/18212-h.zip) + + + + + +ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES + +A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments +of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in +the Early Renaissance + +by + +JULIA DE WOLF ADDISON + +Author of "The Art of the Pitti Palace," "The Art of the National +Gallery," "Classic Myths in Art," etc. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF ECCLESIASTICAL METAL WORK] + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +The very general and keen interest in the revival of arts and crafts +in America is a sign full of promise and pleasure to those who +are working among the so-called minor arts. One reads at every +turn how greatly Ruskin and Morris have influenced handicraft: how +much these men and their co-workers have modified the appearance +of our streets and houses, our materials, textiles, utensils, and +all other useful things in which it is possible to shock or to +please the æsthetic taste, without otherwise affecting the value +of these articles for their destined purposes. + +In this connection it is interesting to look into the past, particularly +to those centuries known as the Middle Ages, in which the handicrafts +flourished in special perfection, and to see for ourselves how +these crafts were pursued, and exactly what these arts really were. +Many people talk learnedly of the delightful revival of the arts +and crafts without having a very definite idea of the original +processes which are being restored to popular favour. William Morris +himself, although a great modern spirit, and reformer, felt the +necessity of a basis of historic knowledge in all workers. "I do +not think," he says, "that any man but one of the highest genius +could do anything in these days without much study of ancient art, +and even he would be much hindered if he lacked it." It is but +turning to the original sources, then, to examine the progress +of mediæval artistic crafts, and those sources are usually to be +found preserved for our edification in enormous volumes of plates, +inaccessible to most readers, and seldom with the kind of information +which the average person would enjoy. There are very few books +dealing with the arts and crafts of the olden time, which are adapted +to inform those who have no intention of practising such arts, +and yet who wish to understand and appreciate the examples which +they see in numerous museums or exhibitions, and in travelling +abroad. There are many of the arts and crafts which come under +the daily observation of the tourist, which make no impression +upon him and have no message for him, simply because he has never +considered the subject of their origin and construction. After +one has once studied the subject of historic carving, metal work, +embroidery, tapestry, or illumination, one can never fail to look +upon these things with intelligent interest and vastly increased +pleasure. + +Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded +as a luxury for the rich dilettante,--the people heard little of +it, and thought less. The utensils and furniture of the middle class +were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief +that beautiful things were expensive, and the thrifty housekeeper who +had no money to put into bric-à-brac never thought of such things as +an artistic lamp shade or a well-coloured sofa cushion. Decorative +art is well defined by Mr. Russell Sturgis: "Fine art applied to the +making beautiful or interesting that which is made for utilitarian +purposes." + +Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article +is, the more work has been lavished upon it. There never was a +more erroneous idea. The diligent polish in order to secure nice +plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely +more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy +workmanship. Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great +pains and labour; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated +does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if +it were plain,--frequently many hours have been saved by the device +of covering up defects with cheap ornament. How often one finds that +a simple chair with a plain back costs more than one which is +apparently elaborately carved! The reason is, that the plain one had +to be made out of a decent piece of wood, while the ornate one was +turned out of a poor piece, and then stamped with a pattern in order +to attract the attention from the inferior material of which it was +composed. The softer and poorer the wood, the deeper it was possible +to stamp it at a single blow. The same principle applies to +much work in metal. Flimsy bits of silverware stamped with cheap +designs of flowers or fruits are attached to surfaces badly finished, +while the work involved in making such a piece of plate with a +plain surface would increase its cost three or four times. + +A craft may easily be practised without art, and still serve its +purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure +as well as serving utility. But it is a mistake to suppose that +because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the +less important. Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, +and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither +art nor craft plays its full share. Art does not consist only in +original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; craft does not mean hammering +silver so that the hammer marks shall show; the best art is that +which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they +are strikingly new or not, and the best craftsman is so skilful +that he is able to go beyond the hammer marks, so to speak, and +to produce with the hammer a surface as smooth as, and far more +perfect than, that produced by an emery and burnisher. Some people +think that "Arts and Crafts" means a combination which allows of +poor work being concealed under a mask of æsthetic effect. Labour +should not go forth blindly without art, and art should not proceed +simply for the attainment of beauty without utility,--in other +words, there should be an alliance between labour and art. + +One principle for which craftsmen should stand is +a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods +and implements employed in constructing any article. If the article +in question is a chair, and is really put together by means of +sockets and pegs, let these constructive necessities appear, and do +not try to disguise the means by which the result is to be attained. +Make the requisite feature a beauty instead of a disgrace. + +It is amusing to see a New England farmer build a fence. He begins +with good cedar posts,--fine, thick, solid logs, which are at least +genuine, and handsome so far as a cedar post is capable of being +handsome. You think, "Ah, that will be a good unobjectionable fence." +But, behold, as soon as the posts are in position, he carefully lays +a flat plank vertically in front of each, so that the passer-by +may fancy that he has performed the feat of making a fence of flat +laths, thus going out of his way to conceal the one positive and +good-looking feature in his fence. He seems to have some furtive +dread of admitting that he has used the real article! + +A bolt is to be affixed to a modern door. Instead of being applied +with a plate of iron or brass, in itself a decorative feature on +a blank space like that of the surface of a door, the carpenter +cuts a piece of wood out of the edge of the door, sinks the bolt +out of sight, so that nothing shall appear to view but a tiny +meaningless brass handle, and considers that he has performed a very +neat job. Compare this method with that of a mediæval locksmith, +and the result with his great iron bolt, and if you can not appreciate +the difference, both in principle and result, I should recommend a +course of historic art study until you are convinced. On the other +hand, it is not necessary to carry your artistry so far that you +build a fence of nothing but cedar logs touching one another, or that +you cover your entire door with a meander of wrought iron which +culminates in a small bolt. Enthusiastic followers of the Arts and +Crafts movement often go to morbid extremes. _Recognition_ of +material and method does not connote a _display_ of method and +material out of proportion to the demands of the article to be +constructed. As in other forms of culture, balance and sanity are +necessary, in order to produce a satisfactory result. + +But when a craftsman is possessed of an æsthetic instinct and faculty, +he merits the congratulations offered to the students of Birmingham by +William Morris, when he told them that they were among the happiest +people in all civilization--"persons whose necessary daily work is +inseparable from their greatest pleasure." + +A mediæval artist was usually a craftsman as well. He was not content +with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men +whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own +designs and carried them out. Thus, the designer adapted his drawing +to the demands of his material and the craftsman was necessarily in +sympathy with the design since it was his own. The result was a harmony +of intention and execution which is often lacking when two men of +differing tastes produce one object. Lübke sums up the talents of +a mediæval artist as follows: "A painter could produce panels with +coats of arms for the military men of noble birth, and devotional +panels with an image of a saint or a conventionalized scene from +Scripture for that noble's wife. With the same brush and on a larger +panel he could produce a larger sacred picture for the convent +round the corner, and with finer pencil and more delicate touch +he could paint the vellum leaves of a missal;" and so on. If an +artistic earthenware platter was to be made, the painter turned +to his potter's wheel and to his kiln. If a filigree coronet was +wanted, he took up his tools for metal and jewelry work. + +Redgrave lays down an excellent maxim for general guidance to designers +in arts other than legitimate picture making. He says: "The picture +must be independent of the material, the thought alone should govern +it; whereas in decoration the material must be one of the suggestors +of the thought, its use must govern the design." This shows the +difference between decoration and pictorial art. + +One hears a great deal of the "conventional" in modern art talk. Just +what this means, few people who have the word in their vocabularies +really know. As Professor Moore defined it once, it does not apply +to an arbitrary theoretical system at all, but is instinctive. It +means obedience to the limits under which the artist works. The +really greatest art craftsmen of all have been those who have +recognized the limitations of the material which they employed. Some +of the cleverest have been beguiled by the fascination of overcoming +obstacles, into trying to make iron do the things appropriate only +to wood, or to force cast bronze into the similitude of a picture, +or to discount all the credit due to a fine piece of embroidery by +trying to make it appear like a painting. But these are the exotics; +they are the craftsmen who have been led astray by a false impulse, +who respect difficulty more than appropriateness, war rather than +peace! No elaborate and tortured piece of Cellini's work can compare +with the dignified glory of the Pala d'Oro; Ghiberti's gates in +Florence, though a marvellous _tour de force_, are not so satisfying +as the great corona candelabrum of Hildesheim. As a rule, we shall +find that mediæval craftsmen were better artists than those of the +Renaissance, for with facility in the use of material, comes always +the temptation to make it imitate some other material, thus losing +its individuality by a contortion which may be curious and interesting, +but out of place. We all enjoy seeing acrobats on the stage, but it +would be painful to see them curling in and out of our drawing-room +chairs. + +The true spirit which the Arts and Crafts is trying to inculcate +was found in Florence when the great artists turned their attention +to the manipulation of objects of daily use, Benvenuto Cellini being +willing to make salt-cellars, and Sansovino to work on inkstands, and +Donatello on picture frames, while Pollajuolo made candlesticks. +The more our leading artists realize the need of their attention +in the minor arts, the more nearly shall we attain to a genuine +alliance between the arts and the crafts. + +To sum up the effect of this harmony between art and craft in the +Middle Ages, the Abbé Texier has said: "In those days art and +manufactures were blended and identified; art gained by this affinity +great practical facility, and manufacture much original beauty." +And then the value to the artist is almost incalculable. To spend +one's life in getting means on which to live is a waste of all +enjoyment. To use one's life as one goes along--to live every day +with pleasure in congenial occupation--that is the only thing worth +while. The life of a craftsman is a constant daily fulfilment of +the final ideal of the man who spends all his time and strength +in acquiring wealth so that some time (and he may never live to +see the day) he may be able to control his time and to use it as +pleases him. There is stored up capital represented in the life +of a man whose work is a recreation, and expressive of his own +personality. + +In a book of this size it is not possible to treat of every art +or craft which engaged the skill of the mediæval workers. But at +some future time I hope to make a separate study of the ceramics, +glass in its various forms, the arts of engraving and printing, and +some of the many others which have added so much to the pleasure +and beauty of the civilized world. + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER + INTRODUCTION + I. Gold and Silver + II. Jewelry and Precious Stones + III. Enamel + IV. Other Metals + V. Tapestry + VI. Embroideries + VII. Sculpture in Stone (France and Italy) + VIII. Sculpture in Stone (England and Germany) + IX. Carving in Wood and Ivory + X. Inlay and Mosaic + XI. Illumination of Books + Bibliography + Index + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Examples of Ecclesiastical Metal Work +Crown of Charlemagne +Bernward's Cross and Candlesticks, Hildesheim +Bernward's Chalice, Hildesheim +Corona at Hildesheim. (detail) +Reliquary at Orvieto +Apostle spoons +Ivory Knife Handles, with Portraits of Queen Elizabeth and James I. Englis +The "Milkmaid Cup" +Saxon Brooch +The Tara Brooch +Shrine of the Bell of St. Patrick +The Treasure of Guerrazzar +Hebrew Ring +Crystal Flagons, St. Mark's, Venice +Sardonyx Cup, 11th Century, Venice +German Enamel, 13th Century +Enamelled Gold Book Cover, Siena +Detail; Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne +Finiguerra's Pax, Florence +Italian Enamelled Crozier, 14th Century +Wrought Iron Hinge, Frankfort +Biscornette's Doors at Paris +Wrought Iron from the Bargello, Florence +Moorish Keys, Seville +Armour. Showing Mail Developing into Plate +Damascened Helmet +Moorish Sword +Enamelled Suit of Armour +Brunelleschi's Competitive Panel +Ghiberti's Competitive Panel +Font at Hildesheim, 12th Century +Portrait Statuette of Peter Vischer +A Copper "Curfew" +Sanctuary Knocker, Durham Cathedral +Anglo-Saxon Crucifix of Lead +Detail, Bayeux Tapestry +Flemish Tapestry, "The Prodigal Son" +Tapestry, Representing Paris in the 15th Century +Embroidery on Canvas, 16th Century, South Kensington Museum +Detail of the Syon Cope +Dalmatic of Charlemagne +Embroidery, 15th Century, Cologne +Carved Capital from Ravenna +Pulpit of Nicola Pisano, Pisa +Tomb of the Son of St. Louis, St. Denis +Carvings around Choir Ambulatory, Chartres +Grotesque from Oxford, Popularly Known as "The Backbiter" +The "Beverly minstrels" +St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg, Showing Adam Kraft's Pyx, and the Hanging + Medallion by Veit Stoss +Relief by Adam Kraft +Carved Box--wood Pyx, 14th Century +Miserere Stall; An Artisan at Work +Miserere Stall, Ely; Noah and the Dove +Miserere Stall; the Fate of the Ale-wife +Ivory Tabernacle, Ravenna +The Nativity; Ivory Carving +Pastoral Staff; Ivory, German, 12th Century +Ivory Mirror Case; Early 14th Century +Ivory Mirror Case, 1340 +Chessman from Lewis +Marble Inlay from Lucca +Detail of Pavement, Baptistery, Florence +Detail of Pavement, Siena; "Fortune," by Pinturicchio +Ambo at Ravello; Specimen of Cosmati Mosaic +Mosaic from Ravenna; Theodora and Her Suite, 16th Century +Mosaic in Bas-relief, Naples +A Scribe at Work; 12th Century Manuscript +Detail from the Durham Book +Ivy Pattern, from a 14th Century French Manuscript +Mediæval Illumination +Caricature of a Bishop +Illumination by Gherart David of Bruges, 1498; St. Barbara +Choral Book, Siena +Detail from an Italian Choral Book + + + + +ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES + + +CHAPTER I + +GOLD AND SILVER + +The worker in metals is usually called a smith, whether he be +coppersmith or goldsmith. The term is Saxon in origin, and is derived +from the expression "he that smiteth." Metal was usually wrought +by force of blows, except where the process of casting modified +this. + +Beaten work was soldered from the earliest times. Egyptians evidently +understood the use of solder, for the Hebrews obtained their knowledge +of such things from them, and in Isaiah xli. 7, occurs the passage: +"So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth +with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, 'It is ready +for the soldering.'" In the Bible there are constant references +to such arts in metal work as prevail in our own times: "Of beaten +work made he the candlesticks," Exodus. In the ornaments of the +tabernacle, the artificer Bezaleel "made two cherubims of gold +beaten out of one piece made he them." + +An account of gold being gathered in spite of vicissitudes +is given by Pliny: "Among the Dardoe the ants are as large as Egyptian +wolves, and cat coloured. The Indians gather the gold dust thrown up +by the ants, when they are sleeping in their holes in the Summer; +but if these animals wake, they pursue the Indians, and, though +mounted on the swiftest camels, overtake and tear them to pieces." + +Another legend relates to the blessed St. Patrick, through whose +intercession special grace is supposed to have been granted to +all smiths. St. Patrick was a slave in his youth. An old legend +tells that one time a wild boar came rooting in the field, and +brought up a lump of gold; and Patrick brought it to a tinker, +and the tinker said, "It is nothing but solder. Give it here to +me." But then he brought it to a smith, and the smith told him it +was gold; and with that gold he bought his freedom. "And from that +time," continues the story, "the smiths have been lucky, taking +money every day, and never without work, but as for the tinkers, +every man's face is against them!" + +In the Middle Ages the arts and crafts were generally protected by +the formation of guilds and fraternities. These bodies practically +exercised the right of patent over their professions, and infringements +could be more easily dealt with, and frauds more easily exposed, by +means of concerted effort on the part of the craftsmen. The goldsmiths +and silversmiths were thus protected in England and France, and in most +of the leading European art centres. The test of pure gold was made +by "six of the more discreet goldsmiths," who went about and +superintended the amount of alloy to be employed; "gold of the +standard of the touch of Paris" was the French term for metal of the +required purity. Any goldsmith using imitation stones or otherwise +falsifying in his profession was punished "by imprisonment and by +ransom at the King's pleasure." There were some complaints that +fraudulent workers "cover tin with silver so subtilely... that +the same cannot be discovered or separated, and so sell tin for +fine silver, to the great damage and deceipt of us." This state +of things finally led to the adoption of the Hall Mark, which is +still to be seen on every piece of silver, signifying that it has +been pronounced pure by the appointed authorities. + +The goldsmiths of France absorbed several other auxiliary arts, and +were powerful and influential. In state processions the goldsmiths +had the first place of importance, and bore the royal canopy when +the King himself took part in the ceremony, carrying the shrine +of St. Genevieve also, when it was taken forth in great pageants. + +In the quaint wording of the period, goldsmiths were forbidden to +gild or silver-plate any article made of copper or latten, unless +they left some part of the original exposed, "at the foot or some +other part,... to the intent that a man may see whereof the thing +is made for to eschew the deceipt aforesaid." This law was enacted +in 1404. + +Many of the great art schools of the Middle Ages were established +in connection with the numerous monasteries scattered through all +the European countries and in England. The Rule of St. Benedict +rings true concerning the proper consecration of an artist: "If +there be artists in the monastery, let them exercise their crafts +with all humility and reverence, provided the abbot shall have +ordered them. But if any of them be proud of the skill he hath in +his craft, because he thereby seemeth to gain something for the +monastery, let him be removed from it and not exercise it again, +unless, after humbling himself, the abbot shall permit him." Craft +without graft was the keynote of mediæval art. + +King Alfred had a monastic art school at Athelney, in which he had +collected "monks of all kinds from every quarter." This accounts +for the Greek type of work turned out at this time, and very likely +for Italian influences in early British art. The king was active in +craft work himself, for Asser tells us that he "continued, during +his frequent wars, to teach his workers in gold and artificers of +all kinds." + +The quaint old encyclopædia of Bartholomew Anglicus, called, "The +Properties of Things," defines gold and silver in an original way, +according to the beliefs of this writer's day. He says of gold, +that "in the composition there is more sadness of brimstone than +of air and moisture of quicksilver, and therefore gold is more +sad and heavy than silver." Of silver he remarks, "Though silver +be white yet it maketh black lines and strakes in the body that +is scored therewith." + +Marco Polo says that in the province of Carazan "the rivers yield +great quantities of washed gold, and also that which is solid, and +on the mountains they find gold in the vein, and they give one +pound of gold for six of silver." + +Workers in gold or silver usually employ one of two methods--casting +or beating, combined with delicacy of finish, chasing, and polishing. +The technical processes are interestingly described by the writers +of the old treatises on divers arts. In the earliest of these, by +the monk Theophilus, in the eleventh century, we have most graphic +accounts of processes very similar to those now in use. The naïve +monastic instructor, in his preface, exhorts his followers to honesty +and zeal in their good works. "Skilful in the arts let no one glorify +himself," say Theophilus, "as if received from himself, and not from +elsewhere; but let him be thankful humbly in the Lord, from whom all +things are received." He then advises the craftsman earnestly to +study the book which follows, telling him of the riches of instruction +therein to be found; "you will there find out whatever... Tuscany +knows of mosaic work, or in variety of enamels, whatever Arabia +shows forth in work of fusion, ductility or chasing, whatever Italy +ornaments with gold... whatever France loves in a costly variety +of windows; whatever industrious Germany approves in work of gold, +silver or copper, and iron, of woods and of stones." No wonder the +authorities are lost in conjecture as to the native place of the +versatile Theophilus! After promising all these delightful things, +the good old monk continues, "Act therefore, well intentioned man,... +hasten to complete with all the study of thy mind, those things which +are still wanting among the utensils of the House of the Lord," and +he enumerates the various pieces of church plate in use in the Middle +Ages. + +Directions are given by Theophilus for the workroom, the benches +at which the smiths are to sit, and also the most minute technical +recipes for "instruments for sculping," for scraping, filing, and +so forth, until the workshop should be fitted with all necessary +tools. In those days, artists began at the very beginning. There were +no "Windsor and Newtons," no nice makers of dividers and T-squares, +to whom one could apply; all implements must be constructed by the +man who contemplated using them. + +We will see how Theophilus proceeds, after he has his tools in +readiness, to construct a chalice. First, he puts the silver in a +crucible, and when it has become fluid, he turns it into a mould +in which there is wax (this is evidently the "cire perdu" process +familiar to casters of every age), and then he says, "If by some +negligence it should happen that the melted silver be not whole, +cast it again until it is whole." This process of casting would +apply equally to all metals. + +Theophilus instructs his craftsman how to make the +handles of the chalice as follows: "Take wax, form handles with +it, and grave upon them dragons or animals or birds, or leaves--in +whatever manner you may wish. But on the top of each handle place a +little wax, round like a slender candle, half a finger in length,... +this wax is called the funnel.... Then take some clay and cover +carefully the handle, so that the hollows of the sculpture may +be filled up.... Afterwards place these moulds near the coals, +that when they have become warm you may pour out the wax. Which +being turned out, melt the silver,... and cast into the same place +whence you poured out the wax. And when they have become cold remove +the clay." The solid silver handles are found inside, one hardly +need say. + +In casting in the "cire perdu" process, Benvenuto Cellini warns +you to beware lest you break your crucible--"just as you've got +your silver nicely molten," he says, "and are pouring it into the +mould, crack goes your crucible, and all your work and time and +pains are lost!" He advises wrapping it in stout cloths. + +The process of repoussé work is also much the same to-day as it +has always been. The metal is mounted on cement and the design +partly beaten in from the outside; then the cement is melted out, +and the design treated in more detail from the inside. Theophilus +tells us how to prepare a silver vessel to be beaten with a design. +After giving a recipe for a sort of pitch, he says, "Melt this +composition and fill the vial to the top. And when it has become +cold, portray... whatever you wish, and taking a slender ductile +instrument, and a small hammer, design that which you have portrayed +around it by striking lightly." This process is practically, on a +larger scale, what Cellini describes as that of "minuterie." Cellini +praises Caradosso beyond all others in this work, saying "it was just +in this very getting of the gold so equal all over, that I never knew +a man to beat Caradosso!" He tells how important this equality of +surface is, for if, in the working, the gold became thicker in one +place than in another, it was impossible to attain a perfect finish. +Caradosso made first a wax model of the object which he was to +make; this he cast in copper, and on that he laid his thin gold, +beating and modelling it to the form, until the small hollow bas-relief +was complete. The work was done with wooden and steel tools of +small proportions, sometimes pressed from the back and sometimes +from the front; "ever so much care is necessary," writes Cellini, +"...to prevent the gold from splitting." After the model was brought +to such a point of relief as was suitable for the design, great +care had to be exercised in extending the gold further, to fit +behind heads and arms in special relief. In those days the whole +film of gold was then put in the furnace, and fired until the gold +began to liquefy, at which exact moment it was necessary to remove +it. Cellini himself made a medal for Girolamo Maretta, representing +Hercules and the Lion; the figures were in such high relief that +they only touched the ground at a few points. Cellini reports with +pride that Michelangelo said to him: "If this work were made in +great, whether in marble or in bronze, and fashioned with as +exquisite a design as this, it would astonish the world; and +even in its present size it seems to me so beautiful that I +do not think even a goldsmith of the ancient world fashioned aught +to come up to it!" Cellini says that these words "stiffened him +up," and gave him much increased ambition. He describes also an +Atlas which he constructed of wrought gold, to be placed upon a +lapis lazuli background: this he made in extreme relief, using +tiny tools, "working right into the arms and legs, and making all +alike of equal thickness." A cope-button for Pope Clement was also +quite a _tour de force_; as he said, "these pieces of work are often +harder the smaller they are." The design showed the Almighty seated +on a great diamond; around him there were "a number of jolly little +angels," some in complete relief. He describes how he began with a +flat sheet of gold, and worked constantly and conscientiously, +gradually bossing it up, until, with one tool and then another, he +finally mastered the material, "till one fine day God the Father +stood forth in the round, most comely to behold." So skilful was +Cellini in this art that he "bossed up in high relief with his +punches some fifteen little angels, without even having to solder +the tiniest rent!" The fastening of the clasp was decorated with +"little snails and masks and other pleasing trifles," which suggest +to us that Benvenuto was a true son of the Renaissance, and that his +design did not equal his ability as a craftsman. + +Cellini's method of forming a silver vase was on this wise. The +original plate of silver had to be red hot, "not too red, for then +it would crack,--but sufficient to burn certain little grains thrown +on to it." It was then adjusted to the stake, and struck with the +hammer, towards the centre, until by degrees it began to take convex +form. Then, keeping the central point always in view by means of +compasses, from that point he struck "a series of concentric circles +about half a finger apart from each other," and with a hammer, +beginning at the centre, struck so that the "movement of the hammer +shall be in the form of a spiral, and follow the concentric circles." +It was important to keep the form very even all round. Then the +vase had to be hammered from within, "till it was equally bellied +all round," and after that, the neck was formed by the same method. +Then, to ornament the vase, it was filled with pitch, and the design +traced on the outside. When it was necessary to beat up the ornament +from within, the vase was cleared out, and inverted upon the point +of a long "snarling-iron," fastened in an anvil stock, and beaten +so that the point should indent from within. The vase would often +have to be filled with pitch and emptied in this manner several +times in the course of its construction. + +Benvenuto Cellini was one of the greatest art personalities of all +time. The quaintness of the æsthetic temperament is nowhere found +better epitomized than in his life and writings. But as a producer of +artistic things, he is a great disappointment. Too versatile to be a +supreme specialist, he is far more interesting as a man and craftsman +than as a designer. Technical skill he had in unique abundance. And +another faculty, for which he does not always receive due credit, is +his gift for imparting his knowledge. His Treatises, containing +valuable information as to methods of work, are less familiar to most +readers than his fascinating biography. These Treatises, or directions +to craftsmen, are full of the spice and charm which characterize his +other work. One cannot proceed from a consideration of the bolder +metal work to a study of the dainty art of the goldsmith without a +glance at Benvenuto Cellini. + +The introduction to the Treatises has a naïve opening: "What first +prompted me to write was the knowledge of how fond people are of +hearing anything new." This, and other reasons, induced him to +"write about those loveliest secrets and wondrous methods of the +great art of goldsmithing." + +Francis I. indeed thought highly of Cellini. Upon viewing one of his +works, his Majesty raised his hands, and exclaimed to the Mareschal +de France, "I command you to give the first good fat abbey that +falls vacant to our Benvenuto, for I do not want my kingdom to +be deprived of his like." + +Benvenuto describes the process of making filigree work, the principle +of which is, fine wire coiled flat so as to form designs with an +interesting and varied surface. Filigree is quite common still, and +any one who has walked down the steep street of the Goldsmiths in +Genoa is familiar with most of its modern forms. Cellini says: "Though +many have practised the art without making drawings first, because the +material in which they worked was so easily handled and so pliable, +yet those who made their drawings first did the best work. Now give +ear to the way the art is pursued." He then directs that the craftsman +shall have ready three sizes of wire, and some little gold granules, +which are made by cutting the short lengths of wire, and then subjecting +them to fervent heat until they become as little round beads. He +then explains how the artificer must twist and mould the delicate +wires, and tastily apply the little granules, so as to make a graceful +design, usually of some floriate form. When the wire flowers and +leaves were formed satisfactorily, a wash of gum tragacanth should +be applied, to hold them in place until the final soldering. The +solder was in powdered form, and it was to be dusted on "just as +much as may suffice,... and not more,"... this amount of solder +could only be determined by the experience of the artist. Then came +the firing of the finished work in the little furnace; Benvenuto is +here quite at a loss how to explain himself: "Too much heat would +move the wires you have woven out of place," he says, "really it is +quite impossible to tell it properly in writing; I could explain it +all right by word of mouth, or better still, show you how it is +done,--still, come along,--we'll try to go on as we started!" + +Sometimes embossing was done by thin sheets of metal being pressed +on to a wooden carving prepared for the purpose, so that the result +would be a raised silver pattern, which, when filled up with pitch +or lead, would pass for a sample of repoussé work. I need hardly +say that a still simpler mechanical form of pressing obtains on +cheap silver to-day. + +So much for the mechanical processes of treating these metals. We +will now examine some of the great historic examples, and glance +at the lives of prominent workers in gold and silver in the past. + +One of the most brilliant times for the production of works of art +in gold and silver, was when Constantine, upon becoming Christian, +moved the seat of government to Byzantium. Byzantine ornament lends +itself especially to such work. The distinguishing mark between +the earlier Greek jewellers and the Byzantine was, that the former +considered chiefly line, form, and delicacy of workmanship, while +the latter were led to expression through colour and texture, and +not fineness of finish. + +The Byzantine emperors loved gold in a lavish way, and on a superb +scale. They were not content with chaste rings and necklets, or +even with golden crowns. The royal thrones were of gold; their +armour was decorated with the precious metal, and their chariots +enriched in the same way. Even the houses of the rich people +were more endowed with precious furnishings than most of the churches +of other nations, and every family possessed a massive silver table, +and solid vases and plate. + +The Emperor Theophilus, who lived in the ninth century, was a great +lover of the arts. His palace was built after the Arabian style, +and he had skilful mechanical experts to construct a golden tree +over his throne, on the branches of which were numerous birds, +and two golden lions at the foot. These birds were so arranged +by clockwork, that they could be made to sing, and the lions also +joined a roar to the chorus! + +A great designer of the Middle Ages was Alcuin, the teacher of +Charlemagne, who lived from 735 to 804; he superintended the building +of many fine specimens of church plate. The school of Alcuin, however, +was more famous for illumination, and we shall speak of his work +at more length when we come to deal with that subject. + +Another distinguished patron of art was the Abbot Odo of Cluny, +who had originally been destined for a soldier; but he was visited +with what Maitland describes as "an inveterate headache, which, from +his seventeenth to his nineteenth year, defied all medical skill," +so he and his parents, convinced that this was a manifestation of +the disapproval of Heaven, decided to devote his life to religious +pursuits. He became Abbot of Cluny in the year 927. + +[Illustration: CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE] + +Examples of ninth century goldsmithing are rare. Judging from the +few specimens existing, the crown of Charlemagne, and the beautiful +binding of the Hours of Charles the Bold, one would be inclined to +think that an almost barbaric wealth of closely set jewels was the +entire standard of the art of the time, and that grace of form or +contour was quite secondary. The tomb was rifled about the twelfth +century, and many of the valuable things with which he was surrounded +were taken away. The throne was denuded of its gold, and may be seen +to-day in the Cathedral at Aachen, a simple marble chair plain and +dignified, with the copper joints showing its construction. Many of +the relics of Charlemagne are in the treasury at Aachen, among other +interesting items, the bones of the right arm of the Emperor in a +golden shrine in the form of a hand and arm. There is a thrill in +contemplating the remains of the right arm of Charlemagne after all +the centuries, when one remembers the swords and sceptres which have +been wielded by that mighty member. The reliquary containing the +right arm of Charlemagne is German work (of course later than the +opening of the tomb), probably between 1155 and 1190. Frederic +Barbarossa and his ancestors are represented on its ornamentation. + +There is little goldsmith's work of the Norman period in Great +Britain, for that was a time of the building of large structures, +and probably minor arts and personal adornment took a secondary +place. + +[Illustration: BERNWARD'S CROSS AND CANDLESTICKS, HILDESHEIM] + +Perhaps the most satisfactory display of mediæval arts and crafts +which may be seen in one city is at Hildesheim: the special richness +of remains of the tenth century is owing to the life and example +of an early bishop--Bernward--who ruled the See from 993 to 1022. +Before he was made bishop, Bernward was tutor to the young Emperor +Otto III. He was a student of art all his life, and a practical +craftsman, working largely in metals, and training up a Guild of +followers in the Cathedral School. He was extremely versatile: one +of the great geniuses of history. In times of war he was Commander +in Chief of Hildesheim; he was a traveller, having made pilgrimages +to Rome and Paris, and the grave of St. Martin at Tours. This wide +culture was unusual in those days; it is quite evident from his +active life of accomplishment in creative art, that good Bishop +Bernward was not to be numbered among those who expected the end of +the world to occur in the year 1000 A. D. Of his works to be seen +in Hildesheim, there are splendid examples. The Goldsmith's School +under his direction was famous. + +He was created bishop in 992; Taugmar pays him a tribute, saying: +"He was an excellent penman, a good painter, and as a household +manager was unequalled." Moreover, he "excelled in the mechanical +no less than in the liberal arts." In fact, a visit to Hildesheim +to-day proves that to this man who lived ten centuries ago is due +the fact that Hildesheim is the most artistic city in Germany from +the antiquarian's point of view. This bishop influenced every branch +of art, and with so vital an influence, that his See city is still +full of his works and personality. He was not only a practical +worker in the arts and crafts, but he was also a collector, forming +quite a museum for the further instruction of the students who came +in touch with him. He decorated the walls of his cathedral; the great +candelabrum, or corona, which circles above the central aisle of the +cathedral, was his own design, and the work of his followers; and +the paschal column in the cathedral was from his workshop, wrought +as delightfully as would be possible in any age, and yet executed +nearly a thousand years ago. No bishop ever deserved sainthood +more, or made a more practical contribution to the Church. Pope +Celestine III. canonized him in 1194. + +Bernward came of a noble family. His figure may be seen--as near +an approach to a portrait of this great worker as we have--among +the bas-reliefs on the beautiful choir-screen in St. Michael's +Church in Hildesheim. + +[Illustration: BERNWARD'S CHALICE, HILDESHEIM] + +The cross executed by Bernward's own hands in 994 is a superb work, +with filigree covering the whole, and set with gems _en cabochon_, +with pearls, and antique precious stones, carved with Greek divinities +in intaglio. The candlesticks of St. Bernward, too, are most +interesting. They are made of a metal composed of gold, silver, +and iron, and are wrought magnificently, into a mass of animal +and floriate forms, their outline being well retained, and the +grace of the shaft and proportions being striking. They are partly +the work of the mallet and partly of the chisel. They had been +buried with Bernward, and were found in his sarcophagus in 1194. +Didron has likened them, in their use of animal form, to the art +of the Mexicans; but to me they seem more like delightful German +Romanesque workmanship, leaning more towards that of certain spirited +Lombard grotesques, or even that of Arles and certain parts of +France, than to the Aztec to which Didron has reference. The little +climbing figures, while they certainly have very large hands and +feet, yet are endowed with a certain sprightly action; they all +give the impression of really making an effort,--they are trying +to climb, instead of simply occupying places in the foliage. There +is a good deal of strength and energy displayed in all of them, +and, while the work is rude and rough, it is virile. It is not +unlike the workmanship on the Gloucester candlestick in the South +Kensington Museum, which was made in the twelfth century. + +Bernward's chalice is set with antique stones, some of them carved. +On the foot may be seen one representing the three Graces, in their +customary state of nudity "without malice." + +Bernward was also an architect. He built the delightful church of +St. Michael, and its cloister. He also superintended the building +of an important wall by the river bank in the lower town. + +When there was an uneasy time of controversy at Gandesheim, Bernward +hastened to headquarters in Rome, to arrange to bring about better +feeling. In 1001 he arrived, early in January, and the Pope went +out to meet him, kissed him, and invited him to stay as a guest +at his palace. After accomplishing his diplomatic mission, and +laden with all sorts of sacred relics, Bernward returned home, not +too directly to prevent his seeing something of the intervening +country. + +A book which Bishop Bernward had made and illuminated in 1011 has the +inscription: "I, Bernward, had this codex written out, at my own cost, +and gave it to the beloved Saint of God, Michael. Anathema to him who +alienates it." This inscription has the more interest for being the +actual autograph of Bernward. + +He was succeeded by Hezilo, and many other pupils. These men made +the beautiful corona of the cathedral, of which I give an illustration +in detail. Great coronas or circular chandeliers hung in the naves +of many cathedrals in the Middle Ages. The finest specimen is this +at Hildesheim, the magnificent ring of which is twenty feet across, +as it hangs suspended by a system of rods and balls in the form +of chains. It has twelve large towers and twelve small ones set +around it, supposed to suggest the Heavenly Jerusalem with its many +mansions. There are sockets for seventy-two candles. The detail +of its adornment is very splendid, and repays close study. Every +little turret is different in architectonic form, and statues of +saints are to be seen standing within these. The pierced silver +work on this chandelier is as beautiful as any mediæval example +in existence. + +[Illustration: CORONA AT HILDESHEIM (DETAIL)] + +The great leader of mediæval arts in France was the Abbot Suger +of St. Denis. Suger was born in 1081, he and his brother, Alvise, +who was Bishop of Arras, both being destined for the Episcopate. +As a youth he passed ten years at St. Denis as a scholar. Here he +became intimate with Prince Louis, and this friendship developed +in after life. On returning from a voyage to Italy, in 1122, +he learned at the same time of the death of his spiritual father, +Abbot Adam, and of his own election to be his successor. He +thus stood at the head of the convent of St. Denis in 1123. +This was due to his noble character, his genius for diplomacy +and his artistic talent. He was minister to Louis VI., and afterwards +to Louis VII., and during the second Crusade, he was made Regent +for the kingdom. Suger was known, after this, as the Father of his +Country, for he was a courageous counsellor, firm and convincing +in argument, so that the king had really been guided by his advice. +While he was making laws and instigating crusades, he was also +directing craft shops and propagating the arts in connection with +the life of the Church. St. Bernard denounced him, as encouraging +too luxurious a ritual; Suger made a characteristic reply: "If +the ancient law... ordained that vessels and cups of gold should +be used for libations, and to receive the blood of rams,... how +much rather should we devote gold, precious stones, and the rarest +of materials, to those vessels which are destined to contain the +blood of Our Lord." + +Suger ordered and himself made most beautiful appointments for the +sanctuary, and when any vessel already owned by the Abbey was of +costly material, and yet unsuitable in style, he had it remodelled. +An interesting instance of this is a certain antique vase of red +porphyry. There was nothing ecclesiastical about this vase; it was +a plain straight Greek jar, with two handles at the sides. Suger +treated it as the body of an eagle, making the head and neck to +surmount it, and the claw feet for it to stand on, together with +its soaring wings, of solid gold, and it thus became transformed +into a magnificent reliquary in the form of the king of birds. The +inscription on this Ampula of Suger is: "As it is our duty to present +unto God oblations of gems and gold, I, Suger, offer this vase unto +the Lord." + +Suger stood always for the ideal in art and character. He had the +courage of his convictions in spite of the fulminations of St. +Bernard. Instead of using the enormous sums of money at his disposal +for importing Byzantine workmen, he preferred to use his funds +and his own influence in developing a native French school of +artificers. + +It is interesting to discover that Suger, among his many adaptations +and restorations at St. Denis, incorporated some of the works of +St. Eloi into his own compositions. For instance, he took an ivory +pulpit, and remodelled it with the addition of copper animals. +Abbots of St. Denis made beautiful offerings to the church. One of +them, Abbot Matthiew de Vendôme, presented a wonderful reliquary, +consisting of a golden head and bust, while another gave a reliquary +to contain the jaw of St. Louis. Suger presented many fine products +of his own art and that of his pupils, among others a great cross +six feet in height. A story is told of him, that, while engaged in +making a particularly splendid crucifix for St. Denis, he ran short +of precious stones, nor could he in any way obtain what he required, +until some monks came to him and offered to sell him a superb lot of +stones which had formerly embellished the dinner service of Henry +I. of England, whose nephew had given them to the convent in exchange +for indulgences and masses! In these early and half-barbaric days of +magnificence, form and delicacy of execution were not understood. +Brilliancy and lavish display of sparkling jewels, set as thickly +as possible without reference to a general scheme of composition, +was the standard of beauty; and it must be admitted that, with +such stones available, no more effective school of work has ever +existed than that of which such works Charlemagne's crown, the +Iron Crown of Monza, and the crown of King Suinthila, are typical +examples. Abbot Suger lamented when he lacked a sufficient supply +of stones; but he did not complain when there occurred a deficiency +in workmen. It was comparatively easy to train artists who could +make settings and bind stones together with soldered straps! + +In 1352 a royal silversmith of France, Etienne La Fontaine, made +a "fauteuil of silver and crystal decorated with precious stones," +for the king. + +The golden altar of Basle is almost as interesting as the great +Pala d'Oro in Venice, of which mention is made elsewhere. It was +ordered by Emperor Henry the Pious, before 1024, and presented to +the Prime Minister at Basle. The central figure of the Saviour +has at its feet two tiny figures, quite out of scale; these are +intended for the donors, Emperor Henry and his queen, Cunegunda. + +Silversmith's work in Spain was largely in Byzantine style, while +some specimens of Gothic and Roman are also to be seen there. Moorish +influence is noticeable, as in all Spanish design, and filigree work +of Oriental origin is frequently to be met with. Some specimens of +champlevé enamel are also to be seen, though this art was generally +confined to Limoges during the Middle Ages. A Guild was formed in +Toledo which was in flourishing condition in 1423. + +An interesting document has been found in Spain showing that craftsmen +were supplied with the necessary materials when engaged to make +valuable figures for the decoration of altars. It is dated May 12, +1367, "I, Sancho Martinez Orebsc, silversmith, native of Seville, +inform you, the Dean and Chapter of the church of Seville, that it +was agreed that I make an image of St. Mary with its tabernacle, +that it should be finished at a given time, and that you were to +give me the silver and stones required to make it." + +In Spain, the most splendid triumphs of the goldsmith's skill were +the "custodias," or large tabernacles, in which the Host was carried +in procession. The finest was one made for Toledo by Enrique d'Arphe, +in competition with other craftsmen. His design being chosen, he +began his work in 1517, and in 1524 the custodia was finished. It +was in the form of a Gothic temple, six sided, with a jewelled +cross on the top, and was eight feet high. Some of the gold employed +was the first ever brought from America. The whole structure weighed +three hundred and eighty-eight pounds. Arphe made a similar custodia +for Cordova and another for Leon. His grandson, Juan d'Arphe, wrote +a verse about the Toledo custodia, in which these lines occur: + + "Custodia is a temple of rich plate + Wrought for the glory of Our Saviour true... + That holiest ark of old to imitate, + Fashioned by Bezaleel the cunning Jew, + Chosen of God to work his sovereign will, + And greatly gifted with celestial skill." + +Juan d'Arphe himself made a custodia for Seville, the decorations +and figures on which were directed by the learned Francesco Pacheco, +the father-in-law of Velasquez. When this custodia was completed, +d'Arphe wrote a description of it, alluding boldly to this work +as "the largest and finest work in silver known of its kind," and +this could really be said without conceit, for it is a fact. + +A Gothic form of goldsmith's work obtained in Spain in the 13th, +14th and 15th centuries; it was based upon architectural models and +was known as "plateresca." The shrines for holding relics became +in these centuries positive buildings on a small scale in precious +material. In England also were many of these shrines, but few of +them now remain. + +The first Mayor of London, from 1189 to 1213, was a goldsmith, +Henry Fitz Alwyn, the Founder of the Royal Exchange; Sir Thomas +Gresham, in 1520, was also a goldsmith and a banker. There is an +entertaining piece of cynical satire on the Goldsmiths in Stubbes' +Anatomy of Abuses, written in the time of Queen Elizabeth, showing +that the tricks of the trade had come to full development by that +time, and that the public was being aroused on the subject. Stubbes +explains how the goldsmith's shops are decked with chains and rings, +"wonderful richly." Then he goes on to say: "They will make you any +monster or article whatsoever of gold, silver, or what you will. Is +there no deceit in these goodlye shows? Yes, too many; if you will +buy a chain of gold, a ring, or any kind of plate, besides that you +shall pay almost half more than it is worth... you shall also perhaps +have that gold which is naught, or else at least mixed with drossie +rubbage.... But this happeneth very seldom by reason of good orders, +and constitutions made for the punishment of them that offend in +this kind of deceit, and therefore they seldom offend therein, +though now and then they chance to stumble in the dark!" + +Fynes Moryson, a traveller who died in 1614, says that "the goldsmiths' +shops in London... are exceedingly richly furnished continually +with gold, with silver plate, and with jewels.... I never see any +such daily show, anything so sumptuous, in any place in the world, +as in London." He admits that in Florence and Paris the similar +shops are very rich upon special occasions; but it is the steady +state of the market in London to which he has reference. + +The Company of Goldsmiths in Dublin held quite a prominent social +position in the community. In 1649, a great festival and pageant +took place, in which the goldsmiths and visiting craftsmen from +other corporations took part. + +Henry III. set himself to enrich and beautify the shrine of his +patron saint, Edward the Confessor, and with this end in view he +made various extravagant demands: for instance, at one time he +ordered all the gold in London to be detailed to this object, and +at another, he had gold rings and brooches purchased to the value +of six hundred marks. The shrine was of gold, and, according to +Matthew Paris, enriched with jewels. It was commenced in 1241. +In 1244 the queen presented an image of the Virgin with a ruby +and an emerald. Jewels were purchased from time to time,--a great +cameo in 1251, and in 1255 many gems of great value. The son of +ado the Goldsmith, Edward, was the "king's beloved clerk," and was +made "keeper of the shrine." Most of the little statuettes were +described as having stones set somewhere about them: "an image of +St. Peter holding a church in one hand and the keys in the other, +trampling on Nero, who had a big sapphire on his breast;" and "the +Blessed Virgin with her Son, set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, +and garnets," are among those cited. The whole shrine was described +as "a basilica adorned with purest gold and precious stones." + +Odo the Goldsmith was in charge of the works for a good while. He +was succeeded by his son Edward. Payments were made sometimes in a +regular wage, and sometimes for "task work." The workmen were usually +known by one name--Master Alexander the King's Carpenter, Master Henry +the King's Master Mason, and so forth. In an early life of Edward the +Confessor, there is an illumination showing the masons and carpenters +kneeling to receive instruction from their sovereign. + +The golden shrine of the Confessor was probably made in the Palace +itself; this was doubtless considered the safest place for so valuable +a work to remain in process of construction; for there is an allusion +to its being brought on the King's own shoulders (with the assistance +of others), from the palace to the Abbey, in 1269, for its consecration. + +In 1243 Henry III. ordered four silver basins, fitted with cakes +of wax with wicks in them, to be placed as lights before the shrine +of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. The great gold shrine of Becket +appears to have been chiefly the work of a goldsmith, Master Adam. +He also designed the Coronation Chair of England, which is now +in Westminster Abbey. + +The chief goldsmith of England employed by Edward I. was one Adam +of Shoreditch. He was versatile, for he was also a binder of books. +A certain bill shows an item of his workmanship, "a group in silver +of a child riding upon a horse, the child being a likeness of Lord +Edward, the King's son." + +A veritable Arts and Crafts establishment had been in existence +in Woolstrope, Lincolnshire, before Cromwell's time; for Georde +Gifford wrote to Cromwell regarding the suppression of this monastery: +"There is not one religious person there but what doth use either +embrothering, wryting books with a faire hand, making garments, +or carving." + +In all countries the chalices and patens were usually, designed +to correspond with each other. The six lobed dish was a very usual +form; it had a depressed centre, with six indented scallops, and +the edge flat like a dinner plate. In an old church inventory, +mention is made of "a chalice with _his_ paten." Sometimes there was +lettering around the flat edge of the paten. Chalices were-composed +of three parts: the cup, the ball or knop, and the stem, with the +foot. The original purpose of having this foot hexagonal in shape +is said to have been to prevent the chalice from rolling when it +was laid on its side to drain. Under many modifications this general +plan of the cup has obtained. The bowl is usually entirely plain, +to facilitate keeping it clean; most of the decoration was lavished +on the knop, a rich and uneven surface being both beautiful and +functional in this place. + +Such Norman and Romanesque chalices as remain are chiefly in museums +now. They were usually "coffin chalices"--that is, they had been +buried in the coffin of some ecclesiastic. Of Gothic chalices, or +those of the Tudor period, fewer remain, for after the Reformation, +a general order went out to the churches, for all "chalices to be +altered to decent Communion cups." The shape was greatly modified +in this change. + +In the thirteenth century the taste ran rather to a chaster form +of decoration; the large cabochons of the Romanesque, combined +with a liquid gold surface, gave place to refined ornaments in +niello and delicate enamels. The bowls of the earlier chalices +were rather flat and broad. When it became usual for the laity to +partake only of one element when communicating, the chalice, which +was reserved for the clergy alone, became modified to meet this +condition, and the bowl was much smaller. After the Reformation, +however, the development was quite in the other direction, the bowl +being extremely large and deep. In that period they were known +as communion cups. In Sandwich there is a cup which was made over +out of a ciborium; as it quite plainly shows its origin, it is +naïvely inscribed: "This is a Communion Coop." When this change in +the form of the chalice took place, it was provided, by admonition +of the Archbishop, in all cases with a "cover of silver... which +shall serve also for the ministration of the Communion bread." To +make this double use of cover and dish satisfactory, a foot like +a stand was added to the paten. + +The communion cup of the Reformation differed from the chalice, +too, in being taller and straighter, with a deep bowl, almost in +the proportions of a flaring tumbler, and a stem with a few close +decorations instead of a knop. The small paten served as a cover +to the cup, as has been mentioned. + +It is not always easy to see old church plate where it originally +belonged. On the Scottish border, for instance, there were constant +raids, when the Scots would descend upon the English parish churches, +and bear off the communion plate, and again the English would cross +the border and return the compliment. In old churches, such as the +eleventh century structure at Torpenhow, in Cumberland, the deep +sockets still to be seen in the stone door jambs were intended +to support great beams with which the church had constantly to +be fortified against Scottish invasion. Another reason for the +disappearance of church plate, was the occasional sale of the silver +in order to continue necessary repairs on the fabric. In a church +in Norfolk, there is a record of sale of communion silver and "for +altering of our church and fynnishing of the same according to our +mindes and the parishioners." It goes on to state that the proceeds +were appropriated for putting new glass in the place of certain windows +"wherein were conteined the lives of certain prophane histories," +and for "paving the king's highway" in the church precincts. At the +time of the Reformation many valuable examples of Church plate were +cast aside by order of the Commissioners, by which "all monuments +of feyned miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition," were +to be destroyed. At this time a calf or a sheep might have been seen +browsing in the meadows with a sacring-bell fastened at its neck, +and the pigs refreshed themselves with drinking from holy-water +fonts! + +Croziers of ornate design especially roused the ire of the Puritans. +In Mr. Alfred Maskell's incomparable book on Ivories, he translates +a satirical verse by Guy de Coquille, concerning these objectionable +pastoral staves (which were often made of finely sculptured ivory). + + "The staff of a bishop of days that are old + Was of wood, and the bishop himself was of gold. + But a bishop of wood prefers gorgeous array, + So his staff is of gold in the new fashioned way!" + +During the Renaissance especially, goldsmith's work was carried +to great technical perfection, and yet the natural properties of +the metal were frequently lost sight of, and the craftsmen tried +to produce effects such as would be more suitable in stone or +wood,--little architectonic features were introduced, and gold +was frequently made to do the work of other materials. Thus it +lost much of its inherent effectiveness. Too much attention was +given to ingenuity, and not enough to fitness and beauty. + +[Illustration: RELIQUARY AT ORVIETO] + +In documents of the fourteenth century, the following list of goldsmiths +is given: Jean de Mantreux was goldsmith to King Jean. Claux de +Friburg was celebrated for a gold statuette of St. John which he +made for the Duke of Normandy. A diadem for this Duke was also +recorded, made by Jean de Piguigny. Hannequin made three golden crowns +for Charles V. Hans Crest was goldsmith to the Duke of Orleans, while +others employed by him were Durosne, of Toulouse, Jean de Bethancourt, +a Flemish goldsmith. In the fifteenth century the names of Jean de +Hasquin, Perrin Manne, and Margerie d'Avignon, were famous. + +Artists in the Renaissance were expected to undertake several branches +of their craft. Hear Poussin: "It is impossible to work at the +same time upon frontispieces of books: a Virgin: at the picture +for the congregation of St. Louis, at the designs for the gallery, +and for the king's tapestry! I have only a feeble head, and am +not aided by anyone!" + +A goldsmith attached to the Court of King René of Anjou was Jean +Nicolas. René also gave many orders to one Liguier Rabotin, of +Avignon, who made him several cups of solid gold, on a large tray +of the same precious metal. The king often drew his own designs +or such bijoux. + +Among the famous men of Italy were several who practised the art of +the goldsmith. Ugolino of Siena constructed the wonderful reliquary +at Orvieto; this, is in shape somewhat similar to the façade of +the cathedral. + +Verocchio, the instructor of Leonardo da Vinci, accomplished several +important pieces of jewelery in his youth: cope-buttons and silver +statuettes, chiefly, which were so successful that he determined to +take up the career of a sculptor. Ghirlandajo, as is well known, +was trained as a goldsmith originally, his father having been the +inventor of a pretty fashion then prevailing among young girls of +Florence, and being the maker of those golden garlands worn on +the heads of maidens. The name Ghirlandajo, indeed, was derived +from these garlands (ghirlandes). + +Francia began life as a goldsmith, too, and was never in after life +ashamed of his profession, for he often signed his works Francesco +Francia Aurifex. Francia was a very skilful workman in niello, +and in enamels. In fact, to quote the enthusiastic Vasari, "he +executed everything that is most beautiful, and which can be performed +in that art more perfectly than any other master had ever done." +Baccio Baldini, also, was a goldsmith, although a greater portion +of his ability was turned in the direction of engraving. His pupil +Maso Finniguerra, who turned also to engraving, began his career +as a goldsmith. + +The great silver altar in the Baptistery in Florence occupied nearly +all the goldsmiths in that city. In 1330 the father of the Orcagnas, +Cione, died; he had worked for some years before that on the altar. +In 1366 the altar was destroyed, but the parts in bas-relief by +Cione were retained and incorporated into the new work, which was +finished in 1478. Ghiberti, Orcagna, Verocchio, and Pollajuolo, +all executed various details of this magnificent monument. + +Goldsmiths did not quite change their standing and characteristics +until late in the sixteenth century. About that time it may be said +that the last goldsmith of the old school was Claude Ballin, while +the first jeweller, in the modern acceptation of the word, was Pierre +de Montarsy. + +Silver has always been selected for the better household utensils, +not only on account of its beauty, but also because of its ductility, +which is desirable in making larger vessels; its value, too, is +less than that of gold, so that articles which would be quite out +of the reach of most householders, if made in gold, become very +available in silver. Silver is particularly adapted to daily use, +for the necessary washing and polishing which it receives keeps +it in good condition, and there is no danger from poison through +corrosion, as with copper and brass. + +In the middle ages the customary pieces of plate in English homes +were basins, bottles, bowls, candlesticks, saucepans, jugs, dishes, +ewers and flagons, and chafing-dishes for warming the hands, which +were undoubtedly needed, when we remember how intense the cold +must have been in those high, bare, ill-ventilated halls! There +were also large cups called hanaps, smaller cups, plates, and +porringers, salt-cellars, spoons, and salvers. Forks were of much +later date. + +There are records of several silver basins in the Register of John +of Gaunt, and also in the Inventory of Lord Lisle: one being "a +basin and ewer with arms" and another, "a shaving basin." John of +Gaunt also owned "a silver bowl for the kitchen." If the mediæval +household lacked comforts, it could teach us lessons in luxury +in some other departments! He also had a "pair of silver bottles, +partly gilt, and enamelled, garnished with tissues of silk, white +and blue," and a "casting bottle" for distributing perfume: Silver +candelabra were recorded; these, of course, must have been in constant +service, as the facilities for lighting were largely dependent upon +them. When the Crown was once obliged to ask a loan from the Earl +of Salisbury, in 1432, the Earl received, as earnest of payment, +"two golden candelabra, garnished with pearls and precious stones." + +In the Close Roll of Henry III. of England, there is found an +interesting order to a goldsmith: "Edward, son of Eudo, with all +haste, by day and by night, make a cup with a foot for the Queen: +weighing two marks, not more; price twenty marks, against Christmas, +that she may drink from it in that feast: and paint it and enamel it +all over, and in every other way that you can, let it be decently +and beautifully wrought, so that the King, no less than the said +Queen, may be content therewith." All the young princes and princesses +were presented with silver cups, also, as they came to such age as +made the use of them expedient; Lionel and John, sons of Edward +III., were presented with cups "with leather covers for the same," +when they were one and three years old respectively. In 1423 the +chief justice, Sir William Hankford, gave his great-granddaughter +a baptismal gift of a gilt cup and a diamond ring, together with a +curious testimonial of eight shillings and sixpence to the nurse! + +Of dishes, the records are meagre, but there is an amusing entry +among the Lisle papers referring to a couple of "conserve dishes" +for which Lady Lisle expressed a wish. Husee had been ordered to +procure these, but writes, "I can get no conserve dishes... however, +if they be to be had, I will have of them, or it shall cost me hot +water!" A little later he observes, "Towards Christmas day they +shall be made at Bevoys, betwixt Abbeville and Paris." + +Flagons were evidently a novelty in 1471, for there is an entry +in the Issue Roll of Edward IV., which mentions "two ollas called +silver flagons for the King." An olla was a Latin term for a jar. +Lord Lisle rejoiced in "a pair of flagons, the gilt sore worn." +Hanaps were more usual, and appear to have been usually in the form +of goblets. They frequently had stands called "tripers." Sometimes +these stands were very ornate, as, for instance, one owned by the +Bishop of Carpentras, "in the shape of a flying dragon, with a +crowned damsel sitting upon a green terrace." Another, belonging +to the Countess of Cambridge, was described as being "in the shape +of a monster, with three buttresses and three bosses of mother of +pearl... and an ewer,... partly enamelled with divers babooneries"--a +delightful expression! Other hanaps were in the forms of swans, oak +trees, white harts, eagles, lions, and the like--probably often +of heraldic significance. + +A set of platters was sent from Paris to Richard II., all of gold, +with balas rubies, pearls and sapphires set in them. It is related +of the ancient Frankish king, Chilperic, that he had made a dish of +solid gold, "ornamented all over with precious stones, and weighing +fifty pounds," while Lothaire owned an enormous silver basin bearing +as decoration "the world with the courses of the stars and the +planets." + +The porringer was a very important article of table use, for pap, +and soft foods such as we should term cereals, and for boiled pudding. +These were all denominated porridge, and were eaten from these vessels. +Soup was doubtless served in them as well. They were numerous in +every household. In the Roll of Henry III. is an item, mentioning +that he had ordered twenty porringers to be made, "like the one +hundred porringers" which had already been ordered! + +An interesting pattern of silver cups in Elizabethan times were +the "trussing cups," namely, two goblets of silver, squat in shape +and broad in bowl, which fitted together at the rim, so that one +was inverted as a sort of cover on top of the other when they were +not in use. Drinking cups were sometimes made out of cocoanuts, +mounted in silver, and often of ostrich eggs, similarly treated, +and less frequently of horns hollowed out and set on feet. Mediæval +loving cups were usually named, and frequently for some estates +that belonged to the owner. Cups have been known to bear such names +as "Spang," "Bealchier," and "Crumpuldud," while others bore the +names of the patron saints of their owners. + +A kind of cruet is recorded among early French table silver, "a +double necked bottle in divisions, in which to place two kinds +of liquor without mixing them." A curious bit of table silver in +France, also, was the "almsbox," into which each guest was supposed +to put some piece of food, to be given to the poor. + +Spoons were very early in their origin; St. Radegond is reported +by a contemporary to have used a spoon, in feeding the blind and +infirm. A quaint book of instructions to children, called "The +Babee's Booke," in 1475, advises by way of table manners: + + "And whenever your potage to you shall be brought, + Take your sponys and soupe by no way, + And in your dish leave not your spoon, I pray!" + +And a later volume on the same subject, in 1500, commends a proper +respect for the implements of the table: + + "Ne playe with spoone, trencher, ne knife." + +Spoons of curious form were evidently made all the way from 1300 +to the present day. In an old will, in 1477, mention is made of +spoons "wt leopards hedes printed in the sponself," and in another, +six spoons "wt owles at the end of the handles." Professor Wilson +said, "A plated spoon is a pitiful imposition," and he was right. +If there is one article of table service in which solidity of metal +is of more importance than in another, it is the spoon, which must +perforce come in contact with the lips whenever it is used. In England +the earliest spoons were of about the thirteenth century, and the first +idea of a handle seems to have been a plain shaft ending in a ball or +knob. Gradually spoons began to show more of the decorative instinct +of their designers; acorns, small statuettes, and such devices +terminated the handles, which still retained their slender proportions, +however. Finally it became popular to have images of the Virgin on +individual spoons, which led to the idea, after a bit, of decorating +the dozen with the twelve apostles. These may be seen of all periods, +differently elaborated. Sets of thirteen are occasionally met with, +these having one with the statue of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, +with a lamb on his shoulders: it is known as the "Master spoon." + +[Illustration: APOSTLE SPOONS] + +The first mention of forks in France is in the Inventory, of Charles +V., in 1379. We hear a great deal about the promiscuous use of +knives before forks were invented; how in the children's book of +instructions they are enjoined "pick not thy teeth with thy knife," +as if it were a general habit requiring to be checked. Massinger +alludes to a + + "silver fork + To convey an olive neatly to thy mouth," + +but this may apply to pickle forks. Forks were introduced from Italy +into England about 1607. + +A curiosity in cutlery is the "musical knife" at the Louvre; the +blade is steel, mounted in parcel gilt, and the handle is of ivory. +On the blade is engraved a few bars of music (arranged for the +bass only), accompanying the words, "What we are about to take +may Trinity in Unity bless. Amen." This is a literal translation. +It indicates that there were probably three other knives in the +set so ornamented, one with the soprano, one alto, and one tenor, +so that four persons sitting down to table together might chant +their "grace" in four-part harmony, having the requisite notes +before them! It was a quaint idea, but quite in keeping with the +taste of the sixteenth century. + +[Illustration: IVORY KNIFE HANDLES, WITH PORTRAITS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH +AND JAMES I. ENGLIS] + +The domestic plate of Louis, Duke of Anjou, in 1360, consisted of +over seven hundred pieces, and Charles V. of France had an enormous +treasury of such objects for daily use. Strong rooms and safes were +built during the fourteenth century, for the lodging of the household +valuables. About this time the Dukes of Burgundy were famous for +their splendid table service. Indeed, the craze for domestic display +in this line became so excessive, that in 1356 King John of France +prohibited the further production of such elaborate pieces, "gold or +silver plate, vases, or silver jewelry, of more than one mark of gold, +or silver, excepting for churches." This edict, however, accomplished +little, and was constantly evaded. Many large pieces of silver made +in the period of the Renaissance were made simply with a view to +standing about as ornaments. Cellini alludes to certain vases which +had been ordered from him, saying that "they are called ewers, and +they are placed upon buffets for the purpose of display." + +The salt cellar was always a _piece de resistance_, and stood in +the centre of the table. It was often in the form of a ship in +silver. A book entitled "Ffor to serve a Lorde," in 1500, directs +the "boteler" or "panter," to bring forth the principal salt, and to +"set the saler in the myddys of the table." Persons helped themselves +to salt with "a clene kniffe." The seats of honour were all about +the salt, while those of less degree were at the lower end of the +table, and were designated as "below the salt." The silver ship was +commonly an immense piece of plate, containing the napkin, goblet, +and knife and spoon of the host, besides being the receptacle for +the spices and salt. Through fear of poison, the precaution was +taken of keeping it covered. This ship was often known as the "nef," +and frequently had a name, as if it were the family yacht! One is +recorded as having been named the "Tyger," while a nef belonging to +the Duke of Orleans was called the "Porquepy," meaning porcupine. +One of the historic salts, in another form, is the "Huntsman's +salt," and is kept at All Soul's College, Oxford. The figure of a +huntsman, bears upon its head a rock crystal box with a lid. About +the feet of this figure are several tiny animals and human beings, +so that it looks as if the intent had been to picture some gigantic +legendary hunter--a sort of Gulliver of the chase. + +The table was often furnished also with a fountain, in which +drinking-water was kept, and upon which either stood or hung cups +or goblets. These fountains were often of fantastic shapes, and +usually enamelled. One is described as representing a dragon on +a tree top, and another a castle on a hill, with a convenient tap +at some point for drawing off the water. + +The London City Companies are rich in their possessions of valuable +plate. Some of the cups are especially beautiful. The Worshipful +Company of Skinners owns some curious loving cups, emblematic of +the names of the donors. There are five Cockayne Loving Cups, made +in the form of cocks, with their tail feathers spread up to form +the handles. The heads have to be removed for drinking. These cups +were bequeathed by William Cockayne, in 1598. Another cup is in +the form of a peacock, walking with two little chicks of minute +proportions on either side of the parent bird. This is inscribed, +"The gift of Mary the daughter of Richard Robinson, and wife to +Thomas Smith and James Peacock, Skinners." Whether the good lady +were a bigamist or took her husbands in rotation, does not transpire. + +An interesting cup is owned by the Vintners in London, called the +Milkmaid. The figure of a milkmaid, in laced bodice, holds above +her head a small cup on pivots, so that it finds its level when +the figure is inverted, as is the case when the cup is used, the +petticoat of the milkmaid forming the real goblet. It is constructed +on the same principle as the German figures of court ladies holding +up cups, which are often seen to-day, made on the old pattern. The +cups in the case of this milkmaid are both filled with wine, and +it is quite difficult to drink from the larger cup without spilling +from the small swinging cup which is then below the other. Every +member is expected to perform this feat as a sort of initiation. +It dates from 1658. + +[Illustration: THE "MILKMAID CUP"] + +One of the most beautiful Corporation cups is at Norwich, where +it is known as the "Petersen" cup. It is shaped like a very thick +and squat chalice, and around its top is a wide border of decorative +lettering, bearing the inscription, "THE + MOST + HERE + OF. + IS ++ DUNNE + BY + PETER + PETERSON +." This craftsman was a Norwich +silversmith of the sixteenth century, very famous in his day, and +a remarkably chaste designer as well. A beautiful ivory cup twelve +inches high, set in silver gilt, called the Grace Cup, of +Thomas à Becket, is inscribed around the top band, "_Vinum tuum bibe +cum gaudio_." It has a hall-mark of a Lombardic letter H, signifying +the year 1445. It is decorated by cherubs, roses, thistles, and +crosses, relieved with garnets and pearls. On another flat band +is the inscription: "_Sobrii estote_," and on the cover, +in Roman capitals, "_Ferare God_." It is owned by the Howard family, +of Corby. + +Tankards were sometimes made of such crude materials as leather +(like the "lether bottel" of history), and of wood. In fact, the +inventory of a certain small church in the year 1566 tells of a +"penny tankard of wood," which was used as a "holy water stock." + +An extravagant design, of a period really later than we are supposed +to deal with in this book, is a curious cup at Barber's and Surgeon's +Hall, known as the Royal Oak. It is built to suggest an oak tree,--a +naturalistic trunk, with its roots visible, supporting the cup, +which is in the form of a semi-conventional tree, covered with +leaves, detached acorns swinging free on rings from the sides at +intervals! + +Richard Redgrave called attention to some of the absurdities of +the exotic work of his day in England. "Rachel at a well, under +an imitative palm tree," he remarks, "draws, not water, but ink; +a grotto of oyster shells with children beside it, contains... an +ink vessel; the milk pail on a maiden's head contains, not goat's +milk, as the animal by her side would lead you to suppose, but a +taper!" + +One great secret of good design in metal is to avoid imitating +fragile things in a strong material. The stalk of a flower or leaf, +for instance, if made to do duty in silver to support a heavy cup or +vase, is a very disagreeable thing to contemplate; if the article +were really what it represented, it would break under the strain. +While there should be no deliberate perversion of Nature's forms, +there should be no naturalistic imitation. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +JEWELRY AND PRECIOUS STONES + +We are told that the word "jewel" has come by degrees from Latin, +through French, to its present form; it commenced as a "gaudium" +(joy), and progressed through "jouel" and "joyau" to the familiar +word, as we have it. + +The first objects to be made in the form of personal adornment were +necklaces: this may be easily understood, for in certain savage +lands the necklace formed, and still forms, the chief feature in +feminine attire. In this little treatise, however, we cannot deal +with anything so primitive or so early; we must not even take time +to consider the exquisite Greek and Roman jewelry. Amongst the +earliest mediæval jewels we will study the Anglo-Saxon and the +Byzantine. + +Anglo-Saxon and Irish jewelry is famous for delicate filigree, fine +enamels, and flat garnets used in a very decorative way. Niello +was also employed to some extent. It is easy, in looking from the +Bell of St. Patrick to the Book of Kells, to see how the illuminators +were influenced by the goldsmiths in early times,--in Celtic and +Anglo-Saxon work. + +[Illustration: SAXON BROOCH] + +The earliest forms of brooches were the annular,--that is, a long +pin with a hinged ring at its head for ornament, and the "penannular," +or pin with a broken circle at its head. Through the opening in the +circle the pin returns, and then with a twist of the ring, it is +held more firmly in the material. Of these two forms are notable +examples in the Arbutus brooch and the celebrated Tara brooch. The +Tara brooch is a perfect museum in itself of the jeweller's art. +It is ornamented with enamel, with jewels set in silver, amber, +scroll filigree, fine chains, Celtic tracery, moulded glass--nearly +every branch of the art is represented in this one treasure, which +was found quite by accident near Drogheda, in 1850, a landslide +having exposed the buried spot where it had lain for centuries. +As many as seventy-six different kinds of workmanship are to be +detected on this curious relic. + +[Illustration: THE TARA BROOCH] + +At a great Exhibition at Ironmonger's Hall in 1861 +there was shown a leaden fibula, quite a dainty piece of personal +ornament, in Anglo-Saxon taste, decorated with a moulded spiral +meander. It was found in the Thames in 1855, and there are only +three other similar brooches of lead known to exist. + +Of the Celtic brooches Scott speaks: + + "...the brooch of burning gold + That clasps the chieftain's mantle fold, + Wrought and chased with rare device, + Studded fair with gems of price." + +One of the most remarkable pieces of Celtic jewelled work is the +bell of St. Patrick, which measures over ten inches in height. +This saint is associated with several bells: one, called the Broken +Bell of St. Brigid, he used on his last crusade against the demons +of Ireland; it is said that when he found his adversaries specially +unyielding, he flung the bell with all his might into the thickest +of their ranks, so that they fled precipitately into the sea, leaving +the island free from their aggressions for seven years, seven months, +and seven days. + +One of St. Patrick's bells is known, in Celtic, as the "white toned," +while another is called the "black sounding." This is an early and +curious instance of the sub-conscious association of the qualities +of sound with those of colour. Viollet le Duc tells how a blind man +was asked if he knew what the colour red was. He replied, "Yes: +red is the sound of the trumpet." And the great architect himself, +when a child, was carried by his nurse into the Cathedral of Notre +Dame in Paris, where he cried with terror because he fancied that +the various organ notes which he heard were being hurled at him +by the stained glass windows, each one represented by a different +colour in the glass! + +[Illustration: SHRINE OF THE BELL OF ST. PATRICK] + +But the most famous bell in connection with St. Patrick is the one +known by his own name and brought with his relics by Columbkille +only sixty years after the saint's death. The outer case is an +exceedingly rich example of Celtic work. On a ground of brass, fine +gold and silver filigree is applied, in curious interlaces and knots, +and it is set with several jewels, some of large size, in green, +blue, and dull red. In the front are two large tallow-cut Irish +diamonds, and a third was apparently set in a place which is now +vacant. On the back of the bell appears a Celtic inscription in most +decorative lettering all about the edge; the literal translation +of this is: "A prayer for Donnell O'Lochlain, through whom this +bell shrine was made; and for Donnell, the successor of Patrick, +with whom it was made; and for Cahalan O'Mulhollan, the keeper of +the bell, and for Cudilig O'Immainen, with his sons, who covered +it." Donald O'Lochlain was monarch of Ireland in 1083. Donald the +successor of Patrick was the Abbot of Armagh, from 1091 to 1105. +The others were evidently the craftsmen who worked on the shrine. +In many interlaces, especially on the sides, there may be traced +intricate patterns formed of serpents, but as nearly all Celtic +work is similarly ornamented, there is probably nothing personal +in their use in connection with the relic of St. Patrick! Patrick +brought quite a bevy of workmen into Ireland about 440: some were +smiths, Mac Cecht, Laebhan, and Fontchan, who were turned at once +upon making of bells, while some other skilled artificers, Fairill +and Tassach, made patens and chalices. St. Bridget, too, had a +famous goldsmith in her train, one Bishop Coula. + +The pectoral cross of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne is now to be seen +in Durham. It was buried with the saint, and was discovered with +his body. The four arms are of equal length, and not very heavy in +proportion. It is of gold, made in the seventh century, and is set +with garnets, a very large one in the centre, one somewhat smaller +at the ends of the arms, where the lines widen considerably, and +with smaller ones continuously between. + +Among the many jewels which decorated the shrine of Thomas à Becket +at Canterbury was a stone "with an angell of gold poynting thereunto," +which was a gift from the King of France, who had had it "made +into a ring and wore it on his thumb." Other stones described as +being on this shrine were sumptuous, the whole being damascened +with gold wire, and "in the midst of the gold, rings; or cameos +of sculptured agates, carnelians, and onyx stones." A visitor to +Canterbury in 1500 writes: "Everything is left far behind by a +ruby not larger than a man's thumb nail, which is set to the right +of the altar. The church is rather dark, and when we went to see +it the sun was nearly gone down, and the weather was cloudy, yet +we saw the ruby as well as if it had been in my hand. They say +it was a gift of the King of France." + +Possessions of one kind were often converted into another, according +to changing fashions. Philippa of Lancaster had a gold collar made +"out of two bottles and a turret," in 1380. + +Mediæval rosaries were generally composed of beads of coral or +carnelian, and often of gold and pearls as well. Marco Polo tells +of a unique rosary worn by the King of Malabar; one hundred and +four large pearls, with occasional rubies of great price, composed +the string. Marco Polo adds: "He has to say one hundred and four +prayers to his idols every morning and evening." + +In the possession of the Shah of Persia is a gold casket studded +with emeralds, which is said to have the magic power of rendering +the owner invisible as long as he remains celibate. I fancy that +this is a safe claim, for the tradition is not likely to be put +to the proof in the case of a Shah! Probably there has never been +an opportunity of testing the miraculous powers of the stones. + +The inventory of Lord Lisle contains many interesting side lights +on the jewelry of the period: "a hawthorne of gold, with twenty +diamonds;" "a little tower of gold," and "a pair of beads of gold, +with tassels." Filigree or chain work was termed "perry." In old +papers such as inventories, registers, and the like, there are +frequent mentions of buttons of "gold and perry;" in 1372 Aline +Gerbuge received "one little circle of gold and perry, emeralds +and balasses." Clasps and brooches were used much in the fourteenth +century. They were often called "ouches," and were usually of jewelled +gold. One, an image of St. George, was given by the Black Prince to +John of Gaunt. The Duchess of Bretagne had among other brooches one +with a white griffin, a balas ruby on its shoulder, six sapphires +around it, and then six balasses, and twelve groups of pearls with +diamonds. + +Brooches were frequently worn by being stuck in the hat. In a curious +letter from James I. to his son, the monarch writes: "I send for +your wearing the Three Brethren" (evidently a group of three stones) +"...but newly set... which I wolde wish you to weare alone in your +hat, with a Littel black feather." To his favourite Buckingham +he also sends a diamond, saying that his son will lend him also +"an anker" in all probability; but he adds: "If my Babee will not +spare the anker from his Mistress, he may well lend thee his round +brooch to weare, and yett he shall have jewels to weare in his +hat for three grate dayes." + +In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the women wore nets in +their hair, composed of gold threads adorned with pearls. At first +two small long rolls by the temples were confined in these nets: +later, the whole back hair was gathered into a large circular +arrangement. These nets were called frets--"a fret of pearls" was +considered a sufficient legacy for a duchess to leave to her daughter. + +In the constant resetting and changing of jewels, many important +mediæval specimens, not to mention exquisite vessels and church +furniture, were melted down and done over by Benvenuto Cellini, +especially at the time that Pope Clement was besieged at the Castle +of St. Angelo. + +Probably the most colossal jewel of ancient times was the Peacock +Throne of Delhi. It was in the form of two spread tails of peacocks, +composed entirely of sapphires, emeralds and topazes, feather by +feather and eye by eye, set so as to touch each other. A parrot of +life size carved from a single emerald, stood between the peacocks. + +In 1161 the throne of the Emperor in Constantinople is described +by Benjamin of Tudela: "Of gold ornamented with precious stones. +A golden crown hangs over it, suspended on a chain of the same +material, the length of which exactly admits the Emperor to sit +under it. The crown is ornamented with precious stones of inestimable +value. Such is the lustre of these diamonds that even without any +other light, they illumine the room in which they are kept." + +The greatest mediæval jeweller was St. Eloi of Limoges. His history +is an interesting one, and his achievement and rise in life was very +remarkable in the period in which he lived. Eloi was a workman in +Limoges, as a youth, under the famous Abho, in the sixth century; +there he learned the craft of a goldsmith. He was such a splendid +artisan that he soon received commissions for extensive works on his +own account. King Clothaire II. ordered from him a golden throne, +and supplied the gold which was to be used. To the astonishment of +all, Eloi presented the king with _two_ golden thrones (although +it is difficult to imagine what a king would do with duplicate +thrones!), and immediately it was noised abroad that the goldsmith +Eloi was possessed of miraculous powers, since, out of gold sufficient +for one throne, he had constructed two. People of a more practical +turn found out that Eloi had learned the art of alloying the gold, +so as to make it do double duty. + +A great many examples of St. Eloi's work might have been seen in +France until the Revolution in 1792, especially at the Abbey of St. +Denis. A ring made by him, with which St. Godiberte was married to +Christ, according to the custom of mediæval saints, was preserved at +Noyon until 1793, when it disappeared in the Revolution. The Chronicle +says of Eloi: "He made for the king a great numer of gold vesses +enriched with precious stones, and he worked incessantly, seated +with his servant Thillo, a Saxon by birth, who followed the lessons +of his master." St. Eloi founded two institutions for goldsmithing: +one for the production of domestic and secular plate, and the other +for ecclesiastical work exclusively, so that no worker in profane +lines should handle the sacred vessels. The secular branch was +situated near the dwelling of Eloi, in the Cité itself, and was +known as "St. Eloi's Enclosure." When a fire burned them out of +house and shelter, they removed to a suburban quarter, which soon +became known in its turn, as the "Clôture St. Eloi." The religious +branch of the establishment was presided over by the aforesaid +Thillo, and was the Abbey of Solignac, near Limoges. This school +was inaugurated in 631. + +While Eloi was working at the court of King Clothaire II., St. Quen +was there as well. The two youths struck up a close friendship, and +afterwards Ouen became his biographer. His description of Eloi's +personal appearance is worth quoting, to show the sort of figure a +mediæval saint sometimes cut before canonization. "He was tall, with +a ruddy face, his hair and beard curly. His hands well made, and his +fingers long, his face full of angelic sweetness.... At first he +wore habits covered with pearls and precious stones; he had also +belts sewn with pearls. His dress was of linen encrusted with gold, +and the edges of his tunic trimmed with gold embroidery. Indeed, his +clothing was very costly, and some of his dresses were of silk. Such +was his exterior in his first period at court, and he dressed thus +to avoid singularity; but under this garment he wore a rough sack +cloth, and later on, he disposed of all his ornaments to relieve the +distressed; and he might be seen with only a cord round his waist +and common clothes. Sometimes the king, seeing him thus divested of +his rich clothing, would take off his own cloak and girdle and give +them to him, saying: 'It is not suitable that those who dwell for +the world should be richly clad, and that those who despoil +themselves for Christ should be without glory.'" + +Among the numerous virtues of St. Eloi was that of a consistent +carrying out of his real beliefs and theories, whether men might +consider him quixotic or not. He was strongly opposed to the institution +of slavery. In those days it would have been futile to preach actual +emancipation. The times were not ripe. But St. Eloi did all that he +could for the cause of freedom by investing most of his money in +slaves, and then setting them at liberty. Sometimes he would "corner" +a whole slave market, buying as many as thirty to a hundred at a +time. Some of these manumitted persons became his own faithful +followers: some entered the religious life, and others devoted their +talents to their benefactor, and worked in his studios for the +furthering of art in the Church. + +He once played a trick upon the king. He requested the gift of +a town, in order, as he explained, that he might there build a +ladder by which they might both reach heaven. The king, in the +rather credulous fashion of the times, granted his request, and +waited to see the ladder. St. Eloi promptly built a monastery. +If the monarch did not choose to avail himself of this species of +ladder,--surely it was no fault of the builder! + +St. Quen and St. Eloi were consecrated bishops on the same day, +May 14, St. Quen to the Bishopric of Rouen, and Eloi to the See of +Noyon. He made a great hunt for the body of St. Quentin, which had +been unfortunately mislaid, having been buried in the neighbourhood +of Noyon; he turned up every available spot of ground around, within +and beneath the church, until he found a skeleton in a tomb, with +some iron nails. This he proclaimed to be the sacred body, for +the legend was that St. Quentin had been martyred by having nails +driven into his head! Although it was quite evident to others that +these were coffin nails, still St. Eloi insisted upon regarding his +discovery as genuine, and they began diligently to dismember the +remains for distribution among the churches. As they were pulling +one of the teeth, a drop of blood was seen to follow it, which +miracle was hailed by St. Eloi as the one proof wanting. Eloi had +the genuine artistic temperament and his religious zeal was much +influenced by his æsthetic nature. He once preached an excellent +sermon, still preserved, against superstition. He inveighed +particularly against the use of charms and incantations. But he had +his own little streak of superstition in spite of the fact that he +fulminated against it. When he had committed some fault, after +confession, he used to hang bags of relics in his room, and watch +them for a sign of forgiveness. When one of these would turn oily, +or begin to affect the surrounding atmosphere peculiarly, he would +consider it a sign of the forgiveness of heaven. It seems to us +to-day as if he might have looked to his own relic bags before +condemning the ignorant. + +St. Eloi died in 659, and was himself distributed to the faithful +in quite a wholesale way. One arm is in Paris. He was canonized +both for his holy life and for his great zeal in art. He was buried +in a silver coffin adorned with gold, and his tomb was said to +work miracles like the shrine of Becket. Indeed, Becket himself +was pretty dressy in the matter of jewels; when he travelled to +Paris, the simple Frenchmen exclaimed: "What a wonderful personage +the King of England must be, if his chancellor can travel in such +state!" + +There are various legends about St. Eloi. It is told that a certain +horse once behaved in a very obstreperous way while being shod; St. +Eloi calmly cut off the animal's leg, and fixed the shoe quietly +in position, and then replaced the leg, which grew into place again +immediately, to the pardonable astonishment of all beholders, not +to mention the horse. + +St. Eloi was also employed to coin the currency of Dagobert and +Clovis II., and examples of these coins may now be seen, as authentic +records of the style of his work. A century after his death the +monasteries which he had founded were still in operation, and +Charlemagne's crown and sword are very possibly the result of St. +Eloi's teachings to his followers. + +While the monasteries undoubtedly controlled most of the art education +of the early middle ages, there were also laymen who devoted themselves +to these pursuits. John de Garlande, a famous teacher in the University +of Paris, wrote, in the eleventh century, a "Dictionarius" dealing +with various arts. In this interesting work he describes, the trades +of the moneyers (who controlled the mint), the coining of gold and +silver into currency (for the making of coin in those days was +permitted by individuals), the clasp makers, the makers of cups +or hanaps, jewellers and harness makers, and other artificers. +John de Garlande was English, born about the middle of the twelfth +century, and was educated in Oxford. In the early thirteenth century +he became associated with the University, and when Simon de Montfort +was slain in 1218, at Toulouse, John was at the University of +Toulouse, where he was made So professor, and stayed three years, +returning then to Paris. He died about the middle of the thirteenth +century. He was celebrated chiefly for his Dictionarius, a work on +the various arts and crafts of France, and for a poem "De Triumphis +Ecclesiæ." + +During the Middle Ages votive crowns were often presented to churches; +among these a few are specially famous. The crowns, studded with +jewels, were suspended before the altar by jewelled chains, and often +a sort of fringe of jewelled letters was hung from the rim, forming +an inscription. The votive crown of King Suinthila, in Madrid, is +among the most ornate of these. It is the finest specimen in the +noted "Treasure of Guerrazzar," which was discovered by peasants +turning up the soil near Toledo; the crowns, of which there were +many, date from about the seventh century, and are sumptuous with +precious stones. The workmanship is not that of a barbarous nation, +though it has the fascinating irregularities of the Byzantine style. + +Of the delightful work of the fifth and sixth centuries there are +scarcely any examples in Italy. The so-called Iron Crown of Monza +is one of the few early Lombard treasures. This crown has within +it a narrow band of iron, said to be a nail of the True Cross; +but the crown, as it meets the eye, is anything but iron, being +one of the most superb specimens of jewelled golden workmanship, +as fine as those in the Treasure of Guerrazzar. + +[Illustration: THE TREASURE OF GUERRAZZAR.] + +The crown of King Alfred the Great is mentioned in an old inventory +as being of "gould wire worke, sett with slight stones, and two +little bells." A diadem is described by William of Malmsbury, "so +precious with jewels, that the splendour... threw sparks of light +so strongly on the beholder, that the more steadfastly any person +endeavoured to gaze, so much the more he was dazzled, and compelled +to avert the eyes!" In 1382 a circlet crown was purchased for Queen +Anne of Bohemia, being set with a large sapphire, a balas, and four +large pearls with a diamond in the centre. + +The Cathedral at Amiens owns what is supposed to be the head of +John the Baptist, enshrined in a gilt cup of silver, and with bands +of jewelled work. The head is set upon a platter of gilded and +jewelled silver, covered with a disc of rock crystal. The whole, +though ancient, is enclosed in a modern shrine. The legend of the +preservation of the Baptist's head is that Herodias, afraid that +the saint might be miraculously restored to life if his head and +body were laid in the same grave, decided to hide the head until +this danger was past. Furtively, she concealed the relic for a time, +and then it was buried in Herod's palace. It was there opportunely +discovered by some monks in the fourth century. This "invention of +the head" (the word being interpreted according to the credulity of +the reader) resulted in its removal to Emesa, where it was exhibited +in 453. In 753 Marcellus, the Abbot of Emesa, had a vision by means +of which he re-discovered (or re-invented) the head, which had in +some way been lost sight of. Following the guidance of his dream, +he repaired to a grotto, and proceeded to exhume the long-suffering +relic. After many other similar and rather disconnected episodes, +it finally came into possession of the Bishop of Amiens in 1206. + +A great calamity in early times was the loss of all the valuables +of King John of England. Between Lincolnshire and Norfolk the royal +cortège was crossing the Wash: the jewels were all swept away. +Crown and all were thus lost, in 1216. + +Several crowns have been through vicissitudes. When Richard III. +died, on Bosworth Field, his crown was secured by a soldier and +hidden in a bush. Sir Reginald de Bray discovered it, and restored +it to its rightful place. But to balance such cases several of the +queens have brought to the national treasury their own crowns. +In 1340 Edward III. pawned even the queen's jewels to raise money +for fighting France. + +The same inventory makes mention of certain treasures deposited +at Westminster: the values are attached to each of these, crowns, +plates, bracelets, and so forth. Also, with commendable zeal, a +list was kept of other articles stored in an iron chest, among which +are the items, "one liver coloured silk robe, very old, and worth +nothing," and "an old combe of horne, worth nothing." A frivolous +scene is described by Wood, when the notorious Republican, Marten, +had access to the treasure stored in Westminster. Some of the wits +of the period assembled in the treasury, and took out of the iron +chest several of its jewels, a crown, sceptre, and robes; these +they put upon the merry poet, George Withers, "who, being thus +crowned and royally arrayed, first marched about the room with a +stately gait, and afterwards, with a thousand ridiculous and apish +actions, exposed the sacred ornaments to contempt and laughter." +No doubt the "olde comb" played a suitable part in these +pranks,--perhaps it may even have served as orchestra. + +One Sir Henry Mildmay, in 1649, was responsible for dreadful vandalism, +under the Puritan régime. Among other acts which he countenanced was +the destruction and sale of the wonderful Crown of King Alfred, +to which allusion has just been made. In the Will of the Earl of +Pembroke, in 1650, is this clause showing how unpopular Sir Henry +had become: "Because I threatened Sir Henry Mildmay, but did not +beat him, I give £50 to the footman who cudgelled him. Item, my +will is that the said Sir Harry shall not meddle with my jewels. I +knew him... when he handled the Crown jewels,... for which reason +I now name him the Knave of Diamonds." + +Jewelled arms and trappings became very rich in the fifteenth century. +Pius II. writes of the German armour: "What shall I say of the +neck chains of the men, and the bridles of the horses, which are +made of the purest gold; and of the spears and scabbards which are +covered with jewels?" Spurs were also set with jewels, and often +damascened with gold, and ornamented with appropriate mottoes. + +An inventory of the jewelled cups and reliquaries of Queen Jeanne +of Navarre, about 1570, reads like a museum. She had various gold +and jewelled dishes for banquets; one jewel is described as "Item, +a demoiselle of gold, represented as riding upon a horse, of mother +of pearl, standing upon a platform of gold, enriched with ten rubies, +six turquoises and three fine pearls." Another item is, "A fine rock +crystal set in gold, enriched with three rubies, three emeralds, +and a large sapphire, set transparently, the whole suspended from +a small gold chain." + +It is time now to speak of the actual precious stones themselves, +which apart from their various settings are, after all, the real +jewels. According to Cellini there are only four precious stones: +he says they are made "by the four elements," ruby by fire, sapphire +by air, emerald by earth, and diamond by water. It irritated him +to have any one claim others as precious stones. "I have a thing +or two to say," he remarks, "in order not to scandalize a certain +class of men who call themselves jewellers, but may be better likened +to hucksters, or linen drapers, pawn brokers, or grocers... with a +maximum of credit and a minimum of brains... these dunderheads... +wag their arrogant tongues at me and cry, 'How about the chrysophrase, +or the jacynth, how about the aqua marine, nay more, how about the +garnet, the vermeil, the crysolite, the plasura, the amethyst? +Ain't these all stones and all different?' Yes, and why the devil +don't you add pearls, too, among the jewels, ain't they fish bones?" +Thus he classes the stones together, adding that the balas, though +light in colour, is a ruby, and the topaz a sapphire. "It is of the +same hardness, and though of a different colour, must be classified +with the sapphire: what better classification do you want? hasn't +the air got its sun?" + +Cellini always set the coloured stones in a bezel or closed box +of gold, with a foil behind them. He tells an amusing story of +a ruby which he once set on a bit of frayed silk instead of on +the customary foil. The result happened to be most brilliant. The +jewellers asked him what kind of foil he had used, and he replied +that he had employed no foil. Then they exclaimed that he must have +tinted it, which was against all laws of jewelry. Again Benvenuto +swore that he had neither used foil, nor had he done anything forbidden +or unprofessional to the stone. "At this the jeweller got a little +nasty, and used strong language," says Cellini. They then offered +to pay well for the information if Cellini would inform them by what +means he had obtained so remarkably a lustre. Benvenuto, expressing +himself indifferent to pay, but "much honoured in thus being able to +teach his teachers," opened the setting and displayed his secret, +and all parted excellent friends. + +Even so early as the thirteenth century, the jewellers of Paris had +become notorious for producing artificial jewels. Among their laws +was one which stipulated that "the jeweller was not to dye the +amethyst, or other false stones, nor mount them in gold leaf nor other +colour, nor mix them with rubies, emeralds, or other precious stones, +except as a crystal simply without mounting or dyeing." + +One day Cellini had found a ruby which he believed to be set +dishonestly, that is, a very pale stone with a thick coating of +dragon's blood smeared on its back. When he took it to some of +his favourite "dunderheads," they were sure that he was mistaken, +saying that it had been set by a noted jeweller, and could not be +an imposition. So Benvenuto immediately removed the stone from +its setting, thereby exposing the fraud. "Then might that ruby have +been likened to the crow which tricked itself out in the feathers +of the peacock," observes Cellini, adding that he advised these +"old fossils in the art" to provide themselves with better eyes +than they then _wore_. "I could not resist saying this," chuckles +Benvenuto, "because all three of them wore great gig-lamps on their +noses; whereupon they all three gasped at each other, shrugged +their shoulders, and with God's blessing, made off." Cellini tells +of a Milanese jeweller who concocted a great emerald, by applying a +very thin layer of the real stone upon a large bit of green glass: +he says that the King of England bought it, and that the fraud +was not discovered for many years. + +A commission was once given Cellini to make a magnificent crucifix +for a gift from the Pope to Emperor Charles V., but, as he expresses +it, "I was hindered from finishing it by certain beasts who had the +vantage of the Pope's ear," but when these evil whisperers had so +"gammoned the Pope," that he was dissuaded from the crucifix, the +Pope ordered Cellini to make a magnificent Breviary instead, so +that the "job" still remained in his hands. + +Giovanni Pisano made some translucid enamels for the decorations of +the high altar in Florence, and also a jewelled clasp to embellish +the robe of a statue of the Virgin. + +Ghiberti was not above turning his attention to goldsmithing, and +in 1428 made a seal for Giovanni de Medici, a cope-button and mitre +for Pope Martin V., and a gold nutre with precious stones weighing +five and a half pounds, for Pope Eugene IV. + +Diamonds were originally cut two at a time, one cutting the other, +whence has sprung the adage, "diamond cut diamond." Cutting in +facets was thus the natural treatment of this gem. The practise +originated in India. Two diamonds rubbing against each other +systematically will in time form a facet on each. In 1475 it was +discovered by Louis de Berghem that diamonds could be cut by their +own dust. + +It is an interesting fact in connection with the Kohinoor that +in India there had always been a legend that its owner should be +the ruler of India. Probably the ancient Hindoos among whom this +legend developed would be astonished to know that, although the +great stone is now the property of the English, the tradition is +still unbroken! + +Marco Polo alludes to the treasures brought from the +Isle of Ormus, as "spices, pearls, precious stones, cloth of gold +and silver, elephant's teeth, and all other precious things from +India." In Balaxiam he says are found "ballasses and other precious +stones of great value. No man, on pain of death, dare either dig +such stones or carry them out of the country, for all those stones +are the King's. Other mountains also in this province yield stones +called lapis lazuli, whereof the best azure is made. The like is +not found in the world. These mines also yield silver, brass, and +lead." He speaks of the natives as wearing gold and silver earrings, +"with pearls and-other stones artificially wrought in them." In +a certain river, too, are found jasper and chalcedons. + +Marco Polo's account of how diamonds are obtained is ingenuous +in its reckless defiance of fact. He says that in the mountains +"there are certain great deep valleys to the bottom of which there +is no access. Wherefore the men who go in search of the diamonds +take with them pieces of meat," which they throw into this deep +valley. He relates that the eagles, when they see these pieces of +meat, fly down and get them, and when they return, they settle on +the higher rocks, when the men raise a shout, and drive them off. +After the eagles have thus been driven away, "the men recover the +pieces of meat, and find them full of diamonds, which have stuck to +them. For the abundance of diamonds down in the depths," continues +Marco Polo, naïvely "is astonishing; but nobody can get down, and +if one could, it would be only to be incontinently devoured +by the serpents which are so rife there." A further account proceeds +thus: "The diamonds are so scattered and dispersed in the earth, +and lie so thin, that in the most plentiful mines it is rare to +find one in digging;... they are frequently enclosed in clods,... +some... have the earth so fixed about them that till they grind +them on a rough stone with sand, they cannot move it sufficiently +to discover they are transparent or... to know them from other +stones. At the first opening of the mine, the unskilful labourers +sometimes, to try what they have found, lay them on a great stone, +and, striking them one with another, to their costly experience, +discover that they have broken a diamond.... They fill a cistern +with water, soaking therein as much of the earth they dig out of +the mine as it can hold at one time, breaking the clods, picking +out the great stones, and stirring it with shovels... then they +open a vent, letting out the foul water, and supply it with clean, +till the earthy substance be all washed away, and only the gravelly +one remains at the bottom." A process of sifting and drying is then +described, and the gravel is all spread out to be examined, "they +never examine the stuff they have washed but between the hours of +ten and three, lest any cloud, by interposing, intercept the brisk +beams of the sun, which they hold very necessary to assist them +in their search, the diamonds constantly reflecting them when they +shine on them, rendering themselves thereby the more conspicuous." + +The earliest diamond-cutter is frequently mentioned as Louis de +Berquem de Bruges, in 1476. But Laborde finds earlier records of +the art of cutting this gem: there was in Paris a diamond-cutter +named Herman, in 1407. The diamond cutters of Paris were quite +numerous in that year, and lived in a special district known as "la +Courarie, where reside the workers in diamonds and other stones." + +Finger rings almost deserve a history to themselves, for their +forms and styles are legion. Rings were often made of glass in the +eleventh century. Theophilus tells in a graphic and interesting +manner how they were constructed. He recommends the use of a bar +of iron, as thick as one's finger, set in a wooden handle, "as a +lance is joined in its pike." There should also be a large piece +of wood, at the worker's right hand, "the thickness of an arm, +dug into the ground, and reaching to the top of the window." On +the left of the furnace a little clay trench is to be provided. +"Then, the glass being cooked," one is admonished to take the little +iron in the wooden handle, dip it into the molten glass, and pick +up a small portion, and "prick it into the wood, that the glass +may be pierced through, and instantly warm it in the flame, and +strike it twice upon the wood, that the glass may be dilated, and +with quickness revolve your hand with the same iron;" when the +ring is thus formed, it is to be quickly thrown into the trench. +Theophilus adds, "If you wish to vary your rings with other colours... +take... glass of another colour, surrounding the glass of the ring +with it in the manner of a thread... you can also place upon the +ring glass of another kind, as a gem, and warm it in the fire that +it may adhere." One can almost see these rings from this accurate +description of their manufacture. + +The old Coronation Ring, "the wedding ring of England," was a gold +ring with a single fine balas ruby; the pious tradition had it +that this ring was given to Edward the Confessor by a beggar, who +was really St. John the Evangelist in masquerade! The palace where +this unique event occurred was thereupon named Have-ring-at-Bower. +The Stuart kings all wore this ring and until it came to George +IV., with other Stuart bequests, it never left the royal Stuart +line. + +Edward I. owned a sapphire ring made by St. Dunstan. Dunstan was +an industrious art spirit, being reported by William of Malmsbury +as "taking great delight in music, painting, and engraving." In +the "Ancren Riwle," a book of directions for the cloistered life +of women, nuns are forbidden to wear "ne ring ne brooche," and +to deny themselves other personal adornments. + +Archbishops seem to have possessed numerous rings in ancient times. +In the romance of "Sir Degrevant" a couplet alludes to: + + "Archbishops with rings + More than fifteen." + +Episcopal rings were originally made of sapphires, said to be typical +of the cold austerity of the life of the wearer. Later, however, +the carbuncle became a favourite, which was supposed to suggest fiery +zeal for the faith. Perhaps the compromise of the customary amethyst, +which is now most popularly used, for Episcopal rings, being a +combination of the blue and the red, may typify a blending of more +human qualities! + +[Illustration: HEBREW RING] + +In an old will of 1529, a ring was left as a bequest to a relative, +described as "a table diamond set with black aniell, meate for my +little finger." + +The accompanying illustration represents a Hebrew ring, surmounted +by a little mosque, and having the inscription "Mazul Toub" (God +be with you, or Good luck to you). + +It was the custom in Elizabethan times to wear "posie rings" (or +poesie rings) in which inscriptions were cut, such as, "Let likinge +Laste," "Remember the ? that is in pain," or, "God saw fit this +knot to knit," and the like. These posie rings are so called +because of the little poetical sentiments associated with them. +They were often used as engagement rings, and sometimes as wedding +rings. In an old Saxon ring is the inscription, "Eanred made me and +Ethred owns me." One of the mottoes in an old ring is pathetic; +evidently it was worn by an invalid, who was trying to be patient, +"Quant Dieu Plera melior sera." (When it shall please God, I shall +be better.) And in a small ring set with a tiny diamond, "This +sparke shall grow." An agreeable and favourite "posie" was + + "The love is true + That I O U." + +A motto in a ring owned by Lady Cathcart was inscribed on the occasion +of her fourth marriage; with laudable ambition, she observes, + + "If I survive, + I will have five." + +It is to these "posie rings" that Shakespeare has reference when +he makes Jaques say to Orlando: "You are full of pretty answers: +have you not been acquainted with goldsmiths' wives, and conned +them out of rings?" + +In the Isle of Man there was once a law that any girl who had been +wronged by a man had the right to redress herself in one of three +ways: she was given a sword, a rope and a ring, and she could decide +whether she would behead him, hang him, or marry him. Tradition +states that the ring was almost invariably the weapon chosen by +the lady. + +Superstition has ordained that certain stones should cure certain +evils: the blood-stone was of very general efficacy, it was claimed, +and the opal, when folded in a bay leaf, had the power of rendering +the owner invisible. Some stones, especially the turquoise, turned +pale or became deeper in hue according to the state of the owner's +health; the owner of a diamond was invincible; the possession of an +agate made a man amiable, and eloquent. Whoever wore an amethyst +was proof against intoxication, while a jacynth superinduced sleep +in cases of insomnia. Bed linen was often embroidered, and set with +bits of jacynth, and there is even a record of diamonds having +been used in the decoration of sheets! Another entertaining instance +of credulity was the use of "cramp rings." These were rings blessed +by the queen, and supposed to cure all manner of cramps, just as the +king's touch was supposed to cure scrofula. When a queen died, the +demand for these rings became a panic: no more could be produced, +until a new queen was crowned. After the beheading of Anne Boleyn, +Husee writes to his patroness: "Your ladyship shall receive of this +bearer nine cramp rings of silver. John Williams says he never +had so few of gold as this year!" + +A stone engraved with the figure of a hare was believed to be valuable +in exorcising the devil. That of a dog preserved the owner from +"dropsy or pestilence;" a versatile ring indeed! An old French book +speaks of an engraved stone with the image of Pegasus being particularly +healthful for warriors; it was said to give them "boldness and swiftness +in flight." These two virtues sound a trifle incompatible! + +The turquoise was supposed to be especially sympathetic. According +to Dr. Donne: + + "A compassionate turquoise, that cloth tell + By looking pale, the owner is not well," + +must have been a very sensitive stone. + +There was a physician in the fourth century who was famous for his +cures of colic and biliousness by means of an iron ring engraved +with an exorcism requesting the bile to go and take possession of +a bird! There was also a superstition that fits could be cured +by a ring made of "sacrament money." The sufferer was obliged to +stand at the church door, begging a penny from every unmarried +man who passed in or out; this was given to a silversmith, who +exchanged it at the cathedral for "sacrament money," out of which +he made a ring. If this ring was worn by the afflicted person, +the seizures were said to cease. + +The superstition concerning the jewel in the toad's head was a +strangely persistent one: it is difficult to imagine what real +foundation there could ever have been for the idea. An old writer +gives directions for getting this stone, which the toad in his life +time seems to have guarded most carefully. "A rare good way to get +the stone out of a toad," he says, "is to put a... toad... into +an earthen pot: put the same into an ant's hillocke, and cover +the same with earth, which toad... the ants will eat, so that the +bones... and stone will be left in the pot." Boethius once stayed +up all night watching a toad in the hope that it might relinquish +its treasure; but he complained that nothing resulted "to gratify +the great pangs of his whole night's restlessness." + +An old Irish legend says that "the stone Adamant in the land of +India grows no colder in any wind or snow or ice; there is no heat +in it under burning sods" (this is such an Hibernian touch! The +peat fuel was the Celtic idea of a heating system), "nothing is +broken from it by striking of axes and hammers; there is one thing +only breaks that stone, the blood of the Lamb at the Mass; and +every king that has taken that stone in his right hand before going +into battle, has always gained the victory." There is also a +superstition regarding the stone Hibien, which is said to flame +like a fiery candle in the darkness, "it spills out poison before +it in a vessel; every snake that comes near to it or crosses it +dies on the moment." Another stone revered in Irish legend is the +Stone of Istien, which is found "in the brains of dragons after +their deaths," and a still more capable jewel seems to be the Stone +of Fanes, within which it is claimed that the sun, moon, and twelve +stars are to be seen. "In the hearts of the dragons it is always +found that make their journey under the sea. No one having it in +his hand can tell any lie until he has put it from him; no race or +army could bring it into a house where there is one that has made +way with his father. At the hour of matins it gives out sweet music +that there is not the like of under heaven." + +Bartholomew, the mediæval scientist, tells narratives of the magical +action of the sapphire. "The sapphire is a precious stone," he +says, "and is blue in colour, most like to heaven in fair weather +and clear, and is best among precious stones, and most apt and able +to fingers of kings. And if thou put an addercop in a box, and +hold a very sapphire of India at the mouth of the box any while, +by virtue thereof the addercop is overcome and dieth, as it were +suddenly. And this same I have seen proved oft in many and divers +places." Possibly the fact that the addercop is so infrequent an +invader of our modern life accounts for the fact that we are left +inert upon reading so surprising a statement; or possibly our +incredulity dominates our awe. + +The art of the lapidary, or science of glyptics, is a most interesting +study, and it would be a mistake not to consider it for a few moments +on its technical side. It is very ancient as an art. In Ecclesiasticus +the wise Son of Sirach alludes to craftsmen "that cut and grave +seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves +to counterfeit imagery, and watch to finish a work." + +Theophilus on glyptics is too delightfully naïve for us to resist +quoting his remarks. "Crystal," he announces, "which is water hardened +into ice, and the ice of great age hardened into stone, is trimmed +and polished in this manner." He then directs the use of sandstone +and emery, chiefly used by rubbing, as one might infer, to polish the +stones, probably _en cabochon_ as was the method in his time; this +style of finish on a gem was called "tallow cutting." But when one +wishes to sculp crystal, Theophilus informs one: "Take a goat of two +or three years... make an opening between his breast and stomach, in +the position of the heart, and lay in the crystal, so that it may lie +in its blood until it grow warm... cut what you please in it as long +as the heat lasts." Just how many goats were required to the finishing +of a sculptured crystal would be determined by the elaboration of +the design! Unfortunately Animal Rescue Leagues had not invaded +the monasteries of the eleventh century. + +In sculpturing glass, the ingenuous Theophilus is quite at his best. +"Artists!" he exclaims, "who wish to engrave glass in a beautiful +manner, I now can teach you, as I have myself made trial. I have +sought the gross worms which the plough turns up in the ground, +and the art necessary in these things also bid me procure vinegar, +and the warm blood of a lusty goat, which I was careful to place +under the roof for a short time, bound with a strong ivy plant. +After this I infused the worms and vinegar with the warm blood and +I anointed the whole clearly shining vessel; which being done, I +essayed to sculp the glass with the hard stone called the Pyrites." +What a pity good Theophilus had not begun with the pyrites, when +he would probably have made the further discovery that his worms +and goats could have been spared. + +In the polishing of precious stones, he is quite sane in his directions. +"Procure a marble slab, very smooth," he enjoins, "and act as useful +art points out to you." In other words, rub it until it is smooth! + +Bartholomew Anglicus is as entertaining as Theophilus regarding +crystal. "Men trowe that it is of snow or ice made hard in many +years," he observes complacently. "This stone set in the sun taketh +fire, insomuch if dry tow be put thereto, it setteth the tow on +fire," and again, quoting Gregory on Ezekiel I., he adds, "water +is of itself fleeting, but by strength of cold it is turned and +made stedfast crystal." + +Of small specimens of sculptured crystal some little dark purple +beads carved into the semblance of human faces may be seen on the +Tara brooch; while also on the same brooch occur little purple +daisies. + +The Cup of the Ptolemies, a celebrated onyx cup in Paris, is over +fifteen inches in circumference, and is a fine specimen of early +lapidary's work. It was presented in the ninth century by Charles +the Bald to St. Denis, and was always used to contain the consecrated +wine when Queens of France were crowned. Henry II. once pawned +it to a Jew when he was hard up, and in 1804 it was stolen and +the old gold and jewelled setting removed. It was found again in +Holland, and was remounted within a century. + +In the Treasury of St. Mark's in Venice are many valuable examples +of carved stones, made into cups, flagons, and the like. These were +brought from Constantinople in 1204, when the city was captured +by the Venetians. Constantinople was the only place where glyptics +were understood and practised upon large hard stones in the early +Middle Ages. The Greek artists who took refuge in Italy at that time +brought the art with them. There are thirty-two of these Byzantine +chalices in St. Mark's. Usually the mountings are of gold, and precious +stones. There are also two beautiful cruets of agate, elaborately +ornamented, but carved in curious curving forms requiring skill +of a superior order. Two other rock crystal cruets are superbly +carved, probably by Oriental workmen, however, as they are not +Byzantine in their decorations. One of them was originally a vase, +and, indeed, is still, for the long gold neck has no connection +with the inside; the handle is also of gold, both these adjuncts +seem to have been regarded as simply ornament. The other cruet is +carved elaborately with leopards, the first and taller one showing +monsters and foliate forms. Around the neck of the lower of these +rock crystal cruets is an inscription, praying for God's blessing +on the "Imam Aziz Billah," who was reigning in Egypt in 980. This +cruet has a gold stand. The handle is cleverly cut in the same +piece of crystal, but a band of gold is carried down it to give it +extra strength. The forming of this handle in connection with the +rest of the work is a veritable _tour de force_, and we should have +grave doubts whether Theophilus with his goats could have managed +it! + +[Illustration: CRYSTAL FLAGONS, ST. MARK'S, VENICE] + +Vasari speaks with characteristic enthusiasm of the glyptics of +the Greeks, "whose works in that manner may be called divine." +But, as he continues, "many and very many years passed over during +which the art was lost".... until in the days of Lorenzo di Medici +the fashion for cameos and intaglios revived. + +In the Guild of the Masters of Wood and Stone in Florence, the +cameo-cutters found a place, nevertheless it seems fitting to include +them at this point among jewellers, instead of among carvers. + +The Italians certainly succeeded in performing feats of lapidary +art at a later period. Vasari mentions two cups ordered by Duke +Cosmo, one cut out of a piece of lapis lazuli, and the other from +an enormous heliotrope, and a crystal galley with gold rigging +was made by the Sanachi brothers. In the Green Vaults in Dresden +may be seen numerous specimens of valuable but hideous products +of this class. In the seventeenth century, the art had run its +course, and gave place to a taste for cameos, which in its turn +was run into the ground. + +Cameo-cutting and gem engraving has always been accomplished partly +by means of a drill; the deepest point to be reached in the cutting +would be punctured first, and then the surfaces cut, chipped, and +ground away until the desired level was attained. This is on much +the same principle as that adopted by marble cutters to-day. + +Mr. Cyril Davenport's definition of a cameo is quite satisfactory: +"A small sculpture executed in low relief upon some substance precious +either for its beauty, rarity, or hardness." Cameos are usually +cut in onyx, the different layers and stratifications of colour +being cut away at different depths, so that the sculpture appears +to be rendered in one colour on another, and sometimes three or +four layers are recognized, so that a shaded effect is obtained. +Certain pearly shells are sometimes used for cameo cutting; these +were popular in Italy in the fifteenth century. In Greece and Rome +the art of cameo cutting was brought to astonishing perfection, the +sardonyx being frequently used, and often cut in five different +coloured layers. An enormous antique cameo, measuring over nine +inches across, may be seen in Vienna; it represents the Apotheosis +of Augustus, and the scene is cut in two rows of spirited figures. +It dates from the first century A. D. It is in dark brown and white. + +Among the treasures of the art-loving Henry III. was a "great cameo," +in a golden case; it was worth two hundred pounds. This cameo was +supposed to compete with a celebrated work at Ste. Chapelle in Paris, +which had been brought by Emperor Baldwin II. from Constantinople. + +[Illustration: SARDONYX CUP, 11TH CENTURY, VENICE] + +In Paris was a flourishing guild, the "Lapidaries, Jewel Cutters, +and Engravers of Cameos and Hard Stones," in the thirteenth century; +glass cutters were included in this body for a time, but after 1584 +the revised laws did not permit of any imitative work, so glass +cutters were no longer allowed to join the society. The French work +was rather coarse compared with the classic examples. + +The celebrated Portland Vase is a glass cameo, of enormous proportions, +and a work of the first century, in blue and white. There is a +quaint legend connected with the famous stone cameo known as the +Vase of St. Martin, which is as follows: when St. Martin visited +the Martyr's Field at Agaune, he prayed for some time, and then +stuck his knife into the ground, and was excusably astonished at +seeing blood flow forth. Recognizing at once that he was in the +presence of the miraculous (which was almost second nature to mediæval +saints), he began sedulously to collect the precious fluid in a +couple of receptacles with which he had had the foresight to provide +himself. The two vases, however, were soon filled, and yet the +mystical ruby spring continued. At his wit's ends, he prayed again +for guidance, and presently an angel descended, with a vase of +fine cameo workmanship, in which the remainder of the sacred fluid +was preserved. This vase is an onyx, beautifully cut, with fine +figures, and is over eight inches high, mounted at foot and collar +with Byzantine gold and jewelled work. The subject appears to be +an episode during the Siege of Troy,--a whimsical selection of +design for an angel. + +Some apparently mediæval cameos are in reality antiques recut with +Christian characters. A Hercules could easily be turned into a +David, while Perseus and Medusa could be transformed quickly into +a David and Goliath. There are two examples of cameos of the Virgin +which had commenced their careers, one as a Leda, and the other as +Venus! While a St. John had originally figured as Jupiter with his +eagle! + +In the Renaissance there was great revival of all branches of gem +cutting, and cameos began to improve, and to resemble once more +their classical ancestors. Indeed, their resemblance was rather +academic, and there was little originality in design. Like most of +the Renaissance arts, it was a reversion instead of a new creation. +Technically, however, the work was a triumph. The craftsmen were +not satisfied until they had quite outdone the ancients, and they +felt obliged to increase the depth of the cutting, in order to show +how cleverly they could coerce the material; they even under-cut +in some cases. During the Medicean period of Italian art, cameos +were cut in most fantastic forms; sometimes a negro head would +be introduced simply to exhibit a dark stratum in the onyx, and +was quite without beauty. One of the Florentine lapidaries was +known as Giovanni of the Carnelians, and another as Domenico of +the Cameos. This latter carved a portrait of Ludovico il Moro on +a red balas ruby, in intaglio. Nicolo Avanzi is reported as having +carved a lapis lazuli "three fingers broad" into the scene of the +Nativity. Matteo dal Nassaro, a son of a shoemaker in Verona, developed +extraordinary talent in gem cutting. + +An exotic production is a crucifix cut in a blood-stone by Matteo +del Nassaro, where the artist has so utilized the possibilities of +this stone that he has made the red patches to come in suitable +places to portray drops of blood. Matteo worked also in Paris, in +1531, where he formed a school and craft shop, and where he was +afterwards made Engraver of the Mint. + +Vasari tells of an ingenious piece of work by Matteo, where he +has carved a chalcedony into a head of Dejanira, with the skin of +the lion about it. He says, "In the stone there was a vein of red +colour, and here the artist has made the skin turn over... and he +has represented this skin with such exactitude that the spectator +imagines himself to behold it newly torn from the animal! Of another +mark he has availed himself, for the hair, and the white parts +he has taken for the face and breast." Matteo was an independent +spirit: when a baron once tried to beat him down in his price for a +gem, he refused to take a small sum for it, but asked the baron to +accept it as a gift. When this offer was refused, and the nobleman +insisted upon giving a low price, Matteo deliberately took his +hammer and shattered the cameo into pieces at a single blow. His +must have been an unhappy life. Vasari says that he "took a wife in +France and became the father of children, but they were so entirely +dissimilar to himself, that he had but little satisfaction from +them." + +Another famous lapidary was Valerio Vicentino, who carved a set +of crystals which were made into a casket for Pope Clement VII., +while for Paul III. he made a carved crystal cross and chandelier. + +Vasari reserves his highest commendation for Casati, called "el +Greco," "by whom every other artist is surpassed in the grace and +perfection as well as in the universality of his productions."... +"Nay, Michelangelo himself, looking at them one day while Giovanni +Vasari was present, remarked that the hour for the death of the +art had arrived, for it was not possible that better work could +be seen!" Michelangelo proved a prophet, in this case surely, for +the decadence followed swiftly. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ENAMEL + +"Oh, thou discreetest of readers," says Benvenuto Cellini, "marvel +not that I have given so much time to writing about all this," and +we feel like making the same apology for devoting a whole chapter +to enamel; but this branch of the goldsmith's art has so many +subdivisions, that it cries for space. + +The word Enamel is derived from various sources. The Greek language +has contributed "maltha," to melt; the German "schmeltz," the old +French "esmail," and the Italian "smalta," all meaning about the +same thing, and suggesting the one quality which is inseparable +from enamel of all nations and of all ages,--its fusibility. For +it is always employed in a fluid state, and always must be. + +Enamel is a type of glass product reduced to powder, and then melted +by fervent heat into a liquid condition, which, when it has hardened, +returns to its vitreous state. + +Enamel has been used from very early times. The first allusion to +it is by Philostratus, in the year 200 A. D., where he described +the process as applied to the armour of his day. "The barbarians +of the regions of the ocean," he writes, "are skilled in fusing +colours on heated brass, which become as hard as stone, and render +the ornament thus produced durable." + +Enamels have special characteristics in different periods: in the late +tenth century, of Byzantium and Germany; in the eleventh century, of +Italy; while most of the later work owes its leading characteristics +to the French, although it continued to be produced in the other +countries. + +It helps one to understand the differences and similarities in +enamelled work, to observe the three general forms in which it is +employed; these are, the cloisonné, the champlevé, and the painted +enamel. There are many subdivisions of these classifications, but +for our purpose these three will suffice. + +In cloisonné, the only manner known to the Greek, Anglo-Saxon, and +Celtic craftsmen, the pattern is made upon a gold ground, by little +upright wire lines, like filigree, the enamel is fused into all the +little compartments thus formed, each bit being one clear colour, +on the principle of a mosaic. The colours were always rather clear +and crude, but are the more sincere and decorative on this account, +the worker recognizing frankly the limitation of the material; and +the gold outline harmonizes the whole, as it does in any form of +art work. A cloisonné enamel is practically a mosaic, in which the +separations consist of narrow bands of metal instead of plaster. +The enamel was applied in its powdered state on the gold, and then +fused all together in the furnace. + +[Illustration: GERMAN ENAMEL, 13TH CENTURY] + +Champlevé enamel has somewhat the same effect as the cloisonné, +but the end is attained by different means. The outline is left in +metal, and the whole background is cut away and sunk, thus making +the hollow chambers for the vitreous paste, in one piece, instead of +by means of wires. Often it is not easy to determine which method +has been employed to produce a given work. + +Painted enamels were not employed in the earliest times, but came +to perfection in the Renaissance. A translucent enamel prevailed +especially in Italy: a low relief was made with the graver on gold +or silver; fine raised lines were left here and there, to separate +the colours. Therefore, where the cutting was deepest, the enamel +ran thicker, and consequently darker in colour, giving the effect of +shading, while in reality only one tint had been used. The powdered +and moistened enamel was spread evenly with a spatula over the +whole surface, and allowed to stand in the kiln until it liquefied. +Another form of enamel was used to colour gold work in relief, +with a permanent coating of transparent colour. Sometimes this +colour was applied in several coats, one upon another, and the +features painted with a later touch. Much enamelled jewelry was +made in this way, figures, dragons, and animal forms, being among +the most familiar. But an actual enamel painting--on the principle +of a picture, was rendered in still another way. In preparing the +ground for enamel painting, there are two things which have been +essentially considered in all times and countries. The enamel ground +must be more fusible than the metal on which it is placed, or else +both would melt together. Also the enamel with which the final +decoration is executed must be more easily made fluid than the harder +enamel on which it is laid. In fact, each coat must of necessity +be a trifle more fusible than the preceding one. A very accurate +knowledge is necessary to execute such a work, as will be readily +understood. + +[Illustration: ENAMELLED GOLD BOOK COVER, SIENA] + +In examining historic examples of enamel, the curious oval set +in gold, known as the Alfred Jewel, is among the first which come +within our province. It was found in Somersetshire, and probably +dates from about the year 878. It consists of an enamelled figure +covered by a thick crystal, set in filigree, around the edge of +which runs the inscription, "AELFRED MEC REHT GAVUR CAN" (Alfred +ordered me to be wrought). King Alfred was a great patron of the +arts. Of such Anglo-Saxon work, an ancient poem in the Exeter Book +testifies: + + "For one a wondrous skill + in goldsmith's art is provided + Full oft he decorates and well adorns + A powerful king's nobles." + +Celtic enamels are interesting, being usually set in the spaces +among the rambling interlaces of this school of goldsmithing. The +Cross of Cong is among the most famous specimens of this work, +and also the bosses on the Ardagh Chalice. + +The monk Theophilus describes the process of enamelling in a graphic +manner. He directs his workmen to "adapt their pieces of gold in all +the settings in which the glass gems are to be placed" (by which we +see that he teaches the cloisonné method). "Cut small bands of +exceedingly thin gold," he continues, "in which you will bend and +fashion whatever work you wish to make in enamel, whether circles, +knots, or small flowers, or birds, or animals, or figures." He then +admonishes one to solder it with greatest care, two or three times, +until all the pieces adhere firmly to the plate. To prepare the +powdered glass, Theophilus advises placing a piece of glass in the +fire, and, when it has become glowing, "throw it into a copper vessel +in which there is water, and it instantly flies into small fragments +which you break with a round pestle until quite fine. The next step +is to put the powder in its destined cloison, and to place the whole +jewel upon a thin piece of iron, over which fits a cover to protect +the enamel from the coals, and put it in the most intensely hot part +of the fire." Theophilus recommends that this little iron cover be +"perforated finely all over so that the holes may be inside flat and +wide, and outside finer and rough, in order to stop the cinders if by +chance they should fall upon it." This process of firing may have +to be repeated several times, until the enamel fills every space +evenly. Then follows the tedious task of burnishing; setting the +jewel in a strong bit of wax, you are told to rub it on a "smooth +hard bone," until it is polished well and evenly. + +Benvenuto Cellini recommends a little paper sponge +to be used in smoothing the face of enamels. "Take a clean nice piece +of paper," he writes, "and chew it well between your teeth,--that +is, if you have got any--I could not do it, because I've none left!" + +A celebrated piece of goldsmith's work of the tenth century is +the Pala d'Oro at St. Mark's in Venice. This is a gold altar piece +or reredos, about eleven feet long and seven feet high, richly +wrought in the Byzantine style, and set with enamels and precious +stones. The peculiar quality of the surface of the gold still lingers +in the memory; it looks almost liquid, and suggests the appearance +of metal in a fluid state. On its wonderful divisions and arched +compartments are no less than twelve hundred pearls, and twelve +hundred other precious gems. These stones surround the openings +in which are placed the very beautiful enamel figures of saints +and sacred personages. St. Michael occupies a prominent position; +the figure is partly in relief. The largest medallion contains +the figure of Christ in glory, and in other compartments may be +seen even such secular personages as the Empress Irene, and the +Doge who was ruling Venice at the time this altar piece was put +in place--the year 1106. The Pala d'Oro is worked in the champlevé +process, the ground having been cut away to receive the melted +enamel. It is undoubtedly a Byzantine work; the Doge Orseolo, in +976, ordered it to be made by the enamellers of Constantinople. +It was not finished for nearly two centuries, arriving in Venice +in 1102, when the portrait of the Doge then reigning was added +to it. The Byzantine range of colours was copious; they had white, +two reds, bright and dark, dark and light blue, green, violet, +yellow, flesh tint, and black. These tints were always fused +separately, one in each cloison: the Greeks in this period never +tried to blend colours, and more than one tint never appears in +a compartment. The enlarging and improving of the Pam d'Oro was +carried on by Greek artists in Venice in 1105. It was twice +altered after that, once in the fourteenth century for Dandolo, +and thus the pure Byzantine type is somewhat invaded by the Gothic +spirit. The restorations in 1345 were presided over by Gianmaria +Boninsegna. + +One of the most noted specimens of enamel work is on the Crown of +Charlemagne,[1] which is a magnificent structure of eight plaques +of gold, joined by hinges, and surmounted by a cross in the front, +and an arch crossing the whole like a rib from back to front. The +other cross rib has been lost, but originally the crown was arched +by two ribs at the top. The plates of gold are ornamented, one +with jewels, and filigree, and the next with a large figure in +enamel. These figures are similar to those occurring on the Pala +d'Oro. + +[Footnote 1: See Fig. 1.] + +[Illustration: DETAIL; SHRINE OF THE THREE KINGS, COLOGNE] + +The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne is decorated both with +cloisonné and champlevé enamels,--an unusual circumstance. In Aix +la Chapelle the shrine of Charlemagne is extremely like it in some +respects, but the only enamels are in champlevé. Good examples +of translucent enamels in relief may be seen on several of the +reliquaries at Aix la Chapelle. + +Theophilus gives us directions for making a very ornate chalice +with handles, richly embossed and ornamented with mello. Another +paragraph instructs us how to make a golden chalice decorated with +precious stones and pearls. It would be interesting as a modern +problem, to follow minutely his directions, and to build the actual +chalice described in the eleventh century. To apply the gems and +pearls Theophilus directs us to "cut pieces like straps," which +you "bend together to make small settings of them, by which the +stones may be enclosed." These little settings, with their stones, +are to be fixed with flour paste in their places and then warmed +over the coals until they adhere. This sounds a little risky, but +we fancy he must have succeeded, and, indeed, it seems to have been +the usual way of setting stones in the early centuries. Filigree +flowers are then to be added, and the whole soldered into place in +a most primitive manner, banking the coals in the shape of a small +furnace, so that the coals may lie thickly around the circumference, +and when the solder "flows about as if undulating," the artist is +to sprinkle it quickly with water, and take it out of the fire. + +Niello, with which the chalice of Theophilus is also to be enriched, +stands in relation to the more beautiful art of enamel, as drawing +does to painting, and it is well to consider it here. Both the +Romans and the Anglo-Saxons understood its use. It has been employed +as an art ever since the sixth and seventh centuries. The term +"niello" probably is an abbreviation of the Italian word "nigellus" +(black); the art is that of inlaying an engraved surface with a +black paste, which is thoroughly durable and hard as the metal +itself in most cases, the only difference being in flexibility; +if the metal plate is bent, the niello will crack and flake off. + +[Illustration: FINIGUERRA'S PAX, FLORENCE] + +Niello is more than simply a drawing on metal. That would come +under the head of engraving. A graver is used to cut out the design +on the surface of the silver, which is simply a polished plane. When +the drawing has been thus incised, a black enamel, made of lead, +lamp black, and other substances, is filled into the interstices, +and rubbed in; when quite dry and hard, this is polished. The result +is a black enamel which is then fused into the silver, so that +the whole is one surface, and the decoration becomes part of the +original plate. The process as described by Theophilus is as follows: +"Compose the niello in this manner; take pure silver and divide +it into equal parts, adding to it a third part of pure copper, +and taking yellow sulphur, break it very small... and when you +have liquefied the silver with the copper, stir it evenly with +charcoal, and instantly pour into it lead and sulphur." This niello +paste is then made into a stick, and heated until "it glows: then +with another forceps, long and thin, hold the niello and rub it +all over the places which you wish to make black, until the drawing +be full, and carrying it away from the fire, make it smooth with a +flat file, until the silver appear." When Theophilus has finished +his directions, he adds: "And take great care that no further work +is required." To polish the niello, he directs us to "pumice it +with a damp stone, until it is made everywhere bright." + +There are various accounts of how Finiguerra, who was a worker +in niello in Florence, discovered by its means the art of steel +engraving. It is probably only a legendary narrative, but it is +always told as one of the apocryphal stories when the origin of +printing is discussed, and may not be out of place here. Maso +Finiguerra, a Florentine, had just engraved the plate for his famous +niello, a Pax which is now to be seen in the Bargello, and had +filled it in with the fluid enamel, which was standing waiting +until it should be dry. Then, according to some authorities, a +piece of paper blew upon the damp surface, on which, after carefully +removing it, Maso found his design was impressed; others state that +it was through the servant's laying a damp cloth upon it, that +the principle of printing from an incised plate was suggested. +At any rate, Finiguerra took the hint, it is said, and made an +impression on paper, rolling it, as one would do with an etching +or engraving. + +In the Silver Chamber in the Pitti Palace is a Pax, by Mantegna, +made in the same way as that by Finiguerra, and bearing comparison +with it. The engraving is most delicate, and it is difficult +to imagine a better specimen of the art. The Madonna and Child, +seated in an arbour, occupy the centre of the composition, which +is framed with jewelled bands, the frame being divided into sixteen +compartments, in each of which is seen a tiny and exquisite picture. +The work on the arbour of roses in which the Virgin sits is of +remarkable quality, as well as the small birds and animals +introduced into the composition. In the background, St. Christopher +is seen crossing the river with the Christ Child on his back, while +in the water a fish and a swan are visible. + +In Valencia in Spain may be seen a chalice which has been supposed +to be the very cup in which Our Saviour instituted the Communion. +The cup itself is of sardonyx, and of fine form. The base is made +of the same stone, and handles and bands are of gold, adorned with +black enamel. Pearls, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are set in +profusion about the stem and base. It is a work of the epoch of +Imperial Rome. + +In England, one of the most perfect specimens of fine, close work, +is the Wilton Chalice, dating from the twelfth century. The Warwick +Bowl, too, is of very delicate workmanship, and both are covered +with minute scenes and figures. One of the most splendid treasures +in this line is the crozier of William Wyckham, now in Oxford. +It is strictly national in style. + +The agreement entered into between Henry VII., and Abbot Islip, +for the building of the chapel of that king in Westminster, is +extant. It is bound in velvet and bossed with enamels. It is an +interesting fact that some of the enamels are in the Italian +style, while others are evidently English. + +Limoges was the most famous centre of the art of enamelling in +the twelfth century, the work being known as Opus de Limogia, or +Labor Limogiae. Limoges was a Roman settlement, and enamels were +made there as early as the time of Philostratus. Champlevé enamel, +while it was not produced among the Greeks, nor even in Byzantine +work, was almost invariable at Limoges in the earlier days: one +can readily tell the difference between a Byzantine enamel and an +early Limoges enamel by this test, when there is otherwise sufficient +similarity of design to warrant the question. + +Some of the most beautiful enamels of Limoges were executed in what +was called basse-taille, or transparent enamel on gold grounds, which +had been first prepared in bas-relief. Champlevé enamel was often +used on copper, for such things as pastoral staves, reliquaries, and +larger bits of church furniture. The enamel used on copper is usually +opaque, and somewhat coarser in texture than that employed on gold +or silver. Owing to their additional toughness, these specimens +are usually in perfect preservation. In 1327, Guillaume de Harie, +in his will, bequeathed 800 francs to make two high tombs, to be +covered with Limoges enamel, one for himself, and the other for +"Blanche d'Avange, my dear companion." + +[Illustration: ITALIAN ENAMELLED CROZIER, 14TH CENTURY] + +An interesting form of cloisonné enamel was that known as "plique +à jour," which consists of a filigree setting with the enamel +in transparent bits, without any metallic background. It is +still made in many parts of the world. When held to the light +it resembles minute arrangements of stained glass. Francis I. +showed Benvenuto Cellini a wonderful bowl of this description, +and asked Cellini if he could possibly imagine how the result +was attained. "Sacred Majesty," replied Benvenuto, "I can +tell you exactly how it is done," and he proceeded to explain +to the astonished courtiers how the bowl was constructed, bit by +bit, inside a bowl of thin iron lined with clay. The wires were +fastened in place with glue until the design was complete, and +then the enamel was put in place, the whole being fused together at +the soldering. The clay form to which all this temporarily adhered +was then removed, and the work, transparent and ephemeral, was +ready to stand alone. + +King John gave to the city of Lynn a magnificent cup of gold, enamelled, +with figures of courtiers of the period, engaged in the sports of +hawking and hare-hunting, and dressed in the costume of the king's +reign. "King John gave to the Corporation a rich cup and cover," +says Mackarel, "weighing seventy-three ounces, which is preserved +to this day and upon all public occasions and entertainments used +with some uncommon ceremonies at drinking the health of the King +or Queen, and whoever goes to visit the Mayor must drink out of +this cup, which contains a full pint." The colours of the enamels +which are used as flat values in backgrounds to the little silver +figures, are dark rose, clear blue, and soft green. The dresses of +the persons are also picked out in the same colours, varied from +the grounds. This cup was drawn by John Carter in 1787, he having +had much trouble in getting permission to study the original for +that purpose! He took letters of introduction to the Corporation, +but they appeared to suspect him of some imposture; at first they +refused to entertain his proposal at all, but after several +applications, he was allowed to have the original before him, in +a closed room, in company with a person appointed by them but at +his expense, to watch him and see that no harm came to the precious +cup! + +The translucent enamels on relief were made a great deal by the +Italian goldsmiths; Vasari alludes to this class of work as "a +species of painting united with sculpture." + +As enamel came by degrees to be used as if it were paint, one of +the chief charms of the art died. The limits of this art were its +strength, and simple straight-forward use of the material was its +best expression. The method of making a painted enamel was as follows. +The design was laid out with a stilus on a copper plate. Then a +flux of plain enamel was fused on to the surface, all over it. The +drawing was then made again, on the same lines, in a dark medium, +and the colours were laid flat inside the dark lines, accepting +these lines as if they had been wires around cloisons. All painted +enamels had to be enamelled on the back as well, to prevent warping +in the furnace when the shrinkage took place. After each layer of +colour the whole plate was fired. In the fifteenth century these +enamels were popular and retained some semblance of respect for the +limitation of material; later, greater facility led, as it does in +most of the arts, to a decadence in taste, and florid pictures, with +as many colours and shadows as would appear in an oil painting, +resulted. Here and there, where special metallic brilliancy was +desired, a leaf of gold was laid under the colour of some transparent +enamel, giving a decorative lustre. These bits of brilliant metal +were known as _paillons_. + +When Limoges had finally become the royal manufactory of enamels, +under Francis I., the head of the works was Leonard Limousin, created +"Valet de Chambre du Roi," to show his sovereign's appreciation. +Remarkable examples of the work of Leonard Limousin, executed in +1547, are the large figures of the Apostles to be seen in the church +of St. Pierre, at Chartres, where they are ranged about the apsidal +chapel. They are painted enamels on copper sheets twenty-four by +eleven inches, and are in a wonderful state of preservation. They +were the gift of Henri II. to Diàne de Poictiers and were brought +to Chartres from the Chateau d'Anet. These enamels, being on a +white ground, have something the effect of paintings in Faience; +the colouring is delicate, and they have occasional gold touches. + +A treatise by William of Essex directs the artist how to prepare +a plate for a painted enamel, such as were used in miniature work. +He says "To make a plate for the artist to paint upon: a piece of +gold or copper being chosen, of requisite dimensions, and varying +from about 1/18 to 1/16 of an inch in thickness, is covered with +pulverized enamel, and passed through the fire, until it becomes +of a white heat; another coating of enamel is then added, and the +plate again fired; afterwards a thin layer of a substance called +flux is laid upon the surface of the enamel, and the plate +undergoes the action of heat for a third time. It is now ready for +the painter to commence his picture upon." + +Leonard Limousin painted from 1532 until 1574. He used the process +as described by William of Essex (which afterwards became very +popular for miniaturists), and also composed veritable pictures +of his own design. It is out of our province to trace the history +of the Limoges enamellers after this period. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +OTHER METALS + +The "perils that environ men that meddle with cold iron" are many; +but those who attempt to control hot iron are also to be respected, +when they achieve an artistic result with this unsympathetic metal, +which by nature is entirely lacking in charm, in colour and texture, +and depends more upon a proper application of design than any other, +in order to overcome the obstacles to beauty with which it is beset. + +"Rust hath corrupted," unfortunately, many interesting antiquities +in iron, so that only a limited number of specimens of this metal +have come down to us from very early times; one of the earliest +in England is a grave-stone of cast metal, of the date 1350: it +is decorated with a cross, and has the epitaph, "Pray for the soul +of Joan Collins." + +The process of casting iron was as follows. The moulds were made +of a sandy substance, composed of a mixture of brick dust, loam, +plaster, and charcoal. A bed of this sand was made, and into it +was pressed a wooden or metal pattern. When this was removed, the +imprint remained in the sand. Liquid metal was run into the mould +so formed, and would cool into the desired shape. As with a +plaster cast, it was necessary to employ two such beds, the sand +being firmly held in boxes, if the object was to be rounded, and +then the two halves thus made were put together. Flat objects, +such as fire-backs, could be run into a single mould. + +Bartholomew, in his book "On the Properties of Things," makes certain +statements about iron which are interesting: "Though iron cometh of +the earth, yet it is most hard and sad, and therefore with beating +and smiting it suppresseth and dilateth all other metal, and maketh +it stretch on length and on breadth." This is the key-note to the +work of a blacksmith: it is what he has done from the first, and +is still doing. + +In Spain there have been iron mines ever since the days when Pliny +wrote and alluded to them, but there are few samples in that country +to lead us to regard it as æsthetic in its purpose until the fifteenth +century. + +For tempering iron instruments, there are recipes given by the +monk Theophilus, but they are unfortunately quite unquotable, being +treated with mediæval frankness of expression. + +St. Dunstan was the patron of goldsmiths and blacksmiths. He was +born in 925, and lived in Glastonbury, where he became a monk rather +early in life. He not only worked in metal, but was a good musician +and a great scholar, in fact a genuine rounded man of culture. He +built an organ, no doubt something like the one which Theophilus +describes, which, Bede tells us, being fitted with "brass pipes, +filled with air from the bellows, uttered a grand and most sweet +melody." Dunstan was a favourite at court, in the reign of King +Edmund. Enemies were plentiful, however, and they spread the report +that Dunstan evoked demoniac aid in his almost magical work in its +many departments. It was said that occasionally the evil spirits +were too aggravating, and that in such cases Dunstan would stand +no nonsense. There is an old verse: + + "St. Dunstan, so the story goes, + Once pulled the devil by the nose, + With red hot tongs, which made him roar + That he was heard three miles or more!" + +The same story is told of St. Eloi, and probably of most of the +mediæval artistic spirits who were unfortunate enough to be human +in their temperaments and at the same time pious and struggling. He +was greatly troubled by visitations such as persecuted St. Anthony. +On one occasion, it is related that he was busy at his forge when +this fiend was unusually persistent: St. Dunstan turned upon the +demon, and grasped its nose in the hot pincers, which proved a most +successful exorcism. In old portraits, St. Dunstan is represented +in full ecclesiastical habit, holding the iron pincers as symbols +of his prowess. + +He became Archbishop of Canterbury after having held the Sees of +Worcester and London. He journeyed to Rome, and received the pallium +of Primate of the Anglo-Saxons, from Pope John XII. Dunstan was a +righteous statesman, twice reproving the king for evil deeds, and +placing his Royal Highness under the ban of the Church for immoral +conduct! St. Dunstan died in 988. + +[Illustration: WROUGHT IRON HINGE, FRANKFORT] + +Wrought iron has been in use for many centuries for hinges and +other decorations on doors; a necessity to every building in a +town from earliest times. The word "hinge" comes from the Saxon, +_hengen_, to hang. Primitive hinges were sometimes sockets cut +in stone, as at Torcello; but soon this was proved a clumsy and +inconvenient method of hanging a door, and hinges more simple in +one way, and yet more ornate, came into fashion. Iron hinges were +found most useful when they extended for some distance on to the +door; this strengthened the door against the invasion of pirates, +when the church was the natural citadel of refuge for the inhabitants +of a town, and also held it firmly from warping. At first single +straps of iron were clamped on: then the natural craving for beauty +prevailed, and the hinges developed, flowering out into scrolls and +leaves, and spreading all over the doors, as one sees them constantly +in mediæval examples. The general scheme usually followed was a +straight strap of iron flanked by two curving horns like a crescent, +and this motive was elaborated until a positive lace of iron, often +engraved or moulded, covered the surface of the door, as in the +wonderful work of Biscornette at Notre Dame in Paris. + +Biscornette was a very mysterious worker, and no one ever saw him +constructing the hinges. Reports went round that the devil was helping +him, that he had sold his soul to the King of Darkness in order to +enlist his assistance in his work; an instance of æsthetic altruism +almost commendable in its exotic zeal. Certain jealous artificers +even went so far as to break off bits of the meandering iron, to +test it, but with no result; they could not decide whether it was +cast or wrought. Later a legend grew up explaining the reason why +the central door was not as ornate as the side doors: the story was +that the devil was unable to assist Biscornette on this door because +it was the aperture through which the Host passed in processions. It +is more likely, however, that the doors were originally uniform, +and that the iron was subsequently removed for some other reason. +The design is supposed to represent the Earthly Paradise. Sauval +says: "The sculptured birds and ornaments are marvellous. They are +made of wrought iron, the invention of Biscornette and which died +with him. He worked the iron with an almost incredible industry, +rendering it flexible and tractable, and gave it all the forms +and scrolls he wished, with a 'douceur et une gentillesse' which +surprised and astonished all the smiths." The iron master Gaegart +broke off fragments of the iron, and no member of the craft has +ever been able to state with certainty just how the work was +accomplished. Some think that it is cast, and then treated with +the file; others say that it must have been executed by casting +entire, with no soldering. In any case, the secret will never be +divulged, for no one was in the confidence of Biscornette. + +Norman blacksmiths and workers in wrought iron were more plentiful +than goldsmiths. They had, in those warlike times, more call for +arms and the massive products of the forge than for gaudy jewels and +table appointments. One of the doors of St. Alban's Abbey displays the +skill of Norman smiths dealing with this stalwart form of ornament. + +Among special artists in iron whose names have survived is that +of Jehan Tonquin, in 1388. Earlier than that, a cutler, Thomas +de Fieuvillier, is mentioned, as having flourished about 1330. + +[Illustration: BISCORNETTE'S DOORS AT PARIS] + +Elaborate iron work is rare in Germany; the Germans always excelled +rather in bronze than in the sterner metal. At St. Ursula's in +Cologne there are iron floriated hinges, but the design and idea +are French, and not native. + +One may usually recognize a difference between French and English +wrought iron, for the French is often in detached pieces, not an +outgrowth of the actual hinge itself, and when this is found in +England, it indicates French work. + +Ornaments in iron were sometimes cut out of flat sheet metal, and +then hammered into form. In stamping this flat work with embossed +effect, the smith had to work while the iron was hot,--as Sancho +Panza expressed it, "Praying to God and hammering away." Dies were +made, after a time, into which the design could be beaten with +less effort than in the original method. + +One of the quaintest of iron doors is at Krems, where the gate is +made up of square sheets of iron, cut into rude pierced designs, +giving scenes from the New Testament, and hammered up so as to be +slightly embossed. + +The Guild of Blacksmiths in Florence flourished as early as the +thirteenth century. It covered workers in many metals, copper, +iron, brass, and pewter included. Among the rules of the Guild +was one permitting members to work for ready money only. They were +not allowed to advertise by street crying, and were fined if they +did so. The Arms of the Guild was a pair of furnace tongs upon a +white field. Among the products of the forge most in demand were +the iron window-gratings so invariable on all houses, and called +by Michelangelo "kneeling windows," on account of the bulging shape +of the lower parts. + +One famous iron worker carried out the law of the Guild both in +spirit and letter to the extent of insisting upon payment in advance! +This was Nicolo Grosso, who worked about 1499. Vasari calls him +the "money grabber." His specialty was to make the beautiful torch +holders and lanterns such as one sees on the Strozzi Palace and +in the Bargello. + +In England there were Guilds of Blacksmiths; in Middlesex one was +started in 1434, and members were known as "in the worship of St. +Eloi." Members were alluded to as "Brethren and Sisteren,"--this +term would fill a much felt vacancy! Some of the Guilds exacted +fines from all members who did not pay a proper proportion of their +earnings to the Church. + +Another general use of iron for artistic purposes was in the manufacture +of grilles. Grilles were used in France and England in cathedrals. +The earliest Christian grille is a pierced bronze screen in the +Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. + +In Hildesheim is an original form of grille; the leaves and rosettes +in the design are pierced, instead of being beaten up into bosses. +This probably came from the fact that the German smith did not +understand the Frankish drawing, and supposed that the shaded portions +of the work were intended to be open work. The result, however, +is most happy, and a new feature was thus introduced into grille +work. + +[Illustration: WROUGHT IRON FROM THE BARGELLO, FLORENCE] + +Many grilles were formed by the smith's taking an iron bar and, +under the intense heat, splitting it into various branches, each +of which should be twisted in a different way. Another method was +to use the single slighter bar for the foundation of the design, +and welding on other volutes of similar thickness to make the scroll +work associated with wrought iron. + +Some of the smiths who worked at Westminster Abbey are known by +name; Master Henry Lewis, in 1259, made the iron work for the tomb +of Henry III. A certain iron fragment is signed Gilibertus. The iron +on the tomb of Queen Eleanor is by Thomas de Leighton, in 1294. +Lead workers also had a place assigned to them in the precincts, +which was known as "the Plumbery." In 1431 Master Roger Johnson +was enjoined to arrest or press smiths into service in order to +finish the ironwork on the tomb of Edward IV. + +Probably the most famous use of iron in Spain is in the stupendous +"_rejas_," or chancel screens of wrought iron; but these are nearly +all of a late Renaissance style, and hardly come within the scope +of this volume. The requirements of Spanish cathedrals, too, for +wrought iron screens for all the side chapels, made plenty of work +for the iron masters. In fact, the "_rejeros_," or iron master, was +as regular an adjunct to a cathedral as an architect or a painter. +Knockers were often very handsome in Spain, and even nail heads +were decorated. + +An interesting specimen of iron work is the grille that surrounds +the tomb of the Scaligers in Verolla. It is not a hard stiff +structure, but is composed of circular forms, each made separately, +and linked together with narrow bands, so that the construction is +flexible, and is more like a gigantic piece of chain mail than an +iron fence. + +Quentin Matsys was known as the "blacksmith of Antwerp," and is +reported to have left his original work among metals to become a +painter. This was done in order to marry the lady of his choice, for +she refused to join her fate to that of a craftsman. She, however, +was ready to marry a painter. Quentin, therefore, gave up his hammer +and anvil, and began to paint Madonnas that he might prosper in his +suit. Some authorities, however, laugh at this story, and claim +that the specimens of iron work which are shown as the early works +of Matsys date from a time when he would have been only ten or +twelve years old, and that they must therefore have been the work +of his father, Josse Matsys, who was a locksmith. The well-cover +in Antwerp, near the cathedral, is always known as Quentin Matsys' +well. It is said that this was not constructed until 1470, while +Quentin was born in 1466. + +The iron work of the tomb of the Duke of Burgundy, in Windsor, +is supposed to be the work of Quentin Matsys, and is considered +the finest grille in England. It is wrought with such skill and +delicacy that it is more like the product of the goldsmith's art +than that of the blacksmith. + +[Illustration: MOORISH KEYS, SEVILLE] + +Another object of utility which was frequently ornamented was the +key. The Key of State, especially, was so treated. Some are nine +or ten inches long, having been used to present to visiting grandees +as typical of the "Freedom of the City." Keys were often decorated +with handles having the appearance of Gothic tracery. In an old +book published in 1795, there is an account of the miraculous Keys +of St. Denis, made of silver, which they apply to the faces of +these persons who have been so unfortunate as to be bitten by mad +dogs, and who received certain and immediate relief in only touching +them. A key in Valencia, over nine inches in length, is richly +embossed, while the wards are composed of decorative letters, looking +at first like an elaborate sort of filigree, but finally resolving +themselves into the autographic statement: "It was made by Ahmed +Ahsan." It is a delicate piece of thirteenth or fourteenth century +work in iron. + +Another old Spanish key has a Hebrew inscription round the handle: +"The King of Kings will open: the King of the whole Earth will +enter," and, in the wards, in Spanish, "God will open, the King +will enter." + +The iron smiths of Barcelona formed a Guild in the thirteenth century: +it is to be regretted that more of their work could not have descended +to us. + +A frank treatment of locks and bolts, using them as decorations, +instead of treating them as disgraces, upon the surface of a door, +is the only way to make them in any degree effective. As Pugin has +said, it is possible to use nails, screws, and rivets, so that +they become "beautiful studs and busy enrichments." Florentine +locksmiths were specially famous; there also was a great fashion +for damascened work in that city, and it was executed with much +elegance. + +In blacksmith's work, heat was used with the hammer at each stage +of the work, while in armourer's or locksmith's work, heat was +employed only at first, to achieve the primitive forms, and then +the work was carried on with chisel and file on the cold metal. +Up to the fourteenth century the work was principally that of the +blacksmith, and after that, of the locksmith. + +The mention of arms and armour in a book of these proportions must +be very slight; the subject is a vast one, and no effort to treat +it with system would be satisfactory in so small a space. But a +few curious and significant facts relating to the making of armour +may be cited. + +The rapid decay of iron through rust--rapid, that is to say, in +comparison with other metals--is often found to have taken place when +the discovery of old armour has been made; so that gold ornaments, +belonging to a sword or other weapon, may be found in excavating, +while the iron which formed the actual weapon has disappeared. + +Primitive armour was based on a leather foundation, hence the name +cuirass, was derived from _cuir_ (leather). In a former book I have +alluded to the armour of the nomadic tribes, which is described by +Pausanias as coarse coats of mail made out of the hoofs of horses, +split, and laid overlapping each other, making them "something like +dragon's scales," as Pausanias explains; adding for the benefit +of those who are unfamiliar with dragons' anatomy, "Whoever has +not _yet_ seen a dragon, has, at any rate, seen a pine cone still +green. These are equally like in appearance to the surface of this +armour." These horny scales of tough hoofs undoubtedly suggested, +at a later date, the use of thick leather as a form of protection, +and the gradual evolution may be imagined. + +The art of the armourer was in early mediæval times the art of the +chain maker. The chain coat, or coats of mail, reached in early +days as far as the knees. Finally this developed into an entire +covering for the man, with head gear as well; of course this form +of armour allowed of no real ornamentation, for there was no space +larger than the links of the chain upon which to bestow decoration. +Each link of a coat of mail was brought round into a ring, the ends +overlapped, and a little rivet inserted. Warriors trusted to no +solder or other mode of fastening. All the magnificence of knightly +apparel was concentrated in the surcoat, a splendid embroidered or +gem-decked tunic to the knees, which was worn over the coat of +mail. These surcoats were often trimmed with costly furs, ermine +or vair, the latter being similar to what we now call squirrel, +being part gray and part white. Cinderella's famous slipper was +made of "vair," which, through a misapprehension in being translated +"verre," has become known as a glass slipper. + +[Illustration: ARMOUR, SHOWING MAIL DEVELOPING INTO PLATE] + +After a bit, the makers of armour discovered that much tedious +labor in chain making might be spared, if one introduced a large +plate of solid metal on the chest and back. This was in the thirteenth +century. The elbows and knees were also treated in this way, and in +the fourteenth century, the principle of armour had changed to a set +of separate plates fastened together by links. This was the evolution +from mail to plate armour. A description of Charlemagne as he appeared +on the field of battle, in his armour, is given by the Monk of +St. Gall, his biographer, and is dramatic. "Then could be seen +the iron Charles, helmeted with an iron helmet, his iron breast +and broad shoulders protected with an iron breast plate; an iron +spear was raised on high in his left hand, his right always rested +on his unconquered iron falchion.... His shield was all of iron, +his charger was iron coloured and iron hearted.... The fields and +open spaces were filled with iron; a people harder than iron paid +universal homage to the hardness of iron. The horror of the dungeon +seemed less than the bright gleam of iron. 'Oh, the iron! woe for +the iron!' was the confused cry that rose from the citizens. The +strong walls shook at the sight of iron: the resolution of young +and old fell before the iron." + +By the end of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, whole +suits of armour were almost invariable, and then came the opportunity +for the goldsmith, the damascener, and the niellist. Some of the +leading artists, especially in Italy, were enlisted in designing +and decorating what might be called the _armour-de-luxe_ of the +warrior princes! The armour of horses was as ornate as that of +the riders. + +The sword was always the most imposingly ornamented +part of a knight's equipment, and underwent various modifications +which are interesting to note. At first, it was the only weapon +invariably at hand: it was enormously large, and two hands were +necessary in wielding it. As the arquebuse came into use, the sword +took a secondary position: it became lighter and smaller. And ever +since 1510 it is a curious fact that the decorations of swords +have been designed to be examined when the sword hangs with the +point down; the earlier ornament was adapted to being seen at its +best when the sword was held upright, as in action. Perhaps the +later theory of decoration is more sensible, for it is certain +that neither a warrior nor his opponent could have occasion to +admire fine decoration at a time when the sword was drawn! That +the arts should be employed to satisfy the eye in times of peace, +sufficed the later wearers of ornamented swords. + +Toledo blades have always been famous, and rank first among the +steel knives of the world. Even in Roman times, and of course under +the Moors, Toledo led in this department. The process of making a +Toledo blade was as follows. There was a special fine white sand +on the banks of the Tagus, which was used to sprinkle on the blade +when it was red hot, before it was sent on to the forger's. When +the blade was red hot from being steeped four-fifths of its length +in flame, it was dropped point first into a bucket of water. If it +was not perfectly straight when it was withdrawn, it was beaten +into shape, more sand being first put upon it. After this the +remaining fifth of the blade was subjected to the fire, and was +rubbed with suet while red hot; the final polish of the whole sword +was produced by emery powder on wooden wheels. + +[Illustration: DAMASCENED HELMET] + +Damascening was a favourite method of ornamenting choice suits +of armour, and was also applied to bronzes, cabinets, and such +pieces of metal as lent themselves to decoration. The process began +like niello: little channels for the design were hollowed out, in +the iron or bronze, and then a wire of brass, silver, or gold, was +laid in the groove, and beaten into place, being afterwards polished +until the surface was uniform all over. One great feature of the art +was to sink the incision a little broader at the base than at the top, +and then to force the softer metal in, so that, by this undercutting, +it was held firmly in place. Cellini tells of his first view of +damascened steel blades. "I chanced," he says, "to become possessed +of certain little Turkish daggers, the handle of which together +with the guard and blade were ornamented with beautiful Oriental +leaves, engraved with a chisel, and inlaid with gold. This kind of +work differed materially from any which I had as yet practised or +attempted, nevertheless I was seized with a great desire to try my +hand at it, and I succeeded so admirably that I produced articles +infinitely finer and more solid than those of the Turks." Benvenuto +had such a humble opinion of his own powers! But when one considers +the pains and labour expended upon the arts of damascening and +niello, one regrets that the workers had not been inspired to attempt +dentistry, and save so much unnecessary individual suffering! + +On the Sword of Boabdil are many inscriptions, among them, "God is +clement and merciful," and "God is gifted with the best memory." +No two sentiments could be better calculated to keep a conqueror +from undue excesses. + +Mercia was a headquarters for steel and other metals +in the thirteenth century. Seville was even then famous for its +steel, also, and in the words of a contemporary writer, "the steel +which is made in Seville is most excellent; it would take too much +time to enumerate the delicate objects of every kind which are +made in this town." King Don Pedro, in his will, in the fourteenth +century, bequeathes to his son, his "Castilian sword, which I had +made here in Seville, ornamented with stones and gold." Swords +were baptized; they were named, and seemed to have a veritable +personality of their own. The sword of Charlemagne was christened +"Joyeuse," while we all know of Arthur's Excalibur; Roland's sword +was called Durandel. Saragossa steel was esteemed for helmets, +and the sword of James of Arragon in 1230, "a very good sword, +and lucky to those who handled it," was from Monzon. The Cid's +sword was similar, and named Tizona. There is a story of a Jew who +went to the grave of the Cid to steal his sword, which, according +to custom, was interred with the owner: the corpse is said to have +resented the intrusion by unsheathing the weapon, which miracle +so amazed the Jew that he turned Christian! + +[Illustration: MOORISH SWORD] + +German armour was popular. Cologne swords were great favourites +in England. King Arthur's sword was one of these,-- + + "For all of Coleyne was the blade + And all the hilt of precious stone." + +In the British Museum is a wonderful example of a wooden shield, +painted on a gesso ground, the subject being a Knight kneeling +before a lady, and the motto: "Vous ou la mort." These wooden shields +were used in Germany until the end of Maximilian's reign. + +The helmet, or Heaume, entirely concealed the face, so that for +purposes of identification, heraldic badges and shields were displayed. +Later, crests were also used on the helmets, for the same purpose. + +Certain armourers were very well known in their day, and were as +famous as artists in other branches. William Austin made a superb +suit for the Earl of Warwick, while Thomas Stevyns was the coppersmith +who worked on the same, and Bartholomew Lambspring was the polisher. +There was a famous master-armourer at Greenwich in the days of +Elizabeth, named Jacob: some important arms of that period bear +the inscription, "Made by me Jacob." There is some question whether +he was the same man as Jacob Topf who came from Innsbruck, and +became court armourer in England in 1575. Another famous smith +was William Pickering, who made exquisitely ornate suits of what +we might call full-dress armour. + +Colossal cannon were made: two celebrated guns may be seen, the +monster at Ghent, called Mad Meg, and the huge cannon at Edinburgh +Castle, Mons Meg, dating from 1476. These guns are composed of steel +coils or spirals, afterwards welded into a solid mass instead of +being cast. They are mammoth examples of the art of the blacksmith +and the forge. In Germany cannon were made of bronze, and these +were simply cast. + +Cross bows obtained great favour in Spain, even after the arquebuse +had come into use. It was considered a safer weapon to the one +who used it. An old writer in 1644 remarks, "It has never been +known that a man's life has been lost by breaking the string or +cord, two things which are dangerous, but not to a considerable +extent,"... and he goes on "once set, its shot is secure, which +is not the case with the arquebus, which often misses fire." There +is a letter from Ambassador Salimas to the King of Hungary, in +which he says: "I went to Balbastro and there occupied myself in +making a pair of cross bows for your Majesty. I believe they will +satisfy the desires which were required... as your Majesty is annoyed +when they do not go off as you wish." It would seem as though his +Majesty's "annoyance" was justifiable; imagine any one dependent +upon the shot of a cross bow, and then having the weapon fail to +"go off!" Nothing could be more discouraging. + +[Illustration: ENAMELLED SUIT OF ARMOUR] + +There is a contemporary treatise which is full of interest, +entitled, "How a Man shall be Armed at his ease when he shall Fight +on Foot." It certainly was a good deal of a contract to render +a knight comfortable in spite of the fact that he could see or +breathe only imperfectly, and was weighted down by iron at every +point. This complete covering with metal added much to the actual +noise of battle. Froissart alludes to the fact that in the battle of +Rosebeque, in 1382, the hammering on the helmets made a noise which +was equal to that of all the armourers of Paris and Brussels working +together. And yet the strength needed to sport such accoutrements +seems to have been supplied. Leon Alberti of Florence, when clad +in a full suit of armour, could spring with ease upon a galloping +horse, and it is related that Aldobrandini, even with his right +arm disabled, could cleave straight through his opponent's helmet +and head, down to the collar bone, with a single stroke! + +One of the richest suits of armour in the world is to be seen at +Windsor; it is of Italian workmanship, and is made of steel, blued +and gilded, with wonderfully minute decorations of damascene and +appliqué work. This most ornate armour was made chiefly for show, +and not for the field: for knights to appear in their official +capacity, and for jousting at tournaments, which were practically +social events. In the days of Henry VIII. a chronicler tells of +a jouster who "tourneyed in harneyse all of gilt from the head +piece to the sabattons." Many had "tassels of fine gold" on their +suits. + +Italian weapons called "lasquenets" were very deadly. In a letter +from Albrecht Dürer to Pirckheimer, he alludes to them, as having +"roncions with two hundred and eighteen points: and if they pink a +man with any of these, the man is dead, as they are all poisoned." + +Bronze is composed of copper with an alloy of about eight or ten +per cent. of tin. The fusing of these two metals produces the brown +glossy substance called bronze, which is so different from either of +them. The art of the bronze caster is a very old and interesting one. +The method of proceeding has varied very little with the centuries. A +statue to be cast either in silver or bronze would be treated in +the following manner. + +A general semblance of the finished work was first set up in clay; +then over this a layer of wax was laid, as thick as the final bronze +was intended to be. The wax was then worked with tools and by hand +until it took on the exact form designed for the finished product. +Then a crust of clay was laid over the wax; on this were added other +coatings of clay, until quite a thick shell of clay surrounded +the wax. The whole was then subjected to fervent heat, and the wax +all melted out, leaving a space between the core and the outer +shell. Into this space the liquid bronze was poured, and after it +had cooled and hardened the outer shell was broken off, leaving +the statue in bronze exactly as the wax had been. + +Cellini relates an experience in Paris, with an old man +eighty years of age, one of the most famous bronze casters whom +he had engaged to assist him in his work for Francis I. Something +went wrong with the furnace, and the poor old man was so upset and +"got into such a stew" that he fell upon the floor, and Benvenuto +picked him up fancying him to be dead: "Howbeit," explains Cellini, +"I had a great beaker of the choicest wine brought him,... I mixed +a large bumper of wine for the old man, who was groaning away like +anything, and I bade him most winning-wise to drink, and said: +'Drink, my father, for in yonder furnace has entered in a devil, +who is making all this mischief, and, look you, we'll just let him +bide there a couple of days, till he gets jolly well bored, and +then will you and I together in the space of three hours firing, +make this metal run, like so much batter, and without any exertion +at all.' The old fellow drank and then I brought him some little +dainties to eat: meat pasties they were, nicely peppered, and I +made him take down four full goblets of wine. He was a man quite +out of the ordinary, this, and a most lovable old thing, and what +with my caresses and the virtue of the wine, I found him soon moaning +away as much with joy as he had moaned before with grief." Cellini +displayed in this incident his belief in the great principle that +the artist should find pleasure in his work in order to impart +to that work a really satisfactory quality, and did exactly the +right thing at the right minute; instead of trusting to a faltering +effort in a disheartened man, he cheered the old bronze founder +up to such a pitch that after a day or two the work was completed +with triumph and joy to both. + +In the famous statue of Perseus, Cellini experienced much difficulty +in keeping the metal liquid. The account of this thrilling experience, +told in his matchless autobiography, is too long to quote at this +point; an interesting item, however, should be noted. Cellini used +pewter as a solvent in the bronze which had hardened in the furnace. +"Apprehending that the cause of it was, that the fusibility of +the metal was impaired, by the violence of the fire," he says, "I +ordered all my dishes and porringers, which were in number about +two hundred, to be placed one by one before my tubes, and part of +them to be thrown into the furnace, upon which all present perceived +that my bronze was completely dissolved, and that my mould was +filling," and, such was the relief that even the loss of the entire +pewter service of the family was sustained with equanimity; the +family, "without delay, procured earthen vessels to supply the place +of the pewter dishes and porringers, and we all dined together very +cheerfully." Edgecumb Staley, in the "Guilds of Florence," speaks +of the "pewter fattened Perseus:" this is worthy of Carlyle. + +Early Britons cast statues in brass. Speed tells of King Cadwollo, +who died in 677, being buried "at St. Martin's church near Ludgate, +his image great and terrible, triumphantly riding on horseback, +artificially cast in brass, was placed on the Western gate of the +city, to the further fear and terror of the Saxons!" + +In 1562 Bartolomeo Morel, who made the celebrated statue of the +Giralda Tower in Seville, executed a fifteen branched candelabrum +for the Cathedral. It is a rich Renaissance design, in remarkably +chaste and good lines, and holds fifteen statuettes, which are +displaced to make room for the candles only during the last few +days of Lent. + +A curious form of mediæval trinket was the perfume ball; this consisted +of a perforated ball of copper or brass, often ornamented with +damascene, and intended to contain incense to perfume the air, the +balls being suspended. + +The earliest metal statuary in England was rendered in latten, a +mixed metal of a yellow colour, the exact recipe for which has not +survived. The recumbent effigies of Henry III. and Queen Eleanor +are made of latten, and the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury +is the same, beautifully chased. Many of these and other tombs were +probably originally covered with gilding, painting, and enamel. + +The effigies of Richard II. and his queen, Anne of Bohemia, were +made during the reign of the monarch; a contemporary document states +that "Sir John Innocent paid another part of a certain indenture +made between the King and Nicolas Broker and Geoffrey Prest, +coppersmiths of London, for the making of two images, likenesses +of the King and Queen, of copper and latten, gilded upon the said +marble tomb." + +There are many examples of bronze gates in ecclesiastical +architecture. The gates of St. Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome were +made in 1070, in Constantinople, by Stauracius the Founder. Many +authorities think that those at St. Mark's in Venice were similarly +produced. The bronze doors in Rome are composed of fifty-four small +designs, not in relief, but with the outlines of the subjects inlaid +with silver. The doors are in Byzantine taste. + +The bronze doors at Hildesheim differ from nearly all other such +portals, in the elemental principle of design. Instead of being +divided into small panels, they are simply blocked off into seven +long horizontal compartments on each side, and then filled with a +pictorial arrangement of separate figures; only three or four in +each panel, widely spaced, and on a background of very low relief. +The figures are applied, at scattered distances apart, and are +in unusually high modelling, in some cases being almost detached +from the door. The effect is curious and interesting rather than +strictly beautiful, on the whole; but in detail many of the figures +display rare power of plastic skill, proportion, and action. They +are, at any rate, very individual: there are no other doors at +all like them. They are the work of Bishop Bernward. + +Unquestionably, one of the greatest achievements in bronze of any +age is the pair of gates by Lorenzo Ghiberti on the Baptistery +in Florence. Twenty-one years were devoted to their making, by +Ghiberti and his assistants, with the stipulation that all figures +in the design were to be personal work of the master, the +assistants only attending to secondary details. The doors were in +place in April, 1424. + +[Illustration: BRUNELLESCHI'S COMPETITIVE PANEL] + +The competition for the Baptistery doors reads like a romance, +and is familiar to most people who know anything of historic art. +When the young Ghiberti heard that the competition was open to +all, he determined to go to Florence and work for the prize; in +his own words: "When my friends wrote to me that the governors +of the Baptistery were sending for masters whose skill in bronze +working they wished to prove, and that from all Italian lands many +maestri were coming, to place themselves in this strife of talent, +I could no longer forbear, and asked leave of Sig. Malatesta, who +let me depart." The result of the competition is also given in +Ghiberti's words: "The palm of victory was conceded to me by all +judges, and by those who competed with me. Universally all the +glory was given to me without any exception." + +[Illustration: GHIBERTI'S COMPETITIVE PANEL] + +Symonds considers the first gate a supreme accomplishment in bronze +casting, but criticizes the other, and usually more admired gate, as +"overstepping the limits that separate sculpture from painting," by +"massing together figures in multitudes at three and sometimes four +distances. He tried to make a place in bas-relief for perspective." +Sir Joshua Reynolds finds fault with Ghiberti, also, for working at +variance with the severity of sculptural treatment, by distributing +small figures in a spacious landscape framework. It was not really +in accordance with the limitations of his material to treat a bronze +casting as Ghiberti treated it, and his example has led many men of +inferior genius astray, although there is no use in denying that +Ghiberti himself was clever enough to defy the usual standards +and rules. + +Fonts were sometimes made in bronze. There is such a one at Liege +cast by Lambert Patras, which stands upon twelve oxen. It is decorated +with reliefs from the Gospels. This artist, Patras, was a native +of Dinant, and lived in the twelfth century. The bronze font in +Hildesheim is among the most interesting late Romanesque examples in +Germany. It is a large deep basin entirely covered with enrichment +of Scriptural scenes, and is supported by four kneeling figures, +typical of the four Rivers of Paradise. The conical cover is also +covered with Scriptural scenes, and surmounted by a foliate knob. +Among the figures with which the font is covered are the Cardinal +Virtues, flanked by their patron saints. Didron considers this a most +important piece of bronze from an iconographic point of view +theologically and poetically. The archaic qualities of the figures +are fascinating and sometimes diverting. In the scene of the Baptism +of Christ the water is positively trained to flow upwards in pyramidal +form, in order to reach nearly to the waist, while at either side it +recedes to the ground level again,--it has an ingenuous and almost +startling suddenness in the rising of its flood! An interesting +comment upon the prevalence of early national forms may be deduced, +when one observes that on the table, at the Last Supper, there +lies a perfectly shaped pretzel! + +The great bronze column constructed by St. Bernward at Hildesheim +has the Life of Christ represented in consecutive scenes in a spiral +form, like those ornamenting the column of Trajan. Down by Bernward's +grave there is a spring which is said to cure cripples and rheumatics. +Peasants visit Hildesheim on saints' days in order to drink of +it, and frequently, after one of these visitations, crutches are +found abandoned near by. + +Saxony was famous for its bronze founders, and work was sent forth, +from this country, in the twelfth century, all over Europe. + +[Illustration: FONT AT HILDESHEIM, 12TH CENTURY] + +Orcagna's tabernacle at Or San Michele is, as Symonds +has expressed it, "a monumental jewel," and "an epitome of the +minor arts of mediæval Italy." On it one sees bas-relief carving, +intaglios, statuettes, mosaic, the lapidary's art in agate; enamels, +and gilded glass, and yet all in good taste and harmony. The sculpture +is properly subordinated to the architectonic principle, and one +can understand how it is not only the work of a goldsmith, but +of a painter. + +Of all bronze workers, perhaps Peter Vischer is the best known +and is certainly one of the best deserving of his wide fame. Peter +Vischer was born about the same time as Quentin Matsys, between +1460 and 1470. He was the most important metal worker in Germany. +He and Adam Kraft, of whom mention will be made when we come to +deal with sculptural carving, were brought up together as boys, +and "when older boys, went with one another on all holidays, acting +still as though they were apprentices together." Vischer's normal +expression was in Gothic form. His first design for the wonderful +shrine of St. Sebald in Nuremberg was made by him in 1488, and +is still preserved in Vienna. It is a pure late-Gothic canopy, +and I cannot help regretting that the execution was delayed until +popular taste demanded more concession towards the Renaissance, +and it was resolved in 1507, "to have the Shrine of St. Sebald +made of brass." + +Therefore, although the general lines continue to hold a Gothic +semblance, the shrine has many Renaissance features. Regret, however, +is almost morbid, in relation to such a perfect work of art. Italian +feeling is evident throughout, and the wealth of detail in figures +and foliate forms is magnificent. The centre of interest is the +little portrait statuette of Peter Vischer himself, according to his +biographer, "as he looked, and as he daily went about and worked in +the foundry." Though Peter had not been to Italy himself, his son +Hermann had visited the historic land, and had brought home "artistic +things that he sketched and drew, which delighted his old father, and +were of great use to his brothers." Peter Vischer had three sons, who +all followed him in the craft. His workshop must have been an ideal +institution in its line. + +Some remnants of Gothic grotesque fancy are to be seen on the shrine, +although treated outwardly with Renaissance feeling. A realistic +life-sized mouse may be seen in one place, just as if it had run +out to inspect the work; and the numbers of little tipsy "putti" +who disport themselves in all attitudes, in perilous positions +on narrow ledges, are full of merry humour. + +The metal of St. Sebald's shrine is left as it came from the casting, +and owes much of its charm to the lack of filing, polishing, and +pointing usual in such monuments. The molten living expression is +retained. Only the details and spirit of the figures are Renaissance; +the Gothic plan is hardly disturbed, and the whole monument is +pleasing in proportion. The figures are exquisite, especially that +of St. Peter. + +[Illustration: PORTRAIT STATUETTE OF PETER VISCHER] + +A great Renaissance work in Germany was the grille +of the Rathaus made for Nuremberg by Peter Vischer the Younger. It +was of bronze, the symmetrical diapered form of the open work part +being supported by chaste and dignified columns of the Corinthian +order. It was first designed by Peter Vischer the Elder, and revised +and changed by the whole family after Hermann's return from Rome +with his Renaissance notions. It was sold in 1806 to a merchant +for old metal; later it was traced to the south of France, where +it disappeared. + +Another famous bronze of Nuremberg is the well-known "Goose Man" +fountain, by Labenwolf. Every traveller has seen the quaint half-foolish +little man, as he stands there holding his two geese who politely +turn away their heads in order to produce the streams of water! + +With the best bronzes, and with steel used for decorative purposes, +the original casting has frequently been only for general form, +the whole of the surface finishing being done with a shaping tool, +by hand, giving the appearance of a carving in bronze or steel. In +Japanese bronzes this is particularly felt. The classical bronzes +were evidently perfect mosaics of different colours, in metal. Pliny +tells of a bronze figure of a dying woman, who was represented +as having changed colour at the extremities, the fusion of the +different shades of bronze being disguised by anklets, bracelets, +and a necklace! A curious and very disagreeable work of art, we +should say. One sometimes sees in antique fragments ivory or silver +eyeballs, and hair and eyelashes made separately in thin strips and +coils of metal; while occasionally the depression of the edge of +the lips is sufficient to give rise to the opinion that a thin +veneer of copper was applied to give colour. + +The bronze effigies of Henry III. and Eleanor, at Westminster, were +the work of a goldsmith, Master William Torel, and are therefore +finer in quality and are in some respects superior to the average +casting in bronze. Torel worked at the palace, and the statues were +cast in "cire perdue" process, being executed in the churchyard +itself. They are considered among the finest bronzes of the period +extant. Gilding and enamel were often used in bronze effigies. + +Splendid bronzes, cast each in a single flow, are the recumbent +figures of two bishops at Amiens; they are of the thirteenth century. +Ruskin says: "They are the only two bronze tombs of her men of the +great ages left in France." An old document speaks of the "moulds +and imagines" which were in use for casting effigy portraits, in +1394. + +Another good English bronze is that of Richard Beauchamp at Warwick, +the work of Thomas Stevens, which has been alluded to. In Westminster +Abbey, the effigy of Aymer de Valence, dating from 1296, is of +copper, but it is not cast; it is of beaten metal, and is enamelled, +probably at Limoges. + +Bells and cannon are among the objects of actual utility which +were cast in bronze. Statues as a rule came later. In the sixteenth +and seventeenth centuries in England, bronze was used to such an +extent, that one authority suggested that it should be called the +"Age of Bronze." Primitive bells were made of cast iron riveted +together: one of these is at the Cologne museum, and the Irish bells +were largely of this description. A great bell was presented to the +Cathedral of Chartres in 1028, by a donor named Jean, which affords +little clue to his personality. This bell weighed over two tons. + +There is considerable interest attaching to the subject of the +making of bells in the Middle Ages. Even in domestic life bells +played quite a part; it was the custom to ring a bell when the +bath was ready and to announce meals, as well as to summon the +servitors. Church bells, both large and small, were in use in England +by 670, according to Bede. They were also carried by missionaries; +those good saints, Patrick and Cuthbert, announced their coming +like town criers! The shrine of St. Patrick's bell has been already +described. Bells used to be regarded with a superstitious awe, and +were supposed to have the ability to dispel evil spirits, which were +exorcised with "bell, book, and candle." The bell of St. Patrick, +inside the great shrine, is composed of two pieces of sheet iron, +one of which forms the face, and being turned over the top, descends +about half-way down the other side, where it meets the second sheet. +Both are bent along the edges so as to form the sides of the bell, +and they are both secured by rivets. A rude handle is similarly +attached to the top. + +A quaint account is given by the Monk of St. Gall +about a bell ordered by Charlemagne. Charlemagne having admired +the tone of a certain bell, the founder, named Tancho, said to +him: "Lord Emperor, give orders that a great weight of copper be +brought to me that I may refine it, and instead of tin give me as +much silver as I need,--a hundred pounds at least,--and I will +cast such a bell for you that this will seem dumb in comparison +to it." Charlemagne ordered the required amount of silver to be +sent to the founder, who was, however, a great knave. He did not +use the silver at all, but, laying it aside for his own use, he +employed tin as usual in the bell, knowing that it would make a +very fair tone, and counting on the Emperor's not observing the +difference. The Emperor was glad when it was ready to be heard, +and ordered it to be hung, and the clapper attached. "That was soon +done," says the chronicler, "and then the warden of the church, +the attendants, and even the boys of the place, tried, one after +the other, to make the bell sound. But all was in vain; and so +at last the knavish maker of the bell came up, seized the rope, +and pulled at the bell. When, lo! and behold! down from on high +came the brazen mass; fell on the very head of the cheating brass +founder; killed him on the spot; and passed straight through his +carcase and crashed to the ground.... When the aforementioned weight +of silver was found, Charles ordered it to be distributed among +the poorest servants of the palace." + +There is record of bronze bells in Valencia as early as 622, and +an ancient mortar was found near Monzon, in the ruins of a castle +which had formerly belonged to the Arabs. Round the edge of this +mortar was the inscription: "Complete blessing, and ever increasing +happiness and prosperity of every kind and an elevated and happy +social position for its owner." The mortar was richly ornamented. + +At Croyland, Abbot Egebric "caused to be made two great bells which +he named Bartholomew and Bethelmus, two of middle size, called +Turketul and Tatwyn, and two lesser, Pega and Bega." Also at Croyland +were placed "two little bells which Fergus the brass worker of St. +Botolph's had lately given," in the church tower, "until better +times," when the monks expressed a hope that they should improve +all their buildings and appointments. + +Oil that dropped from the framework on which church bells were +hung was regarded in Florence as a panacea for various ailments. +People who suffered from certain complaints were rubbed with this +oil, and fully believed that it helped them. + +The curfew bell was a famous institution; but the name was not +originally applied to the bell itself. This leads to another curious +bit of domestic metal. The popular idea of a curfew is that of +a bell; a bell was undoubtedly rung at the curfew hour, and was +called by its name; but the actual curfew (or _couvre feu_) was an +article made of copper, shaped not unlike a deep "blower," which +was used in order to extinguish the fire when the bell rang. There +are a few specimens in England of these curious covers: they stood +about ten to fifteen inches high, with a handle at the top, and +closed in on three sides, open at the back. The embers were +shovelled close to the back of the hearth, and the curfew, with the +open side against the back of the chimney, was placed over them, +thus excluding all air. Horace Walpole owned, at Strawberry Hill, +a famous old curfew, in copper, elaborately decorated with vines +and the York rose. + +[Illustration: A COPPER "CURFEW"] + +[Illustration: SANCTUARY KNOCKER, DURHAM CATHEDRAL] + +The Sanctuary knocker at Durham Cathedral is an important example +of bronze work, probably of the same age as the Cathedral door on +which it is fastened. They both date from about the eleventh +century. Ever since 740, in the Episcopate of Cynewulf, criminals +were allowed to claim Sanctuary in Durham. When this knocker was +sounded, the door was opened, by two porters who had their +accommodations always in two little chambers over the door, and +for a certain length of time the criminal was under the protection +of the Church. + +In speaking of the properties of lead, the old English Bartholomew +says: "Of uncleanness of impure brimstone, lead hath a manner of +neshness, and smircheth his hand who toucheth it... a man may wipe +off the uncleanness, but always it is lead, although it seemeth +silver." Weather vanes, made often of lead, were sometimes quite +elaborate. One of the most important pieces of lead work in art +is the figure of an angel on the chewet of Ste. Chapelle in Paris. +Originally this figure was intended to be so controlled by clockwork +that it would turn around once in the course of the twenty-four +hours, so that his attitude of benediction should be directed to +all four quarters of the city; but this was not practicable, and +the angel is stationary. The cock on the weather vane at Winchester +was described as early as the tenth century, in the Life of St. +Swithin, by the scribe Walstan. He calls it "a cock of elegant +form, and all resplendent and shining with gold who occupies the +summit of the tower. He regards the world from on high, he commands +all the country. Before him extend the stars of the North, and all +the constellations of the zodiac. Under his superb feet he holds +the sceptre of the law, and he sees under him all the people of +Winchester. The other cocks are humble subjects of this one, whom +they see thus raised in mid-air above them: he scorns the winds, +that bring the rains, and, turning, he presents to them his back. +The terrible efforts of the tempest do not annoy him, he receives +with courage either snow or lightning, alone he watches the sun as +it sets and dips into the ocean: and it is he who gives it its first +salute on its rising again. The traveller who sees him afar off, +fixes on him his gaze; forgetting the road he has still to follow, +he forgets his fatigues: he advances with renewed ardour. While he +is in reality a long way from the end, his eyes deceive him, and he +thinks that he has arrived." Quite a practical tribute to a weather +cock! + +The fact that leaden roofs were placed on all churches and monastic +buildings in the Middle Ages, accounts in part for their utter +destruction in case of fire; for it is easy to see how impossible +it would be to enter a building in order to save anything, if, to +the terror of flames, were added the horror of a leaden shower +of molten metal proceeding from every part of the roof at once! +If a church once caught fire, that was its end, as a rule. + +The invention of clocks, on the principle of cog-wheels and weights, +is attributed to a monk, named Gerbert, who died in 1013. He had +been instructor to King Robert, and was made Bishop of Rheims, +later becoming Pope Sylvester II. Clocks at first were large affairs +in public places. Portable clocks were said to have been first made +by Carovage, in 1480. + +[Illustration: ANGLO SAXON CRUCIFIX OF LEAD] + +An interesting specimen of mediæval clock work is the old Dijon time +keeper, which still performs its office, and which is a privilege +to watch at high noon. Twelve times the bell is struck: first by a +man, who turns decorously with his hammer, and then by a woman, +who does the same. This staunch couple have worked for their living +for many centuries. Froissart alludes to this clock, saying: "The +Duke of Burgundy caused to be carried away from the market place at +Courtray a clock that struck the hours, one of the finest which could +be found on either side of the sea: and he conveyed it by pieces in +carts, and the bell also, which clock was brought and carted into the +town of Dijon, in Burgundy, where it was deposited and put up, and +there strikes the twenty-four hours between day and night." This was +in 1382, and there is no knowing how long the clock may have performed +its functions in Courtray prior to its removal to Dijon. + +The great clock at Nuremberg shows a procession of the Seven Electors, +who come out of one door, pass in front of the throne, each turning +and doing obeisance, and pass on through another door. It is quite +imposing, at noon, to watch this procession repeated twelve times. +The clock is called the Mannleinlauffen. + +In the Statutes of Francis I., there is a clause stating that +clockmakers as well as goldsmiths were authorized to employ in their +work gold, silver, and all other materials. + +In Wells Cathedral is a curious clock, on which is a figure of a +monarch, like Charles I., seated above the bell, which he kicks +with his heels when the hour comes round. He is popularly known as +"Jack Blandiver." This clock came originally from Glastonbury. On +the hour a little tournament takes place, a race of little mounted +knights rushing out in circles and charging each other vigorously. + +Pugin regrets the meaningless designs used by early Victorian clock +makers. He calls attention to the fact that "it is not unusual to +cast a Roman warrior in a flying chariot, round one of the wheels +of which on close inspection the hours may be descried; or the whole +front of a cathedral church reduced to a few inches in height, +with the clock face occupying the position of a magnificent rose +window!" This is not overdrawn; taste has suffered many vicissitudes +in the course of time, but we hope that the future will hold more +beauty for us in the familiar articles of the household than have +prevailed at some periods in the past. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TAPESTRY + +A study of textiles is often subdivided into tapestry, carpet-weaving, +mechanical weaving of fabrics of a lighter weight, and embroidery. +These headings are useful to observe in our researches in the mediæval +processes connected with the loom and the needle. + +Tapestry, as we popularly think of it, in great rectangular +wall-hangings with rather florid figures from Scriptural scenes, +commonly dates from the sixteenth century or later, so that it is +out of our scope to study its manufacture on an extensive scale. +But there are earlier tapestries, much more restrained in design, +and more interesting and frequently more beautiful. Of these earlier +works there is less profusion, for the examples are rare and precious, +and seldom come into the market nowadays. The later looms were of +course more prolific as the technical facilities increased. But +a study of the craft as it began gives one all that is necessary +for a proper appreciation of the art of tapestry weaving. + +The earliest European work with which we have to concern ourselves +is the Bayeux tapestry. Although this is really needlework, it +is usually treated as tapestry, and there seems to be no special +reason for departing from the custom. Some authorities state that +the Bayeux tapestry was made by the Empress Matilda, daughter of +Henry I., while others consider it the achievement of Queen Matilda, +the wife of William the Conqueror. She is recorded to have sat +quietly awaiting her lord's coming while she embroidered this quaint +souvenir of his prowess in conquest. A veritable mediæval Penelope, +it is claimed that she directed her ladies in this work, which is +thoroughly Saxon in feeling and costuming. It is undoubtedly the most +interesting remaining piece of needlework of the eleventh century, +and it would be delightful if one could believe the legend of its +construction. Its attribution to Queen Matilda is very generally +doubted by those who have devoted much thought to the subject. Mr. +Frank Rede Fowke gives it as his opinion, based on a number of +arguments too long to quote in this place, that the tapestry was +not made by Queen Matilda, but was ordered by Bishop Odo as an +ornament for the nave of Bayeux Cathedral, and was executed by +Norman craftsmen in that city. Dr. Rock also favours the theory +that it was worked by order of Bishop Odo. Odo was a brother of +William the Conqueror and might easily have been interested in +preserving so important a record of the Battle of Hastings. Dr. +Rock states that the tradition that Queen Matilda executed the +tapestry did not arise at all until 1730. + +The work is on linen, executed in worsteds. Fowke gives the length +as two hundred and thirty feet, while it is only nineteen inches +wide,--a long narrow strip of embroidery, in many colours on a cream +white ground. In all, there are six hundred and twenty-three figures, +besides two hundred horses and dogs, five hundred and five animals, +thirty-seven buildings, forty-one ships, forty-nine trees, making in +all the astonishing number of one thousand five hundred and twelve +objects! + +The colours are in varying shades of blue, green, red and yellow +worsted. The colours are used as a child employs crayons; just as +they come to hand. When a needleful of one thread was used up, +the next was taken, apparently quite irrespective of the colour or +shade. Thus, a green horse will be seen standing on red legs, and +a red horse will sport a blue stocking! Mr. J. L. Hayes believes +that these varicoloured animals are planned purposely: that two +legs of a green horse are rendered in red on the further side, to +indicate perspective, the same principle accounting for two blue +legs on a yellow horse! + +[Illustration: DETAIL, BAYEUX TAPESTRY] + +The buildings are drawn in a very primitive way, without consideration +for size or proportion. The solid part of the embroidery is couched +on, while much of the work is only rendered in outline. But the +spirited little figures are full of action, and suggest those in +the celebrated Utrecht Psalter. Sometimes one figure will be as +high as the whole width of the material, while again, the people +will be tiny. In the scene representing the burial of Edward the +Confessor, in Westminster Abbey, the roof of the church is several +inches lower than the bier which is borne on the shoulders of men +nearly as tall as the tower! + +The naïve treatment of details is delicious. Harold, when about +to embark, steps with bare legs into the tide: the water is laid +out in the form of a hill of waves, in order to indicate that it +gets deeper later on. It might serve as an illustration of the Red +Sea humping up for the benefit of the Israelites! The curious little +stunted figure with a bald head, in the group of the conference of +messengers, would appear to be an abortive attempt to portray a +person at some distance--he is drawn much smaller than the others +to suggest that he is quite out of hearing! This seems to have +been the only attempt at rendering the sense of perspective. Then +comes a mysterious little lady in a kind of shrine, to whom a clerk +is making curious advances; to the casual observer it would appear +that the gentleman is patting her on the cheek, but we are informed +by Thierry that this represents an embroideress, and that the clerk +is in the act of ordering the Bayeux Tapestry itself! Conjecture +is swamped concerning the real intention of this group, and no +certain diagnosis has ever been pronounced! The Countess of Wilton +sees in this group "a female in a sort of porch, with a clergyman +in the act of pronouncing a benediction upon her!" Every one to +his taste. + +A little farther on there is another unexplained figure: that of +a man with his feet crossed, swinging joyously on a rope from the +top of a tower. + +Soon after the Crowning of Harold, may be seen a crowd of people +gazing at an astronomic phenomenon which has been described by an +old chronicler as a "hairy star." It is recorded as "a blazing +starre" such as "never appears but as a prognostic of afterclaps," +and again, as "dreadful to be seen, with bloudie haires, and all +over rough and shagged at the top." Another author complacently +explains that comets "were made to the end that the ethereal regions +might not be more void of monsters than the ocean is of whales and +other great thieving fish!" A very literal interpretation of this +"hairy star" has been here embroidered, carefully fitted out with +cog-wheels and all the paraphernalia of a conventional mediæval +comet. + +In the scenes dealing with the preparation of the army and the +arrangement of their food, there occurs the lassooing of an ox; the +amount of action concentrated in this group is really wonderful. +The ox, springing clear of the ground, with all his legs gathered +up under him, turns his horned head, which is set on an unduly +long neck, for the purpose of inspecting his pursuers. No better +origin for the ancient tradition of the cow who jumped over the +moon could be adduced. And what shall we say of the acrobatic antics +of Leofwine and Gyrth when meeting their deaths in battle? These +warriors are turning elaborate handsprings in their last moments, +while horses are represented as performing such somersaults that +they are practically inverted. In the border of this part of the +tapestry, soldiers are seen stripping off the coats of mail from +the dead warriors on the battle-field; this they do by turning the +tunic inside out and pulling it off at the head, and the resulting +attitudes of the victims are quaint and realistic in the extreme! +The border has been appropriately described as "a layer of dead men." +In the tenth and eleventh centuries one of the regular petitions in +the Litany was "From the fury of the Normans Good Lord Deliver us." + +The Bayeux Tapestry was designated, in 1746, as "the noblest monument +in the world relating to our old English History." It has passed +through most trying vicissitudes, having been used in war time as a +canvas covering to a transport wagon, among other experiences. For +centuries this precious treasure was neglected and not understood. In +his "Tour" M. Ducarel states: "The priests... to whom we addressed +ourselves for a sight of this remarkable piece of antiquity, knew +nothing of it; the circumstance only of its being annually hung up +in their church led them to understand what we wanted, no person +then knowing that the object of our inquiries any ways related to +the Conqueror." This was in the nineteenth century. + +Anglo-Saxon women spent much of their time in embroidering. Edith, +Queen of Edward the Confessor, was quite noted for her needlework, +which was sometimes used to decorate the state robes of the king. + +Formerly there existed at Ely Cathedral a work very like the Bayeux +Tapestry, recording the deeds of the heroic Brihtnoth, the East +Saxon, who was slain in 991, fighting the Danish forces. His wife +rendered his history in needlework, and presented it to Ely. +Unhappily there are no remains of this interesting monument now +existing. The nearest thing to the Bayeux Tapestry in general +texture and style is perhaps a twelfth century work in the Cathedral +at Gerona, a little over four yards square, which is worked in +crewels on linen, and is ornamented with scenes of an Oriental and +primitive character, taken mainly from the story of Genesis. These +tapestries come under the head of needlework. The tapestries made +on looms proceed upon a different principle, and are woven instead +of embroidered. + +Two kinds of looms were used under varying conditions in different +places; high warp looms, or _Haute Lisse_, and low warp looms, +known as _Basse Lisse_. + +The general method of making tapestries on a high warp loom has been +much the same for many centuries. The warp is stretched vertically +in two sets, every other thread being first forward and then back in +the setting. M. Lacordaire, late Director of the Gobelins, writes +as follows: "The workman takes a spindle filled with worsted or +silk... he stops off the weft thread and fastens it to the warp, +to the left of the space to be occupied by the colour he has in +hand; then, by passing his left hand between the back and the front +threads, he separates those that are to be covered with colours; +with his right hand, having passed it through the same threads, +he reaches to the left side, for the spindle which he brings back +to the right; his left hand, then, seizing hold of the warp, brings +the back threads to the front, while the right hand thrusts the +spindle back to the point whence it started." When a new colour +is to be introduced, the artist takes a new shuttle. He fastens +his thread on the wrong side of the tapestry (the side on which +he works) and repeats the process just described on the strings +stretched up and down before him, like harp strings; the work is +commenced at the lower part, and worked upwards, so that, when +this strictly "hand weaving" is accomplished, it may be crowded +down into place by means of a kind of ivory comb, so adjusted that +the teeth fit between the warp threads. In tapestry weaving, the +warp could be of any inferior but strong thread, for, by the nature +of the work, only the woof was visible, the warp being quite hidden +and incorporated into the texture under the close lying stitches +which met and dove-tailed over it. + +The worker on a low loom does not see the right side of the work +at all, unless he lifts the loom, which is a difficult undertaking. +On a high loom, it is only necessary for the worker to go around +to the front in order to see exactly what he is doing. The design +is put below the work, however, in a low loom, and the work is +thus practically traced as the tapestry proceeds. + +On account of the limitations of the human arm in reaching, the +low warp tapestry requires more seams than does that made on the +"haute lisse" loom, the pieces being individually smaller. One +whole division of the workmen in tapestry establishments used to be +known as the "fine drawers," whose whole duty was to join the +different pieces together, and also to repair worn tapestries, +inserting new stitches for restorations. Tapestry repairing was +a necessary craft; at Rheims some tapestries were restored by +Jacquemire de Bergeres; these hangings had been "much damaged by +dogs, rats, mice, and other beasts." It is not stated where they +had been hung! + +High warp looms have been known in Europe certainly since the ninth +century. There is an order extant, from the Bishop of Auxerre, +who died in 840, for some "carpets for his church." In 890 the +monks of Saumur were manufacturing tapestries. Beautiful textiles +had been used to ornament the Church of St. Denis as early as 630, +but there is no proof that these were actually tapestries. There +is a legend that in 732 a tapestry establishment existed in the +district between Tours and Poitiers. At Beauvais, too, the weavers +of arras were settled at the time of the Norman ravages. + +King Dagobert was a mediæval patron of arts in France. He had the +walls of St. Denis (which he built) hung with rich tapestries set +with pearls and wrought with gold. At the monastery of St. Florent, +at Saumur in 985, the monks wove tapestries, using floral and animal +forms in their designs. At Poitiers there was quite a flourishing +factory as early as 1025. Tapestry was probably first made in France, +to any considerable extent, then, in the ninth century. The historian +of the monastery of Saumur tells us an interesting incident in +connection with the works there. The Abbot of St. Florent had placed +a magnificent order for "curtains, canopies, hangings, bench covers, +and other ornaments,... and he caused to be, made two pieces of tapestry +of large size and admirable quality, representing elephants." While +these were about to be commenced, the aforesaid abbot was called +away on a journey. The ecclesiastic who remained issued a command +that the tapestries should be made with a woof different from that +which they habitually used. "Well," said they, "in the absence of +the good abbot we will not discontinue our employment; but as you +thwart us, we shall make quite a different kind of fabric." So they +deliberately set to work to make square carpets with silver lions on +a red ground, with a red and white border of various animals! Abbot +William was fortunately pleased with the result, and used lions +interchangeably with elephants thereafter in his decorations. + +At the ninth century tapestry manufactory in Poitiers, an amusing +correspondence took place between the Count of Poitou and an Italian +bishop, in 1025. Poitou was at that time noted for its fine breed +of mules. The Italian bishop wrote to ask the count to send him +one mule and one tapestry,--as he expressed it, "both equally +marvellous." The count replied with spirit: "I cannot send you +what you ask, because for a mule to merit the epithet _marvellous_, +he would have to have horns, or three tails, or five legs, and +this I should not be able to find. I shall have to content myself +with sending you the best that I can procure!" + +In 992 the Abbey of Croyland, in England, owned "two large foot +cloths woven with lions, to be laid before the high altar on great +festivals, and two shorter ones trailed all over with flowers, +for the feast days of the Apostles." + +Under Church auspices in the twelfth century, the tapestry industry +rose to its most splendid perfection. When the secular looms were +started, the original beauty of the work was retained for a considerable +time; in the tenth century German craftsmen worked as individuals, +independently of Guilds or organizations. In the thirteenth century +the work was in a flourishing condition in France, where both looms +were in use. The upright loom is still used at the Gobelin factory. + +As an adjunct to the stained glass windows in churches, there never +was a texture more harmonious than good mediæval tapestry. In 1260 +the best tapestries in France were made by the Church exclusively; +in 1461 King René of Anjou bequeathed a magnificent tapestry in +twenty-seven subjects representing the Apocalypse, to "the church +of Monsieur St. Maurice," at Angers. + +Although tapestry was made in larger quantities during the Renaissance, +the mediæval designs are better adapted to the material. + +The royal chambers of the Kings of England were hung with tapestry, +and it was the designated duty of the Chamberlain to see to such +adornment. In 1294 there is mention of a special artist in tapestry, +who lived near Winchester; his name was Sewald, and he was further +known as "le tapenyr," which, according to M. G. Thomson, signifies +tapestrier. + +One is led to believe that tapestries were used as church adornments +before they were introduced into dwellings; for it was said, when +Queen Eleanor of Castile had her bedroom hung with tapestries, that +"it was like a church." At Westminster, a writer of 1631 alludes +to the "cloths of Arras which adorn the choir." + +Sets of tapestries to hang entire apartments were known as "Hallings." +Among the tapestries which belonged to Charles V. was one "worked +with towers, fallow bucks and does, to put over the King's boat." +Among early recorded tapestries are those mentioned in the inventory +of Philip the Bold, in 1404, while that of Philip the Good tells of +his specimens, in 1420. Nothing can well be imagined more charming +than the description of a tapestried chamber in 1418; the room +being finished in white was decorated with paroquets and damsels +playing harps. This work was accomplished for the Duchess of Bavaria +by the tapestry maker, Jean of Florence. + +Flanders tapestry was famous in the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. +Arras particularly was the town celebrated for the beauty of its +work. This famous manufactory was founded prior to 1350, as there +is mention of work of that period. Before the town became known as +Arras, while it still retained its original name, Nomenticum, the +weavers were famous who worked there. In 282 A. D. the woven cloaks +of Nomenticum were spoken of by Flavius Vopiscus. + +The earliest record of genuine Arras tapestry occurs in an order +from the Countess of Artois in 1313, when she directs her receiver +"de faire faire six tapis à Arras." Among the craftsmen at Arras +in 1389 was a Saracen, named Jehan de Croisètes, and in 1378 there +was a worker by the name of Huwart Wallois. Several of its workmen +emigrated to Lille, in the fifteenth century, among them one Simon +Lamoury and another, Jehan de Rausart. In 1419 the Council Chamber +of Ypres was ornamented with splendid tapestries by François de +Wechter, who designed them, and had them executed by Arras workmen. +The Van Eycks and Memlinc also designed tapestries, and there is no +doubt that the art would have continued to show a more consistent +regard for the demands of the material if Raphael had never executed +his brilliant cartoons. The effort to be Raphaelesque ruined the +effect of many a noble piece of technique, after that. + +In 1302 a body of ten craftsmen formed a Corporation in Paris. +The names of several workmen at Lille have been handed down to +us. In 1318 Jehan Orghet is recorded, and in 1368, Willaume, a +high-warp worker. Penalties for false work were extreme. One of +the best known workers in France was Bataille, who was closely +followed by one Dourdain. + +[Illustration: FLEMISH TAPESTRY, "THE PRODIGAL SON"] + +A famous Arras tapestry was made in 1386 by a weaver of the name +of Michel Bernard. It measured over two hundred and eighty-five +square yards, and represented the battle of Roosebecke. At this +time a tapestry worker lived, named Jehanne Aghehe, one of the +first attested women's names in connection with this art. In the +Treasury of the church of Douai there is mention of three cushions +made of high loom tapestry presented in 1386 by "la demoiselle +Englise." It is not known who this young lady may have been. France +and Flanders made the most desirable tapestries in the fourteenth +century. In Italy the art had little vogue until the fifteenth. + +Very little tapestry was made in Spain in the Middle Ages,--the +earliest well known maker was named Gutierrez, in the time of Philip +IV. The picture by Velasquez, known as "The Weavers," represents +the interior of his manufactory. + +A table cloth in mediæval times was called a "carpett:" these were +often very ornate, and it is useful to know that their use was not +for floor covering, for the inventories often mention "carpetts" +worked with pearls and silver tissue, which would have been singularly +inappropriate. The Arabs introduced the art of carpet weaving into +Spain. An Oriental, Edrisi, writing in the twelfth century, says +that such carpets were made at that time in Alicante, as could not +be produced elsewhere, owing to certain qualities in both air and +water which greatly benefited the wool used in their manufacture. + +In the Travels of Jean Lagrange, the author says that all carpets +of Smyrna and Caramania are woven by women. As soon as a girl can +hold a shuttle, they stretch cords between two trees, to make a +warp, and then they give her all colours of wools, and leave her +to her own devices. They tell her, "It is for you to make your own +dowry." Then, according to the inborn art instinct of the child, she +begins her carpet. Naturally, traditions and association with others +engaged in the same pursuit assist in the scheme and arrangement; +usually the carpet is not finished until she is old enough to marry. +"Then," continues Lagrange, "two masters, two purchasers, present +themselves; the one carries off a carpet, and the other a wife." + +Edward II.. of England owned a tapestry probably of English make, +described as "a green hanging of wool wove with figures of Kings +and Earls upon it." There was a roistering Britisher called John le +Tappistere, who was complained of by certain people near Oxford, as +having seized Master John of Shoreditch, and assaulted and imprisoned +him, confiscating his goods and charging him fifty pounds for ransom. +It is not stated what the gentleman from Shoreditch had done thus +to bring down upon him the wrath of John the weaver! + +English weavers had rather the reputation of being fighters: in +1340 one George le Tapicier murdered John le Dextre of Leicester; +while Giles de la Hyde also slew Thomas Tapicier in 1385. Possibly +these rows occurred on account of a practical infringement upon +the manufacturing rights of others as set down in the rules of the +Company. There was a woman in Finch Lane who produced tapestry, +with a cotton back, "after the manner of the works of Arras:" this +was considered a dishonest business, and the work was ordered to +be burnt. + +Roger van der Weyden designed a set of tapestries representing +the History of Herkinbald, the stern uncle who, with his own hand, +beheaded his nephew for wronging a young woman. Upon his death-bed, +Herkinbald refused to confess this act as a sin, claiming the murder +to have been justifiable and a positive virtue. Apparently the +Higher Powers were on his side, too, for, when the priest refused +the Eucharist to the impertinent Herkinbald, it is related that +the Host descended by a miracle and entered the lips of the dying +man. A dramatic story, of which van der Weyden made the most, in +designing his wonderfully decorative tapestries. The originals +were lost, but similar copies remain. + +As early as 1441 tapestries were executed in Oudenardes; usually +these were composed of green foliage, and known as "verdures." In +time the names "verdure" and "Oudenarde" became interchangeably +associated with this class of tapestry. They represented woodland +and hunting scenes, and were also called "Tapestry verde," and +are alluded to by Chaucer. + +Curious symbolic subjects were often used: for instance, for a +set of hangings for a banquet hall, what could be more whimsically +appropriate than the representation of "Dinner," giving a feast to +"Good Company," while "Banquet" and "Maladies" attack the guests! +This scene is followed by the arrest of "Souper" and "Banquet" by +"Experience," who condemns them both to die for their cruel treatment +of the Feasters! + +There is an old poem written by a monk of Chester, named Bradshaw, +in which a large hall decorated with tapestries is described as +follows: + + "All herbs and flowers, fair and sweet, + Were strawed in halls, and layd under their feet; + Cloths of gold, and arras were hanged on the wall, + Depainted with pictures and stories manifold + Well wrought and craftely." + +A set of tapestries was made by some of the monks of Troyes, who +worked upon the high loom, displaying scenes from the Life of the +Magdalen. This task was evidently not devoid of the lighter elements, +for in the bill, the good brothers made charge for such wine as +they drank "when they consulted together in regard to the life +of the Saint in question!" + +Among the most interesting tapestries are those representing scenes +from the Wars of Troy, in South Kensington. They are crowded with +detail, and in this respect exhibit most satisfactorily the beauties +of the craft, which is enhanced by small intricacies, and rendered +less impressive when treated in broad masses of unrelieved woven +colour. Another magnificent set, bearing similar characteristics, +is the History of Clovis at Rheims. + +There is a fascinating set of English tapestries representing the +Seasons, at Hatfield: these were probably woven at Barcheston. +The detail of minute animal and vegetable forms--the flora and +fauna, as it were in worsted--are unique for their conscientious +finish. They almost amount to catalogues of plants and beasts. +The one which displays Summer is a herbal and a Noah's Ark turned +loose about a full-sized Classical Deity, who presides in the centre +of the composition. + +Among English makers of tapestries was a workman named John Bakes, +who was paid the magnificent sum of twelve pence a day, while in an +entry in another document he is said to have received only fourpence +daily. + +The Hunting Tapestries belonging to the Duke of Devonshire are +as perfect specimens as any that exist of the best period of the +art. They are represented in colour in W. G. Thomson's admirable +work on Tapestries, and are thus available to most readers in some +public collection. + +Another splendidly decorative specimen is at Hampton Court, being +a series of the Seven Deadly Sins. They measure about twenty-five +by thirteen feet each, and are worked in heavy wools and silks. + +As technical facility developed, certain weaknesses began to show +themselves. Tapestry weavers had their favourite figures, which, +to save themselves trouble, they would often substitute for others +in the original design. + +Arras tapestries were no longer made in the sixteenth +century, and the best work of that time was accomplished in the +Netherlands. About 1540 Brussels probably stood at the head of the +list of cities famous for the production of these costly textiles. +The Raphael tapestries were made there, by Peter van Aelst, under +the order of Pope Leo X. They were executed in the space of four +years, being finished in 1519, only a year before Raphael's death. + +In the sixteenth century the Brussels workers began to make certain +"short cuts" not quite legitimate in an art of the highest standing, +such as touching up the faces with liquid dyes, and using the same +to enhance the effect after the work was finished. A law was passed +that this must not be done on any tapestry worth more than twelve +pence a yard. In spite of this trickery, the Netherlandish tapestries +led all others in popularity in that century. + +It was almost invariable, especially in Flemish work, to treat +Scriptural subjects as dressed in the costume of the period in +which the tapestry happened to be made. When one sees the Prodigal +Son attired in a delightful Flemish costume of a well-appointed +dandy, and Adam presented to God the Father, both being clothed in +Netherlandish garments suitable for Burgomasters of the sixteenth +century, then we can believe that the following description, quoted +by the Countess of Wilton, is hardly overdrawn. "In a corner of +the apartment stood a bed, the tapestry of which was enwrought +with gaudy colours, representing Adam and Eve in the Garden +of Eden.... Adam was presenting our first mother with a large yellow +apple gathered from a tree which scarcely reached his knee.... +To the left of Eve appeared a church, and a dark robed gentleman +holding something in his hand which looked like a pin cushion, but +doubtless was intended for a book; he seemed pointing to the holy +edifice, as if reminding them that they were not yet married! On +the ground lay the rib, out of which Eve, who stood a head higher +than Adam, had been formed: both of them were very respectably +clothed in the ancient Saxon costume; even the angel wore breeches, +which, being blue, contrasted well with his flaming red wings." + +In France, the leading tapestry works were at Tours in the early +sixteenth century. A Flemish weaver, Jean Duval, started the work +there in 1540. Until 1552 he and his three sons laboured together +with great results, and they left a large number of craftsmen to +follow in their footsteps. + +In Italy the art had almost died out in the early sixteenth century, +but revived in full and florid force under the Raphaelesque influence. + +King René of Anjou collected tapestries so assiduously that the +care and repairing of them occupied the whole time of a staff of +workers, who were employed steadily, living in the palace, and +sleeping at night in the various apartments in which the hangings +were especially costly. + +Queen Jeanne, the mother of Henri IV., was a skilled +worker in tapestry. To quote Miss Freer in the Life of Jeanne d'Albret, +"During the hours which the queen allowed herself for relaxation, +she worked tapestry and discoursed with some one of the learned men +whom she protected." This queen was of an active mental calibre and +one to whom physical repose was most repugnant. She was a regular +and pious attendant at church, but sitting still was torture to +her, and listening to the droning sermons put her to sleep. So, +with a courage to be admired, Jeanne "demanded permission from +the Synod to work tapestry during the sermon. This request was +granted; from thenceforth Queen Jeanne, bending decorously over +her tapestry frame, and busy with her needle, gave due attention." + +The Chateau of Blois, during the reign of Louis XII. and Ann of +Brittany, is described as being regally appointed with tapestries: +"Those which were hung in the apartments of the king and queen," +says the chronicler, "were all full of gold; and the tapestries +and embroideries of cloth of gold and of silk had others beneath +them ornamented with personages and histories as those were above. +Indeed, there was so great a number of rich tapestries, velvet +carpets, and bed coverings, of gold and silk, that there was not +a chamber, hall, or wardrobe, that was not full." + +In an inventory of the Princess of Burgundy there occurs this curious +description of a tapestry: "The three tapestries of the Church +Militant, wrought in gold, whereon may be seen represented God Almighty +seated in majesty, and around him many cardinals, and below him many +princes who present to him a church." + +Household luxury in England is indicated by a quaint writer in 1586: +"In noblemen's houses," he says, "it is not rare to see abundance of +arras, rich hangings, of tapestrie... Turkie wood, pewter, brasse, +and fine linen.... In times past the costly furniture stayed there, +whereas now it is discarded yet lower, even unto the inferior +artificers, and many farmers... have for the most part learned to +garnish their beds with tapestries and hangings, and their tables +with carpetts and fine napery." + +Henry VIII. was devoted to tapestry collecting, also. An agent +who was buying for him in the Netherlands in 1538, wrote to the +king: "I have made a stay in my hands of two hundred ells of goodly +tapestry; there hath not been brought this twenty year eny so good +for the price." Henry VIII. had in his large collection many subjects, +among them such characteristic pieces as: "ten peeces of the rich +story of King David" (in which Bathsheba doubtless played an important +part), "seven peeces of the Stories of Ladies," "A peece with a man +and woman and a flagon," "A peece of verdure... having poppinjays +at the nether corners," "One peece of Susannah," "Six fine new +tapestries of the History of Helena and Paris." + +A set of six "verdure" tapestries was owned by Cardinal Wolsey, +which "served for the hanging of Durham Hall of inferior days." +The hangings in a hall in Chester are described as depicting "Adam, +Noe, and his Shyppe." In 1563 a monk of Canterbury was mentioned as +a tapestry weaver. At York, Norwich, and other cities, were also to +be found "Arras Workers" during the sixteenth century. + +There was an amusing law suit in 1598, which was brought by a gentleman, +Charles Lister, against one Mrs. Bridges, for accepting from him, on +the understanding of an engagement in marriage, a suite of tapestries +for her apartment. He sued for the return of his gifts! + +Among the State Papers of James I., there is a letter in which +the King remarks "Sir Francis Crane desires to know if my baby +will have him to-hasten the making of that suite of tapestry that +he commanded him." + +In Florence, the art flourished under the Medici. In 1546 a regular +Academy of instruction in tapestry weaving was set up, under the +direction of Flemish masters. All the leading artists of the Golden +Age furnished designs which, though frequently inappropriate for +being rendered in textile, were fine pictures, at any rate. In +Venice, too, there were work shops, but the influence of Italy was +Flemish in every case so far as technical instruction was concerned. +The most celebrated artists of the Renaissance made cartoons: Raphael, +Giulio Romano, Jouvenet, Le Brun, and numerous others, in various +countries. + +[Illustration: TAPESTRY, REPRESENTING PARIS IN THE 15TH CENTURY] + +The Gobelins work in Paris was inaugurated in the fifteenth century +under Jean Gobelins, a native of Rheims. His son, Philibert, and +later, many descendants persevered steadily at the work; the art +prospered under Francis I., the whole force of tapestry weavers being +brought together at Fontainebleau, and under Henry II., the direction +of the whole was given to the celebrated artist Philibert Delorme. In +1630 the Gobelins was fully established as a larger plant, and has +never made another move. The work has increased ever since those days, +on much the same general lines. Celebrated French artists have +designed tapestries: Watteau, Boucher, and others were interpreted +by the brilliant manager whose signature appears on the works, +Cozette, who was manager from 1736 until 1792. With this technical +perfection came the death of the art of tapestry: the pictures +might as well have been painted on canvas, and all feeling for the +material was lost, so that the naïve charm of the original workers +ceased to be a part of the production. + +Among European collections now visible, the best is in Madrid, +where over six hundred tapestries may be seen, chiefly Flemish, +of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The collection at the +Pitti Palace in Florence comprises six hundred, while in the Vatican +are preserved the original Raphael tapestries. South Kensington +Museum, too, is rich in interesting examples of various schools. +It is a very helpful collection to students, especially, although +not so large as some others. + +In 1663, "two well intended statutes" were introduced dealing with +curiously opposite matters: one was to encourage linen and tapestry +manufacture in England, and the other was "for regulating the packing +of herrings!" + +The famous English Mortlake tapestry manufactory was not established +until the seventeenth century, and that is rather late for us. The +progress of craftsmanship has been steady, especially at the Gobelins +in France. Many other centres of industry developed, however, in +various countries. The study of modern tapestry is a branch by +itself with which we are unable to concern ourselves now. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +EMBROIDERIES + +The materials used as groundwork for mediæval embroideries were +rich in themselves. Samit was the favourite--shimmering, and woven +originally of solid flat gold wire. Ciclatoun was also a brilliant +textile, as also was Cendal. Cendal silk is spoken of by early +writers. + +The first use of silk is interesting to trace. A monopoly, a veritable +silk trust, was established in 533, in the Roman Empire. Women +were employed at the Court of Justinian to preside over the looms, +and the manufacture of silk was not allowed elsewhere. The only +hindrance to this scheme was that the silk itself had to be brought +from China. But in the reign of Justinian, two monks who had been +travelling in the Orient, brought to the emperor, as curiosities, +some silkworms and cocoons. They obtained some long hollow walking +sticks, which they packed full of silkworms' eggs, and thus imported +the producers of the raw material. The European silk industry, in +fabrics, embroideries, velvets, and such commodities, may owe its +origin to this bit of monastic enterprise in 550. + +Silk garments were very costly, however, and it was +not every lady in early times who could have such luxuries. It is +said that even the Emperor Aurelian refused his wife her request +for just one single cloak of silk, saying: "No, I could never think +of buying such a thing, for it sells for its weight in gold!" + +Fustian and taffeta were less costly, but frequently used in important +work, as also were sarcenet and camora. Velvet and satin were of later +date, not occurring until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. +Baudekin, a good silk and golden weave, was very popular. + +Cut velvets with elaborate patterns were made in Genoa. The process +consisted in leaving the main ground in the original fine rib which +resulted from weaving, while in the pattern these little ribs were +split open, making that part of a different ply from the rest of +the material, in fact, being the finished velvet as we now know +it, while the ground remained uncut, and had more the appearance +of silk reps. Velvet is first mentioned in England in 1295, but +probably existed earlier on the Continent. + +Both Roger de Wendover and Matthew Paris mention a stuff called +"imperial:" it was partly gold in weave, but there is some doubt +as to its actual texture. + +Baudekin was a very costly textile of gold and silk which was used +largely in altar coverings and hangings, such as dossals; by degrees +the name became synonymous with "baldichin," and in Italy the whole +altar canopy is still called a _baldachino_. + +During Royal Progresses the streets were always hung with rich cloth +of gold. As Chaucer makes allusion to streets + + "By ordinance throughout the city large + Hanged with cloth of gold, and not with serge," + +so Leland tells how the Queen of Henry VII. was conducted to her +coronation and "all the stretes through which she should pass were +clenely dressed... with cloths of tapestry and Arras, and some +stretes, as Cheepe, hanged with rich cloths of gold, velvetts, +and silks." And in Machyn's Diary, he says that "as late as 1555 +at Bow church in London, was hangyd with cloth of gold and with +rich Arras." + +The word "satin" is derived from the silks of the Mediterranean, +called "aceytuni," which became "zetani" in Italian, and gradually +changed through French and English influence, to "satin." The first +mention of it in England is about 1350, when Bishop Grandison made +a gift of choice satins to Exeter Cathedral. + +The Dalmatic of Charlemagne is embroidered on blue satin, although +this is a rare early example of the material. At Constantinople, +also, as early as 1204, Baldwin II. wore satin at his coronation. +It was nearly always made in a fiery red in the early days. It +is mentioned in a Welsh poem of the thirteenth century. + +Benjamin of Tudela, a traveller who wrote in 1161, mentions that +the Jews were living in great numbers in Thebes, and that they +made silks there at that time. There is record that in the late +eleventh century a Norman Abbot brought home from Apulia a quantity +of heavy and fine silk, from which four copes were made. French +silks were not remarkable until the sixteenth century, while those +of the Netherlands led all others as early as the thirteenth. + +Shot silks were popular in England in the sixteenth century. York +Cathedral possessed, in 1543, a "vestment of changeable taffety +for Good Friday." + +St. Dunstan is reported to have once "tinted" a sacerdotal vestment +to oblige a lady, thus departing from his regular occupation as +goldsmith to perform the office of a dyer of stuff. + +Many rich mediæval textiles were ornamented by designs, which usually +show interlaces and animal forms, and sometimes conventional floral +ornament. Patterns originated in the East, and, through Byzantine +influence, in Italy, and Saracenic in Spain, they were adopted and +modified by Europeans. In 1295 St. Paul's in London owned a hanging +"patterned with wheels and two-headed birds." Sicilian silks, and +many others of the contemporary textiles, display variations of +the "tree of life" pattern. This consists of a little conventional +shrub, sometimes hardly more than a "budding rod," with two birds +or animals advancing vis-à-vis on either side. Sometimes these +are two peacocks; often lions or leopards and frequently griffins +and various smaller animals. Whenever one sees a little tree or +a single stalk, no matter how conventionally treated, with a +couple of matched animals strutting up to each other on either +side, this pattern owes its origin to the old tradition of the +decorative motive usual in Persia and in Byzantium, the Tree of +Life, or Horn. The origin of patterns does not come within our +scope, and has been excellently treated in the various books of +Lewis Day, and other writers on this subject. + +Textiles of Italian manufacture may be seen represented in the +paintings of the old masters: Orcagna, Francia, Crivelli, and others, +who delighted in the rendering of rich stuffs; later, they abound +in the creations of Veronese and Titian. A "favourite Italian +vegetable," as Dr. Rock quaintly expresses it, is the artichoke, +which, often, set in oval forms, is either outlined or worked solidly +in the fabric. + +Almeria was a rich city in the thirteenth century, noted for its +textiles. A historian of that period writes: "Christians of all +nations came to its port to buy and to sell. From thence... they +travelled to other parts of the interior of the country, where +they loaded their vessels with such goods as they wanted. Costly +silken robes of the brightest colours are manufactured in Almeria." +Granada was famous too, a little later, for its silks and woven +goods. About 1562 Navagiero wrote: "All sorts of cloth and silks +are made there: the silks made at Granada are much esteemed all +over Spain; they are not so good as those that come from Italy. +There are several looms, but they do not yet know how to work them +well. They make good taffetas, sarcenet, and silk serges. The +velvets are not bad, but those that are made at Valencia are better +in quality." + +Marco Polo says of the Persians in certain sections; "There are +excellent artificers in the cities, who make wonderful things in +gold, silk, and embroidery.... In veins of the mountains stones +are found, commonly called turquoises, and other jewels. There +also are made all sorts of arms and ammunition for war, and by the +women excellent needlework in silks, with all sorts of creatures +very admirably wrought therein." Marco Polo also reports the King +of Tartary as wearing on his birthday a most precious garment of +gold, while his barons wore the same, and had given them girdles of +gold and silver, and "pearls and garments of great price." This Khan +also "has the tenths of all wool, silk, and hemp, which he causes to +be made into clothes, in a house for that purpose appointed: for +all trades are bound one day in the week to serve him." He clothed +his armies with this tythe wool. + +In Anglo-Saxon times a fabric composed of fine basket-weaving of +thin flat strips of pure gold was used; sometimes the flat metal +was woven on a warp of scarlet silk threads. Later strips of gilded +parchment were fraudulently substituted for the genuine flat metal +thread. Often the woof of gold strips was so solid and heavy that +it was necessary to have a silk warp of six strands, to support +its wear. + +Gold cloth was of varying excellence, however: among the items in +an inventory for the Earl of Warwick in the time of Henry VI., there +is allusion to "one coat for My Lord's body, beat with fine gold; +two coats for heralds, beat with demi-gold." + +It is generally assumed that the first wire-drawing machines were +made about 1360 in Germany; they were not used in England until +about 1560. Theophilus, however, in the eleventh century, tells +"Of the instruments through which wires are drawn," saying that +they consist of "two irons, three fingers in breadth, narrow above +and below, everywhere thin, and perforated with three or four ranges, +through which holes wires are drawn." This would seem to be a primitive +form of the more developed instrument. Wire drawing was introduced +into England by Christian Schutz about 1560. In 1623 was incorporated +in London, "The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wire-Drawers." +The preamble of their charter reads thus: "The Trade Art of Drawing +and flattening of gold and silver wire, and making and spinning +of gold and silver thread and stuffe." It seems as though there +were some kind of work that corresponded to wire-drawing, earlier +than its supposed introduction, for a petition was sent to King +Henry VI. in 1423, by the "wise and worthy Communes of London, & +the Wardens of Broderie in the said Citie," requesting protection +against "deceit and default in the work of divers persons occupying +the craft of embroidery;" and in 1461 "An act of Common Council +was passed respecting the gold-drawers," showing that the art was +known to some extent and practised at that time. In the reign of +George II., in 1742, "An act to prevent the counterfeiting of gold +and silver lace and for the settling and adjusting the proportions +of fine silver and silk, and for the better making of gold and silver +lace," was passed. + +Ecclesiastical vestments were often trimmed with heavy gold fringe, +knotted "fretty wise," and the embroideries were further enriched +with jewels and small plaques of enamel. Matthew Paris relates a +circumstance of certain garments being so heavily weighted with +gold that the clergy could not walk in them, and, in order to get +the solid metal out again, it was necessary to burn the garments +and thus melt the gold. + +Jewelled robes were often seen in the Middle Ages; a chasuble is +described as having been made for the Abbot of St. Albans, in the +twelfth century, which was practically covered with plaques of gold +and precious stones. Imagine the unpleasant physical sensation +of a bishop in 1404, who was obliged to wear a golden mitre of +which the ground was set with large pearls, bordered with balas +rubies, and sapphires, and trimmed with indefinite extra pearls! + +The body of St. Cecilia, who was martyred in 230, was interred in +a garment of pure woven gold. + +The cloth of solid gold which was used for state occasions was +called "tissue;" the thin paper in which it was wrapped when it +was laid away was known as tissue paper, and Mr. William Maskell +states that the name has clung to it, and that is why thin paper +is called "tissue paper" to-day. + +St. Peter's in Rome possessed a great pair of silver curtains, +which hung at the entrance to the church, given by Pope Stephen +IV. in the eighth century. + +Vitruvius tells how to preserve the gold in old embroidery, or +in worn-out textiles where the metal has been extensively used. +He says: "When gold is embroidered on a garment which is worn out, +and no longer fit for use, the cloth is burnt over the fire in +earthen pots. The ashes are thrown into water, and quicksilver +added to them. This collects all particles of gold, and unites +with them. The water is then poured off, and the residuum placed +in a cloth, which, when squeezed with the hands suffers the liquid +quicksilver to pass through the pores of the cloth, but retains +the gold in a mass within it." + +An early allusion to asbestos woven as a cloth is made by Marco +Polo, showing that fire-proof fabrics were known in his time. In +the province of Chinchintalas, "there is a mountain wherein are +mines of steel... and also, as was reported, salamanders, of the +wool of which cloth was made, which if cast into the fire, cannot +burn. But that cloth is in reality made of stone in this manner, +as one of my companions a Turk, named Curifar, a man endued with +singular industry, informed me, who had charge of the minerals in +that province. A certain mineral is found in that mountain which +yields threads not unlike wool; and these being dried in the +sun, are bruised in a brazen mortar, and afterwards washed, and +whatsoever earthy substance sticks to them is taken away. Lastly, +these threads are spun like ordinary wool, and woven into cloth. +And when they would whiten those cloths, they cast them into the +fire for an hour, and then take them out unhurt whiter than snow. +After the same manner they cleanse them when they have taken any +spots, for no other washing is used to them, besides the fire." + +In the Middle Ages it would have been possible, as Lady Alford +suggests, to play the game "Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral" with +textiles only! Between silk, hemp, cotton, gold, silver, wool, +flax, camel's hair, and asbestos, surely the three elements all +played their parts. + +Since the first record of Eve having "sewn fig leaves together to +make aprons," women have used the needle in some form. In England, +it is said that the first needles were made by an Indian, in 1545, +before which time they were imported. The old play, "Gammer Gurton's +Needle," is based upon the extreme rarity of these domestic implements, +and the calamity occasioned in a family by their loss. There is a +curious old story about a needle, which was supposed to possess +magic powers. This needle is reported to have worked at night while +its owner was resting, saving her all personal responsibility about +her mending. When the old lady finally died, another owner claimed +this charmed needle, and began at once to test its powers. But, do +what she would, she was unable to force a thread through its obstinate +eye. At last, after trying all possible means to thread the needle, +she took a magnifying glass to examine and see what the impediment +was, and, lo! the eye of the needle was filled with a great tear,--it +was weeping for the loss of its old mistress, and no one was ever +able to thread it again! + +Embroidery is usually regarded as strictly a woman's craft, but in +the Middle Ages the leading needleworkers were often men. The old +list of names given by Louis Farcy has almost an equal proportion of +workers of both sexes. But the finest work was certainly accomplished +by the conscientious dwellers in cloisters, and the nuns devoted +their vast leisure in those days to this art. Fuller observes: +"Nunneries were also good shee-schools, wherein the girls of the +neighbourhood were taught to read and work... that the sharpnesse +of their wits and suddennesse of their conceits (which even their +enemies must allow unto them!) might by education be improved into +a judicious solidity." In some of these schools the curriculum +included "Reading and sewing, threepence a week: a penny extra +for manners." An old thirteenth century work, called the "Kleine +Heldenbuch," contains a verse which may be thus translated: + + "Who taught me to embroider in a frame with silk? + And to draw and design the wild and tame + Beasts of the forest and field? + Also to picture on plain surface: + Round about to place golden borders, + A narrow and a broader one, + With stags and hinds lifelike." + +A study of historic embroidery should be preceded by a general knowledge +of the principle stitches employed. + +One of the simplest forms was chain stitch, in which one stitch +was taken through the loop of the stitch just laid. In the Middle +Ages it was often used. Sometimes, when the material was of a loose +weave, it was executed by means of a little hook--the probable +origin of crochet. + +Tapestry stitch, of which one branch is cross-stitch, was formed by +laying close single stitches of uniform size upon a canvas specially +prepared for this work. + +[Illustration: EMBROIDERY ON CANVAS, 16TH CENTURY, SOUTH KENSINGTON +MUSEUM] + +Fine embroidery in silk was usually executed in long smooth stitches +of irregular length, which merged into each other. This is generally +known as satin stitch, for the surface of the work is that of a satin +texture when the work is completed. This was frequently executed +upon linen, and then, when the entire surface had been hidden by the +close silk stitches, it was cut out and transferred on a brocade +background, this style of rendering being known as appliqué. Botticelli +recommended this work as most durable and satisfactory: it is oftenest +associated with church embroidery. A simple appliqué was also done +by cutting out pieces of one material and applying them to another, +hiding the edge-joinings by couching on a cord. As an improvement +upon painted banners to be used in processions, Botticelli introduced +this method of cutting out and resetting colours upon a different +ground. As Vasari says: "This he did that the colors might not +sink through, showing the tint of the cloth on each side." But +Dr. Rock points out that it is hardly fair to earlier artificers +to give the entire credit for this method of work to Botticelli, +since such cut work or appliqué was practised in Italy a hundred +years before Botticelli was born! + +Sometimes solid masses of silk or gold thread were laid in ordered +flatness upon a material, and then sewn to it by long or short +stitches at right angles. This is known as couching, and is a very +effective way of economizing material by displaying it all on the +surface. As a rule, however, the surface wears off somewhat, but +it is possible to execute it so that it is as durable as embroidery +which has been rendered in separate stitches. + +In Sicily it was a common practice to use coral in embroideries +as well as pearls. Coral work is usually called Sicilian work, +though it was also sometimes executed in Spain. + +The garments worn by the Byzantines were very ornate; they were +made of woven silk and covered with elaborate devices. In the fourth +century the Bishop of Amasia ridiculed the extravagant dress of his +contemporaries. "When men appear in the streets thus dressed," he +says, "the passers by look at them as at painted walls. Their clothes +are pictures, which little children point out to one another. The +saintlier sort wear likenesses of Christ, the Marriage of Galilee, +and Lazarus raised from the dead." Allusion was made in a sermon: +"Persons who arrayed themselves like painted walls" "with beasts and +flowers all over them" were denounced! + +In the early Dark Ages there was some prejudice against these rich +embroideries. In the sixth century the Bishop St. Cesaire of Arles +forbade his nuns to embroider robes with precious stones or painting +and flowers. King Withaf of Mercia willed to the Abbey of Croyland +"my purple mantle which I wore at my Coronation, to be made into +a cope, to be used by those who minister at the holy altar: and +also my golden veil, embroidered with the Siege of Troy, to be +hung up in the Church on my anniversary." St. Asterius preached to +his people, "Strive to follow in your lives the teachings of the +Gospel, rather than have the miracles of Our Redeemer embroidered +on your outward dress!" This prejudice, however, was not long lived, +and the embroidered vestments and garments continued to hold their +popularity all through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. + +It has been said on grave authority that "Woman is an animal that +delights in the toilette," while Petrarch, in 1366, recognized the +power of fashion over its votaries. "Who can see with patience," +he writes, "the monstrous fantastical inventions which people of +our times have invented to deform rather than adorn their persons? +Who can behold without indignation their long pointed shoes, their +caps with feathers, their hair twisted and hanging down like +tails,... their bellies so cruelly squeezed with cords that they +suffer as much pain from vanity as the martyrs suffered for +religion!" And yet who shall say whether a "dress-reform" Laura would +have charmed any more surely the eye of the poet? + +Chaucer, in England, also deplores the fashions of his day, alluding +to the "sinful costly array of clothing, namely, in too much superfluity +or else indisordinate scantiness!" Changing fashions have always been +the despair of writers who have tried to lay down rules for æsthetic +effect in dress. "An Englishman," says Harrison, "endeavouring +some time to write of our attire... when he saw what a difficult +piece of work he had taken in hand, he gave over his travail, and +onely drue a picture of a naked man unto whom he gave a pair of +shears in the one hand and a piece of cloth in the other, to the +end that he should shape his apparel after such fashion as himself +liked, sith he could find no garment that could please him any +while together: and this he called an Englishman." + +Edward the Confessor wore State robes which had been beautifully +embroidered with gold by his accomplished wife, Edgitha. In the +Royal Rolls of Edward III., in 1335, we find allusion to two vests +of green velvet embroidered respectively with sea sirens and coats +of arms. The tunics worn over armour offered great opportunities to +the needleworker. They were richly embroidered, usually in heraldic +style. When Symon, Bishop of Ely, performed the ceremony of Churching +for Queen Philippa, the royal dame bestowed upon him the gown which +she wore on that occasion; it is described as a murrey-coloured +velvet, powdered with golden squirrels, and was of such voluminous +pattern that it was cut over into three copes! Bridal gowns were +sometimes given to churches, as well. + +St. Louis of France was what might be called temperate in dress. +The Sire de Joinville says he "never saw a single embroidered coat +or ornamented saddle in the possession of the king, and reproved +his son for having such things. I replied that he would have acted +better if he had given them in charity, and had his dress made of +good sendal, lined and strengthened with his arms, like as the +king his father had done!" + +At the marriage of the Lord of Touraine in 1389, the Duke of Burgundy +presented magnificent habits and clothing to his nephew the Count +of Nevers: among these were tunics, ornamented with embroidered +trees conventionally displayed on their backs, fronts, and sleeves; +others showed heraldic blazonry, while a blue velvet tunic was +covered with balas rubies set in pearls, alternating with suns +of solid gold with great solitaire pearls as centres. Again, in +1390, when the king visited Dijon, he presented to the same nephew a +set of harnesses for jousting. Some of them were composed largely of +sheets of beaten gold and silver. In some gold and silver marguerites +were introduced also. + +Savonarola reproved the Florentine nuns for employing +their valuable time in manufacturing "gold laces with which to +adorn persons and houses." The Florentine gold lace was very popular +in England, in the days of Henry VIII., and later the art was taken +up by the "wire-drawers" of England, and a native industry took the +place of the imported article. Among prohibited gowns in Florence +was one owned by Donna Francesca degli Albizi, "a black mantle of +raised cloth: the ground is yellow, and over it are woven birds, +parrots, butterflies, red and white roses, and many figures in +vermilion and green, with pavilions and dragons, and yellow and +black letters and trees, and many other figures of various colours, +the whole lined with cloth in hues of black and vermilion." As +one reads this description, it seems as though the artistic sense +as much as conscientious scruples might have revolted and led to +its banishment! + +Costumes for tournaments were also lavish in their splendour. In +1467 Benedetto Salutati ordered made for such a pageant all the +trappings for two horses, worked in two hundred pounds of silver +by Pollajuolo; thirty pounds of pearls were also used to trim the +garments of the sergeants. No wonder Savonarola was enthusiastic +in his denunciation of such extravagance. + +Henry VIII. had "a pair of hose of purple silk and Venice gold, +woven like a caul." For one of his favoured lady friends, also, +there is an item, of a certain sum paid, for one pound of gold +for embroidering a nightgown. + +The unrivalled excellence of English woollen cloths was made manifest +at an early period. There was a fabric produced at Norwich of such +superiority that a law was passed prohibiting monks from wearing it, +the reason being that it was considered "smart enough for military +men!" This was in 1422. The name of Worsted was given to a certain +wool because it was made at Worsted, a town in Norfolk; later the +"worsted thread" was sold for needleworkers. + +Ladies made their own gold thread in the Middle Ages by winding +a fine flat gold wire, scarcely of more body than a foil, around +a silk thread. + +Patches were embroidered into place upon such clothes or vestments +as were torn: those who did this work were as well recognized as +the original designers, and were called "healers" of clothes! + +Embroidered bed hangings were very much in order in mediæval times +in England. In the eleventh century there lived a woman who had +emigrated from the Hebrides, and who had the reputation for witchcraft, +chiefly based upon the unusually exquisite needlework on her bed +curtains! The name of this reputed sorceress was Thergunna. Bequests +in important wills indicate the sumptuous styles which were usual +among people of position. The Fair Maid of Kent left to her son her +"new bed curtains of red velvet, embroidered with ostrich feathers +of silver, and heads of leopards of gold," while in 1380 the Earl +of March bequeathed his "large bed of black satin embroidered with +white lions and gold roses, and the escutcheons of the arms of +Mortimer and Ulster." This outfit must have resembled a Parisian +"first class" funeral! The widow of Henry II. slept in a sort of +mourning couch of black velvet, which must have made her feel as if +she too were laid out for her own burial! + +A child's bedquilt was found mentioned in an inventory of furniture +at the Priory of Durham, in 1446, which was embroidered in the +four corners with the Evangelistic symbols. In the "Squier of Lowe +Degree," a fifteenth century romance, there is allusion to a bed, +of which the head sheet is described "with diamonds set and rubies +bright." The king of England, in 1388, refers, in a letter, to "a bed +of gold cloth." Wall hangings in bedrooms were also most elaborate, +and the effect of a chamber adorned with gold and needlework must +have been fairly regal. An embroiderer named Delobel made a set +of furnishings for the bedroom of Louis XIV. the work upon which +occupied three years. The subject was the Triumph of Venus. + +In South Kensington Museum there is a fourteenth century linen cloth +of German workmanship, upon which occurs the legend of the unicorn, +running for protection to a maiden. An old Bestiary describes how +the unicorn, or as it is there called, the "monocerus," "is an +animal which has one horn on its head: it is caught by means of +a virgin." The unicorn and virgin, with a hunter in pursuit, is +quite a favourite bit of symbolism in the middle ages. + +Another interesting piece of German embroidery in South Kensington +is a table cloth, worked on heavy canvas, in heraldic style: long +decorative inscriptions embellish the corners. A liberal translation +of these verses is given by Dr. Rock, some of the sentences being +quaint and interesting to quote. Evidently the embroideress indulged +in autobiography in the following: "And she, to honour the esquire +her husband, wished to adorn and increase his house furniture, and +there has worked, with her own hand, this and still many other +pretty cloths, to her memory." And in another corner, "Now follows +here my own birthday. When one wrote 1565 my mother's heart was +gladdened by my first cry. In the year 1585 I gave birth my self +to a daughter. Her name is Emilia Catharina, and she has been a +proper and praiseworthy child." Then, to her children the following +address is directed: "Do not forget your prayers in the morning. And +be temperate in your pleasures. And make yourselves acquainted with +the Word of God.... I beseech you to be sincere in all matters. That +will make you great and glorious. Honour everybody according to his +station: it will make you honourably known. You, my truly beloved sons, +beware of fiery wines... you, my truly beloved daughters, preserve +and guard your honour, and reflect before you do anything: many have +been led into evil by acting first and thinking afterwards." In +another compartment, a lament goes up in which she deplores the +death of her husband. "His age was sixty and eight years," she says. +"The dropsy has killed him. I, his afflicted Anna Blickin von +Liechtenperg who was left behind, have related it with my hand in +this cloth, that might be known to my children this greater sorrow +which God has sent me." The cloth is a naïve and unusual record of +German home life. + +Ecclesiastical embroidery began in the fourth century. In earliest +days the work was enhanced with quantities of gold thread. The shroud +in which St. Cuthbert's body was wrapped is a mass of gold: a Latin +inscription on the vestments in which the body was clad may be thus +translated: "Queen to Alfred's son and successor, Edward the Elder, +was one Aelflaed, who caused this stole and maniple to be made for a +gift to Fridestan consecrated Bishop of Winchester, A. D. 905." The +maniple is of "woven gold, with spaces left vacant for needlework +embroidery." Such garments for burial were not uncommon; but they +have as a rule perished from their long residence underground. +St. Cuthbert's vestments are splendid examples of tenth century +work in England. After the death of King Edward II., and his wife +Aelflaed, Bishop Frithestan also having passed away, Athelstan, as +King, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Cuthbert and bestowed +these valuable embroideries there. They were removed from the body +of the saint in 1827. The style of the work inclines to Byzantine. +The Saxon embroideries must have been very decorative: a robe is +described by Aldhelme in 709, as "of a most delicate thread of +purple, adorned with black circles and peacocks." At the church at +Croyland some vestments were decorated with birds of gold cut out +and appliqué and at Exeter they had "nothing about them but true +needlework." + +In the "Liber Eliensis," in the Muniment room at Ely, is an account +of a gift to the church by Queen Emma, the wife of King Knut, who +"on a certain day came to Ely in a boat, accompanied by his wife +the Queen Emma, and the chief nobles of his kingdom." This royal +present was "a purple cloth worked with gold and set with jewels +for St. Awdry's shrine," and the Monk Thomas assures us that "none +other could be found in the kingdom of the English of such richness +and beauty of workmanship." + +The various stitches in English work had their several names, the +opus plumarium, or straight overlapping stitches, resembling the +feathers of a bird; the opus pluvarium, or cross stitch, and many +others. A great deal of work was accomplished by means of appliqué +in satin and silk, and sometimes the ground was painted, as has +already been described in Italian work. In the year 1246 Matthew +Paris writes: "About this time the Lord Pope, Innocent IV., having +observed that the ecclesiastical ornaments of some Englishmen, +such as choristers' copes and mitres, were embroidered in gold +thread, after a very desirable fashion, asked where these works +were made, and received in answer, 'England.' Then," said the Pope, +"England is surely a garden of delight for us; it is truly a never +failing Spring, and there where many things abound much may be +extorted." This far sighted Pope, with his semi-commercial views, +availed himself of his discovery. + +In the days of Anastatius, ecclesiastical garments were spoken of +by name according to the motive of their designs: for instance, +the "peacock garment," the "elephant chasuble," and the "lion cope." +Fuller tells of the use of a pall as an ecclesiastical vestment, +remarking tersely: "It is made up of lamb's wool and superstition." + +Mediæval embroiderers in England got into certain habits of work, so +that there are some designs which are almost as hall-marks to English +work; the Cherubim over the wheel is especially characteristic, as +is also the vase of lilies, and various heraldic devices which are +less frequently found in the embroidered work of European peoples. + +The Syon Cope is perhaps the most conspicuous example of the mediæval +embroiderer's art. It was made by nuns about the end of the thirteenth +century, in a convent near Coventry. It is solid stitchery on a +canvas ground, "wrought about with divers colours" on green. The +design is laid out in a series of interlacing square forms, with +rounded and barbed sides and corners. In each of these is a figure +or a scriptural scene. The orphreys, or straight borders which go +down both fronts of the cope, are decorated with heraldic charges. +Much of the embroidery is raised, and wrought in the stitch known +as Opus Anglicanum. The effect was produced by pressing a heated +metal knob into the work at such points as were to be raised. The +real embroidery was executed on a flat surface, and then bossed up +by this means until it looked like bas-relief. The stitches in every +part run in zig-zags, the vestments, and even the nimbi about the +heads, are all executed with the stitches slanting in one direction, +from the centre of the cope outward, without consideration of the +positions of the figures. Each face is worked in circular progression +outward from the centre, as well. The interlaces are of crimson, and +look well on the green ground. The wheeled Cherubim is well developed +in the design of this famous cope, and is a pleasing decorative bit of +archaic ecclesiasticism. In the central design of the Crucifixion, +the figure of the Lord is rendered in silver on a gold ground. The +anatomy is according to the rules laid down by an old sermonizer, +in a book entitled "The Festival," wherein it is stated that the +body of Christ was "drawn on the cross as a skin of parchment on a +harrow, so that all his bones might be told." With such instruction, +there was nothing left for the mediæval embroiderers but to render +the figure with as much realistic emaciation as possible. + +The heraldic ornaments on the Syon Cope are especially interesting +to all students of this graceful art. It is not our purpose here +to make much allusion to this aspect of the work, but it is of +general interest to know that on the orphreys, the devices of most +of the noble families of that day appear. + +[Illustration: DETAIL OF THE SYON COPE] + +English embroidery fell off greatly in excellence during the Wars +of the Roses. In the later somewhat degenerate raised embroidery, +it was customary to represent the hair of angels by little tufted +curls of auburn silk! + +Many of the most important examples of ancient ecclesiastical embroidery +are in South Kensington Museum. A pair of orphreys of the fifteenth +century, of German work (probably made at Cologne), shows a little +choir of angels playing on musical instruments. These figures are +cut out and applied on crimson silk, in what was called "cut work." +This differed entirely from what modern embroiderers mean by cut +work, as has been explained. + +The Dalmatic of Charlemagne is given by Louis Farcy to the twelfth +century. He calls it the Dalmatic of Leo III. But Lady Alford claims +for this work a greater antiquity. Certainly, as one studies its +details, one is convinced that it is not quite a Gothic work, nor +yet is it Byzantine; for the figures have all the grace of Greek +work prior to the age of Byzantine stiffness. It is embroidered +chiefly in gold, on a delicate bluish satin ground, and has not +been transferred, although it has been carefully restored. The +central ornament on the front is a circular composition, and the +arrangement of the figures both here and on the back suggests that +Sir Edward Burne Jones must have made a study of this magnificent +dalmatic, from which it would seem that much of his inspiration +might have been drawn. The composition is singularly restful and +rhythmical. The little black outlines to the white silk faces, and +to the glowing figures, give this work a peculiarly decorative +quality, not often seen in other embroideries of the period. It is +unique and one of the most valuable examples of its art in the world. +It is now in the Treasury of the Vatican. When Charlemagne sang the +Gospel at High Mass on the day of his Coronation, this was his +vestment. It must have been a strangely gorgeous sight when Cola di +Rienzi, according to Lord Lindsay, took this dalmatic, and placed it +over his armour, and, with his crown and truncheon, ascended to the +palace of the Popes! + +A very curious Italian piece of the fourteenth century is an altar +frontal, on which the subjects introduced are strange. It displays +scenes from the life of St. Ubaldo, with some incidents also in +that of St. Julian Hospitaler. St. Ubaldo is seen forgiving a mason +who, having run a wall across his private grounds, had knocked +the saint down for remonstrating. Another scene shows the death +bed of the saint, and the conversion of a possessed man at the +foot of the bed: a lady is throwing her arms above her head in +astonishment while the evil spirit flies from its victim into the +air. Later, the saint is seen going to the grave in a cart drawn +by oxen. + +[Illustration: DALMATIC OF CHARLEMAGNE] + +The peacock was symbolical both of knightly vigilance and of Christian +watchfulness. An old Anglo-Norman, Osmont, writes: "The eye-speckled +feathers should warn a man that never too often can he have his +eyes wide open, and gaze inwardly upon his own heart." These +dear people were so introspective and self-conscious, always looking +for trouble--in their own motives, even--that no doubt many good +impulses perished unnoticed, while the originator was chasing mental +phantoms of heresy and impurity. + +Painting and jewelry were sometimes introduced in connection with +embroideries. In the celebrated Cope of St. John Lateran, the faces +and hands of the personages are rendered in painting; but this +method was more generally adopted in the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries, when sincerity counted for less than effect, and when +genuine religious fervour for giving one's time and best labour to +the Lord's service no longer dominated the workers. Gold thread was +used extensively in English work, and spangles were added at quite +an early period, as well as actual jewels set in floral designs. +The finest work was accomplished in the Gothic period, before the +Renaissance came with its aimless scrolls to detract from the dignity +of churchly ornament. + +In the sixteenth century the winged angels have often a degenerate +similitude to tightly laced coryphées, who balance themselves upon +their wheels as if they were performing a vaudeville turn. They +are not as dignified as their archaic predecessors. + +Very rich funeral palls were in vogue in the sixteenth century. A +description of Prince Arthur's burial in 1502 relates how numerous +palls were bestowed, apparently much as friends would send wreaths +or important floral tributes to-day. "The Lord Powys went to the +Queere Doore," writes Leland, "where two gentlemen ushers delivered +him a riche pall of cloth of gould of tissue, which he offered to +the corpse, where two Officers of the Armes received it, and laid it +along the corpse. The Lord Dudley in like manner offered a pall... +the Lord Grey Ruthen offered another, and every each of the three +Earls offered to the corpse three palls of the same cloth of gould... +all the palls were layd crosse over the corpse." + +The account of the obsequies of Henry VII. also contains mention +of these funeral palls: the Earls and Dukes came in procession, +from the Vestry, with "certain palls, which everie of them did +bring solemnly between their hands and coming in order one before +another as they were in degree, unto the said herse, they kissed +their said palls... and laid them upon the King's corpse." At Ann +of Cleves' burial the same thing was repeated, in 1557. Finally +these rich shimmering hangings came to be known in England as "cloth +of pall," whether they were used for funerals or coronations, for +bridals or pageants. + +The London City Guilds possessed magnificent palls; especially +well known is that of the Fishmongers, with its kneeling angels +swinging censers; this pall is frequently reproduced in works on +embroidery. It is embroidered magnificently with angels, saints, +and strange to say, mermaids. The peacock's wings of the angels +make a most decorative feature in this famous piece of old +embroidery. The Arms of the Company are also emblazoned. + +French embroiderers are known by name in many instances; in 1299 +allusion was made to "Clement le Brodeur," who furnished a cope for +the Count of Artois, and in 1316 a magnificent set of hangings was +made for the Queen, by one Gautier de Poulleigny. Nicolas Waquier was +armourer and embroiderer to King John in 1352. Among Court workers in +1384 were Perrin Gale, and Henriet Gautier. In the "Book of Rules" +by Etienne Boileau, governing the "Embroiderers and embroideresses +of the City of Paris," one of the chief laws was that no work should +be permitted in the evening, "because the work of the night cannot +be so good or so satisfactory as that accomplished in the day." +When one remembers the facilities for evening lighting in the middle +ages, one fully appreciates the truth of this statement. + +Matthew Paris, in his Life of St. Alban, tells of an excellent +embroideress, Christine, Prioress of Margate, who lived in the +middle of the twelfth century. In the thirteenth century several +names occur. Adam de Bazinge made, in 1241, by order of Henry III. +of England, a cope for the Bishop of Hereford. Cunegonde, Abbess +of Goss, in Styria, accomplished numerous important works in that +period. Also, Henry III. employed Jean de Sumercote to make jewelled +robes of state. + +On a certain thirteenth century chasuble are the words +"Penne fit me" (Penne made me), pointing to the existence of a +needleworker of that name. Among the names of the fourteenth century +are those of Gautier de Bruceles, Renier de Treit, Gautier de Poulogne, +and Jean de Laon, while Jean Harent of Calais is recorded as having +worked, for Mme. d'Artois, in 1319, a robe decorated "a bestelettes +et a testes." These names prove that the art had been taught in +many cities and countries: Ogier de Gant, Jean de Savoie, Etienne +le Hongre, and Roger de Varennes, all suggest a cosmopolitan and +dispersed number of workers, who finally all appeared in Paris. + +René d'Anjou had in his employ a worker in embroidery, named Pierre +du Villant. This artist executed a set of needlework pieces for +the Cathedral of Angers, of such important proportions that they +were known collectively as "La Grande Broderie." In 1462, when +they were put in place, a special mass was performed by way of a +dedication. The letter which accompanied this princely donation +contained the following sentences: "We, René, by the Grace of God... +give... to this church... the adornments for a chapell all composd +of golden embroidery, comprising five pieces" (which are enumerated) +"and an altar cloth illustrated with scenes from the Passion of +Our Saviour.... Given in our castle in Angers, the fourth day of +March, 1462. René." + +[Illustration: EMBROIDERY, 15TH CENTURY, COLOGNE] + +In 1479 another altar frontal was presented. Two other rich chapels +were endowed by René. One was known as La Chapelle Joyeuse, and the +other as La Grande Chapelle des Trépassés. It is likely that the +same embroiderer executed the pieces of all these. + +A guild of embroiderers was in standing in Seville in 1433, where +Ordinances were enforced to protect from fraud and otherwise to +regulate this industry. The same laws were in existence in Toledo. +One of the finest and largest pieces of embroidery in Spain is +known as the Tent of Ferdinand and Isabella. This was used in 1488, +when certain English Ambassadors were entertained. The following +is their description of its use. "After the tilting was over, the +majesties returned to the palace, and took the Ambassadors with +them, and entered a large room... and there they sat under a rich +cloth of state of crimson velvet, richly embroidered, with the +arms of Castile and Aragon." + +A curious effect must have been produced by a piece of embroidery +described in the inventory of Charles V., as "two little pillows +with savage beasts having the heads of armed men, and garnished +with pearls." + +After the Reformation it became customary to use ecclesiastical +ornaments for domestic purposes. Heylin, in his "History of the +Reformation," makes mention of many "private men's parlours" which +"were hung with altar cloths, and their tables and beds covered +with copes instead of carpetts and coverlids." + +Katherine of Aragon, while the wife of Henry VIII., consoled herself +in her unsatisfactory life by needlework: it is related that she +and her ladies "occupied themselves working with their own hands +something wrought in needlework, costly and artificially, which she +intended to the honour of God to bestow upon some churches." +Katherine of Aragon was such a devoted needlewoman, in fact, that on +one occasion Burnet records that she stepped out to speak to two +ambassadors, with a skein of silk about her neck, and explained that +she had been embroidering with her ladies when they were announced. +In an old sonnet she is thus commemorated: + + "She to the eighth king Henry married was + And afterwards divorced, when virtuously, + Although a queen, yet she her days did pass + In working with the needle curiously." + +Queen Elizabeth was also a clever embroiderer; she worked a book-cover +for Katherine Parr, bearing the initials K. P., and it is now in +the Bodleian Library at Oxford. + +Mary Queen of Scots was also said to be skilful with her needle; +in fact it seems to have been the consolation of most queens in +their restricted existence in those centuries. Dr. Rock considers +that the "corporal" which Mary Queen of Scots had bound about her +eyes at the time of her execution, was in reality a piece of her own +needle-work, probably wrought upon fine linen. Knight, in describing +the scene in his "Picturesque History of England," says: "Then the +maid Kennedy took a handkerchief edged with gold, in which the +Eucharist had formerly been enclosed, and fastened it over her eyes;" +so accounts differ and traditions allow considerable scope for varied +preferred interpretation. + +It is stated that Catherine de Medicis was fond of needlework, +passing her evenings embroidering in silk "which was as perfect +as was possible," says Brantôme. + +Anne of Brittany instructed three hundred of the children of the +nobles at her court, in the use of the needle. These children produced +several tapestries, which were presented by the queen to various +churches. + +The volatile Countess of Shrewsbury, the much married "Bess of +Hardwick," was a good embroideress, who worked, probably, in company +with the Queen of Scots when that unfortunate woman was under the +guardianship of the Earl of Shrewsbury. One of these pieces is +signed E. S., and dated 1590. + +A form of intricate pattern embroidery in black silk on fine linen +was executed in Spain in the sixteenth century, and was known as +"black work." Viscount Falkland owns some important specimens of +this curious work. It was introduced into England by Katherine of +Aragon, and became very popular, being exceedingly suitable and +serviceable for personal adornment. The black was often relieved +by gold or silver thread. + +The Petit Point, or single square stitch on canvas, became popular +in England during the reign Elizabeth. It suggested Gobelins tapestry, +on a small scale, when finished, although the method of execution +is quite different, being needlework pure and simple. + +In Elizabeth's time was incorporated the London +Company of Broderers, which flourished until about the reign of +Charles I., when there is a complaint registered that "trade was +so much decayed and grown out of use, that a great part of the +company, for want of employment, were much impoverished." + +Raised embroidery, when it was padded with cotton, was called Stump +Work. This was made extensively by the nuns of Little Gidding in +the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Decided changes and +developments took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, +in all forms of embroidery, but these are not for us to consider +at present. A study of historic samples alone is most tempting, +but there is no space for the intrusion of any subject much later +than the Renaissance. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +SCULPTURE IN STONE + +(_France and Italy_) + +Sculpture is not properly speaking the "plastic art," as is often +understood. The real meaning of sculpture is work which is cut +into form, whereas plastic art is work that is moulded or cast +into form. Terra cotta, which is afterwards baked, is plastic; +and yet becomes hard; thus a Tanagra figurine is an example of +plastic art, while a Florentine marble statuette is a product of +sculpture. The two are often confounded. We shall allude to them +under different heads, taking for our consideration now only such +sculpture as is the result of cutting in the stone. The work of +Luca Della Robbia will not be treated as sculpture in this book. +Luca Della Robbia is a worker in plastic art, while Adam Kraft, +hewing directly at the stone, is a sculptor. + +We have no occasion to study the art of the sculptor who produces +actual statues; only so far as sculpture is a companion to architecture, +and a decorative art, does it come within the scope of the arts and +crafts. Figure sculpture, then, is only considered when strictly +of a monumental character. + +In attacking such a subject as sculpture in the Middle Ages it +is impossible to do more than indicate the general tendencies in +different countries. But there are certain defined characteristics an +observance of which will make clear to any reader various fundamental +principles by which it is easy to determine the approximate age and +style of works. + +In the first place, the great general rule of treatment of stone +in the North and in the South is to be mentioned. In the Northern +countries, France, Germany, and England, the stone which was employed +for buildings and their decorations was obtainable in large blocks +and masses; it was what, for our purposes, we will call ordinary +stone, and could be used in the solid; therefore it was possible +for carving in the North to be rendered as deeply and as roundly as +the sculptor desired. In Southern countries, however, and chiefly in +Italy, the stone used for building was not ordinary, but semi-precious +stone. Marble, porphyry, and alabaster were available; and the use +of such material led to a different ideal in architecture and +decoration,--that of incrustation instead of solid piling. These +valuable stones of Italy could not be used, generally speaking, +in vast blocks, into which the chisel was at liberty to plough as +it pleased; when a mass of marble or alabaster was obtained, the +æsthetic soul of the Italian craftsman revolted against shutting +up all that beauty of veining and texture in the confines of a +solid square, of which only the two sides should ever be visible, +and often only one. So he cut his precious block into slices: made +slabs and shallow surfaces of it, and these he laid, as an outward +adornment to his building, upon a substructure of brick or rubble. + +It is easy to perceive, then, the difference of the problem of the +sculptors of the North and the South. The plain, solid Northern +building was capable of unlimited enrichment by carving; this carving, +when deeply cut, with forcible projection, acted as a noble +embellishment in which the principal feature was a varied play of +light and shade; the stone having little charm of colour or texture +in itself, depended for its beauty entirely upon its bold relief, +its rounded statuary, and its well shaped chiselled ornament. The +shallow surface, already beautiful, both in colour and texture, +in the Southern building material, called only for enrichment in +low relief: ornament only slightly raised from the level or simply +perforating the thin slab of glowing stone on which it was used +was the more usual choice of the Italian craftsman. + +This statement applies, of course, only to general principles of +the art of sculpture; there is some flat bas-relief in the North, +and some rounded sculpture in the South; but as a rule the tendencies +are as they have just been outlined. + +Another difference between sculpture in the North and South is +due to the fact that in Italy the work was individual, as a rule, +and in France it was the labour of a Guild or company. In Italy +it is usually known who was the author of any striking piece of +sculpture, while in France it is the exception when a work is signed, +or the names of artisans recorded. In Italy, then, each piece was +made more with a view to its own display, than as a part of a +building, while in France statuary was regarded as an integral part +of the architecture, and rows of figures were used as commonly as +rows of columns in Italy. It is tragic to think of the personal skill +and brilliancy of all these great French craftsmen being absorbed in +one general reputation, while there were undoubtedly among them great +art personalities who would have stood equally with the Pisani if +they had been recognized. + +A good deal of flat carving, especially in the interlace and acanthus +of Ravenna, was accomplished by commencing with a series of drilled +holes, which were afterwards channelled into each other and formed +patterns. When the subsequent finish is not particularly delicate, +it is quite easy to detect these symmetrical holes, but the effect, +under the circumstances, is not objectionable. + +[Illustration: CARVED CAPITAL FROM RAVENNA] + +The process of cutting a bas-relief was generally to outline the +whole with an incision, and then cut away the background, leaving +the simple elevated flat value, the shape of the proposed design. +The modelling was then added by degrees, until the figure looked +like half of a rounded object. While it is often unpractical to refer +one's readers to examples of work in far and various countries, and +advise them instantly to examine them, it is frequently possible +to call attention to well-produced plates in certain modern +art books which are in nearly every public library. To understand +thoroughly the use of the drill in flat sculpture, I wish my +readers would refer to Fig. 121 in Mr. Russell Sturgis's "Artist's +Way of Working," Vol. II. + +In a quaint treatise on Belles Lettres in France nearly two centuries +ago, by Carlencas, the writer says: "It is to no great purpose to +speak of the Gothick sculptures: for everybody knows that they +are the works of a rude art, formed in spite of nature and rules: +sad productions of barbrous and dull spirits, which disfigure our +old churches." Fie on a Frenchman who could so express himself! We +recall the story of how Viollet le Duc made the people of Paris +appreciate the wonderful carvings on Notre Dame. All the rage in +France was for Greek and Roman remains, and the people persisted +in their adoration of the antique, but would not deign to look +nearer home, at their great mediæval works of art. So the architect +had plaster casts made of the principal figures on the cathedral, +and these were treated so as to look like ancient marble statues; +he then opened an exhibition, purporting to show new discoveries +and excavations among antiques. The exhibition was thronged, and +everyone was deeply interested, expressing the greatest admiration +for the marvellously expressive sculptures. Viollet le Duc then +admitted what he had done, and confessing that these treasures +were to be found in their native city, advised them to pay more +attention to the beauties of Gothic art in Paris. + +We will not enter into a discussion of the relative merits of Northern +and Southern art; whether the great revival really originated in +France or Italy; but this is certain: Nicolo Pisano lived in the +latter half of the thirteenth century, while the great sculptures +of Notre Dame, Paris, and those of Chartres, were executed half +a century earlier. + +But prior to either were the Byzantine and Romanesque sculptures +in Italy and Southern France. Our attention must first be turned +to them. Charles Eliot Norton's definition of this word Romanesque +is as satisfactory as any that could be instanced: "It very nearly +corresponds to the term of Romance as applied to language. It signifies +the derivation of the main elements, both in plan and construction, +from the works of the later Roman Empire. But Romanesque architecture" +(and this applies equally to sculpture) "was not, as it has been +called, a corrupted imitation of the Roman architecture, any more +than the Provençal or the Italian language was a corrupted imitation +of the Latin. It was a new thing, the slowly matured product of +a long period of many influences." + +All mediæval carving was subordinate to architecture, therefore +every piece of carving was designed with a view to being suitable to +appear in some special place. The most striking difference between +mediæval and later sculpture is that the latter is designed as +a thing apart, an object to be stood anywhere to be admired for +its intrinsic merit, instead of being a functional component +in a general scheme for beautifying a given building. + +The use of the interlace in all primitive arts is very interesting. +It undoubtedly began in an unconscious imitation of local architecture. +For instance, in the British Isles, the building in earliest times +was with wattles: practically walls of basket work. William of +Malmsbury says that Glastonbury was "a mean structure of wattle +work," while of the Monastery of Iona, it is related that in 563, +Columba "sent forth his monks to gather twigs to build his hospice." +British baskets were famous even so far away as Rome. So the first +idea of ornament was to copy the interlacing forms. The same idea +was worked out synchronously in metal work, and in illuminated +books. Carving in stone, wood, and ivory, show the same influence. + +Debased Roman sculptural forms were used in Italy during the fourth +and fifth centuries. Then Justinian introduced the Byzantine which +was grafted upon the Roman, producing a characteristic and fascinating +though barbaric combination. This was the Romanesque, or +Romano-Byzantine, in the North of Italy generally being recognized +as the Lombard style. The sculptures of this period, from the fifth +to the thirteenth century, are blunt and heavy, but full of quaint +expression due to the elemental and immature conditions of the +art. Many of the old Byzantine carvings are to be seen in Italy. + +The Lombards, when invading Northern Italy, +brought with them a mighty smith, Paul the Deacon, who had much +skill with the hammer. When these rude Norsemen found themselves +among the æsthetic treasures of Byzantium, and saw the fair Italian +marbles, and the stately work of Theodoric and Justinian, they were +inflamed with zeal for artistic expression, and began to hew and +carve rough but spirited forms out of the Pisan and Carrara stones. +The animals which they sculptured were, as Ruskin has said, "all alive: +hungry and fierce, wild, with a life-like spring." The Byzantine +work was quiescent: the designs formal, decent, and monumental. But +the Lombards threw into their work their own restless energy, and +some of their cruelty and relentlessness. Queen Theodolinda, in +her palace at Monza, encouraged the arts; it was because of her +appreciative comprehension of such things that St. Gregory sent +her the famous Iron Crown, of which a description has been given, on +the occasion of the baptism of her son. Under the influence of these +subsequently civilized barbarians many of the greatest specimens of +carving in North Italy came into being. The most delightful little +stumpy saints and sacred emblems may be found on the façade of +St. Michele at Pavia, and also at Lucca, and on the Baptistery +at Parma. The sculptor who produced these works at Parma was a +very interesting craftsman, named Antelami. His Descent from the +Cross is one of the most striking pieces of early sculpture before +the Pisani. He lived in the twelfth century. The figures are of +Byzantine proportions and forms, but have a good deal of grace and +suggestion of movement. + +Among the early names known in Italy is that of Magister Orso, +of Verona. Another, in the ninth century, was Magister Pacifico, +and in the twelfth there came Guglielmus, who carved the charming +naïve wild hunting scenes on the portal of St. Zeno of Verona. +These reliefs represent Theodoric on horseback, followed by an +able company of men and horses which, according to legend, were +supplied by the infernal powers. The eyes of these fugitives have +much expression, being rendered with a drill, and standing out +in the design as little black holes--fierce and effective. + +There is a fine round window at St. Zeno at Verona, designed and +executed by one Briolottus, which, intended to represent the Wheel +of Fortune, is decorated all over with little clinging figures, +some falling and some climbing, and has the motto: "I elevate some +mortals and depose others: I give good or evil to all: I clothe +the naked and strip the clothed: in me if any one trust he will +be turned to derision." + +Perhaps the most wonderful carvings on the church of St. Zeno at +Verona are over the arched entrance to the crypt. These, being +chiefly grotesque animal forms, are signed by Adaminus. Among the +humourous little conceits is a couple of strutting cocks carrying +between them a dead fox slung on a rod. Ruskin has characterized +the carvings at Verona, especially those on the porch, as being +among the best examples of the true function of flat decorative +carving in stone. He says: "The primary condition is that the mass +shall be beautifully rounded, and disposed with due discretion and +order;... sculpture is essentially the production of a pleasant +bossiness or roundness of surface. The pleasantness of that bossy +condition to the eye is irrespective of imitation on one side, and +of structure on the other." The more one considers this statement, +the more he is convinced of its comprehensiveness. If the lights +and shadows fall pleasantly, how little one stops to inquire, "What +is the subject? Do I consider that horse well proportioned, or do +I not? Is that woman in good drawing?" Effectiveness is almost +independent of detail, except as that detail affects the law of +proportion. There are varying degrees of relief: from flat (where +the ornament is hardly more than incised, and the background planed +away) to a practically solid round figure cut almost entirely free +of its ground. + +In Venice, until the revival in the thirteenth century, the Greek +Byzantine influence was marked. There is no more complete storehouse +of the art of the East adapted to mediæval conditions than the +Church of St. Mark's. If space permitted, nothing could be more +delightful than to examine in detail these marvellous capitals and +archivolts which Ruskin has so lovingly immortalized for English +readers. Of all decorative sculpture there is none more satisfying +from the ornamental point of view than the Byzantine interlace +and vine forms so usual in Venice. The only place where these +may be seen to even greater advantage is Ravenna. The pierced +marble screens and capitals, with their restful combinations of +interlacing bands and delicate foliate forms, are nowhere surpassed. +The use of the acanthus leaf conventionalized in a strictly primitive +fashion characterizes most of the Byzantine work in Italy. With +these are combined delightful stiff peacocks, and curious bunches +of grapes, rosettes, and animal forms of quaint grotesqueness. +Such work exemplifies specially what has been said regarding the +use of flat thin slabs for sculptural purposes in the South of +Europe. Nearly all these carvings are executed in fine marbles +and alabasters. The chief works of this period in the round are +lions and gryphons supporting columns as at Ancona and Perugia, +and many other Italian cities. + +In Rome there were several sculptors of the name of Peter. One +of them, Peter Amabilis, worked about 1197; and another, Peter +le Orfever, went to England and worked on the tomb of Edward the +Confessor at Westminster. + +In Bologna is an interesting crucifix probably carved in the eighth +or ninth century. Christ's figure is upon the cross and that of +his mother stands near. The sculptor was Petrus Albericus. On the +cross is an inscription in the form of a dialogue: "My son?" "What, +Mother?" "Are you God?" "I am." "Why do you hang on the cross?" +"That Mankind may not perish." + +The Masters of Stone and Wood were among the early Guilds and +Corporations of Florence. Charlemagne patronized this industry and +helped to develop it. Of craftsmen in these two branches exclusive +of master builders, and recognized artists, there were, in 1299, +about a hundred and forty-six members of the Guild. + +Italy was backward for a good while in the progress of art, for +while great activities were going on in the North, the Doge of +Venice in 976 was obliged to import artists from Constantinople +to decorate St. Mark's church. + +The tombs of this early period in Italy, as elsewhere, are significant +and beautiful. Recumbent figures, with their hands devoutly pressed +together, are usually seen, lying sometimes on couches and sometimes +under architectural canopies. + +The first great original Italian sculptor of the Renaissance was +Nicola Pisano. He lived through almost the whole of the thirteenth +century, being born about 1204, and dying in 1278. What were the +early influences of Nicola Pisano, that helped to make him so much +more more modern, more truly classic, than any of his age? In the +first place, he was born at the moment when interest in ancient +art was beginning to awaken; the early thirteenth century. In the +Campo Santo of Pisa may be seen two of the most potent factors in +his æsthetic education, the Greek sarcophagus on which was carved the +Hunting of Meleager, and the Greek urn with Bacchic figures wreathing +it in classic symmetry. With his mind tuned to the beautiful, the +boy Nioola gazed at the work of genuine pagan Greek artists, +who knew the sinuousness of the human form and the joy of living +with no thought of the morrow. These joyous pagan elements, grafted +on solemn religious surroundings and influences, combined to produce +his peculiar genius. Basing his early endeavours on these specimens +of genuine classical Greek art, there resulted his wonderful pulpits +at Pisa and Siena, and his matchlessly graceful little Madonnas +denote the Hellenistic sentiment for beauty. His work was a marked +departure from the Byzantine and Romanesque work which constituted +Italian sculpture up to that period. An examination of his designs +and methods proves his immense originality. By profession he was +an architect. Of his pulpit in Siena Charles Eliot Norton speaks +with much appreciation. Alluding to the lions used as bases to its +columns, he says: "These are the first realistic representations +of living animals which the mediæval revival of art has produced; +and in vivacity and energy of rendering, and in the thoroughly +artistic treatment of leonine spirit and form, they have never +been surpassed." It is usually claimed that one may learn much of +the rise of Gothic sculpture by studying the models in the South +Kensington Museum. In a foot-note to such a statement in a book +edited by Ruskin, the indignant editor has observed, "You cannot +do anything of the kind. Pisan sculpture can only be studied in +the original marble: half its virtue is in the chiselling!" Nicola +was assisted in the work on his shrine of St. Dominic at Bologna +by one Fra Guglielmo Agnelli, a monk of a very pious turn, who, +nevertheless, committed a curious theft, which was never discovered +until his own death-bed confession. He absconded with a bone of +St. Dominic, which he kept for private devotions all his subsequent +life! An old chronicler says, naïvely: "If piety can absolve from +theft, Fra Guglielmo is to be praised, though never to be imitated." + +[Illustration: PULPIT OF NICOLA PISANO, PISA] + +Andrea Pisano was Nicola's greatest scholar, though not his son. +He took the name of his master after the mediæval custom. His work +was largely in bronze, and the earlier gates of the Baptistery in +Florence are by him. We have already alluded to the later gates +by Ghiberti, when speaking of bronze. Andrea had the honour to +teach the celebrated Orcagna,--more painter than sculptor,--whose +most noted work in this line was the Tabernacle at Or San Michele. +Among the loveliest of the figures sculptured by the Pisani are +the angels standing in a group, blowing trumpets, on the pulpit at +Pistoja, the work of Giovanni. Among Nicola's pupils were his son +Giovanni, Donatello, Arnolfo di Cambio, and Lorenzo Maitani, who +executed the delightful sculptures on the façade of the Cathedral +of Orvieto,--perhaps the most interesting set of bas-reliefs in +detail of the Early Renaissance, although in general symmetrical +"bossiness" of effect, so much approved by Ruskin, they are very +uneven. In this respect they come rather under the head of realistic +than of decorative art. + +Lorenzo Maitani was a genuine leader of his guild of craftsmen, +and superintended the large body of architects who worked at +Orvieto, stone masons, mosaicists, bronze founders, painters, +and minor workmen. He lived until 1330, and practically devoted +his life to Orvieto. It is uncertain whether any of the Pisani +were employed in any capacity, although for a time it was +popularly supposed that the four piers on the façade were their +work. An iconographic description of these sculptures would occupy +too much time here, but one or two features of special interest +should be noted: the little portrait relief of the master Maitani +himself occurs on the fourth pier, among the Elect in heaven, wearing +his workman's cap and carrying his architect's square. Only his +head and shoulders can be seen at the extreme left of the second +tier of sculptures. In accordance with an early tradition, that +Virgil was in some wise a prophet, and that he had foretold the +coming of Christ, he is here introduced, on the second pier, near +the base, crowned with laurel. The incident of the cutting off of +the servant's ear, by Peter, is positively entertaining. Peter +is sawing away industriously at the offending member; a fisherman +ought to understand a more deft use of the knife! In the scenes +of the Creation, depicted on the first pier, Maitani has proved +himself a real nature lover in the tender way he has demonstrated +the joy of the birds at finding the use of their wings. + +The earliest sculptures in France were very rude,--it was rather +a process than an art to decorate a building with carvings as the +Gauls did! But the latent race talent was there; as soon as the +Romanesque and Byzantine influences were felt, a definite school +of sculpture was formed in France; almost at once they seized on +the best elements of the craft and abandoned the worthless, and +the great note of a national art was struck in the figures at +Chartres, Paris, Rheims, and other cathedrals of the Ile de France. + +Prior to this flowering of art in Northern France, the churches +of the South of France developed a charming Romanesque of their +own, a little different from that in Italy. A monk named Tutilon, +of the monastery of St. Gall, was among the most famous sculptors +of the Romanesque period. Another name is that of Hughes, Abbot of +Montier-en-Der. At the end of the tenth century one Morard, under +the patronage of King Robert, built and ornamented the Church of St. +Germain des Près, Paris, while Guillaume, an Abbot at Dijon, was +at the head of the works of forty monasteries. Guillaume probably +had almost as wide an influence upon French art as St. Bernward +had on the German, or Nicola Pisano on that of Italy. In Metz were +two noted architects, Adelard and Gontran, who superintended the +building of fourteen churches, and an early chronicler says that +the expense was so great that "the imperial treasury would scarce +have sufficed for it." + +At Arles are two of the most famous monuments of Romanesque art, +the porches of St. Trophime, and of St. Gilles. The latter exhibits +almost classical feeling and influence; the former is much blunter +and more Byzantine; both are highly interesting for purposes +of study, being elaborately ornamented with figure sculptures and +other decorative motives. + +Abbot Suger, the art-craftsman par excellence of the Ile de France, +was the sculptor in chief of St. Denis from 1137 to 1180. This +magnificent façade is harmonious in its treatment, betokening plainly +that one brain conceived and carried out the plan. We have not the +names of the minor architects and sculptors who were employed, +but doubtless they were the scholars and followers of Suger, and +rendered work in a similar manner. + +There are some names which have been handed down from early times +in Normandy: one Otho, another Garnier, and a third, Anquetil, +while a crucifix carved by Auquilinus of Moissac was popularly +believed to have been created by divine means. If one will compare +the statues of St. Trophime of Arles with those at St. Denis, it +will be found that the latter are better rounded, those at St. +Trophime being coarsely blocked out; although at first glance one +would say that there was little to choose between them. + +The old font at Amiens is very ancient, older than the church. It +is seven feet long, and stands on short square piers: it resembles +a stone coffin, and was apparently so made that a grown person +might be baptized by immersion, by lying at full length. Angels +holding scrolls are carved at its four corners, otherwise it is +very plain. There is an ancient Byzantine crucifix at Amiens, on +which the figure of Our Lord is fully draped, and on his head is +a royal crown instead of thorns. The figure, too, is erect, as if +to invite homage by its outstretched arms, instead of suggesting +that the arms had to bear the weight of the body. Indeed, it is a +Christ triumphant and regnant though crucified--a very unusual +treatment of the subject in the Middle Ages. It was brought from the +East, in all probability, by a returning warrior from the Crusades. + +The foundation of Chartres was very early: the first Bishop St. +Aventin occupied his see as early as 200 A. D. The early Gothic type +in figure sculpture is always characterized by a few features in +common, though different districts produced varying forms and facial +expressions. The figures are always narrow, and much elongated, from +a monumental sentiment which governed the design of the period. The +influence of the Caryatid may have remained in the consciousness of +later artists, leading them to make their figures conform so far as +expedient to the proportions of the columns which stood behind them +and supported them. In any case, it was considered an indispensable +condition that these proportions should be maintained, and has come +to be regarded as an architectural necessity. As soon as sculptors +began to consider their figures as realistic representations of +human beings instead of ornamental motives in their buildings, +the art declined, and poor results followed. + +The west porch of Chartres dates from the twelfth century. The church +was injured by fire in 1194. In 1226 certain restorations were made, +and an old chronicle says that at that time it was quite fire-proof, +remarking: "It has nothing to fear from any earthly fire from this +time to the day of Judgment, and will save from fires eternal the +many Christians who by their alms have helped in its rebuilding." +The whole edifice was consecrated by St. Louis on Oct. 17, 1260. +The King gave the north porch, and several of the windows, and the +whole royal family was present at this impressive function. + +About the time of William the Conqueror it became customary to +carve effigies on tombstones, at first simple figures in low relief +lying on flat slabs: this idea being soon elaborated, however, +into canopied tombs, which grew year by year more ornate, until +Gothic structures enriched with finials and crockets began to be +erected in churches to such an extent that the interior of the +edifice was quite filled with these dignified little buildings. +In many instances it is quite impossible to obtain any view of +the sanctuary except looking directly down the central aisle; the +whole ambulatory is often one continuous succession of exquisite +sepulchral monuments. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF THE SON OF ST. LOUIS, ST. DENIS] + +Perhaps the most satisfying monument of French Gothic style is +the tomb of the elder son of St. Louis at St. Denis. The majesty +of the recumbent figure is striking, but the little procession of +mourners about the main body of the tomb is absolutely unrivalled +in art of this character. The device of little weeping figures +surrounding the lower part of a tomb is also carried out in an exquisite +way on the tomb of Aymer de Valence in Westminster. + +Some interesting saints are carved on the north portal of Amiens, +among others, St. Ulpha, a virgin who is chiefly renowned for having +lived in a chalk cave near Amiens, where she was greatly annoyed +by frogs. Undaunted, she prayed so lustily and industriously, that +she finally succeeded in silencing them! + +The thirteenth century revival in France was really a new birth; +almost more than a Renaissance. It is a question among archæologists +if France was not really more original and more brilliant than Italy +in this respect. A glance at such figures as the Virgin from the +Gilded Portal at Amiens, and another Virgin from the same cathedral, +will show the change which came over the spirit of art in that one +city during the thirteenth century. The figure on the right door +of the western façade is a work of the early part of the century. +She is grave and dignified in bearing, her hand extended in favour, +while the Child gives the blessing in calm majesty. This figure has +the spirit of a goddess receiving homage, and bestowing grace: it +is conventional and monumental. The Virgin from the Gilded Portal +is of a later generation. Her attention is given to the Child, +and her aspect is human and spirited,--almost merry. It may be +said to be less religious than the other statue, but it is filled +with more modern grace and charm, and glorifies the idea of happy +maternity: every angle and fold of the drapery is full of life +and action without being over realistic. There is much in common +between this pleasing statue and the Virgins of the Pisani in Italy. + +Professor Moore considers the statue of the Virgin on the Portal +of the Virgin at the west end of Notre Dame in Paris as about the +best example of Gothic figure sculpture in France. He says further +that the finest statues in portals of any age are those of the +north porch at Paris. The Virgin here is marvellously fine also. +It combines the dignity and monumental qualities of the first of +the Virgins at Amiens, with the living buoyancy of the Virgin on +the Gilded Portal. It is the clear result of a study of nature +grafted on Byzantine traditions. It dates from 1250. + +While sculpture was practised chiefly by monastic artists, it retained +the archaic and traditional elements. When trained carvers from +secular life began to take the chisel, the spirit of the world +entered in. For a time this was a marked improvement: later the +pendulum swung too far, and decadence set in. + +A favourite device on carved tympana above portals was the Last +Judgment. Michael with the scales, engaged in weighing souls, was +the tall central figure, and the two depressed saucers of the scales +help considerably in filling the triangular space usually left +over a Gothic doorway. At Chartres, there is an example of this +subject, in which Mortal Sin, typified by a devil and two toads, are +being weighed against the soul of a departed hero. As is customary +in such compositions, a little devil is seen pulling on the side +of the scale in which he is most interested! + +One of the most cheerful and delightful figures at Chartres is +that of the very tall angel holding a sun dial, on the corner of +the South tower. A certain optimistic inconsequence is his chief +characteristic, as if he really believed that the hours bore more +of happiness than of sorrow to the world. + +There is no limit to the originality and the symbolic messages +of the Gothic grotesques. Two whole books might be written upon +this subject alone to do it justice; but a few notable instances +of these charming little adornments to the stern structures of +the Middle Ages must be noticed here. The little medallions at +Amiens deserve some attention. They represent the Virtues and Vices, +the Follies, and other ethical qualities. Some of them deal with +Scriptural scenes. "Churlishness" is figured by a woman kicking +over her cup-bearer. Apropos of her attitude, Ruskin observes that +the final forms of French churlishness are to be discovered in +the feminine gestures in the can-can. He adds: "See the favourite +print shops in Paris." Times have certainly changed little! + +One of these Amiens reliefs, signifying "Rebellion," is that of a +man snapping his fingers at his bishop! Another known as "Atheism" +is variously interpreted. A man is seen stepping out of his shoes at +the church porch. Ruskin explains this as meaning that the infidel +is shown in contradistinction to the faithful who is supposed +to have "his feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace;" +but Abbé Roze thinks it more likely that this figure represents +an unfrocked monk abandoning the church. + +One of these displays the beasts in Nineveh, and a little squat +monkey, developing into a devil, is wittily characterized by Ruskin +as reversing the Darwinian theory. + +The statues above these little quatrefoils are over seven feet +in height, differing slightly, and evidently portrait sculptures +inspired by living models, adapted to their more austere use in +this situation. + +A quiet and inconspicuous example of exquisite refinement in Gothic +bas-relief is to be seen in the medallioned "Portail aux Libraires" +at the Cathedral in Rouen. This doorway was built in 1278 by Jean +Davi, who must have been one of the first sculptors of his time. +The medallions are a series of little grotesques, some of them +ineffably entertaining, and others expressive of real depth of +knowledge and thought. Ruskin has eulogized some of these little +figures: one as having in its eye "the expression which is never +seen but in the eye of a dog gnawing something in jest, and preparing +to start away with it." Again, he detects a wonderful piece of +realism and appreciative work in the face of a man who leans with +his head on his hand in thought: the wrinkles pushed up under his +eye are especially commended. + +In the south transept at Amiens is a piece of elaborate +sculpture in four compartments, which are the figures of many saints. +There is a legend in connection with those figures: when the millers +were about to select a patron saint, they agreed to choose the saint +on whose head a dove, released for the purpose, should alight; +but as the bird elected to settle on the head of a demon, they +abandoned their plan! The figures in these carvings are almost +free of the ground; they appear to be a collection of separate +statuettes, the scenes being laid in three or four planes. It is +not restrained bas-relief; but the effect is extremely rich. The +sculptures in high relief, but in more conventional proportion +than these, which occur on the dividing wall between the choir and +the north aisle, are thoroughly satisfactory. They are coloured; +they were executed in 1531, and they represent scenes in the life +of the Baptist. In the panel where Salomé is portrayed as dancing, +a grave little monkey is seen watching her from under the table. +The similar screen surrounding the sanctuary at Paris was the work +of the chief cathedral architect, Jean Renoy, with whom worked +his nephew, Jehan le Bouteiller. These stone carved screens are +quite usual in the Ile de France. The finest are at Chartres, where +they go straight around the ambulatory, the whole choir being fenced +in, as it were, about the apse, by this exquisite work. This screen +is more effective, too, for being left in the natural colour of +the stone: where these sculptures are painted, as they usually +are, they suggest wood carvings, and have not as much dignity as +when the stone is fully recognized. + +The Door of St. Marcel has the oldest carving on Notre Dame in +Paris. The plate representing the iron work, in Chapter IV., shows +the carving on this portal, which is the same that has Biscornette's +famous hinges. The central figure of St. Marcel himself presents +the saint in the act of reproving a naughty dragon which had had +the indiscretion to devour the body of a rich but wicked lady. The +dragon is seen issuing from the dismantled tomb of this unfortunate +person. The dragon repented his act, when the saint had finished +admonishing him, and showed his attachment and gratitude for thus +being led in paths of rectitude, by following the saint for four +miles, apparently walking much as a seal would walk, beseeching +the saint to forgive him. But Marcel was firm, and punished the +serpent, saying to him: "Go forth and inhabit the deserts or plunge +thyself into the sea;" and, as St. Patrick rid the Celtic land of +snakes, so St. Marcel seems to have banished dragons from fair +France. + +[Illustration: CARVINGS AROUND CHOIR AMBULATORY, CHARTRES] + +At Chartres there are eighteen hundred statues, and almost as many +at Amiens and at Rheims and Paris. One reason for the superiority +of French figure sculpture in the thirteenth century, over that +existing in other countries, is that the French used models. There +has been preserved the sketch book of a mediæval French architect, +Vilard de Honcourt, which is filled with studies from life: and why +should we suppose him to be the only one who worked in this way? + +Rheims Cathedral is the Mecca of the student of mediæval sculpture. +The array of statues on the exterior is amazing, and a walk around +the great structure reveals unexpected riches in corbels, gargoyles, +and other grotesques, hidden at all heights, each a veritable work +of art, repaying the closest study, and inviting the enthusiast +to undue extravagance at a shop in the vicinity, which advertises +naïvely, that it is an "Artistical Photograph Laboratory." + +On the door of St. Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris, there is a portrait +statue of St. Geneviève, holding a lighted candle, while "the devil +in little" sits on her shoulder, exerting himself to blow it out! +It is quite a droll conceit of the thirteenth century. + +Of the leaf forms in Gothic sculpture, three styles are enough to +generalize about. The early work usually represented springlike +leaves, clinging, half-developed, and buds. Later, a more luxuriant +foliage was attempted: the leaves and stalks were twisted, and +the style was more like that actually seen in nature. Then came +an overblown period, when the leaves were positively detached, +and the style was lost. The foliage was no longer integral, but +was applied. + +There is little of the personal element to be exploited in dealing +with the sculptors in the Middle Ages. Until the days of the Renaissance +individual artists were scarcely recognized; master masons employed +"Imagers" as casually as we would employ brick-layers or plasterers; +and no matter how brilliant the work, it was all included in the general +term "building." + +The first piece of signed sculpture in France is a tympanum in the +south transept at Paris, representing the Stoning of Stephen. It +is by Jean de Chelles, in 1257. St. Louis of France was a patron of +arts, and took much interest in his sculptors. There were two Jean +de Montereau, who carved sacred subjects in quite an extraordinary +way. Jean de Soignoles, in 1359, was designated as "Macon et Ymageur." +One of the chief "imageurs," as they were called, was Jacques Haag, +who flourished in the latter half of the fifteenth century, in +Amiens. This artist was imprisoned for sweating coin, but in 1481 +the king pardoned him. He executed large statues for the city gates, +of St. Michael and St. Firmin, in 1464 and 1489. There was a sculptor +in Paris in the fourteenth century, one Hennequin de Liege, who +made several tombs in black and white marble, among them that of +Blanche de France, and the effigy of Queen Philippa at Westminster. + +It was customary both in France and England to use colour on Gothic +architecture. It is curious to realize that the façade of Notre +Dame in Paris was originally a great colour scheme. A literary +relic, the "Voyage of an Armenian Bishop," named Martyr, in the +year 1490, alludes to the beauty of this cathedral of Paris, as +being ablaze with gold and colour. + +An old record of the screen of the chapel of St. Andrew +at Westminster mentions that it was "adorned with curious carvings +and engravings, and other imagery work of birds, flowers, cherubims, +devices, mottoes, and coats of arms of many of the chief nobility +painted thereon. All done at the cost of Edmond Kirton, Abbot, who +lies buried on the south side of the chapel under a plain gray +marble slab." H. Keepe, who wrote of Westminster Abbey in 1683, +mentioned the virgin over the Chapter House door as being "all +richly enamelled and set forth with blue, some vestigia of all +which are still remaining, whereby to judge of the former splendour +and beauty thereof." Accounts make frequent mention of painters +employed, one being "Peter of Spain," and another William of +Westminster, who was called the "king's beloved painter." + +King René of Anjou was an amateur of much versatility; he painted +and made many illuminations: among other volumes, copies of his own +works in prose and verse. Aside from his personal claim to renown +in the arts, he founded a school in which artists and sculptors +were included. One of the chief sculptors was Jean Poncet, who +was followed in the king's favour by his son Pons Poncet. Poor +Pons was something of a back-slider, being rather dissipated; but +King René was fond of him, and gave him work to do when he was +reduced to poverty. The monument to his nurse, Tiphanie, at Saumur, +was entrusted to Pons Poncet. After the death of Pons, the chief +sculptor of the court was Jacques Moreau. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SCULPTURE IN STONE + +(_England and Germany_) + +A progressive history of English sculpture in stone could be compiled +by going from church to church, and studying the tympana, over +the doors, in Romanesque and Norman styles, and in following the +works in the spandrils between the arches in early Gothic work. +First we find rude sculptures, not unlike those in France. The +Saxon work like the two low reliefs now to be seen in Chichester +Cathedral show dug-out lines and almost flat modelling; then the +Norman, slightly rounded, are full of historic interest and +significance, though often lacking in beauty. The two old panels +alluded to, now in Chichester, were supposed to have been brought +from Selsea Cathedral, having been executed about the twelfth century. +There is a good deal of Byzantine feeling in them; one represents +the Raising of Lazarus, and the other, Our Lord entering the house +of Mary and Martha. The figures are long and stiff, and there is +a certain quality in the treatment of draperies not unlike that +in the figures at Chartres. + +Then follows the very early Gothic, like the delightful +little spandrils in the chapter house at Salisbury, and at Westminster, +familiar to all travellers. They are full of life, partly through the +unanatomic contortions by means of which they are made to express +their emotions. Often one sees elbows bent the wrong way to emphasize +the gesture of denunciation, or a foot stepping quite across the +instep of its mate in order to suggest speed of motion. Early Gothic +work in England is usually bas-relief; one does not find the statue +as early as in France. In 1176 William of Sens went over to England, +to work on Canterbury Cathedral, and after that French influence +was felt in most of the best English work in that century. Before +the year 1200 there was little more than ornamented spaces, enriched +by carving; after that time, figure sculpture began in earnest, +and, in statues and in effigies, became a large part of the +craftsmanship of the thirteenth century. + +The transition was gradual. First small separate heads began to +obtain, as corbels, and were bracketed at the junctures of the +arch-mouldings in the arcade and triforium of churches. Then on +the capitals little figures began to emerge from the clusters of +foliage. In many cases the figures are very inferior to the faces, +as if more time and study had been given to expressing emotions +than to displaying form. The grotesque became very general. Satire +and caricature had no other vehicle in the Middle Ages than the +carvings in and out of the buildings, for the cartoon had not yet +become possible, and painting offered but a limited scope to the +wit, especially in the North; in Italy this outlet for humour was +added to that of the sculptor. + +Of the special examples of great figure sculpture in England the +façade at Wells is usually considered the most significant. The +angel choir at Lincoln, too, has great interest; there is real +power in some of the figures, especially the angel with the flaming +sword driving Adam and Eve from Eden, and the one holding aloft a +small figure,--probably typical of the Creation. At Salisbury, too, +there is much splendid figure sculpture; it is cause for regret +that the names of so few of the craftsmen have survived. + +Wells Cathedral is one of the most interesting spots in which to +study English Gothic sculpture. Its beautiful West Front is covered +with tier after tier of heroes and saints; it was finished in 1242. +This is the year that Cimabue was three years old; Niccola Pisano +had lived during its building, Amiens was finished forty-six years +later, and Orvieto was begun thirty-six years later. It is literally +the earliest specimen of so advanced and complete a museum of sculpture +in the West. Many critics have assumed that the statues on the West +Front of Wells were executed by foreign workmen; but there are +no special characteristics of any known foreign school in these +figures. Messrs. Prior and Gardner have recently expressed their +opinion that these statues, like most of the thirteenth century +work in England, are of native origin. The theory is that two kinds +of influence were brought to bear to create English "imagers." +In the first place, goldsmiths and ivory carvers had been making +figures on a small scale: their trade was gradually expanded until +it reached the execution of statues for the outside ornament of +buildings. The figures carved by such artists are inclined to be +squat, these craftsmen having often been hampered by being obliged +to accommodate their design to their material, and to treat the +human figure to appear in spaces of such shapes as circles, squares, +and trefoils. Another class of workers who finally turned their +attention to statuary, were the carvers of sepulchral slabs: these +slabs had for a long time shown the effigies of the deceased. This +theory accounts for both types of figures that are found in English +Gothic,--the extremely attenuated, and the blunt squat statues. At +Wells it would seem that both classes of workmen were employed, +some of the statues being short and some extremely tall. They were +executed, evidently, at different periods, the façade being gradually +decorated, sometimes in groups of several statues, and sometimes +in simple pairs. This theory, too, lends a far greater interest +to the west front than the theory that it was all carried out at +once, from one intentional design. + +St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Baptism, is here represented, +holding a child on his arm, and standing in water up to his knees. +The water, being treated in a very conventional way, coiling about +the lower limbs, is so suggestive of tiers of flat discs, that +it has won for this statue the popular name of "the pancake +man," for he certainly looks as if he had taken up his position +in the midst of a pile of pancakes, into which he had sunk. + +The old statue of St. Hugh at Lincoln is an attractive early Gothic +work. In 1743 he was removed from his precarious perch on the top +of a stone pinnacle, and was placed more firmly afterwards. In a +letter from the Clerk of the Works this process was described. +"I must acquaint you that I took down the antient image of St. +Hugh, which is about six foot high, and stood upon the summit of a +stone pinnacle at the South corner of the West Front... and pulled +down twenty-two feet of the pinnacle itself, which was ready to +tumble into ruins, the shell being but six inches thick, and the +ribs so much decayed that it declined visibly.... I hope to see +the saint fixed upon a firmer basis before the Winter." On the top +of a turret opposite St. Hugh is the statue of the Swineherd of +Stowe. This personage became famous through contributing a peck of +silver pennies toward the building of the cathedral. As is usually +the case, the saint and the donor therefore occupy positions of +equal exaltation! The swineherd is equipped with a winding horn. +A foolish tradition without foundation maintains that this figure +does not represent the Swineherd at all, but is a play upon the +name of Bishop Bloet,--the horn being intended to suggest "Blow +it!" It seems hardly possible to credit the mediæval wit with no +keener sense of humour than to perpetrate such a far-fetched pun. + +The Lincoln Imp, who sits enthroned at the foot of a cul-de-lampe +in the choir, is so familiar to every child, now, through his +photographs and casts, that it is hardly necessary to describe +him. But many visitors to the cathedral fail to come across the old +legend of his origin. It is as follows: "The wind one day brought +two imps to view the new Minster at Lincoln. Both imps were greatly +impressed with the magnitude and beauty of the structure, and one +of them, smitten by a fatal curiosity, slipped inside the building +to see what was going on. His temerity, however, cost him dear, +for he was so petrified with astonishment, that his heart became +as stone within him, and he remained rooted to the spot. The other +imp, full of grief at the loss of his brother, flew madly round +the Minster, seeking in vain for the lost one. At length, being +wearied out, he alighted, quite unwittingly, upon the shoulders +of a certain witch, and was also, and in like manner, instantly +turned to stone. But the wind still haunts the Minster precincts, +waiting their return, now hopelessly desolate, now raging with +fury." A verse, also, is interesting in this connection: + + "The Bishop we know died long ago, + The wind still waits, nor will he go, + Till he has a chance of beating his foe. + But the devil hopped without a limp, + And at once took shape as the Lincoln Imp. + And there he sits atop of a column, + And grins at the people who gaze so solemn, + Moreover, he mocks at the wind below, + And says: 'You may wait till doomsday, O!'" + +The effigies in the Round Church at the Temple in London have created +much discussion. They represent Crusaders, two dating from the +twelfth century, and seven from the thirteenth. Most of them have +their feet crossed, and the British antiquarian mind has exploited +and tormented itself for some centuries in order to prove, or to +disprove, that this signifies that the warriors were crusaders who +had actually fought. There seems now to be rather a concensus of +opinion that they do not represent Knights Templars, but "associates +of the Temple." As none of them can be certainly identified, this +controversy would appear to be of little consequence to the world +at large. The effigies are extremely interesting from an artistic +point of view, and, in repairing them, in 1840, Mr. Richardson +discovered traces of coloured enamels and gilding, which must have +rendered them most attractive. + +Henry III. of England was a genuine art patron, and even evinced +some of the spirit of socialism so dear to the heart of William +Morris, for the old records relate that the Master Mason, John +of Gloucester, was in the habit of taking wine each day with the +King! This shows that Henry recognized the levelling as Well as +the raising power of the arts. In 1255 the king sent five casks of +wine to the mason, in payment for five with which John of Gloucester +had accommodated his Majesty at Oxford! This is an intimate and +agreeable departure from the despotic and grim reputation of early +Kings of England. + +In 1321 the greatest mediæval craftsman in England was Alan de +Walsingham, who built the great octagon from which Ely derives its +chief character among English cathedrals. In a fourteenth century +manuscript in the British Museum is a tribute to him, which is +thus translated by Dean Stubbs (now Bishop of Truro): + + "A Sacrist good and Prior benign, + A builder he of genius fine: + The flower of craftsmen, Alan, Prior, + Now lying entombed before the choir... + And when, one night, the old tower fell, + This new one he built, and mark it well." + +This octagon was erected to the glory of God and to St. Etheldreda, +the Queen Abbess of Ely, known frequently as St. Awdry. Around +the base of the octagon, at the crests of the great piers which +carry it, Prior Alan had carved the Deeds of the Saint in a series +of decorative bosses which deserve close study. The scene of her +marriage, her subsequently taking the veil at Coldingham, and the +various miracles over which she presided, terminate in the death +and "chesting" of the saint. This ancient term is very literal, +as the body was placed in a stone coffin above the ground, and +therefore the word "burial" would be incorrect. + +The tomb of Queen Eleanor in Westminster is of Purbeck marble, +treated in the style of Southern sculpture, being cut in thin slabs +and enriched with low relief ornamentation. The recumbent effigy +is in bronze, and was cast, as has been stated, by Master William +Torel. Master Walter of Durham painted the lower portion. Master +Richard Crundale was in charge of the general work. + +Master John of St. Albans worked in about 1257, and was designated +"sculptor of the king's images." There was at this time a school +of sculpture at the Abbey. This Westminster School of Artificers +supplied statuettes and other sculptured ornaments to order for +various places. One of the craftsmen was Alexander "le imaginator." +In the Rolls of the Works at Westminster, there is an entry, "Master +John, with a carpenter and assistant at St. Albans, worked on the +lectern." This referred to a copy which was ordered of a rarely +beautiful lectern at St. Albans' cathedral, which had been made by +the "incomparable Walter of Colchester." Labour was cheap! There +is record of three shillings being paid to John Benet for three +capitals! + +Among Westminster labourers was one known as Brother Ralph, the +Convert; this individual was a reformed Jew. Among the craftsmen +selected to receive wine from the convent with "special grace" is +the goldsmith, Master R. de Fremlingham, who was then the Abbey +plumber. + +There was a master mason in 1326, who worked at Westminster and +in various other places on His Majesty's Service. This was William +Ramsay, who also superintended the building then in progress at +St. Paul's, and was a man of such importance in his art, that the +mayor and aldermen ordered that he should "not be placed on juries +or inquests" during the time of his activity. He was also chief +mason at the Tower. But in spite of the city fathers it was not +possible to keep this worthy person out of court! For he and some +of his friends, in 1332, practically kidnapped a youth of fourteen +named Robert Huberd, took him forcibly from his appointed guardian, +and married him out of hand to William Ramsay's daughter Agnes, +the reason for this step being evidently that the boy had money. +Upon the complaint of his guardian, Robert was given his choice +whether he would remain with his bride or return to his former +home. He deliberately chose his new relations, and so, as the +marriage was quite legal according to existing laws, everything +went pleasantly for Master William! It made no difference, either, +in the respect of the community or the king for the master mason; +in 1344, he was appointed to superintend the building at Windsor, +and was made a member of the Common Council in 1347. Verily, the +Old Testament days were not the last in which every man "did that +which was right in his own eyes." + +Carter gives some curious historical explanations of some very +quaint and little-known sculptures in a frieze high up in the Chapel +of Edward the Confessor in Westminster. One of them represents the +Trial of Queen Emma, and is quite a spirited scene. The little +accusing hands raised against the central figure of the queen, +are unique in effect in a carving of this character. Queen Emma +was accused of so many misdemeanours, poor lady! She had agreed to +marry the enemy of her kingdom, King Canute: she gave no aid to her +sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred, when in exile; and she was +also behaving in a very unsuitable manner with Alwin, Bishop of +Winchester: she seems to have been versatile in crime, and it is +no wonder that she was invited to withdraw from her high estate. + +The burial of Henry V. is interestingly described in an old manuscript +of nearly contemporary origin: "His body was embalmed and cired and +laid on a royal carriage, and an image like to him was laid upon +the corpse, open: and with divers banners, and horses, covered +with the arms of England and France, St. Edward and St. Edmund... +and brought with great solemnity to Westminster, and worshipfully +buried; and after was laid on his tomb a royal image like to himself, +of silver and gilt, which was made at the cost of Queen Katherine... +he ordained in his life the place of his sepulchre, where he is +now buried, and every daye III. masses perpetually to be sungen +in a fair chapel over his sepulchre." This exquisite arrangement +of a little raised chantry, and the noble tomb itself, was the +work of Master Mapilton, who came from Durham in 1416. + +Mr. W. R. Lethaby calls attention to the practical and expedient +way in which mediæval carvers of effigies utilized their long blocks +of stone: "Notice," he says, "how... the angels at the head and +the beast at the foot were put in just to square out the block, +and how all the points of high relief come to one plane so that +a drawing board might be firmly placed on the statue." Only such +cutting away as was actually necessary was encouraged; the figure +was usually represented as putting the earthly powers beneath his +feet, while angels ministered at his head. St. Louis ordered a +crown of thorns to be placed on his head when he was dying, and +the crown of France placed at his feet. The little niches around +the tombs, in which usually stood figures of saints, were called +"hovels." It is amusing to learn this to-day, with our long established +association of the word with poverty and squalor. + +Henry VII. left directions for the design of his tomb. Among other +stipulations, it was to be adorned with "ymages" of his patron +saints "of copper and gilte." Henry then "calls and cries" to his +guardian saints and directs that the tomb shall have "a grate, +in manner of a closure, of coper and gilte," which was added by +English craftsmen. Inside this grille in the early days was an +altar, containing a unique relic,--a leg of St. George. + +Sculpture and all other decorative arts reached their ultimatum in +England about the time of the construction of Henry VII.'s chapel +at Westminster. The foundation stone was laid in 1502, by Henry +himself. Of the interesting monuments and carvings contained in it, +the most beautiful is the celebrated bronze figure by Torregiano +on the tomb of the king and queen, which was designed during their +lives. Torregiano was born in 1470, and died in 1522, so he is +not quite a mediæval figure, but in connection with his wonderful +work we must consider his career a moment. Vasari says that he had +"more pride than true artistic excellence." He was constantly +interfering with Michelangelo, with whom he was a student in Florence, +and on one memorable occasion they came to blows: and that was the +day when "Torregiano struck Michelangelo on the nose with his fist, +using such terrible violence and crushing that feature in such a +manner that the proper form could never be restored to it, and +Michelangelo had his nose flattened by that blow all his life." So +Torregiano fled from the Medicean wrath which would have descended +upon him. After a short career as a soldier, impatient at not being +rapidly promoted, he returned to his old profession of a sculptor. +He went to England, where, says Vasari, "he executed many works in +marble, bronze, and wood, for the king." The chief of these was the +striking tomb of Henry VII. and the queen. Torregiano's agreement +was to make it for a thousand pounds: also there is a contract which +he signed with Henry VIII., agreeing to construct a similar tomb +also for that monarch, to be one quarter part larger than that of +Henry VII., but this was not carried out. + +St. Anthony appears on a little sculptured medallion on the tomb +of Henry VII., with a small pig trotting beside him. This is St. +Anthony of Vienna, not of Padua. His legend is as follows. In an +old document, Newcourt's Repertorium, it is related that "the monks +of St. Anthony with their importunate begging, contrary to the +example of St. Anthony, are so troublesome, as, if men give them +nothing, they will presently threaten them with St. Anthony's +fire; so that many simple people, out of fear or blind zeal, every +year use to bestow on them a fat pig, or porker, which they have +ordinarily painted in their pictures of St. Anthony, whereby they +may procure their good will and their prayers, and be secure from +their menaces." + +Torregiano's contract read that he should "make well, surely, cleanly, +and workmanlike, curiously, and substantially" the marble tomb +with "images, beasts, and other things, of copper, gilte." Another +craftsman who exercised his skill in this chapel was Lawrence Imber, +image maker, and in 1500 the names of John Hudd, sculptor, and +Nicolas Delphyn, occur. Some of the figures and statuettes on the +tomb were also made by Drawswerd of York. + +On the outer ribs of Henry VII.'s chapel may be detected certain +little symmetrically disposed bosses, which at first glance one +would suppose to be inconspicuous crockets. But in an admirable +spirit of humour, the sculptor has here carved a series of griffins, +in procession, holding on for dear life, in the attitudes of children +sliding down the banisters. They are delightfully animated and +amusing. + +The well-known figures of the Vices which stand around the quadrangle +at Magdalen College, Oxford, are interpreted by an old Latin manuscript +in the college. The statues should properly be known as the Virtues +and Vices, for some of them represent such moral qualities as Vigilance, +Sobriety, and Affection. It is indeed a shock to learn from this +presumably authoritative source, that the entertaining figure of a +patient nondescript animal, upon whose back a small reptile clings, +is _not_ intended to typify "back biting," but is intended for a +"hippopotamus, or river-horse, carrying his young one upon his +shoulders; this is the emblem of a good tutor, or fellow of the +college, who is set to watch over the youth." But a large number +of the statues are devoted to the Vices, which generally explain +themselves. + +[Illustration: GROTESQUE FROM OXFORD, POPULARLY KNOWN AS "THE +BACKBITER"] + +No more spirited semi-secular carvings are to be seen in England +than the delightful row of the "Beverly Minstrels." They stand on +brackets round a column in St. Mary's Church, Beverly, and are +exhibited as singing and playing on musical instruments. They were +probably carved and presented by the Minstrels or Waits, themselves, +or at any rate at their expense, for an angel near by holds a tablet +inscribed: "This pyllor made the meynstyrls." These "waits" were +quite an institution, being a kind of police to go about day and +night and inspect the precincts, announcing break of day by blowing +a horn, and calling the workmen together by a similar signal. The +figures are of about the period of Henry VII. + +[Illustration: THE "BEVERLY MINSTRELS"] + +The general excellence of sculpture in Germany is said to be lower +than that of France; in fact, such mediæval German sculpture as +is specially fine is based upon French work. Still, while this +statement holds good in a general way, there are marked departures, +and examples of extremely interesting and often original sculpture +in Germany, although until the work of such great masters as Albrecht +Dürer, Adam Kraft, and Viet Stoss, the wood carver, who are much +later, there is not as prolific a display of the sculptor's genius as +in France. + +The figures on the Choir screen at Hildesheim are rather heavy, +and decidedly Romanesque; but the whole effect is most delightful. +Some of the heads have almost Gothic beauty. The screen is of about +1186, and the figures are made of stucco; but it is exceptionally +good stucco, very different in character from the later work, which +Browning has designated as "stucco twiddlings everywhere." + +Much good German sculpture may be seen in Nüremberg. The Schöner +Brunnen, the beautiful fountain, is a delight, in spite of the +fact that one is not looking at the original, which was relegated +to the museum for safe keeping long ago. The carving, too, on the +Frauenkirche, and St. Sebald's, and on St. Lorenz, is as fine as +anything one will find in Germany. Another exception stands out +in the memory. Nothing is more exquisite than the Bride's Door, +at St. Sebald's, in Nüremberg; the figures of the Wise and Foolish +Virgins who guard the entrance could hardly be surpassed in the +realm of realistic sculpture, retaining at the same time a just +proportion of monumental feeling. They are bewitching and dainty, +full of grace not often seen in German work of that period. + +The figures on the outside of Bamberg Cathedral are also as fine +as anything in France, and there are some striking examples at +Naumburg, but often the figures in German work lack lightness and +length, which are such charming elements in the French Gothic +sculptures. + +At Strasburg the Cathedral is generally conceded to be the most +interesting and ornate of the thirteenth century work in Germany, +although, as has been indicated, French influence is largely +responsible. A very small deposit of this influence escaped into +the Netherlands, and St. Gudule in Brussels shows some good carving +in Gothic style. + +A gruesome statue on St. Sebald's in Nüremberg represents the +puritanical idea of "the world," by exhibiting a good-looking young +woman, whose back is that of a corpse; the shroud is open, and the +half decomposed body is displayed, with snakes and toads depredating +upon it. + +Among the early Renaissance artists in Nüremberg, was Hans Decker, +who was named in the Burgher Lists of 1449. He may have had influence +upon the youth of Adam Kraft, whose great pyx in St. Lorenz's is +known to everyone who has visited Germany. + +Adam Kraft was born in Nüremberg in the early fifteenth century and +his work is a curious link between Gothic and Renaissance styles. +His chief characteristic is expressed by P. J. Rée, who says: "The +essence of his art is best described as a naïve realism sustained +by tender and warm religious zeal." Adam Kraft carved the Stations +of the Cross, to occupy, on the road to St. John's Cemetery in +Nüremberg, the same relative distances apart as those of the actual +scenes between Pilate's house and Golgotha. Easter Sepulchres were +often enriched with very beautiful sculptures by the first masters. +Adam Kraft carved the noble scene of the Burial of Christ in St. +John's churchyard in Nüremberg. + +[Illustration: ST. LORENZ CHURCH, NUREMBERG, SHOWING ADAM KRAFT'S +PYX, AND THE HANGING MEDALLION BY VEIT STOSS] + +It is curious that the same mind and hand which conceived and carved +these short stumpy figures, should have made the marvel of slim +grace, the Tabernacle, or Pyx, at St. Lorenz. A figure of the artist +kneeling, together with two workmen, one old and one young, supports +the beautiful shrine, which rears itself in graduated stages to +the tall Gothic roof, where it follows the curve of a rib, and +turns over at the top exactly like some beautiful clinging plant +departing from its support, and flowering into an exquisitely +proportioned spiral. It suggests a gigantic crozier. Before it was +known what a slender metal core followed this wonderful growth, +on the inside, there was a tradition that Kraft had discovered +"a wonderful method for softening and moulding hard stones." The +charming relief by Kraft on the Weighing Office exhibits quite +another side of his genius; here three men are engaged in weighing +a bale of goods in a pair of scales: a charming arrangement of +proportion naturally grows out of this theme, which may have been +a survival in the mind of the artist of his memory of the numerous +tympana with the Judgment of Michael weighing souls. The design is +most attractive, and the decorative feeling is enhanced by two +coats of arms and a little Gothic tracery running across the top. +When Adam Kraft died in 1508, the art of sculpture practically +ceased in Nüremberg. + +[Illustration: RELIEF BY ADAM KRAFT] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +CARVING IN WOOD AND IVORY + +If the Germans were somewhat less original than the French, English, +and Italians in their stone carving, they made up for this deficiency +by a very remarkable skill in wood carving. Being later, in period, +this art was usually characterized by more naturalism than that +of sculpture in stone. + +In Germany the art of sculpture in wood is said to have been in full +favour as early as the thirteenth century. There are two excellent +wooden monuments, one at Laach erected to Count Palatine Henry III., +who died in 1095, and another to Count Henry III. of Sayne, in +1246. The carving shows signs of the transition to Gothic forms. +Large wooden crucifixes were carved in Germany in the eleventh and +twelfth centuries. Byzantine feeling is usual in these figures, +which are frequently larger than life. + +Mediæval wood carving developed chiefly along the line of altar +pieces and of grotesque adornments of choir stalls. Among the most +interesting of these are the "miserere" seats, of which we shall +speak at more length. + +The general methods of wood carving resemble somewhat +those of stone carving; that is to say, flat relief, round relief, +and entirely disengaged figures occur in both, while in both the +drill is used as a starting point in many forms of design. As with +the other arts, this of carving in wood emanated from the monastery. + +[Illustration: CARVED BOX-WOOD PYX, 14TH CENTURY] + +The monk Tutilo, of St. Gall, was very gifted. The old chronicle +tells us that "he was eloquent, with a fine voice, skilful in carving, +and a painter. A musician, like his companions, but in all kinds +of wind and stringed instruments... he excelled everybody. In building +and in his other arts he was eminent." Tutilo was a monk of the ninth +century. + +A celebrated wood carving of the thirteenth century, on a large +scale, is the door of the Church of St. Sabina in Rome. It is divided +into many small panels, finely carved. These little reliefs are +crowded with figures, very spirited in action. + +Painted and carved shields and hatchments were popular. The Italian +artists made these with great refinement. Sometimes stucco was +employed instead of genuine carving, and occasionally the work was +embossed on leather. They were painted in heraldic colours, and +gold, and nothing could be more decorative. Even Giotto produced +certain works of this description, as well as a carved crucifix. + +Altar pieces were first carved and painted, the backgrounds being +gilded. By degrees stucco for the figures came in to replace the +wood: after that, they were gradually modelled in lower relief, +until finally they became painted pictures with slightly raised +portions, and the average Florentine altar piece resulted. With +the advance in painting, and the ability to portray the round, +the necessity for carved details diminished. + +Orders from a great distance were sometimes sent to the Florentine +Masters of Wood,--the choir stalls in Cambridge, in King's College +Chapel, were executed by them, in spite of the fact that Torregiano +alluded to them as "beasts of English." + +An early French wood carver was Girard d'Orleans, who, in 1379, +carved for Charles V. "ung tableau de boys de quatre pieces." Ruskin +considers the choir stalls in Amiens the best worth seeing in France; +he speaks of the "carpenter's work" with admiration, for no nails +are used, nor is the strength of glue relied upon; every bit is true +"joinery," mortised, and held by the skill and conscientiousness +of its construction. Of later work in wood it is a magnificent +example. The master joiner, Arnold Boulin, undertook the construction +of the stalls in 1508. He engaged Anton Avernier, an image maker, +to carve the statuettes and figures which occur in the course of +the work. Another joiner, Alexander Hust, is reported as working +as well, and in 1511, both he and Boulin travelled to Rouen, to +study the stalls in the cathedral there. Two Franciscan monks, +"expert and renowned in working in wood," came from Abbeville to +give judgment and approval, their expenses being paid for this +purpose. + +Jean Troupin, a "simple workman at the wages of three sous a day," +was added to the staff of workers in 1516, and in one of the stalls +he has carved his own portrait, with the inscription, "Jan Troupin, +God take care of thee." In 1522 the entire work was completed, and +was satisfactorily terminated on St. John's day, representing the +entire labour of six or eight men for about fourteen years. + +In the fifteenth century Germany led all countries in the art of +wood carving. Painting was nearly always allied to this art in +ecclesiastical use. The sculptured forms were gilded and painted, +and, in some cases, might almost be taken for figures in faience, +so high was the polish. Small altars, with carved reredos and +frontals, were very popular, both for church and closet. The style +employed was pictorial, figures and scenes being treated with great +naturalism. One of the famous makers of such altar pieces was Lucas +Möser, in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. A little later +came Hans Schülein, and then followed Freidrich Herlin, who carved +the fine altar in Rothenburg. Jorg Syrlin of Ulm and his son of the +same name cover the latter half of the century. + +Bavaria was the chief province in which sculptors in wood flourished. +The figures are rather stumpy sometimes, and the draperies rather +heavy and lacking in delicate grace, but the works are far more +numerous than those of other districts, and vary enormously in +merit. + +Then followed the great carvers of the early Renaissance--Adam +Kraft, and Veit Stoss, contemporaries of Peter Vischer and Albrecht +Dürer, whom we must consider for a little, although they hardly +can be called mediæval workmen. + +Veit Stoss was born in the early fifteenth century, in Nüremberg. +He went to Cracow when he was about thirty years of age, and spent +some years working hard. He returned to his native city, however, +in 1496, and worked there for the rest of his life. A delicate +specimen of his craft is the Rosenkranztafel, a wood carving in +the Germanic Museum, which exhibits medallions in relief, representing +the Communion of Saints, with a wreath of roses encircling it. Around +the border of this oblong composition there are small square reliefs, +and a Last Judgment which is full of grim humour occupies the lower +part of the space. Among the amusing incidents represented, is that +of a redeemed soul, quite naked, climbing up a vine to reach heaven, +in which God the Father is in the act of "receiving" Adam and Eve, +shaking hands most sociably! The friends of this aspiring climber +are "boosting" him from below; the most deliciously realistic proof +that Stoss had no use for the theory of a winged hereafter! + +Veit Stoss was a very versatile craftsman. Besides his wonderful +wood carvings, for which he is chiefly noted, he was a bridge-builder, +a stone-mason, a bronze caster, painter of altars, and engraver on +copper! Like all such variously talented persons, he suffered somewhat +from restlessness and preferred work to peace,--but his compensation +lay in the varied joys of creative works. His naturalism was marked +in all that he did: a naïve old chronicler remarks that he made +some life-sized coloured figures of Adam and Eve, "so fashioned +that one was _afraid_ that they were alive!" Veit Stoss was an +interesting individual. He was not especially moral in all his ways, +narrowly escaping being executed for forgery; but his brilliancy as +a technician was unsurpassed. He lived until 1533, when he died +in Nüremberg as a very old man. One of his most delightful +achievements is the great medallion with an open background, which +hangs in the centre of the Church of St. Lorenz. It shows two large +and graceful figures,--Mary and the Angel Gabriel, the subject +being the Annunciation. A wreath of angels and flowers surrounds +the whole, with small medallions representing the seven joys of the +Virgin. It is a masterly work, and was presented by Anton Tucher +in 1518. Veit Stoss was the leading figure among wood carvers of +the Renaissance, although Albrecht Dürer combined this with his +many accomplishments, as well. + +Some of the carvings in wood in the chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster, +are adapted from drawings by Albrecht Dürer, and are probably the +work of Germans. Two of these, Derrick van Grove and Giles van +Castel, were working at St. George's, Windsor, about the same time. + +The very finest example of Nüremberg carving, however, is the famous +wooden Madonna, which has been ascribed to Peter Vischer the Younger, +both by Herr von Bezold and by Cecil Headlam. It seems very reasonable +after a study of the other works of this remarkable son of Peter +Vischer, for there is no other carver of the period, in all Nüremberg, +who could have executed such a flawlessly lovely figure. + +One of the noted wood carvers in Spain in the Renaissance, was +Alonso Cano. He was a native of Granada and was born in 1601. His +father was a carver of "retablos," and brought the boy up to follow +his profession. Cano was also a painter of considerable merit, but +as a sculptor in wood he was particularly successful. His first +conspicuous work was a new high altar for the church of Lebrija, +which came to him on account of the death of his father, who was +commencing the work in 1630, when his life was suddenly cut off. +Alonso made this altar so beautifully, that he was paid two hundred +and fifty ducats more than he asked! Columns and cornices are arranged +so as to frame four excellent statues. These carvings have been +esteemed so highly that artists came to study them all the way from +Flanders. The altar is coloured, like most of the Spanish retablos. +Cano was a pugnacious character, always getting into scrapes, using +his stiletto, and being obliged to shift his residence on short +notice. It is remarkable that his erratic life did not interfere with +his work, which seems to have gone calmly on in spite of domestic and +civic difficulties. Among his works at various places, where his +destiny took him, was a tabernacle for the Cathedral of Malaga. +He had worked for some time at the designs for this tabernacle, +when it was whispered to him that the Bishop of Malaga intended +to get a bargain, and meant to beat him down in his charges. So, +packing up his plans and drawings, and getting on his mule. Cano +observed, "These drawings are either to be given away for nothing, +or else they are to bring two thousand ducats." The news of his +departure caused alarm among those in authority, and he was urged +to bring back the designs, and receive his own price. + +Cano carved a life-size crucifix for Queen Mariana, which she presented +to the Convent of Monserrati at Madrid. Alonso Cano entered the +Church and became canon of the Cathedral of Granada. But all his +talents had no effect upon his final prosperity: he died in extreme +want in 1667, the Cathedral records showing that he was the recipient +of charity, five hundred reals being voted to "the canon Cano, +being sick and very poor, and without means to pay the doctor." +Another record mentions the purchase of "poultry and sweet-meats" +also for him. + +Cano made one piece of sculpture in marble, a guardian angel for +the Convent at Granada, but this no longer exists. Some of his +architectural drawings are preserved in the Louvre. Ford says that +his St. Francesco in Toledo is "a masterpiece of cadaverous ecstatic +sentiment." + +The grotesques which played so large a part in church art are bewailed +by St. Bernard: "What is the use," he asks, "of those absurd +monstrosities displayed in the cloisters before the reading monks?... +Why are unclean monkeys and savage lions, and monstrous centaurs +and semi-men, and spotted tigers, and fighting soldiers, and +pipe-playing hunters, represented?" Then St. Bernard inadvertently +admits the charm of all these grotesques, by adding: "The variety +of form is everywhere so great, that marbles are more pleasant +reading than manuscripts, and the whole day is spent in looking +at them instead of in meditating on the law of God." St. Bernard +concludes with the universal argument: "Oh, God, if one is not +ashamed of these puerilities, why does not one at least spare the +expense?" A hundred years later, the clergy were censured by the +Prior de Coinsi for allowing "wild cats and lions" to stand equal +with the saints. + +[Illustration: MISERERE STALL; AN ARTISAN AT WORK] + +The real test of a fine grotesque--a genuine Gothic monster--is, that +he shall, in spite of his monstrosity, retain a certain anatomical +consistency: it must be conceivable that the animal organism could +have developed along these lines. In the thirteenth century, this +is always possible; but in much later times, and in the Renaissance, +the grotesques simply became comic and degraded, and lacking in +humour: in a later chapter this idea will be developed further. + +The art of the choir stalls and miserere seats was a natural ebullition +of the humourous instinct, which had so little opportunity for +exploiting itself in monastic seclusion. The joke was hidden away, +under the seat, out of sight of visitors, or laymen: inconspicuous, +but furtively entertaining. There was no self-consciousness in its +elaboration, it was often executed for pure love of fun and whittling; +and for that very reason embodies all the most attractive qualities of +its art. There was no covert intention to produce a genre history of +contemporary life and manners, as has sometimes been claimed. These +things were accidentally introduced in the work, but the carvers +had no idea of ministering to this or any other educational theory. +Like all light-hearted expression of personality, the miserere +stalls have proved of inestimable worth to the world of art, as a +record of human skill and genial mirth. + +[Illustration: MISERERE STALL, ELY: NOAH AND THE DOVE] + +A good many of the vices of the times were portrayed on the miserere +seats. The "backbiter" is frequently seen, in most unlovely form, +and two persons gossiping with an "unseen witness" in the shape +of an avenging friend, looking on and waiting for his opportunity +to strike! Gluttons and misers are always accompanied by familiar +devils, who prod and goad them into such sin as shall make them +their prey at the last. Among favourite subjects on miserere seats +is the "alewife." No wonder ale drinking proved so large a factor in +the jokes of the fraternity, for the rate at which it was consumed, +in this age when it took the place of both tea and coffee, was +enormous. The inmates of St. Cross Hospital, Winchester, who were +alluded to as "impotents," received daily one gallon of beer each, +with two extra quarts on holidays! If this were the allowance of +pensioners, what must have been the proportion among the well-to-do? +In 1558 there is a record of a dishonest beer seller who gave only a +pint for a penny drink, instead of the customary quart! The subject +of the alewife who had cheated her customers, being dragged to hell +by demons, is often treated by the carvers with much relish, in +the sacred precincts of the church choir! + +[Illustration: MISERERE STALL; THE FATE OF THE ALE-WIFE] + +At Ludlow there is a relief which shows the unlucky lady carried +on the back of a demon, hanging with her head upside down, while a +smiling "recording imp" is making notes in a scroll concerning her! +In one of the Chester Mysteries, the Ale Wife is made to confess +her own shortcomings: + + "Some time I was a taverner, + A gentle gossip and a tapster, + Of wine and ale a trusty brewer, + Which woe hath me wrought. + + Of cans I kept no true measure, + My cups I sold at my pleasure, + Deceiving many a creature, + Though my ale were nought!" + +There is a curious miserere in Holderness representing a nun between +two hares: she is looking out with a smile, and winking! + +At Ripon the stalls show Jonah being thrown to the whale, and the +same Jonah being subsequently relinquished by the sea monster. The +whale is represented by a large bland smiling head, with gaping +jaws, occurring in the midst of the water, and Jonah takes the +usual "header" familiar in mediæval art, wherever this episode is +rendered. + +A popular treatment of the stall was the foliate mask; stems issuing +from the mouth of the mask and developing into leaves and vines. +This is an entirely foolish and unlovely design: in most cases +it is quite lacking in real humour, and makes one think more of +the senseless Roman grotesques and those of the Renaissance. The +mediæval quaintness is missing. + +At Beverly a woman is represented beating a man, while a dog is +helping himself out of the soup cauldron. The misereres at Beverly +date from about 1520. + +Animals as musicians, too, were often introduced,--pigs playing +on viols, or pipes, an ass performing on the harp, and similar +eccentricities may be found in numerous places, while Reynard the +Fox in all his forms abounds. + +The choir stalls at Lincoln exhibit beautiful carving +and design: they date from the fourteenth century, and were given by +the treasurer, John de Welburne. There are many delightful miserere +seats, many of the selections in this case being from the legend +of Reynard the Fox. + +Abbot Islip of Westminster was a great personality, influencing +his times and the place where his genius expressed itself. He was +very constant and thorough in repairing and restoring at the Abbey, +and under his direction much fine painting and illuminating were +accomplished. The special periods of artistic activity in most of +the cathedrals may be traced to the personal influence of some +cultured ecclesiastic. + +A very beautiful specimen of English carving is the curious oak +chest at York Cathedral, on which St. George fighting the dragon +is well rendered. However, the termination of the story differs +from that usually associated with this legend, for the lady leads +off the subdued dragon in a leash, and the very abject crawl of +the creature is depicted with much humour. + +Mediæval ivory carving practically commenced with the fourth century; +in speaking of the tools employed, it is safe to say that they +corresponded to those used by sculptors in wood. It is generally +believed by authorities that there was some method by which ivory +could be taken from the whole rounded surface of the tusk, and then, +by soaking, or other treatment, rendered sufficiently malleable to +be bent out into a large flat sheet: for some of the large mediæval +ivories are much wider than the diameter of any known possible tusk. +There are recipes in the early treatises which tell how to soften +the ivory that it may be more easily sculptured: in the Mappae +Clavicula, in the twelfth century, directions are given for preparing +a bath in which to steep ivory, in order to make it soft. In the +Sloane MS. occurs another recipe for the same purpose. + +Ahab's "ivory house which he made" must have been either covered +with a very thin veneer, or else the ivory was used as inlay, which +was often the case, in connection with ebony. Ezekiel alludes to +this combination. Ivory and gold were used by the Greeks in their +famous Chryselephantine statues, in which cases thin plates of +ivory formed the face, hands, and exposed parts, the rest being +overlaid with gold, This art originated with the brothers Dipœnus +and Scillis, about 570 B. C., in Crete. + +"In sculpturing ivory," says Theophilus, "first form a tablet of +the magnitude you may wish, and superposing chalk, portray with +a lead the figures according to your pleasure, and with a pointed +instrument mark the lines that they may appear: then carve the +grounds as deeply as you wish with different instruments, and sculp +the figures or other things you please, according to your invention +and skill." He tells how to make a knife handle with open work +carvings, through which a gold ground is visible: and extremely +handsome would such a knife be when completed, according to Theophilus' +directions. He also tells how to redden ivory. "There is likewise +an herb called 'rubrica,' the root of which is long, slender, and +of a red colour; this being dug up is dried in the sun and is pounded +in a mortar with the pestle, and so being scraped into a pot, and a +lye poured over it, is then cooked. In this, when it has well boiled, +the bone of the elephant or fish or stag, being placed, is made red." +Mediæval chessmen were made in ivory: very likely the need for a red +stain was felt chiefly for such pieces. + +The celebrated Consular Diptychs date from the fourth century onwards. +It was the custom for Consuls to present to senators and other +officials these little folding ivory tablets, and the adornment +of Diptychs was one of the chief functions of the ivory worker. +Some of them were quite ambitious in size; in the British Museum +is a Diptych measuring over sixteen inches by five: the tusk from +which this was made must have been almost unique in size. It is +a Byzantine work, and has the figure of an angel carved upon it. + +Gregory the Great sent a gift of ivory to Theodolinda, Queen of +the Lombards, in 600. This is decorated with three figures, and +is a most interesting diptych. + +The earliest diptych, however, is of the year 406, known as the +Diptych of Probus, on which may be seen a bas-relief portrait of +Emperor Honorius. On the Diptych of Philoxenus is a Greek verse +signifying, "I, Philoxenus, being Consul, offer this present to +the wise Senate." An interesting diptych, sixteen inches by six, +is inscribed, "Flavius Strategius Apius, illustrious man, count +of the most fervent servants, and consul in ordinary." This +consul was invested in 539; the work was made in Rome, but it +is the property of the Cathedral of Orviedo in Spain, where it +is regarded as a priceless treasure. + +Claudian, in the fourth century, alludes to diptychs, speaking of +"huge tusks cut with steel into tablets and gleaming with gold, +engraved with the illustrious name of the Consul, circulated among +great and small, and the great wonder of the Indies, the elephant, +wanders about in tuskless shame!" In Magaster, a city which according +to Marco Polo, was governed by "four old men," they sold "vast +quantities of elephants' teeth." + +Rabanus, a follower of Alcuin, born in 776, was the author of an +interesting encyclopædia, rejoicing in the comprehensive title, +"On the Universe." This work is in twenty-two books, which are +supposed to cover all possible subjects upon which a reader might +be curious.... The seventeenth book is on "the dust and soil of +the earth," under which uninviting head he includes all kinds of +stones, common and precious; salt, flint, sand, lime, jet, asbestos, +and the Persian moonstone, of whose brightness he claims that it +"waxes and wanes with the moon." Later he devotes some space to +pearls, crystals, and glass. Metals follow, and marbles and _ivory_, +though why the latter should be classed among minerals we shall +never understand. + +[Illustration: IVORY TABERNACLE, RAVENNA] + +The Roman diptychs were often used as after-dinner gifts to +distinguished guests. They were presented on various occasions. +In the Epistles of Symmachus, the writer says: "To my Lord and +Prince I sent a diptych edged with gold. I presented other friends +also with these ivory note books." + +While elephant's tusks provided ivory for the southern races, the +more northern peoples used the walrus and narwhale tusks. In Germany +this was often the case. The fabulous unicorn's horn, which is so +often alluded to in early literature, was undoubtedly from the +narwhale, although its possessor always supposed that he had secured +the more remarkable horn which was said to decorate the unicorn. + +Triptychs followed diptychs in natural sequence. These, in the Middle +Ages, were usually of a devotional character, although sometimes +secular subjects occur. Letters were sometimes written on ivory +tablets, which were supposed to be again used in forwarding a reply. +St. Augustine apologizes for writing on parchment, explaining, "My +ivory tablets I sent with letters to your uncle; if you have any +of my tablets, please send them in case of similar emergencies." +Tablets fitted with wax linings were used also in schools, as children +now use slates. + +Ivory diptychs were fashionable gifts and keepsakes in the later +Roman imperial days. They took the place which had been occupied +in earlier days by illuminated books, such as were produced by +Lala of Cyzicus, of whom mention will be made in connection with +book illuminators. + +[Illustration: THE NATIVITY; IVORY CARVING] + +After the triptychs came sets of five leaves, hinged together; +sometimes these were arranged in groups of four around a central +plaque. Often they were intended to be used as book covers. +Occasionally the five leaves were made up of classical ivories +which had been altered in such a way that they now had Christian +significance. The beautiful diptych in the Bargello, representing +Adam in the Earthly Paradise, may easily have been originally +intended for Orpheus, especially since Eve is absent! The treatment +is rather classical, and was probably adapted to its later name. +Some diptychs which were used afterwards for ecclesiastical +purposes, show signs of having had the Consular inscription erased, +and the wax removed, while Christian sentiments were written or +incised within the book itself. Parts of the service were also +occasionally transcribed on diptychs. In Milan the Rites contain +these passages: "The lesson ended, a scholar, vested in a surplice, +takes the ivory tablets from the altar or ambo, and ascends the +pulpit;" and in another place a similar allusion occurs: "When the +Deacon chants the Alleluia, the key bearer for the week hands the +ivory tablets to him at the exit of the choir." + +Anastatius, in his Life of Pope Agatho, tells of a form of posthumous +excommunication which was sometimes practised: "They took away from +the diptychs... wherever it could be done, the names and figures +of these patriarchs, Cyrus, Sergius, Paul, Pyrrhus, and Peter, +through whom error had been brought among the orthodox." + +Among ivory carvings in Carlovingian times may be +cited a casket with ornamental colonettes sent by Eginhard to his +son. In 823, Louis le Debonaire owned a statuette, a diptych, and +a coffer, while in 845 the Archbishop of Rheims placed an order +for ivory book covers, for the works of St. Jerome, a Lectionary, +and other works. + +The largest and best known ivory carving of the middle ages is +the throne of Maximian, Archbishop of Ravenna. This entire chair, +with an arched back and arms, is composed of ivory in intricately +carved plaques. It is considerably over three feet in height, and is +a superb example of the best art of the sixth century. Photographs +and reproductions of it may be seen in most works dealing with +this subject. Scenes from Scripture are set all over it, divided +by charming meanders of deeply cut vine motives. Some authorities +consider the figures inferior to the other decorations: of course +in any delineation of the human form, the archaic element is more +keenly felt than when it appears in foliate forms or conventional +patterns. Diptychs being often taken in considerable numbers and +set into large works of ivory, has led some authorities to suppose +that the Ravenna throne was made of such a collection; but this +is contradicted by Passeri in 1759, who alludes to the panels in +the following terms: "They might readily be taken by the ignorant +for diptychs.... This they are not, for they cannot be taken from +the consular diptychs which had their own ornamentation, referring +to the consultate and the insignia, differing from the sculpture +destined for other purposes. Hence they are obviously mistaken who +count certain tablets as diptychs which have no ascription to any +consul, but represent the Muses, Bacchantes, or Gods. These seem +to me to have been book covers." Probably the selected form of an +upright tablet for the majority of ivory carvings is based on +economic principles: the best use of the most surface from any +square block of material is to cut it in thin slices. In their +architecture the southern mediæval builders so treated stone, building +a substructure of brick and laying a slab or veneer of the more +costly material on its surface: with ivory this same principle +was followed, and the shape of the tusk, being long and narrow, +naturally determined the form of the resulting tablets. + +The Throne of Ivan III. in Moscow and that of St. Peter in Rome +are also magnificent monuments of this art. Ivory caskets were the +chief manifestation of taste in that medium, during the period of +transition from the eighth century until the revival of Byzantine +skill in the tenth century. This form of sculpture was at its best +at a time when stone sculpture was on the decline. + +There is a fascinating book cover in Ravenna which is a good example +of sixth century work of various kinds. In the centre, Christ is +seen, enthroned under a kind of palmetto canopy; above him, on +a long panel, are two flying angels displaying a cross set in a +wreath; at either end stand little squat figures, with balls and +crosses in their hands. Scenes from the miracles of Our Lord occupy +the two side panels, which are subdivided so that there are four +scenes in all; they are so quaint as to be really grotesque, but +have a certain blunt charm which is enhanced by the creamy lumpiness +of the material in which they are rendered. The healing of the +blind, raising of the dead, and the command to the man by the pool +to take up his bed and walk, are accurately represented; the bed +in this instance is a form of couch with a wooden frame and +mattress, the carrying of which would necessitate an unusual amount +of strength on the part of even a strong, well man. One of the most +naïve of these panels of the miracles is the curing of "one +possessed:" the boy is tied with cords by the wrists and ankles, +while, at the touch of the Master, a little demon is seen issuing +from the top of the head of the sufferer, waving its arms proudly +to celebrate its freedom! Underneath is a small scene of the three +Children in the Fiery Furnace; they look as if they were presenting +a vaudeville turn, being spirited in action, and very dramatic. +Below all, is a masterly panel of Jonah and the whale,--an old +favourite, frequently appearing in mediæval art. The whale, +positively smiling and sportive, eagerly awaits his prey at the +right. Jonah is making a graceful dive from the ship, apparently +with an effort to land in the very jaws of the whale. At the +opposite side, the whale, having coughed up his victim, looks +disappointed, while Jonah, in an attitude of lassitude suggestive +of sea-sickness, reclines on a bank; an angel, with one finger +lifted as if in reproach, is hurrying towards him. + +An ingenuous ivory carving of the ninth century in Carlovingian +style is a book cover on which is depicted the finding of St. Gall, +by tame bears in the wilderness. These bears, walking decorously +on their hind legs, are figured as carrying bread to the hungry +saint: one holds a long French loaf of a familiar pattern, and +the other a breakfast roll! + +Bernward of Hildesheim had a branch for ivory carving in his celebrated +academy, to which allusion has been made. + +Ivory drinking horns were among the most beautiful and ornate examples +of secular ivories. They were called Oliphants, because the tusks +of elephants were chiefly used in their manufacture. In 1515 the +Earl of Ormonde leaves in his will "a little white horn of ivory +garnished at both ends with gold," and in St. Paul's in the thirteenth +century, there is mention of "a great horn of ivory engraved with +beasts and birds." The Horn of Ulphas at York is an example of the +great drinking horns from which the Saxons and Danes, in early +days, drank in token of transfer of lands; as we are told by an old +chronicler, "When he gave the horn that was to convey his estate, +he filled it with wine, and went on his knees before the altar... +so that he drank it off in testimony that thereby he gave them +his lands." This horn was given by Ulphas to the Cathedral with +certain lands, a little before the Conquest, and placed by him +on the altar. + +Interesting ivories are often the pastoral staves +carried by bishops. That of Otho Bishop of Hildesheim in 1260 is +inscribed in the various parts: "Persuade by the lower part; rule +by the middle; and correct by the point." These were apparently +the symbolic functions of the crozier. The French Gothic ivory +croziers are perhaps more beautiful than others, the little figures +standing in the carved volutes being especially delicate and graceful. + +[Illustration: PASTORAL STAFF; IVORY, GERMAN, 12TH CENTURY] + +Before a mediæval bishop could perform mass he was enveloped in +a wrapper, and his hair was combed "respectfully and lightly" (no +tugging!) by the deacon. This being a part of the regular ceremonial, +special carved combs of ivory, known as Liturgical Combs, were used. +Many of them remain in collections, and they are often ornamented in +the most delightful way, with little processions and Scriptural scenes +in bas-relief. In the Regalia of England, there was mentioned among +things destroyed in 1649, "One old comb of horn, worth nothing." +According to Davenport, this may have been the comb used in smoothing +the king's hair on the occasion of a Coronation. + +The rich pulpit at Aix la Chapelle is covered with plates of gold +set with stones and ivory carvings; these are very fine. It was +given to the cathedral by the Emperor Henry II. The inscription +may be thus translated: "Artfully brightened in gold and precious +stones, this pulpit is here dedicated by King Henry with reverence, +desirous of celestial glory: richly it is decorated with his own +treasures, for you, most Holy Virgin, in order that you may obtain +the highest gain as a future reward for him." The sentiment is +not entirely disinterested; but are not motives generally mixed? +St. Bernard preached a Crusade from this pulpit in 1146. The ivory +carvings are very ancient, and remarkably fine, representing figures +from the Greek myths. + +Ivory handles were usual for the fly-fan, or flabellum, used at +the altar, to keep flies and other insects away from the Elements. +One entry in an inventory in 1429 might be confusing if one did not +know of this custom: the article is mentioned as "one muscifugium +de pecock" meaning a fly-fan of peacock's feathers! + +Small round ivory boxes elaborately sculptured were used both for +Reserving the Host and for containing relics. In the inventory of +the Church of St. Mary Hill, London, was mentioned, in the fifteenth +century, "a lytill yvory cofyr with relyks." At Durham, in 1383, +there is an account of an "ivory casket conteining a vestment of +St. John the Baptist," and in the fourteenth century, in the same +collection, was "a tooth of St. Gendulphus, good for the Falling +Sickness, in a small ivory pyx." + +[Illustration: IVORY MIRROR CASE; EARTH 14TH CENTURY] + +Ivory mirror backs lent themselves well to decorations of a more +secular nature: these are often carved with the Siege of the Castle +of Love, and with scenes from the old Romances; tournaments were +very popular, with ladies in balconies above pelting the heroes +with roses as large as themselves, and the tutor Aristotle "playing +horse" was a great favourite. Little elopements on horseback were +very much liked, too, as subjects; sometimes rows of heroes on steeds +appear, standing under windows, from which, in a most wholesale +way, whole nunneries or boarding-schools seem to be descending to +fly with them. One of these mirrors shows Huon of Bordeaux playing +at chess with the king's daughter: another represents a castle, +which occupies the upper centre of the circle, and under the window +is a drawbridge, across which passes a procession of mounted knights. +One of these has paused, and, standing balancing himself in a most +precarious way on the pommels of his saddle, is assisting a lady to +descend from a window. Below are seen others, or perhaps the same +lovers, in a later stage of the game, escaping in a boat. At the +windows are the heads of other ladies awaiting their turn to be +carried off. + +[Illustration: IVORY MIRROR CASE, 1340] + +An ivory chest of simple square shape, once the property of the Rev. +Mr. Bowle, is given in detail by Carter in the Ancient Specimens, +and is as interesting an example of allegorical romance as can +be imagined. Observe the attitude of the knight who has laid his +sword across a chasm in order to use it as a bridge. He is proceeding +on all fours, with unbent knees, right up the sharp edge of the blade! + +Among small box shrines which soon developed in Christian times +from the Consular diptychs is one, in the inventory of Roger de +Mortimer, "a lyttle long box of yvory, with an ymage of Our ladye +therein closed." + +The differences in expression between French, English, and German +ivory carvings is quite interesting. The French faces and figures +have always a piquancy of action: the nose is a little retroussée +and the eyelids long. The German shows more solidity of person, +less transitoriness and lightness about the figure, and the nose +is blunter. The English carvings are often spirited, so as to be +almost grotesque in their strenuousness, and the tool-mark is visible, +giving ruggedness and interest. + +Nothing could be more exquisite than the Gothic shrines in ivory +made in the thirteenth century, but descriptions, unless accompanied +by illustrations, could give little idea of their individual charm, +for the subject is usually the same: the Virgin and child, in the +central portion of the triptych, while scenes from the Passion +occupy the spaces on either side, in the wings. + +Statuettes in the round were rare in early Christian times: one of +the Good Shepherd in the Basilewski collection is almost unique, +but pyxes in cylindrical form were made, the sculpture on them +being in relief. In small ivory statuettes it was necessary to +follow the natural curve of the tusk in carving the figure, hence +the usual twisted, and sometimes almost contorted forms often seen +in these specimens. Later, this peculiarity was copied in stone, +unconsciously, simply because the style had become customary. One +of the most charming little groups of figures in ivory is in the +Louvre, the Coronation of the Virgin. The two central figures are +flanked by delightful jocular little angels, who have that +characteristic close-lipped, cat-like smile, which is a regular +feature in all French sculpture of the Gothic type. In a little +triptych of the fourteenth century, now in London, there is the +rather unusual scene of Joseph, sitting opposite the Virgin, and +holding the Infant in his arms. + +Among the few names of mediæval ivory carvers known, are Henry de +Grès, in 1391, Héliot, 1390, and Henry de Senlis, in 1484. Héliot +is recorded as having produced for Philip the Bold "two large ivory +tablets with images, one of which is the... life of Monsieur St. +John Baptist." This polite description occurs in the Accounts of +Amiot Arnaut, in 1392. + +A curious freak of the Gothic period was the making of ivory statuettes +of the Virgin, which opened down the centre (like the Iron Maiden +of Nüremberg), and disclosed within a series of Scriptural scenes +sculptured on the back and on both sides. These images were called +Vierges Ouvrantes, and were decidedly more curious than beautiful. + +In the British Museum is a specimen of northern work, a basket cut +out from the bone of a whale; it is Norse in workmanship, and there +is a Runic inscription about the border, which has been thus +translated: + + "The whale's bones from the fishes' flood + I lifted on Fergen Hill: + He was dashed to death in his gambols + And aground he swam in the shallows." + +Fergen Hill refers to an eminence near Durham. + +[Illustration: CHESSMAN FROM LEWIS] + +Some very ancient chessmen are preserved in the British Museum, in +particular a set called the Lewis Chessmen. They were discovered +in the last century, being laid bare by the pick axe of a labourer. +These chessmen have strange staring eyes; when the workman saw +them, he took them for gnomes who had come up out of the bowels +of the earth, to annoy him, and he rushed off in terror to report +what proved to be an important archæological discovery. + +One of the chessmen of Charlemagne is to be seen in Paris: he rides +an elephant, and is attended by a cortège, all in one piece. Sometimes +these men are very elaborate ivory carvings in themselves. + +As Mr. Maskell points out that bishops did not wear mitres, according +to high authority, until after the year 1000, it is unlikely that +any of the ancient chessmen in which the Bishop appears in a mitre +should be of earlier date than the eleventh century. There is one +fine Anglo-Saxon set of draughts in which the white pieces are +of walrus ivory, and the black pieces, of genuine jet. + +Paxes, which were passed about in church for the Kiss of Peace, +were sometimes made of ivory. + +There are few remains of early Spanish ivory sculpture. Among them +is a casket curiously and intricately ornamented and decorated, +with the following inscription: "In the Name of God, The Blessing +of God, the complete felicity, the happiness, the fulfilment of +the hope of good works, and the adjourning of the fatal period +of death, be with Hagib Seifo.... This box was made by his orders +under the inspection of his slave Nomayr, in the year 395." Ivory +caskets in Spain were often used to contain perfumes, or to serve as +jewel boxes. It was customary, also, to use them to convey presents +of relics to churches. Ivory was largely used in Spain for inlay +in fine furniture. + +King Don Sancho ordered a shrine, in 1033, to contain the relics +of St. Millan. The ivory plaques which are set about this shrine +are interesting specimens of Spanish art under Oriental domination. +Under one little figure is inscribed Apparitio Scholastico, and +Remirus Rex under another, while a figure of a sculptor carving a +shield, with a workman standing by him, is labelled "Magistro and +Ridolpho his son." + +Few individual ivory carvers are known by name. A French artist, +Jean Labraellier, worked in ivory for Charles V. of France; and +in Germany it must have been quite a fashionable pursuit in high +life; the Elector of Saxony, August the Pious, who died in 1586, +was an ivory worker, and there are two snuff-boxes shown as the +work of Peter the Great. The Elector of Brandenburgh and Maximilian +of Bavaria both carved ivory for their own recreation. In the +seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were many well-known +sculptors who turned their attention to ivory; but our researches +hardly carry us so far. + +For a moment, however, I must touch on the subject of billiard +balls. It may interest our readers to know that the size of the +little black dot on a ball indicates its quality. The nerve which +runs through a tusk, is visible at this point, and a ball made from +the ivory near the end of the tusk, where the nerve has tapered +off to its smallest proportions, is the best ball. The finest balls +of all are made from short stubby tusks, which are known as "ball +teeth." The ivory in these is closer in grain, and they are much +more expensive. Very large tusks are more liable to have coarse +grained bony spaces near the centre. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +INLAY AND MOSAIC + +There are three kinds of inlay, one where the pattern is incised, +and a plastic filling pressed in, and allowed to harden, on the +principle of a niello; another, where both the piece to be set +in and the background are cut out separately; and a third, where +a number of small bits are fitted together as in a mosaic. The +pavement in Siena is an example of the first process. The second +process is often accomplished with a fine saw, like what is popularly +known as a jig saw, cutting the same pattern in light and dark +wood, one layer over another; the dark can then be set into the +light, and the light in the dark without more than one cutting +for both. The mosaic of small pieces can be seen in any of the +Southern churches, and, indeed, now in nearly every country. It +was the chief wall treatment of the middle ages. + +[Illustration: MARBLE INLAY FROM LUCCA] + +About the year 764, Maestro Giudetto ornamented the delightful +Church of St. Michele at Lucca. This work, or at least the best of +it, is a procession of various little partly heraldic and partly +grotesque animals, inlaid with white marble on a ground of green +serpentine. They are full of the best expression of mediæval art. +The Lion of Florence, the Hare of Pisa, the Stork of Perugia, the +Dragon of Pistoja, are all to be seen in these simple mosaics, +if one chooses to consider them as such, hardly more than white +silhouettes, and yet full of life and vigour. The effect is that +of a vast piece of lace,--the real cut work of the period. Absurd +little trees, as space fillers, are set in the green and white +marble. Every reader will remember how Ruskin was enthusiastic over +these little creatures, and no one can fail to feel their charm. + +The pavements at the Florentine Baptistery and at San Miniato are +interesting examples of inlay in black and white marble. They are +early works, and are the natural forerunners of the marvellous +pavement at Siena, which is the most remarkable of its kind in the +world. + +The pavement masters worked in varying methods. The first of these +was the joining together of large flat pieces of marble, cut in +the shapes of the general design, and then outlining on them an +actual black drawing by means of deeply cut channels, filled with +hard black cement. The channels were first cut superficially and +then emphasized and deepened by the use of a drill, in a series +of holes. + +[Illustration: DETAIL OF PAVEMENT, BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE] + +Later workers used black marbles for the backgrounds, red for the +ground, and white for the figures, sometimes adding touches of +yellow inlay for decorations, jewels, and so forth. Some of the +workers even used gray marble to represent shadows, but this was +very difficult, and those who attempted less chiaroscuro were more +successful from a decorator's point of view. + +This work covered centuries. The earliest date of the ornamental +work in Siena is 1369. From 1413 to 1423 Domenico del Coro, a famous +worker in glass and in intarsia, was superintendent of the works. The +beauty and spirit of much of the earlier inlay have been impaired +by restoration, but the whole effect is unique, and on so vast a +scale that one hesitates to criticize it just as one hesitates +to criticize the windows at Gouda. + +One compartment of the floor is in genuine mosaic, dating from +1373. The designer is unknown, but the feeling is very Sienese; +Romulus and Remus are seen in their customary relation to the +domesticated wolf, while the symbolical animals of various Italian +cities are arranged in a series of circles around this centrepiece. +One of the most striking designs is that of Absalom, hanging by +his hair. It is in sharp black and white, and the foliage of the +trees is remarkably decorative, rendered with interesting minutiæ. +This is attributed to Pietro del Minella, and was begun in 1447. + +A very interesting composition is that of the Parable of the Mote and +the Beam. This is an early work, about 1375; it shows two gentlemen +in the costume of the period, arguing in courtly style, one apparently +declaiming to the other how much better it would be for him if +it were not for the mote in his eye, while from the eye of the +speaker himself extends, at an impossible angle, a huge wedge of +wood, longer than his head, from which he appears to suffer no +inconvenience, and which seems to have defied the laws of gravitation! + +The renowned Matteo da Siena worked on the pavement; he designed +the scene of the Massacre of the Innocents--it seems to have been +always his favourite subject. He was apparently of a morbid turn. + +In 1505 Pinturicchio was paid for a work on the floor: "To master +Bernardino Pinturicchio, ptr., for his labour in making a cartoon +for the design of Fortune, which is now being made in the Cathedral, +on this 13th day of March, 12 Lires for our said Master Alberto." +The mosaic is in red, black, and white, while other coloured marbles +are introduced in the ornamental parts of the design, several of which +have been renewed. Fortune herself has been restored, also, as have +most of the lower figures in the composition. Her precariousness +is well indicated by her action in resting one foot on a ball, and +the other on an unstable little boat which floats, with broken +mast, by the shore. She holds a sail above her head, so that she +is liable to be swayed by varying winds. The three upper figures +are in a better state of preservation than the others. + +[Illustration: DETAIL OF PAVEMENT, SIENA; "FORTUNE," BY PINTURICCHIO] + +There was also in France some interest in mosaic during the eleventh +century. At St. Remi in Rheims was a celebrated pavement in which +enamels were used as well as marbles. Among the designs which appeared +on this pavement, which must have positively rivalled Siena in its +glory, was a group of the Seven Arts, as well as numerous Biblical +scenes. It is said that certain bits of valuable stone, like jasper, +were exhibited in marble settings, like "precious stones in a ring." +There were other French pavements, of the eleventh century, which +were similar in their construction, in which terra cotta was employed +for the reds. + +"Pietra Dura" was a mosaic laid upon either a thick wood or a marble +foundation. Lapis lazuli, malachite, and jasper were used largely, +as well as bloodstones, onyx, and Rosso Antico. In Florentine Pietra +Dura work, the inlay of two hard and equally cut materials reached +its climax. + +Arnolfo del Cambio, who built the Cathedral of Sta. Maria Fiore in +Florence, being its architect from 1294 till 1310, was the first +in that city to use coloured slabs and panels of marble in a sort +of flat mosaic on a vast scale on the outside of buildings. His +example has been extensively followed throughout Italy. The art +of Pietra Dura mosaic began under Cosimo I. who imported it, if +one may use such an expression, from Lombardy. It was used chiefly, +like Gobelins Tapestry, to make very costly presents, otherwise +unprocurable, for grandees and crowned heads. For a long time the +work was a Royal monopoly. There are several interesting examples +in the Pitti Palace, in this case in the form of tables. Flowers, +fruits, shells, and even figures and landscapes have been represented +in this manner. + +Six masters of the art of Pietra Dura came from Milan in 1580, +to instruct the Florentines: and a portrait of Cosimo I. was the +first important result of their labours. It was executed by Maestro +Francesco Ferucci. The Medicean Mausoleum in Florence exhibits +magnificent specimens of this craft. + +In the time of Ferdinand I. the art was carried by Florentines +to India, where it was used in decorating some of the palaces. +Under Ferdinand II. Pietra Dura reached its climax, there being +in Florence at this time a most noted Frenchman, Luigi Siriès, +who settled in Florence in 1722. He refined the art by ceasing to +use the stone as a pigment in producing pictures, and employing +it for the more legitimate purposes of decoration. Some of the +large tables in the Pitti are his work. Flowers and shells on a +porphyry ground were especially characteristic of Siriès. There was +a famous inlayer of tables, long before this time, named Antonio +Leopardi, who lived from 1450 to 1525. + +The inlay of wood has been called marquetry and intarsia, and was +used principally on furniture and choir stalls. Labarte gives the +origin of this art in Italy to the twelfth century. The Guild of +Carpenters in Florence had a branch of Intarsiatura workers, which +included all forms of inlay in wood. It is really more correct +to speak of intarsia when we allude to early Italian work, the +word being derived from "interserere," the Latin for "insert;" +while marquetry originates in France, much later, from "marqueter," +to mark. Italian wood inlay began in Siena, where one Manuello is +reported to have worked in the Cathedral in 1259. Intarsia was +also made in Orvieto at this time. Vasari did not hold the art in +high estimation, saying that it was practised by "those persons who +possessed more patience than skill in design," and I confess to a +furtive concurrence in Vasari's opinion. He criticizes it a little +illogically, however, when he goes on to say that the "work soon +becomes dark, and is always in danger of perishing from the worms +and by fire," for in these respects it is no more perishable than +any great painting on canvas or panel. Vasari always is a little +extreme, as we know. + +The earliest Italian workers took a solid block of wood, chiselled +out a sunken design, and then filled in the depression with other +woods. The only enemy to such work was dampness, which might loosen +the glue, or cause the small thin bits to swell or warp. The glue +was applied always when the surfaces were perfectly clean, and +the whole was pressed, being screwed down on heated metal plates, +that all might dry evenly. + +In 1478 there were thirty-four workshops of intarsia makers in +Florence. The personal history of several of the Italian workers +in inlay is still available, and, as it makes a craft seem much +more vital when the names of the craftsmen are known to us, it +will be interesting to glance at a few names of prominent artists +in this branch of work. Bernardo Agnolo and his family are among +them; and Domenico and Giovanni Tasso were wood-carvers who worked +with Michelangelo. Among the "Novelli," there is a quaint tale +called "The Fat Ebony Carver," which is interesting to read in this +connection. + +Benedetto da Maiano, one of the "most solemn" workers in intarsia in +Florence, became disgusted with his art after one trying experience, +and ever after turned his attention to other carving. Vasari's +version of the affair is as follows. Benedetto had been making +two beautiful chests, all inlaid most elaborately, and carried +them to the Court of Hungary, to exhibit the workmanship. "When +he had made obeisance to the king, and had been kindly received, +he brought forward his cases and had them unpacked... but it was +then he discovered that the humidity of the sea voyage had softened +the glue to such an extent that when the waxed cloths in which +the coffers had been wrapped were opened, almost all the pieces +were found sticking to them, and so fell to the ground! Whether +Benedetto stood amazed and confounded at such an event, in the +presence of so many nobles, let every one judge for himself." + +A famous family of wood inlayers were the del Tasso, who came from +S. Gervasio. One of the brothers, Giambattista, was a wag, and +is said to have wasted much time in amusement and standing about +criticizing the methods of others. He was a friend of Cellini, and +all his cronies pronounce him to have been a good fellow. On one +occasion he had a good dose of the spirit of criticism, himself, +from a visiting abbot, who stopped to see the Medicean tomb, where +Tasso happened to be working. Tasso was requested to show the stranger +about, which he did. The abbot began by depreciating the beauty of +the building, remarking that Michelangelo's figures in the Sacristy +did not interest him, and on his way up the stairs, he chanced to +look out of a window and caught sight of Brunelleschi's dome. When +the dull ecclesiastic began to say that this dome did not merit +the admiration which it raised, the exasperated Tasso, who was +loyal to his friends, could stand no more. Il Lasca recounts what +happened: "Pulling the abbot backward with force, he made him +tumble down the staircase, and he took good care to fall himself +on top of him, and calling out that the frater had been taken mad, +he bound his arms and legs with cords... and then taking him, +hanging over his shoulders, he carried him to a room near, +stretched him on the ground, and left him there in the dark, taking +away the key." We will hope that if Tasso himself was too prone to +criticism, he may have learned a lesson from this didactic monastic, +and was more tolerant in the future. + +Of the work of Canozio, a worker of about the same time, Matteo +Colaccio in 1486, writes, "In visiting these intarsiad figures I +was so much taken with the exquisiteness of the work that I could +not withold myself from praising the author to heaven!" He refers +thus ecstatically to the Stalls at St. Antonio at Padua, which +were inlaid by Canozio, assisted by other masters. For his work +in the Church of St. Domenico in Reggio, the contract called for +some curious observances: he was bound by this to buy material +for fifty lire, to work one third of the whole undertaking for +fifty lire, to earn another fifty lire for each succeeding third, +and then to give "forty-eight planks to the Lady," whatever that may +mean! Among the instruments mentioned are: "Two screw profiles: one +outliner: four one-handed little planes: rods for making cornices: +two large squares and one grafonetto: three chisels, one glued and +one all of iron: a pair of big pincers: two little axes: and a bench +to put the tarsia on." Pyrography has its birth in intarsia, where +singeing was sometimes employed as a shading in realistic designs. + +In the Study of the Palace at Urbino, there is mention of "arm +chairs encircling a table all mosaicked with tarsia, and carved +by Maestro Giacomo of Florence," a worker of considerable repute. +One of the first to adopt the use of ivory, pearl, and silver for +inlay was Andrea Massari of Siena. In this same way inlay of +tortoise-shell and brass was made,--the two layers were sawed out +together, and then counterchanged so as to give the pattern in +each material upon the other. Cabinets are often treated in this +way. Ivory and sandal-wood or ebony, too, have been sometimes thus +combined. In Spain cabinets were often made of a sort of mosaic of +ebony and silver; in 1574 a Prohibtion was issued against using +silver in this way, since it was becoming scarce. + +In De Luna's "Diologos Familiarea," a Spanish work of 1669, the +following conversation is given: "How much has your worship paid +for this cabinet? It is worth more than forty ducats. What wood +is it made of? The red is of mahogany, from Habaña, and the black +is made of ebony, and the white of ivory. You will find the +workmanship excellent." This proves that inlaid cabinets were +usual in Spain. + +Ebony being expensive, it was sometimes simulated with stain. An +old fifteenth century recipe says: "Take boxwood and lay in oil +with sulphur for a night, then let it stew for an hour, and it +will become as black as coal." An old Italian book enjoins the +polishing of this imitation ebony as follows: "Is the wood to be +polished with burnt pumice stone? Rub the work carefully with canvas +and this powder, and then wash the piece with Dutch lime water so +that it may be more beautifully polished... then the rind of a +pomegranate must be steeped, and the wood smeared over with it, +and set to dry, but in the shade." + +Inlay was often imitated; the elaborate marquetry cabinets in Sta. +Maria della Grazia in Milan which are proudly displayed are in +reality, according to Mr. Russell Sturgis, cleverly painted to +simulate the real inlaid wood. Mr. Hamilton Jackson says that these, +being by Luini, are intended to be known as paintings, but to imitate +intarsia. + +Intarsia was made also among the monasteries. The Olivetans practised +this art extensively, and, much as some monasteries had scriptoria +for the production of books, so others had carpenter's shops and +studios where, according to Michele Caffi, they showed "great talent +for working in wood, succeeding to the heirship of the art of tarsia +in coloured woods, which they got from Tuscany." One of the more +important of the Olivetan Monasteries was St. Michele in Bosco, where +the noted worker in tarsia, Fra Raffaello da Brescia, made some +magnificent choir stalls. In 1521 these were finished, but they were +largely destroyed by the mob in the suppression of the convents in +the eighteenth century. In 1812 eighteen of the stalls were saved, +bought by the Marquis Malvezzi, and placed in St. Petronio. He tried +also to save the canopies, but these had been sold for firewood at +about twopence each! + +The stalls of St. Domenico at Bologna are by Fra Damiano of Bergamo; +it is said of him that his woods were coloured so marvellously +that the art of tarsia was by him raised to the rank of that of +painting! He was a Dominican monk in Bologna most of his life. +When Charles V. visited the choir of St. Domenico, and saw these +stalls, he would not believe that the work was accomplished by +inlay, and actually cut a piece out with his sword by way of +investigation. + +Castiglione the Courtier expresses himself with much admiration +of the work of Fra Damiano, "rather divine than human." Of the +technical perfection of the workmanship he adds: "Though these +works are executed with inlaid pieces, the eye cannot even by the +greatest exertion detect the joints.... I think, indeed, I am certain, +that it will be called the eighth wonder of the world." (Count +Castiglione did not perhaps realize what a wonderful world he lived +in!) But at any rate there is no objection to subscribing to his +eulogy: "All that I could say would be little enough of his rare and +singular virtue, and on the goodness of his religious and holy life." +Another frate who wrote about that time alluded to Fra Damiano as +"putting together woods with so much art that they appear as pictures +painted with the brush." + +In Germany there was some interesting intarsia made by the Elfen +Brothers, of St. Michael's in Hildesheim, who produced beautiful +chancel furniture. Hans Stengel of Nüremberg, too, was renowned +in this art. + +After the Renaissance marquetry ran riot in France, but that is +out of the province of our present study. + +The art of mosaic making has changed very little during the centuries. +Nearly all the technical methods now used were known to the ancients. +In fact, this art is rather an elemental one, and any departure +from old established rules is liable to lead the worker into a +new craft; his art becomes that of the inlayer or the enameller +when he attempts to use larger pieces in cloissons, or to fuse +bits together by any process. + +Mosaic is a natural outgrowth from other inlaying; when an elaborate +design had to be set up, quite too complicated to be treated in +tortuously-cut large pieces, the craftsman naturally decided to +render the whole work with small pieces, which demanded less accurate +shaping of each piece. Originally, undoubtedly, each bit of glass or +stone was laid in the soft plaster of wall or floor; but now a more +labour saving method has obtained; it is amusing to watch the modern +rest-cure. Instead of an artist working in square bits of glass to +carry out his design, throwing his interest and personality into the +work, a labourer sits leisurely before a large cartoon, on which he +glues pieces of mosaic the prescribed colour and size, mechanically +fitting them over the design until it is completely covered. Then +this sheet of paper, with the mosaic glued to it, is slapped on to +the plaster wall, having the stones next to the plaster, so that, +until it is dry, all that can be seen is the sheet of paper apparently +fixed on the wall. But lo! the grand transformation! The paper is +washed off, leaving in place the finished product--a very accurate +imitation of the picture on which the artist laboured, all in place in +the wall, every stone evenly set as if it had been polished--entirely +missing the charm of the irregular faceted effect of an old +mosaic--again mechanical facility kills the spirit of an art. + +Much early mosaic, known as Cosmati Work, is inlaid into marble, +in geometric designs; twisted columns of this class of work may be +seen in profusion in Rome, and the façade of Orvieto is similarly +decorated. Our illustration will demonstrate the technical process +as well as a description. + +The mosaic base of Edward the Confessor's shrine is inscribed to +the effect that it was wrought by Peter of Rome. It was a dignified +specimen of the best Cosmati. All the gold glass which once played +its part in the scheme of decoration has been picked out, and in +fact most of the pieces in the pattern are missing. + +[Illustration: AMBO AT RAVELLO; SPECIMEN OF COSMATI MOSAIC] + +The mosaic pavement in Westminster Abbey Presbytery is as fine +an example of Roman Cosmati mosaic as one can see north of the +Alps. An inscription, almost obliterated, is interpreted by Mr. +Lethaby as signifying, that in the year 1268 "Henry III. being +King, and Odericus the cementarius, Richard de Ware, Abbot, brought +the porphyry and divers jaspers and marbles of Thaso from Rome." In +another place a sort of enigma, drawn from an arbitrary combination +of animal forms and numbers, marks a chart for determining the end +of the world! There is also a beautiful mosaic tomb at Westminster, +inlaid with an interlacing pattern in a ground of marble, like the +work so usual in Rome, and in Palermo, and other Southern centres +of the art. + +While the material used in mosaic wall decoration is sometimes a +natural product, like marble, porphyry, coral, or alabaster, the +picture is composed for the most part of artificially prepared +smalts--opaque glass of various colours, made in sheets and then +cut up into cubes. An infinite variety in gradations of colour +and texture is thus made possible. + +The gold grounds which one sees in nearly all mosaics are constructed +in an interesting way. Each cube is composed of plain rather coarse +glass, of a greenish tinge, upon which is laid gold leaf. Over +this leaf is another film of glass, extremely thin, so that the +actual metal is isolated between two glasses, and is thus impervious +to such qualities in the air as would tarnish it or cause it to +deteriorate. To prevent an uninteresting evenness of surface on +which the sun's rays would glint in a trying manner, it was usual +to lay the gold cubes in a slightly irregular manner, so that +each facet, as it were, should reflect at a different angle, +and the texture, especially in the gold grounds, never became +monotonous. One does not realize the importance of this custom +until one sees a cheap modern mosaic laid absolutely flat, and then +it is evident how necessary this broken surface is to good effect. +Any one who has tried to analyze the reason for the superiority of +old French stained glass over any other, will be surprised, if +he goes close to the wall, under one of the marvellous windows +of Chartres, for instance, and looks up, to see that the whole +fabric is warped and bent at a thousand angles,--it is not only +the quality of the ancient glass, nor its colour, that gives this +unattainable expression to these windows, but the accidental warping +and wear of centuries have laid each bit of glass at a different +angle, so that the refraction of the light is quite different from +any possible reflection on the smooth surface of a modern window. + +The dangers of a clear gold ground were, felt more fully by the +workers at Ravenna and Rome, than in Venice. Architectural schemes +were introduced to break up the surface: clouds and backgrounds, +fields of flowers, and trees, and such devices, were used to prevent +the monotony of the unbroken glint. But in Venice the decorators +were brave; their faith in their material was unbounded, and they +not only frankly laid gold in enormous masses on flat wall and +cupola, but they even moulded the edges and archivolts without +separate ribs or strips to relieve them; the gold is carried all +over the edges, which are rounded into curves to receive the mosaic, +so that the effect is that of the entire upper part of the church +having been _pressed_ into shape out of solid gold. The lights on +these rounded edges are incomparably rich. + +It is equally important to vary the plain values of the colour, +and this was accomplished by means of dilution and contrast in +tints instead of by unevenness of surface, although in many of the +most satisfactory mosaics, both means have been employed. Plain +tints in mosaic can be relieved in a most delightful way by the +introduction of little separate cubes of unrelated colour, and +the artist who best understands this use of mass and dot is the +best maker of mosaic. The actual craft of construction is similar +everywhere, but the use of what we may regard as the pigment has +possibilities similar to the colours of a painter. The manipulation +being of necessity slow, it is more difficult to convey the idea +of spontaneity in design than it is in a fresco painting. + +To follow briefly the history of mosaic as used in the Dark Ages, +the Middle Ages, and the period of the Renaissance, it is interesting +to note that by the fourth century mosaic was the principal decoration +in ecclesiastical buildings. Contantine employed this art very +extensively. Of his period, however, few examples remain. The most +notable is the little church of Sta. Constanza, the vaults of which +are ornamented in this way, with a fine running pattern of vines, +interspersed with figures on a small scale. The Libel Pontificalis +tells how Constantine built the Basilica of St. Agnese at the request +of his daughter, and also a baptistery in the same place, where +Constance was baptized, by Bishop Sylvester. + +Among the most interesting early mosaics is the apse of the Church +of St. Pudentiana in Rome. Barbet de Jouy, who has written extensively +on this mosaic, considers it to be an eighth century achievement. +But a later archæologist, M. Rossi, believes it to have been made +in the fourth century, in which theory he is upheld by M. Vitet. The +design is that of a company of saints gathered about the Throne on +which God the Father sits to pass judgment. In certain restorations +and alterations made in 1588 two of these figures were cut away, and +the lower halves of those remaining were also removed, so that the +figures are now only half length. The faces and figures are drawn +in a very striking manner, being realistic and full of graceful +action, very different from the mosaics of a later period, which +were dominated by Byzantine tradition. + +In France were many specimens of the mosaics of the fifth century. +But literary descriptions are all that have survived of these works, +which might once have been seen at Nantes, Tours, and Clermont. + +[Illustration: MOSAIC FROM RAVENNA; THEODORA AND HER SUITE, 16TH +CENTURY] + +Ravenna is the shrine of the craft in the fifth and sixth centuries. +It is useless in so small a space to attempt to describe or do +justice to these incomparable walls, where gleam the marvellous +procession of white robed virgins, and where glitters the royal +cortège of Justinian and Theodora. The acme of the art was reached +when these mural decorations were planned and executed, and the +churches of Ravenna may be considered the central museum of the +world for a study of mosaic. + +Among those who worked at Ravenna a few names have descended. These +craftsmen were, Cuserius, Paulus, Janus, Statius and Stephanus, +but their histories are vague. Theodoric also brought some mosaic +artists from Rome to work in Ravenna, which fact accounts for a +Latin influence discernible in these mosaics, which are in many +instances free from Byzantine stiffness. The details of the textiles +in the great mosaics of Justinian and Theodora are rarely beautiful. +The chlamys with which Justinian is garbed is covered with circular +interlaces with birds in them; on the border of the Empress's robe +are embroideries of the three Magi presenting their gifts; on one +of the robes of the attendants there is a pattern of ducks swimming, +while another is ornamented with leaves of a five-pointed form. + +There is a mosaic in the Tomb of Galla Placida in Ravenna, representing +St. Lawrence, cheerfully approaching his gridiron, with the Cross +and an open book encumbering his hands, while in a convenient corner +stands a little piece of furniture resembling a meat-safe, containing +the Four Gospels. The saint is walking briskly, and is fully draped; +the gridiron is of the proportions of a cot bedstead, and has a raging +fire beneath it,--a gruesome suggestion of the martyrdom. + +No finer examples of the art of the colourist in mosaic can be +seen than in the procession of Virgins at San Apollinaire Nuovo +in Ravenna. Cool, restrained, and satisfying, the composition has +all the elements of chromatic perfection. In the golden background +occasional dots of light and dark brown serve to deepen the tone +into a slightly bronze colour. The effect is especially scintillating +and rich, more like hammered gold than a flat sheet. The colours +in the trees are dark and light green, while the Virgins, in brown +robes, with white draperies over them, are relieved with little +touches of gold. The whole tone being thus green and russet, with +purplish lines about the halos, is an unusual colour-scheme, and +can hardly carry such conviction in a description as when it is +seen. + +In the East, the Church of Sta. Sophia at Constantinople exhibited +the most magnificent specimens of this work; the building was +constructed under Constantine, by the architects Anthemius and +Isidore, and the entire interior, walls and dome included, was covered +by mosaic pictures. + +Among important works of the seventh century is the apse of St. +Agnese, in Rome. Honorius decorated the church, about 630, and it +is one of the most effective mosaics in Rome. At St. John Lateran, +also, Pope John IV. caused a splendid work to be carried out, +which has been reported as being as "brilliant as the sacred waters." + +In the eighth century a magnificent achievement was accomplished +in the monastery of Centula, in Picardie, but all traces of this +have been lost, for the convent was burnt in 1131. The eighth was +not an active century for the arts, for in 726 Leo's edict was sent +forth, prohibiting all forms of image worship, and at a Council +at Constantinople in 754 it was decided that all iconographic +representation and all use of symbols (except in the Sacrament) were +blasphemous. Idolatrous monuments were destroyed, and the iconoclasts +continued their devastations until the death of Theophilus in 842. +Fortunately this wave of zeal was checked before the destruction of +the mosaics in Ravenna and Rome, but very few specimens survived +in France. + +In the ninth century a great many important monuments were added, +and a majority of the mosaics which may still be seen, date from +that time: they are not first in quality, however, although they +are more numerous. After this, there was a period of inanition, +in this art as in all others, while the pseudo-prophets awaited +the ending of the world. After the year 1000 had passed, and the +astonished people found that they were still alive, and that the +world appeared as stable as formerly, interest began to revive, +and the new birth of art produced some significant examples in the +field of mosaic. There was some activity in Germany, for a time, +the versatile Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim adding this craft to +his numerous accomplishments, although it is probable that his +works resembled the graffiti and inlaid work rather than the +mosaics composed of cubes of smalt. + +At the Monastery of Monte Cassino in the eleventh century was an +interesting personality,--the Abbé Didier, its Superior. About +1066 he brought workers from Constantinople, who decorated the apse +and walls of the basilica under his direction. At the same time, +he established a school at the monastery, and the young members +were instructed in the arts and crafts of mosaic and inlay, and +the illumination of books. Greek influence was thus carried into +Italy through Monte Cassino. + +In the twelfth century the celebrated Suger of St. Denis decorated +one of the porches of his church with mosaic, in smalt, marbles, +and gold; animal and human forms were introduced in the ornament. +But this may not have been work actually executed on the spot, +for another narrator tells us that Suger brought home from Italy, +on one of his journeys, a mosaic, which was placed over the door +at St. Denis; as it is no longer in its position, it is not easy +to determine which account is correct. + +The mosaics at St. Mark's in Venice were chiefly the work of two +centuries and a half. Greek artists were employed in the main, +bringing their own tesseræ and marbles. In 1204 there was special +activity in this line, at the time when the Venetians took +Constantinople. After this, an establishment for making the smalts +and gold glass was set up at Murano, and Venice no longer imported +its material. + +The old Cathedral at Torcello has one of the most perfect examples +of the twelfth century mosaic in the world. The entire west end of +the church is covered with a rich display of figures and Scriptural +scenes. A very lurid Hell is exhibited at the lower corner, in the +depths of which are seen stewing, several Saracens, with large +hoop earrings. Their faces are highly expressive of discomfort. +This mosaic is full of genuine feeling; one of the subjects is +Amphitrite riding a seahorse, among those who rise to the surface +when "the sea gives up its dead." The Redeemed are seen crowding +round Abraham, who holds one in his bosom; they are like an infant +class, and are dressed in uniform pinafores, intended to look like +little ecclesiastical vestments! The Dead who are being given up by +the Earth are being vomited forth by wild animals--this is original, +and I believe, almost the only occasion on which this form of literal +resurrection is represented. + +In the thirteenth century a large number of mosaic artists appeared +in Florence, many of whose names and histories are available. In the +Baptistery, Andrea Tafi, who lived between 1213 and 1294, decorated the +cupola. With him were two assistants who are known by name--Apollonius +a Greek, which in part accounts for the stiff Byzantine figures in +this work, and another who has left his signature, "Jacobus Sancti +Francisci Frater"--evidently a monastic craftsman. Gaddo Gaddi +also assisted in this work, executing the Prophets which occur +under the windows, and professing to combine in his style "the +Greek manner and that of Cimabue." Apollonius taught Andrea Tafi +how to compose the smalt and to mix the cement, but this latter +was evidently unsuccessful, for in the next century the mosaic +detached itself and fell badly, when Agnolo Gaddi, the grandson +of Gaddo, was engaged to restore it. Tafi, Gaddi, and Jacobus were +considered as a promising firm, and they undertook other large works +in mosaic. They commenced the apse at Pisa, which was finished +in 1321 by Vicini, Cimabue designing the colossal figure of Christ +which thus dominates the cathedral. + +Vasari says that Andrea Tafi was considered "an excellent, nay, +a divine artist" in his specialty. Andrea, himself more modest, +visited Venice, and deigned to take instruction from Greek mosaic +workers, who were employed at St. Mark's. One of them, Apollonius, +became attached to Tafi, and this is how he came to accompany him +to Florence. The work on the Baptistery was done actually _in situ_, +every cube being set directly in the plaster. The work is still +extant, and the technical and constructive features are perfect, +since their restoration. It is amusing to read Vasari's patronizing +account of Tafi; from the late Renaissance point of view, the mosaic +worker seemed to be a barbarous Goth at best: "The good fortune +of Andrea was really great," says Vasari, "to be born in an age +which, doing all things in the rudest manner, could value so highly +the works of an artist who really merited so little, not to say +nothing!" + +Gaddo Gaddi was a painstaking worker in mosaic, executing some +works on a small scale entirely in eggshells of varying tints. In +the Baroncelli chapel in Florence is a painting by Taddeo Gaddi, +in which occur the portraits of his father, Gaddo Gaddi, and Andrea +Tafi. + +About this time the delightful mosaic at St. Clemente, in Rome, +was executed. With its central cross and graceful vine decorations, +it stands out unique among the groups of saints and seraphs, of +angels and hierarchies, of most of the Roman apsidal ornaments. The +mosaic in the basilica of St. John Lateran is by Jacopo Torriti. +In the design there are two inconspicuous figures, intentionally +smaller than the others, of two monks on their knees, working, +with measure and compass. These represent Jacopo Torriti and his +co-worker, Camerino. One of them is inscribed (translated) "Jacopo +Torriti, painter, did this work," and the other, "Brother Jacopo +Camerino, companion of the master worker, commends himself to the +blessed John." The tools and implements used by mosaic artists are +represented in the hands of these two monks. Torriti was apparently +a greater man in some respects than his contemporaries. He based his +art rather on Roman than Greek tradition, and his works exhibit +less Byzantine formality than many mosaics of the period. On +the apse of Sta. Maria Maggiore there appears a signature, "Jacopo +Torriti made this work in mosaic." Gaddo Gaddi also added a composition +below the vault, about 1308. + +The well-known mosaic called the Navicella in the atrium of St. +Peter's, Rome, was originally made by Giotto. It has been much +restored and altered, but some of the original design undoubtedly +remains. Giotto went to Rome to undertake this work in 1298; but the +present mosaic is largely the restoration of Bernini, who can hardly +be considered as a sympathetic interpreter of the early Florentine +style. Vasari speaks of the Navicella as "a truly wonderful work, +and deservedly eulogized by all enlightened judges." He marvels +at the way in which Giotto has produced harmony and interchange of +light and shade so cleverly: "with mere pieces of glass" (Vasari +is so naïvely overwhelmed with ignorance when he comes to deal +with handicraft) especially on the large sail of the boat. + +In Venice, the Mascoli chapel was ornamented by scenes from the +life of the Virgin, in 1430. The artist was Michele Zambono, who +designed and superintended the work himself. At Or San Michele in +Florence, the painter Peselli, or Guliano Arrigo, decorated the +tabernacle, in 1416. Among other artists who entered the field of +mosaic, were Baldovinetti and Domenico Ghirlandajo, the painter who +originated the motto: "The only painting for eternity is mosaic." + +In the sixteenth century the art of mosaic ceased to +observe due limitations. The ideal was to reproduce exactly in +mosaic such pictures as were prepared by Titian, Pordenone, Raphael, +and other realistic painters. Georges Sand, in her charming novel, +"Les Maitres Mosaïstes," gives one the atmosphere of the workshops +in Venice in this later period. Tintoretto and Zuccato, the aged +painter, are discussing the durability of mosaic:--"Since it resists +so well," says Zuccato, "how comes it that the Seignory is repairing +all the domes of St. Mark's, which to-day are as bare as my skull?" +To which Tintoretto makes answer: "Because at the time when they +were decorated with mosaics, Greek artists were scarce in Venice. +They came from a distance, and remained but a short time: their +apprentices were hastily trained, and executed the works entrusted +to them without knowing their business, and without being able +to give them the necessary solidity. Now that this art has been +cultivated in Venice, century after century, we have become as +skilful as even the Greeks were." The two sons of Zuccato, who +are engaged in this work, confide to each other their trials and +difficulties in the undertaking: like artists of all ages, they +cannot easily convince their patrons that they comprehend their art +better than their employers! Francesco complains of the Procurator, +who is commissioned to examine the work: "He is not an artist. +He sees in mosaic only an application of particles more or less +brilliant. Perfection of tone, beauty of design, ingenuity of +composition, are nothing to him.... Did I not try in vain the +other day to make him understand that the old pieces of gilded +crystal used by our ancestors and a little tarnished by time, +were more favourable to colour than those manufactured to-day?" +"Indeed, you make a mistake, Messer Francesco," said he, "in +handing over to the Bianchini all the gold of modern manufacture. +The Commissioners have decided that the old will do mixed with +the new."... "But did I not in vain try to make him understand +that this brilliant gold would hurt the faces, and completely ruin +the effect of colour?"... The answer of the Procurator was, "The +Bianchini do not scruple to use it, and their mosaics please the +eye much better than yours," so his brother Valerio, laughing, +asks, "What need of worrying yourself after such a decision as +that? Suppress the shadows, cut a breadth of material from a great +plate of enamel and lay it over the breast of St. Nicaise, render +St. Cecilia's beautiful hair with a badly cut tile, a pretty lamb +for St. John the Baptist, and the Commission will double your salary +and the public clap its hands. Really, my brother, you who dream +of glory, I do not understand how you can pledge yourself to the +worship of art." "I dream of glory, it is true," replied Francesco, +"but of a glory that is lasting, not the vain popularity of a day. +I should like to leave an honoured name, if not an illustrious +one, and make those who examine the cupolas of St. Mark's five +hundred years hence say, 'This was the work of a conscientious +artist.'" A description follows of the scene of the mosaic workers +pursuing their calling. "Here was heard abusive language, there +the joyous song; further on, the jest; above, the hammer: below, +the trowel: now the dull and continuous thud of the tampon on the +mosaics, and anon the clear and crystal like clicking of the glassware +rolling from the baskets on to the pavement, in waves of rubies and +emeralds. Then the fearful grating of the scraper on the cornice, +and finally the sharp rasping cry of the saw in the marble, to say +nothing of the low masses said at the end of the chapel in spite +of the racket." + +[Illustration: MOSAIC IN BAS-RELIEF, NAPLES] + +The Zuccati were very independent skilled workmen, as well as being +able to design their own subjects. They were, in the judgment of +Georges Sand, superior to another of the masters in charge of the +works, Bozza, who was less of a man, although an artist of some +merit. Later than these men, there were few mosaic workers of high +standing; in Florence the art degenerated into a mere decorative +inlay of semi-precious material, heraldic in feeling, costly and +decorative, but an entirely different art from that of the Greeks +and Romans. Lapis-lazuli with gold veinings, malachite, coral, +alabaster, and rare marbles superseded the smalts and gold of an +elder day. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +ILLUMINATION OF BOOKS + +One cannot enter a book shop or a library to-day without realizing +how many thousands of books are in constant circulation. There was +an age when books were laboriously but most beautifully written, +instead of being thus quickly manufactured by the aid of the +type-setting machine; the material on which the glossy text was +executed was vellum instead of the cheap paper of to-day, the +illustrations, instead of being easily reproduced by photographic +processes, were veritable miniature paintings, most decorative, +ablaze with colour and fine gold,--in these times it is easy to +forget that there was ever a period when the making of a single +book occupied years, and sometimes the life-time of one or two +men. + +In those days, when the transcription of books was one of the chief +occupations in religious houses, the recluse monk, in the quiet +of the scriptorium, was, in spite of his seclusion, and indeed, +by reason of it, the chief link between the world of letters and +the world of men. + +The earliest known example of work by a European monk dates from +the year 517; but shortly after this there was a great increase +in book making, and monasteries were founded especially for the +purpose of perpetuating literature. The first establishment of +this sort was the monastery of Vivaria, in Southern Italy, founded +by Cassiodorus, a Greek who lived between the years 479 and 575, +and who had been the scribe (or "private secretary") of Theodoric +the Goth. About the same time, St. Columba in Ireland founded a +house with the intention of multiplying books, so that in the sixth +century, in both the extreme North and in the South, the religious +orders had commenced the great work of preserving for future ages +the literature of the past and of their own times. + +Before examining the books themselves, it will be interesting to +observe the conditions under which the work was accomplished. Sometimes +the scriptorium was a large hall or studio, with various desks +about; sometimes the North walk of the cloister was divided into +little cells, called "carrels," in each of which was room for the +writer, his desk, and a little shelf for his inks and colours. +These carrels may be seen in unusual perfection in Gloucester. In +very cold weather a small brazier of charcoal was also introduced. + +Cassiodorus writes thus of the privilege of being a copyist of +holy books. "He may fill his mind with the Scriptures while copying +the sayings of the Lord; with his fingers he gives life to men +and arms against the wiles of the Devil; as the antiquarius copies +the word of Christ, so many wounds does he inflict upon Satan. What +he writes in his cell will be carried far and wide over distant +provinces. Man multiplies the word of Heaven: if I may dare so to +speak, the three fingers of his right hand are made to represent +the utterances of the Holy Trinity. The fast travelling reed writes +down the holy words, thus avenging the malice of the wicked one, +who caused a reed to be used to smite the head of the Saviour." + +When the scriptorium was consecrated, these words were used (and +they would be most fitting words to-day, in the consecration of +libraries or class rooms which are to be devoted to religious study): +"Vouchsafe, O, Lord, to bless this workroom of thy servants, that all +which they write therein may be comprehended by their intelligence, +and realized by their work." Scriptorium work was considered equal +to labour in the fields. In the Rule of St. Fereol, in the sixth +century, there is this clause: "He who doth not turn up the earth +with his plough, ought to write the parchment with his fingers." +The Capitulary of Charlemagne contains this phrase: "Do not permit +your scribes or pupils, either in reading or writing, to garble the +text; when you are preparing copies of the Gospels, the Psalter, +or the Missal, see that the work is confided to men of mature age, +who will write with due care." Some of the scribes were prolific +book transcribers. Jacob of Breslau, who died in 1480, copied so +many books that it is said that "six horses could with difficulty +bear the burden of them!" + +The work of each scriptorium was devoted first to the completion +of the library of the individual monastery, and after that, to +other houses, or to such patrons as were rich enough to order books +to be transcribed for their own use. The library of a monastery +was as much a feature as the scriptorium. The monks were not like +the rising literary man, who, when asked if he had read "Pendennis" +replied, "No--I never read books--I write them." Every scribe was +also a reader. There was a regular system of lending books from +the central store. A librarian was in charge, and every monk was +supposed to have some book which he was engaged in reading "straight +through" as the Rule of St. Benedict enjoins, just as much as the one +which he was writing. As silence was obligatory in the scriptorium +and library, as well as in the cloisters, they were forced to apply +for the volumes which they desired by signs. For a general work, +the sign was to extend the hand and make a movement as if turning +over the leaves of a book. If a Missal was wanted, the sign of the +cross was added to the same form; for a Gospel, the sign of the +cross was made upon the forehead, while those who wished tracts to +read, should lay one hand on the mouth and the other on the stomach; +a Capitulary was indicated by the gesture of raising the clasped +hands to heaven, while a Psalter could be obtained by raising the +hands above the head in the form of a crown. As the good brothers +were not possessed of much religious charity, they indicated a +secular book by scratching their ears, as dogs are supposed to +do, to imply the suggestion that the infidel who wrote such a book +was no better than a dog! + +This extract is made from a book in one of the early monastic libraries. +"Oh, Lord, send the blessing of thy Holy Spirit upon these books, +that, cleansing them from all earthly things, they may mercifully +enlighten our hearts, and give us true understanding, and grant +that by their teaching they may brightly preserve and make a full +abundance of good works according to Thy will." The books were +kept in cupboards, with doors; in the Customs of the Augustine +Priory of Barnwell, these directions are given: "The press in which +the books are kept ought to be lined with wood, that the damp of +the walls may not moisten or stain the books. The press should be +divided vertically as well as horizontally, by sundry partitions, +on which the books may be ranged so as to be separated from one +another, for fear they be packed so close as to injure one another, +or to delay those who want them." + +We read of the "chained books" of the Middle Ages, and I think +there is a popular belief that this referred to the fact that the +Bible was kept in the priest's hands, and chained so that the people +should not be able to read it for themselves and become familiar +with every part of it. This, however, is a mistake. It was the +books in the libraries which were chained, so that dishonest people +should not make way with them! In one Chapter Library, there occurs +a denunciation of such thieves, and instructions how to fasten the +volumes. It reads as follows: "Since to the great reproach of the +Nation, and a greater one to our Holy Religion, the thievish +disposition of some who enter libraries to learn no good there, +hath made it necessary to secure the sacred volumes themselves +with chains (which are better deserved by those ill persons, who +have too much learning to be hanged, and too little to be honest), +care shall be taken that the chains should neither be too long nor +too clumsy, more than the use of them requires: and that the loops +whereby they are fastened to the books may be rivetted on such a +part of the cover, and so smoothly, as not to gall or graze the +books, while they are moved to or from their respective places. +And forasmuch as the more convenient way to place books in +libraries is to turn their backs out showing the title and other +decent ornaments in gilt work which ought not to be hidden, this +new method of fixing the chain to the back of the book is +recommended until one more suitable shall be contrived." + +Numerous monasteries in England devoted much time to scriptorium +work. In Gloucester may still be seen the carrels of the scribes +in the cloister wall, and there was also much activity in the book +making art in Norwich, Glastonbury, and Winchester, and in other +cities. The two monasteries of St. Peter and St. Swithin in Winchester +were, the chronicler says, "so close packed together,... that between +the foundation of their respective buildings there was barely room +for a man to pass along. The choral service of one monastery +conflicted with that of the other, so that both were spoiled, and +the ringing of their bells together produced a horrid effect." + +One of the most important monasteries of early times, on the Continent, +was that conducted by Alcuin, under the protection of Charlemagne. +When the appointed time for writing came round, the monks filed +into the scriptorium, taking their places at their desks. One of +their number then stood in the midst, and read aloud, slowly, for +dictation, the work upon which they were engaged as copyists; in +this way, a score of copies could be made at one time. Alcuin himself +would pass about among them, making suggestions and correcting +errors, a beautiful example of true consecration, the great scholar +spending his time thus in supervising the transcription of the +Word of God, from a desire to have it spread far and wide. Alcuin +sent a letter to Charlemagne, accompanying a present of a copy +of the Bible, at the time of the emperor's coronation, and from +this letter, which is still preserved, it may be seen how reverent +a spirit his was, and how he esteemed the things of the spiritual +life as greater than the riches of the world. "After deliberating +a long while," he writes, "what the devotion of my mind might find +worthy of a present equal to the splendour of your Imperial dignity, +and the increase of your wealth,--at length by the inspiration of +the Holy Spirit, I found what it would be competent for me to +offer, and fitting for your prudence to accept. For to me inquiring +and considering, nothing appeared more worthy of your peaceful +honour than the gifts of the Sacred Scriptures... which, knit +together in the sanctity of one glorious body, and diligently +amended, I have sent to your royal authority, by this your faithful +son and servant, so that with full hands we may assist at the +delightful service of your dignity." One of Alcuin's mottoes was: +"Writing books is better than planting vines: for he who plants a +vine serves his belly, while he who writes books serves his soul." + +Many different arts were represented in the making of a mediæval +book. Of those employed, first came the scribe, whose duty it was +to form the black even glossy letters with his pen; then came the +painter, who must not only be a correct draughtsman, and an adept +with pencil and brush, but must also understand how to prepare +mordaunts and to lay the gold leaf, and to burnish it afterwards +with an agate, or, as an old writer directs, "a dogge's tooth set +in a stick." After him, the binder gathered the lustrous pages and +put them together under silver mounted covers, with heavy clasps. +At first, the illuminations were confined only to the capital letters, +and red was the selected colour to give this additional life to the +evenly written page. The red pigment was known as "minium." The +artist who applied this was called a "miniator," and from this, +was derived the term "miniature," which later referred to the +pictures executed in the developed stages of the art. The use of +the word "miniature," as applied to paintings on a small scale, +was evolved from this expression. + +[Illustration: A SCRIBE AT WORK: 12TH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT] + +The difficulties were numerous. First, there was climate and temperature +to consider. It was necessary to be very careful about the temperature +to which gold leaf was exposed, and in order to dry the sizing +properly, it was important that the weather should not be too damp +nor too warm. Peter de St. Audemar, writing in the late thirteenth +century, says: "Take notice that you ought not to work with gold +or colours in a damp place, on account of the hot weather, which, +as it is often injurious in burnishing gold, both to the colours +on which the gold is laid and also to the gilding, if the work +is done on parchment, so also it is injurious when the weather +is too dry and arid." John Acherius, in 1399, observes, too, that +"care must be taken as regards the situation, because windy weather +is a hindrance, unless the gilder is in an enclosed place, and +if the air is too dry, the colour cannot hold the gold under the +burnisher." Illumination is an art which has always been difficult; +we who attempt it to-day are not simply facing a lost art which +has become impossible because of the changed conditions; even when +followed along the best line in the best way the same trials were +encountered. + +Early treatises vary regarding the best medium for laying leaf on +parchment. There are very few vehicles which will form a connecting +and permanent link between these two substances. There is a general +impression that white of egg was used to hold the gold: but any +one who has experimented knows that it is impossible to fasten +metal to vellum by white of egg alone. Both oil and wax were often +employed, and in nearly all recipes the use of glue made of +boiled-down vellum is enjoined. In some of the monasteries there +are records that the scribes had the use of the kitchen for drying +parchment and melting wax. + +The introductions to the early treatises show the spirit in which +the work was undertaken. Peter de St. Audemar commences: "By the +assistance of God, of whom are all things that are good, I will +explain to you how to make colours for painters and illuminators +of books, and the vehicles for them, and other things appertaining +thereto, as faithfully as I can in the following chapters." Peter +was a North Frenchman of the thirteenth century. + +Of the recipes given by the early treatises, I will quote a few, +for in reality they are all the literature we have upon the subject. +Eraclius, who wrote in the twelfth century, gives accurate directions: +"Take ochre and distemper it with water, and let it dry. In the +meanwhile make glue with vellum, and whip some white of egg. Then +mix the glue and the white of egg, and grind the ochre, which by +this time is well dried, upon a marble slab; and lay it on the +parchment with a paint brush;... then apply the gold, and let it +remain so, without pressing it with the stone. When it is dry, +burnish it well with a tooth. This," continues Eraclius naïvely, +"is what I have learned by experiment, and have frequently proved, +and you may safely believe me that I shall have told you the truth." +This assurance of good faith suggests that possibly it was a habit +of illuminators to be chary of information, guarding their own +discoveries carefully, and only giving out partial directions to +others of their craft. + +In the Bolognese Manuscript, one is directed to make a simple size +from incense, white gum, and sugar candy, distempering it with +wine; and in another place, to use the white of egg, whipped with +the milk of the fig tree and powdered gum Arabic. Armenian Bole is +a favourite ingredient. Gum and rose water are also prescribed, +and again, gesso, white of egg, and honey. All of these recipes +sound convincing, but if one tries them to-day, one has the doubtful +pleasure of seeing the carefully laid gold leaf slide off as soon +as the whole mixture is quite dry. Especially improbable is the +recipe given in the Brussels Manuscript: "You lay on gold with well +gummed water alone, and this is very good for gilding on parchment. +You may also use fresh white of egg or fig juice alone in the same +manner." + +Theophilus does not devote much time or space to the art of +illuminating, for, as he is a builder of everything from church +organs to chalices, glass windows, and even to frescoed walls, we +must not expect too much information on minor details. He does not +seem to direct the use of gold leaf at all, but of finely ground +gold, which shall be applied with its size in the form of a paste, +to be burnished later. He says (after directing that the gold dust +shall be placed in a shell): "Take pure minium and add to it a +third part of cinnibar, grinding it upon a stone with water. Which, +being carefully ground, beat up the clear white of an egg, in +summer with water, in winter without water," and this is to be +used as a slightly raised bed for the gold. "Then," he continues, +"place a little pot of glue on the fire, and when it is liquefied, +pour it into the shell of gold and wash it with it." This is to be +painted on to the gesso ground just mentioned, and when quite dry, +burnished with an agate. This recipe is more like the modern +Florentine method of gilding in illumination. + +Concerning the gold itself, there seem to have been various means +employed for manufacturing substitutes for the genuine article. +A curious recipe is given in the manuscript of Jehan de Begue, +"Take bulls' brains, put them in a marble vase, and leave them for +three weeks, when you will find gold making worms. Preserve them +carefully." More quaint and superstitious is Theophilus' recipe +for making Spanish Gold; but, as this is not quotable in polite +pages, the reader must refer to the original treatise if he cares +to trace its manufacture. + +Brushes made of hair are recommended by the Brussels manuscript, +with a plea for "pencils of fishes' hairs for softening." If this +does not refer to _sealskin_, it is food for conjecture! + +And for the binding of these beautiful volumes, how was the leather +obtained? This is one way in which business and sport could be combined +in the monastery, Warton says, "About the year 790, Charlemagne +granted an unlimited right of hunting to the Abbot and monks of +Sithiu, for making... of the skins of the deer they killed... +covers for their books." There is no doubt that it had occurred +to artists to experiment upon human skin, and perhaps the fact +that this was an unsatisfactory texture is the chief reason why +no books were made of it. A French commentator observes: "The +skin of a man is nothing compared with the skin of a sheep.... +Sheep is good for writing on both sides, but the skin of a dead +man is just about as profitable as his bones,--better bury him, +skin and bones together." + +There was some difficulty in obtaining manuscripts to copy. The +Breviary was usually enclosed in a cage; rich parishioners were bribed +by many masses and prayers, to bequeath manuscripts to churches. In +old Paris, the Parchment Makers were a guild of much importance. +Often they combined their trade with tavern keeping, in the twelfth +and thirteenth centuries. The Rector of the University was glad +when this occurred, for the inn keeper and parchment maker was +under his control, both being obliged to reside in the Pays Latin. +Bishops were known to exhort the parchment makers, from the pulpit, +to be honest and conscientious in preparing skins. A bookseller, +too, was solemnly made to swear "faithfully to receive, take care +of, and expose for sale the works which should be entrusted to +him." He might not buy them for himself until they had been for +sale a full month "at the disposition of the Masters and Scholars." +But in return for these restrictions, the bookseller was admitted +to the rights and privileges of the University. As clients of the +University, these trades, which were associated with book making, +joined in the "solemn processions" of those times; booksellers, +binders, parchment makers, and illuminators, all marched together +on these occasions. They were obliged to pay toll to the Rector +for these privileges; the recipe for ink was a carefully guarded +secret. + +It now becomes our part to study the books themselves, and see +what results were obtained by applying all the arts involved in +their making. + +The transition from the Roman illuminations to the Byzantine may +be traced to the time when Constantine moved his seat of government +from Rome to Constantinople. Constantinople then became the centre +of learning, and books were written there in great numbers. For +some centuries Constantinople was the chief city in the art of +illuminating. The style that here grew up exhibited the same features +that characterized Byzantine art in mosaic and decoration. The +Oriental influence displayed itself in a lavish use of gold and +colour; the remnant of Classical art was slight, but may sometimes +be detected in the subjects chosen, and the ideas embodied. The +Greek influence was the strongest. But the Greek art of the seventh +and eighth centuries was not at all like the Classic art of earlier +Greece; a conventional type had entered with Christianity, and is +chiefly recognized by a stubborn conformity to precedent. It +is difficult to date a Byzantine picture or manuscript, for the +same severe hard form that prevailed in the days of Constantine +is carried on to-day by the monks of Mt. Athos, and a Byzantine +work of the ninth century is not easily distinguished from one of +the fifteenth. In manuscripts, the caligraphy is often the only +feature by which the work can be dated. + +In the earlier Byzantine manuscripts there is a larger proportion +of Classical influence than in later ones, when the art had taken +on its inflexible uniformity of design. One of the most interesting +books in which this classical influence may be seen is in the Imperial +Library at Vienna, being a work on Botany, by Dioscorides, written +about 400 A. D. The miniatures in this manuscript have many of +the characteristics of Roman work. + +The pigments used in Byzantine manuscripts are glossy, a great deal +of ultramarine being used. The high lights are usually of gold, +applied in sharp glittering lines, and lighting up the picture with +very decorative effect. In large wall mosaics the same characteristics +may be noted, and it is often suggested that these gold lines may +have originated in an attempt to imitate cloisonné enamel, in which +the fine gold line separates the different coloured spaces one from +another. This theory is quite plausible, as cloisonné was made by +the Byzantine goldsmiths. + +M. Lecoy de la Marche tells us that the first recorded name of an +illuminator is that of a woman--Lala de Cizique, a Greek, who +painted on ivory and on parchment in Rome during the first Christian +century. But such a long period elapses between her time and that +which we are about to study, that she can here occupy only the +position of being referred to as an interesting isolated case. + +The Byzantine is a very easy style to recognize, because of the +inflexible stiffness of the figures, depending for any beauty largely +upon the use of burnished gold, and the symmetrical folds of the +draperies, which often show a sort of archaic grace. Byzantine +art is not so much representation as suggestion and symbolism. +There is a book which may still be consulted, called "A Byzantine +Guide to Painting," which contains accurate recipes to be followed +in painting pictures of each saint, the colours prescribed for the +dress of the Virgin, and the grouping to be adopted in representing +each of the standard Scriptural scenes; and it has hardly from +the first occurred to any Byzantine artist to depart from these +regulations. The heads and faces lack individuality, and are outlined +and emphasized with hard, unsympathetic black lines; the colouring +is sallow and the expression stolid. Any attempt at delineating +emotion is grotesque, and grimacing. The beauty, for in spite of +all these drawbacks there is great beauty, in Byzantine manuscripts, +is, as has been indicated, a charm of colour and gleaming gold +rather than of design. In the Boston Art Museum there is a fine +example of a large single miniature of a Byzantine "Flight into +Egypt," in which the gold background is of the highest perfection +of surface, and is raised so as to appear like a plate of beaten +gold. + +There is no attempt to portray a scene as it might have occurred; +the rule given in the Manual is followed, and the result is generally +about the same. The background is usually either gold or blue, with +very little effort at landscape. Trees are represented in flat +values of green with little white ruffled edges and articulations. +The sea is figured by a blue surface with a symmetrical white pattern +of a wavy nature. A building is usually introduced about half as +large as the people surrounding it. There is no attempt, either, +at perspective. + +The anatomy of the human form was not understood at all. Nearly +all the figures in the art of this period are draped. Wherever +it is necessary to represent the nude, a lank, disproportioned +person with an indefinite number of ribs is the result, proving +that the monastic art school did not include a life class. + +Most of the best Byzantine examples date from the fifth to the +seventh centuries. After that a decadence set in, and by the eleventh +century the art had deteriorated to a mere mechanical process. + +The Irish and Anglo-Saxon work are chiefly characterized in their +early stages by the use of interlaced bands as a decorative motive. +The Celtic goldsmiths were famous for their delicate work in filigree, +made of threads of gold used in connection with enamelled grounds. +In decorating their manuscripts, the artists were perhaps +unconsciously influenced by this, and the result is a marvellous +use of conventional form and vivid colours, while the human figure +is hardly attempted at all, or, when introduced, is so conventionally +treated, as to be only a sign instead of a representation. + +Probably the earliest representation of a pen in the holder, although +of a very primitive pattern, occurs in a miniature in the Gospels +of Mac Durnam, where St. John is seen writing with a pen in one +hand and a knife, for sharpening it, in the other. This picture +is two centuries earlier than any other known representation of +the use of the pen, the volume having been executed in the early +part of the eighth century. + +Two of the most famous Irish books are the Book of Kells, and the +Durham Book. The Book of Kells is now in Trinity College, Dublin. +It is also known as the Gospel of St. Columba. St. Columba came, +as the Chronicle of Ethelwerd states, in the year 565: "five years +afterwards Christ's servant Columba came from Scotia (Ireland) +to Britain, to preach the word of God to the Picts." + +[Illustration: DETAIL FROM THE DURHAM BOOK] + +The intricacy of the interlacing decoration is so minute that it +is impossible to describe it. Each line may be followed to its +conclusion, with the aid of a strong magnifying glass, but cannot +be clearly traced with the naked eye. Westwood reports that, with a +microscope, he counted in one square inch of the page, one hundred +and fifty-eight interlacements of bands, each being of white, bordered +on either side with a black line. In this book there is no use of +gold, and the treatment of the human form is most inadequate. +There is no idea of drawing except for decorative purposes; it +is an art of the pen rather than of the brush--it hardly comes +into the same category as most of the books designated as +illuminated manuscripts. The so-called Durham Book, or the Gospels +of St. Cuthbert, was executed at the Abbey of Lindisfarne, in 688, +and is now in the British Museum. There is a legend that in the +ninth century pirates plundered the Abbey, and the few monks who +survived decided to seek a situation less unsafe than that on the +coast, so they gathered up their treasures, the body of the saint, +their patron, Cuthbert, and the book, which had been buried with +him, and set out for new lands. They set sail for Ireland, but a +storm arose, and their boat was swamped. The body and the book +were lost. After reaching land, however, the fugitives discovered +the box containing the book, lying high and dry upon the shore, +having been cast up by the waves in a truly wonderful state of +preservation. Any one who knows the effect of dampness upon parchment, +and how it cockles the material even on a damp day, will the more +fully appreciate this miracle. + +Giraldus Cambriensis went to Ireland as secretary to Prince John, +in 1185, and thus describes the Gospels of Kildare, a book which +was similar to the Book of Kells, and his description may apply +equally to either volume. "Of all the wonders of Kildare I have +found nothing more wonderful than this marvellous book, written +in the time of the Virgin St. Bridget, and, as they say, at the +dictation of an angel. Here you behold the magic face divinely +drawn, and there the mystical forms of the Evangelists, there an +eagle, here a calf, so closely wrought together, that if you look +carelessly at them, they would seem rather like a uniform blot +than like an exquisite interweavement of figures; exhibiting no +perfection of skill or art, where all is really skill and perfection +of art. But if you look closely at them with all the acuteness of +sight that you can command, and examine the inmost secrets of this +wondrous art, you will discover such delicate, such wonderful and +finely wrought lines, twisted and interwoven with such intricate +knots and adorned with such fresh and brilliant colours, that you +will readily acknowledge the whole to have been the work of angelic +rather than human skill." + +At first gold was not used at all in Irish work, but the manuscripts +of a slightly later date, and especially of the Anglo-Saxon school, +show a superbly decorative use both of gold and silver. The "Coronation +Oath Book of the Anglo-Saxon Kings" is especially rich in this +exquisite metallic harmony. By degrees, also, the Anglo-Saxons +became more perfected in the portrayal of the human figure, so +that by the twelfth century the work of the Southern schools and +those of England were more alike than at any previous time. + +[Illustration: IVY PATTERN, FROM A 14TH CENTURY FRENCH MANUSCRIPT] + +In the Northern manuscripts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries +it is amusing to note that the bad characters are always represented +as having large hooked noses, which fact testifies to the dislike +of the Northern races for the Italians and Southern peoples. + +The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries may be considered to stand +for the "Golden Age" of miniature art in all the countries of Europe. +In England and France especially the illuminated books of the thirteenth +century were marvels of delicate work, among which the Tenison +Psalter and the Psalter of Queen Mary, both in the British Museum, +are excellent examples. Queen Mary's Psalter was not really painted +for Queen Mary; it was executed two centuries earlier. But it was +being sent abroad in 1553, and was seized by the Customs. They +refused to allow it to pass. Afterwards it was presented to Queen +Mary. + +At this time grew up a most beautiful and decorative style, known +as "ivy pattern," consisting of little graceful flowering sprays, +with tiny ivy leaves in gold and colours. The Gothic feeling prevails +in this motive, and the foliate forms are full of spined cusps. +The effect of a book decorated in the ivy pattern, is radiant and +jewelled as the pages turn, and the burnishing of the gold was +brought to its full perfection at this time. The value of the creamy +surface of the vellum was recognized as part of the colour scheme. +With the high polish of the gold it was necessary to use always +the strong crude colours, as the duller tints would appear faded +by contrast. In the later stages of the art, when a greater realism +was attempted, and better drawing had made it necessary to use +quieter tones, gold paint was generally adopted instead of leaf, as +being less conspicuous and more in harmony with the general scheme; +and one of the chief glories of book decoration died in this change. + +[Illustration: MEDIÆVAL ILLUMINATION] + +The divergences of style in the work of various countries are well +indicated by Walter de Gray Birch, who says: "The English are famous +for clearness and breadth; the French for delicate fineness and +harmoniously assorted colours, the Flemish for minutely stippled +details, and the Italian for the gorgeous yet calm dignity apparent +in their best manuscripts." Individuality of facial expression, +although these faces are generally ugly, is a characteristic of +Flemish work, while the faces in French miniatures are uniform +and pretty. + +One marked feature in the English thirteenth and fourteenth century +books, is the introduction of many small grotesques in the borders, +and these little creatures, partly animal and partly human, show +a keen sense of humour, which had to display itself, even though +inappropriately, but always with a true spirit of wit. One might +suppose on first looking at these grotesques, that the droll expression +is unintentional: that the monks could draw no better, and that +their sketches are funny only because of their inability to portray +more exactly the thing represented. But a closer examination will +convince one that the wit was deliberate, and that the very subtlety +and reserve of their expression of humour is an indication of its +depth. To-day an artist with the sense of caricature expresses +himself in the illustrated papers and other public channels provided +for the overflow of high spirits; but the cloistered author of the +Middle Ages had only the sculptured details and the books belonging +to the church as vehicles for his satire. The carvings on the +miserere seats in choirs of many cathedrals were executed by the +monks, and abound in witty representations of such subjects as +Reynard the Fox, cats catching rats, etc.; inspired generally by +the knowledge of some of the inconsistencies in the lives of +ecclesiastical personages. The quiet monks often became cynical. + +The spirit of the times determines the standard of wit. At various +periods in the world's history, men have been amused by strange and +differing forms of drollery; what seemed excruciatingly funny to +our grandparents does not strike us as being at all entertaining. +Each generation has its own idea of humour, and its own fun-makers, +varying as much as fashion in dress. + +In mediæval times, the sense of humour in art was more developed +than at any period except our own day. Even-while the monk was +consecrating his time to the work of beautifying the sanctuary, +his sense of humour was with him, and must crop out. The grotesque +has always played an important part in art; in the subterranean +Roman vaults of the early centuries, one form of this spirit is +exhibited. But the element of wit is almost absent; it is displayed +in oppressively obvious forms, so that it loses its subtlety: it +represents women terminating in floral scrolls, or sea-horses with +leaves growing instead of fins. The same spirit is seen in the +grotesques of the Renaissance, where the sense of humour is not +emphasized, the ideal in this class of decoration being simply to +fill the space acceptably, with voluptuous graceful lines, +mythological monstrosities, the inexpressive mingling of human and +vegetable characteristics, grinning dragons, supposed to inspire +horror, and such conceits, while the attempt to amuse the spectator +is usually absent. + +In mediæval art, however, the beauty of line, the sense of horror, +and the voluptuous spirit, are all more or less subservient to +the light-hearted buoyancy of a keen sense of fun. To illustrate +this point, I wish to call the attention of the reader to the wit +of the monastic scribes during the Gothic period. Who could look at +the little animals which are found tucked away almost out of sight +in the flowery margins of many illuminated manuscripts, without seeing +that the artist himself must have been amused at their pranks, and +intended others to be so? One can picture a gray-hooded brother, +chuckling alone at his own wit, carefully tracing a jolly little +grotesque, and then stealing softly to the alcove of some congenial +spirit, and in a whisper inviting his friend to come and see the +satire which he has carefully introduced: "A perfect portrait of +the Bishop, only with claws instead of legs! So very droll! And +dear brother, while you are here, just look at the expression of +this little rabbit's ears, while he listens to the bombastic utterance +of this monkey who wears a stole!" + +[Illustration: CARICATURE OF A BISHOP] + +Such a fund of playful humour is seldom found in a single book as +that embodied in the Tenison Psalter, of which only a few pages +remain of the work of the original artist. The book was once the +property of Archbishop Tenison. These few pages show to the world the +most perfect example of the delicacy and skill of the miniaturist. +On one page, a little archer, after having pulled his bow-string, +stands at the foot of the border, gazing upwards after the arrow, +which has been caught in the bill of a stork at the top of the +page. The attitude of a little fiddler who is exhibiting his trick +monkeys can hardly be surpassed by caricaturists of any time. A +quaint bit of cloister scandal is indicated in an initial from +the Harleian Manuscript, in which a monk who has been entrusted +with the cellar keys is seen availing himself of the situation, +eagerly quaffing a cup of wine while he stoops before a large cask. +In a German manuscript I have seen, cuddled away among the foliage, +in the margin, a couple of little monkeys, feeding a baby of their +own species with pap from a spoon. The baby monkey is closely wrapped +in the swathing bands with which one is familiar as the early +trussing of European children. Satire and wrath are curiously blended +in a German manuscript of the twelfth century, in which the scribe +introduces a portrait of himself hurling a missile at a venturesome +mouse who is eating the monk's cheese--a fine Camembert!--under his +very nose. In the book which he is represented as transcribing, the +artist has traced the words--"Pessime mus, sepius me provocas ad +iram, ut te Deus perdat." ("Wicked mouse, too often you provoke me +to anger--may God destroy thee!") + +In their illustrations the scribes often showed how literal was +their interpretation of Scriptural text. For instance, in a passage +in the book known as the Utrecht Psalter, there is an illustration +of the verse, "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver +tried in the furnace, purified seven times." A glowing forge is +seen, and two craftsmen are working with bellows, pincers, and +hammer, to prove the temper of some metal, which is so molten that +a stream of it is pouring out of the furnace. Another example of +this literal interpretation, is in the Psalter of Edwin, where +two men are engaged in sharpening a sword upon a grindstone, in +illustration of the text about the wicked, "who whet their tongue +like a sword." + +There is evidence of great religious zeal in the exhortations of +the leaders to those who worked under them. Abbot John of Trittenham +thus admonished the workers in the Scriptorium in 1486: "I have +diminished your labours out of the monastery lest by working badly +you should only add to your sins, and have enjoined on you the +manual labour of writing and binding books. There is in my opinion +no labour more becoming a monk than the writing of ecclesiastical +books.... You will recall that the library of this monastery... +had been dissipated, sold, or made way with by disorderly monks +before us, so that when I came here I found but fourteen volumes." + +It was often with a sense of relief that a monk finished his work +upon a volume, as the final word, written by the scribe himself, +and known as the Explicit, frequently shows. In an old manuscript +in the Monastery of St. Aignan the writer has thus expressed his +emotions: "Look out for your fingers! Do not put them on my writing! +You do not know what it is to write! It cramps your back, it obscures +your eyes, it breaks your sides and stomach!" It is interesting +to note the various forms which these final words of the scribes +took; sometimes the Explicit is a pathetic appeal for remembrance +in the prayers of the reader, and sometimes it contains a note of +warning. In a manuscript of St. Augustine now at Oxford, there +is written: "This book belongs to St. Mary's of Robert's Bridge; +whoever shall steal it or in any way alienate it from this house, +or mutilate it, let him be Anathema Marantha!" A later owner, +evidently to justify himself, has added, "I, John, Bishop of Exeter, +know not where this aforesaid house is, nor did I steal this book, +but acquired it in a lawful way!" + +The Explicit in the Benedictional of Ethelwold is touching: the +writer asks "all who gaze on this book to ever pray that after the +end of the flesh I may inherit health in heaven; this is the prayer +of the scribe, the humble Godemann." A mysterious Explicit occurs +at the end of an Irish manuscript of 1138, "Pray for Moelbrighte +who wrote this book. Great was the crime when Cormac Mac Carthy +was slain by Tardelvach O'Brian." Who shall say what revelation +may have been embodied in these words? Was it in the nature of a +confession or an accusation of some hitherto unknown occurrence? +Coming as it does at the close of a sacred book, it was doubtless +written for some important reason. + +Among curious examples of the Explicit may be quoted the following: +"It is finished. Let it be finished, and let the writer go out for +a drink." A French monk adds: "Let a pretty girl be given to the +writer for his pains." Ludovico di Cherio, a famous illuminator +of the fifteenth century, has this note at the end of a book upon +which he had long been engaged: "Completed on the vigil of the +nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on an empty stomach." (Whether +this refers to an imposed penance or fast, or whether Ludovico +considered that the offering of a meek and empty stomach would be +especially acceptable, the reader may determine.) + +There is an amusing rhymed Explicit in an early fifteenth century +copy of Froissart: + + "I, Raoul Tanquy, who never was drunk + (Or hardly more than judge or monk,) + On fourth of July finished this book, + Then to drink at the Tabouret myself took, + With Pylon and boon companions more + Who tripe with onions and garlic adore." + +But if some of the monks complained or made sport of their work, +there were others to whom it was a divine inspiration, and whose +affection for their craft was almost fanatic, an anecdote being +related of one of them, who, when about to die, refused to be parted +from the book upon which he had bestowed much of his life's energy, +and who clutched it in his last agony so that even death should +not take it from him. The good Othlonus of Ratisbon congratulates +himself upon his own ability in a spirit of humility even while +he rejoices in his great skill; he says: "I think proper to add +an account of the great knowledge and capacity for writing which +was given me by the Lord in my childhood. When as yet a little +child, I was sent to school and quickly learned my letters, and +I began long before the time of learning, and without any order +from my master, to learn the art of writing. Undertaking this in a +furtive and unusual manner, and without any teacher, I got a habit +of holding my pen wrongly, nor were any of my teachers afterwards +able to correct me on that point." This very human touch comes down +to us through the ages to prove the continuity of educational +experience! The accounts of his monastic labours put us to the blush +when we think of such activity. "While in the monastery of Tegernsee +in Bavaria I wrote many books.... Being sent to Franconia while I +was yet a boy, I worked so hard writing that before I had returned +I had nearly lost my eyesight. After I became a monk at St. Emmerem, +I was appointed the school-master. The duties of the office so fully +occupied my time that I was able to do the transcribing I was +interested in only by nights and in holidays.... I was, however, +able, in addition to writing the books that I had myself composed, +and the copies which I gave away for the edification of those who +asked for them, to prepare nineteen missals, three books of the +Gospels and Epistles, besides which I wrote four service books for +Matins. I wrote in addition several other books for the brethren +at Fulda, for the monks at Hirschfeld, and at Amerbach, for the +Abbot of Lorsch, for certain friends at Passau, and for other +friends in Bohemia, for the monastery at Tegernsee, for the +monastery at Preyal, for that at Obermunster, and for my sister's +son. Moreover, I sent and gave at different times sermons, proverbs, +and edifying writings. Afterward old age's infirmities of various +kinds hindered me." Surely Othlonus was justified in retiring when +his time came, and enjoying some respite from his labours! + +Religious feeling in works of art is an almost indefinable thing, +but one which is felt in all true emanations of the conscientious +spirit of devotion. Fra Angelico had a special gift for expressing +in his artistic creations is own spiritual life; the very qualities +for which he stood, his virtues and his errors,--purity, +unquestioning faith in the miraculous, narrowness of creed, and +gentle and adoring humility,--all these elements are seen to +completeness in his decorative pictures. Perhaps this is because +he really lived up to his principles. One of his favourite sayings +was "He who occupies himself with the things of Christ, must ever +dwell with Christ." + +It is related that, in the Monastery of Maes Eyck, while the +illuminators were at work in the evening, copying Holy Writ, the +devil, in a fit of rage, extinguished their candles; they, however, +were promptly lighted again by a Breath of the Holy Spirit, and +the good work went on! Salvation was supposed to be gained through +conscientious writing. A story is told of a worldly and frivolous +brother, who was guilty of many sins and follies, but who, nevertheless, +was an industrious scribe. When he came to die, the devil claimed +his soul. The angels, however, brought before the Throne a great +book of religious Instructions which he had illuminated, and for +every letter therein, he received pardon for one sin. Behold! When +the account was completed, there proved to be one letter over! +the narrator adds naïvely, "And it was a very big book." + +[Illustration: ILLUMINATION BY GHERART DAVID OF BRUGES, 1498; ST. +BARBARA] + +Perhaps more than any books executed in the better period, after +the decline had begun, were the Books of Hours, containing the +numerous daily devotions which form part of the ritual of the Roman +Church. Every well appointed lady was supposed to own a copy, and +there is a little verse by Eustache Deschamps, a poet of the time +of Charles V., in which a woman is supposed to be romancing about +the various treasures she would like to possess. She says: + + "Hours of Our Lady should be mine, + Fitting for a noble dame, + Of lofty lineage and name; + Wrought most cunningly and quaint, + In gold and richest azure paint. + Rare covering of cloth of gold + Full daintily it shall enfold, + Or, open to the view exposed, + Two golden clasps to keep it closed." + +John Skelton the poet did honour to the illuminated tomes of his +day, in spite of the fact that the æesthetic deterioration had +begun. + + "With that of the boke lozende were the clasps + The margin was illumined all with golden railes, + And bice empictured, with grasshoppers and waspes + With butterflies and fresh peacock's tailes: + Englosed with... pictures well touched and quickly, + It wold have made a man hole that had be right sickly!" + +But here we have an indication of that realism which rung the death +knell of the art. The grasshoppers on a golden ground, and the +introduction of carefully painted insect and floral life, led to +all sorts of extravagances of taste. + +But before this decadence, there was a very interesting period of +transition, which may be studied to special advantage in Italy, +and is seen chiefly in the illuminations of the great choral books +which were used in the choirs of churches. One book served for +all the singers in those days, and it was placed upon an open +lectern in the middle of the choir, so that all the singers could +see it: it will be readily understood that the lettering had to +be generous, and the page very large for this purpose. The +decoration of these books took on the characteristics of breadth +in keeping with their dimensions, and of large masses of ornament +rather than delicate meander. The style of the Italian choral books +is an art in itself. + +The Books of Hours and Missals developed during the fifteenth and +sixteenth centuries into positive art galleries, whole pages being +occupied by paintings, the vellum being entirely hidden by the +decoration. The art of illumination declined as the art of miniature +painting progressed. The fact that the artist was decorating a page +in a book was lost sight of in his ambition to paint a series of +small pictures. The glint of burnished gold on the soft surface +of the vellum was no longer considered elegant, and these more +elaborate pictures often left not even a margin, so that the pictures +might as well have been executed on paper and canvas and framed +separately, for they do not suggest ornaments in a book after this +change had taken place. Lettering is hardly introduced at all on +the same page with the illustration, or, when it is, is placed +in a little tablet which is simply part of the general scheme. + +[Illustration: CHORAL BOOK, SIENA] + +Among the books in this later period I will refer specifically to +two only, the Hours of Ann of Brittany, and the Grimani Breviary. +The Hours of Ann of Brittany, illuminated by a famous French artist +of the time of Louis XII., is reproduced in facsimile by Curmer, and +is therefore available for consultation in most large libraries. +It will repay any one who is interested in miniature art to examine +this book, for the work is so excellent that it is almost like +turning the leaves of the original. The Grimani Breviary, which +was illuminated by Flemish artists of renown, was the property of +Cardinal Grimani, and is now one of the treasures of the Library +of St. Marc in Venice. It is impossible in a short space to comment +to any adequate extent upon the work of such eminent artists as +Jean Foucquet, Don Giulio Clovio, Sano di Pietro, and Liberale da +Verona; they were technically at the head of their art, and yet, +so far as taste in book decoration is to be considered, their work +would be more satisfactory as framed miniatures than as marginal +or paginal ornament. + +Stippling was brought to its ultimate perfection by Don Giulio +Clovio, but it is supposed to have been first practised by Antonio +de Holanda. + +One of Jehan Foucquet's assistants was Jehan Bourdichon. There is +an interesting memorandum extant, relating to a piece of illumination +which Bourdichon had accomplished. "To the said B. for having had +written a book in parchment named the Papalist, the same illuminated +in gold and azure and made in the same nine rich Histories, and for +getting it bound and covered, thirty crowns in gold." + +At the time of the Renaissance there was a rage for "tiny books," +miniature copies of famous works. M. Würtz possessed a copy of the +Sonnets of Petrarch, written in italics, in brown ink, of which +the length was one inch, and the breadth five-eighths of an inch, +showing fifty lines on a page. The text is only visible through +a glass. It is in Italian taste, with several miniatures, and is +bound in gold filigree. + +The value of illuminated books is enormous. An Elector of Bavaria +once offered a town for a single book; but the monks had sufficient +worldly wisdom to know that he could easily take the town again, +and so declined the exchange! + +With the introduction of printing, the art of illumination was +doomed. The personal message from the scribe to the reader was +merged in the more comprehensive message of the press to the public. +It was no longer necessary to spend a year on a work that could be +accomplished in a day; so the artists found themselves reduced to +painting initial letters in printed books, sometimes on vellum, but +more often on paper. This art still flourishes in many localities; +but it is no more illumination, though it is often so designated, +than photography is portrait painting. Both are useful in their +departments and for their several purposes, but it is incorrect +to confound them. + +[Illustration: DETAIL FROM AN ITALIAN CHORAL BOOK] + +Once, while examining an old choral book, I was particularly +struck with the matchless personal element which exists in a book +which is made, as this was, by the hand, from the first stroke to +the last. The first page showed a bold lettering, the sweep of the +pen being firm and free. Animal vigour was demonstrated in the steady +hand and the clear eye. The illuminations were daintily painted, +and the sure touch of the little white line used to accentuate the +colours, was noticeable. After several pages, the letters became +less true and firm. The lines had a tendency to slant to the right; +a weakness could be detected in the formerly strong man. Finally +the writing grew positively shaky. The skill was lost. + +Suddenly, on another page, came a change. A new hand had taken up +the work--that of a novice. He had not the skill of the previous +worker in his best days, but the indecision of his lines was that +of inexperience, not of failing ability. Gradually he improved. +His colours were clearer and ground more smoothly; his gold showed +a more glassy surface. The book ended as it had begun, a virile +work of art; but in the course of its making, one man had grown +old, lost his skill, and died, and another had started in his +immaturity, gained his education, and devoted his best years to +this book. + +The printing press stands for all that is progressive and desirable; +modern life and thought hang upon this discovery. But in this glorious +new birth there was sacrificed a certain indescribable charm which +can never be felt now except by a book lover as he turns the leaves +of an ancient illuminated book. To him it is given to understand that +pathetic appeal across the centuries. + +THE END. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +Arts and Crafts Movement. O. L. Triggs. +Two Lectures. William Morris. +Decorative Arts. William Morris. +Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini. +Library of British Manufactories. +Gold and Silver. Wheatley. +Ye Olden Time. E. S. Holt. +Arts and Crafts Essays. Ed. by Morris. +Industrial Arts. Maskell. +Old English Silver. Cripps. +Spanish Arts. J. E. Riañio. +History of the Fine Arts. W. B. Scott. +Art Work in Gold and Silver. P. H. Delamotte. +Gold and Silver. J. H. Pollen. +Une Ville du Temps Jadis. M. E. Del Monte. +Industrial Arts. P. Burty. +Arts of the Middle Ages. Labarte. +Miscellanea Graphica. Fairholt. +Artist's Way of Working. R. Sturgis. +Jewellery. Cyril Davenport. +Enamels. Mrs. Nelson Dawson. +Precious Stones. Jones. +Ghiberti and Donatello. Leader Scott. +Iron Work. J. S. Gardner. +Guilds of Florence. E. Staley. +Armour in England. J. S. Gardner. +Foreign Armour in England. J. S. Gardner. +Cameos. Cyril Davenport. +Peter Vischer. Cecil Headlam. +St. Eloi and St. Bernward. Baring Gould; Lives of the Saint. +European Enamels. H. Cunynghame. +Intarsia and Marquetry. H. Jackson. +Pavement Masters of Siena. R. H. Cust. Sculpture in Ivory. Digby +Wyatt. Ancient and Mediæval Ivories. Wm. Maskell. Ivory Carvers of +the Middle Ages. A. M. Cust. Arts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. +P. Lacroix. Ivories. A. Maskell. Old English Embroidery. F. and H. +Marshall. The Bayeux Tapestry. F. R. Fowke. History of Tapestry. +W. G. Thomson. La Broderie. L. de Farcy. Textile Fabrics. Dr. Rock. +Needlework as Art. Lady Alford. History of Needlework. Countess +of Wilton. Gilds; Their Origins, etc. C. Walford. Tapestry. A. +Champeaux. Tapestry. J. Hayes. Ornamental Metal Work. Digby Wyatt. +La Mosaïque. Gerspach. The Master Mosaic Workers. G. Sand. Revival +of Sculpture. A. L. Frothingham. History of Italian Sculpture. C. +H. Perkins. Art Applied to Industry. W. Burges. Four Centuries +of Art. Noel Humphreys. Aratra Pentelici. Ruskin. Seven Lamps of +Architecture. Ruskin. Val d'Arno. Ruskin. Stones of Venice. Ruskin. +Lectures on Sculpture. Flaxman. Brick and Marble. G. E. Street. +Sculpture in Wood. Williams. Greek and Gothic. St. J. Tyrwhitt. +Westminster Abbey and Craftsmen. W. R. Lethaby. Le Roi René. L. de +la Marche. English Mediæval Figure Sculpture. Prior and Gardner. +Churches of Paris. Sophia Beale. Matthew Paris' Chronicle. Crowns +and Coronations. Jones. Bell's Handbooks of Rouen, Chartres, Amiens, +Wells, Salisbury and Lincoln. History of Sculpture. D'Agincourt. +The Grotesque in Church Art. T. T. Wildridge. +Choir Stalls and Their Carving. Emma Phipson. Memorials of Westminster +Abbey. Dean Stanley. Memorials of Canterbury. Dean Stanley. Les +Corporations des Arts et Metiers. Hubert Valeroux. Finger Ring +Lore. Jones. Goldsmith's and Silversmith's Work. Nelson Dawson. The +Dark Ages. Maitland. Rambles of an Archæologist. F. W. Fairholt. +History of Furniture. A. Jacquemart. Embroidery. W. G. P. Townsend. +Le Livre des Metiers. Etienne Boileau. Illuminated Manuscripts. +J. H. Middleton. Illuminated Manuscripts. Edward Quaile. English +Illuminated Manuscripts. Maunde Thompson. Les Manuscrits et l'art +de les Orner. Alphonse Labitte. Les Manuscrits et la Miniature. +L. de la Marche. Primer of Illumination. Delamotte. Primer of +Illumination. Digby Wyatt. Ancient Painting and Sculpture in England. +J. Carter. Vasari's Lives of the Painters. (Selected.) Benvenuto +Cellini--Autobiography. Illuminated Manuscripts. O. Westwood. Celtic +Illuminative Art. S. F. H. Robinson. Illuminated Manuscripts. Bradley. + + + + +INDEX + +Aachen, 16 +Abbeville, 265 +Abbo, 57 +Absalom, 299 +Acherius, J., 335 +Adam, 28 +Adam, Abbot, 21 +Adaminus, 222 +Adelard, 229 +Aelfled, 199 +Aelst, 172 +Agatho, 281 +Agnelli, Fra, 226 +Agnese, St., 14, 316 +Agnolo, B., 303 +Ahab, 276 +Aignan, St., 354 +Aix-la-Chapelle, 98, 287 +Albans, St., 114, 186, 207, 250 +Alberti, L., 131 +Aleuin, 14, 278, 332 +Aldobrandini, 131 +Alfred, King, 4, 64, 67, 94, 199 +Alford, Lady, 188, 303 +Alicante, 167 +Almeria, 183 +Aloise, 20 +Alwin, Bp., 252 +Alwyn, H. F., 25 +Amasia, Bp. of, 191 +America, 25 +Amiens, 65, 144, 230, 233, 236, 238, 240, 244, 265 +Anastatius, 201, 281 +"Anatomy of Abuses," 26 +Ancona, 224 +"Ancren Riwle," 75 +Angers, 164, 208 +Anglo-Saxons, 49, 92, 95, 100, 111, 159, 184, 294, 343 +Anne of Bohemia, 65, 135 +Anne of Brittany, 174, 211, 361 +Anne of Cleves, 206 +Anquetil, 230 +Antelami, 221 +Anthemius, 316 +Anthony, St., 254 +Antwerp, 116 +Apollinaire, St., 316 +Apollonius, 319 +Apulia, 182 +Arabia, 5, 14, 147 +Arles, 18, 192, 229 +Arnant, A., 292 +Arnolfo di Cambio, 227 +Armour, 121-132 +Arphe, H. d' and J. d', 24, 25 +Arras, 20, 165, 166, 167, 171 +Arrigo (see Peselli) +Arthur, Prince, 205 +Artois, 166 +Asser, 4 +Asterius, St., 192 +Atlas, 9 +Athelmay, 4 +August the Pious, 245 +Augustine, St., 279, 354 +Aurelian, 180 +Auquilinus, 230 +Austin, W., 129 +Auxene, 162 +Aventin, St., 231 +Avernier, A., 265 +Avignon, M. de, 33 + +"Babee's Book," 39 +Bakes, J., 171 +Balbastro, 130 +Baldini, B., 34 +Baldovinetto, 322 +Ballin, C., 35 +Bamberg, 258 +Baptist, John, 65 +Barbarossa, 16 +Barcheston, 171 +Bargello, 281 +Barnwell, 330 +Bartholomew Anglicus, 4, 81, 83, 110, 149 +Basilewski, 291 +Basle, 23 +Basse-taille, 103 +Bataille, 166 +Bavaria, 165, 266, 295, 362 +Bayeux Tapestry, 154-159 +Bazinge, A. de, 207 +Beauchamp, R., 144 +Becket, T. à, 28, 46, 54, 61 +Bede, 110, 145 +Begue, J. de, 338 +Bells, 145 +Benedict, St., 4, 329 +Benedictional of Ethelwold, 355 +Benet, J., 250 +Bergamo, 308 +Bernard, M., 167 +Bernard, St., 21, 22, 270, 287 +Bernward, Bp., 16-20, 136, 140, 229, 317 +Berquem, L., 74 +Bess of Hardwick, 211 +Bethancourt, J. de, 33 +Beverly, 257, 274 +Bezaleel, 1, 25 +Bezold, H. van, 268 +Bianchini, 324 +Billiard Balls, 295 +Birch, W. de G., 349 +Biscornette, 113 +Black Prince, 135 +"Blandiver, Jack," 152 +Bloet, Bp., 246 +Blois, 174 +Boabdil, 127 +Boileau, E., 217 +Boleyn, A., 78 +Bologna, 224, 308 +Bolognese, M. S., 337 +Boningegna, G., 98 +Boston Art Museum, 342 +Bosworth, 66 +Botticelli, 190 +Boudichon, J., 361 +Boulin, A., 265 +Boutellier, J. le, 237 +Bradshaw, 170 +Brandenburgh, 295 +Bridget, St., 53, 346 +Briolottus, 222 +Brithnoth, 160 +British Museum, 292, 345 +Bronze, 132-149 +Brooches, 50-56 +Browning, R., 258 +Brunelleschi, 305 +Brussels, 172 +Brussels, M. S., 337 +Burgundy, 194 +Byzantine style, 13, 22, 24, 49, 63, 84, 87, 92, 97, 103, 183, 191, +199, 220, 224, 340 +"Byzantine Guide," 342 + +Cadwollo, 134 +Caffi, M., 307 +Cambio, A. del, 301 +Cambridge, 37, 364 +Camerino, J., 321 +Cameos, 85-90 +Cano, A., 268 +Canterbury, 54, 135, 176, 243 +Canute (see Knut) +Canozio, 305 +Caradosso, 8 +Caramania, 168 +Carazan, 5 +Carlencas, 218 +Carovage, 151 +Carpentras, Bp. of, 37 +Carrara, 221 +Carter, J., 106, 251, 290 +Casati, 90 +Cassiodorus, 327 +Castel, G. van, 268 +Castiglione, Count, 308 +Cecilia, St., 186 +Celestine III., Pope, 18 +Cellini, Benvenuto, xii, 7-13, 43, 56, 68-71, 91, 96, 105, 127, 132, +304 +Celtic style, 50-54, 92, 343 +Centula, 317 +Chained Books, 330 +Chalices, 29 +Champlevé, 94, 103 +Charlemagne, 14, 15, 23, 62, 98, 124, 146, 181, 203, 224, 294, 328, +332, 338 +Charles I., 212 +Charles V., 40, 70, 165, 209, 265, 295, 359 +Charles the Bold, 15 +Chartres, 107, 145, 219, 229, 231, 234, 237, 238, 242, 312 +Chaucer, 169, 181, 193 +Chelles, J. de, 240 +Cherio, L. de, 355 +Chester, 170, 273 +Chichester, 242 +Chilperic, 38 +Chinchintalas, 187 +Christin of Margate, 207 +Cid, The, 128 +Claudian, 278 +Clement le Brodeur, 207 +Clement, Pope, 9, 56, 89 +Clemente, St., 321 +Clermont, 314 +Clocks, 150 +Clothaire II., 157 +Clovio, G., 361 +Clovis II., 62 +Cluny, 14 +Cockayne, W., 44 +Coinsi, Prior, 270 +Colaccio, M., 305 +Cola di Rienzi, 204 +Coldingham, 249 +Cologne, 98, 115, 145 +Columba, St., 220, 327, 344 +Columbkille, 52 +Constantine, 13, 313, 316, 340 +Constantinople, 57, 84, 86, 97, 136, 181, 225, 316, 317, 318, 340 +Constanza, Sta., 314 +Coquille, G. de, 32 +Cordova, 25 +Coro, D. del, 299 +Cosmati Mosaic, 310 +Coula, 53 +Courtray, 152 +Coventry, 201 +Cozette, 177 +Cracow, 266 +Crete, 276 +Crest, H., 33 +Crivelli, C., 183 +Croisètes, J. de, 166 +Cromwell, O., 29 +Crown Jewels, 66 +Croyland, 147, 164, 192, 200 +Crumdale, R., 250 +Cunegonde, 207 +Cunegunda, Queen, 2, 24 +Cups, 44 +Curfew, 147 +Curmer, 361 +Cuserius, 315 +Cuthbert, St., 53, 145, 199, 345 +Cynewulf, 149 +Cyzicus, L. de, 279, 341 + +Dagobert, 62, 162 +Damascening, 126 +Damiano, Fra, 308 +Davenport, 287 +Davenport, C., 86 +Davi, J., 236 +Day, Lewis, 183 +Decker, H., 259 +Delhi, 57 +Delphyn, N., 255 +Delobel, 196 +Denis, St., 20, 22, 58, 83, 162, 230, 232 +Deschamps, E., 359 +Diamonds, 71-74 +Diàne of de Poictiers, 107 +Didier, Abbé, 318 +Didron, 18, 140 +Dijon, 152, 194, 229 +Dipoenus, 276 +Dioscorides, 341 +Domenico of the Cameos, 88 +Donatello, xiii, 227 +Donne, Dr., 79 +Dourdan, 166 +Drawswerd, 255 +Dresden, 85 +Dublin, 27, 344 +Ducarel, 159 +Dunstan, St., 75, 110, 182 +Dürer, A., 132, 258, 266, 268 +Durham, 53, 148, 172, 197, 250, 252, 288, 318 +"Durham Book," 344 +Durosne, 33 +Duval, J., 173 + +Ebony, 307 +Ecclesiasticus, 81 +Edinburgh, 130 +Edgitha, 193 +Edith, Queen, 159 +Edrisi, 167 +Edward, goldsmith, 28, 36 +Edward I., 75 +Edward II., 168, 199 +Edward III., 36, 66, 193 +Edward IV., 37, 117 +Edward the Confessor, 26, 28, 75, 156, 193, 224, 251 +Egebric, 147 +Eginhard, 282 +Egyptians, 1 +Eleanor, Queen, 117, 135, 144, 165, 249 +Elfen, 309 +Elizabeth, Queen, 26, 129, 211 +Eloi, St., 22, 57-62, 111 +Ely, 159, 195, 200, 249 +Embroideries, 179-212 +Emesa, 65 +Emma, Queen, 200, 251 +Enamels, 91-108 +England, 2, 4, 23, 135, 164, 214 +Eraclius, 336 +Essex, William of, 107 +Etheldreda, St., 249 +Explicit, 354 +Exodus, 1 +Ezekiel, 276 + +Fairill, 53 +Falkland, Viscount, 211 +Farcy, L., 189, 203 +Ferdinand I., 302 +Ferdinand II., 302 +Fereol, St., 328 +Ferucci, F., 302 +Filigree, 12 +Finger-rings, 74-78 +Finiguerra, M., 34, 101 +Flagons, 37 +Flanders, 165 +Florence, xii, 26, 34, 88, 115, 136, 147, 176, 224, 264, 298, 301, +303, 319, 322 +Florence, Jean of, 165 +Florent, St., 163 +Fontaine, E. la, 23 +Foucquet, J., 361 +Fowke, F. R., 155 +Fra Angelico, 357 +France, 2, 3, 5, 23, 162, 164, 214-216, 257, 262, 291, 325 +Francia, 34, 183 +Francis I., 11, 105, 107, 133, 152, 177 +Fremlingham, R. de, 250 +Froissart, 131, 152, 356 +Fuller, 189, 201 + +Gaddi, G. and A., 319-320, 322 +Gaegart, 114 +Gale, P., 207 +Gall, St., 124, 145, 263, 285 +Galla Placida, 315 +"Gammer Gurton's Needle," 188 +Gandesheim, 19 +Garlande, J. de, 62 +Garnier, 230 +Gaunt, J. of, 35, 55 +Gautier, R., 207 +Gendulphus, St., 288 +Genesis, 160 +Genevieve, St., 3, 239 +Genoa, 12, 180 +Gerbert, 150 +Germany, 5, 16, 17, 114, 130, 139, 141, 185, 198, 214, 257, 262, 291 +George II., 186 +George IV., 75 +Gerona, 160 +Ghent, 130 +Ghiberti, xii, 34, 71, 136, 227 +Ghirlandajo, 33, 322 +Giacomo, Maestro, 306 +Gifford, G., 29 +Gilles, St., 229 +Giralda, 135 +Giraldus, Cambriensis, 335 +Girard d'Orleans, 265 +Giotto, 264, 322 +"Giovanni of the Camelians," 88 +Giudetto, Maestro, 296 +Glastonbury, 110, 152, 220, 331 +Gloucester, 327, 331 +Gloucester, John of, 248 +Gobelins Tapestry, 160, 164, 176 +Godemann, 355 +Gold Leaf, 335 +Gontran, 229 +Gothic style, 24, 29 +Gouda, 299 +Granada, 183 +Gregory, St., 221, 277 +Gresham, Sir T., 25 +Grès, H. de, 292 +Grimani Breviary, 361 +Grosso, N., 116 +Grotesques, 235-243, 273, 349, 353 +Grove, D. van, 268 +Guerrazzar, Treasure of, 63 +Guillaume, Abbot, 229 +Gutierez, 167 + +Haag, J., 240 +Hall Mark, 3 +Hankford, Sir W., 36 +Hampton Court, 171 +Hannequin, 32 +Harleian MS., 352 +Harrison, 193 +Harold, 157, 158 +Hasquin, J. de, 33 +Hatfield, 171 +Hayes, S. L., 156 +Headlam, C., 268 +Hebrides, 196 +Hebrews, 1 +Héliot, 292 +Hennequin de Liege, 240 +Henry I., 23, 155 +Henry II., 83, 107, 197 +Henry III, 27, 28, 36, 38, 86, 117, 135, 144, 207, 248, 287, 311 +Henry V., 252 +Henry VI., 185 +Henry VII., 102, 181, 206, 253, 254, 257, 268 +Henry VIII., 131, 175, 195, 209, 254 +Henry the Pious, 23 +Herlin, F., 266 +Herman, 74 +Herodias, 65 +Hezilo, 20 +Hildesheim, xii, 16-20, 116, 136, 139, 140, 258, 285, 286, 309, 317 +Holanda, A. de, 361 +Holderness, 273 +Honorius, Pope, 316 +Hudd, A., 255 +Huberd, R., 251 +Hugh, St., 246 +Hughes, Abbot, 229 +Husee, 37-78 +Hust, A., 265 + +Il Lasca, 305 +Illumination, 326-364 +Imber, L., 255 +Inlay, 296-309 +Innocent IV., 200 +Iona, 220 +Ireland, 342-345 +Iron, 109-121 +Isaiah, 1 +Isidore, 316 +Isle of Man, 77 +Islip, Abbot, 102, 275 +Italy, 5, 21, 92, 141 +Ivan III, 283 +Ivory carving, 275-295 +"Ivy Pattern," 347 + +Jackson, H., 307 +Jacob of Breslau, 328 +Jacobus, Fra, 319 +James, 315 +James I., 56, 176 +Jeanne, Queen, 173 +Jeanne of Navarre, 68 +John, King, 66, 105, 207 +John XII., 111 +John IV., 316 +Johnson, R., 117 +Joinville, Sirede, 194 +Jones, Sir E. B., 203 +Jouy, B. de, 314 +Justinian, 220, 221, 315 + +Katherine, Queen, 252 +Katherine of Aragon, 209 +Keepe, H., 241 +Kells, Book of, 49, 344 +Kent, Fair Maid of, 196 +Keys, 119 +Kildare, Gospels of, 345 +Kirton, Ed., 241 +"Kleine Heldenbuch," 189 +Knight, 210 +Knut, King, 200, 252 +Kohinoor, 71 +Kraft, A., 141, 213, 258, 259, 261, 266 +Krems, 115 + +Laach, 262 +Labenwolf, 143 +Labarte, 302 +Laborde, 74 +Labraellier, J., 295 +Lacordaire, 160 +Lagrange, 168 +Lambspring, B., 129 +Lamoury, S., 166 +Lateran, The, 205, 316, 321 +Laura, 193 +Lawrence, St., 315 +Lead, 149 +Lebrija, 269 +Leighton, T. de, 117 +Leland, 206 +Leo III., 203 +Leo X., 172 +Leon, 25 +Leopardi, 302 +"Les Maitres Mosaïtes," 323 +Lethaby, W. R., 252, 311 +Lewis, 293 +Lewis, H., 117 +Liberale da Verona, 361 +"Liber Eliensis," 200 +Lille, 166 +Limoges, 24-57, 103, 107, 144 +Lincoln, 244, 246, 274 +Lincoln Imp, 247 +Lindisfarne, 53, 345 +Limousin, E. and L., 107 +Lisle, Lord, 35, 55 +Little Gidding, 212 +Locks, 120 +Lombards, The, 18, 63, 220, 277 +London, 25, 26, 44, 182, 185, 206, 248, 288 +Lothaire, 38 +Louis VI., 21 +Louis VII., 21 +Louis XII., 174, 361 +Louis XIV., 197 +Louis, Prince, 20 +Louis, St., 22, 194, 232, 240, 253 +Louvre, The, 270, 292 +Lübke, xi +Lucca, 221, 296 +Luca della Robbia, 213 +Ludlow, 273 +Luini, B., 307 +Luna, de, 306 + +MacDurnam, 344 +"Mad Meg," 130 +Madrid, 177-270 +Maes Eyck, 358 +Magaster, 278 +Maiano, B. de, 304 +Maitland, 14 +Maitani, L., 227 +Malaga, 269 +Malmsbury, W. of, 65, 75, 220 +Malvezzi, M., 308 +Manne, P., 33 +Mantegna, 101 +Mantreux, J. de, 32 +Manuello, 302 +Mapilton, Master, 252 +"Mappae Claviculae," 276 +Marcel, St., 238 +Marcellus, 65 +Marche, L. de la, 341 +Maretta, G., 8 +Mariana, Queen, 270 +Mark's, St., 318, 323, 361 +Marten, 66 +Martin, St., 17, 87 +Martyr, Bp., 240 +Mary, Queen of Scots, 210 +Maskell, A. and W., 32, 186, 294 +Massari, A., 306 +Matilda, Queen, 155 +Matsys, Q., 118, 141 +Matteo da Siena, 300 +Maximian, 282 +Medici, The, 85, 176, 211, 254, 301 +Memlinc, 166 +Mexicans, 18 +Michael, St., 18, 19 +Michelangelo, 9, 90, 116, 254, 303 +Milan, 281, 307 +Mildmay, H., 67 +Minella, P. de, 299 +Miniato, San, 298 +Miserere Stalls, 271-275 +"Mons Meg," 130 +Monte Cassino, 318 +Montereau, J. de, 240 +Montfort, S. de, 63 +Montarsy, P. de, 35 +Monza, 23, 63, 221 +Monzon, 146 +Moore, Charles, xi, 234 +Moorish style, 24 +Moreau, J., 241 +Morel, B., 135 +Mortlake, 178 +Morris, Wm., v, x, 248 +Moryson, F., 26 +Mt. Athos, 341 +Möser, L., 266 +Mosaic, 309-327 + +Nantes, 314 +Nassaro, M. dal, 88 +Naumberg, 259 +Navagiero, 183 +Nevers, Count of, 194 +Nicolas, J., 33 +Niello, 49, 99-102 +Nomenticum, 166 +Norfolk, 31 +Norman style, 29 +Norton, C. E., 219, 226 +Norwich, 45, 196, 331 +Nôtre Dame, Paris, 218, 234, 238, 240 +Noyon, 58, 60 +Nüremberg, 141, 152, 258, 259, 266, 292, 309 + +Oath Book of the Saxon Kings, 346 +Odericus, 311 +Odo, goldsmith, 14, 27 +Odo, Abbot, 115 +Olivetans, 307-308 +Orcagna, 34, 140, 183, 227 +Orebsc, S. M., 24 +Orghet, J., 166 +Oriental, 24, 84 +Orleans, 33 +Orso Magister, 222 +Orviedo, 278 +Orvieto, 33, 227, 244, 302, 310 +Osmont, 204 +Othlonus, 356 +Otho, 230, 286 +Otto III., Emperor, 16 +Oudenardes, 169 +Ouen, St., 58 +Oxford, 168, 210, 248, 255, 354 + +Pacheco, 25 +Padua, 305 +Pala d'Oro, 23, 97, 98 +Palermo, 311 +"Pancake Man" 245 +Paris, 2, 17, 20-23, 26, 37, 52, 69, 86, 113, 149, 166, 186, 200, 218, +229, 234, 238, 239, 240, 339 +Paris, Matthew, 27, 180, 207 +Parma, 221 +Patras, L., 139 +Patrick, St., 2, 49, 52, 145, 238 +Paul the Deacon, 221 +Paulus, 315 +Pausanias, 121 +Pavia, 221 +Pembroke, Earl, 67 +Penne, 208 +Perseus, 134 +Persia, 55 +Perugia, 224, 298 +Peselli, 322 +Peter Albericus, 224 +Peter Amabilis, 224 +Peter the Great, 295 +Peter de St. Andeman, 335 +Peter Orfever, 224 +Peter of Rome, 310 +Peter of Spain, 241 +Petrarch, 192, 362 +Philip IV., 167 +Philip the Bold, 165 +Philip the Good, 165 +Philippa, Queen, 194 +Philostratus, 91, 103 +Philoxenus, 277 +Picardie, 317 +Pickering, W., 129 +Pietra Dura, 301 +Piggigny, J. de, 32 +Pinturicchio, 300 +Pirckheimer, W., 132 +Pisa, 221, 225, 298 +Pisani, The, 71, 216, 221, 225, 234, 244 +Pistoja, 298 +Pitti Palace, 101, 177, 301, 302 +Pius II., 67 +Pliny, 2, 110, 143 +Poitiers, 162, 163 +Pollajuolo, xiii, 34, 195 +Polo, Marco, 5, 55, 71, 184, 187, 278 +Pordenone, 323 +Portland Vase, 87 +Poucet, J. de and B., 241 +Poulligny, G. de, 207 +Poussin, N., 33 +Precious Stones, 77-83 +Prior and Gardner, 244 +Probus, 277 +"Properties of Things," 4 +Psalter of Edwin, 353 +Ptolemies, The, 83 +Pudenziana, St., 314 +Pugin, 120, 153 + +Quentin, St., 60 +"Queen Mary's Psalter," 347 + +Rabanus, 278 +Rabotin, L., 33 +Raffaelo da Brescia, 308 +Ralph, Brother, 250 +Ramsay, W., 250 +Raphael, 166, 172, 323 +Rausart, J. de, 166 +Ravenna, 216, 224, 282, 283, 312, 314, 315 +Redgrave, R., xi, 47 +Rée, J. P., 259 +Reformation, The, 29, 31, 209 +Reggio, 305 +Renaissance, 32, 88, 117, 135, 141, 164, 192, 205, 227, 239, 268, 271, +362 +René of Anjou, 33, 164, 173, 208, 241 +Renoy, J., 237 +Reynolds, Sir J., 139 +Rheims, 150, 162, 229, 238, 239, 300 +Richard II., 37, 135 +Richard III., 66 +Ripon, 273 +Robert, King, 150, 229 +Rock, Dr., 155, 183, 191, 197, 210 +Rome, 17, 19, 24, 136, 187, 264, 278, 283, 310, 316, 321, 322 +Romanesque style, 18, 29, 219, 220, 258 +Romulus and Remus, 299 +Rosebeque, 131, 167 +Rossi, 314 +Rothenburg, 266 +Rouen, 60, 236, 265 +Roze, Abbé, 236 +Ruskin, J., v, 144, 221, 222, 226, 227, 235, 265, 298 + +Salinas, 130 +Salisbury, 243 +Salisbury, Earl, 35 +Salt-cellars, 43 +Salutati, B., 195 +Sand, G., 323 +Sandwich, 30 +Sansovino, xii +Sano di Pietro, 361 +Saumur, 162, 241 +Sauval, 114 +Savonarola, 195 +Schülein, H., 266 +Scillis, 276 +Scholastico, A., 295 +Schutz, C., 185 +Scott, W., 51 +Sculpture, 213 +Selsea, 242 +Senlis, H. de, 292 +Seville, 24, 25, 128, 132, 209 +Sewald, 165 +Shakespeare, 77 +Shoreditch, J. of, 168 +Shrewsbury, 211 +Siena, 225, 298-300, 302 +Silk, 179 +Siriès, L., 302 +Sithiu, 339 +Skelton, J., 359 +Smyrna, 168 +Soignoles, J. de, 240 +Solignac, 58 +Sophia, Sta., 316 +South Kensington Museum, 19, 170, 177, 197, 198, 303, 226 +Spain, 24, 102, 110, 117, 120, 127-8, 130, 211, 258, 278, 294, 306 +Spoons, 39 +"Squire of Low Degree," 197 +Staley, E., 134 +Statius, 315 +Stauracius, 136 +Stengel, H., 309 +Stephanus, 315 +Stephen IV., 187 +Stevens, T., 144 +Strasburg, 259 +Stoss-Veit, 258-266 +Stubbes, 25 +Stubbs, Charles, 249 +Stump Work, 212 +Sturgis, R., vii, 218, 307 +Suger, Abbot, 20-23, 230, 318 +Suinthila, 23, 63 +Sumercote, J. de, 207 +"Swineherd of Stowe," 246 +Sylvester II., 151 +Sylvester, Bp., 314 +Symmachus, 279 +Symonds, J. A., 139 +Syon Cope, 201 +Syrlin, J., 266 + +Tali, A., 319-320 +Tanagra, 213 +Tancho, 146 +Tapestry, 154-178 +Tapicier, G. le, 168 +Tappistere, J. le, 168 +Tara Brooch, 50, 83 +Tartary, 184 +Tassach, 53 +Tasso, D. and G., 303, 304 +Taugmar, 17 +Tegernsee, 357 +Temple Church, 248 +Tenison Psalter, 347, 352 +Texier, Abbé, xiii +Textiles, 154 +Thebes, 181 +Thergunna, 196 +Theodolinda, Queen, 221, 277 +Theodora, 315 +Theodoric, 221, 222, 327 +Theophilus the Monk, 5, 6, 7, 74, 81, 85, 95, 99, 100, 110, 185, 276, 337 +Theophilus, Emperor, 14, 317 +Thillo, 58 +Thomson, M. G., 165, 171 +Tintoretto, 323 +Titian, 323 +Toledo, 24, 25, 63, 125, 209, 270 +Tonquin, J., 114 +Topf, J., 129 +Torcello, 112, 319 +Torel, W., 144, 249, 250 +Torpenhow, 31 +Torregiano, 254, 264 +Torriti, J., 321 +Touraine, 194 +Tours, 17, 162, 173, 314 +"Treatises" of Cellini, 11 +Trittenham, J. of, 354 +Trophimes, St., 229 +Troupin, J., 265 +Troyes, 170 +Tucher, A., 268 +Tudela, B. of, 57, 181 +Tudor, 29 +Tuscany, 5 +Tutilon, or Tutilo, 229, 263 + +Ubaldo, St., 204 +Ugolino of Siena, 33 +Ulm, 266 +Ulpha, St., 233 +Urbino, 306 +Utrecht Psalter, 156, 353 + +Valence, A. de, 144, 233 +Valencia, 146 +Valerio Vincentino, 89 +Van Eyck, 166 +Vasari, G., 34, 85, 89, 106, 116, 191, 254, 302, 320, 322 +Vatican, 204 +Velasquez, 25, 167 +Venice, 84, 97, 136, 223, 312, 318, 322, 323, 361 +Verocchio, 33, 34 +Verona, 88, 117, 222 +Villant, P. de, 208 +Vinci, L. da, 33 +Viollet-le-Duc, 52, 218 +Virgil, 228 +Vischer, Peter, 141-143, 266 +Vischer, Peter, Jr., 268 +Vitel, 314 +Vitruvius, 187 +Vivaria, 327 +Vopiscus, F., 166 + +Wallois, H., 166 +Walpole, H., 148 +Walsingham, A. de, 248 +Walter of Colchester, 250 +Walter of Durham, 250 +Ware, R. de, 311 +Warwick, 144 +Waquier, 207 +Wechter, F. de, 166 +Welburne, J., 275 +Wells, 152, 244 +Wendover, R. de, 180 +Westminster, 66, 102, 117, 144, 156, 165, 224, 233, 240, 241, 243, +249-255, 268, 275, 311, 331 +Westwood, O., 344 +Weyden, van der, 169 +Willaume, 166 +William the Conqueror, 155, 232 +Williams of Sens, 243 +Wilton, Countess of, 157, 172 +Winchester, 149, 165, 199, 272 +Windsor, 118, 131, 268 +Wire-drawing, 184 +Withaf, King, 192 +Withers, G., 67 +Wolsey, Card., 175 +Wood-carving, 262-275 +Wood, 66 +Woolstrope, 29 +Worsted, 196 +Wyckham, W., 102 + +Ypres, 166 +York, 181, 275, 285 + +Zamborro, M., 322 +Zuccati, The, 323-325 + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES*** + + +******* This file should be named 18212-8.txt or 18212-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages</p> +<p> A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance</p> +<p>Author: Julia De Wolf Addison</p> +<p>Release Date: April 19, 2006 [eBook #18212]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3 class="pg">E-text prepared by Robert J. Hall</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full"> +<p> </p> +<table class="center" style="width: 356px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="356" height="524" alt="Frontispiece"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>EXAMPLES OF ECCLESIASTICAL METAL WORK</td></tr> +</table> + +<h1>Arts and Crafts in<br />the Middle Ages</h1> + +<p class="bquote"> +A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments +of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in +the Early Renaissance +</p> + +<p class="author"> +By JULIA DE WOLF ADDISON +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +Author of "The Art of the Pitti Palace," "The Art of the National +Gallery," "Classic Myths in Art," etc. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_v"><span class="page">Page v</span></a> +INTRODUCTION</h2> + +<p class="indent"> +The very general and keen interest in the revival of arts and crafts +in America is a sign full of promise and pleasure to those who +are working among the so-called minor arts. One reads at every +turn how greatly Ruskin and Morris have influenced handicraft: how +much these men and their co-workers have modified the appearance +of our streets and houses, our materials, textiles, utensils, and +all other useful things in which it is possible to shock or to +please the æsthetic taste, without otherwise affecting the +value of these articles for their destined purposes. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In this connection it is interesting to look into the past, particularly +to those centuries known as the Middle Ages, in which the handicrafts +flourished in special perfection, and to see for ourselves how +these crafts were pursued, and exactly what these arts really were. +Many people talk learnedly of the delightful revival of the arts +and crafts without having a very definite idea of the original +processes which are being restored to popular favour. William Morris +himself, although a great modern spirit, and reformer, felt the <a +name="page_vi"><span class="page">Page vi</span></a> necessity of +a basis of historic knowledge in all workers. "I do not think," he +says, "that any man but one of the highest genius could do anything +in these days without much study of ancient art, and even he would +be much hindered if he lacked it." It is but turning to the original +sources, then, to examine the progress of mediæval artistic +crafts, and those sources are usually to be found preserved for +our edification in enormous volumes of plates, inaccessible to +most readers, and seldom with the kind of information which the +average person would enjoy. There are very few books dealing with +the arts and crafts of the olden time, which are adapted to inform +those who have no intention of practising such arts, and yet who +wish to understand and appreciate the examples which they see in +numerous museums or exhibitions, and in travelling abroad. There are +many of the arts and crafts which come under the daily observation +of the tourist, which make no impression upon him and have no message +for him, simply because he has never considered the subject of their +origin and construction. After one has once studied the subject of +historic carving, metal work, embroidery, tapestry, or illumination, +one can never fail to look upon these things with intelligent interest +and vastly increased pleasure. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded +as a luxury for the rich dilettante,—the people heard little +of it, and thought less. The utensils and furniture of the middle +class were fashioned <a name="page_vii"><span class="page">Page +vii</span></a> only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief +that beautiful things were expensive, and the thrifty housekeeper +who had no money to put into bric-à-brac never thought +of such things as an artistic lamp shade or a well-coloured sofa +cushion. Decorative art is well defined by Mr. Russell Sturgis: +"Fine art applied to the making beautiful or interesting that which +is made for utilitarian purposes." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article +is, the more work has been lavished upon it. There never was a +more erroneous idea. The diligent polish in order to secure nice +plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely +more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy +workmanship. Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great +pains and labour; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated +does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than +if it were plain,—frequently many hours have been saved by +the device of covering up defects with cheap ornament. How often +one finds that a simple chair with a plain back costs more than +one which is apparently elaborately carved! The reason is, that +the plain one had to be made out of a decent piece of wood, while +the ornate one was turned out of a poor piece, and then stamped +with a pattern in order to attract the attention from the inferior +material of which it was composed. The softer and poorer the wood, +the deeper it was possible to stamp it at a single blow. The same +principle applies to <a name="page_viii"><span class="page">Page +viii</span></a> much work in metal. Flimsy bits of silverware stamped +with cheap designs of flowers or fruits are attached to surfaces +badly finished, while the work involved in making such a piece of +plate with a plain surface would increase its cost three or four +times. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A craft may easily be practised without art, and still serve its +purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure +as well as serving utility. But it is a mistake to suppose that +because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the +less important. Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, +and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither +art nor craft plays its full share. Art does not consist only in +original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; craft does not mean hammering +silver so that the hammer marks shall show; the best art is that +which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they +are strikingly new or not, and the best craftsman is so skilful +that he is able to go beyond the hammer marks, so to speak, and +to produce with the hammer a surface as smooth as, and far more +perfect than, that produced by an emery and burnisher. Some people +think that "Arts and Crafts" means a combination which allows of +poor work being concealed under a mask of æsthetic effect. +Labour should not go forth blindly without art, and art should not +proceed simply for the attainment of beauty without utility,—in +other words, there should be an alliance between labour and art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One principle for which craftsmen should stand is <a +name="page_ix"><span class="page">Page ix</span></a> a respect for +their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods and implements +employed in constructing any article. If the article in question +is a chair, and is really put together by means of sockets and +pegs, let these constructive necessities appear, and do not try +to disguise the means by which the result is to be attained. Make +the requisite feature a beauty instead of a disgrace. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is amusing to see a New England farmer build a fence. He begins +with good cedar posts,—fine, thick, solid logs, which are at +least genuine, and handsome so far as a cedar post is capable of +being handsome. You think, "Ah, that will be a good unobjectionable +fence." But, behold, as soon as the posts are in position, he carefully +lays a flat plank vertically in front of each, so that the passer-by +may fancy that he has performed the feat of making a fence of flat +laths, thus going out of his way to conceal the one positive and +good-looking feature in his fence. He seems to have some furtive +dread of admitting that he has used the real article! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A bolt is to be affixed to a modern door. Instead of being applied +with a plate of iron or brass, in itself a decorative feature on +a blank space like that of the surface of a door, the carpenter +cuts a piece of wood out of the edge of the door, sinks the bolt +out of sight, so that nothing shall appear to view but a tiny +meaningless brass handle, and considers that he has performed a +very neat job. Compare this method with that of a mediæval +locksmith, and the result with his great iron <a name="page_x"><span +class="page">Page x</span></a> bolt, and if you can not appreciate +the difference, both in principle and result, I should recommend +a course of historic art study until you are convinced. On the +other hand, it is not necessary to carry your artistry so far that +you build a fence of nothing but cedar logs touching one another, +or that you cover your entire door with a meander of wrought iron +which culminates in a small bolt. Enthusiastic followers of the Arts +and Crafts movement often go to morbid extremes. <i>Recognition</i> +of material and method does not connote a <i>display</i> of method +and material out of proportion to the demands of the article to +be constructed. As in other forms of culture, balance and sanity +are necessary, in order to produce a satisfactory result. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But when a craftsman is possessed of an æsthetic instinct +and faculty, he merits the congratulations offered to the students +of Birmingham by William Morris, when he told them that they were +among the happiest people in all civilization—"persons whose +necessary daily work is inseparable from their greatest pleasure." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A mediæval artist was usually a craftsman as well. He was +not content with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them +over to men whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took +his own designs and carried them out. Thus, the designer adapted +his drawing to the demands of his material and the craftsman was +necessarily in sympathy with the design since it was his own. The +result was a harmony of intention and execution which is often +lacking when two men of <a name="page_xi"><span class="page">Page +xi</span></a> differing tastes produce one object. Lübke sums +up the talents of a mediæval artist as follows: "A painter +could produce panels with coats of arms for the military men of +noble birth, and devotional panels with an image of a saint or a +conventionalized scene from Scripture for that noble's wife. With +the same brush and on a larger panel he could produce a larger +sacred picture for the convent round the corner, and with finer +pencil and more delicate touch he could paint the vellum leaves +of a missal;" and so on. If an artistic earthenware platter was +to be made, the painter turned to his potter's wheel and to his +kiln. If a filigree coronet was wanted, he took up his tools for +metal and jewelry work. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Redgrave lays down an excellent maxim for general guidance to designers +in arts other than legitimate picture making. He says: "The picture +must be independent of the material, the thought alone should govern +it; whereas in decoration the material must be one of the suggestors +of the thought, its use must govern the design." This shows the +difference between decoration and pictorial art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One hears a great deal of the "conventional" in modern art talk. Just +what this means, few people who have the word in their vocabularies +really know. As Professor Moore defined it once, it does not apply +to an arbitrary theoretical system at all, but is instinctive. +It means obedience to the limits under which the artist works. +The really greatest art craftsmen of all <a name="page_xii"><span +class="page">Page xii</span></a> have been those who have recognized +the limitations of the material which they employed. Some of the +cleverest have been beguiled by the fascination of overcoming obstacles, +into trying to make iron do the things appropriate only to wood, +or to force cast bronze into the similitude of a picture, or to +discount all the credit due to a fine piece of embroidery by trying +to make it appear like a painting. But these are the exotics; they +are the craftsmen who have been led astray by a false impulse, +who respect difficulty more than appropriateness, war rather than +peace! No elaborate and tortured piece of Cellini's work can compare +with the dignified glory of the Pala d'Oro; Ghiberti's gates in +Florence, though a marvellous <i>tour de force</i>, are not so +satisfying as the great corona candelabrum of Hildesheim. As a rule, +we shall find that mediæval craftsmen were better artists +than those of the Renaissance, for with facility in the use of +material, comes always the temptation to make it imitate some other +material, thus losing its individuality by a contortion which may +be curious and interesting, but out of place. We all enjoy seeing +acrobats on the stage, but it would be painful to see them curling +in and out of our drawing-room chairs. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The true spirit which the Arts and Crafts is trying to inculcate +was found in Florence when the great artists turned their attention +to the manipulation of objects of daily use, Benvenuto Cellini being +willing to make salt-cellars, and Sansovino to work on inkstands, +and <a name="page_xiii"><span class="page">Page xiii</span></a> +Donatello on picture frames, while Pollajuolo made candlesticks. +The more our leading artists realize the need of their attention +in the minor arts, the more nearly shall we attain to a genuine +alliance between the arts and the crafts. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +To sum up the effect of this harmony between art and craft in the +Middle Ages, the Abbé Texier has said: "In those days art +and manufactures were blended and identified; art gained by this +affinity great practical facility, and manufacture much original +beauty." And then the value to the artist is almost incalculable. +To spend one's life in getting means on which to live is a waste +of all enjoyment. To use one's life as one goes along—to +live every day with pleasure in congenial occupation—that is +the only thing worth while. The life of a craftsman is a constant +daily fulfilment of the final ideal of the man who spends all his +time and strength in acquiring wealth so that some time (and he +may never live to see the day) he may be able to control his time +and to use it as pleases him. There is stored up capital represented +in the life of a man whose work is a recreation, and expressive +of his own personality. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In a book of this size it is not possible to treat of every art +or craft which engaged the skill of the mediæval workers. +But at some future time I hope to make a separate study of the +ceramics, glass in its various forms, the arts of engraving and +printing, and some of the many others which have added so much +to the pleasure and beauty of the civilized world. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_xv"><span class="page">Page xv</span></a> +CONTENTS</h2> + +<table> + <tr><td class="right">CHAPTER</td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td><a href="#page_v">INTRODUCTION</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">I.</td> + <td><a href="#page_1">Gold and Silver</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">II.</td> + <td><a href="#page_49">Jewelry and Precious Stones</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">III.</td> + <td><a href="#page_91">Enamel</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">IV.</td> + <td><a href="#page_109">Other Metals</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">V.</td> + <td><a href="#page_154">Tapestry</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">VI.</td> + <td><a href="#page_179">Embroideries</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">VII.</td> + <td><a href="#page_213">Sculpture in Stone (France and + Italy)</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">VIII.</td> + <td><a href="#page_242">Sculpture in Stone (England and + Germany)</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">IX.</td> + <td><a href="#page_262">Carving in Wood and Ivory</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">X.</td> + <td><a href="#page_296">Inlay and Mosaic</a></td></tr> + <tr><td class="right">XI.</td> + <td><a href="#page_326">Illumination of Books</a></td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td><a href="#page_365">Bibliography</a></td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td><a href="#page_369">Index</a></td></tr> +</table> + +<h2> +<a name="page_xvii"><span class="page">Page xvii</span></a> +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<p> +Examples of Ecclesiastical Metal Work<br /> +Crown of Charlemagne<br /> +Bernward's Cross and Candlesticks, Hildesheim<br /> +Bernward's Chalice, Hildesheim<br /> +Corona at Hildesheim. (detail)<br /> +Reliquary at Orvieto<br /> +Apostle spoons<br /> +Ivory Knife Handles, with Portraits of Queen Elizabeth and James + I. Englis<br /> +The "Milkmaid Cup"<br /> +Saxon Brooch<br /> +The Tara Brooch<br /> +Shrine of the Bell of St. Patrick<br /> +The Treasure of Guerrazzar<br /> +Hebrew Ring<br /> +Crystal Flagons, St. Mark's, Venice<br /> +Sardonyx Cup, 11th Century, Venice<br /> +German Enamel, 13th Century<br /> +Enamelled Gold Book Cover, Siena<br /> +Detail; Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne<br /> +Finiguerra's Pax, Florence<br /> +Italian Enamelled Crozier, 14th Century<br /> +Wrought Iron Hinge, Frankfort<br /> +Biscornette's Doors at Paris<br /> +Wrought Iron from the Bargello, Florence<br /> +Moorish Keys, Seville<br /> +Armour. Showing Mail Developing into Plate<br /> +Damascened Helmet<br /> +Moorish Sword<br /> +Enamelled Suit of Armour<br /> +Brunelleschi's Competitive Panel<br /> +<a name="page_xviii"><span class="page">Page xviii</span></a> +Ghiberti's Competitive Panel<br /> +Font at Hildesheim, 12th Century<br /> +Portrait Statuette of Peter Vischer<br /> +A Copper "Curfew"<br /> +Sanctuary Knocker, Durham Cathedral<br /> +Anglo-Saxon Crucifix of Lead<br /> +Detail, Bayeux Tapestry<br /> +Flemish Tapestry, "The Prodigal Son"<br /> +Tapestry, Representing Paris in the 15th Century<br /> +Embroidery on Canvas, 16th Century, South Kensington Museum<br /> +Detail of the Syon Cope<br /> +Dalmatic of Charlemagne<br /> +Embroidery, 15th Century, Cologne<br /> +Carved Capital from Ravenna<br /> +Pulpit of Nicola Pisano, Pisa<br /> +Tomb of the Son of St. Louis, St. Denis<br /> +Carvings around Choir Ambulatory, Chartres<br /> +Grotesque from Oxford, Popularly Known as "The Backbiter"<br /> +The "Beverly minstrels"<br /> +St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg, Showing Adam Kraft's Pyx, and the + Hanging Medallion by Veit Stoss<br /> +Relief by Adam Kraft<br /> +Carved Box—wood Pyx, 14th Century<br /> +Miserere Stall; An Artisan at Work<br /> +Miserere Stall, Ely; Noah and the Dove<br /> +Miserere Stall; the Fate of the Ale-wife<br /> +Ivory Tabernacle, Ravenna<br /> +The Nativity; Ivory Carving<br /> +Pastoral Staff; Ivory, German, 12th Century<br /> +Ivory Mirror Case; Early 14th Century<br /> +Ivory Mirror Case, 1340<br /> +Chessman from Lewis<br /> +Marble Inlay from Lucca<br /> +Detail of Pavement, Baptistery, Florence<br /> +Detail of Pavement, Siena; "Fortune," by Pinturicchio<br /> +<a name="page_xix"><span class="page">Page xix</span></a> +Ambo at Ravello; Specimen of Cosmati Mosaic<br /> +Mosaic from Ravenna; Theodora and Her Suite, 16th Century<br /> +Mosaic in Bas-relief, Naples<br /> +A Scribe at Work; 12th Century Manuscript<br /> +Detail from the Durham Book<br /> +Ivy Pattern, from a 14th Century French Manuscript<br /> +Mediæval Illumination<br /> +Caricature of a Bishop<br /> +Illumination by Gherart David of Bruges, 1498; St. Barbara<br /> +Choral Book, Siena<br /> +Detail from an Italian Choral Book +</p> + +<p class="part"> +<a name="page_1"><span class="page">Page 1</span></a> +ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES +</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">GOLD AND SILVER</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The worker in metals is usually called a smith, whether he be +coppersmith or goldsmith. The term is Saxon in origin, and is derived +from the expression "he that smiteth." Metal was usually wrought +by force of blows, except where the process of casting modified +this. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Beaten work was soldered from the earliest times. Egyptians evidently +understood the use of solder, for the Hebrews obtained their knowledge +of such things from them, and in Isaiah xli. 7, occurs the passage: +"So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth +with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, 'It is ready +for the soldering.'" In the Bible there are constant references +to such arts in metal work as prevail in our own times: "Of beaten +work made he the candlesticks," Exodus. In the ornaments of the +tabernacle, the artificer Bezaleel "made two cherubims of gold +beaten out of one piece made he them." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An account of gold being gathered in spite of vicissitudes <a +name="page_2"><span class="page">Page 2</span></a> is given by +Pliny: "Among the Dardoe the ants are as large as Egyptian wolves, +and cat coloured. The Indians gather the gold dust thrown up by +the ants, when they are sleeping in their holes in the Summer; +but if these animals wake, they pursue the Indians, and, though +mounted on the swiftest camels, overtake and tear them to pieces." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another legend relates to the blessed St. Patrick, through whose +intercession special grace is supposed to have been granted to +all smiths. St. Patrick was a slave in his youth. An old legend +tells that one time a wild boar came rooting in the field, and +brought up a lump of gold; and Patrick brought it to a tinker, +and the tinker said, "It is nothing but solder. Give it here to +me." But then he brought it to a smith, and the smith told him it +was gold; and with that gold he bought his freedom. "And from that +time," continues the story, "the smiths have been lucky, taking +money every day, and never without work, but as for the tinkers, +every man's face is against them!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Middle Ages the arts and crafts were generally protected by +the formation of guilds and fraternities. These bodies practically +exercised the right of patent over their professions, and infringements +could be more easily dealt with, and frauds more easily exposed, +by means of concerted effort on the part of the craftsmen. The +goldsmiths and silversmiths were thus protected in England and +France, and in most of the leading European art centres. The test +of pure gold was made <a name="page_3"><span class="page">Page +3</span></a> by "six of the more discreet goldsmiths," who went +about and superintended the amount of alloy to be employed; "gold +of the standard of the touch of Paris" was the French term for metal +of the required purity. Any goldsmith using imitation stones or +otherwise falsifying in his profession was punished "by imprisonment +and by ransom at the King's pleasure." There were some complaints +that fraudulent workers "cover tin with silver so subtilely... +that the same cannot be discovered or separated, and so sell tin +for fine silver, to the great damage and deceipt of us." This state +of things finally led to the adoption of the Hall Mark, which is +still to be seen on every piece of silver, signifying that it has +been pronounced pure by the appointed authorities. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The goldsmiths of France absorbed several other auxiliary arts, and +were powerful and influential. In state processions the goldsmiths +had the first place of importance, and bore the royal canopy when +the King himself took part in the ceremony, carrying the shrine +of St. Genevieve also, when it was taken forth in great pageants. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the quaint wording of the period, goldsmiths were forbidden to +gild or silver-plate any article made of copper or latten, unless +they left some part of the original exposed, "at the foot or some +other part,... to the intent that a man may see whereof the thing +is made for to eschew the deceipt aforesaid." This law was enacted +in 1404. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_4"><span class="page">Page 4</span></a> +Many of the great art schools of the Middle Ages were established +in connection with the numerous monasteries scattered through all +the European countries and in England. The Rule of St. Benedict +rings true concerning the proper consecration of an artist: "If +there be artists in the monastery, let them exercise their crafts +with all humility and reverence, provided the abbot shall have +ordered them. But if any of them be proud of the skill he hath in +his craft, because he thereby seemeth to gain something for the +monastery, let him be removed from it and not exercise it again, +unless, after humbling himself, the abbot shall permit him." Craft +without graft was the keynote of mediæval art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +King Alfred had a monastic art school at Athelney, in which he had +collected "monks of all kinds from every quarter." This accounts +for the Greek type of work turned out at this time, and very likely +for Italian influences in early British art. The king was active in +craft work himself, for Asser tells us that he "continued, during +his frequent wars, to teach his workers in gold and artificers of +all kinds." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The quaint old encyclopædia of Bartholomew Anglicus, called, +"The Properties of Things," defines gold and silver in an original +way, according to the beliefs of this writer's day. He says of +gold, that "in the composition there is more sadness of brimstone +than of air and moisture of quicksilver, and therefore gold is +more sad and heavy than silver." Of silver he remarks, <a +name="page_5"><span class="page">Page 5</span></a> "Though silver +be white yet it maketh black lines and strakes in the body that +is scored therewith." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Marco Polo says that in the province of Carazan "the rivers yield +great quantities of washed gold, and also that which is solid, and +on the mountains they find gold in the vein, and they give one +pound of gold for six of silver." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Workers in gold or silver usually employ one of two +methods—casting or beating, combined with delicacy of finish, +chasing, and polishing. The technical processes are interestingly +described by the writers of the old treatises on divers arts. In +the earliest of these, by the monk Theophilus, in the eleventh +century, we have most graphic accounts of processes very similar +to those now in use. The naïve monastic instructor, in his +preface, exhorts his followers to honesty and zeal in their good +works. "Skilful in the arts let no one glorify himself," say Theophilus, +"as if received from himself, and not from elsewhere; but let him be +thankful humbly in the Lord, from whom all things are received." +He then advises the craftsman earnestly to study the book which +follows, telling him of the riches of instruction therein to be +found; "you will there find out whatever... Tuscany knows of mosaic +work, or in variety of enamels, whatever Arabia shows forth in +work of fusion, ductility or chasing, whatever Italy ornaments +with gold... whatever France loves in a costly variety of windows; +whatever industrious Germany approves in work of gold, silver or +copper, and iron, of woods and <a name="page_6"><span class="page">Page +6</span></a> of stones." No wonder the authorities are lost in +conjecture as to the native place of the versatile Theophilus! After +promising all these delightful things, the good old monk continues, +"Act therefore, well intentioned man,... hasten to complete with +all the study of thy mind, those things which are still wanting +among the utensils of the House of the Lord," and he enumerates +the various pieces of church plate in use in the Middle Ages. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Directions are given by Theophilus for the workroom, the benches +at which the smiths are to sit, and also the most minute technical +recipes for "instruments for sculping," for scraping, filing, and +so forth, until the workshop should be fitted with all necessary +tools. In those days, artists began at the very beginning. There were +no "Windsor and Newtons," no nice makers of dividers and T-squares, +to whom one could apply; all implements must be constructed by the +man who contemplated using them. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We will see how Theophilus proceeds, after he has his tools in +readiness, to construct a chalice. First, he puts the silver in a +crucible, and when it has become fluid, he turns it into a mould +in which there is wax (this is evidently the "cire perdu" process +familiar to casters of every age), and then he says, "If by some +negligence it should happen that the melted silver be not whole, +cast it again until it is whole." This process of casting would +apply equally to all metals. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Theophilus instructs his craftsman how to make the <a +name="page_7"><span class="page">Page 7</span></a> handles of the +chalice as follows: "Take wax, form handles with it, and grave +upon them dragons or animals or birds, or leaves—in whatever +manner you may wish. But on the top of each handle place a little +wax, round like a slender candle, half a finger in length,... this +wax is called the funnel.... Then take some clay and cover carefully +the handle, so that the hollows of the sculpture may be filled +up.... Afterwards place these moulds near the coals, that when +they have become warm you may pour out the wax. Which being turned +out, melt the silver,... and cast into the same place whence you +poured out the wax. And when they have become cold remove the clay." +The solid silver handles are found inside, one hardly need say. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In casting in the "cire perdu" process, Benvenuto Cellini warns +you to beware lest you break your crucible—"just as you've +got your silver nicely molten," he says, "and are pouring it into +the mould, crack goes your crucible, and all your work and time +and pains are lost!" He advises wrapping it in stout cloths. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The process of repoussé work is also much the same to-day as +it has always been. The metal is mounted on cement and the design +partly beaten in from the outside; then the cement is melted out, +and the design treated in more detail from the inside. Theophilus +tells us how to prepare a silver vessel to be beaten with a design. +After giving a recipe for a sort of pitch, he says, "Melt this +composition and fill the vial to the top. And when it has become +cold, portray... whatever <a name="page_8"><span class="page">Page +8</span></a> you wish, and taking a slender ductile instrument, +and a small hammer, design that which you have portrayed around +it by striking lightly." This process is practically, on a larger +scale, what Cellini describes as that of "minuterie." Cellini praises +Caradosso beyond all others in this work, saying "it was just in +this very getting of the gold so equal all over, that I never knew +a man to beat Caradosso!" He tells how important this equality of +surface is, for if, in the working, the gold became thicker in +one place than in another, it was impossible to attain a perfect +finish. Caradosso made first a wax model of the object which he +was to make; this he cast in copper, and on that he laid his thin +gold, beating and modelling it to the form, until the small hollow +bas-relief was complete. The work was done with wooden and steel +tools of small proportions, sometimes pressed from the back and +sometimes from the front; "ever so much care is necessary," writes +Cellini, "...to prevent the gold from splitting." After the model +was brought to such a point of relief as was suitable for the design, +great care had to be exercised in extending the gold further, to +fit behind heads and arms in special relief. In those days the +whole film of gold was then put in the furnace, and fired until +the gold began to liquefy, at which exact moment it was necessary +to remove it. Cellini himself made a medal for Girolamo Maretta, +representing Hercules and the Lion; the figures were in such high +relief that they only touched the ground at a few points. <a +name="page_9"><span class="page">Page 9</span></a> Cellini reports +with pride that Michelangelo said to him: "If this work were made +in great, whether in marble or in bronze, and fashioned with as +exquisite a design as this, it would astonish the world; and even +in its present size it seems to me so beautiful that I do not think +even a goldsmith of the ancient world fashioned aught to come up to +it!" Cellini says that these words "stiffened him up," and gave him +much increased ambition. He describes also an Atlas which he constructed +of wrought gold, to be placed upon a lapis lazuli background: this +he made in extreme relief, using tiny tools, "working right into +the arms and legs, and making all alike of equal thickness." A +cope-button for Pope Clement was also quite a <i>tour de force</i>; +as he said, "these pieces of work are often harder the smaller they +are." The design showed the Almighty seated on a great diamond; +around him there were "a number of jolly little angels," some in +complete relief. He describes how he began with a flat sheet of +gold, and worked constantly and conscientiously, gradually bossing +it up, until, with one tool and then another, he finally mastered +the material, "till one fine day God the Father stood forth in +the round, most comely to behold." So skilful was Cellini in this +art that he "bossed up in high relief with his punches some fifteen +little angels, without even having to solder the tiniest rent!" +The fastening of the clasp was decorated with "little snails and +masks and other pleasing trifles," which suggest to us that <a +name="page_10"><span class="page">Page 10</span></a> Benvenuto was +a true son of the Renaissance, and that his design did not equal +his ability as a craftsman. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cellini's method of forming a silver vase was on this wise. The +original plate of silver had to be red hot, "not too red, for then +it would crack,—but sufficient to burn certain little grains +thrown on to it." It was then adjusted to the stake, and struck +with the hammer, towards the centre, until by degrees it began +to take convex form. Then, keeping the central point always in +view by means of compasses, from that point he struck "a series +of concentric circles about half a finger apart from each other," +and with a hammer, beginning at the centre, struck so that the +"movement of the hammer shall be in the form of a spiral, and follow +the concentric circles." It was important to keep the form very even +all round. Then the vase had to be hammered from within, "till it +was equally bellied all round," and after that, the neck was formed +by the same method. Then, to ornament the vase, it was filled with +pitch, and the design traced on the outside. When it was necessary +to beat up the ornament from within, the vase was cleared out, and +inverted upon the point of a long "snarling-iron," fastened in an +anvil stock, and beaten so that the point should indent from within. +The vase would often have to be filled with pitch and emptied in +this manner several times in the course of its construction. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Benvenuto Cellini was one of the greatest art personalities of all +time. The quaintness of the æsthetic <a name="page_11"><span +class="page">Page 11</span></a> temperament is nowhere found better +epitomized than in his life and writings. But as a producer of +artistic things, he is a great disappointment. Too versatile to +be a supreme specialist, he is far more interesting as a man and +craftsman than as a designer. Technical skill he had in unique +abundance. And another faculty, for which he does not always receive +due credit, is his gift for imparting his knowledge. His Treatises, +containing valuable information as to methods of work, are less +familiar to most readers than his fascinating biography. These +Treatises, or directions to craftsmen, are full of the spice and +charm which characterize his other work. One cannot proceed from +a consideration of the bolder metal work to a study of the dainty +art of the goldsmith without a glance at Benvenuto Cellini. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The introduction to the Treatises has a naïve opening: "What +first prompted me to write was the knowledge of how fond people +are of hearing anything new." This, and other reasons, induced +him to "write about those loveliest secrets and wondrous methods +of the great art of goldsmithing." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Francis I. indeed thought highly of Cellini. Upon viewing one of his +works, his Majesty raised his hands, and exclaimed to the Mareschal +de France, "I command you to give the first good fat abbey that +falls vacant to our Benvenuto, for I do not want my kingdom to +be deprived of his like." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Benvenuto describes the process of making filigree work, the principle +of which is, fine wire coiled flat so <a name="page_12"><span +class="page">Page 12</span></a> as to form designs with an interesting +and varied surface. Filigree is quite common still, and any one +who has walked down the steep street of the Goldsmiths in Genoa +is familiar with most of its modern forms. Cellini says: "Though +many have practised the art without making drawings first, because +the material in which they worked was so easily handled and so +pliable, yet those who made their drawings first did the best work. +Now give ear to the way the art is pursued." He then directs that +the craftsman shall have ready three sizes of wire, and some little +gold granules, which are made by cutting the short lengths of wire, +and then subjecting them to fervent heat until they become as little +round beads. He then explains how the artificer must twist and +mould the delicate wires, and tastily apply the little granules, +so as to make a graceful design, usually of some floriate form. +When the wire flowers and leaves were formed satisfactorily, a wash +of gum tragacanth should be applied, to hold them in place until +the final soldering. The solder was in powdered form, and it was to +be dusted on "just as much as may suffice,... and not more,"... +this amount of solder could only be determined by the experience of +the artist. Then came the firing of the finished work in the little +furnace; Benvenuto is here quite at a loss how to explain himself: +"Too much heat would move the wires you have woven out of place," +he says, "really it is quite impossible to tell it properly in +writing; I could explain it all right by word of mouth, or better +still, show you how it is <a name="page_13"><span class="page">Page +13</span></a> done,—still, come along,—we'll try to +go on as we started!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sometimes embossing was done by thin sheets of metal being pressed +on to a wooden carving prepared for the purpose, so that the result +would be a raised silver pattern, which, when filled up with pitch +or lead, would pass for a sample of repoussé work. I need +hardly say that a still simpler mechanical form of pressing obtains +on cheap silver to-day. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +So much for the mechanical processes of treating these metals. We +will now examine some of the great historic examples, and glance +at the lives of prominent workers in gold and silver in the past. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the most brilliant times for the production of works of art +in gold and silver, was when Constantine, upon becoming Christian, +moved the seat of government to Byzantium. Byzantine ornament lends +itself especially to such work. The distinguishing mark between +the earlier Greek jewellers and the Byzantine was, that the former +considered chiefly line, form, and delicacy of workmanship, while +the latter were led to expression through colour and texture, and +not fineness of finish. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Byzantine emperors loved gold in a lavish way, and on a superb +scale. They were not content with chaste rings and necklets, or +even with golden crowns. The royal thrones were of gold; their +armour was decorated with the precious metal, and their chariots +enriched in the same way. Even the houses of the rich people <a +name="page_14"><span class="page">Page 14</span></a> were more +endowed with precious furnishings than most of the churches of +other nations, and every family possessed a massive silver table, +and solid vases and plate. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Emperor Theophilus, who lived in the ninth century, was a great +lover of the arts. His palace was built after the Arabian style, +and he had skilful mechanical experts to construct a golden tree +over his throne, on the branches of which were numerous birds, +and two golden lions at the foot. These birds were so arranged +by clockwork, that they could be made to sing, and the lions also +joined a roar to the chorus! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A great designer of the Middle Ages was Alcuin, the teacher of +Charlemagne, who lived from 735 to 804; he superintended the building +of many fine specimens of church plate. The school of Alcuin, however, +was more famous for illumination, and we shall speak of his work +at more length when we come to deal with that subject. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another distinguished patron of art was the Abbot Odo of Cluny, +who had originally been destined for a soldier; but he was visited +with what Maitland describes as "an inveterate headache, which, from +his seventeenth to his nineteenth year, defied all medical skill," +so he and his parents, convinced that this was a manifestation of +the disapproval of Heaven, decided to devote his life to religious +pursuits. He became Abbot of Cluny in the year 927. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 372px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig001.jpg" width="372" height="373" alt="Figure 1"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Examples of ninth century goldsmithing are rare. <a name="page_15"><span +class="page">Page 15</span></a> Judging from the few specimens +existing, the crown of Charlemagne, and the beautiful binding of +the Hours of Charles the Bold, one would be inclined to think that +an almost barbaric wealth of closely set jewels was the entire +standard of the art of the time, and that grace of form or contour +was quite secondary. The tomb was rifled about the twelfth century, +and <a name="page_16"><span class="page">Page 16</span></a> many of +the valuable things with which he was surrounded were taken away. +The throne was denuded of its gold, and may be seen to-day in the +Cathedral at Aachen, a simple marble chair plain and dignified, with +the copper joints showing its construction. Many of the relics of +Charlemagne are in the treasury at Aachen, among other interesting +items, the bones of the right arm of the Emperor in a golden shrine +in the form of a hand and arm. There is a thrill in contemplating +the remains of the right arm of Charlemagne after all the centuries, +when one remembers the swords and sceptres which have been wielded +by that mighty member. The reliquary containing the right arm of +Charlemagne is German work (of course later than the opening of +the tomb), probably between 1155 and 1190. Frederic Barbarossa +and his ancestors are represented on its ornamentation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is little goldsmith's work of the Norman period in Great +Britain, for that was a time of the building of large structures, +and probably minor arts and personal adornment took a secondary +place. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 359px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig002.jpg" width="359" height="525" alt="Figure 2"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>BERNWARD'S CROSS AND CANDLESTICKS, HILDESHEIM</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Perhaps the most satisfactory display of mediæval arts and +crafts which may be seen in one city is at Hildesheim: the special +richness of remains of the tenth century is owing to the life and +example of an early bishop—Bernward—who ruled the See +from 993 to 1022. Before he was made bishop, Bernward was tutor +to the young Emperor Otto III. He was a student of art all his +life, and a practical craftsman, working <a name="page_17"><span +class="page">Page 17</span></a> largely in metals, and training +up a Guild of followers in the Cathedral School. He was extremely +versatile: one of the great geniuses of history. In times of war +he was Commander in Chief of Hildesheim; he was a traveller, having +made pilgrimages to Rome and Paris, and the grave of St. Martin at +Tours. This wide culture was unusual in those days; it is quite +evident from his active life of accomplishment in creative art, +that good Bishop Bernward was not to be numbered among those who +expected the end of the world to occur in the year 1000 A. D. Of +his works to be seen in Hildesheim, there are splendid examples. +The Goldsmith's School under his direction was famous. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He was created bishop in 992; Taugmar pays him a tribute, saying: +"He was an excellent penman, a good painter, and as a household +manager was unequalled." Moreover, he "excelled in the mechanical +no less than in the liberal arts." In fact, a visit to Hildesheim +to-day proves that to this man who lived ten centuries ago is due +the fact that Hildesheim is the most artistic city in Germany from +the antiquarian's point of view. This bishop influenced every branch +of art, and with so vital an influence, that his See city is still +full of his works and personality. He was not only a practical +worker in the arts and crafts, but he was also a collector, forming +quite a museum for the further instruction of the students who +came in touch with him. He decorated the walls of his cathedral; +the great candelabrum, or corona, which circles above the central +aisle of the <a name="page_18"><span class="page">Page 18</span></a> +cathedral, was his own design, and the work of his followers; and +the paschal column in the cathedral was from his workshop, wrought +as delightfully as would be possible in any age, and yet executed +nearly a thousand years ago. No bishop ever deserved sainthood +more, or made a more practical contribution to the Church. Pope +Celestine III. canonized him in 1194. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bernward came of a noble family. His figure may be seen—as near +an approach to a portrait of this great worker as we have—among +the bas-reliefs on the beautiful choir-screen in St. Michael's +Church in Hildesheim. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 358px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig003.jpg" width="358" height="560" alt="Figure 3"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>BERNWARD'S CHALICE, HILDESHEIM</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The cross executed by Bernward's own hands in 994 is a superb work, +with filigree covering the whole, and set with gems <i>en cabochon</i>, +with pearls, and antique precious stones, carved with Greek divinities +in intaglio. The candlesticks of St. Bernward, too, are most +interesting. They are made of a metal composed of gold, silver, +and iron, and are wrought magnificently, into a mass of animal +and floriate forms, their outline being well retained, and the +grace of the shaft and proportions being striking. They are partly +the work of the mallet and partly of the chisel. They had been +buried with Bernward, and were found in his sarcophagus in 1194. +Didron has likened them, in their use of animal form, to the art +of the Mexicans; but to me they seem more like delightful German +Romanesque workmanship, leaning more towards that of certain spirited +Lombard grotesques, or even that of Arles and certain parts of <a +name="page_19"><span class="page">Page 19</span></a> France, than +to the Aztec to which Didron has reference. The little climbing +figures, while they certainly have very large hands and feet, yet +are endowed with a certain sprightly action; they all give the +impression of really making an effort,—they are trying to +climb, instead of simply occupying places in the foliage. There +is a good deal of strength and energy displayed in all of them, +and, while the work is rude and rough, it is virile. It is not +unlike the workmanship on the Gloucester candlestick in the South +Kensington Museum, which was made in the twelfth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bernward's chalice is set with antique stones, some of them carved. +On the foot may be seen one representing the three Graces, in their +customary state of nudity "without malice." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bernward was also an architect. He built the delightful church of +St. Michael, and its cloister. He also superintended the building +of an important wall by the river bank in the lower town. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When there was an uneasy time of controversy at Gandesheim, Bernward +hastened to headquarters in Rome, to arrange to bring about better +feeling. In 1001 he arrived, early in January, and the Pope went +out to meet him, kissed him, and invited him to stay as a guest +at his palace. After accomplishing his diplomatic mission, and +laden with all sorts of sacred relics, Bernward returned home, not +too directly to prevent his seeing something of the intervening +country. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A book which Bishop Bernward had made and <a name="page_20"><span +class="page">Page 20</span></a> illuminated in 1011 has the inscription: +"I, Bernward, had this codex written out, at my own cost, and gave it +to the beloved Saint of God, Michael. Anathema to him who alienates +it." This inscription has the more interest for being the actual +autograph of Bernward. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He was succeeded by Hezilo, and many other pupils. These men made +the beautiful corona of the cathedral, of which I give an illustration +in detail. Great coronas or circular chandeliers hung in the naves +of many cathedrals in the Middle Ages. The finest specimen is this +at Hildesheim, the magnificent ring of which is twenty feet across, +as it hangs suspended by a system of rods and balls in the form +of chains. It has twelve large towers and twelve small ones set +around it, supposed to suggest the Heavenly Jerusalem with its many +mansions. There are sockets for seventy-two candles. The detail +of its adornment is very splendid, and repays close study. Every +little turret is different in architectonic form, and statues of +saints are to be seen standing within these. The pierced silver work +on this chandelier is as beautiful as any mediæval example +in existence. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 450px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig004.jpg" width="450" height="359" alt="Figure 4"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CORONA AT HILDESHEIM (DETAIL)</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The great leader of mediæval arts in France was the Abbot Suger +of St. Denis. Suger was born in 1081, he and his brother, Alvise, +who was Bishop of Arras, both being destined for the Episcopate. As +a youth he passed ten years at St. Denis as a scholar. Here he +became intimate with Prince Louis, and this friendship developed +in after life. On returning from a voyage to <a name="page_21"><span +class="page">Page 21</span></a> Italy, in 1122, he learned at the +same time of the death of his spiritual father, Abbot Adam, and of +his own election to be his successor. He thus stood at the head +of the convent of St. Denis in 1123. This was due to his noble +character, his genius for diplomacy and his artistic talent. He was +minister to Louis VI., and afterwards to Louis VII., and during the +second Crusade, he was made Regent for the kingdom. Suger was known, +after this, as the Father of his Country, for he was a courageous +counsellor, firm and convincing in argument, so that the king had +really been guided by his advice. While he was making laws and +instigating crusades, he was also directing craft shops and propagating +the arts in connection with the life of the Church. St. Bernard +denounced him, as encouraging too luxurious a ritual; Suger made a +characteristic reply: "If the ancient law... ordained that vessels +and cups of gold should be used for libations, and to receive the +blood of rams,... how much rather should we devote gold, precious +stones, and the rarest of materials, to those vessels which are +destined to contain the blood of Our Lord." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Suger ordered and himself made most beautiful appointments for the +sanctuary, and when any vessel already owned by the Abbey was of +costly material, and yet unsuitable in style, he had it remodelled. +An interesting instance of this is a certain antique vase of red +porphyry. There was nothing ecclesiastical about this vase; it was +a plain straight Greek jar, with two handles at the sides. Suger +treated it as the body of <a name="page_22"><span class="page">Page +22</span></a> an eagle, making the head and neck to surmount it, and +the claw feet for it to stand on, together with its soaring wings, +of solid gold, and it thus became transformed into a magnificent +reliquary in the form of the king of birds. The inscription on +this Ampula of Suger is: "As it is our duty to present unto God +oblations of gems and gold, I, Suger, offer this vase unto the +Lord." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Suger stood always for the ideal in art and character. He had the +courage of his convictions in spite of the fulminations of St. +Bernard. Instead of using the enormous sums of money at his disposal +for importing Byzantine workmen, he preferred to use his funds +and his own influence in developing a native French school of +artificers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is interesting to discover that Suger, among his many adaptations +and restorations at St. Denis, incorporated some of the works of +St. Eloi into his own compositions. For instance, he took an ivory +pulpit, and remodelled it with the addition of copper animals. +Abbots of St. Denis made beautiful offerings to the church. One +of them, Abbot Matthiew de Vendôme, presented a wonderful +reliquary, consisting of a golden head and bust, while another +gave a reliquary to contain the jaw of St. Louis. Suger presented +many fine products of his own art and that of his pupils, among +others a great cross six feet in height. A story is told of him, +that, while engaged in making a particularly splendid crucifix +for St. Denis, he ran short of precious <a name="page_23"><span +class="page">Page 23</span></a> stones, nor could he in any way +obtain what he required, until some monks came to him and offered +to sell him a superb lot of stones which had formerly embellished +the dinner service of Henry I. of England, whose nephew had given +them to the convent in exchange for indulgences and masses! In these +early and half-barbaric days of magnificence, form and delicacy +of execution were not understood. Brilliancy and lavish display of +sparkling jewels, set as thickly as possible without reference +to a general scheme of composition, was the standard of beauty; +and it must be admitted that, with such stones available, no more +effective school of work has ever existed than that of which such +works Charlemagne's crown, the Iron Crown of Monza, and the crown +of King Suinthila, are typical examples. Abbot Suger lamented when +he lacked a sufficient supply of stones; but he did not complain +when there occurred a deficiency in workmen. It was comparatively +easy to train artists who could make settings and bind stones together +with soldered straps! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1352 a royal silversmith of France, Etienne La Fontaine, made +a "fauteuil of silver and crystal decorated with precious stones," +for the king. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The golden altar of Basle is almost as interesting as the great +Pala d'Oro in Venice, of which mention is made elsewhere. It was +ordered by Emperor Henry the Pious, before 1024, and presented to +the Prime Minister at Basle. The central figure of the Saviour +has at its feet two tiny figures, quite out of scale; these are +<a name="page_24"><span class="page">Page 24</span></a> intended +for the donors, Emperor Henry and his queen, Cunegunda. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Silversmith's work in Spain was largely in Byzantine style, while +some specimens of Gothic and Roman are also to be seen there. Moorish +influence is noticeable, as in all Spanish design, and filigree work +of Oriental origin is frequently to be met with. Some specimens +of champlevé enamel are also to be seen, though this art +was generally confined to Limoges during the Middle Ages. A Guild +was formed in Toledo which was in flourishing condition in 1423. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting document has been found in Spain showing that craftsmen +were supplied with the necessary materials when engaged to make +valuable figures for the decoration of altars. It is dated May 12, +1367, "I, Sancho Martinez Orebsc, silversmith, native of Seville, +inform you, the Dean and Chapter of the church of Seville, that it +was agreed that I make an image of St. Mary with its tabernacle, +that it should be finished at a given time, and that you were to +give me the silver and stones required to make it." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Spain, the most splendid triumphs of the goldsmith's skill were +the "custodias," or large tabernacles, in which the Host was carried +in procession. The finest was one made for Toledo by Enrique d'Arphe, +in competition with other craftsmen. His design being chosen, he +began his work in 1517, and in 1524 the custodia was finished. It +was in the form of a Gothic temple, six sided, with a jewelled cross +on the top, and was eight <a name="page_25"><span class="page">Page +25</span></a> feet high. Some of the gold employed was the first +ever brought from America. The whole structure weighed three hundred +and eighty-eight pounds. Arphe made a similar custodia for Cordova +and another for Leon. His grandson, Juan d'Arphe, wrote a verse +about the Toledo custodia, in which these lines occur: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"Custodia is a temple of rich plate<br /> + Wrought for the glory of Our Saviour true...<br /> + That holiest ark of old to imitate,<br /> + Fashioned by Bezaleel the cunning Jew,<br /> + Chosen of God to work his sovereign will,<br /> + And greatly gifted with celestial skill." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Juan d'Arphe himself made a custodia for Seville, the decorations +and figures on which were directed by the learned Francesco Pacheco, +the father-in-law of Velasquez. When this custodia was completed, +d'Arphe wrote a description of it, alluding boldly to this work +as "the largest and finest work in silver known of its kind," and +this could really be said without conceit, for it is a fact. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A Gothic form of goldsmith's work obtained in Spain in the 13th, +14th and 15th centuries; it was based upon architectural models and +was known as "plateresca." The shrines for holding relics became +in these centuries positive buildings on a small scale in precious +material. In England also were many of these shrines, but few of +them now remain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first Mayor of London, from 1189 to 1213, was a goldsmith, +Henry Fitz Alwyn, the Founder of the Royal Exchange; Sir Thomas +Gresham, in 1520, was <a name="page_26"><span class="page">Page +26</span></a> also a goldsmith and a banker. There is an entertaining +piece of cynical satire on the Goldsmiths in Stubbes' Anatomy of +Abuses, written in the time of Queen Elizabeth, showing that the +tricks of the trade had come to full development by that time, and +that the public was being aroused on the subject. Stubbes explains +how the goldsmith's shops are decked with chains and rings, "wonderful +richly." Then he goes on to say: "They will make you any monster +or article whatsoever of gold, silver, or what you will. Is there +no deceit in these goodlye shows? Yes, too many; if you will buy a +chain of gold, a ring, or any kind of plate, besides that you shall +pay almost half more than it is worth... you shall also perhaps +have that gold which is naught, or else at least mixed with drossie +rubbage.... But this happeneth very seldom by reason of good orders, +and constitutions made for the punishment of them that offend in +this kind of deceit, and therefore they seldom offend therein, +though now and then they chance to stumble in the dark!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Fynes Moryson, a traveller who died in 1614, says that "the goldsmiths' +shops in London... are exceedingly richly furnished continually +with gold, with silver plate, and with jewels.... I never see any +such daily show, anything so sumptuous, in any place in the world, +as in London." He admits that in Florence and Paris the similar +shops are very rich upon special occasions; but it is the steady +state of the market in London to which he has reference. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_27"><span class="page">Page 27</span></a> +The Company of Goldsmiths in Dublin held quite a prominent social +position in the community. In 1649, a great festival and pageant +took place, in which the goldsmiths and visiting craftsmen from +other corporations took part. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Henry III. set himself to enrich and beautify the shrine of his +patron saint, Edward the Confessor, and with this end in view he +made various extravagant demands: for instance, at one time he +ordered all the gold in London to be detailed to this object, and +at another, he had gold rings and brooches purchased to the value +of six hundred marks. The shrine was of gold, and, according to +Matthew Paris, enriched with jewels. It was commenced in 1241. +In 1244 the queen presented an image of the Virgin with a ruby +and an emerald. Jewels were purchased from time to time,—a +great cameo in 1251, and in 1255 many gems of great value. The +son of ado the Goldsmith, Edward, was the "king's beloved clerk," +and was made "keeper of the shrine." Most of the little statuettes +were described as having stones set somewhere about them: "an image +of St. Peter holding a church in one hand and the keys in the other, +trampling on Nero, who had a big sapphire on his breast;" and "the +Blessed Virgin with her Son, set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, +and garnets," are among those cited. The whole shrine was described +as "a basilica adorned with purest gold and precious stones." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Odo the Goldsmith was in charge of the works for a <a +name="page_28"><span class="page">Page 28</span></a> good while. +He was succeeded by his son Edward. Payments were made sometimes +in a regular wage, and sometimes for "task work." The workmen were +usually known by one name—Master Alexander the King's Carpenter, +Master Henry the King's Master Mason, and so forth. In an early +life of Edward the Confessor, there is an illumination showing the +masons and carpenters kneeling to receive instruction from their +sovereign. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The golden shrine of the Confessor was probably made in the Palace +itself; this was doubtless considered the safest place for so valuable +a work to remain in process of construction; for there is an allusion +to its being brought on the King's own shoulders (with the assistance +of others), from the palace to the Abbey, in 1269, for its consecration. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1243 Henry III. ordered four silver basins, fitted with cakes +of wax with wicks in them, to be placed as lights before the shrine +of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. The great gold shrine +of Becket appears to have been chiefly the work of a goldsmith, +Master Adam. He also designed the Coronation Chair of England, +which is now in Westminster Abbey. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The chief goldsmith of England employed by Edward I. was one Adam +of Shoreditch. He was versatile, for he was also a binder of books. +A certain bill shows an item of his workmanship, "a group in silver +of a child riding upon a horse, the child being a likeness of Lord +Edward, the King's son." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_29"><span class="page">Page 29</span></a> +A veritable Arts and Crafts establishment had been in existence +in Woolstrope, Lincolnshire, before Cromwell's time; for Georde +Gifford wrote to Cromwell regarding the suppression of this monastery: +"There is not one religious person there but what doth use either +embrothering, wryting books with a faire hand, making garments, +or carving." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In all countries the chalices and patens were usually, designed +to correspond with each other. The six lobed dish was a very usual +form; it had a depressed centre, with six indented scallops, and the +edge flat like a dinner plate. In an old church inventory, mention +is made of "a chalice with <i>his</i> paten." Sometimes there was +lettering around the flat edge of the paten. Chalices were-composed +of three parts: the cup, the ball or knop, and the stem, with the +foot. The original purpose of having this foot hexagonal in shape +is said to have been to prevent the chalice from rolling when it +was laid on its side to drain. Under many modifications this general +plan of the cup has obtained. The bowl is usually entirely plain, to +facilitate keeping it clean; most of the decoration was lavished +on the knop, a rich and uneven surface being both beautiful and +functional in this place. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Such Norman and Romanesque chalices as remain are chiefly in museums +now. They were usually "coffin chalices"—that is, they had been +buried in the coffin of some ecclesiastic. Of Gothic chalices, or +those of the Tudor period, fewer remain, for after the Reformation, +<a name="page_30"><span class="page">Page 30</span></a> +a general order went out to the churches, for all "chalices to be +altered to decent Communion cups." The shape was greatly modified +in this change. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the thirteenth century the taste ran rather to a chaster form +of decoration; the large cabochons of the Romanesque, combined +with a liquid gold surface, gave place to refined ornaments in +niello and delicate enamels. The bowls of the earlier chalices +were rather flat and broad. When it became usual for the laity to +partake only of one element when communicating, the chalice, which +was reserved for the clergy alone, became modified to meet this +condition, and the bowl was much smaller. After the Reformation, +however, the development was quite in the other direction, the bowl +being extremely large and deep. In that period they were known +as communion cups. In Sandwich there is a cup which was made over +out of a ciborium; as it quite plainly shows its origin, it is +naïvely inscribed: "This is a Communion Coop." When this change +in the form of the chalice took place, it was provided, by admonition +of the Archbishop, in all cases with a "cover of silver... which +shall serve also for the ministration of the Communion bread." To +make this double use of cover and dish satisfactory, a foot like +a stand was added to the paten. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The communion cup of the Reformation differed from the chalice, +too, in being taller and straighter, with a deep bowl, almost in +the proportions of a flaring tumbler, and a stem with a few close +decorations instead <a name="page_31"><span class="page">Page +31</span></a> of a knop. The small paten served as a cover to the +cup, as has been mentioned. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is not always easy to see old church plate where it originally +belonged. On the Scottish border, for instance, there were constant +raids, when the Scots would descend upon the English parish churches, +and bear off the communion plate, and again the English would cross +the border and return the compliment. In old churches, such as the +eleventh century structure at Torpenhow, in Cumberland, the deep +sockets still to be seen in the stone door jambs were intended +to support great beams with which the church had constantly to +be fortified against Scottish invasion. Another reason for the +disappearance of church plate, was the occasional sale of the silver +in order to continue necessary repairs on the fabric. In a church +in Norfolk, there is a record of sale of communion silver and "for +altering of our church and fynnishing of the same according to our +mindes and the parishioners." It goes on to state that the proceeds +were appropriated for putting new glass in the place of certain windows +"wherein were conteined the lives of certain prophane histories," +and for "paving the king's highway" in the church precincts. At the +time of the Reformation many valuable examples of Church plate were +cast aside by order of the Commissioners, by which "all monuments +of feyned miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition," were +to be destroyed. At this time a calf or a sheep might have been +seen browsing in the meadows with a sacring-bell fastened at its +neck, <a name="page_32"><span class="page">Page 32</span></a> and +the pigs refreshed themselves with drinking from holy-water fonts! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Croziers of ornate design especially roused the ire of the Puritans. +In Mr. Alfred Maskell's incomparable book on Ivories, he translates +a satirical verse by Guy de Coquille, concerning these objectionable +pastoral staves (which were often made of finely sculptured ivory). +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"The staff of a bishop of days that are old<br /> + Was of wood, and the bishop himself was of gold.<br /> + But a bishop of wood prefers gorgeous array,<br /> + So his staff is of gold in the new fashioned way!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +During the Renaissance especially, goldsmith's work was carried +to great technical perfection, and yet the natural properties of +the metal were frequently lost sight of, and the craftsmen tried +to produce effects such as would be more suitable in stone or +wood,—little architectonic features were introduced, and +gold was frequently made to do the work of other materials. Thus +it lost much of its inherent effectiveness. Too much attention +was given to ingenuity, and not enough to fitness and beauty. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 357px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig005.jpg" width="357" height="537" alt="Figure 5"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>RELIQUARY AT ORVIETO</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +In documents of the fourteenth century, the following list of goldsmiths +is given: Jean de Mantreux was goldsmith to King Jean. Claux de Friburg +was celebrated for a gold statuette of St. John which he made for +the Duke of Normandy. A diadem for this Duke was also recorded, +made by Jean de Piguigny. Hannequin made <a name="page_33"><span +class="page">Page 33</span></a> three golden crowns for Charles +V. Hans Crest was goldsmith to the Duke of Orleans, while others +employed by him were Durosne, of Toulouse, Jean de Bethancourt, +a Flemish goldsmith. In the fifteenth century the names of Jean de +Hasquin, Perrin Manne, and Margerie d'Avignon, were famous. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Artists in the Renaissance were expected to undertake several branches +of their craft. Hear Poussin: "It is impossible to work at the +same time upon frontispieces of books: a Virgin: at the picture +for the congregation of St. Louis, at the designs for the gallery, +and for the king's tapestry! I have only a feeble head, and am +not aided by anyone!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A goldsmith attached to the Court of King René of Anjou +was Jean Nicolas. René also gave many orders to one Liguier +Rabotin, of Avignon, who made him several cups of solid gold, on +a large tray of the same precious metal. The king often drew his +own designs or such bijoux. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the famous men of Italy were several who practised the art of +the goldsmith. Ugolino of Siena constructed the wonderful reliquary +at Orvieto; this, is in shape somewhat similar to the façade +of the cathedral. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Verocchio, the instructor of Leonardo da Vinci, accomplished several +important pieces of jewelery in his youth: cope-buttons and silver +statuettes, chiefly, which were so successful that he determined to +take up the career of a sculptor. Ghirlandajo, as is well known, +<a name="page_34"><span class="page">Page 34</span></a> was trained +as a goldsmith originally, his father having been the inventor of +a pretty fashion then prevailing among young girls of Florence, +and being the maker of those golden garlands worn on the heads +of maidens. The name Ghirlandajo, indeed, was derived from these +garlands (ghirlandes). +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Francia began life as a goldsmith, too, and was never in after life +ashamed of his profession, for he often signed his works Francesco +Francia Aurifex. Francia was a very skilful workman in niello, +and in enamels. In fact, to quote the enthusiastic Vasari, "he +executed everything that is most beautiful, and which can be performed +in that art more perfectly than any other master had ever done." +Baccio Baldini, also, was a goldsmith, although a greater portion +of his ability was turned in the direction of engraving. His pupil +Maso Finniguerra, who turned also to engraving, began his career +as a goldsmith. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The great silver altar in the Baptistery in Florence occupied nearly +all the goldsmiths in that city. In 1330 the father of the Orcagnas, +Cione, died; he had worked for some years before that on the altar. +In 1366 the altar was destroyed, but the parts in bas-relief by +Cione were retained and incorporated into the new work, which was +finished in 1478. Ghiberti, Orcagna, Verocchio, and Pollajuolo, +all executed various details of this magnificent monument. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Goldsmiths did not quite change their standing and characteristics +until late in the sixteenth century. <a name="page_35"><span +class="page">Page 35</span></a> About that time it may be said +that the last goldsmith of the old school was Claude Ballin, while +the first jeweller, in the modern acceptation of the word, was +Pierre de Montarsy. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Silver has always been selected for the better household utensils, +not only on account of its beauty, but also because of its ductility, +which is desirable in making larger vessels; its value, too, is +less than that of gold, so that articles which would be quite out +of the reach of most householders, if made in gold, become very +available in silver. Silver is particularly adapted to daily use, +for the necessary washing and polishing which it receives keeps +it in good condition, and there is no danger from poison through +corrosion, as with copper and brass. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the middle ages the customary pieces of plate in English homes +were basins, bottles, bowls, candlesticks, saucepans, jugs, dishes, +ewers and flagons, and chafing-dishes for warming the hands, which +were undoubtedly needed, when we remember how intense the cold +must have been in those high, bare, ill-ventilated halls! There +were also large cups called hanaps, smaller cups, plates, and +porringers, salt-cellars, spoons, and salvers. Forks were of much +later date. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are records of several silver basins in the Register of John +of Gaunt, and also in the Inventory of Lord Lisle: one being "a basin +and ewer with arms" and another, "a shaving basin." John of Gaunt +also owned "a silver bowl for the kitchen." If the mediæval +household lacked comforts, it could teach us lessons in luxury <a +name="page_36"><span class="page">Page 36</span></a> in some other +departments! He also had a "pair of silver bottles, partly gilt, +and enamelled, garnished with tissues of silk, white and blue," and +a "casting bottle" for distributing perfume: Silver candelabra +were recorded; these, of course, must have been in constant service, +as the facilities for lighting were largely dependent upon them. +When the Crown was once obliged to ask a loan from the Earl of +Salisbury, in 1432, the Earl received, as earnest of payment, "two +golden candelabra, garnished with pearls and precious stones." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Close Roll of Henry III. of England, there is found an +interesting order to a goldsmith: "Edward, son of Eudo, with all +haste, by day and by night, make a cup with a foot for the Queen: +weighing two marks, not more; price twenty marks, against Christmas, +that she may drink from it in that feast: and paint it and enamel it +all over, and in every other way that you can, let it be decently +and beautifully wrought, so that the King, no less than the said +Queen, may be content therewith." All the young princes and princesses +were presented with silver cups, also, as they came to such age as +made the use of them expedient; Lionel and John, sons of Edward +III., were presented with cups "with leather covers for the same," +when they were one and three years old respectively. In 1423 the +chief justice, Sir William Hankford, gave his great-granddaughter +a baptismal gift of a gilt cup and a diamond ring, together with a +curious testimonial of eight shillings and sixpence to the nurse! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_37"><span class="page">Page 37</span></a> +Of dishes, the records are meagre, but there is an amusing entry +among the Lisle papers referring to a couple of "conserve dishes" +for which Lady Lisle expressed a wish. Husee had been ordered to +procure these, but writes, "I can get no conserve dishes... however, +if they be to be had, I will have of them, or it shall cost me hot +water!" A little later he observes, "Towards Christmas day they +shall be made at Bevoys, betwixt Abbeville and Paris." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Flagons were evidently a novelty in 1471, for there is an entry +in the Issue Roll of Edward IV., which mentions "two ollas called +silver flagons for the King." An olla was a Latin term for a jar. +Lord Lisle rejoiced in "a pair of flagons, the gilt sore worn." +Hanaps were more usual, and appear to have been usually in the form +of goblets. They frequently had stands called "tripers." Sometimes +these stands were very ornate, as, for instance, one owned by the +Bishop of Carpentras, "in the shape of a flying dragon, with a +crowned damsel sitting upon a green terrace." Another, belonging to +the Countess of Cambridge, was described as being "in the shape of a +monster, with three buttresses and three bosses of mother of pearl... +and an ewer,... partly enamelled with divers babooneries"—a +delightful expression! Other hanaps were in the forms of swans, +oak trees, white harts, eagles, lions, and the like—probably +often of heraldic significance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A set of platters was sent from Paris to Richard II., all of gold, +with balas rubies, pearls and sapphires set <a name="page_38"><span +class="page">Page 38</span></a> in them. It is related of the ancient +Frankish king, Chilperic, that he had made a dish of solid gold, +"ornamented all over with precious stones, and weighing fifty pounds," +while Lothaire owned an enormous silver basin bearing as decoration +"the world with the courses of the stars and the planets." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The porringer was a very important article of table use, for pap, +and soft foods such as we should term cereals, and for boiled pudding. +These were all denominated porridge, and were eaten from these vessels. +Soup was doubtless served in them as well. They were numerous in +every household. In the Roll of Henry III. is an item, mentioning +that he had ordered twenty porringers to be made, "like the one +hundred porringers" which had already been ordered! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting pattern of silver cups in Elizabethan times were +the "trussing cups," namely, two goblets of silver, squat in shape +and broad in bowl, which fitted together at the rim, so that one +was inverted as a sort of cover on top of the other when they were +not in use. Drinking cups were sometimes made out of cocoanuts, +mounted in silver, and often of ostrich eggs, similarly treated, +and less frequently of horns hollowed out and set on feet. +Mediæval loving cups were usually named, and frequently for +some estates that belonged to the owner. Cups have been known to +bear such names as "Spang," "Bealchier," and "Crumpuldud," while +others bore the names of the patron saints of their owners. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_39"><span class="page">Page 39</span></a> +A kind of cruet is recorded among early French table silver, "a +double necked bottle in divisions, in which to place two kinds +of liquor without mixing them." A curious bit of table silver in +France, also, was the "almsbox," into which each guest was supposed +to put some piece of food, to be given to the poor. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Spoons were very early in their origin; St. Radegond is reported +by a contemporary to have used a spoon, in feeding the blind and +infirm. A quaint book of instructions to children, called "The +Babee's Booke," in 1475, advises by way of table manners: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"And whenever your potage to you shall be brought,<br /> + Take your sponys and soupe by no way,<br /> + And in your dish leave not your spoon, I pray!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +And a later volume on the same subject, in 1500, commends a proper +respect for the implements of the table: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"Ne playe with spoone, trencher, ne knife." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Spoons of curious form were evidently made all the way from 1300 +to the present day. In an old will, in 1477, mention is made of +spoons "wt leopards hedes printed in the sponself," and in another, +six spoons "wt owles at the end of the handles." Professor Wilson +said, "A plated spoon is a pitiful imposition," and he was right. +If there is one article of table service in which solidity of metal +is of more importance than in another, it is the spoon, which must +perforce come in <a name="page_40"><span class="page">Page 40</span></a> +contact with the lips whenever it is used. In England the earliest +spoons were of about the thirteenth century, and the first idea +of a handle seems to have been a plain shaft ending in a ball or +knob. Gradually spoons began to show more of the decorative instinct +of their designers; acorns, small statuettes, and such devices +terminated the handles, which still retained their slender proportions, +however. Finally it became popular to have images of the Virgin on +individual spoons, which led to the idea, after a bit, of decorating +the dozen with the twelve apostles. These may be seen of all periods, +differently elaborated. Sets of thirteen are occasionally met with, +these having one with the statue of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, +with a lamb on his shoulders: it is known as the "Master spoon." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 208px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig006.jpg" width="208" height="228" alt="Figure 6"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>APOSTLE SPOONS</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_41"><span class="page">Page 41</span></a> +The first mention of forks in France is in the Inventory, of Charles +V., in 1379. We hear a great deal about the promiscuous use of +knives before forks were invented; how in the children's book of +instructions they are enjoined "pick not thy teeth with thy knife," +as if it were a general habit requiring to be checked. Massinger +alludes to a +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> + +"silver fork<br /> +To convey an olive neatly to thy mouth," +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +but this may apply to pickle forks. Forks were introduced from Italy +into England about 1607. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A curiosity in cutlery is the "musical knife" at the Louvre; the +blade is steel, mounted in parcel gilt, and the handle is of ivory. +On the blade is engraved a few bars of music (arranged for the +bass only), accompanying the words, "What we are about to take +may Trinity in Unity bless. Amen." This is a literal translation. +It indicates that there were probably three other knives in the +set so ornamented, one with the soprano, one alto, and one tenor, +so that four persons sitting down to table together might chant +their "grace" in four-part harmony, having the requisite notes +before them! It was a quaint idea, but quite in keeping with the +taste of the sixteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The domestic plate of Louis, Duke of Anjou, in 1360, consisted of +over seven hundred pieces, and Charles V. of France had an enormous +treasury of such objects for daily use. Strong rooms and safes were +built during +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 100%;"> +<tr><td> + <a name="page_42"><span class="page">Page 42</span></a> + <img src="images/fig007.jpg" width="242" height="535" alt="Figure 7"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>IVORY KNIFE HANDLES, WITH PORTRAITS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH +AND JAMES I. ENGLIS</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a name="page_43"><span class="page">Page 43</span></a> +the fourteenth century, for the lodging of the household valuables. +About this time the Dukes of Burgundy were famous for their splendid +table service. Indeed, the craze for domestic display in this line +became so excessive, that in 1356 King John of France prohibited +the further production of such elaborate pieces, "gold or silver +plate, vases, or silver jewelry, of more than one mark of gold, or +silver, excepting for churches." This edict, however, accomplished +little, and was constantly evaded. Many large pieces of silver made +in the period of the Renaissance were made simply with a view to +standing about as ornaments. Cellini alludes to certain vases which +had been ordered from him, saying that "they are called ewers, and +they are placed upon buffets for the purpose of display." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The salt cellar was always a <i>piece de resistance</i>, and stood +in the centre of the table. It was often in the form of a ship in +silver. A book entitled "Ffor to serve a Lorde," in 1500, directs +the "boteler" or "panter," to bring forth the principal salt, and to +"set the saler in the myddys of the table." Persons helped themselves +to salt with "a clene kniffe." The seats of honour were all about +the salt, while those of less degree were at the lower end of the +table, and were designated as "below the salt." The silver ship was +commonly an immense piece of plate, containing the napkin, goblet, +and knife and spoon of the host, besides being the receptacle for +the spices and salt. Through fear of poison, the precaution was +taken of keeping it covered. This ship was <a name="page_44"><span +class="page">Page 44</span></a> often known as the "nef," and frequently +had a name, as if it were the family yacht! One is recorded as +having been named the "Tyger," while a nef belonging to the Duke +of Orleans was called the "Porquepy," meaning porcupine. One of +the historic salts, in another form, is the "Huntsman's salt," and +is kept at All Soul's College, Oxford. The figure of a huntsman, +bears upon its head a rock crystal box with a lid. About the feet of +this figure are several tiny animals and human beings, so that it +looks as if the intent had been to picture some gigantic legendary +hunter—a sort of Gulliver of the chase. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The table was often furnished also with a fountain, in which +drinking-water was kept, and upon which either stood or hung cups +or goblets. These fountains were often of fantastic shapes, and +usually enamelled. One is described as representing a dragon on +a tree top, and another a castle on a hill, with a convenient tap +at some point for drawing off the water. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The London City Companies are rich in their possessions of valuable +plate. Some of the cups are especially beautiful. The Worshipful +Company of Skinners owns some curious loving cups, emblematic of +the names of the donors. There are five Cockayne Loving Cups, made +in the form of cocks, with their tail feathers spread up to form +the handles. The heads have to be removed for drinking. These cups +were bequeathed by William Cockayne, in 1598. Another cup is in +the form of a peacock, walking with two little chicks of minute +proportions <a name="page_45"><span class="page">Page 45</span></a> +on either side of the parent bird. This is inscribed, "The gift of +Mary the daughter of Richard Robinson, and wife to Thomas Smith +and James Peacock, Skinners." Whether the good lady were a bigamist +or took her husbands in rotation, does not transpire. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting cup is owned by the Vintners in London, called the +Milkmaid. The figure of a milkmaid, in laced bodice, holds above +her head a small cup on pivots, so that it finds its level when +the figure is inverted, as is the case when the cup is used, the +petticoat of the milkmaid forming the real goblet. It is constructed +on the same principle as the German figures of court ladies holding +up cups, which are often seen to-day, made on the old pattern. The +cups in the case of this milkmaid are both filled with wine, and +it is quite difficult to drink from the larger cup without spilling +from the small swinging cup which is then below the other. Every +member is expected to perform this feat as a sort of initiation. +It dates from 1658. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the most beautiful Corporation cups is at Norwich, where +it is known as the "Petersen" cup. It is shaped like a very thick +and squat chalice, and around its top is a wide border of decorative +lettering, bearing the inscription, "THE + MOST + HERE + OF. + IS ++ DUNNE + BY + PETER + PETERSON +." This craftsman was a Norwich +silversmith of the sixteenth century, very famous in his day, and +a remarkably chaste designer as well. A beautiful ivory cup twelve +inches high, set in silver gilt, called the Grace Cup, of <a +name="page_46"><span class="page">Page 46</span></a> Thomas à +Becket, is inscribed around the top band, "<i>Vinum tuum bibe cum +gaudio</i>." It has a hall-mark +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 214px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig008.jpg" width="214" height="405" alt="Figure 8"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>THE "MILKMAID CUP"</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +of a Lombardic letter H, signifying the year 1445. It is decorated by +cherubs, roses, thistles, and crosses, relieved with garnets and +pearls. On another flat band is the inscription: "<i>Sobrii estote</i>," +and on the cover, <a name="page_47"><span class="page">Page 47</span></a> +in Roman capitals, "<i>Ferare God</i>." It is owned by the Howard family, +of Corby. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Tankards were sometimes made of such crude materials as leather +(like the "lether bottel" of history), and of wood. In fact, the +inventory of a certain small church in the year 1566 tells of a +"penny tankard of wood," which was used as a "holy water stock." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An extravagant design, of a period really later than we are supposed +to deal with in this book, is a curious cup at Barber's and Surgeon's +Hall, known as the Royal Oak. It is built to suggest an oak +tree,—a naturalistic trunk, with its roots visible, supporting +the cup, which is in the form of a semi-conventional tree, covered +with leaves, detached acorns swinging free on rings from the sides +at intervals! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Richard Redgrave called attention to some of the absurdities of +the exotic work of his day in England. "Rachel at a well, under +an imitative palm tree," he remarks, "draws, not water, but ink; +a grotto of oyster shells with children beside it, contains... an +ink vessel; the milk pail on a maiden's head contains, not goat's +milk, as the animal by her side would lead you to suppose, but a +taper!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One great secret of good design in metal is to avoid imitating +fragile things in a strong material. The stalk of a flower or leaf, +for instance, if made to do duty in silver to support a heavy cup or +vase, is a very disagreeable thing to contemplate; if the article +were really <a name="page_48"><span class="page">Page 48</span></a> +what it represented, it would break under the strain. While there +should be no deliberate perversion of Nature's forms, there should +be no naturalistic imitation. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_49"><span class="page">Page 49</span></a> +CHAPTER II</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">JEWELRY AND PRECIOUS STONES</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We are told that the word "jewel" has come by degrees from Latin, +through French, to its present form; it commenced as a "gaudium" +(joy), and progressed through "jouel" and "joyau" to the familiar +word, as we have it. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first objects to be made in the form of personal adornment were +necklaces: this may be easily understood, for in certain savage +lands the necklace formed, and still forms, the chief feature in +feminine attire. In this little treatise, however, we cannot deal +with anything so primitive or so early; we must not even take time +to consider the exquisite Greek and Roman jewelry. Amongst the +earliest mediæval jewels we will study the Anglo-Saxon and +the Byzantine. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Anglo-Saxon and Irish jewelry is famous for delicate filigree, fine +enamels, and flat garnets used in a very decorative way. Niello +was also employed to some extent. It is easy, in looking from the +Bell of St. Patrick to the Book of Kells, to see how the illuminators +were influenced by the goldsmiths in early times,—in Celtic +and Anglo-Saxon work. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 198px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig009.jpg" width="198" height="190" alt="Figure 9"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>SAXON BROOCH</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_50"><span class="page">Page 50</span></a> +The earliest forms of brooches were the annular,—that is, +a long pin with a hinged ring at its head for ornament, and the +"penannular," or pin with a broken circle at its head. Through +the opening in the circle the pin returns, and then with a twist +of the ring, it is held more firmly in the material. Of these two +forms are notable examples in the Arbutus brooch and the celebrated +Tara brooch. The Tara brooch is a perfect museum in itself of the +jeweller's art. It is ornamented with enamel, with jewels set in +silver, amber, scroll filigree, fine chains, Celtic tracery, moulded +glass—nearly every branch of the art is represented in this +one treasure, which was found quite by accident near Drogheda, +in 1850, a landslide having exposed the buried spot where it had +lain for centuries. As many as seventy-six different kinds of +workmanship are to be detected on this curious relic. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 256px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig010.jpg" width="256" height="362" alt="Figure 10"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>THE TARA BROOCH</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +At a great Exhibition at Ironmonger's Hall in 1861 <a +name="page_51"><span class="page">Page 51</span></a> there was +shown a leaden fibula, quite a dainty piece of personal ornament, +in Anglo-Saxon taste, decorated with a moulded spiral meander. It +was found in the Thames in 1855, and there are only three other +similar brooches of lead known to exist. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of the Celtic brooches Scott speaks: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> + "...the brooch of burning gold<br /> + That clasps the chieftain's mantle fold,<br /> + Wrought and chased with rare device,<br /> + Studded fair with gems of price." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_52"><span class="page">Page 52</span></a> +One of the most remarkable pieces of Celtic jewelled work is the +bell of St. Patrick, which measures over ten inches in height. +This saint is associated with several bells: one, called the Broken +Bell of St. Brigid, he used on his last crusade against the demons +of Ireland; it is said that when he found his adversaries specially +unyielding, he flung the bell with all his might into the thickest +of their ranks, so that they fled precipitately into the sea, leaving +the island free from their aggressions for seven years, seven months, +and seven days. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of St. Patrick's bells is known, in Celtic, as the "white toned," +while another is called the "black sounding." This is an early and +curious instance of the sub-conscious association of the qualities +of sound with those of colour. Viollet le Duc tells how a blind man +was asked if he knew what the colour red was. He replied, "Yes: +red is the sound of the trumpet." And the great architect himself, +when a child, was carried by his nurse into the Cathedral of Notre +Dame in Paris, where he cried with terror because he fancied that +the various organ notes which he heard were being hurled at him +by the stained glass windows, each one represented by a different +colour in the glass! +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 368px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig011.jpg" width="368" height="628" alt="Figure 11"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>SHRINE OF THE BELL OF ST. PATRICK</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +But the most famous bell in connection with St. Patrick is the one +known by his own name and brought with his relics by Columbkille +only sixty years after the saint's death. The outer case is an +exceedingly rich example of Celtic work. On a ground of brass, +fine gold <a name="page_53"><span class="page">Page 53</span></a> +and silver filigree is applied, in curious interlaces and knots, +and it is set with several jewels, some of large size, in green, +blue, and dull red. In the front are two large tallow-cut Irish +diamonds, and a third was apparently set in a place which is now +vacant. On the back of the bell appears a Celtic inscription in most +decorative lettering all about the edge; the literal translation +of this is: "A prayer for Donnell O'Lochlain, through whom this +bell shrine was made; and for Donnell, the successor of Patrick, +with whom it was made; and for Cahalan O'Mulhollan, the keeper of +the bell, and for Cudilig O'Immainen, with his sons, who covered +it." Donald O'Lochlain was monarch of Ireland in 1083. Donald the +successor of Patrick was the Abbot of Armagh, from 1091 to 1105. +The others were evidently the craftsmen who worked on the shrine. +In many interlaces, especially on the sides, there may be traced +intricate patterns formed of serpents, but as nearly all Celtic +work is similarly ornamented, there is probably nothing personal +in their use in connection with the relic of St. Patrick! Patrick +brought quite a bevy of workmen into Ireland about 440: some were +smiths, Mac Cecht, Laebhan, and Fontchan, who were turned at once +upon making of bells, while some other skilled artificers, Fairill +and Tassach, made patens and chalices. St. Bridget, too, had a +famous goldsmith in her train, one Bishop Coula. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The pectoral cross of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne is now to be +seen in Durham. It was buried with the <a name="page_54"><span +class="page">Page 54</span></a> saint, and was discovered with +his body. The four arms are of equal length, and not very heavy +in proportion. It is of gold, made in the seventh century, and +is set with garnets, a very large one in the centre, one somewhat +smaller at the ends of the arms, where the lines widen considerably, +and with smaller ones continuously between. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the many jewels which decorated the shrine of Thomas à +Becket at Canterbury was a stone "with an angell of gold poynting +thereunto," which was a gift from the King of France, who had had it +"made into a ring and wore it on his thumb." Other stones described +as being on this shrine were sumptuous, the whole being damascened +with gold wire, and "in the midst of the gold, rings; or cameos +of sculptured agates, carnelians, and onyx stones." A visitor to +Canterbury in 1500 writes: "Everything is left far behind by a +ruby not larger than a man's thumb nail, which is set to the right +of the altar. The church is rather dark, and when we went to see +it the sun was nearly gone down, and the weather was cloudy, yet +we saw the ruby as well as if it had been in my hand. They say +it was a gift of the King of France." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Possessions of one kind were often converted into another, according +to changing fashions. Philippa of Lancaster had a gold collar made +"out of two bottles and a turret," in 1380. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mediæval rosaries were generally composed of beads of coral +or carnelian, and often of gold and pearls as <a name="page_55"><span +class="page">Page 55</span></a> well. Marco Polo tells of a unique +rosary worn by the King of Malabar; one hundred and four large +pearls, with occasional rubies of great price, composed the string. +Marco Polo adds: "He has to say one hundred and four prayers to +his idols every morning and evening." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the possession of the Shah of Persia is a gold casket studded +with emeralds, which is said to have the magic power of rendering +the owner invisible as long as he remains celibate. I fancy that +this is a safe claim, for the tradition is not likely to be put +to the proof in the case of a Shah! Probably there has never been +an opportunity of testing the miraculous powers of the stones. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The inventory of Lord Lisle contains many interesting side lights +on the jewelry of the period: "a hawthorne of gold, with twenty +diamonds;" "a little tower of gold," and "a pair of beads of gold, +with tassels." Filigree or chain work was termed "perry." In old +papers such as inventories, registers, and the like, there are +frequent mentions of buttons of "gold and perry;" in 1372 Aline +Gerbuge received "one little circle of gold and perry, emeralds +and balasses." Clasps and brooches were used much in the fourteenth +century. They were often called "ouches," and were usually of jewelled +gold. One, an image of St. George, was given by the Black Prince to +John of Gaunt. The Duchess of Bretagne had among other brooches one +with a white griffin, a balas ruby on its shoulder, six sapphires +<a name="page_56"><span class="page">Page 56</span></a> around it, +and then six balasses, and twelve groups of pearls with diamonds. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Brooches were frequently worn by being stuck in the hat. In a curious +letter from James I. to his son, the monarch writes: "I send for +your wearing the Three Brethren" (evidently a group of three stones) +"...but newly set... which I wolde wish you to weare alone in your +hat, with a Littel black feather." To his favourite Buckingham +he also sends a diamond, saying that his son will lend him also +"an anker" in all probability; but he adds: "If my Babee will not +spare the anker from his Mistress, he may well lend thee his round +brooch to weare, and yett he shall have jewels to weare in his +hat for three grate dayes." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the women wore nets in +their hair, composed of gold threads adorned with pearls. At first +two small long rolls by the temples were confined in these nets: +later, the whole back hair was gathered into a large circular +arrangement. These nets were called frets—"a fret of pearls" +was considered a sufficient legacy for a duchess to leave to her +daughter. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the constant resetting and changing of jewels, many important +mediæval specimens, not to mention exquisite vessels and church +furniture, were melted down and done over by Benvenuto Cellini, +especially at the time that Pope Clement was besieged at the Castle +of St. Angelo. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Probably the most colossal jewel of ancient times was <a +name="page_57"><span class="page">Page 57</span></a> the Peacock +Throne of Delhi. It was in the form of two spread tails of peacocks, +composed entirely of sapphires, emeralds and topazes, feather by +feather and eye by eye, set so as to touch each other. A parrot of +life size carved from a single emerald, stood between the peacocks. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1161 the throne of the Emperor in Constantinople is described +by Benjamin of Tudela: "Of gold ornamented with precious stones. +A golden crown hangs over it, suspended on a chain of the same +material, the length of which exactly admits the Emperor to sit +under it. The crown is ornamented with precious stones of inestimable +value. Such is the lustre of these diamonds that even without any +other light, they illumine the room in which they are kept." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The greatest mediæval jeweller was St. Eloi of Limoges. His +history is an interesting one, and his achievement and rise in +life was very remarkable in the period in which he lived. Eloi +was a workman in Limoges, as a youth, under the famous Abho, in +the sixth century; there he learned the craft of a goldsmith. He +was such a splendid artisan that he soon received commissions for +extensive works on his own account. King Clothaire II. ordered from +him a golden throne, and supplied the gold which was to be used. +To the astonishment of all, Eloi presented the king with <i>two</i> +golden thrones (although it is difficult to imagine what a king +would do with duplicate thrones!), and immediately it was noised +abroad that the goldsmith Eloi was possessed <a name="page_58"><span +class="page">Page 58</span></a> of miraculous powers, since, out +of gold sufficient for one throne, he had constructed two. People +of a more practical turn found out that Eloi had learned the art +of alloying the gold, so as to make it do double duty. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A great many examples of St. Eloi's work might have been seen in +France until the Revolution in 1792, especially at the Abbey of +St. Denis. A ring made by him, with which St. Godiberte was married +to Christ, according to the custom of mediæval saints, was +preserved at Noyon until 1793, when it disappeared in the Revolution. +The Chronicle says of Eloi: "He made for the king a great numer of +gold vesses enriched with precious stones, and he worked incessantly, +seated with his servant Thillo, a Saxon by birth, who followed the +lessons of his master." St. Eloi founded two institutions for +goldsmithing: one for the production of domestic and secular plate, +and the other for ecclesiastical work exclusively, so that no worker +in profane lines should handle the sacred vessels. The secular +branch was situated near the dwelling of Eloi, in the Cité +itself, and was known as "St. Eloi's Enclosure." When a fire burned +them out of house and shelter, they removed to a suburban quarter, +which soon became known in its turn, as the "Clôture St. Eloi." +The religious branch of the establishment was presided over by the +aforesaid Thillo, and was the Abbey of Solignac, near Limoges. +This school was inaugurated in 631. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While Eloi was working at the court of King Clothaire II., St. Quen +was there as well. The two youths struck <a name="page_59"><span +class="page">Page 59</span></a> up a close friendship, and afterwards +Ouen became his biographer. His description of Eloi's personal +appearance is worth quoting, to show the sort of figure a mediæval +saint sometimes cut before canonization. "He was tall, with a ruddy +face, his hair and beard curly. His hands well made, and his fingers +long, his face full of angelic sweetness.... At first he wore habits +covered with pearls and precious stones; he had also belts sewn with +pearls. His dress was of linen encrusted with gold, and the edges +of his tunic trimmed with gold embroidery. Indeed, his clothing +was very costly, and some of his dresses were of silk. Such was +his exterior in his first period at court, and he dressed thus +to avoid singularity; but under this garment he wore a rough sack +cloth, and later on, he disposed of all his ornaments to relieve the +distressed; and he might be seen with only a cord round his waist +and common clothes. Sometimes the king, seeing him thus divested +of his rich clothing, would take off his own cloak and girdle and +give them to him, saying: 'It is not suitable that those who dwell +for the world should be richly clad, and that those who despoil +themselves for Christ should be without glory.'" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the numerous virtues of St. Eloi was that of a consistent carrying +out of his real beliefs and theories, whether men might consider him +quixotic or not. He was strongly opposed to the institution of slavery. +In those days it would have been futile to preach actual emancipation. +The times were not ripe. But St. Eloi <a name="page_60"><span +class="page">Page 60</span></a> did all that he could for the cause +of freedom by investing most of his money in slaves, and then setting +them at liberty. Sometimes he would "corner" a whole slave market, +buying as many as thirty to a hundred at a time. Some of these +manumitted persons became his own faithful followers: some entered +the religious life, and others devoted their talents to their +benefactor, and worked in his studios for the furthering of art +in the Church. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He once played a trick upon the king. He requested the gift of +a town, in order, as he explained, that he might there build a +ladder by which they might both reach heaven. The king, in the +rather credulous fashion of the times, granted his request, and +waited to see the ladder. St. Eloi promptly built a monastery. +If the monarch did not choose to avail himself of this species of +ladder,—surely it was no fault of the builder! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Quen and St. Eloi were consecrated bishops on the same day, +May 14, St. Quen to the Bishopric of Rouen, and Eloi to the See of +Noyon. He made a great hunt for the body of St. Quentin, which had +been unfortunately mislaid, having been buried in the neighbourhood +of Noyon; he turned up every available spot of ground around, within +and beneath the church, until he found a skeleton in a tomb, with +some iron nails. This he proclaimed to be the sacred body, for +the legend was that St. Quentin had been martyred by having nails +driven into his head! Although it was quite evident to others that +these were coffin nails, still St. Eloi <a name="page_61"><span +class="page">Page 61</span></a> insisted upon regarding his discovery +as genuine, and they began diligently to dismember the remains for +distribution among the churches. As they were pulling one of the +teeth, a drop of blood was seen to follow it, which miracle was +hailed by St. Eloi as the one proof wanting. Eloi had the genuine +artistic temperament and his religious zeal was much influenced by +his æsthetic nature. He once preached an excellent sermon, +still preserved, against superstition. He inveighed particularly +against the use of charms and incantations. But he had his own +little streak of superstition in spite of the fact that he fulminated +against it. When he had committed some fault, after confession, +he used to hang bags of relics in his room, and watch them for a +sign of forgiveness. When one of these would turn oily, or begin +to affect the surrounding atmosphere peculiarly, he would consider +it a sign of the forgiveness of heaven. It seems to us to-day as +if he might have looked to his own relic bags before condemning +the ignorant. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Eloi died in 659, and was himself distributed to the faithful +in quite a wholesale way. One arm is in Paris. He was canonized +both for his holy life and for his great zeal in art. He was buried +in a silver coffin adorned with gold, and his tomb was said to +work miracles like the shrine of Becket. Indeed, Becket himself +was pretty dressy in the matter of jewels; when he travelled to +Paris, the simple Frenchmen exclaimed: "What a wonderful personage +the King of England must be, if his chancellor can travel in such +state!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_62"><span class="page">Page 62</span></a> +There are various legends about St. Eloi. It is told that a certain +horse once behaved in a very obstreperous way while being shod; St. +Eloi calmly cut off the animal's leg, and fixed the shoe quietly +in position, and then replaced the leg, which grew into place again +immediately, to the pardonable astonishment of all beholders, not +to mention the horse. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Eloi was also employed to coin the currency of Dagobert and +Clovis II., and examples of these coins may now be seen, as authentic +records of the style of his work. A century after his death the +monasteries which he had founded were still in operation, and +Charlemagne's crown and sword are very possibly the result of St. +Eloi's teachings to his followers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While the monasteries undoubtedly controlled most of the art education +of the early middle ages, there were also laymen who devoted themselves +to these pursuits. John de Garlande, a famous teacher in the University +of Paris, wrote, in the eleventh century, a "Dictionarius" dealing +with various arts. In this interesting work he describes, the trades +of the moneyers (who controlled the mint), the coining of gold and +silver into currency (for the making of coin in those days was +permitted by individuals), the clasp makers, the makers of cups or +hanaps, jewellers and harness makers, and other artificers. John de +Garlande was English, born about the middle of the twelfth century, +and was educated in Oxford. In the early thirteenth century he became +associated with the University, and when <a name="page_63"><span +class="page">Page 63</span></a> Simon de Montfort was slain in +1218, at Toulouse, John was at the University of Toulouse, where +he was made So professor, and stayed three years, returning then to +Paris. He died about the middle of the thirteenth century. He was +celebrated chiefly for his Dictionarius, a work on the various arts +and crafts of France, and for a poem "De Triumphis Ecclesiæ." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +During the Middle Ages votive crowns were often presented to churches; +among these a few are specially famous. The crowns, studded with +jewels, were suspended before the altar by jewelled chains, and often +a sort of fringe of jewelled letters was hung from the rim, forming +an inscription. The votive crown of King Suinthila, in Madrid, is +among the most ornate of these. It is the finest specimen in the +noted "Treasure of Guerrazzar," which was discovered by peasants +turning up the soil near Toledo; the crowns, of which there were +many, date from about the seventh century, and are sumptuous with +precious stones. The workmanship is not that of a barbarous nation, +though it has the fascinating irregularities of the Byzantine style. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of the delightful work of the fifth and sixth centuries there are +scarcely any examples in Italy. The so-called Iron Crown of Monza +is one of the few early Lombard treasures. This crown has within +it a narrow band of iron, said to be a nail of the True Cross; +but the crown, as it meets the eye, is anything but iron, being +one of the most superb specimens of jewelled golden workmanship, +as fine as those in the Treasure of Guerrazzar. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 361px;"> +<tr><td> +<a name="page_64"><span class="page">Page 64</span></a> + <img src="images/fig012.jpg" width="361" height="504" alt="Figure 12"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>THE TREASURE OF GUERRAZZAR</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The crown of King Alfred the Great is mentioned in an old inventory +as being of "gould wire worke, sett <a name="page_65"><span +class="page">Page 65</span></a> with slight stones, and two little +bells." A diadem is described by William of Malmsbury, "so precious +with jewels, that the splendour... threw sparks of light so strongly +on the beholder, that the more steadfastly any person endeavoured +to gaze, so much the more he was dazzled, and compelled to avert +the eyes!" In 1382 a circlet crown was purchased for Queen Anne +of Bohemia, being set with a large sapphire, a balas, and four +large pearls with a diamond in the centre. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Cathedral at Amiens owns what is supposed to be the head of +John the Baptist, enshrined in a gilt cup of silver, and with bands +of jewelled work. The head is set upon a platter of gilded and +jewelled silver, covered with a disc of rock crystal. The whole, +though ancient, is enclosed in a modern shrine. The legend of the +preservation of the Baptist's head is that Herodias, afraid that +the saint might be miraculously restored to life if his head and +body were laid in the same grave, decided to hide the head until +this danger was past. Furtively, she concealed the relic for a time, +and then it was buried in Herod's palace. It was there opportunely +discovered by some monks in the fourth century. This "invention of +the head" (the word being interpreted according to the credulity of +the reader) resulted in its removal to Emesa, where it was exhibited +in 453. In 753 Marcellus, the Abbot of Emesa, had a vision by means +of which he re-discovered (or re-invented) the head, which had in +some way been lost sight of. Following the guidance of his dream, he +repaired to a <a name="page_66"><span class="page">Page 66</span></a> +grotto, and proceeded to exhume the long-suffering relic. After +many other similar and rather disconnected episodes, it finally +came into possession of the Bishop of Amiens in 1206. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A great calamity in early times was the loss of all the valuables +of King John of England. Between Lincolnshire and Norfolk the royal +cortège was crossing the Wash: the jewels were all swept +away. Crown and all were thus lost, in 1216. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Several crowns have been through vicissitudes. When Richard III. +died, on Bosworth Field, his crown was secured by a soldier and +hidden in a bush. Sir Reginald de Bray discovered it, and restored +it to its rightful place. But to balance such cases several of the +queens have brought to the national treasury their own crowns. +In 1340 Edward III. pawned even the queen's jewels to raise money +for fighting France. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The same inventory makes mention of certain treasures deposited +at Westminster: the values are attached to each of these, crowns, +plates, bracelets, and so forth. Also, with commendable zeal, a +list was kept of other articles stored in an iron chest, among which +are the items, "one liver coloured silk robe, very old, and worth +nothing," and "an old combe of horne, worth nothing." A frivolous +scene is described by Wood, when the notorious Republican, Marten, +had access to the treasure stored in Westminster. Some of the wits +of the period assembled in the treasury, and took out of the iron +chest several of its jewels, a crown, sceptre, <a name="page_67"><span +class="page">Page 67</span></a> and robes; these they put upon the +merry poet, George Withers, "who, being thus crowned and royally +arrayed, first marched about the room with a stately gait, and +afterwards, with a thousand ridiculous and apish actions, exposed +the sacred ornaments to contempt and laughter." No doubt the "olde +comb" played a suitable part in these pranks,—perhaps it +may even have served as orchestra. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One Sir Henry Mildmay, in 1649, was responsible for dreadful vandalism, +under the Puritan régime. Among other acts which he countenanced +was the destruction and sale of the wonderful Crown of King Alfred, +to which allusion has just been made. In the Will of the Earl of +Pembroke, in 1650, is this clause showing how unpopular Sir Henry +had become: "Because I threatened Sir Henry Mildmay, but did not +beat him, I give £50 to the footman who cudgelled him. Item, +my will is that the said Sir Harry shall not meddle with my jewels. +I knew him... when he handled the Crown jewels,... for which reason +I now name him the Knave of Diamonds." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jewelled arms and trappings became very rich in the fifteenth century. +Pius II. writes of the German armour: "What shall I say of the +neck chains of the men, and the bridles of the horses, which are +made of the purest gold; and of the spears and scabbards which are +covered with jewels?" Spurs were also set with jewels, and often +damascened with gold, and ornamented with appropriate mottoes. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_68"><span class="page">Page 68</span></a> +An inventory of the jewelled cups and reliquaries of Queen Jeanne +of Navarre, about 1570, reads like a museum. She had various gold +and jewelled dishes for banquets; one jewel is described as "Item, +a demoiselle of gold, represented as riding upon a horse, of mother +of pearl, standing upon a platform of gold, enriched with ten rubies, +six turquoises and three fine pearls." Another item is, "A fine rock +crystal set in gold, enriched with three rubies, three emeralds, +and a large sapphire, set transparently, the whole suspended from +a small gold chain." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is time now to speak of the actual precious stones themselves, +which apart from their various settings are, after all, the real +jewels. According to Cellini there are only four precious stones: +he says they are made "by the four elements," ruby by fire, sapphire +by air, emerald by earth, and diamond by water. It irritated him +to have any one claim others as precious stones. "I have a thing +or two to say," he remarks, "in order not to scandalize a certain +class of men who call themselves jewellers, but may be better likened +to hucksters, or linen drapers, pawn brokers, or grocers... with a +maximum of credit and a minimum of brains... these dunderheads... +wag their arrogant tongues at me and cry, 'How about the chrysophrase, +or the jacynth, how about the aqua marine, nay more, how about the +garnet, the vermeil, the crysolite, the plasura, the amethyst? Ain't +these all stones and all different?' Yes, and why the devil don't you +add pearls, too, among <a name="page_69"><span class="page">Page +69</span></a> the jewels, ain't they fish bones?" Thus he classes +the stones together, adding that the balas, though light in colour, +is a ruby, and the topaz a sapphire. "It is of the same hardness, and +though of a different colour, must be classified with the sapphire: +what better classification do you want? hasn't the air got its +sun?" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cellini always set the coloured stones in a bezel or closed box +of gold, with a foil behind them. He tells an amusing story of +a ruby which he once set on a bit of frayed silk instead of on +the customary foil. The result happened to be most brilliant. The +jewellers asked him what kind of foil he had used, and he replied +that he had employed no foil. Then they exclaimed that he must have +tinted it, which was against all laws of jewelry. Again Benvenuto +swore that he had neither used foil, nor had he done anything forbidden +or unprofessional to the stone. "At this the jeweller got a little +nasty, and used strong language," says Cellini. They then offered +to pay well for the information if Cellini would inform them by what +means he had obtained so remarkably a lustre. Benvenuto, expressing +himself indifferent to pay, but "much honoured in thus being able to +teach his teachers," opened the setting and displayed his secret, +and all parted excellent friends. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Even so early as the thirteenth century, the jewellers of Paris +had become notorious for producing artificial jewels. Among their +laws was one which stipulated that "the jeweller was not to dye +the amethyst, or other false stones, nor mount them in gold leaf +nor other <a name="page_70"><span class="page">Page 70</span></a> +colour, nor mix them with rubies, emeralds, or other precious stones, +except as a crystal simply without mounting or dyeing." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One day Cellini had found a ruby which he believed to be set +dishonestly, that is, a very pale stone with a thick coating of +dragon's blood smeared on its back. When he took it to some of +his favourite "dunderheads," they were sure that he was mistaken, +saying that it had been set by a noted jeweller, and could not be +an imposition. So Benvenuto immediately removed the stone from +its setting, thereby exposing the fraud. "Then might that ruby have +been likened to the crow which tricked itself out in the feathers +of the peacock," observes Cellini, adding that he advised these "old +fossils in the art" to provide themselves with better eyes than +they then <i>wore</i>. "I could not resist saying this," chuckles +Benvenuto, "because all three of them wore great gig-lamps on their +noses; whereupon they all three gasped at each other, shrugged +their shoulders, and with God's blessing, made off." Cellini tells +of a Milanese jeweller who concocted a great emerald, by applying a +very thin layer of the real stone upon a large bit of green glass: +he says that the King of England bought it, and that the fraud +was not discovered for many years. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A commission was once given Cellini to make a magnificent crucifix +for a gift from the Pope to Emperor Charles V., but, as he expresses +it, "I was hindered from finishing it by certain beasts who had +the vantage of the Pope's ear," but when these evil whisperers +had so <a name="page_71"><span class="page">Page 71</span></a> +"gammoned the Pope," that he was dissuaded from the crucifix, the +Pope ordered Cellini to make a magnificent Breviary instead, so +that the "job" still remained in his hands. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Giovanni Pisano made some translucid enamels for the decorations of +the high altar in Florence, and also a jewelled clasp to embellish +the robe of a statue of the Virgin. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ghiberti was not above turning his attention to goldsmithing, and +in 1428 made a seal for Giovanni de Medici, a cope-button and mitre +for Pope Martin V., and a gold nutre with precious stones weighing +five and a half pounds, for Pope Eugene IV. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Diamonds were originally cut two at a time, one cutting the other, +whence has sprung the adage, "diamond cut diamond." Cutting in +facets was thus the natural treatment of this gem. The practise +originated in India. Two diamonds rubbing against each other +systematically will in time form a facet on each. In 1475 it was +discovered by Louis de Berghem that diamonds could be cut by their +own dust. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is an interesting fact in connection with the Kohinoor that +in India there had always been a legend that its owner should be +the ruler of India. Probably the ancient Hindoos among whom this +legend developed would be astonished to know that, although the +great stone is now the property of the English, the tradition is +still unbroken! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Marco Polo alludes to the treasures brought from the <a +name="page_72"><span class="page">Page 72</span></a> Isle of Ormus, +as "spices, pearls, precious stones, cloth of gold and silver, +elephant's teeth, and all other precious things from India." In +Balaxiam he says are found "ballasses and other precious stones +of great value. No man, on pain of death, dare either dig such +stones or carry them out of the country, for all those stones are +the King's. Other mountains also in this province yield stones +called lapis lazuli, whereof the best azure is made. The like is +not found in the world. These mines also yield silver, brass, and +lead." He speaks of the natives as wearing gold and silver earrings, +"with pearls and-other stones artificially wrought in them." In +a certain river, too, are found jasper and chalcedons. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Marco Polo's account of how diamonds are obtained is ingenuous +in its reckless defiance of fact. He says that in the mountains +"there are certain great deep valleys to the bottom of which there +is no access. Wherefore the men who go in search of the diamonds +take with them pieces of meat," which they throw into this deep +valley. He relates that the eagles, when they see these pieces +of meat, fly down and get them, and when they return, they settle +on the higher rocks, when the men raise a shout, and drive them +off. After the eagles have thus been driven away, "the men recover +the pieces of meat, and find them full of diamonds, which have +stuck to them. For the abundance of diamonds down in the depths," +continues Marco Polo, naïvely "is astonishing; but nobody can +get down, and if one could, it would be only to be incontinently +devoured <a name="page_73"><span class="page">Page 73</span></a> by +the serpents which are so rife there." A further account proceeds +thus: "The diamonds are so scattered and dispersed in the earth, +and lie so thin, that in the most plentiful mines it is rare to +find one in digging;... they are frequently enclosed in clods,... +some... have the earth so fixed about them that till they grind +them on a rough stone with sand, they cannot move it sufficiently +to discover they are transparent or... to know them from other +stones. At the first opening of the mine, the unskilful labourers +sometimes, to try what they have found, lay them on a great stone, +and, striking them one with another, to their costly experience, +discover that they have broken a diamond.... They fill a cistern +with water, soaking therein as much of the earth they dig out of +the mine as it can hold at one time, breaking the clods, picking +out the great stones, and stirring it with shovels... then they +open a vent, letting out the foul water, and supply it with clean, +till the earthy substance be all washed away, and only the gravelly +one remains at the bottom." A process of sifting and drying is then +described, and the gravel is all spread out to be examined, "they +never examine the stuff they have washed but between the hours of +ten and three, lest any cloud, by interposing, intercept the brisk +beams of the sun, which they hold very necessary to assist them +in their search, the diamonds constantly reflecting them when they +shine on them, rendering themselves thereby the more conspicuous." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_74"><span class="page">Page 74</span></a> +The earliest diamond-cutter is frequently mentioned as Louis de +Berquem de Bruges, in 1476. But Laborde finds earlier records of +the art of cutting this gem: there was in Paris a diamond-cutter +named Herman, in 1407. The diamond cutters of Paris were quite +numerous in that year, and lived in a special district known as "la +Courarie, where reside the workers in diamonds and other stones." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Finger rings almost deserve a history to themselves, for their +forms and styles are legion. Rings were often made of glass in the +eleventh century. Theophilus tells in a graphic and interesting +manner how they were constructed. He recommends the use of a bar +of iron, as thick as one's finger, set in a wooden handle, "as a +lance is joined in its pike." There should also be a large piece +of wood, at the worker's right hand, "the thickness of an arm, +dug into the ground, and reaching to the top of the window." On +the left of the furnace a little clay trench is to be provided. +"Then, the glass being cooked," one is admonished to take the little +iron in the wooden handle, dip it into the molten glass, and pick +up a small portion, and "prick it into the wood, that the glass +may be pierced through, and instantly warm it in the flame, and +strike it twice upon the wood, that the glass may be dilated, and +with quickness revolve your hand with the same iron;" when the +ring is thus formed, it is to be quickly thrown into the trench. +Theophilus adds, "If you wish to vary your rings with other colours... +take... glass of another <a name="page_75"><span class="page">Page +75</span></a> colour, surrounding the glass of the ring with it in +the manner of a thread... you can also place upon the ring glass of +another kind, as a gem, and warm it in the fire that it may adhere." +One can almost see these rings from this accurate description of +their manufacture. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The old Coronation Ring, "the wedding ring of England," was a gold +ring with a single fine balas ruby; the pious tradition had it +that this ring was given to Edward the Confessor by a beggar, who +was really St. John the Evangelist in masquerade! The palace where +this unique event occurred was thereupon named Have-ring-at-Bower. +The Stuart kings all wore this ring and until it came to George +IV., with other Stuart bequests, it never left the royal Stuart +line. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Edward I. owned a sapphire ring made by St. Dunstan. Dunstan was +an industrious art spirit, being reported by William of Malmsbury +as "taking great delight in music, painting, and engraving." In +the "Ancren Riwle," a book of directions for the cloistered life +of women, nuns are forbidden to wear "ne ring ne brooche," and +to deny themselves other personal adornments. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Archbishops seem to have possessed numerous rings in ancient times. +In the romance of "Sir Degrevant" a couplet alludes to: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"Archbishops with rings<br /> + More than fifteen." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Episcopal rings were originally made of sapphires, said to be typical +of the cold austerity of the life of the wearer. Later, however, +the carbuncle became a <a name="page_76"><span class="page">Page +76</span></a> favourite, which was supposed to suggest fiery zeal +for the faith. Perhaps the compromise of the customary amethyst, +which is now most popularly used, for Episcopal rings, being a +combination of the blue and the red, may typify a blending of more +human qualities! +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 127px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig013.jpg" width="127" height="180" alt="Figure 13"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>HEBREW RING</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +In an old will of 1529, a ring was left as a bequest to a relative, +described as "a table diamond set with black aniell, meate for my +little finger." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The accompanying illustration represents a Hebrew ring, surmounted +by a little mosque, and having the inscription "Mazul Toub" (God +be with you, or Good luck to you). +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was the custom in Elizabethan times to wear "posie rings" (or +poesie rings) in which inscriptions were cut, such as, "Let likinge +Laste," "Remember the ♥ that is in pain," or, "God saw fit this +knot to knit," and the like. These posie rings are so called <a +name="page_77"><span class="page">Page 77</span></a> because of +the little poetical sentiments associated with them. They were +often used as engagement rings, and sometimes as wedding rings. In +an old Saxon ring is the inscription, "Eanred made me and Ethred +owns me." One of the mottoes in an old ring is pathetic; evidently +it was worn by an invalid, who was trying to be patient, "Quant +Dieu Plera melior sera." (When it shall please God, I shall be +better.) And in a small ring set with a tiny diamond, "This sparke +shall grow." An agreeable and favourite "posie" was +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"The love is true<br /> + That I O U." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A motto in a ring owned by Lady Cathcart was inscribed on the occasion +of her fourth marriage; with laudable ambition, she observes, +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"If I survive,<br /> + I will have five." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is to these "posie rings" that Shakespeare has reference when +he makes Jaques say to Orlando: "You are full of pretty answers: +have you not been acquainted with goldsmiths' wives, and conned +them out of rings?" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Isle of Man there was once a law that any girl who had been +wronged by a man had the right to redress herself in one of three +ways: she was given a sword, a rope and a ring, and she could decide +whether she would behead him, hang him, or marry him. Tradition <a +name="page_78"><span class="page">Page 78</span></a> states that +the ring was almost invariably the weapon chosen by the lady. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Superstition has ordained that certain stones should cure certain +evils: the blood-stone was of very general efficacy, it was claimed, +and the opal, when folded in a bay leaf, had the power of rendering +the owner invisible. Some stones, especially the turquoise, turned +pale or became deeper in hue according to the state of the owner's +health; the owner of a diamond was invincible; the possession of an +agate made a man amiable, and eloquent. Whoever wore an amethyst +was proof against intoxication, while a jacynth superinduced sleep +in cases of insomnia. Bed linen was often embroidered, and set with +bits of jacynth, and there is even a record of diamonds having +been used in the decoration of sheets! Another entertaining instance +of credulity was the use of "cramp rings." These were rings blessed +by the queen, and supposed to cure all manner of cramps, just as the +king's touch was supposed to cure scrofula. When a queen died, the +demand for these rings became a panic: no more could be produced, +until a new queen was crowned. After the beheading of Anne Boleyn, +Husee writes to his patroness: "Your ladyship shall receive of this +bearer nine cramp rings of silver. John Williams says he never +had so few of gold as this year!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A stone engraved with the figure of a hare was believed to be valuable +in exorcising the devil. That of a dog preserved the owner from +"dropsy or pestilence;" a <a name="page_79"><span class="page">Page +79</span></a> versatile ring indeed! An old French book speaks of +an engraved stone with the image of Pegasus being particularly +healthful for warriors; it was said to give them "boldness and +swiftness in flight." These two virtues sound a trifle incompatible! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The turquoise was supposed to be especially sympathetic. According +to Dr. Donne: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"A compassionate turquoise, that cloth tell<br /> + By looking pale, the owner is not well," +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +must have been a very sensitive stone. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was a physician in the fourth century who was famous for his +cures of colic and biliousness by means of an iron ring engraved +with an exorcism requesting the bile to go and take possession of +a bird! There was also a superstition that fits could be cured +by a ring made of "sacrament money." The sufferer was obliged to +stand at the church door, begging a penny from every unmarried +man who passed in or out; this was given to a silversmith, who +exchanged it at the cathedral for "sacrament money," out of which +he made a ring. If this ring was worn by the afflicted person, +the seizures were said to cease. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The superstition concerning the jewel in the toad's head was a +strangely persistent one: it is difficult to imagine what real +foundation there could ever have been for the idea. An old writer +gives directions for getting this stone, which the toad in his +life time seems to have guarded most carefully. "A rare good way +to get <a name="page_80"><span class="page">Page 80</span></a> +the stone out of a toad," he says, "is to put a... toad... into +an earthen pot: put the same into an ant's hillocke, and cover +the same with earth, which toad... the ants will eat, so that the +bones... and stone will be left in the pot." Boethius once stayed +up all night watching a toad in the hope that it might relinquish +its treasure; but he complained that nothing resulted "to gratify +the great pangs of his whole night's restlessness." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An old Irish legend says that "the stone Adamant in the land of +India grows no colder in any wind or snow or ice; there is no heat +in it under burning sods" (this is such an Hibernian touch! The +peat fuel was the Celtic idea of a heating system), "nothing is +broken from it by striking of axes and hammers; there is one thing +only breaks that stone, the blood of the Lamb at the Mass; and +every king that has taken that stone in his right hand before going +into battle, has always gained the victory." There is also a +superstition regarding the stone Hibien, which is said to flame +like a fiery candle in the darkness, "it spills out poison before +it in a vessel; every snake that comes near to it or crosses it +dies on the moment." Another stone revered in Irish legend is the +Stone of Istien, which is found "in the brains of dragons after +their deaths," and a still more capable jewel seems to be the Stone +of Fanes, within which it is claimed that the sun, moon, and twelve +stars are to be seen. "In the hearts of the dragons it is always +found that make their journey under the sea. No one having it in +his hand can tell any lie until he has <a name="page_81"><span +class="page">Page 81</span></a> put it from him; no race or army +could bring it into a house where there is one that has made way +with his father. At the hour of matins it gives out sweet music +that there is not the like of under heaven." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bartholomew, the mediæval scientist, tells narratives of +the magical action of the sapphire. "The sapphire is a precious +stone," he says, "and is blue in colour, most like to heaven in +fair weather and clear, and is best among precious stones, and +most apt and able to fingers of kings. And if thou put an addercop +in a box, and hold a very sapphire of India at the mouth of the box +any while, by virtue thereof the addercop is overcome and dieth, as +it were suddenly. And this same I have seen proved oft in many and +divers places." Possibly the fact that the addercop is so infrequent +an invader of our modern life accounts for the fact that we are +left inert upon reading so surprising a statement; or possibly +our incredulity dominates our awe. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The art of the lapidary, or science of glyptics, is a most interesting +study, and it would be a mistake not to consider it for a few moments +on its technical side. It is very ancient as an art. In Ecclesiasticus +the wise Son of Sirach alludes to craftsmen "that cut and grave +seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves +to counterfeit imagery, and watch to finish a work." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Theophilus on glyptics is too delightfully naïve for us to +resist quoting his remarks. "Crystal," he announces, "which is +water hardened into ice, and the <a name="page_82"><span +class="page">Page 82</span></a> ice of great age hardened into +stone, is trimmed and polished in this manner." He then directs +the use of sandstone and emery, chiefly used by rubbing, as one +might infer, to polish the stones, probably <i>en cabochon</i> +as was the method in his time; this style of finish on a gem was +called "tallow cutting." But when one wishes to sculp crystal, +Theophilus informs one: "Take a goat of two or three years... make +an opening between his breast and stomach, in the position of the +heart, and lay in the crystal, so that it may lie in its blood +until it grow warm... cut what you please in it as long as the +heat lasts." Just how many goats were required to the finishing +of a sculptured crystal would be determined by the elaboration of +the design! Unfortunately Animal Rescue Leagues had not invaded +the monasteries of the eleventh century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In sculpturing glass, the ingenuous Theophilus is quite at his best. +"Artists!" he exclaims, "who wish to engrave glass in a beautiful +manner, I now can teach you, as I have myself made trial. I have +sought the gross worms which the plough turns up in the ground, +and the art necessary in these things also bid me procure vinegar, +and the warm blood of a lusty goat, which I was careful to place +under the roof for a short time, bound with a strong ivy plant. +After this I infused the worms and vinegar with the warm blood and +I anointed the whole clearly shining vessel; which being done, I +essayed to sculp the glass with the hard stone called the Pyrites." +What a pity good Theophilus had not begun <a name="page_83"><span +class="page">Page 83</span></a> with the pyrites, when he would +probably have made the further discovery that his worms and goats +could have been spared. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the polishing of precious stones, he is quite sane in his directions. +"Procure a marble slab, very smooth," he enjoins, "and act as useful +art points out to you." In other words, rub it until it is smooth! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bartholomew Anglicus is as entertaining as Theophilus regarding +crystal. "Men trowe that it is of snow or ice made hard in many +years," he observes complacently. "This stone set in the sun taketh +fire, insomuch if dry tow be put thereto, it setteth the tow on +fire," and again, quoting Gregory on Ezekiel I., he adds, "water +is of itself fleeting, but by strength of cold it is turned and +made stedfast crystal." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of small specimens of sculptured crystal some little dark purple +beads carved into the semblance of human faces may be seen on the +Tara brooch; while also on the same brooch occur little purple +daisies. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Cup of the Ptolemies, a celebrated onyx cup in Paris, is over +fifteen inches in circumference, and is a fine specimen of early +lapidary's work. It was presented in the ninth century by Charles +the Bald to St. Denis, and was always used to contain the consecrated +wine when Queens of France were crowned. Henry II. once pawned +it to a Jew when he was hard up, and in 1804 it was stolen and +the old gold and jewelled setting removed. It was found again in +Holland, and was remounted within a century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_84"><span class="page">Page 84</span></a> +In the Treasury of St. Mark's in Venice are many valuable examples +of carved stones, made into cups, flagons, and the like. These were +brought from Constantinople in 1204, when the city was captured +by the Venetians. Constantinople was the only place where glyptics +were understood and practised upon large hard stones in the early +Middle Ages. The Greek artists who took refuge in Italy at that time +brought the art with them. There are thirty-two of these Byzantine +chalices in St. Mark's. Usually the mountings are of gold, and precious +stones. There are also two beautiful cruets of agate, elaborately +ornamented, but carved in curious curving forms requiring skill +of a superior order. Two other rock crystal cruets are superbly +carved, probably by Oriental workmen, however, as they are not +Byzantine in their decorations. One of them was originally a vase, +and, indeed, is still, for the long gold neck has no connection +with the inside; the handle is also of gold, both these adjuncts +seem to have been regarded as simply ornament. The other cruet is +carved elaborately with leopards, the first and taller one showing +monsters and foliate forms. Around the neck of the lower of these +rock crystal cruets is an inscription, praying for God's blessing +on the "Imam Aziz Billah," who was reigning in Egypt in 980. This +cruet has a gold stand. The handle is cleverly cut in the same +piece of crystal, but a band of gold is carried down it to give +it extra strength. The forming of this handle in connection with +the rest of the work is a veritable <i>tour de force</i>, and we +should have <a name="page_85"><span class="page">Page 85</span></a> +grave doubts whether Theophilus with his goats could have managed it! +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 358px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig014.jpg" width="358" height="490" alt="Figure 14"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CRYSTAL FLAGONS, ST. MARK'S, VENICE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Vasari speaks with characteristic enthusiasm of the glyptics of +the Greeks, "whose works in that manner may be called divine." +But, as he continues, "many and very many years passed over during +which the art was lost".... until in the days of Lorenzo di Medici +the fashion for cameos and intaglios revived. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Guild of the Masters of Wood and Stone in Florence, the +cameo-cutters found a place, nevertheless it seems fitting to include +them at this point among jewellers, instead of among carvers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Italians certainly succeeded in performing feats of lapidary +art at a later period. Vasari mentions two cups ordered by Duke +Cosmo, one cut out of a piece of lapis lazuli, and the other from +an enormous heliotrope, and a crystal galley with gold rigging +was made by the Sanachi brothers. In the Green Vaults in Dresden +may be seen numerous specimens of valuable but hideous products +of this class. In the seventeenth century, the art had run its +course, and gave place to a taste for cameos, which in its turn +was run into the ground. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cameo-cutting and gem engraving has always been accomplished partly +by means of a drill; the deepest point to be reached in the cutting +would be punctured first, and then the surfaces cut, chipped, and +ground away until the desired level was attained. This is on much +the same principle as that adopted by marble cutters to-day. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_86"><span class="page">Page 86</span></a> +Mr. Cyril Davenport's definition of a cameo is quite satisfactory: +"A small sculpture executed in low relief upon some substance precious +either for its beauty, rarity, or hardness." Cameos are usually +cut in onyx, the different layers and stratifications of colour +being cut away at different depths, so that the sculpture appears +to be rendered in one colour on another, and sometimes three or +four layers are recognized, so that a shaded effect is obtained. +Certain pearly shells are sometimes used for cameo cutting; these +were popular in Italy in the fifteenth century. In Greece and Rome +the art of cameo cutting was brought to astonishing perfection, the +sardonyx being frequently used, and often cut in five different +coloured layers. An enormous antique cameo, measuring over nine +inches across, may be seen in Vienna; it represents the Apotheosis +of Augustus, and the scene is cut in two rows of spirited figures. +It dates from the first century A. D. It is in dark brown and white. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the treasures of the art-loving Henry III. was a "great cameo," +in a golden case; it was worth two hundred pounds. This cameo was +supposed to compete with a celebrated work at Ste. Chapelle in Paris, +which had been brought by Emperor Baldwin II. from Constantinople. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 358px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig015.jpg" width="358" height="537" alt="Figure 15"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>SARDONYX CUP, 11TH CENTURY, VENICE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +In Paris was a flourishing guild, the "Lapidaries, Jewel Cutters, +and Engravers of Cameos and Hard Stones," in the thirteenth century; +glass cutters were included in this body for a time, but after 1584 +the revised laws did not permit of any imitative work, so glass +<a name="page_87"><span class="page">Page 87</span></a> cutters +were no longer allowed to join the society. The French work was +rather coarse compared with the classic examples. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The celebrated Portland Vase is a glass cameo, of enormous proportions, +and a work of the first century, in blue and white. There is a +quaint legend connected with the famous stone cameo known as the +Vase of St. Martin, which is as follows: when St. Martin visited +the Martyr's Field at Agaune, he prayed for some time, and then +stuck his knife into the ground, and was excusably astonished at +seeing blood flow forth. Recognizing at once that he was in the +presence of the miraculous (which was almost second nature to +mediæval saints), he began sedulously to collect the precious +fluid in a couple of receptacles with which he had had the foresight +to provide himself. The two vases, however, were soon filled, and +yet the mystical ruby spring continued. At his wit's ends, he prayed +again for guidance, and presently an angel descended, with a vase +of fine cameo workmanship, in which the remainder of the sacred +fluid was preserved. This vase is an onyx, beautifully cut, with +fine figures, and is over eight inches high, mounted at foot and +collar with Byzantine gold and jewelled work. The subject appears to +be an episode during the Siege of Troy,—a whimsical selection +of design for an angel. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Some apparently mediæval cameos are in reality antiques recut +with Christian characters. A Hercules could easily be turned into a +David, while Perseus and Medusa could be transformed quickly into +a David and <a name="page_88"><span class="page">Page 88</span></a> +Goliath. There are two examples of cameos of the Virgin which had +commenced their careers, one as a Leda, and the other as Venus! +While a St. John had originally figured as Jupiter with his eagle! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Renaissance there was great revival of all branches of gem +cutting, and cameos began to improve, and to resemble once more +their classical ancestors. Indeed, their resemblance was rather +academic, and there was little originality in design. Like most of +the Renaissance arts, it was a reversion instead of a new creation. +Technically, however, the work was a triumph. The craftsmen were +not satisfied until they had quite outdone the ancients, and they +felt obliged to increase the depth of the cutting, in order to show +how cleverly they could coerce the material; they even under-cut +in some cases. During the Medicean period of Italian art, cameos +were cut in most fantastic forms; sometimes a negro head would +be introduced simply to exhibit a dark stratum in the onyx, and +was quite without beauty. One of the Florentine lapidaries was +known as Giovanni of the Carnelians, and another as Domenico of +the Cameos. This latter carved a portrait of Ludovico il Moro on +a red balas ruby, in intaglio. Nicolo Avanzi is reported as having +carved a lapis lazuli "three fingers broad" into the scene of the +Nativity. Matteo dal Nassaro, a son of a shoemaker in Verona, developed +extraordinary talent in gem cutting. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An exotic production is a crucifix cut in a blood-stone by Matteo +del Nassaro, where the artist has so utilized <a name="page_89"><span +class="page">Page 89</span></a> the possibilities of this stone +that he has made the red patches to come in suitable places to +portray drops of blood. Matteo worked also in Paris, in 1531, where +he formed a school and craft shop, and where he was afterwards +made Engraver of the Mint. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Vasari tells of an ingenious piece of work by Matteo, where he +has carved a chalcedony into a head of Dejanira, with the skin of +the lion about it. He says, "In the stone there was a vein of red +colour, and here the artist has made the skin turn over... and he +has represented this skin with such exactitude that the spectator +imagines himself to behold it newly torn from the animal! Of another +mark he has availed himself, for the hair, and the white parts +he has taken for the face and breast." Matteo was an independent +spirit: when a baron once tried to beat him down in his price for a +gem, he refused to take a small sum for it, but asked the baron to +accept it as a gift. When this offer was refused, and the nobleman +insisted upon giving a low price, Matteo deliberately took his +hammer and shattered the cameo into pieces at a single blow. His +must have been an unhappy life. Vasari says that he "took a wife in +France and became the father of children, but they were so entirely +dissimilar to himself, that he had but little satisfaction from +them." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another famous lapidary was Valerio Vicentino, who carved a set +of crystals which were made into a casket for Pope Clement VII., +while for Paul III. he made a carved crystal cross and chandelier. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_90"><span class="page">Page 90</span></a> +Vasari reserves his highest commendation for Casati, called "el +Greco," "by whom every other artist is surpassed in the grace and +perfection as well as in the universality of his productions."... +"Nay, Michelangelo himself, looking at them one day while Giovanni +Vasari was present, remarked that the hour for the death of the +art had arrived, for it was not possible that better work could +be seen!" Michelangelo proved a prophet, in this case surely, for +the decadence followed swiftly. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_91"><span class="page">Page 91</span></a> +CHAPTER III</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">ENAMEL</p> + +<p class="indent"> +"Oh, thou discreetest of readers," says Benvenuto Cellini, "marvel +not that I have given so much time to writing about all this," and +we feel like making the same apology for devoting a whole chapter +to enamel; but this branch of the goldsmith's art has so many +subdivisions, that it cries for space. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The word Enamel is derived from various sources. The Greek language +has contributed "maltha," to melt; the German "schmeltz," the old +French "esmail," and the Italian "smalta," all meaning about the +same thing, and suggesting the one quality which is inseparable +from enamel of all nations and of all ages,—its fusibility. +For it is always employed in a fluid state, and always must be. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Enamel is a type of glass product reduced to powder, and then melted +by fervent heat into a liquid condition, which, when it has hardened, +returns to its vitreous state. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Enamel has been used from very early times. The first allusion to +it is by Philostratus, in the year 200 A. D., where he described +the process as applied to the armour of his day. "The barbarians of +the regions of the ocean," <a name="page_92"><span class="page">Page +92</span></a> he writes, "are skilled in fusing colours on heated +brass, which become as hard as stone, and render the ornament thus +produced durable." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Enamels have special characteristics in different periods: in the late +tenth century, of Byzantium and Germany; in the eleventh century, of +Italy; while most of the later work owes its leading characteristics +to the French, although it continued to be produced in the other +countries. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It helps one to understand the differences and similarities in +enamelled work, to observe the three general forms in which it is +employed; these are, the cloisonné, the champlevé, +and the painted enamel. There are many subdivisions of these +classifications, but for our purpose these three will suffice. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In cloisonné, the only manner known to the Greek, Anglo-Saxon, +and Celtic craftsmen, the pattern is made upon a gold ground, by little +upright wire lines, like filigree, the enamel is fused into all the +little compartments thus formed, each bit being one clear colour, +on the principle of a mosaic. The colours were always rather clear +and crude, but are the more sincere and decorative on this account, +the worker recognizing frankly the limitation of the material; and +the gold outline harmonizes the whole, as it does in any form of +art work. A cloisonné enamel is practically a mosaic, in +which the separations consist of narrow bands of metal instead +of plaster. The enamel was applied in its powdered state on the +gold, and then fused all together in the furnace. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 300px;"> +<tr><td> +<a name="page_93"><span class="page">Page 93</span></a> + <img src="images/fig016.jpg" width="300" height="542" alt="Figure 16"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>GERMAN ENAMEL, 13TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_94"><span class="page">Page 94</span></a> +Champlevé enamel has somewhat the same effect as the +cloisonné, but the end is attained by different means. The +outline is left in metal, and the whole background is cut away +and sunk, thus making the hollow chambers for the vitreous paste, +in one piece, instead of by means of wires. Often it is not easy +to determine which method has been employed to produce a given +work. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Painted enamels were not employed in the earliest times, but came +to perfection in the Renaissance. A translucent enamel prevailed +especially in Italy: a low relief was made with the graver on gold +or silver; fine raised lines were left here and there, to separate +the colours. Therefore, where the cutting was deepest, the enamel +ran thicker, and consequently darker in colour, giving the effect of +shading, while in reality only one tint had been used. The powdered +and moistened enamel was spread evenly with a spatula over the +whole surface, and allowed to stand in the kiln until it liquefied. +Another form of enamel was used to colour gold work in relief, +with a permanent coating of transparent colour. Sometimes this +colour was applied in several coats, one upon another, and the +features painted with a later touch. Much enamelled jewelry was made +in this way, figures, dragons, and animal forms, being among the +most familiar. But an actual enamel painting—on the principle +of a picture, was rendered in still another way. In preparing the +ground for enamel painting, there are two things which have been +essentially considered in all times and countries. The enamel ground +<a name="page_95"><span class="page">Page 95</span></a> must be more +fusible than the metal on which it is placed, or else both would +melt together. Also the enamel with which the final decoration is +executed must be more easily made fluid than the harder enamel on +which it is laid. In fact, each coat must of necessity be a trifle +more fusible than the preceding one. A very accurate knowledge +is necessary to execute such a work, as will be readily understood. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig017.jpg" width="360" height="450" alt="Figure 17"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ENAMELLED GOLD BOOK COVER, SIENA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +In examining historic examples of enamel, the curious oval set +in gold, known as the Alfred Jewel, is among the first which come +within our province. It was found in Somersetshire, and probably +dates from about the year 878. It consists of an enamelled figure +covered by a thick crystal, set in filigree, around the edge of +which runs the inscription, "AELFRED MEC REHT GAVUR CAN" (Alfred +ordered me to be wrought). King Alfred was a great patron of the +arts. Of such Anglo-Saxon work, an ancient poem in the Exeter Book +testifies: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"For one a wondrous skill<br /> + in goldsmith's art is provided<br /> + Full oft he decorates and well adorns<br /> + A powerful king's nobles." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Celtic enamels are interesting, being usually set in the spaces +among the rambling interlaces of this school of goldsmithing. The +Cross of Cong is among the most famous specimens of this work, +and also the bosses on the Ardagh Chalice. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The monk Theophilus describes the process of enamelling in a graphic +manner. He directs his workmen to <a name="page_96"><span +class="page">Page 96</span></a> "adapt their pieces of gold in +all the settings in which the glass gems are to be placed" (by +which we see that he teaches the cloisonné method). "Cut +small bands of exceedingly thin gold," he continues, "in which you +will bend and fashion whatever work you wish to make in enamel, +whether circles, knots, or small flowers, or birds, or animals, +or figures." He then admonishes one to solder it with greatest +care, two or three times, until all the pieces adhere firmly to the +plate. To prepare the powdered glass, Theophilus advises placing +a piece of glass in the fire, and, when it has become glowing, +"throw it into a copper vessel in which there is water, and it +instantly flies into small fragments which you break with a round +pestle until quite fine. The next step is to put the powder in +its destined cloison, and to place the whole jewel upon a thin +piece of iron, over which fits a cover to protect the enamel from +the coals, and put it in the most intensely hot part of the fire." +Theophilus recommends that this little iron cover be "perforated +finely all over so that the holes may be inside flat and wide, +and outside finer and rough, in order to stop the cinders if by +chance they should fall upon it." This process of firing may have +to be repeated several times, until the enamel fills every space +evenly. Then follows the tedious task of burnishing; setting the +jewel in a strong bit of wax, you are told to rub it on a "smooth +hard bone," until it is polished well and evenly. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Benvenuto Cellini recommends a little paper sponge <a +name="page_97"><span class="page">Page 97</span></a> to be used in +smoothing the face of enamels. "Take a clean nice piece of paper," +he writes, "and chew it well between your teeth,—that is, +if you have got any—I could not do it, because I've none +left!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A celebrated piece of goldsmith's work of the tenth century is +the Pala d'Oro at St. Mark's in Venice. This is a gold altar piece +or reredos, about eleven feet long and seven feet high, richly +wrought in the Byzantine style, and set with enamels and precious +stones. The peculiar quality of the surface of the gold still lingers +in the memory; it looks almost liquid, and suggests the appearance +of metal in a fluid state. On its wonderful divisions and arched +compartments are no less than twelve hundred pearls, and twelve +hundred other precious gems. These stones surround the openings in +which are placed the very beautiful enamel figures of saints and +sacred personages. St. Michael occupies a prominent position; the +figure is partly in relief. The largest medallion contains the figure +of Christ in glory, and in other compartments may be seen even such +secular personages as the Empress Irene, and the Doge who was ruling +Venice at the time this altar piece was put in place—the year +1106. The Pala d'Oro is worked in the champlevé process, +the ground having been cut away to receive the melted enamel. It is +undoubtedly a Byzantine work; the Doge Orseolo, in 976, ordered it +to be made by the enamellers of Constantinople. It was not finished +for nearly two centuries, arriving in Venice in 1102, when the +portrait of the Doge then <a name="page_98"><span class="page">Page +98</span></a> reigning was added to it. The Byzantine range of +colours was copious; they had white, two reds, bright and dark, +dark and light blue, green, violet, yellow, flesh tint, and black. +These tints were always fused separately, one in each cloison: the +Greeks in this period never tried to blend colours, and more than +one tint never appears in a compartment. The enlarging and improving +of the Pam d'Oro was carried on by Greek artists in Venice in 1105. +It was twice altered after that, once in the fourteenth century for +Dandolo, and thus the pure Byzantine type is somewhat invaded by +the Gothic spirit. The restorations in 1345 were presided over by +Gianmaria Boninsegna. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the most noted specimens of enamel work is on the Crown of +Charlemagne,[1] which is a magnificent structure of eight plaques +of gold, joined by hinges, and surmounted by a cross in the front, +and an arch crossing the whole like a rib from back to front. The +other cross rib has been lost, but originally the crown was arched +by two ribs at the top. The plates of gold are ornamented, one +with jewels, and filigree, and the next with a large figure in +enamel. These figures are similar to those occurring on the Pala +d'Oro. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +[Footnote 1: See Fig. 1.] +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 437px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig018.jpg" width="437" height="360" alt="Figure 18"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL; SHRINE OF THE THREE KINGS, COLOGNE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne is decorated both with +cloisonné and champlevé enamels,—an unusual +circumstance. In Aix la Chapelle the shrine of Charlemagne is extremely +like it in some respects, but the only enamels are in champlevé. +Good examples <a name="page_99"><span class="page">Page 99</span></a> +of translucent enamels in relief may be seen on several of the +reliquaries at Aix la Chapelle. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Theophilus gives us directions for making a very ornate chalice +with handles, richly embossed and ornamented with mello. Another +paragraph instructs us how to make a golden chalice decorated with +precious stones and pearls. It would be interesting as a modern +problem, to follow minutely his directions, and to build the actual +chalice described in the eleventh century. To apply the gems and +pearls Theophilus directs us to "cut pieces like straps," which +you "bend together to make small settings of them, by which the +stones may be enclosed." These little settings, with their stones, +are to be fixed with flour paste in their places and then warmed +over the coals until they adhere. This sounds a little risky, but +we fancy he must have succeeded, and, indeed, it seems to have been +the usual way of setting stones in the early centuries. Filigree +flowers are then to be added, and the whole soldered into place in +a most primitive manner, banking the coals in the shape of a small +furnace, so that the coals may lie thickly around the circumference, +and when the solder "flows about as if undulating," the artist is +to sprinkle it quickly with water, and take it out of the fire. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Niello, with which the chalice of Theophilus is also to be enriched, +stands in relation to the more beautiful art of enamel, as drawing +does to painting, and it is well to consider it here. Both the Romans +and the <a name="page_100"><span class="page">Page 100</span></a> +Anglo-Saxons understood its use. It has been employed as an art ever +since the sixth and seventh centuries. The term "niello" probably +is an abbreviation of the Italian word "nigellus" (black); the +art is that of inlaying an engraved surface with a black paste, +which is thoroughly durable and hard as the metal itself in most +cases, the only difference being in flexibility; if the metal plate +is bent, the niello will crack and flake off. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 482px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig019.jpg" width="482" height="632" alt="Figure 19"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>FINIGUERRA'S PAX, FLORENCE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Niello is more than simply a drawing on metal. That would come +under the head of engraving. A graver is used to cut out the design +on the surface of the silver, which is simply a polished plane. When +the drawing has been thus incised, a black enamel, made of lead, +lamp black, and other substances, is filled into the interstices, +and rubbed in; when quite dry and hard, this is polished. The result +is a black enamel which is then fused into the silver, so that +the whole is one surface, and the decoration becomes part of the +original plate. The process as described by Theophilus is as follows: +"Compose the niello in this manner; take pure silver and divide +it into equal parts, adding to it a third part of pure copper, +and taking yellow sulphur, break it very small... and when you +have liquefied the silver with the copper, stir it evenly with +charcoal, and instantly pour into it lead and sulphur." This niello +paste is then made into a stick, and heated until "it glows: then +with another forceps, long and thin, hold the niello and rub it all +over the places which you wish to make black, until the drawing be +full, and <a name="page_101"><span class="page">Page 101</span></a> +carrying it away from the fire, make it smooth with a flat file, until +the silver appear." When Theophilus has finished his directions, he +adds: "And take great care that no further work is required." To +polish the niello, he directs us to "pumice it with a damp stone, +until it is made everywhere bright." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are various accounts of how Finiguerra, who was a worker +in niello in Florence, discovered by its means the art of steel +engraving. It is probably only a legendary narrative, but it is +always told as one of the apocryphal stories when the origin of +printing is discussed, and may not be out of place here. Maso +Finiguerra, a Florentine, had just engraved the plate for his famous +niello, a Pax which is now to be seen in the Bargello, and had +filled it in with the fluid enamel, which was standing waiting +until it should be dry. Then, according to some authorities, a +piece of paper blew upon the damp surface, on which, after carefully +removing it, Maso found his design was impressed; others state that +it was through the servant's laying a damp cloth upon it, that +the principle of printing from an incised plate was suggested. +At any rate, Finiguerra took the hint, it is said, and made an +impression on paper, rolling it, as one would do with an etching +or engraving. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Silver Chamber in the Pitti Palace is a Pax, by Mantegna, +made in the same way as that by Finiguerra, and bearing comparison +with it. The engraving is most delicate, and it is difficult to +imagine a better <a name="page_102"><span class="page">Page +102</span></a> specimen of the art. The Madonna and Child, seated +in an arbour, occupy the centre of the composition, which is framed +with jewelled bands, the frame being divided into sixteen compartments, +in each of which is seen a tiny and exquisite picture. The work +on the arbour of roses in which the Virgin sits is of remarkable +quality, as well as the small birds and animals introduced into the +composition. In the background, St. Christopher is seen crossing +the river with the Christ Child on his back, while in the water +a fish and a swan are visible. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Valencia in Spain may be seen a chalice which has been supposed +to be the very cup in which Our Saviour instituted the Communion. +The cup itself is of sardonyx, and of fine form. The base is made +of the same stone, and handles and bands are of gold, adorned with +black enamel. Pearls, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are set in +profusion about the stem and base. It is a work of the epoch of +Imperial Rome. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In England, one of the most perfect specimens of fine, close work, +is the Wilton Chalice, dating from the twelfth century. The Warwick +Bowl, too, is of very delicate workmanship, and both are covered +with minute scenes and figures. One of the most splendid treasures +in this line is the crozier of William Wyckham, now in Oxford. +It is strictly national in style. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The agreement entered into between Henry VII., and Abbot Islip, +for the building of the chapel of that king in Westminster, is +extant. It is bound in velvet and bossed with enamels. It is an +interesting fact that some <a name="page_103"><span class="page">Page +103</span></a> of the enamels are in the Italian style, while others +are evidently English. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Limoges was the most famous centre of the art of enamelling in +the twelfth century, the work being known as Opus de Limogia, or +Labor Limogiae. Limoges was a Roman settlement, and enamels were +made there as early as the time of Philostratus. Champlevé +enamel, while it was not produced among the Greeks, nor even in +Byzantine work, was almost invariable at Limoges in the earlier +days: one can readily tell the difference between a Byzantine enamel +and an early Limoges enamel by this test, when there is otherwise +sufficient similarity of design to warrant the question. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Some of the most beautiful enamels of Limoges were executed in what +was called basse-taille, or transparent enamel on gold grounds, +which had been first prepared in bas-relief. Champlevé enamel +was often used on copper, for such things as pastoral staves, +reliquaries, and larger bits of church furniture. The enamel used on +copper is usually opaque, and somewhat coarser in texture than that +employed on gold or silver. Owing to their additional toughness, these +specimens are usually in perfect preservation. In 1327, Guillaume de +Harie, in his will, bequeathed 800 francs to make two high tombs, +to be covered with Limoges enamel, one for himself, and the other +for "Blanche d'Avange, my dear companion." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting form of cloisonné enamel was that known as +"plique à jour," which consists of a filigree +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 100%;"> +<tr><td> +<a name="page_104"><span class="page">Page 104</span></a> + <img src="images/fig020.jpg" width="295" height="560" alt="Figure 20"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ITALIAN ENAMELLED CROZIER, 14TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a name="page_105"><span class="page">Page 105</span></a> +setting with the enamel in transparent bits, without any metallic +background. It is still made in many parts of the world. When held +to the light it resembles minute arrangements of stained glass. +Francis I. showed Benvenuto Cellini a wonderful bowl of this +description, and asked Cellini if he could possibly imagine how +the result was attained. "Sacred Majesty," replied Benvenuto, "I +can tell you exactly how it is done," and he proceeded to explain +to the astonished courtiers how the bowl was constructed, bit by +bit, inside a bowl of thin iron lined with clay. The wires were +fastened in place with glue until the design was complete, and +then the enamel was put in place, the whole being fused together at +the soldering. The clay form to which all this temporarily adhered +was then removed, and the work, transparent and ephemeral, was +ready to stand alone. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +King John gave to the city of Lynn a magnificent cup of gold, enamelled, +with figures of courtiers of the period, engaged in the sports of +hawking and hare-hunting, and dressed in the costume of the king's +reign. "King John gave to the Corporation a rich cup and cover," +says Mackarel, "weighing seventy-three ounces, which is preserved +to this day and upon all public occasions and entertainments used +with some uncommon ceremonies at drinking the health of the King +or Queen, and whoever goes to visit the Mayor must drink out of this +cup, which contains a full pint." The colours of the enamels which +are used as flat values <a name="page_106"><span class="page">Page +106</span></a> in backgrounds to the little silver figures, are dark +rose, clear blue, and soft green. The dresses of the persons are +also picked out in the same colours, varied from the grounds. This +cup was drawn by John Carter in 1787, he having had much trouble +in getting permission to study the original for that purpose! He +took letters of introduction to the Corporation, but they appeared +to suspect him of some imposture; at first they refused to entertain +his proposal at all, but after several applications, he was allowed +to have the original before him, in a closed room, in company with +a person appointed by them but at his expense, to watch him and +see that no harm came to the precious cup! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The translucent enamels on relief were made a great deal by the +Italian goldsmiths; Vasari alludes to this class of work as "a +species of painting united with sculpture." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As enamel came by degrees to be used as if it were paint, one of +the chief charms of the art died. The limits of this art were its +strength, and simple straight-forward use of the material was its +best expression. The method of making a painted enamel was as follows. +The design was laid out with a stilus on a copper plate. Then a +flux of plain enamel was fused on to the surface, all over it. The +drawing was then made again, on the same lines, in a dark medium, +and the colours were laid flat inside the dark lines, accepting these +lines as if they had been wires around cloisons. All painted enamels +had to be enamelled on the back as well, to <a name="page_107"><span +class="page">Page 107</span></a> prevent warping in the furnace when +the shrinkage took place. After each layer of colour the whole plate +was fired. In the fifteenth century these enamels were popular and +retained some semblance of respect for the limitation of material; +later, greater facility led, as it does in most of the arts, to +a decadence in taste, and florid pictures, with as many colours +and shadows as would appear in an oil painting, resulted. Here and +there, where special metallic brilliancy was desired, a leaf of +gold was laid under the colour of some transparent enamel, giving +a decorative lustre. These bits of brilliant metal were known as +<i>paillons</i>. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When Limoges had finally become the royal manufactory of enamels, +under Francis I., the head of the works was Leonard Limousin, created +"Valet de Chambre du Roi," to show his sovereign's appreciation. +Remarkable examples of the work of Leonard Limousin, executed in +1547, are the large figures of the Apostles to be seen in the church +of St. Pierre, at Chartres, where they are ranged about the apsidal +chapel. They are painted enamels on copper sheets twenty-four by +eleven inches, and are in a wonderful state of preservation. They +were the gift of Henri II. to Diàne de Poictiers and were +brought to Chartres from the Chateau d'Anet. These enamels, being on +a white ground, have something the effect of paintings in Faience; +the colouring is delicate, and they have occasional gold touches. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A treatise by William of Essex directs the artist how to prepare a +plate for a painted enamel, such as were <a name="page_108"><span +class="page">Page 108</span></a> used in miniature work. He says +"To make a plate for the artist to paint upon: a piece of gold or +copper being chosen, of requisite dimensions, and varying from about +1/18 to 1/16 of an inch in thickness, is covered with pulverized +enamel, and passed through the fire, until it becomes of a white +heat; another coating of enamel is then added, and the plate again +fired; afterwards a thin layer of a substance called flux is laid +upon the surface of the enamel, and the plate undergoes the action +of heat for a third time. It is now ready for the painter to commence +his picture upon." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Leonard Limousin painted from 1532 until 1574. He used the process +as described by William of Essex (which afterwards became very +popular for miniaturists), and also composed veritable pictures +of his own design. It is out of our province to trace the history +of the Limoges enamellers after this period. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_109"><span class="page">Page 109</span></a> +CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">OTHER METALS</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The "perils that environ men that meddle with cold iron" are many; +but those who attempt to control hot iron are also to be respected, +when they achieve an artistic result with this unsympathetic metal, +which by nature is entirely lacking in charm, in colour and texture, +and depends more upon a proper application of design than any other, +in order to overcome the obstacles to beauty with which it is beset. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +"Rust hath corrupted," unfortunately, many interesting antiquities +in iron, so that only a limited number of specimens of this metal +have come down to us from very early times; one of the earliest +in England is a grave-stone of cast metal, of the date 1350: it +is decorated with a cross, and has the epitaph, "Pray for the soul +of Joan Collins." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The process of casting iron was as follows. The moulds were made +of a sandy substance, composed of a mixture of brick dust, loam, +plaster, and charcoal. A bed of this sand was made, and into it was +pressed a wooden or metal pattern. When this was removed, the imprint +remained in the sand. Liquid metal was <a name="page_110"><span +class="page">Page 110</span></a> run into the mould so formed, +and would cool into the desired shape. As with a plaster cast, +it was necessary to employ two such beds, the sand being firmly +held in boxes, if the object was to be rounded, and then the two +halves thus made were put together. Flat objects, such as fire-backs, +could be run into a single mould. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bartholomew, in his book "On the Properties of Things," makes certain +statements about iron which are interesting: "Though iron cometh of +the earth, yet it is most hard and sad, and therefore with beating +and smiting it suppresseth and dilateth all other metal, and maketh +it stretch on length and on breadth." This is the key-note to the +work of a blacksmith: it is what he has done from the first, and +is still doing. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Spain there have been iron mines ever since the days when Pliny +wrote and alluded to them, but there are few samples in that country +to lead us to regard it as æsthetic in its purpose until +the fifteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For tempering iron instruments, there are recipes given by the +monk Theophilus, but they are unfortunately quite unquotable, being +treated with mediæval frankness of expression. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Dunstan was the patron of goldsmiths and blacksmiths. He was +born in 925, and lived in Glastonbury, where he became a monk rather +early in life. He not only worked in metal, but was a good musician +and a great scholar, in fact a genuine rounded man of culture. He +built an organ, no doubt something like the one which Theophilus +describes, which, Bede tells us, <a name="page_111"><span +class="page">Page 111</span></a> being fitted with "brass pipes, +filled with air from the bellows, uttered a grand and most sweet +melody." Dunstan was a favourite at court, in the reign of King +Edmund. Enemies were plentiful, however, and they spread the report +that Dunstan evoked demoniac aid in his almost magical work in its +many departments. It was said that occasionally the evil spirits +were too aggravating, and that in such cases Dunstan would stand +no nonsense. There is an old verse: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"St. Dunstan, so the story goes,<br /> + Once pulled the devil by the nose,<br /> + With red hot tongs, which made him roar<br /> + That he was heard three miles or more!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The same story is told of St. Eloi, and probably of most of the +mediæval artistic spirits who were unfortunate enough to +be human in their temperaments and at the same time pious and +struggling. He was greatly troubled by visitations such as persecuted +St. Anthony. On one occasion, it is related that he was busy at +his forge when this fiend was unusually persistent: St. Dunstan +turned upon the demon, and grasped its nose in the hot pincers, +which proved a most successful exorcism. In old portraits, St. +Dunstan is represented in full ecclesiastical habit, holding the +iron pincers as symbols of his prowess. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +He became Archbishop of Canterbury after having held the Sees of +Worcester and London. He journeyed to Rome, and received the pallium +of Primate of the Anglo-Saxons, from Pope John XII. Dunstan was a +<a name="page_112"><span class="page">Page 112</span></a> righteous +statesman, twice reproving the king for evil deeds, and placing his +Royal Highness under the ban of the Church for immoral conduct! +St. Dunstan died in 988. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 366px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig021.jpg" width="366" height="246" alt="Figure 21"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>WROUGHT IRON HINGE, FRANKFORT</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Wrought iron has been in use for many centuries for hinges and +other decorations on doors; a necessity to every building in a +town from earliest times. The word "hinge" comes from the Saxon, +<i>hengen</i>, to hang. Primitive hinges were sometimes sockets +cut in stone, as at Torcello; but soon this was proved a clumsy +and inconvenient method of hanging a door, and hinges more simple +in one way, and yet more ornate, came into fashion. Iron hinges +were found most useful when they extended for some distance on +to the door; this strengthened the door against the invasion of +pirates, when the <a name="page_113"><span class="page">Page +113</span></a> church was the natural citadel of refuge for the +inhabitants of a town, and also held it firmly from warping. At +first single straps of iron were clamped on: then the natural craving +for beauty prevailed, and the hinges developed, flowering out into +scrolls and leaves, and spreading all over the doors, as one sees +them constantly in mediæval examples. The general scheme usually +followed was a straight strap of iron flanked by two curving horns +like a crescent, and this motive was elaborated until a positive +lace of iron, often engraved or moulded, covered the surface of +the door, as in the wonderful work of Biscornette at Notre Dame +in Paris. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Biscornette was a very mysterious worker, and no one ever saw him +constructing the hinges. Reports went round that the devil was +helping him, that he had sold his soul to the King of Darkness +in order to enlist his assistance in his work; an instance of +æsthetic altruism almost commendable in its exotic zeal. +Certain jealous artificers even went so far as to break off bits +of the meandering iron, to test it, but with no result; they could +not decide whether it was cast or wrought. Later a legend grew up +explaining the reason why the central door was not as ornate as +the side doors: the story was that the devil was unable to assist +Biscornette on this door because it was the aperture through which the +Host passed in processions. It is more likely, however, that the doors +were originally uniform, and that the iron was subsequently removed +for some other reason. <a name="page_114"><span class="page">Page +114</span></a> The design is supposed to represent the Earthly +Paradise. Sauval says: "The sculptured birds and ornaments are +marvellous. They are made of wrought iron, the invention of Biscornette +and which died with him. He worked the iron with an almost incredible +industry, rendering it flexible and tractable, and gave it all the +forms and scrolls he wished, with a 'douceur et une gentillesse' +which surprised and astonished all the smiths." The iron master +Gaegart broke off fragments of the iron, and no member of the craft +has ever been able to state with certainty just how the work was +accomplished. Some think that it is cast, and then treated with +the file; others say that it must have been executed by casting +entire, with no soldering. In any case, the secret will never be +divulged, for no one was in the confidence of Biscornette. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Norman blacksmiths and workers in wrought iron were more plentiful +than goldsmiths. They had, in those warlike times, more call for +arms and the massive products of the forge than for gaudy jewels and +table appointments. One of the doors of St. Alban's Abbey displays the +skill of Norman smiths dealing with this stalwart form of ornament. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among special artists in iron whose names have survived is that +of Jehan Tonquin, in 1388. Earlier than that, a cutler, Thomas +de Fieuvillier, is mentioned, as having flourished about 1330. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 357px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig022.jpg" width="357" height="480" alt="Figure 22"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>BISCORNETTE'S DOORS AT PARIS</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Elaborate iron work is rare in Germany; the Germans always excelled +rather in bronze than in the sterner <a name="page_115"><span +class="page">Page 115</span></a> metal. At St. Ursula's in Cologne +there are iron floriated hinges, but the design and idea are French, +and not native. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One may usually recognize a difference between French and English +wrought iron, for the French is often in detached pieces, not an +outgrowth of the actual hinge itself, and when this is found in +England, it indicates French work. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ornaments in iron were sometimes cut out of flat sheet metal, and +then hammered into form. In stamping this flat work with embossed +effect, the smith had to work while the iron was hot,—as +Sancho Panza expressed it, "Praying to God and hammering away." +Dies were made, after a time, into which the design could be beaten +with less effort than in the original method. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the quaintest of iron doors is at Krems, where the gate is +made up of square sheets of iron, cut into rude pierced designs, +giving scenes from the New Testament, and hammered up so as to be +slightly embossed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Guild of Blacksmiths in Florence flourished as early as the +thirteenth century. It covered workers in many metals, copper, +iron, brass, and pewter included. Among the rules of the Guild +was one permitting members to work for ready money only. They were +not allowed to advertise by street crying, and were fined if they +did so. The Arms of the Guild was a pair of furnace tongs upon a +white field. Among the products of the forge most in demand were +the iron window-gratings so invariable on all houses, and called +by <a name="page_116"><span class="page">Page 116</span></a> +Michelangelo "kneeling windows," on account of the bulging shape +of the lower parts. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One famous iron worker carried out the law of the Guild both in +spirit and letter to the extent of insisting upon payment in advance! +This was Nicolo Grosso, who worked about 1499. Vasari calls him +the "money grabber." His specialty was to make the beautiful torch +holders and lanterns such as one sees on the Strozzi Palace and +in the Bargello. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In England there were Guilds of Blacksmiths; in Middlesex one was +started in 1434, and members were known as "in the worship of St. +Eloi." Members were alluded to as "Brethren and Sisteren,"—this +term would fill a much felt vacancy! Some of the Guilds exacted +fines from all members who did not pay a proper proportion of their +earnings to the Church. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another general use of iron for artistic purposes was in the manufacture +of grilles. Grilles were used in France and England in cathedrals. +The earliest Christian grille is a pierced bronze screen in the +Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Hildesheim is an original form of grille; the leaves and rosettes +in the design are pierced, instead of being beaten up into bosses. +This probably came from the fact that the German smith did not +understand the Frankish drawing, and supposed that the shaded portions +of the work were intended to be open work. The result, however, +is most happy, and a new feature was thus introduced into grille +work. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig023.jpg" width="360" height="454" alt="Figure 23"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>WROUGHT IRON FROM THE BARGELLO, FLORENCE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_117"><span class="page">Page 117</span></a> +Many grilles were formed by the smith's taking an iron bar and, +under the intense heat, splitting it into various branches, each +of which should be twisted in a different way. Another method was +to use the single slighter bar for the foundation of the design, +and welding on other volutes of similar thickness to make the scroll +work associated with wrought iron. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Some of the smiths who worked at Westminster Abbey are known by +name; Master Henry Lewis, in 1259, made the iron work for the tomb +of Henry III. A certain iron fragment is signed Gilibertus. The iron +on the tomb of Queen Eleanor is by Thomas de Leighton, in 1294. +Lead workers also had a place assigned to them in the precincts, +which was known as "the Plumbery." In 1431 Master Roger Johnson +was enjoined to arrest or press smiths into service in order to +finish the ironwork on the tomb of Edward IV. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Probably the most famous use of iron in Spain is in the stupendous +"<i>rejas</i>," or chancel screens of wrought iron; but these are +nearly all of a late Renaissance style, and hardly come within the +scope of this volume. The requirements of Spanish cathedrals, too, +for wrought iron screens for all the side chapels, made plenty of +work for the iron masters. In fact, the "<i>rejeros</i>," or iron +master, was as regular an adjunct to a cathedral as an architect +or a painter. Knockers were often very handsome in Spain, and even +nail heads were decorated. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting specimen of iron work is the grille that surrounds +the tomb of the Scaligers in Verolla. It is <a name="page_118"><span +class="page">Page 118</span></a> not a hard stiff structure, but +is composed of circular forms, each made separately, and linked +together with narrow bands, so that the construction is flexible, +and is more like a gigantic piece of chain mail than an iron fence. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Quentin Matsys was known as the "blacksmith of Antwerp," and is +reported to have left his original work among metals to become a +painter. This was done in order to marry the lady of his choice, for +she refused to join her fate to that of a craftsman. She, however, +was ready to marry a painter. Quentin, therefore, gave up his hammer +and anvil, and began to paint Madonnas that he might prosper in his +suit. Some authorities, however, laugh at this story, and claim +that the specimens of iron work which are shown as the early works +of Matsys date from a time when he would have been only ten or +twelve years old, and that they must therefore have been the work +of his father, Josse Matsys, who was a locksmith. The well-cover +in Antwerp, near the cathedral, is always known as Quentin Matsys' +well. It is said that this was not constructed until 1470, while +Quentin was born in 1466. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The iron work of the tomb of the Duke of Burgundy, in Windsor, +is supposed to be the work of Quentin Matsys, and is considered +the finest grille in England. It is wrought with such skill and +delicacy that it is more like the product of the goldsmith's art +than that of the blacksmith. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another object of utility which was frequently +<a name="page_119"><span class="page">Page 119</span></a> +ornamented was the key. The Key of State, especially, was so treated. +Some are nine or ten inches long, having +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 145px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig024.jpg" width="145" height="454" alt="Figure 24"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MOORISH KEYS, SEVILLE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +been used to present to +visiting grandees as typical of the "Freedom of the City." Keys +were often decorated <a name="page_120"><span class="page">Page +120</span></a> with handles having the appearance of Gothic tracery. +In an old book published in 1795, there is an account of the miraculous +Keys of St. Denis, made of silver, which they apply to the faces +of these persons who have been so unfortunate as to be bitten by +mad dogs, and who received certain and immediate relief in only +touching them. A key in Valencia, over nine inches in length, +is richly embossed, while the wards are composed of decorative +letters, looking at first like an elaborate sort of filigree, but +finally resolving themselves into the autographic statement: "It +was made by Ahmed Ahsan." It is a delicate piece of thirteenth +or fourteenth century work in iron. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another old Spanish key has a Hebrew inscription round the handle: +"The King of Kings will open: the King of the whole Earth will +enter," and, in the wards, in Spanish, "God will open, the King +will enter." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The iron smiths of Barcelona formed a Guild in the thirteenth century: +it is to be regretted that more of their work could not have descended +to us. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A frank treatment of locks and bolts, using them as decorations, +instead of treating them as disgraces, upon the surface of a door, +is the only way to make them in any degree effective. As Pugin has +said, it is possible to use nails, screws, and rivets, so that +they become "beautiful studs and busy enrichments." Florentine +locksmiths were specially famous; there also was a great fashion +for damascened work in that city, and it was executed with much +elegance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_121"><span class="page">Page 121</span></a> +In blacksmith's work, heat was used with the hammer at each stage +of the work, while in armourer's or locksmith's work, heat was +employed only at first, to achieve the primitive forms, and then +the work was carried on with chisel and file on the cold metal. +Up to the fourteenth century the work was principally that of the +blacksmith, and after that, of the locksmith. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The mention of arms and armour in a book of these proportions must +be very slight; the subject is a vast one, and no effort to treat +it with system would be satisfactory in so small a space. But a +few curious and significant facts relating to the making of armour +may be cited. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The rapid decay of iron through rust—rapid, that is to say, +in comparison with other metals—is often found to have taken +place when the discovery of old armour has been made; so that gold +ornaments, belonging to a sword or other weapon, may be found in +excavating, while the iron which formed the actual weapon has +disappeared. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Primitive armour was based on a leather foundation, hence the name +cuirass, was derived from <i>cuir</i> (leather). In a former book I +have alluded to the armour of the nomadic tribes, which is described +by Pausanias as coarse coats of mail made out of the hoofs of horses, +split, and laid overlapping each other, making them "something like +dragon's scales," as Pausanias explains; adding for the benefit +of those who are unfamiliar with dragons' anatomy, "Whoever has not +<i>yet</i> seen a dragon, <a name="page_122"><span class="page">Page +122</span></a> has, at any rate, seen a pine cone still green. These +are equally like in appearance to the surface of this armour." +These horny scales of tough hoofs undoubtedly suggested, at a later +date, the use of thick leather as a form of protection, and the +gradual evolution may be imagined. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The art of the armourer was in early mediæval times the art +of the chain maker. The chain coat, or coats of mail, reached in +early days as far as the knees. Finally this developed into an +entire covering for the man, with head gear as well; of course +this form of armour allowed of no real ornamentation, for there was +no space larger than the links of the chain upon which to bestow +decoration. Each link of a coat of mail was brought round into a +ring, the ends overlapped, and a little rivet inserted. Warriors +trusted to no solder or other mode of fastening. All the magnificence +of knightly apparel was concentrated in the surcoat, a splendid +embroidered or gem-decked tunic to the knees, which was worn over +the coat of mail. These surcoats were often trimmed with costly furs, +ermine or vair, the latter being similar to what we now call squirrel, +being part gray and part white. Cinderella's famous slipper was made +of "vair," which, through a misapprehension in being translated +"verre," has become known as a glass slipper. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After a bit, the makers of armour discovered that much tedious +labor in chain making might be spared, if one introduced a large +plate of solid metal on the chest and back. This was in the thirteenth +century. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 211px;"> +<tr><td> +<a name="page_123"><span class="page">Page 123</span></a> + <img src="images/fig025.jpg" width="211" height="533" alt="Figure 25"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ARMOUR, SHOWING MAIL DEVELOPING INTO PLATE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a name="page_124"><span class="page">Page 124</span></a> +The elbows and knees were also treated in this way, and in the +fourteenth century, the principle of armour had changed to a set of +separate plates fastened together by links. This was the evolution +from mail to plate armour. A description of Charlemagne as he appeared +on the field of battle, in his armour, is given by the Monk of +St. Gall, his biographer, and is dramatic. "Then could be seen +the iron Charles, helmeted with an iron helmet, his iron breast +and broad shoulders protected with an iron breast plate; an iron +spear was raised on high in his left hand, his right always rested +on his unconquered iron falchion.... His shield was all of iron, +his charger was iron coloured and iron hearted.... The fields and +open spaces were filled with iron; a people harder than iron paid +universal homage to the hardness of iron. The horror of the dungeon +seemed less than the bright gleam of iron. 'Oh, the iron! woe for +the iron!' was the confused cry that rose from the citizens. The +strong walls shook at the sight of iron: the resolution of young +and old fell before the iron." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +By the end of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, whole +suits of armour were almost invariable, and then came the opportunity +for the goldsmith, the damascener, and the niellist. Some of the +leading artists, especially in Italy, were enlisted in designing +and decorating what might be called the <i>armour-de-luxe</i> of +the warrior princes! The armour of horses was as ornate as that +of the riders. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The sword was always the most imposingly ornamented <a +name="page_125"><span class="page">Page 125</span></a> part of a +knight's equipment, and underwent various modifications which are +interesting to note. At first, it was the only weapon invariably +at hand: it was enormously large, and two hands were necessary +in wielding it. As the arquebuse came into use, the sword took a +secondary position: it became lighter and smaller. And ever since +1510 it is a curious fact that the decorations of swords have been +designed to be examined when the sword hangs with the point down; +the earlier ornament was adapted to being seen at its best when the +sword was held upright, as in action. Perhaps the later theory of +decoration is more sensible, for it is certain that neither a warrior +nor his opponent could have occasion to admire fine decoration at +a time when the sword was drawn! That the arts should be employed +to satisfy the eye in times of peace, sufficed the later wearers +of ornamented swords. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Toledo blades have always been famous, and rank first among the +steel knives of the world. Even in Roman times, and of course under +the Moors, Toledo led in this department. The process of making a +Toledo blade was as follows. There was a special fine white sand +on the banks of the Tagus, which was used to sprinkle on the blade +when it was red hot, before it was sent on to the forger's. When +the blade was red hot from being steeped four-fifths of its length +in flame, it was dropped point first into a bucket of water. If it +was not perfectly straight when it was withdrawn, it was beaten into +shape, more sand being first put upon it. <a name="page_126"><span +class="page">Page 126</span></a> After this the remaining fifth +of the blade was subjected to the fire, and was rubbed with suet +while red hot; the final polish of the whole sword was produced +by emery powder on wooden wheels. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 382px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig026.jpg" width="382" height="380" alt="Figure 26"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DAMASCENED HELMET</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Damascening was a favourite method of ornamenting choice suits +of armour, and was also applied to bronzes, cabinets, and such +pieces of metal as lent themselves to decoration. The process began +like niello: little <a name="page_127"><span class="page">Page +127</span></a> channels for the design were hollowed out, in the +iron or bronze, and then a wire of brass, silver, or gold, was laid +in the groove, and beaten into place, being afterwards polished +until the surface was uniform all over. One great feature of the +art was to sink the incision a little broader at the base than +at the top, and then to force the softer metal in, so that, by +this undercutting, it was held firmly in place. Cellini tells of +his first view of damascened steel blades. "I chanced," he says, +"to become possessed of certain little Turkish daggers, the handle +of which together with the guard and blade were ornamented with +beautiful Oriental leaves, engraved with a chisel, and inlaid with +gold. This kind of work differed materially from any which I had +as yet practised or attempted, nevertheless I was seized with a +great desire to try my hand at it, and I succeeded so admirably +that I produced articles infinitely finer and more solid than those +of the Turks." Benvenuto had such a humble opinion of his own powers! +But when one considers the pains and labour expended upon the arts +of damascening and niello, one regrets that the workers had not +been inspired to attempt dentistry, and save so much unnecessary +individual suffering! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the Sword of Boabdil are many inscriptions, among them, "God is +clement and merciful," and "God is gifted with the best memory." +No two sentiments could be better calculated to keep a conqueror +from undue excesses. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mercia was a headquarters for steel and other metals <a +name="page_128"><span class="page">Page 128</span></a> in the thirteenth +century. Seville was even then famous for its steel, also, and in +the words of a contemporary writer, "the steel which is made in +Seville is most excellent; it would take too much time to enumerate +the delicate objects of every kind which are made in this town." +King Don Pedro, in his will, in the fourteenth century, bequeathes +to his son, his "Castilian sword, which I had made here in Seville, +ornamented with stones and gold." Swords were baptized; they were +named, and seemed to have a veritable personality of their own. +The sword of Charlemagne was christened "Joyeuse," while we all +know of Arthur's Excalibur; Roland's sword was called Durandel. +Saragossa steel was esteemed for helmets, and the sword of James +of Arragon in 1230, "a very good sword, and lucky to those who +handled it," was from Monzon. The Cid's sword was similar, and +named Tizona. There is a story of a Jew who went to the grave of +the Cid to steal his sword, which, according to custom, was interred +with the owner: the corpse is said to have resented the intrusion +by unsheathing the weapon, which miracle so amazed the Jew that +he turned Christian! +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 337px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig027.jpg" width="337" height="98" alt="Figure 27"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MOORISH SWORD</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_129"><span class="page">Page 129</span></a> +German armour was popular. Cologne swords were great favourites +in England. King Arthur's sword was one of these,— +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"For all of Coleyne was the blade<br /> + And all the hilt of precious stone." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the British Museum is a wonderful example of a wooden shield, +painted on a gesso ground, the subject being a Knight kneeling +before a lady, and the motto: "Vous ou la mort." These wooden shields +were used in Germany until the end of Maximilian's reign. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The helmet, or Heaume, entirely concealed the face, so that for +purposes of identification, heraldic badges and shields were displayed. +Later, crests were also used on the helmets, for the same purpose. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Certain armourers were very well known in their day, and were as +famous as artists in other branches. William Austin made a superb +suit for the Earl of Warwick, while Thomas Stevyns was the coppersmith +who worked on the same, and Bartholomew Lambspring was the polisher. +There was a famous master-armourer at Greenwich in the days of +Elizabeth, named Jacob: some important arms of that period bear +the inscription, "Made by me Jacob." There is some question whether +he was the same man as Jacob Topf who came from Innsbruck, and +became court armourer in England in 1575. Another famous smith +was William Pickering, who made exquisitely ornate suits of what +we might call full-dress armour. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_130"><span class="page">Page 130</span></a> +Colossal cannon were made: two celebrated guns may be seen, the +monster at Ghent, called Mad Meg, and the huge cannon at Edinburgh +Castle, Mons Meg, dating from 1476. These guns are composed of steel +coils or spirals, afterwards welded into a solid mass instead of +being cast. They are mammoth examples of the art of the blacksmith +and the forge. In Germany cannon were made of bronze, and these +were simply cast. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cross bows obtained great favour in Spain, even after the arquebuse +had come into use. It was considered a safer weapon to the one +who used it. An old writer in 1644 remarks, "It has never been +known that a man's life has been lost by breaking the string or +cord, two things which are dangerous, but not to a considerable +extent,"... and he goes on "once set, its shot is secure, which +is not the case with the arquebus, which often misses fire." There +is a letter from Ambassador Salimas to the King of Hungary, in +which he says: "I went to Balbastro and there occupied myself in +making a pair of cross bows for your Majesty. I believe they will +satisfy the desires which were required... as your Majesty is annoyed +when they do not go off as you wish." It would seem as though his +Majesty's "annoyance" was justifiable; imagine any one dependent +upon the shot of a cross bow, and then having the weapon fail to +"go off!" Nothing could be more discouraging. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 324px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig028.jpg" width="324" height="556" alt="Figure 28"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ENAMELLED SUIT OF ARMOUR</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +There is a contemporary treatise which is full of interest, <a +name="page_131"><span class="page">Page 131</span></a> entitled, +"How a Man shall be Armed at his ease when he shall Fight on Foot." +It certainly was a good deal of a contract to render a knight +comfortable in spite of the fact that he could see or breathe only +imperfectly, and was weighted down by iron at every point. This +complete covering with metal added much to the actual noise of battle. +Froissart alludes to the fact that in the battle of Rosebeque, in +1382, the hammering on the helmets made a noise which was equal to +that of all the armourers of Paris and Brussels working together. +And yet the strength needed to sport such accoutrements seems to +have been supplied. Leon Alberti of Florence, when clad in a full +suit of armour, could spring with ease upon a galloping horse, and +it is related that Aldobrandini, even with his right arm disabled, +could cleave straight through his opponent's helmet and head, down +to the collar bone, with a single stroke! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the richest suits of armour in the world is to be seen at +Windsor; it is of Italian workmanship, and is made of steel, blued +and gilded, with wonderfully minute decorations of damascene and +appliqué work. This most ornate armour was made chiefly +for show, and not for the field: for knights to appear in their +official capacity, and for jousting at tournaments, which were +practically social events. In the days of Henry VIII. a chronicler +tells of a jouster who "tourneyed in harneyse all of gilt from +the head piece to the sabattons." Many had "tassels of fine gold" +on their suits. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_132"><span class="page">Page 132</span></a> +Italian weapons called "lasquenets" were very deadly. In a letter +from Albrecht Dürer to Pirckheimer, he alludes to them, as +having "roncions with two hundred and eighteen points: and if they +pink a man with any of these, the man is dead, as they are all +poisoned." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bronze is composed of copper with an alloy of about eight or ten +per cent. of tin. The fusing of these two metals produces the brown +glossy substance called bronze, which is so different from either of +them. The art of the bronze caster is a very old and interesting one. +The method of proceeding has varied very little with the centuries. A +statue to be cast either in silver or bronze would be treated in +the following manner. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A general semblance of the finished work was first set up in clay; +then over this a layer of wax was laid, as thick as the final bronze +was intended to be. The wax was then worked with tools and by hand +until it took on the exact form designed for the finished product. +Then a crust of clay was laid over the wax; on this were added other +coatings of clay, until quite a thick shell of clay surrounded +the wax. The whole was then subjected to fervent heat, and the wax +all melted out, leaving a space between the core and the outer +shell. Into this space the liquid bronze was poured, and after it +had cooled and hardened the outer shell was broken off, leaving +the statue in bronze exactly as the wax had been. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cellini relates an experience in Paris, with an old man <a +name="page_133"><span class="page">Page 133</span></a> eighty years +of age, one of the most famous bronze casters whom he had engaged +to assist him in his work for Francis I. Something went wrong with +the furnace, and the poor old man was so upset and "got into such +a stew" that he fell upon the floor, and Benvenuto picked him up +fancying him to be dead: "Howbeit," explains Cellini, "I had a +great beaker of the choicest wine brought him,... I mixed a large +bumper of wine for the old man, who was groaning away like anything, +and I bade him most winning-wise to drink, and said: 'Drink, my +father, for in yonder furnace has entered in a devil, who is making +all this mischief, and, look you, we'll just let him bide there +a couple of days, till he gets jolly well bored, and then will +you and I together in the space of three hours firing, make this +metal run, like so much batter, and without any exertion at all.' +The old fellow drank and then I brought him some little dainties +to eat: meat pasties they were, nicely peppered, and I made him +take down four full goblets of wine. He was a man quite out of +the ordinary, this, and a most lovable old thing, and what with +my caresses and the virtue of the wine, I found him soon moaning +away as much with joy as he had moaned before with grief." Cellini +displayed in this incident his belief in the great principle that +the artist should find pleasure in his work in order to impart +to that work a really satisfactory quality, and did exactly the +right thing at the right minute; instead of trusting to a faltering +effort in a disheartened man, he cheered the old bronze founder +<a name="page_134"><span class="page">Page 134</span></a> up to +such a pitch that after a day or two the work was completed with +triumph and joy to both. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the famous statue of Perseus, Cellini experienced much difficulty +in keeping the metal liquid. The account of this thrilling experience, +told in his matchless autobiography, is too long to quote at this +point; an interesting item, however, should be noted. Cellini used +pewter as a solvent in the bronze which had hardened in the furnace. +"Apprehending that the cause of it was, that the fusibility of +the metal was impaired, by the violence of the fire," he says, "I +ordered all my dishes and porringers, which were in number about +two hundred, to be placed one by one before my tubes, and part of +them to be thrown into the furnace, upon which all present perceived +that my bronze was completely dissolved, and that my mould was +filling," and, such was the relief that even the loss of the entire +pewter service of the family was sustained with equanimity; the +family, "without delay, procured earthen vessels to supply the place +of the pewter dishes and porringers, and we all dined together very +cheerfully." Edgecumb Staley, in the "Guilds of Florence," speaks +of the "pewter fattened Perseus:" this is worthy of Carlyle. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Early Britons cast statues in brass. Speed tells of King Cadwollo, +who died in 677, being buried "at St. Martin's church near Ludgate, +his image great and terrible, triumphantly riding on horseback, +artificially cast in brass, was placed on the Western gate of the +city, to the further fear and terror of the Saxons!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_135"><span class="page">Page 135</span></a> +In 1562 Bartolomeo Morel, who made the celebrated statue of the +Giralda Tower in Seville, executed a fifteen branched candelabrum +for the Cathedral. It is a rich Renaissance design, in remarkably +chaste and good lines, and holds fifteen statuettes, which are +displaced to make room for the candles only during the last few +days of Lent. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A curious form of mediæval trinket was the perfume ball; this +consisted of a perforated ball of copper or brass, often ornamented +with damascene, and intended to contain incense to perfume the air, +the balls being suspended. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The earliest metal statuary in England was rendered in latten, a +mixed metal of a yellow colour, the exact recipe for which has not +survived. The recumbent effigies of Henry III. and Queen Eleanor +are made of latten, and the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury +is the same, beautifully chased. Many of these and other tombs were +probably originally covered with gilding, painting, and enamel. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The effigies of Richard II. and his queen, Anne of Bohemia, were +made during the reign of the monarch; a contemporary document states +that "Sir John Innocent paid another part of a certain indenture +made between the King and Nicolas Broker and Geoffrey Prest, +coppersmiths of London, for the making of two images, likenesses +of the King and Queen, of copper and latten, gilded upon the said +marble tomb." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are many examples of bronze gates in ecclesiastical <a +name="page_136"><span class="page">Page 136</span></a> architecture. +The gates of St. Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome were made in 1070, +in Constantinople, by Stauracius the Founder. Many authorities +think that those at St. Mark's in Venice were similarly produced. +The bronze doors in Rome are composed of fifty-four small designs, +not in relief, but with the outlines of the subjects inlaid with +silver. The doors are in Byzantine taste. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The bronze doors at Hildesheim differ from nearly all other such +portals, in the elemental principle of design. Instead of being +divided into small panels, they are simply blocked off into seven +long horizontal compartments on each side, and then filled with a +pictorial arrangement of separate figures; only three or four in +each panel, widely spaced, and on a background of very low relief. +The figures are applied, at scattered distances apart, and are +in unusually high modelling, in some cases being almost detached +from the door. The effect is curious and interesting rather than +strictly beautiful, on the whole; but in detail many of the figures +display rare power of plastic skill, proportion, and action. They +are, at any rate, very individual: there are no other doors at +all like them. They are the work of Bishop Bernward. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Unquestionably, one of the greatest achievements in bronze of any +age is the pair of gates by Lorenzo Ghiberti on the Baptistery +in Florence. Twenty-one years were devoted to their making, by +Ghiberti and his assistants, with the stipulation that all figures +in the design were to be personal work of the master, the <a +name="page_137"><span class="page">Page 137</span></a> assistants +only attending to secondary details. The doors were in place in +April, 1424. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The competition for the Baptistery doors reads like a romance, +and is familiar to most people who know anything of historic art. +When the young Ghiberti heard that the competition was open to +all, he determined to go to Florence and work for the prize; in <a +name="page_138"><span class="page">Page 138</span></a> his own words: +"When my friends wrote to me that the governors of the Baptistery +were sending for masters whose skill in bronze working they wished +to prove, + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig029.jpg" width="360" height="402" alt="Figure 29"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>BRUNELLESCHI'S COMPETITIVE PANEL</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +and that from all Italian lands many maestri were coming, +to place themselves in this strife of talent, I could no longer +forbear, and asked leave of Sig. Malatesta, who let me depart." +The result of the competition is <a name="page_139"><span +class="page">Page 139</span></a> also given in Ghiberti's words: +"The palm of victory was conceded to me by all judges, and by those +who competed with me. Universally all the glory was given to me +without any exception." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig030.jpg" width="360" height="408" alt="Figure 30"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>GHIBERTI'S COMPETITIVE PANEL</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Symonds considers the first gate a supreme accomplishment in bronze +casting, but criticizes the other, and usually more admired gate, as +"overstepping the limits that separate sculpture from painting," by +"massing together figures in multitudes at three and sometimes four +distances. He tried to make a place in bas-relief for perspective." +Sir Joshua Reynolds finds fault with Ghiberti, also, for working at +variance with the severity of sculptural treatment, by distributing +small figures in a spacious landscape framework. It was not really +in accordance with the limitations of his material to treat a bronze +casting as Ghiberti treated it, and his example has led many men of +inferior genius astray, although there is no use in denying that +Ghiberti himself was clever enough to defy the usual standards +and rules. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Fonts were sometimes made in bronze. There is such a one at Liege +cast by Lambert Patras, which stands upon twelve oxen. It is decorated +with reliefs from the Gospels. This artist, Patras, was a native +of Dinant, and lived in the twelfth century. The bronze font in +Hildesheim is among the most interesting late Romanesque examples in +Germany. It is a large deep basin entirely covered with enrichment of +Scriptural scenes, and is supported by four kneeling figures, typical +of the <a name="page_140"><span class="page">Page 140</span></a> four +Rivers of Paradise. The conical cover is also covered with Scriptural +scenes, and surmounted by a foliate knob. Among the figures with +which the font is covered are the Cardinal Virtues, flanked by +their patron saints. Didron considers this a most important piece +of bronze from an iconographic point of view theologically and +poetically. The archaic qualities of the figures are fascinating +and sometimes diverting. In the scene of the Baptism of Christ the +water is positively trained to flow upwards in pyramidal form, in +order to reach nearly to the waist, while at either side it recedes +to the ground level again,—it has an ingenuous and almost +startling suddenness in the rising of its flood! An interesting +comment upon the prevalence of early national forms may be deduced, +when one observes that on the table, at the Last Supper, there +lies a perfectly shaped pretzel! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The great bronze column constructed by St. Bernward at Hildesheim +has the Life of Christ represented in consecutive scenes in a spiral +form, like those ornamenting the column of Trajan. Down by Bernward's +grave there is a spring which is said to cure cripples and rheumatics. +Peasants visit Hildesheim on saints' days in order to drink of +it, and frequently, after one of these visitations, crutches are +found abandoned near by. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Saxony was famous for its bronze founders, and work was sent forth, +from this country, in the twelfth century, all over Europe. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig031.jpg" width="360" height="562" alt="Figure 31"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>FONT AT HILDESHEIM, 12TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Orcagna's tabernacle at Or San Michele is, as Symonds <a +name="page_141"><span class="page">Page 141</span></a> has expressed +it, "a monumental jewel," and "an epitome of the minor arts of +mediæval Italy." On it one sees bas-relief carving, intaglios, +statuettes, mosaic, the lapidary's art in agate; enamels, and gilded +glass, and yet all in good taste and harmony. The sculpture is +properly subordinated to the architectonic principle, and one can +understand how it is not only the work of a goldsmith, but of a +painter. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of all bronze workers, perhaps Peter Vischer is the best known +and is certainly one of the best deserving of his wide fame. Peter +Vischer was born about the same time as Quentin Matsys, between +1460 and 1470. He was the most important metal worker in Germany. +He and Adam Kraft, of whom mention will be made when we come to +deal with sculptural carving, were brought up together as boys, +and "when older boys, went with one another on all holidays, acting +still as though they were apprentices together." Vischer's normal +expression was in Gothic form. His first design for the wonderful +shrine of St. Sebald in Nuremberg was made by him in 1488, and +is still preserved in Vienna. It is a pure late-Gothic canopy, +and I cannot help regretting that the execution was delayed until +popular taste demanded more concession towards the Renaissance, +and it was resolved in 1507, "to have the Shrine of St. Sebald +made of brass." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Therefore, although the general lines continue to hold a Gothic +semblance, the shrine has many Renaissance features. Regret, however, +is almost morbid, in relation <a name="page_142"><span class="page">Page +142</span></a> to such a perfect work of art. Italian feeling is +evident throughout, and the wealth of detail in figures and foliate +forms is magnificent. The centre of interest is the little portrait +statuette of Peter Vischer himself, according to his biographer, "as +he looked, and as he daily went about and worked in the foundry." +Though Peter had not been to Italy himself, his son Hermann had +visited the historic land, and had brought home "artistic things +that he sketched and drew, which delighted his old father, and +were of great use to his brothers." Peter Vischer had three sons, +who all followed him in the craft. His workshop must have been +an ideal institution in its line. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Some remnants of Gothic grotesque fancy are to be seen on the shrine, +although treated outwardly with Renaissance feeling. A realistic +life-sized mouse may be seen in one place, just as if it had run +out to inspect the work; and the numbers of little tipsy "putti" +who disport themselves in all attitudes, in perilous positions +on narrow ledges, are full of merry humour. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The metal of St. Sebald's shrine is left as it came from the casting, +and owes much of its charm to the lack of filing, polishing, and +pointing usual in such monuments. The molten living expression is +retained. Only the details and spirit of the figures are Renaissance; +the Gothic plan is hardly disturbed, and the whole monument is +pleasing in proportion. The figures are exquisite, especially that +of St. Peter. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 358px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig032.jpg" width="358" height="559" alt="Figure 32"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>PORTRAIT STATUETTE OF PETER VISCHER</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +A great Renaissance work in Germany was the grille <a +name="page_143"><span class="page">Page 143</span></a> of the Rathaus +made for Nuremberg by Peter Vischer the Younger. It was of bronze, +the symmetrical diapered form of the open work part being supported +by chaste and dignified columns of the Corinthian order. It was first +designed by Peter Vischer the Elder, and revised and changed by the +whole family after Hermann's return from Rome with his Renaissance +notions. It was sold in 1806 to a merchant for old metal; later it +was traced to the south of France, where it disappeared. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another famous bronze of Nuremberg is the well-known "Goose Man" +fountain, by Labenwolf. Every traveller has seen the quaint half-foolish +little man, as he stands there holding his two geese who politely +turn away their heads in order to produce the streams of water! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +With the best bronzes, and with steel used for decorative purposes, +the original casting has frequently been only for general form, +the whole of the surface finishing being done with a shaping tool, +by hand, giving the appearance of a carving in bronze or steel. In +Japanese bronzes this is particularly felt. The classical bronzes +were evidently perfect mosaics of different colours, in metal. Pliny +tells of a bronze figure of a dying woman, who was represented +as having changed colour at the extremities, the fusion of the +different shades of bronze being disguised by anklets, bracelets, +and a necklace! A curious and very disagreeable work of art, we should +say. One sometimes sees in antique fragments ivory or silver eyeballs, +and hair and eyelashes made separately <a name="page_144"><span +class="page">Page 144</span></a> in thin strips and coils of metal; +while occasionally the depression of the edge of the lips is sufficient +to give rise to the opinion that a thin veneer of copper was applied +to give colour. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The bronze effigies of Henry III. and Eleanor, at Westminster, were +the work of a goldsmith, Master William Torel, and are therefore +finer in quality and are in some respects superior to the average +casting in bronze. Torel worked at the palace, and the statues were +cast in "cire perdue" process, being executed in the churchyard +itself. They are considered among the finest bronzes of the period +extant. Gilding and enamel were often used in bronze effigies. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Splendid bronzes, cast each in a single flow, are the recumbent +figures of two bishops at Amiens; they are of the thirteenth century. +Ruskin says: "They are the only two bronze tombs of her men of the +great ages left in France." An old document speaks of the "moulds +and imagines" which were in use for casting effigy portraits, in +1394. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another good English bronze is that of Richard Beauchamp at Warwick, +the work of Thomas Stevens, which has been alluded to. In Westminster +Abbey, the effigy of Aymer de Valence, dating from 1296, is of +copper, but it is not cast; it is of beaten metal, and is enamelled, +probably at Limoges. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bells and cannon are among the objects of actual utility which +were cast in bronze. Statues as a rule came later. In the sixteenth +and seventeenth centuries <a name="page_145"><span class="page">Page +145</span></a> in England, bronze was used to such an extent, that +one authority suggested that it should be called the "Age of Bronze." +Primitive bells were made of cast iron riveted together: one of +these is at the Cologne museum, and the Irish bells were largely +of this description. A great bell was presented to the Cathedral +of Chartres in 1028, by a donor named Jean, which affords little +clue to his personality. This bell weighed over two tons. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is considerable interest attaching to the subject of the +making of bells in the Middle Ages. Even in domestic life bells +played quite a part; it was the custom to ring a bell when the +bath was ready and to announce meals, as well as to summon the +servitors. Church bells, both large and small, were in use in England +by 670, according to Bede. They were also carried by missionaries; +those good saints, Patrick and Cuthbert, announced their coming +like town criers! The shrine of St. Patrick's bell has been already +described. Bells used to be regarded with a superstitious awe, and +were supposed to have the ability to dispel evil spirits, which were +exorcised with "bell, book, and candle." The bell of St. Patrick, +inside the great shrine, is composed of two pieces of sheet iron, +one of which forms the face, and being turned over the top, descends +about half-way down the other side, where it meets the second sheet. +Both are bent along the edges so as to form the sides of the bell, +and they are both secured by rivets. A rude handle is similarly +attached to the top. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A quaint account is given by the Monk of St. Gall <a +name="page_146"><span class="page">Page 146</span></a> about a +bell ordered by Charlemagne. Charlemagne having admired the tone +of a certain bell, the founder, named Tancho, said to him: "Lord +Emperor, give orders that a great weight of copper be brought to +me that I may refine it, and instead of tin give me as much silver +as I need,—a hundred pounds at least,—and I will cast +such a bell for you that this will seem dumb in comparison to it." +Charlemagne ordered the required amount of silver to be sent to +the founder, who was, however, a great knave. He did not use the +silver at all, but, laying it aside for his own use, he employed +tin as usual in the bell, knowing that it would make a very fair +tone, and counting on the Emperor's not observing the difference. +The Emperor was glad when it was ready to be heard, and ordered it +to be hung, and the clapper attached. "That was soon done," says +the chronicler, "and then the warden of the church, the attendants, +and even the boys of the place, tried, one after the other, to make +the bell sound. But all was in vain; and so at last the knavish +maker of the bell came up, seized the rope, and pulled at the bell. +When, lo! and behold! down from on high came the brazen mass; fell +on the very head of the cheating brass founder; killed him on the +spot; and passed straight through his carcase and crashed to the +ground.... When the aforementioned weight of silver was found, +Charles ordered it to be distributed among the poorest servants +of the palace." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is record of bronze bells in Valencia as early as 622, and +an ancient mortar was found near Monzon, <a name="page_147"><span +class="page">Page 147</span></a> in the ruins of a castle which had +formerly belonged to the Arabs. Round the edge of this mortar was +the inscription: "Complete blessing, and ever increasing happiness +and prosperity of every kind and an elevated and happy social position +for its owner." The mortar was richly ornamented. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At Croyland, Abbot Egebric "caused to be made two great bells which +he named Bartholomew and Bethelmus, two of middle size, called +Turketul and Tatwyn, and two lesser, Pega and Bega." Also at Croyland +were placed "two little bells which Fergus the brass worker of St. +Botolph's had lately given," in the church tower, "until better +times," when the monks expressed a hope that they should improve +all their buildings and appointments. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Oil that dropped from the framework on which church bells were +hung was regarded in Florence as a panacea for various ailments. +People who suffered from certain complaints were rubbed with this +oil, and fully believed that it helped them. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The curfew bell was a famous institution; but the name was not +originally applied to the bell itself. This leads to another curious +bit of domestic metal. The popular idea of a curfew is that of +a bell; a bell was undoubtedly rung at the curfew hour, and was +called by its name; but the actual curfew (or <i>couvre feu</i>) +was an article made of copper, shaped not unlike a deep "blower," +which was used in order to extinguish the fire when the bell rang. +There are a few specimens in <a name="page_148"><span class="page">Page +148</span></a> England of these curious covers: they stood about +ten to fifteen inches high, with a handle at the top, and closed +in on three sides, open at the back. The embers were shovelled +close to the back of the hearth, and the curfew, with the open +side against the back of the chimney, was placed over them, thus +excluding all air. Horace Walpole owned, at Strawberry Hill, a +famous old curfew, in copper, elaborately decorated with vines and +the York rose. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 357px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig033.jpg" width="357" height="310" alt="Figure 33"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>A COPPER "CURFEW"</td></tr> +</table> + +<table class="center" style="width: 363px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig034.jpg" width="363" height="499" alt="Figure 34"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>SANCTUARY KNOCKER, DURHAM CATHEDRAL</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The Sanctuary knocker at Durham Cathedral is an important example of +bronze work, probably of the <a name="page_149"><span class="page">Page +149</span></a> same age as the Cathedral door on which it is fastened. +They both date from about the eleventh century. Ever since 740, +in the Episcopate of Cynewulf, criminals were allowed to claim +Sanctuary in Durham. When this knocker was sounded, the door was +opened, by two porters who had their accommodations always in two +little chambers over the door, and for a certain length of time +the criminal was under the protection of the Church. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In speaking of the properties of lead, the old English Bartholomew +says: "Of uncleanness of impure brimstone, lead hath a manner of +neshness, and smircheth his hand who toucheth it... a man may wipe +off the uncleanness, but always it is lead, although it seemeth +silver." Weather vanes, made often of lead, were sometimes quite +elaborate. One of the most important pieces of lead work in art +is the figure of an angel on the chewet of Ste. Chapelle in Paris. +Originally this figure was intended to be so controlled by clockwork +that it would turn around once in the course of the twenty-four +hours, so that his attitude of benediction should be directed to +all four quarters of the city; but this was not practicable, and +the angel is stationary. The cock on the weather vane at Winchester +was described as early as the tenth century, in the Life of St. +Swithin, by the scribe Walstan. He calls it "a cock of elegant +form, and all resplendent and shining with gold who occupies the +summit of the tower. He regards the world from on high, he commands +all the country. Before him <a name="page_150"><span class="page">Page +150</span></a> extend the stars of the North, and all the constellations +of the zodiac. Under his superb feet he holds the sceptre of the +law, and he sees under him all the people of Winchester. The other +cocks are humble subjects of this one, whom they see thus raised +in mid-air above them: he scorns the winds, that bring the rains, +and, turning, he presents to them his back. The terrible efforts +of the tempest do not annoy him, he receives with courage either +snow or lightning, alone he watches the sun as it sets and dips +into the ocean: and it is he who gives it its first salute on its +rising again. The traveller who sees him afar off, fixes on him his +gaze; forgetting the road he has still to follow, he forgets his +fatigues: he advances with renewed ardour. While he is in reality +a long way from the end, his eyes deceive him, and he thinks that +he has arrived." Quite a practical tribute to a weather cock! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The fact that leaden roofs were placed on all churches and monastic +buildings in the Middle Ages, accounts in part for their utter +destruction in case of fire; for it is easy to see how impossible +it would be to enter a building in order to save anything, if, to +the terror of flames, were added the horror of a leaden shower +of molten metal proceeding from every part of the roof at once! +If a church once caught fire, that was its end, as a rule. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The invention of clocks, on the principle of cog-wheels and weights, +is attributed to a monk, named Gerbert, who died in 1013. He had +been instructor to King Robert, and was made Bishop of Rheims, later +becoming <a name="page_151"><span class="page">Page 151</span></a> +Pope Sylvester II. Clocks at first were large affairs in public places. +Portable clocks were said to have been first made by Carovage, in +1480. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 255px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig035.jpg" width="255" height="362" alt="Figure 35"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ANGLO SAXON CRUCIFIX OF LEAD</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +An interesting specimen of mediæval clock work is the old +Dijon time keeper, which still performs its office, and which is a +privilege to watch at high noon. Twelve times the bell is struck: +first by a man, who turns decorously with his hammer, and then by +a woman, who does the same. This staunch couple have worked <a +name="page_152"><span class="page">Page 152</span></a> for their +living for many centuries. Froissart alludes to this clock, saying: +"The Duke of Burgundy caused to be carried away from the market +place at Courtray a clock that struck the hours, one of the finest +which could be found on either side of the sea: and he conveyed it +by pieces in carts, and the bell also, which clock was brought and +carted into the town of Dijon, in Burgundy, where it was deposited +and put up, and there strikes the twenty-four hours between day +and night." This was in 1382, and there is no knowing how long +the clock may have performed its functions in Courtray prior to +its removal to Dijon. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The great clock at Nuremberg shows a procession of the Seven Electors, +who come out of one door, pass in front of the throne, each turning +and doing obeisance, and pass on through another door. It is quite +imposing, at noon, to watch this procession repeated twelve times. +The clock is called the Mannleinlauffen. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Statutes of Francis I., there is a clause stating that +clockmakers as well as goldsmiths were authorized to employ in their +work gold, silver, and all other materials. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Wells Cathedral is a curious clock, on which is a figure of a +monarch, like Charles I., seated above the bell, which he kicks +with his heels when the hour comes round. He is popularly known as +"Jack Blandiver." This clock came originally from Glastonbury. On +the hour a little tournament takes place, a race of little mounted +knights rushing out in circles and charging each other vigorously. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_153"><span class="page">Page 153</span></a> +Pugin regrets the meaningless designs used by early Victorian clock +makers. He calls attention to the fact that "it is not unusual to +cast a Roman warrior in a flying chariot, round one of the wheels +of which on close inspection the hours may be descried; or the whole +front of a cathedral church reduced to a few inches in height, +with the clock face occupying the position of a magnificent rose +window!" This is not overdrawn; taste has suffered many vicissitudes +in the course of time, but we hope that the future will hold more +beauty for us in the familiar articles of the household than have +prevailed at some periods in the past. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_154"><span class="page">Page 154</span></a> +CHAPTER V</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">TAPESTRY</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A study of textiles is often subdivided into tapestry, carpet-weaving, +mechanical weaving of fabrics of a lighter weight, and embroidery. +These headings are useful to observe in our researches in the +mediæval processes connected with the loom and the needle. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Tapestry, as we popularly think of it, in great rectangular +wall-hangings with rather florid figures from Scriptural scenes, +commonly dates from the sixteenth century or later, so that it is +out of our scope to study its manufacture on an extensive scale. +But there are earlier tapestries, much more restrained in design, +and more interesting and frequently more beautiful. Of these earlier +works there is less profusion, for the examples are rare and precious, +and seldom come into the market nowadays. The later looms were of +course more prolific as the technical facilities increased. But +a study of the craft as it began gives one all that is necessary +for a proper appreciation of the art of tapestry weaving. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The earliest European work with which we have to concern ourselves +is the Bayeux tapestry. Although this is really needlework, it +is usually treated as tapestry, <a name="page_155"><span +class="page">Page 155</span></a> and there seems to be no special +reason for departing from the custom. Some authorities state that +the Bayeux tapestry was made by the Empress Matilda, daughter of +Henry I., while others consider it the achievement of Queen Matilda, +the wife of William the Conqueror. She is recorded to have sat quietly +awaiting her lord's coming while she embroidered this quaint souvenir +of his prowess in conquest. A veritable mediæval Penelope, +it is claimed that she directed her ladies in this work, which is +thoroughly Saxon in feeling and costuming. It is undoubtedly the most +interesting remaining piece of needlework of the eleventh century, +and it would be delightful if one could believe the legend of its +construction. Its attribution to Queen Matilda is very generally +doubted by those who have devoted much thought to the subject. +Mr. Frank Rede Fowke gives it as his opinion, based on a number +of arguments too long to quote in this place, that the tapestry +was not made by Queen Matilda, but was ordered by Bishop Odo as +an ornament for the nave of Bayeux Cathedral, and was executed by +Norman craftsmen in that city. Dr. Rock also favours the theory +that it was worked by order of Bishop Odo. Odo was a brother of +William the Conqueror and might easily have been interested in +preserving so important a record of the Battle of Hastings. Dr. +Rock states that the tradition that Queen Matilda executed the +tapestry did not arise at all until 1730. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The work is on linen, executed in worsteds. Fowke gives the length +as two hundred and thirty feet, while <a name="page_156"><span +class="page">Page 156</span></a> it is only nineteen inches +wide,—a long narrow strip of embroidery, in many colours on +a cream white ground. In all, there are six hundred and twenty-three +figures, besides two hundred horses and dogs, five hundred and +five animals, thirty-seven buildings, forty-one ships, forty-nine +trees, making in all the astonishing number of one thousand five +hundred and twelve objects! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The colours are in varying shades of blue, green, red and yellow +worsted. The colours are used as a child employs crayons; just as +they come to hand. When a needleful of one thread was used up, +the next was taken, apparently quite irrespective of the colour or +shade. Thus, a green horse will be seen standing on red legs, and +a red horse will sport a blue stocking! Mr. J. L. Hayes believes +that these varicoloured animals are planned purposely: that two +legs of a green horse are rendered in red on the further side, to +indicate perspective, the same principle accounting for two blue +legs on a yellow horse! +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 478px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig036.jpg" width="478" height="355" alt="Figure 36"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL, BAYEUX TAPESTRY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The buildings are drawn in a very primitive way, without consideration +for size or proportion. The solid part of the embroidery is couched +on, while much of the work is only rendered in outline. But the +spirited little figures are full of action, and suggest those in +the celebrated Utrecht Psalter. Sometimes one figure will be as +high as the whole width of the material, while again, the people +will be tiny. In the scene representing the burial of Edward the +Confessor, in Westminster Abbey, the roof of the church is several +inches lower than the <a name="page_157"><span class="page">Page +157</span></a> bier which is borne on the shoulders of men nearly +as tall as the tower! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The naïve treatment of details is delicious. Harold, when +about to embark, steps with bare legs into the tide: the water +is laid out in the form of a hill of waves, in order to indicate +that it gets deeper later on. It might serve as an illustration +of the Red Sea humping up for the benefit of the Israelites! The +curious little stunted figure with a bald head, in the group of the +conference of messengers, would appear to be an abortive attempt +to portray a person at some distance—he is drawn much smaller +than the others to suggest that he is quite out of hearing! This +seems to have been the only attempt at rendering the sense of +perspective. Then comes a mysterious little lady in a kind of shrine, +to whom a clerk is making curious advances; to the casual observer +it would appear that the gentleman is patting her on the cheek, but +we are informed by Thierry that this represents an embroideress, +and that the clerk is in the act of ordering the Bayeux Tapestry +itself! Conjecture is swamped concerning the real intention of +this group, and no certain diagnosis has ever been pronounced! +The Countess of Wilton sees in this group "a female in a sort of +porch, with a clergyman in the act of pronouncing a benediction +upon her!" Every one to his taste. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A little farther on there is another unexplained figure: that of +a man with his feet crossed, swinging joyously on a rope from the +top of a tower. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_158"><span class="page">Page 158</span></a> +Soon after the Crowning of Harold, may be seen a crowd of people +gazing at an astronomic phenomenon which has been described by an +old chronicler as a "hairy star." It is recorded as "a blazing +starre" such as "never appears but as a prognostic of afterclaps," +and again, as "dreadful to be seen, with bloudie haires, and all +over rough and shagged at the top." Another author complacently +explains that comets "were made to the end that the ethereal regions +might not be more void of monsters than the ocean is of whales +and other great thieving fish!" A very literal interpretation of +this "hairy star" has been here embroidered, carefully fitted out +with cog-wheels and all the paraphernalia of a conventional +mediæval comet. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the scenes dealing with the preparation of the army and the +arrangement of their food, there occurs the lassooing of an ox; the +amount of action concentrated in this group is really wonderful. +The ox, springing clear of the ground, with all his legs gathered +up under him, turns his horned head, which is set on an unduly +long neck, for the purpose of inspecting his pursuers. No better +origin for the ancient tradition of the cow who jumped over the +moon could be adduced. And what shall we say of the acrobatic antics +of Leofwine and Gyrth when meeting their deaths in battle? These +warriors are turning elaborate handsprings in their last moments, +while horses are represented as performing such somersaults that +they are practically inverted. In the border of this part of the +tapestry, soldiers are <a name="page_159"><span class="page">Page +159</span></a> seen stripping off the coats of mail from the dead +warriors on the battle-field; this they do by turning the tunic inside +out and pulling it off at the head, and the resulting attitudes of +the victims are quaint and realistic in the extreme! The border +has been appropriately described as "a layer of dead men." In the +tenth and eleventh centuries one of the regular petitions in the +Litany was "From the fury of the Normans Good Lord Deliver us." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Bayeux Tapestry was designated, in 1746, as "the noblest monument +in the world relating to our old English History." It has passed +through most trying vicissitudes, having been used in war time as a +canvas covering to a transport wagon, among other experiences. For +centuries this precious treasure was neglected and not understood. In +his "Tour" M. Ducarel states: "The priests... to whom we addressed +ourselves for a sight of this remarkable piece of antiquity, knew +nothing of it; the circumstance only of its being annually hung up +in their church led them to understand what we wanted, no person +then knowing that the object of our inquiries any ways related to +the Conqueror." This was in the nineteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Anglo-Saxon women spent much of their time in embroidering. Edith, +Queen of Edward the Confessor, was quite noted for her needlework, +which was sometimes used to decorate the state robes of the king. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Formerly there existed at Ely Cathedral a work very like the Bayeux +Tapestry, recording the deeds of the <a name="page_160"><span +class="page">Page 160</span></a> heroic Brihtnoth, the East Saxon, +who was slain in 991, fighting the Danish forces. His wife rendered +his history in needlework, and presented it to Ely. Unhappily there +are no remains of this interesting monument now existing. The nearest +thing to the Bayeux Tapestry in general texture and style is perhaps +a twelfth century work in the Cathedral at Gerona, a little over +four yards square, which is worked in crewels on linen, and is +ornamented with scenes of an Oriental and primitive character, +taken mainly from the story of Genesis. These tapestries come under +the head of needlework. The tapestries made on looms proceed upon +a different principle, and are woven instead of embroidered. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Two kinds of looms were used under varying conditions in different +places; high warp looms, or <i>Haute Lisse</i>, and low warp looms, +known as <i>Basse Lisse</i>. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The general method of making tapestries on a high warp loom has been +much the same for many centuries. The warp is stretched vertically +in two sets, every other thread being first forward and then back in +the setting. M. Lacordaire, late Director of the Gobelins, writes +as follows: "The workman takes a spindle filled with worsted or +silk... he stops off the weft thread and fastens it to the warp, +to the left of the space to be occupied by the colour he has in +hand; then, by passing his left hand between the back and the front +threads, he separates those that are to be covered with colours; with +his right hand, having passed it through the same threads, he reaches +to the left side, for the spindle which <a name="page_161"><span +class="page">Page 161</span></a> he brings back to the right; his +left hand, then, seizing hold of the warp, brings the back threads +to the front, while the right hand thrusts the spindle back to the +point whence it started." When a new colour is to be introduced, +the artist takes a new shuttle. He fastens his thread on the wrong +side of the tapestry (the side on which he works) and repeats the +process just described on the strings stretched up and down before +him, like harp strings; the work is commenced at the lower part, +and worked upwards, so that, when this strictly "hand weaving" +is accomplished, it may be crowded down into place by means of a +kind of ivory comb, so adjusted that the teeth fit between the +warp threads. In tapestry weaving, the warp could be of any inferior +but strong thread, for, by the nature of the work, only the woof +was visible, the warp being quite hidden and incorporated into +the texture under the close lying stitches which met and dove-tailed +over it. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The worker on a low loom does not see the right side of the work +at all, unless he lifts the loom, which is a difficult undertaking. +On a high loom, it is only necessary for the worker to go around +to the front in order to see exactly what he is doing. The design +is put below the work, however, in a low loom, and the work is +thus practically traced as the tapestry proceeds. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On account of the limitations of the human arm in reaching, the +low warp tapestry requires more seams than does that made on the +"haute lisse" loom, the pieces being individually smaller. One whole +division <a name="page_162"><span class="page">Page 162</span></a> +of the workmen in tapestry establishments used to be known as the +"fine drawers," whose whole duty was to join the different pieces +together, and also to repair worn tapestries, inserting new stitches +for restorations. Tapestry repairing was a necessary craft; at +Rheims some tapestries were restored by Jacquemire de Bergeres; +these hangings had been "much damaged by dogs, rats, mice, and +other beasts." It is not stated where they had been hung! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +High warp looms have been known in Europe certainly since the ninth +century. There is an order extant, from the Bishop of Auxerre, +who died in 840, for some "carpets for his church." In 890 the +monks of Saumur were manufacturing tapestries. Beautiful textiles +had been used to ornament the Church of St. Denis as early as 630, +but there is no proof that these were actually tapestries. There +is a legend that in 732 a tapestry establishment existed in the +district between Tours and Poitiers. At Beauvais, too, the weavers +of arras were settled at the time of the Norman ravages. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +King Dagobert was a mediæval patron of arts in France. He had +the walls of St. Denis (which he built) hung with rich tapestries +set with pearls and wrought with gold. At the monastery of St. +Florent, at Saumur in 985, the monks wove tapestries, using floral +and animal forms in their designs. At Poitiers there was quite a +flourishing factory as early as 1025. Tapestry was probably first +made in France, to any considerable extent, then, in the ninth +century. The historian <a name="page_163"><span class="page">Page +163</span></a> of the monastery of Saumur tells us an interesting +incident in connection with the works there. The Abbot of St. Florent +had placed a magnificent order for "curtains, canopies, hangings, +bench covers, and other ornaments,... and he caused to be, made two +pieces of tapestry of large size and admirable quality, representing +elephants." While these were about to be commenced, the aforesaid +abbot was called away on a journey. The ecclesiastic who remained +issued a command that the tapestries should be made with a woof +different from that which they habitually used. "Well," said they, +"in the absence of the good abbot we will not discontinue our +employment; but as you thwart us, we shall make quite a different +kind of fabric." So they deliberately set to work to make square +carpets with silver lions on a red ground, with a red and white +border of various animals! Abbot William was fortunately pleased +with the result, and used lions interchangeably with elephants +thereafter in his decorations. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the ninth century tapestry manufactory in Poitiers, an amusing +correspondence took place between the Count of Poitou and an Italian +bishop, in 1025. Poitou was at that time noted for its fine breed +of mules. The Italian bishop wrote to ask the count to send him +one mule and one tapestry,—as he expressed it, "both equally +marvellous." The count replied with spirit: "I cannot send you what +you ask, because for a mule to merit the epithet <i>marvellous</i>, +he would have to have horns, or three tails, or five legs, and +this I should not <a name="page_164"><span class="page">Page +164</span></a> be able to find. I shall have to content myself with +sending you the best that I can procure!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 992 the Abbey of Croyland, in England, owned "two large foot +cloths woven with lions, to be laid before the high altar on great +festivals, and two shorter ones trailed all over with flowers, +for the feast days of the Apostles." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Under Church auspices in the twelfth century, the tapestry industry +rose to its most splendid perfection. When the secular looms were +started, the original beauty of the work was retained for a considerable +time; in the tenth century German craftsmen worked as individuals, +independently of Guilds or organizations. In the thirteenth century +the work was in a flourishing condition in France, where both looms +were in use. The upright loom is still used at the Gobelin factory. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As an adjunct to the stained glass windows in churches, there never +was a texture more harmonious than good mediæval tapestry. +In 1260 the best tapestries in France were made by the Church +exclusively; in 1461 King René of Anjou bequeathed a magnificent +tapestry in twenty-seven subjects representing the Apocalypse, to +"the church of Monsieur St. Maurice," at Angers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Although tapestry was made in larger quantities during the Renaissance, +the mediæval designs are better adapted to the material. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The royal chambers of the Kings of England were hung with tapestry, +and it was the designated duty of the Chamberlain to see to such +adornment. In 1294 <a name="page_165"><span class="page">Page +165</span></a> there is mention of a special artist in tapestry, +who lived near Winchester; his name was Sewald, and he was further +known as "le tapenyr," which, according to M. G. Thomson, signifies +tapestrier. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One is led to believe that tapestries were used as church adornments +before they were introduced into dwellings; for it was said, when +Queen Eleanor of Castile had her bedroom hung with tapestries, that +"it was like a church." At Westminster, a writer of 1631 alludes +to the "cloths of Arras which adorn the choir." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sets of tapestries to hang entire apartments were known as "Hallings." +Among the tapestries which belonged to Charles V. was one "worked +with towers, fallow bucks and does, to put over the King's boat." +Among early recorded tapestries are those mentioned in the inventory +of Philip the Bold, in 1404, while that of Philip the Good tells of +his specimens, in 1420. Nothing can well be imagined more charming +than the description of a tapestried chamber in 1418; the room +being finished in white was decorated with paroquets and damsels +playing harps. This work was accomplished for the Duchess of Bavaria +by the tapestry maker, Jean of Florence. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Flanders tapestry was famous in the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. +Arras particularly was the town celebrated for the beauty of its +work. This famous manufactory was founded prior to 1350, as there +is mention of work of that period. Before the town became <a +name="page_166"><span class="page">Page 166</span></a> known as +Arras, while it still retained its original name, Nomenticum, the +weavers were famous who worked there. In 282 A. D. the woven cloaks +of Nomenticum were spoken of by Flavius Vopiscus. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The earliest record of genuine Arras tapestry occurs in an order +from the Countess of Artois in 1313, when she directs her receiver +"de faire faire six tapis à Arras." Among the craftsmen at +Arras in 1389 was a Saracen, named Jehan de Croisètes, and +in 1378 there was a worker by the name of Huwart Wallois. Several +of its workmen emigrated to Lille, in the fifteenth century, among +them one Simon Lamoury and another, Jehan de Rausart. In 1419 the +Council Chamber of Ypres was ornamented with splendid tapestries +by François de Wechter, who designed them, and had them +executed by Arras workmen. The Van Eycks and Memlinc also designed +tapestries, and there is no doubt that the art would have continued +to show a more consistent regard for the demands of the material if +Raphael had never executed his brilliant cartoons. The effort to be +Raphaelesque ruined the effect of many a noble piece of technique, +after that. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1302 a body of ten craftsmen formed a Corporation in Paris. +The names of several workmen at Lille have been handed down to +us. In 1318 Jehan Orghet is recorded, and in 1368, Willaume, a +high-warp worker. Penalties for false work were extreme. One of +the best known workers in France was Bataille, who was closely +followed by one Dourdain. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig037.jpg" width="360" height="458" alt="Figure 37"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>FLEMISH TAPESTRY, "THE PRODIGAL SON"</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_167"><span class="page">Page 167</span></a> +A famous Arras tapestry was made in 1386 by a weaver of the name +of Michel Bernard. It measured over two hundred and eighty-five +square yards, and represented the battle of Roosebecke. At this +time a tapestry worker lived, named Jehanne Aghehe, one of the +first attested women's names in connection with this art. In the +Treasury of the church of Douai there is mention of three cushions +made of high loom tapestry presented in 1386 by "la demoiselle +Englise." It is not known who this young lady may have been. France +and Flanders made the most desirable tapestries in the fourteenth +century. In Italy the art had little vogue until the fifteenth. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Very little tapestry was made in Spain in the Middle Ages,—the +earliest well known maker was named Gutierrez, in the time of Philip +IV. The picture by Velasquez, known as "The Weavers," represents +the interior of his manufactory. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A table cloth in mediæval times was called a "carpett:" these +were often very ornate, and it is useful to know that their use was +not for floor covering, for the inventories often mention "carpetts" +worked with pearls and silver tissue, which would have been singularly +inappropriate. The Arabs introduced the art of carpet weaving into +Spain. An Oriental, Edrisi, writing in the twelfth century, says +that such carpets were made at that time in Alicante, as could not +be produced elsewhere, owing to certain qualities in both air and +water which greatly benefited the wool used in their manufacture. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_168"><span class="page">Page 168</span></a> +In the Travels of Jean Lagrange, the author says that all carpets +of Smyrna and Caramania are woven by women. As soon as a girl can +hold a shuttle, they stretch cords between two trees, to make a +warp, and then they give her all colours of wools, and leave her +to her own devices. They tell her, "It is for you to make your own +dowry." Then, according to the inborn art instinct of the child, she +begins her carpet. Naturally, traditions and association with others +engaged in the same pursuit assist in the scheme and arrangement; +usually the carpet is not finished until she is old enough to marry. +"Then," continues Lagrange, "two masters, two purchasers, present +themselves; the one carries off a carpet, and the other a wife." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Edward II.. of England owned a tapestry probably of English make, +described as "a green hanging of wool wove with figures of Kings +and Earls upon it." There was a roistering Britisher called John le +Tappistere, who was complained of by certain people near Oxford, as +having seized Master John of Shoreditch, and assaulted and imprisoned +him, confiscating his goods and charging him fifty pounds for ransom. +It is not stated what the gentleman from Shoreditch had done thus +to bring down upon him the wrath of John the weaver! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +English weavers had rather the reputation of being fighters: in +1340 one George le Tapicier murdered John le Dextre of Leicester; +while Giles de la Hyde also slew Thomas Tapicier in 1385. Possibly +these rows occurred on account of a practical infringement upon +the <a name="page_169"><span class="page">Page 169</span></a> +manufacturing rights of others as set down in the rules of the +Company. There was a woman in Finch Lane who produced tapestry, +with a cotton back, "after the manner of the works of Arras:" this +was considered a dishonest business, and the work was ordered to +be burnt. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Roger van der Weyden designed a set of tapestries representing +the History of Herkinbald, the stern uncle who, with his own hand, +beheaded his nephew for wronging a young woman. Upon his death-bed, +Herkinbald refused to confess this act as a sin, claiming the murder +to have been justifiable and a positive virtue. Apparently the +Higher Powers were on his side, too, for, when the priest refused +the Eucharist to the impertinent Herkinbald, it is related that +the Host descended by a miracle and entered the lips of the dying +man. A dramatic story, of which van der Weyden made the most, in +designing his wonderfully decorative tapestries. The originals +were lost, but similar copies remain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As early as 1441 tapestries were executed in Oudenardes; usually +these were composed of green foliage, and known as "verdures." In +time the names "verdure" and "Oudenarde" became interchangeably +associated with this class of tapestry. They represented woodland +and hunting scenes, and were also called "Tapestry verde," and +are alluded to by Chaucer. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Curious symbolic subjects were often used: for instance, for a +set of hangings for a banquet hall, what could be more whimsically +appropriate than the representation <a name="page_170"><span +class="page">Page 170</span></a> of "Dinner," giving a feast to +"Good Company," while "Banquet" and "Maladies" attack the guests! +This scene is followed by the arrest of "Souper" and "Banquet" by +"Experience," who condemns them both to die for their cruel treatment +of the Feasters! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is an old poem written by a monk of Chester, named Bradshaw, +in which a large hall decorated with tapestries is described as +follows: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"All herbs and flowers, fair and sweet,<br /> + Were strawed in halls, and layd under their feet;<br /> + Cloths of gold, and arras were hanged on the wall,<br /> + Depainted with pictures and stories manifold<br /> + Well wrought and craftely." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A set of tapestries was made by some of the monks of Troyes, who +worked upon the high loom, displaying scenes from the Life of the +Magdalen. This task was evidently not devoid of the lighter elements, +for in the bill, the good brothers made charge for such wine as +they drank "when they consulted together in regard to the life +of the Saint in question!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the most interesting tapestries are those representing scenes +from the Wars of Troy, in South Kensington. They are crowded with +detail, and in this respect exhibit most satisfactorily the beauties +of the craft, which is enhanced by small intricacies, and rendered +less impressive when treated in broad masses of unrelieved woven +colour. Another magnificent set, bearing similar characteristics, +is the History of Clovis at Rheims. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_171"><span class="page">Page 171</span></a> +There is a fascinating set of English tapestries representing the +Seasons, at Hatfield: these were probably woven at Barcheston. +The detail of minute animal and vegetable forms—the flora +and fauna, as it were in worsted—are unique for their +conscientious finish. They almost amount to catalogues of plants +and beasts. The one which displays Summer is a herbal and a Noah's +Ark turned loose about a full-sized Classical Deity, who presides +in the centre of the composition. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among English makers of tapestries was a workman named John Bakes, +who was paid the magnificent sum of twelve pence a day, while in an +entry in another document he is said to have received only fourpence +daily. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Hunting Tapestries belonging to the Duke of Devonshire are +as perfect specimens as any that exist of the best period of the +art. They are represented in colour in W. G. Thomson's admirable +work on Tapestries, and are thus available to most readers in some +public collection. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another splendidly decorative specimen is at Hampton Court, being +a series of the Seven Deadly Sins. They measure about twenty-five +by thirteen feet each, and are worked in heavy wools and silks. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As technical facility developed, certain weaknesses began to show +themselves. Tapestry weavers had their favourite figures, which, +to save themselves trouble, they would often substitute for others +in the original design. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Arras tapestries were no longer made in the sixteenth <a +name="page_172"><span class="page">Page 172</span></a> century, +and the best work of that time was accomplished in the Netherlands. +About 1540 Brussels probably stood at the head of the list of cities +famous for the production of these costly textiles. The Raphael +tapestries were made there, by Peter van Aelst, under the order of +Pope Leo X. They were executed in the space of four years, being +finished in 1519, only a year before Raphael's death. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the sixteenth century the Brussels workers began to make certain +"short cuts" not quite legitimate in an art of the highest standing, +such as touching up the faces with liquid dyes, and using the same +to enhance the effect after the work was finished. A law was passed +that this must not be done on any tapestry worth more than twelve +pence a yard. In spite of this trickery, the Netherlandish tapestries +led all others in popularity in that century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was almost invariable, especially in Flemish work, to treat +Scriptural subjects as dressed in the costume of the period in +which the tapestry happened to be made. When one sees the Prodigal +Son attired in a delightful Flemish costume of a well-appointed +dandy, and Adam presented to God the Father, both being clothed in +Netherlandish garments suitable for Burgomasters of the sixteenth +century, then we can believe that the following description, quoted +by the Countess of Wilton, is hardly overdrawn. "In a corner of +the apartment stood a bed, the tapestry of which was enwrought +with gaudy colours, representing Adam and Eve in the Garden <a +name="page_173"><span class="page">Page 173</span></a> of Eden.... +Adam was presenting our first mother with a large yellow apple +gathered from a tree which scarcely reached his knee.... To the +left of Eve appeared a church, and a dark robed gentleman holding +something in his hand which looked like a pin cushion, but doubtless +was intended for a book; he seemed pointing to the holy edifice, +as if reminding them that they were not yet married! On the ground +lay the rib, out of which Eve, who stood a head higher than Adam, +had been formed: both of them were very respectably clothed in +the ancient Saxon costume; even the angel wore breeches, which, +being blue, contrasted well with his flaming red wings." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In France, the leading tapestry works were at Tours in the early +sixteenth century. A Flemish weaver, Jean Duval, started the work +there in 1540. Until 1552 he and his three sons laboured together +with great results, and they left a large number of craftsmen to +follow in their footsteps. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Italy the art had almost died out in the early sixteenth century, +but revived in full and florid force under the Raphaelesque influence. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +King René of Anjou collected tapestries so assiduously that +the care and repairing of them occupied the whole time of a staff +of workers, who were employed steadily, living in the palace, and +sleeping at night in the various apartments in which the hangings +were especially costly. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Queen Jeanne, the mother of Henri IV., was a skilled <a +name="page_174"><span class="page">Page 174</span></a> worker in +tapestry. To quote Miss Freer in the Life of Jeanne d'Albret, "During +the hours which the queen allowed herself for relaxation, she worked +tapestry and discoursed with some one of the learned men whom she +protected." This queen was of an active mental calibre and one to +whom physical repose was most repugnant. She was a regular and +pious attendant at church, but sitting still was torture to her, +and listening to the droning sermons put her to sleep. So, with a +courage to be admired, Jeanne "demanded permission from the Synod +to work tapestry during the sermon. This request was granted; from +thenceforth Queen Jeanne, bending decorously over her tapestry +frame, and busy with her needle, gave due attention." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Chateau of Blois, during the reign of Louis XII. and Ann of +Brittany, is described as being regally appointed with tapestries: +"Those which were hung in the apartments of the king and queen," +says the chronicler, "were all full of gold; and the tapestries +and embroideries of cloth of gold and of silk had others beneath +them ornamented with personages and histories as those were above. +Indeed, there was so great a number of rich tapestries, velvet +carpets, and bed coverings, of gold and silk, that there was not +a chamber, hall, or wardrobe, that was not full." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In an inventory of the Princess of Burgundy there occurs this curious +description of a tapestry: "The three tapestries of the Church +Militant, wrought in gold, whereon may be seen represented God +Almighty seated <a name="page_175"><span class="page">Page +175</span></a> in majesty, and around him many cardinals, and below +him many princes who present to him a church." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Household luxury in England is indicated by a quaint writer in 1586: +"In noblemen's houses," he says, "it is not rare to see abundance of +arras, rich hangings, of tapestrie... Turkie wood, pewter, brasse, +and fine linen.... In times past the costly furniture stayed there, +whereas now it is discarded yet lower, even unto the inferior +artificers, and many farmers... have for the most part learned to +garnish their beds with tapestries and hangings, and their tables +with carpetts and fine napery." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Henry VIII. was devoted to tapestry collecting, also. An agent +who was buying for him in the Netherlands in 1538, wrote to the +king: "I have made a stay in my hands of two hundred ells of goodly +tapestry; there hath not been brought this twenty year eny so good +for the price." Henry VIII. had in his large collection many subjects, +among them such characteristic pieces as: "ten peeces of the rich +story of King David" (in which Bathsheba doubtless played an important +part), "seven peeces of the Stories of Ladies," "A peece with a man +and woman and a flagon," "A peece of verdure... having poppinjays +at the nether corners," "One peece of Susannah," "Six fine new +tapestries of the History of Helena and Paris." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A set of six "verdure" tapestries was owned by Cardinal Wolsey, +which "served for the hanging of Durham Hall of inferior days." +The hangings in a hall <a name="page_176"><span class="page">Page +176</span></a> in Chester are described as depicting "Adam, Noe, +and his Shyppe." In 1563 a monk of Canterbury was mentioned as a +tapestry weaver. At York, Norwich, and other cities, were also +to be found "Arras Workers" during the sixteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was an amusing law suit in 1598, which was brought by a gentleman, +Charles Lister, against one Mrs. Bridges, for accepting from him, on +the understanding of an engagement in marriage, a suite of tapestries +for her apartment. He sued for the return of his gifts! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the State Papers of James I., there is a letter in which +the King remarks "Sir Francis Crane desires to know if my baby +will have him to-hasten the making of that suite of tapestry that +he commanded him." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Florence, the art flourished under the Medici. In 1546 a regular +Academy of instruction in tapestry weaving was set up, under the +direction of Flemish masters. All the leading artists of the Golden +Age furnished designs which, though frequently inappropriate for +being rendered in textile, were fine pictures, at any rate. In +Venice, too, there were work shops, but the influence of Italy was +Flemish in every case so far as technical instruction was concerned. +The most celebrated artists of the Renaissance made cartoons: Raphael, +Giulio Romano, Jouvenet, Le Brun, and numerous others, in various +countries. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 466px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig038.jpg" width="466" height="386" alt="Figure 38"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>TAPESTRY, REPRESENTING PARIS IN THE 15TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The Gobelins work in Paris was inaugurated in the fifteenth century +under Jean Gobelins, a native of Rheims. His son, Philibert, and +later, many descendants <a name="page_177"><span class="page">Page +177</span></a> persevered steadily at the work; the art prospered +under Francis I., the whole force of tapestry weavers being brought +together at Fontainebleau, and under Henry II., the direction of +the whole was given to the celebrated artist Philibert Delorme. In +1630 the Gobelins was fully established as a larger plant, and has +never made another move. The work has increased ever since those +days, on much the same general lines. Celebrated French artists have +designed tapestries: Watteau, Boucher, and others were interpreted +by the brilliant manager whose signature appears on the works, +Cozette, who was manager from 1736 until 1792. With this technical +perfection came the death of the art of tapestry: the pictures +might as well have been painted on canvas, and all feeling for the +material was lost, so that the naïve charm of the original +workers ceased to be a part of the production. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among European collections now visible, the best is in Madrid, +where over six hundred tapestries may be seen, chiefly Flemish, +of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The collection at the +Pitti Palace in Florence comprises six hundred, while in the Vatican +are preserved the original Raphael tapestries. South Kensington +Museum, too, is rich in interesting examples of various schools. +It is a very helpful collection to students, especially, although +not so large as some others. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1663, "two well intended statutes" were introduced dealing with +curiously opposite matters: one was to encourage linen and tapestry +manufacture in <a name="page_178"><span class="page">Page 178</span></a> +England, and the other was "for regulating the packing of herrings!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The famous English Mortlake tapestry manufactory was not established +until the seventeenth century, and that is rather late for us. The +progress of craftsmanship has been steady, especially at the Gobelins +in France. Many other centres of industry developed, however, in +various countries. The study of modern tapestry is a branch by +itself with which we are unable to concern ourselves now. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_179"><span class="page">Page 179</span></a> +CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">EMBROIDERIES</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The materials used as groundwork for mediæval embroideries +were rich in themselves. Samit was the favourite—shimmering, +and woven originally of solid flat gold wire. Ciclatoun was also +a brilliant textile, as also was Cendal. Cendal silk is spoken +of by early writers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first use of silk is interesting to trace. A monopoly, a veritable +silk trust, was established in 533, in the Roman Empire. Women +were employed at the Court of Justinian to preside over the looms, +and the manufacture of silk was not allowed elsewhere. The only +hindrance to this scheme was that the silk itself had to be brought +from China. But in the reign of Justinian, two monks who had been +travelling in the Orient, brought to the emperor, as curiosities, +some silkworms and cocoons. They obtained some long hollow walking +sticks, which they packed full of silkworms' eggs, and thus imported +the producers of the raw material. The European silk industry, in +fabrics, embroideries, velvets, and such commodities, may owe its +origin to this bit of monastic enterprise in 550. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Silk garments were very costly, however, and it was <a +name="page_180"><span class="page">Page 180</span></a> not every +lady in early times who could have such luxuries. It is said that +even the Emperor Aurelian refused his wife her request for just one +single cloak of silk, saying: "No, I could never think of buying +such a thing, for it sells for its weight in gold!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Fustian and taffeta were less costly, but frequently used in important +work, as also were sarcenet and camora. Velvet and satin were of later +date, not occurring until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. +Baudekin, a good silk and golden weave, was very popular. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cut velvets with elaborate patterns were made in Genoa. The process +consisted in leaving the main ground in the original fine rib which +resulted from weaving, while in the pattern these little ribs were +split open, making that part of a different ply from the rest of +the material, in fact, being the finished velvet as we now know +it, while the ground remained uncut, and had more the appearance +of silk reps. Velvet is first mentioned in England in 1295, but +probably existed earlier on the Continent. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Both Roger de Wendover and Matthew Paris mention a stuff called +"imperial:" it was partly gold in weave, but there is some doubt +as to its actual texture. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Baudekin was a very costly textile of gold and silk which was used +largely in altar coverings and hangings, such as dossals; by degrees +the name became synonymous with "baldichin," and in Italy the whole +altar canopy is still called a <i>baldachino</i>. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_181"><span class="page">Page 181</span></a> +During Royal Progresses the streets were always hung with rich cloth +of gold. As Chaucer makes allusion to streets +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"By ordinance throughout the city large<br> + Hanged with cloth of gold, and not with serge," +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +so Leland tells how the Queen of Henry VII. was conducted to her +coronation and "all the stretes through which she should pass were +clenely dressed... with cloths of tapestry and Arras, and some +stretes, as Cheepe, hanged with rich cloths of gold, velvetts, +and silks." And in Machyn's Diary, he says that "as late as 1555 +at Bow church in London, was hangyd with cloth of gold and with +rich Arras." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The word "satin" is derived from the silks of the Mediterranean, +called "aceytuni," which became "zetani" in Italian, and gradually +changed through French and English influence, to "satin." The first +mention of it in England is about 1350, when Bishop Grandison made +a gift of choice satins to Exeter Cathedral. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Dalmatic of Charlemagne is embroidered on blue satin, although +this is a rare early example of the material. At Constantinople, +also, as early as 1204, Baldwin II. wore satin at his coronation. +It was nearly always made in a fiery red in the early days. It +is mentioned in a Welsh poem of the thirteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Benjamin of Tudela, a traveller who wrote in 1161, mentions that +the Jews were living in great numbers in Thebes, and that they made +silks there at that time. <a name="page_182"><span class="page">Page +182</span></a> There is record that in the late eleventh century +a Norman Abbot brought home from Apulia a quantity of heavy and +fine silk, from which four copes were made. French silks were not +remarkable until the sixteenth century, while those of the Netherlands +led all others as early as the thirteenth. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Shot silks were popular in England in the sixteenth century. York +Cathedral possessed, in 1543, a "vestment of changeable taffety +for Good Friday." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Dunstan is reported to have once "tinted" a sacerdotal vestment +to oblige a lady, thus departing from his regular occupation as +goldsmith to perform the office of a dyer of stuff. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Many rich mediæval textiles were ornamented by designs, which +usually show interlaces and animal forms, and sometimes conventional +floral ornament. Patterns originated in the East, and, through Byzantine +influence, in Italy, and Saracenic in Spain, they were adopted and +modified by Europeans. In 1295 St. Paul's in London owned a hanging +"patterned with wheels and two-headed birds." Sicilian silks, and +many others of the contemporary textiles, display variations of +the "tree of life" pattern. This consists of a little conventional +shrub, sometimes hardly more than a "budding rod," with two birds +or animals advancing vis-à-vis on either side. Sometimes +these are two peacocks; often lions or leopards and frequently +griffins and various smaller animals. Whenever one sees a little +tree or a single stalk, no matter how conventionally treated, with +a <a name="page_183"><span class="page">Page 183</span></a> couple +of matched animals strutting up to each other on either side, this +pattern owes its origin to the old tradition of the decorative +motive usual in Persia and in Byzantium, the Tree of Life, or Horn. +The origin of patterns does not come within our scope, and has +been excellently treated in the various books of Lewis Day, and +other writers on this subject. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Textiles of Italian manufacture may be seen represented in the +paintings of the old masters: Orcagna, Francia, Crivelli, and others, +who delighted in the rendering of rich stuffs; later, they abound +in the creations of Veronese and Titian. A "favourite Italian +vegetable," as Dr. Rock quaintly expresses it, is the artichoke, +which, often, set in oval forms, is either outlined or worked solidly +in the fabric. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Almeria was a rich city in the thirteenth century, noted for its +textiles. A historian of that period writes: "Christians of all +nations came to its port to buy and to sell. From thence... they +travelled to other parts of the interior of the country, where +they loaded their vessels with such goods as they wanted. Costly +silken robes of the brightest colours are manufactured in Almeria." +Granada was famous too, a little later, for its silks and woven +goods. About 1562 Navagiero wrote: "All sorts of cloth and silks +are made there: the silks made at Granada are much esteemed all +over Spain; they are not so good as those that come from Italy. +There are several looms, but they do not yet know how to work them +well. They make good taffetas, sarcenet, <a name="page_184"><span +class="page">Page 184</span></a> and silk serges. The velvets are +not bad, but those that are made at Valencia are better in quality." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Marco Polo says of the Persians in certain sections; "There are +excellent artificers in the cities, who make wonderful things in +gold, silk, and embroidery.... In veins of the mountains stones +are found, commonly called turquoises, and other jewels. There +also are made all sorts of arms and ammunition for war, and by the +women excellent needlework in silks, with all sorts of creatures +very admirably wrought therein." Marco Polo also reports the King +of Tartary as wearing on his birthday a most precious garment of +gold, while his barons wore the same, and had given them girdles of +gold and silver, and "pearls and garments of great price." This Khan +also "has the tenths of all wool, silk, and hemp, which he causes to +be made into clothes, in a house for that purpose appointed: for +all trades are bound one day in the week to serve him." He clothed +his armies with this tythe wool. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Anglo-Saxon times a fabric composed of fine basket-weaving of +thin flat strips of pure gold was used; sometimes the flat metal +was woven on a warp of scarlet silk threads. Later strips of gilded +parchment were fraudulently substituted for the genuine flat metal +thread. Often the woof of gold strips was so solid and heavy that +it was necessary to have a silk warp of six strands, to support +its wear. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Gold cloth was of varying excellence, however: among the items in +an inventory for the Earl of Warwick in <a name="page_185"><span +class="page">Page 185</span></a> the time of Henry VI., there is +allusion to "one coat for My Lord's body, beat with fine gold; +two coats for heralds, beat with demi-gold." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is generally assumed that the first wire-drawing machines were +made about 1360 in Germany; they were not used in England until +about 1560. Theophilus, however, in the eleventh century, tells +"Of the instruments through which wires are drawn," saying that +they consist of "two irons, three fingers in breadth, narrow above +and below, everywhere thin, and perforated with three or four ranges, +through which holes wires are drawn." This would seem to be a primitive +form of the more developed instrument. Wire drawing was introduced +into England by Christian Schutz about 1560. In 1623 was incorporated +in London, "The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wire-Drawers." +The preamble of their charter reads thus: "The Trade Art of Drawing +and flattening of gold and silver wire, and making and spinning +of gold and silver thread and stuffe." It seems as though there +were some kind of work that corresponded to wire-drawing, earlier +than its supposed introduction, for a petition was sent to King +Henry VI. in 1423, by the "wise and worthy Communes of London, & +the Wardens of Broderie in the said Citie," requesting protection +against "deceit and default in the work of divers persons occupying +the craft of embroidery;" and in 1461 "An act of Common Council +was passed respecting the gold-drawers," showing that the art was +known to some extent and <a name="page_186"><span class="page">Page +186</span></a> practised at that time. In the reign of George II., +in 1742, "An act to prevent the counterfeiting of gold and silver +lace and for the settling and adjusting the proportions of fine +silver and silk, and for the better making of gold and silver lace," +was passed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ecclesiastical vestments were often trimmed with heavy gold fringe, +knotted "fretty wise," and the embroideries were further enriched +with jewels and small plaques of enamel. Matthew Paris relates a +circumstance of certain garments being so heavily weighted with +gold that the clergy could not walk in them, and, in order to get +the solid metal out again, it was necessary to burn the garments +and thus melt the gold. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jewelled robes were often seen in the Middle Ages; a chasuble is +described as having been made for the Abbot of St. Albans, in the +twelfth century, which was practically covered with plaques of gold +and precious stones. Imagine the unpleasant physical sensation +of a bishop in 1404, who was obliged to wear a golden mitre of +which the ground was set with large pearls, bordered with balas +rubies, and sapphires, and trimmed with indefinite extra pearls! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The body of St. Cecilia, who was martyred in 230, was interred in +a garment of pure woven gold. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The cloth of solid gold which was used for state occasions was +called "tissue;" the thin paper in which it was wrapped when it +was laid away was known as tissue paper, and Mr. William Maskell +states that the name <a name="page_187"><span class="page">Page +187</span></a> has clung to it, and that is why thin paper is called +"tissue paper" to-day. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Peter's in Rome possessed a great pair of silver curtains, +which hung at the entrance to the church, given by Pope Stephen +IV. in the eighth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Vitruvius tells how to preserve the gold in old embroidery, or +in worn-out textiles where the metal has been extensively used. +He says: "When gold is embroidered on a garment which is worn out, +and no longer fit for use, the cloth is burnt over the fire in +earthen pots. The ashes are thrown into water, and quicksilver +added to them. This collects all particles of gold, and unites +with them. The water is then poured off, and the residuum placed +in a cloth, which, when squeezed with the hands suffers the liquid +quicksilver to pass through the pores of the cloth, but retains +the gold in a mass within it." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An early allusion to asbestos woven as a cloth is made by Marco +Polo, showing that fire-proof fabrics were known in his time. In +the province of Chinchintalas, "there is a mountain wherein are +mines of steel... and also, as was reported, salamanders, of the +wool of which cloth was made, which if cast into the fire, cannot +burn. But that cloth is in reality made of stone in this manner, +as one of my companions a Turk, named Curifar, a man endued with +singular industry, informed me, who had charge of the minerals in that +province. A certain mineral is found in that mountain which yields +threads not unlike wool; and these being dried <a name="page_188"><span +class="page">Page 188</span></a> in the sun, are bruised in a brazen +mortar, and afterwards washed, and whatsoever earthy substance +sticks to them is taken away. Lastly, these threads are spun like +ordinary wool, and woven into cloth. And when they would whiten +those cloths, they cast them into the fire for an hour, and then +take them out unhurt whiter than snow. After the same manner they +cleanse them when they have taken any spots, for no other washing +is used to them, besides the fire." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Middle Ages it would have been possible, as Lady Alford +suggests, to play the game "Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral" with +textiles only! Between silk, hemp, cotton, gold, silver, wool, +flax, camel's hair, and asbestos, surely the three elements all +played their parts. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Since the first record of Eve having "sewn fig leaves together to +make aprons," women have used the needle in some form. In England, +it is said that the first needles were made by an Indian, in 1545, +before which time they were imported. The old play, "Gammer Gurton's +Needle," is based upon the extreme rarity of these domestic implements, +and the calamity occasioned in a family by their loss. There is a +curious old story about a needle, which was supposed to possess +magic powers. This needle is reported to have worked at night while +its owner was resting, saving her all personal responsibility about +her mending. When the old lady finally died, another owner claimed +this charmed needle, and began at once to test its powers. But, +do <a name="page_189"><span class="page">Page 189</span></a> what +she would, she was unable to force a thread through its obstinate +eye. At last, after trying all possible means to thread the needle, +she took a magnifying glass to examine and see what the impediment +was, and, lo! the eye of the needle was filled with a great +tear,—it was weeping for the loss of its old mistress, and +no one was ever able to thread it again! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Embroidery is usually regarded as strictly a woman's craft, but in +the Middle Ages the leading needleworkers were often men. The old +list of names given by Louis Farcy has almost an equal proportion of +workers of both sexes. But the finest work was certainly accomplished +by the conscientious dwellers in cloisters, and the nuns devoted +their vast leisure in those days to this art. Fuller observes: +"Nunneries were also good shee-schools, wherein the girls of the +neighbourhood were taught to read and work... that the sharpnesse +of their wits and suddennesse of their conceits (which even their +enemies must allow unto them!) might by education be improved into +a judicious solidity." In some of these schools the curriculum +included "Reading and sewing, threepence a week: a penny extra +for manners." An old thirteenth century work, called the "Kleine +Heldenbuch," contains a verse which may be thus translated: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"Who taught me to embroider in a frame with silk?<br /> + And to draw and design the wild and tame<br /> + Beasts of the forest and field?<br /> + Also to picture on plain surface:<br /> +<a name="page_190"><span class="page">Page 190</span></a> + Round about to place golden borders,<br /> + A narrow and a broader one,<br /> + With stags and hinds lifelike." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A study of historic embroidery should be preceded by a general knowledge +of the principle stitches employed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the simplest forms was chain stitch, in which one stitch +was taken through the loop of the stitch just laid. In the Middle +Ages it was often used. Sometimes, when the material was of a loose +weave, it was executed by means of a little hook—the probable +origin of crochet. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Tapestry stitch, of which one branch is cross-stitch, was formed by +laying close single stitches of uniform size upon a canvas specially +prepared for this work. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 565px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig039.jpg" width="565" height="359" alt="Figure 39"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>EMBROIDERY ON CANVAS, 16TH CENTURY, SOUTH KENSINGTON +MUSEUM</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Fine embroidery in silk was usually executed in long smooth stitches +of irregular length, which merged into each other. This is generally +known as satin stitch, for the surface of the work is that of a satin +texture when the work is completed. This was frequently executed +upon linen, and then, when the entire surface had been hidden by the +close silk stitches, it was cut out and transferred on a brocade +background, this style of rendering being known as appliqué. +Botticelli recommended this work as most durable and satisfactory: it +is oftenest associated with church embroidery. A simple appliqué +was also done by cutting out pieces of one material and applying +them to another, hiding the edge-joinings by couching on a cord. +As an improvement upon painted banners to be used in processions, +Botticelli introduced <a name="page_191"><span class="page">Page +191</span></a> this method of cutting out and resetting colours +upon a different ground. As Vasari says: "This he did that the +colors might not sink through, showing the tint of the cloth on +each side." But Dr. Rock points out that it is hardly fair to earlier +artificers to give the entire credit for this method of work to +Botticelli, since such cut work or appliqué was practised +in Italy a hundred years before Botticelli was born! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sometimes solid masses of silk or gold thread were laid in ordered +flatness upon a material, and then sewn to it by long or short +stitches at right angles. This is known as couching, and is a very +effective way of economizing material by displaying it all on the +surface. As a rule, however, the surface wears off somewhat, but +it is possible to execute it so that it is as durable as embroidery +which has been rendered in separate stitches. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Sicily it was a common practice to use coral in embroideries +as well as pearls. Coral work is usually called Sicilian work, +though it was also sometimes executed in Spain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The garments worn by the Byzantines were very ornate; they were +made of woven silk and covered with elaborate devices. In the fourth +century the Bishop of Amasia ridiculed the extravagant dress of his +contemporaries. "When men appear in the streets thus dressed," he +says, "the passers by look at them as at painted walls. Their clothes +are pictures, which little children point out to one another. The +saintlier sort wear likenesses of Christ, the Marriage of Galilee, +and <a name="page_192"><span class="page">Page 192</span></a> Lazarus +raised from the dead." Allusion was made in a sermon: "Persons who +arrayed themselves like painted walls" "with beasts and flowers +all over them" were denounced! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the early Dark Ages there was some prejudice against these rich +embroideries. In the sixth century the Bishop St. Cesaire of Arles +forbade his nuns to embroider robes with precious stones or painting +and flowers. King Withaf of Mercia willed to the Abbey of Croyland +"my purple mantle which I wore at my Coronation, to be made into +a cope, to be used by those who minister at the holy altar: and +also my golden veil, embroidered with the Siege of Troy, to be +hung up in the Church on my anniversary." St. Asterius preached to +his people, "Strive to follow in your lives the teachings of the +Gospel, rather than have the miracles of Our Redeemer embroidered +on your outward dress!" This prejudice, however, was not long lived, +and the embroidered vestments and garments continued to hold their +popularity all through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It has been said on grave authority that "Woman is an animal that +delights in the toilette," while Petrarch, in 1366, recognized the +power of fashion over its votaries. "Who can see with patience," +he writes, "the monstrous fantastical inventions which people of our +times have invented to deform rather than adorn their persons? Who +can behold without indignation their long pointed shoes, their caps +with feathers, their hair <a name="page_193"><span class="page">Page +193</span></a> twisted and hanging down like tails,... their bellies +so cruelly squeezed with cords that they suffer as much pain from +vanity as the martyrs suffered for religion!" And yet who shall +say whether a "dress-reform" Laura would have charmed any more +surely the eye of the poet? +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Chaucer, in England, also deplores the fashions of his day, alluding +to the "sinful costly array of clothing, namely, in too much superfluity +or else indisordinate scantiness!" Changing fashions have always +been the despair of writers who have tried to lay down rules for +æsthetic effect in dress. "An Englishman," says Harrison, +"endeavouring some time to write of our attire... when he saw what +a difficult piece of work he had taken in hand, he gave over his +travail, and onely drue a picture of a naked man unto whom he gave +a pair of shears in the one hand and a piece of cloth in the other, +to the end that he should shape his apparel after such fashion as +himself liked, sith he could find no garment that could please +him any while together: and this he called an Englishman." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Edward the Confessor wore State robes which had been beautifully +embroidered with gold by his accomplished wife, Edgitha. In the +Royal Rolls of Edward III., in 1335, we find allusion to two vests +of green velvet embroidered respectively with sea sirens and coats +of arms. The tunics worn over armour offered great opportunities to +the needleworker. They were richly embroidered, usually in heraldic +style. When Symon, <a name="page_194"><span class="page">Page +194</span></a> Bishop of Ely, performed the ceremony of Churching +for Queen Philippa, the royal dame bestowed upon him the gown which +she wore on that occasion; it is described as a murrey-coloured +velvet, powdered with golden squirrels, and was of such voluminous +pattern that it was cut over into three copes! Bridal gowns were +sometimes given to churches, as well. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Louis of France was what might be called temperate in dress. +The Sire de Joinville says he "never saw a single embroidered coat +or ornamented saddle in the possession of the king, and reproved +his son for having such things. I replied that he would have acted +better if he had given them in charity, and had his dress made of +good sendal, lined and strengthened with his arms, like as the +king his father had done!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the marriage of the Lord of Touraine in 1389, the Duke of Burgundy +presented magnificent habits and clothing to his nephew the Count +of Nevers: among these were tunics, ornamented with embroidered +trees conventionally displayed on their backs, fronts, and sleeves; +others showed heraldic blazonry, while a blue velvet tunic was +covered with balas rubies set in pearls, alternating with suns +of solid gold with great solitaire pearls as centres. Again, in +1390, when the king visited Dijon, he presented to the same nephew a +set of harnesses for jousting. Some of them were composed largely of +sheets of beaten gold and silver. In some gold and silver marguerites +were introduced also. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Savonarola reproved the Florentine nuns for employing <a +name="page_195"><span class="page">Page 195</span></a> their valuable +time in manufacturing "gold laces with which to adorn persons and +houses." The Florentine gold lace was very popular in England, in +the days of Henry VIII., and later the art was taken up by the +"wire-drawers" of England, and a native industry took the place of +the imported article. Among prohibited gowns in Florence was one +owned by Donna Francesca degli Albizi, "a black mantle of raised +cloth: the ground is yellow, and over it are woven birds, parrots, +butterflies, red and white roses, and many figures in vermilion and +green, with pavilions and dragons, and yellow and black letters +and trees, and many other figures of various colours, the whole +lined with cloth in hues of black and vermilion." As one reads +this description, it seems as though the artistic sense as much as +conscientious scruples might have revolted and led to its banishment! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Costumes for tournaments were also lavish in their splendour. In +1467 Benedetto Salutati ordered made for such a pageant all the +trappings for two horses, worked in two hundred pounds of silver +by Pollajuolo; thirty pounds of pearls were also used to trim the +garments of the sergeants. No wonder Savonarola was enthusiastic +in his denunciation of such extravagance. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Henry VIII. had "a pair of hose of purple silk and Venice gold, +woven like a caul." For one of his favoured lady friends, also, +there is an item, of a certain sum paid, for one pound of gold +for embroidering a nightgown. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_196"><span class="page">Page 196</span></a> +The unrivalled excellence of English woollen cloths was made manifest +at an early period. There was a fabric produced at Norwich of such +superiority that a law was passed prohibiting monks from wearing it, +the reason being that it was considered "smart enough for military +men!" This was in 1422. The name of Worsted was given to a certain +wool because it was made at Worsted, a town in Norfolk; later the +"worsted thread" was sold for needleworkers. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ladies made their own gold thread in the Middle Ages by winding +a fine flat gold wire, scarcely of more body than a foil, around +a silk thread. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Patches were embroidered into place upon such clothes or vestments +as were torn: those who did this work were as well recognized as +the original designers, and were called "healers" of clothes! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Embroidered bed hangings were very much in order in mediæval +times in England. In the eleventh century there lived a woman who +had emigrated from the Hebrides, and who had the reputation for +witchcraft, chiefly based upon the unusually exquisite needlework on +her bed curtains! The name of this reputed sorceress was Thergunna. +Bequests in important wills indicate the sumptuous styles which +were usual among people of position. The Fair Maid of Kent left +to her son her "new bed curtains of red velvet, embroidered with +ostrich feathers of silver, and heads of leopards of gold," while +in 1380 the Earl of March bequeathed his "large bed of black satin +embroidered with white <a name="page_197"><span class="page">Page +197</span></a> lions and gold roses, and the escutcheons of the +arms of Mortimer and Ulster." This outfit must have resembled a +Parisian "first class" funeral! The widow of Henry II. slept in +a sort of mourning couch of black velvet, which must have made +her feel as if she too were laid out for her own burial! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A child's bedquilt was found mentioned in an inventory of furniture +at the Priory of Durham, in 1446, which was embroidered in the +four corners with the Evangelistic symbols. In the "Squier of Lowe +Degree," a fifteenth century romance, there is allusion to a bed, +of which the head sheet is described "with diamonds set and rubies +bright." The king of England, in 1388, refers, in a letter, to "a bed +of gold cloth." Wall hangings in bedrooms were also most elaborate, +and the effect of a chamber adorned with gold and needlework must +have been fairly regal. An embroiderer named Delobel made a set +of furnishings for the bedroom of Louis XIV. the work upon which +occupied three years. The subject was the Triumph of Venus. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In South Kensington Museum there is a fourteenth century linen cloth +of German workmanship, upon which occurs the legend of the unicorn, +running for protection to a maiden. An old Bestiary describes how +the unicorn, or as it is there called, the "monocerus," "is an +animal which has one horn on its head: it is caught by means of +a virgin." The unicorn and virgin, with a hunter in pursuit, is +quite a favourite bit of symbolism in the middle ages. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_198"><span class="page">Page 198</span></a> +Another interesting piece of German embroidery in South Kensington +is a table cloth, worked on heavy canvas, in heraldic style: long +decorative inscriptions embellish the corners. A liberal translation +of these verses is given by Dr. Rock, some of the sentences being +quaint and interesting to quote. Evidently the embroideress indulged +in autobiography in the following: "And she, to honour the esquire +her husband, wished to adorn and increase his house furniture, and +there has worked, with her own hand, this and still many other +pretty cloths, to her memory." And in another corner, "Now follows +here my own birthday. When one wrote 1565 my mother's heart was +gladdened by my first cry. In the year 1585 I gave birth my self +to a daughter. Her name is Emilia Catharina, and she has been a +proper and praiseworthy child." Then, to her children the following +address is directed: "Do not forget your prayers in the morning. And +be temperate in your pleasures. And make yourselves acquainted with +the Word of God.... I beseech you to be sincere in all matters. That +will make you great and glorious. Honour everybody according to his +station: it will make you honourably known. You, my truly beloved sons, +beware of fiery wines... you, my truly beloved daughters, preserve +and guard your honour, and reflect before you do anything: many have +been led into evil by acting first and thinking afterwards." In +another compartment, a lament goes up in which she deplores the death +of her husband. "His age was sixty and eight <a name="page_199"><span +class="page">Page 199</span></a> years," she says. "The dropsy has +killed him. I, his afflicted Anna Blickin von Liechtenperg who +was left behind, have related it with my hand in this cloth, that +might be known to my children this greater sorrow which God has +sent me." The cloth is a naïve and unusual record of German +home life. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ecclesiastical embroidery began in the fourth century. In earliest +days the work was enhanced with quantities of gold thread. The shroud +in which St. Cuthbert's body was wrapped is a mass of gold: a Latin +inscription on the vestments in which the body was clad may be thus +translated: "Queen to Alfred's son and successor, Edward the Elder, +was one Aelflaed, who caused this stole and maniple to be made for a +gift to Fridestan consecrated Bishop of Winchester, A. D. 905." The +maniple is of "woven gold, with spaces left vacant for needlework +embroidery." Such garments for burial were not uncommon; but they +have as a rule perished from their long residence underground. +St. Cuthbert's vestments are splendid examples of tenth century +work in England. After the death of King Edward II., and his wife +Aelflaed, Bishop Frithestan also having passed away, Athelstan, as +King, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Cuthbert and bestowed +these valuable embroideries there. They were removed from the body +of the saint in 1827. The style of the work inclines to Byzantine. +The Saxon embroideries must have been very decorative: a robe is +described by Aldhelme in 709, as "of a most delicate thread of +purple, adorned with <a name="page_200"><span class="page">Page +200</span></a> black circles and peacocks." At the church at Croyland +some vestments were decorated with birds of gold cut out and +appliqué and at Exeter they had "nothing about them but true +needlework." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the "Liber Eliensis," in the Muniment room at Ely, is an account +of a gift to the church by Queen Emma, the wife of King Knut, who +"on a certain day came to Ely in a boat, accompanied by his wife +the Queen Emma, and the chief nobles of his kingdom." This royal +present was "a purple cloth worked with gold and set with jewels +for St. Awdry's shrine," and the Monk Thomas assures us that "none +other could be found in the kingdom of the English of such richness +and beauty of workmanship." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The various stitches in English work had their several names, the +opus plumarium, or straight overlapping stitches, resembling the +feathers of a bird; the opus pluvarium, or cross stitch, and many +others. A great deal of work was accomplished by means of +appliqué in satin and silk, and sometimes the ground was +painted, as has already been described in Italian work. In the +year 1246 Matthew Paris writes: "About this time the Lord Pope, +Innocent IV., having observed that the ecclesiastical ornaments +of some Englishmen, such as choristers' copes and mitres, were +embroidered in gold thread, after a very desirable fashion, asked +where these works were made, and received in answer, 'England.' +Then," said the Pope, "England is surely a garden of delight for +us; it is truly a never failing Spring, and <a name="page_201"><span +class="page">Page 201</span></a> there where many things abound much +may be extorted." This far sighted Pope, with his semi-commercial +views, availed himself of his discovery. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the days of Anastatius, ecclesiastical garments were spoken of +by name according to the motive of their designs: for instance, +the "peacock garment," the "elephant chasuble," and the "lion cope." +Fuller tells of the use of a pall as an ecclesiastical vestment, +remarking tersely: "It is made up of lamb's wool and superstition." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mediæval embroiderers in England got into certain habits of +work, so that there are some designs which are almost as hall-marks +to English work; the Cherubim over the wheel is especially +characteristic, as is also the vase of lilies, and various heraldic +devices which are less frequently found in the embroidered work +of European peoples. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Syon Cope is perhaps the most conspicuous example of the +mediæval embroiderer's art. It was made by nuns about the +end of the thirteenth century, in a convent near Coventry. It is +solid stitchery on a canvas ground, "wrought about with divers +colours" on green. The design is laid out in a series of interlacing +square forms, with rounded and barbed sides and corners. In each of +these is a figure or a scriptural scene. The orphreys, or straight +borders which go down both fronts of the cope, are decorated with +heraldic charges. Much of the embroidery is raised, and wrought in the +stitch known as Opus Anglicanum. The effect <a name="page_202"><span +class="page">Page 202</span></a> was produced by pressing a heated +metal knob into the work at such points as were to be raised. The +real embroidery was executed on a flat surface, and then bossed +up by this means until it looked like bas-relief. The stitches +in every part run in zig-zags, the vestments, and even the nimbi +about the heads, are all executed with the stitches slanting in one +direction, from the centre of the cope outward, without consideration +of the positions of the figures. Each face is worked in circular +progression outward from the centre, as well. The interlaces are of +crimson, and look well on the green ground. The wheeled Cherubim is +well developed in the design of this famous cope, and is a pleasing +decorative bit of archaic ecclesiasticism. In the central design of +the Crucifixion, the figure of the Lord is rendered in silver on +a gold ground. The anatomy is according to the rules laid down by +an old sermonizer, in a book entitled "The Festival," wherein it is +stated that the body of Christ was "drawn on the cross as a skin of +parchment on a harrow, so that all his bones might be told." With +such instruction, there was nothing left for the mediæval +embroiderers but to render the figure with as much realistic emaciation +as possible. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The heraldic ornaments on the Syon Cope are especially interesting +to all students of this graceful art. It is not our purpose here +to make much allusion to this aspect of the work, but it is of +general interest to know that on the orphreys, the devices of most +of the noble families of that day appear. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 358px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig040.jpg" width="358" height="464" alt="Figure 40"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL OF THE SYON COPE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_203"><span class="page">Page 203</span></a> +English embroidery fell off greatly in excellence during the Wars +of the Roses. In the later somewhat degenerate raised embroidery, +it was customary to represent the hair of angels by little tufted +curls of auburn silk! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Many of the most important examples of ancient ecclesiastical embroidery +are in South Kensington Museum. A pair of orphreys of the fifteenth +century, of German work (probably made at Cologne), shows a little +choir of angels playing on musical instruments. These figures are +cut out and applied on crimson silk, in what was called "cut work." +This differed entirely from what modern embroiderers mean by cut +work, as has been explained. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Dalmatic of Charlemagne is given by Louis Farcy to the twelfth +century. He calls it the Dalmatic of Leo III. But Lady Alford claims +for this work a greater antiquity. Certainly, as one studies its +details, one is convinced that it is not quite a Gothic work, nor +yet is it Byzantine; for the figures have all the grace of Greek +work prior to the age of Byzantine stiffness. It is embroidered +chiefly in gold, on a delicate bluish satin ground, and has not +been transferred, although it has been carefully restored. The +central ornament on the front is a circular composition, and the +arrangement of the figures both here and on the back suggests that +Sir Edward Burne Jones must have made a study of this magnificent +dalmatic, from which it would seem that much of his inspiration +might have been drawn. The composition is singularly restful and +rhythmical. <a name="page_204"><span class="page">Page 204</span></a> +The little black outlines to the white silk faces, and to the glowing +figures, give this work a peculiarly decorative quality, not often +seen in other embroideries of the period. It is unique and one +of the most valuable examples of its art in the world. It is now +in the Treasury of the Vatican. When Charlemagne sang the Gospel +at High Mass on the day of his Coronation, this was his vestment. +It must have been a strangely gorgeous sight when Cola di Rienzi, +according to Lord Lindsay, took this dalmatic, and placed it over +his armour, and, with his crown and truncheon, ascended to the +palace of the Popes! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A very curious Italian piece of the fourteenth century is an altar +frontal, on which the subjects introduced are strange. It displays +scenes from the life of St. Ubaldo, with some incidents also in +that of St. Julian Hospitaler. St. Ubaldo is seen forgiving a mason +who, having run a wall across his private grounds, had knocked +the saint down for remonstrating. Another scene shows the death +bed of the saint, and the conversion of a possessed man at the +foot of the bed: a lady is throwing her arms above her head in +astonishment while the evil spirit flies from its victim into the +air. Later, the saint is seen going to the grave in a cart drawn +by oxen. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 368px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig041.jpg" width="368" height="399" alt="Figure 41"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DALMATIC OF CHARLEMAGNE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The peacock was symbolical both of knightly vigilance and of Christian +watchfulness. An old Anglo-Norman, Osmont, writes: "The eye-speckled +feathers should warn a man that never too often can he have his +eyes wide open, and gaze inwardly upon his own heart." These <a +name="page_205"><span class="page">Page 205</span></a> dear people +were so introspective and self-conscious, always looking for +trouble—in their own motives, even—that no doubt many +good impulses perished unnoticed, while the originator was chasing +mental phantoms of heresy and impurity. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Painting and jewelry were sometimes introduced in connection with +embroideries. In the celebrated Cope of St. John Lateran, the faces +and hands of the personages are rendered in painting; but this +method was more generally adopted in the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries, when sincerity counted for less than effect, and when +genuine religious fervour for giving one's time and best labour to +the Lord's service no longer dominated the workers. Gold thread was +used extensively in English work, and spangles were added at quite +an early period, as well as actual jewels set in floral designs. +The finest work was accomplished in the Gothic period, before the +Renaissance came with its aimless scrolls to detract from the dignity +of churchly ornament. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the sixteenth century the winged angels have often a degenerate +similitude to tightly laced coryphées, who balance themselves +upon their wheels as if they were performing a vaudeville turn. +They are not as dignified as their archaic predecessors. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Very rich funeral palls were in vogue in the sixteenth century. A +description of Prince Arthur's burial in 1502 relates how numerous +palls were bestowed, apparently much as friends would send wreaths or +important <a name="page_206"><span class="page">Page 206</span></a> +floral tributes to-day. "The Lord Powys went to the Queere Doore," +writes Leland, "where two gentlemen ushers delivered him a riche +pall of cloth of gould of tissue, which he offered to the corpse, +where two Officers of the Armes received it, and laid it along +the corpse. The Lord Dudley in like manner offered a pall... the +Lord Grey Ruthen offered another, and every each of the three Earls +offered to the corpse three palls of the same cloth of gould... +all the palls were layd crosse over the corpse." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The account of the obsequies of Henry VII. also contains mention +of these funeral palls: the Earls and Dukes came in procession, +from the Vestry, with "certain palls, which everie of them did +bring solemnly between their hands and coming in order one before +another as they were in degree, unto the said herse, they kissed +their said palls... and laid them upon the King's corpse." At Ann +of Cleves' burial the same thing was repeated, in 1557. Finally +these rich shimmering hangings came to be known in England as "cloth +of pall," whether they were used for funerals or coronations, for +bridals or pageants. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The London City Guilds possessed magnificent palls; especially +well known is that of the Fishmongers, with its kneeling angels +swinging censers; this pall is frequently reproduced in works on +embroidery. It is embroidered magnificently with angels, saints, +and strange to say, mermaids. The peacock's wings of the angels make +a most decorative feature in this famous <a name="page_207"><span +class="page">Page 207</span></a> piece of old embroidery. The Arms +of the Company are also emblazoned. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +French embroiderers are known by name in many instances; in 1299 +allusion was made to "Clement le Brodeur," who furnished a cope for +the Count of Artois, and in 1316 a magnificent set of hangings was +made for the Queen, by one Gautier de Poulleigny. Nicolas Waquier was +armourer and embroiderer to King John in 1352. Among Court workers in +1384 were Perrin Gale, and Henriet Gautier. In the "Book of Rules" +by Etienne Boileau, governing the "Embroiderers and embroideresses +of the City of Paris," one of the chief laws was that no work should +be permitted in the evening, "because the work of the night cannot +be so good or so satisfactory as that accomplished in the day." +When one remembers the facilities for evening lighting in the middle +ages, one fully appreciates the truth of this statement. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Matthew Paris, in his Life of St. Alban, tells of an excellent +embroideress, Christine, Prioress of Margate, who lived in the +middle of the twelfth century. In the thirteenth century several +names occur. Adam de Bazinge made, in 1241, by order of Henry III. +of England, a cope for the Bishop of Hereford. Cunegonde, Abbess +of Goss, in Styria, accomplished numerous important works in that +period. Also, Henry III. employed Jean de Sumercote to make jewelled +robes of state. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On a certain thirteenth century chasuble are the words <a +name="page_208"><span class="page">Page 208</span></a> "Penne fit +me" (Penne made me), pointing to the existence of a needleworker +of that name. Among the names of the fourteenth century are those +of Gautier de Bruceles, Renier de Treit, Gautier de Poulogne, and +Jean de Laon, while Jean Harent of Calais is recorded as having +worked, for Mme. d'Artois, in 1319, a robe decorated "a bestelettes +et a testes." These names prove that the art had been taught in +many cities and countries: Ogier de Gant, Jean de Savoie, Etienne +le Hongre, and Roger de Varennes, all suggest a cosmopolitan and +dispersed number of workers, who finally all appeared in Paris. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +René d'Anjou had in his employ a worker in embroidery, named +Pierre du Villant. This artist executed a set of needlework pieces +for the Cathedral of Angers, of such important proportions that +they were known collectively as "La Grande Broderie." In 1462, +when they were put in place, a special mass was performed by way of +a dedication. The letter which accompanied this princely donation +contained the following sentences: "We, René, by the Grace +of God... give... to this church... the adornments for a chapell +all composd of golden embroidery, comprising five pieces" (which +are enumerated) "and an altar cloth illustrated with scenes from +the Passion of Our Saviour.... Given in our castle in Angers, the +fourth day of March, 1462. René." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 362px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig042.jpg" width="362" height="363" alt="Figure 42"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>EMBROIDERY, 15TH CENTURY, COLOGNE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1479 another altar frontal was presented. Two other rich chapels +were endowed by René. One was <a name="page_209"><span +class="page">Page 209</span></a> known as La Chapelle Joyeuse, +and the other as La Grande Chapelle des Trépassés. +It is likely that the same embroiderer executed the pieces of all +these. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A guild of embroiderers was in standing in Seville in 1433, where +Ordinances were enforced to protect from fraud and otherwise to +regulate this industry. The same laws were in existence in Toledo. +One of the finest and largest pieces of embroidery in Spain is +known as the Tent of Ferdinand and Isabella. This was used in 1488, +when certain English Ambassadors were entertained. The following +is their description of its use. "After the tilting was over, the +majesties returned to the palace, and took the Ambassadors with +them, and entered a large room... and there they sat under a rich +cloth of state of crimson velvet, richly embroidered, with the +arms of Castile and Aragon." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A curious effect must have been produced by a piece of embroidery +described in the inventory of Charles V., as "two little pillows +with savage beasts having the heads of armed men, and garnished +with pearls." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After the Reformation it became customary to use ecclesiastical +ornaments for domestic purposes. Heylin, in his "History of the +Reformation," makes mention of many "private men's parlours" which +"were hung with altar cloths, and their tables and beds covered +with copes instead of carpetts and coverlids." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Katherine of Aragon, while the wife of Henry VIII., consoled herself +in her unsatisfactory life by needlework: it is related that she +and her ladies "occupied themselves <a name="page_210"><span +class="page">Page 210</span></a> working with their own hands something +wrought in needlework, costly and artificially, which she intended +to the honour of God to bestow upon some churches." Katherine of +Aragon was such a devoted needlewoman, in fact, that on one occasion +Burnet records that she stepped out to speak to two ambassadors, +with a skein of silk about her neck, and explained that she had +been embroidering with her ladies when they were announced. In +an old sonnet she is thus commemorated: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"She to the eighth king Henry married was<br /> + And afterwards divorced, when virtuously,<br /> + Although a queen, yet she her days did pass<br /> + In working with the needle curiously." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Queen Elizabeth was also a clever embroiderer; she worked a book-cover +for Katherine Parr, bearing the initials K. P., and it is now in +the Bodleian Library at Oxford. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mary Queen of Scots was also said to be skilful with her needle; +in fact it seems to have been the consolation of most queens in +their restricted existence in those centuries. Dr. Rock considers +that the "corporal" which Mary Queen of Scots had bound about her +eyes at the time of her execution, was in reality a piece of her own +needle-work, probably wrought upon fine linen. Knight, in describing +the scene in his "Picturesque History of England," says: "Then +the maid Kennedy took a handkerchief edged with gold, in which +the Eucharist had formerly been enclosed, and fastened it <a +name="page_211"><span class="page">Page 211</span></a> over her +eyes;" so accounts differ and traditions allow considerable scope +for varied preferred interpretation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is stated that Catherine de Medicis was fond of needlework, +passing her evenings embroidering in silk "which was as perfect +as was possible," says Brantôme. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Anne of Brittany instructed three hundred of the children of the +nobles at her court, in the use of the needle. These children produced +several tapestries, which were presented by the queen to various +churches. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The volatile Countess of Shrewsbury, the much married "Bess of +Hardwick," was a good embroideress, who worked, probably, in company +with the Queen of Scots when that unfortunate woman was under the +guardianship of the Earl of Shrewsbury. One of these pieces is +signed E. S., and dated 1590. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A form of intricate pattern embroidery in black silk on fine linen +was executed in Spain in the sixteenth century, and was known as +"black work." Viscount Falkland owns some important specimens of +this curious work. It was introduced into England by Katherine of +Aragon, and became very popular, being exceedingly suitable and +serviceable for personal adornment. The black was often relieved +by gold or silver thread. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Petit Point, or single square stitch on canvas, became popular +in England during the reign Elizabeth. It suggested Gobelins tapestry, +on a small scale, when finished, although the method of execution +is quite different, being needlework pure and simple. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Elizabeth's time was incorporated the London <a name="page_212"><span +class="page">Page 212</span></a> Company of Broderers, which flourished +until about the reign of Charles I., when there is a complaint +registered that "trade was so much decayed and grown out of use, +that a great part of the company, for want of employment, were +much impoverished." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Raised embroidery, when it was padded with cotton, was called Stump +Work. This was made extensively by the nuns of Little Gidding in +the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Decided changes and +developments took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, +in all forms of embroidery, but these are not for us to consider +at present. A study of historic samples alone is most tempting, +but there is no space for the intrusion of any subject much later +than the Renaissance. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_213"><span class="page">Page 213</span></a> +CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">SCULPTURE IN STONE</p> + +<p class="center">(<i>France and Italy</i>)</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sculpture is not properly speaking the "plastic art," as is often +understood. The real meaning of sculpture is work which is cut +into form, whereas plastic art is work that is moulded or cast +into form. Terra cotta, which is afterwards baked, is plastic; +and yet becomes hard; thus a Tanagra figurine is an example of +plastic art, while a Florentine marble statuette is a product of +sculpture. The two are often confounded. We shall allude to them +under different heads, taking for our consideration now only such +sculpture as is the result of cutting in the stone. The work of +Luca Della Robbia will not be treated as sculpture in this book. +Luca Della Robbia is a worker in plastic art, while Adam Kraft, +hewing directly at the stone, is a sculptor. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We have no occasion to study the art of the sculptor who produces +actual statues; only so far as sculpture is a companion to architecture, +and a decorative art, does it come within the scope of the arts and +crafts. Figure sculpture, then, is only considered when strictly +of a monumental character. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_214"><span class="page">Page 214</span></a> +In attacking such a subject as sculpture in the Middle Ages it +is impossible to do more than indicate the general tendencies in +different countries. But there are certain defined characteristics an +observance of which will make clear to any reader various fundamental +principles by which it is easy to determine the approximate age and +style of works. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the first place, the great general rule of treatment of stone +in the North and in the South is to be mentioned. In the Northern +countries, France, Germany, and England, the stone which was employed +for buildings and their decorations was obtainable in large blocks +and masses; it was what, for our purposes, we will call ordinary +stone, and could be used in the solid; therefore it was possible +for carving in the North to be rendered as deeply and as roundly as +the sculptor desired. In Southern countries, however, and chiefly in +Italy, the stone used for building was not ordinary, but semi-precious +stone. Marble, porphyry, and alabaster were available; and the use +of such material led to a different ideal in architecture and +decoration,—that of incrustation instead of solid piling. These +valuable stones of Italy could not be used, generally speaking, +in vast blocks, into which the chisel was at liberty to plough +as it pleased; when a mass of marble or alabaster was obtained, +the æsthetic soul of the Italian craftsman revolted against +shutting up all that beauty of veining and texture in the confines of +a solid square, of which only the two sides should ever be visible, +and often <a name="page_215"><span class="page">Page 215</span></a> +only one. So he cut his precious block into slices: made slabs and +shallow surfaces of it, and these he laid, as an outward adornment +to his building, upon a substructure of brick or rubble. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is easy to perceive, then, the difference of the problem of the +sculptors of the North and the South. The plain, solid Northern +building was capable of unlimited enrichment by carving; this carving, +when deeply cut, with forcible projection, acted as a noble +embellishment in which the principal feature was a varied play of +light and shade; the stone having little charm of colour or texture +in itself, depended for its beauty entirely upon its bold relief, +its rounded statuary, and its well shaped chiselled ornament. The +shallow surface, already beautiful, both in colour and texture, +in the Southern building material, called only for enrichment in +low relief: ornament only slightly raised from the level or simply +perforating the thin slab of glowing stone on which it was used +was the more usual choice of the Italian craftsman. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This statement applies, of course, only to general principles of +the art of sculpture; there is some flat bas-relief in the North, +and some rounded sculpture in the South; but as a rule the tendencies +are as they have just been outlined. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Another difference between sculpture in the North and South is +due to the fact that in Italy the work was individual, as a rule, +and in France it was the labour of a Guild or company. In Italy it +is usually known who <a name="page_216"><span class="page">Page +216</span></a> was the author of any striking piece of sculpture, +while in France it is the exception when a work is signed, or the +names of artisans recorded. In Italy, then, each piece was made +more with a view to its own display, than as a part of a building, +while in France statuary was regarded as an integral part of the +architecture, and rows of figures were used as commonly as rows +of columns in Italy. It is tragic to think of the personal skill +and brilliancy of all these great French craftsmen being absorbed +in one general reputation, while there were undoubtedly among them +great art personalities who would have stood equally with the Pisani +if they had been recognized. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A good deal of flat carving, especially in the interlace and acanthus +of Ravenna, was accomplished by commencing with a series of drilled +holes, which were afterwards channelled into each other and formed +patterns. When the subsequent finish is not particularly delicate, +it is quite easy to detect these symmetrical holes, but the effect, +under the circumstances, is not objectionable. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The process of cutting a bas-relief was generally to outline the +whole with an incision, and then cut away the background, leaving +the simple elevated flat value, the shape of the proposed design. +The modelling was then added by degrees, until the figure looked +like half of a rounded object. While it is often unpractical to refer +one's readers to examples of work in far and various countries, and +advise them instantly to examine them, it is frequently possible +to call attention to well-produced +<a name="page_217"><span class="page">Page 217</span></a> +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 358px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig043.jpg" width="358" height="520" alt="Figure 43"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CARVED CAPITAL FROM RAVENNA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a name="page_218"><span class="page">Page 218</span></a> +plates in certain modern art books which are in nearly every public +library. To understand thoroughly the use of the drill in flat +sculpture, I wish my readers would refer to Fig. 121 in Mr. Russell +Sturgis's "Artist's Way of Working," Vol. II. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In a quaint treatise on Belles Lettres in France nearly two centuries +ago, by Carlencas, the writer says: "It is to no great purpose to +speak of the Gothick sculptures: for everybody knows that they +are the works of a rude art, formed in spite of nature and rules: +sad productions of barbrous and dull spirits, which disfigure our +old churches." Fie on a Frenchman who could so express himself! We +recall the story of how Viollet le Duc made the people of Paris +appreciate the wonderful carvings on Notre Dame. All the rage in +France was for Greek and Roman remains, and the people persisted in +their adoration of the antique, but would not deign to look nearer +home, at their great mediæval works of art. So the architect +had plaster casts made of the principal figures on the cathedral, +and these were treated so as to look like ancient marble statues; +he then opened an exhibition, purporting to show new discoveries +and excavations among antiques. The exhibition was thronged, and +everyone was deeply interested, expressing the greatest admiration +for the marvellously expressive sculptures. Viollet le Duc then +admitted what he had done, and confessing that these treasures +were to be found in their native city, advised them to pay more +attention to the beauties of Gothic art in Paris. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_219"><span class="page">Page 219</span></a> +We will not enter into a discussion of the relative merits of Northern +and Southern art; whether the great revival really originated in +France or Italy; but this is certain: Nicolo Pisano lived in the +latter half of the thirteenth century, while the great sculptures +of Notre Dame, Paris, and those of Chartres, were executed half +a century earlier. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But prior to either were the Byzantine and Romanesque sculptures +in Italy and Southern France. Our attention must first be turned +to them. Charles Eliot Norton's definition of this word Romanesque +is as satisfactory as any that could be instanced: "It very nearly +corresponds to the term of Romance as applied to language. It signifies +the derivation of the main elements, both in plan and construction, +from the works of the later Roman Empire. But Romanesque architecture" +(and this applies equally to sculpture) "was not, as it has been +called, a corrupted imitation of the Roman architecture, any more +than the Provençal or the Italian language was a corrupted +imitation of the Latin. It was a new thing, the slowly matured +product of a long period of many influences." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +All mediæval carving was subordinate to architecture, therefore +every piece of carving was designed with a view to being suitable to +appear in some special place. The most striking difference between +mediæval and later sculpture is that the latter is designed +as a thing apart, an object to be stood anywhere to be admired +for its intrinsic merit, instead of being a functional component +<a name="page_220"><span class="page">Page 220</span></a> in a +general scheme for beautifying a given building. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The use of the interlace in all primitive arts is very interesting. +It undoubtedly began in an unconscious imitation of local architecture. +For instance, in the British Isles, the building in earliest times +was with wattles: practically walls of basket work. William of +Malmsbury says that Glastonbury was "a mean structure of wattle +work," while of the Monastery of Iona, it is related that in 563, +Columba "sent forth his monks to gather twigs to build his hospice." +British baskets were famous even so far away as Rome. So the first +idea of ornament was to copy the interlacing forms. The same idea +was worked out synchronously in metal work, and in illuminated +books. Carving in stone, wood, and ivory, show the same influence. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Debased Roman sculptural forms were used in Italy during the fourth +and fifth centuries. Then Justinian introduced the Byzantine which +was grafted upon the Roman, producing a characteristic and fascinating +though barbaric combination. This was the Romanesque, or +Romano-Byzantine, in the North of Italy generally being recognized +as the Lombard style. The sculptures of this period, from the fifth +to the thirteenth century, are blunt and heavy, but full of quaint +expression due to the elemental and immature conditions of the +art. Many of the old Byzantine carvings are to be seen in Italy. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Lombards, when invading Northern Italy, <a name="page_221"><span +class="page">Page 221</span></a> brought with them a mighty smith, +Paul the Deacon, who had much skill with the hammer. When these +rude Norsemen found themselves among the æsthetic treasures +of Byzantium, and saw the fair Italian marbles, and the stately +work of Theodoric and Justinian, they were inflamed with zeal for +artistic expression, and began to hew and carve rough but spirited +forms out of the Pisan and Carrara stones. The animals which they +sculptured were, as Ruskin has said, "all alive: hungry and fierce, +wild, with a life-like spring." The Byzantine work was quiescent: +the designs formal, decent, and monumental. But the Lombards threw +into their work their own restless energy, and some of their cruelty +and relentlessness. Queen Theodolinda, in her palace at Monza, +encouraged the arts; it was because of her appreciative comprehension +of such things that St. Gregory sent her the famous Iron Crown, of +which a description has been given, on the occasion of the baptism +of her son. Under the influence of these subsequently civilized +barbarians many of the greatest specimens of carving in North Italy +came into being. The most delightful little stumpy saints and sacred +emblems may be found on the façade of St. Michele at Pavia, +and also at Lucca, and on the Baptistery at Parma. The sculptor who +produced these works at Parma was a very interesting craftsman, named +Antelami. His Descent from the Cross is one of the most striking +pieces of early sculpture before the Pisani. He lived in the twelfth +century. The figures are of <a name="page_222"><span class="page">Page +222</span></a> Byzantine proportions and forms, but have a good +deal of grace and suggestion of movement. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the early names known in Italy is that of Magister Orso, +of Verona. Another, in the ninth century, was Magister Pacifico, +and in the twelfth there came Guglielmus, who carved the charming +naïve wild hunting scenes on the portal of St. Zeno of Verona. +These reliefs represent Theodoric on horseback, followed by an +able company of men and horses which, according to legend, were +supplied by the infernal powers. The eyes of these fugitives have +much expression, being rendered with a drill, and standing out +in the design as little black holes—fierce and effective. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is a fine round window at St. Zeno at Verona, designed and +executed by one Briolottus, which, intended to represent the Wheel +of Fortune, is decorated all over with little clinging figures, +some falling and some climbing, and has the motto: "I elevate some +mortals and depose others: I give good or evil to all: I clothe +the naked and strip the clothed: in me if any one trust he will +be turned to derision." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Perhaps the most wonderful carvings on the church of St. Zeno at +Verona are over the arched entrance to the crypt. These, being +chiefly grotesque animal forms, are signed by Adaminus. Among the +humourous little conceits is a couple of strutting cocks carrying +between them a dead fox slung on a rod. Ruskin has characterized +the carvings at Verona, especially those on the porch, as being +among the best examples of the true function <a name="page_223"><span +class="page">Page 223</span></a> of flat decorative carving in +stone. He says: "The primary condition is that the mass shall be +beautifully rounded, and disposed with due discretion and order;... +sculpture is essentially the production of a pleasant bossiness or +roundness of surface. The pleasantness of that bossy condition to +the eye is irrespective of imitation on one side, and of structure +on the other." The more one considers this statement, the more he +is convinced of its comprehensiveness. If the lights and shadows +fall pleasantly, how little one stops to inquire, "What is the +subject? Do I consider that horse well proportioned, or do I not? +Is that woman in good drawing?" Effectiveness is almost independent +of detail, except as that detail affects the law of proportion. +There are varying degrees of relief: from flat (where the ornament +is hardly more than incised, and the background planed away) to +a practically solid round figure cut almost entirely free of its +ground. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Venice, until the revival in the thirteenth century, the Greek +Byzantine influence was marked. There is no more complete storehouse +of the art of the East adapted to mediæval conditions than +the Church of St. Mark's. If space permitted, nothing could be more +delightful than to examine in detail these marvellous capitals and +archivolts which Ruskin has so lovingly immortalized for English +readers. Of all decorative sculpture there is none more satisfying +from the ornamental point of view than the Byzantine interlace +and vine forms so usual in Venice. The only place where <a +name="page_224"><span class="page">Page 224</span></a> these may +be seen to even greater advantage is Ravenna. The pierced marble +screens and capitals, with their restful combinations of interlacing +bands and delicate foliate forms, are nowhere surpassed. The use of +the acanthus leaf conventionalized in a strictly primitive fashion +characterizes most of the Byzantine work in Italy. With these are +combined delightful stiff peacocks, and curious bunches of grapes, +rosettes, and animal forms of quaint grotesqueness. Such work +exemplifies specially what has been said regarding the use of flat +thin slabs for sculptural purposes in the South of Europe. Nearly +all these carvings are executed in fine marbles and alabasters. +The chief works of this period in the round are lions and gryphons +supporting columns as at Ancona and Perugia, and many other Italian +cities. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Rome there were several sculptors of the name of Peter. One +of them, Peter Amabilis, worked about 1197; and another, Peter +le Orfever, went to England and worked on the tomb of Edward the +Confessor at Westminster. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Bologna is an interesting crucifix probably carved in the eighth +or ninth century. Christ's figure is upon the cross and that of +his mother stands near. The sculptor was Petrus Albericus. On the +cross is an inscription in the form of a dialogue: "My son?" "What, +Mother?" "Are you God?" "I am." "Why do you hang on the cross?" +"That Mankind may not perish." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Masters of Stone and Wood were among the early Guilds and +Corporations of Florence. Charlemagne <a name="page_225"><span +class="page">Page 225</span></a> patronized this industry and helped +to develop it. Of craftsmen in these two branches exclusive of +master builders, and recognized artists, there were, in 1299, about +a hundred and forty-six members of the Guild. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Italy was backward for a good while in the progress of art, for +while great activities were going on in the North, the Doge of +Venice in 976 was obliged to import artists from Constantinople +to decorate St. Mark's church. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The tombs of this early period in Italy, as elsewhere, are significant +and beautiful. Recumbent figures, with their hands devoutly pressed +together, are usually seen, lying sometimes on couches and sometimes +under architectural canopies. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first great original Italian sculptor of the Renaissance was +Nicola Pisano. He lived through almost the whole of the thirteenth +century, being born about 1204, and dying in 1278. What were the +early influences of Nicola Pisano, that helped to make him so much +more more modern, more truly classic, than any of his age? In the +first place, he was born at the moment when interest in ancient +art was beginning to awaken; the early thirteenth century. In the +Campo Santo of Pisa may be seen two of the most potent factors in +his æsthetic education, the Greek sarcophagus on which was +carved the Hunting of Meleager, and the Greek urn with Bacchic +figures wreathing it in classic symmetry. With his mind tuned to the +beautiful, the boy Nioola gazed at the work of genuine pagan Greek +artists, <a name="page_226"><span class="page">Page 226</span></a> +who knew the sinuousness of the human form and the joy of living with +no thought of the morrow. These joyous pagan elements, grafted on +solemn religious surroundings and influences, combined to produce +his peculiar genius. Basing his early endeavours on these specimens +of genuine classical Greek art, there resulted his wonderful pulpits +at Pisa and Siena, and his matchlessly graceful little Madonnas +denote the Hellenistic sentiment for beauty. His work was a marked +departure from the Byzantine and Romanesque work which constituted +Italian sculpture up to that period. An examination of his designs +and methods proves his immense originality. By profession he was +an architect. Of his pulpit in Siena Charles Eliot Norton speaks +with much appreciation. Alluding to the lions used as bases to its +columns, he says: "These are the first realistic representations of +living animals which the mediæval revival of art has produced; +and in vivacity and energy of rendering, and in the thoroughly +artistic treatment of leonine spirit and form, they have never +been surpassed." It is usually claimed that one may learn much of +the rise of Gothic sculpture by studying the models in the South +Kensington Museum. In a foot-note to such a statement in a book +edited by Ruskin, the indignant editor has observed, "You cannot +do anything of the kind. Pisan sculpture can only be studied in +the original marble: half its virtue is in the chiselling!" Nicola +was assisted in the work on his shrine of St. Dominic at Bologna +by one Fra Guglielmo Agnelli, a monk of <a name="page_227"><span +class="page">Page 227</span></a> a very pious turn, who, nevertheless, +committed a curious theft, which was never discovered until his own +death-bed confession. He absconded with a bone of St. Dominic, +which he kept for private devotions all his subsequent life! An old +chronicler says, naïvely: "If piety can absolve from theft, +Fra Guglielmo is to be praised, though never to be imitated." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 362px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig044.jpg" width="362" height="476" alt="Figure 44"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>PULPIT OF NICOLA PISANO, PISA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Andrea Pisano was Nicola's greatest scholar, though not his son. +He took the name of his master after the mediæval custom. His +work was largely in bronze, and the earlier gates of the Baptistery +in Florence are by him. We have already alluded to the later gates +by Ghiberti, when speaking of bronze. Andrea had the honour to teach +the celebrated Orcagna,—more painter than sculptor,—whose +most noted work in this line was the Tabernacle at Or San Michele. +Among the loveliest of the figures sculptured by the Pisani are +the angels standing in a group, blowing trumpets, on the pulpit +at Pistoja, the work of Giovanni. Among Nicola's pupils were his +son Giovanni, Donatello, Arnolfo di Cambio, and Lorenzo Maitani, +who executed the delightful sculptures on the façade of +the Cathedral of Orvieto,—perhaps the most interesting set +of bas-reliefs in detail of the Early Renaissance, although in +general symmetrical "bossiness" of effect, so much approved by +Ruskin, they are very uneven. In this respect they come rather +under the head of realistic than of decorative art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Lorenzo Maitani was a genuine leader of his guild of craftsmen, and +superintended the large body of architects <a name="page_228"><span +class="page">Page 228</span></a> who worked at Orvieto, stone masons, +mosaicists, bronze founders, painters, and minor workmen. He lived +until 1330, and practically devoted his life to Orvieto. It is +uncertain whether any of the Pisani were employed in any capacity, +although for a time it was popularly supposed that the four piers +on the façade were their work. An iconographic description +of these sculptures would occupy too much time here, but one or two +features of special interest should be noted: the little portrait +relief of the master Maitani himself occurs on the fourth pier, +among the Elect in heaven, wearing his workman's cap and carrying +his architect's square. Only his head and shoulders can be seen at +the extreme left of the second tier of sculptures. In accordance +with an early tradition, that Virgil was in some wise a prophet, and +that he had foretold the coming of Christ, he is here introduced, +on the second pier, near the base, crowned with laurel. The incident +of the cutting off of the servant's ear, by Peter, is positively +entertaining. Peter is sawing away industriously at the offending +member; a fisherman ought to understand a more deft use of the +knife! In the scenes of the Creation, depicted on the first pier, +Maitani has proved himself a real nature lover in the tender way +he has demonstrated the joy of the birds at finding the use of +their wings. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The earliest sculptures in France were very rude,—it was +rather a process than an art to decorate a building with carvings +as the Gauls did! But the latent race talent was there; as soon +as the Romanesque and <a name="page_229"><span class="page">Page +229</span></a> Byzantine influences were felt, a definite school +of sculpture was formed in France; almost at once they seized on +the best elements of the craft and abandoned the worthless, and the +great note of a national art was struck in the figures at Chartres, +Paris, Rheims, and other cathedrals of the Ile de France. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Prior to this flowering of art in Northern France, the churches +of the South of France developed a charming Romanesque of their +own, a little different from that in Italy. A monk named Tutilon, +of the monastery of St. Gall, was among the most famous sculptors +of the Romanesque period. Another name is that of Hughes, Abbot of +Montier-en-Der. At the end of the tenth century one Morard, under +the patronage of King Robert, built and ornamented the Church of St. +Germain des Près, Paris, while Guillaume, an Abbot at Dijon, +was at the head of the works of forty monasteries. Guillaume probably +had almost as wide an influence upon French art as St. Bernward had +on the German, or Nicola Pisano on that of Italy. In Metz were +two noted architects, Adelard and Gontran, who superintended the +building of fourteen churches, and an early chronicler says that +the expense was so great that "the imperial treasury would scarce +have sufficed for it." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At Arles are two of the most famous monuments of Romanesque art, +the porches of St. Trophime, and of St. Gilles. The latter exhibits +almost classical feeling and influence; the former is much blunter +and more Byzantine; both are highly interesting for purposes <a +name="page_230"><span class="page">Page 230</span></a> of study, being +elaborately ornamented with figure sculptures and other decorative +motives. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Abbot Suger, the art-craftsman par excellence of the Ile de France, +was the sculptor in chief of St. Denis from 1137 to 1180. This +magnificent façade is harmonious in its treatment, betokening +plainly that one brain conceived and carried out the plan. We have +not the names of the minor architects and sculptors who were employed, +but doubtless they were the scholars and followers of Suger, and +rendered work in a similar manner. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are some names which have been handed down from early times +in Normandy: one Otho, another Garnier, and a third, Anquetil, +while a crucifix carved by Auquilinus of Moissac was popularly +believed to have been created by divine means. If one will compare +the statues of St. Trophime of Arles with those at St. Denis, it +will be found that the latter are better rounded, those at St. +Trophime being coarsely blocked out; although at first glance one +would say that there was little to choose between them. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The old font at Amiens is very ancient, older than the church. It +is seven feet long, and stands on short square piers: it resembles +a stone coffin, and was apparently so made that a grown person +might be baptized by immersion, by lying at full length. Angels +holding scrolls are carved at its four corners, otherwise it is +very plain. There is an ancient Byzantine crucifix at Amiens, on +which the figure of Our Lord is fully draped, and on his <a +name="page_231"><span class="page">Page 231</span></a> head is a +royal crown instead of thorns. The figure, too, is erect, as if +to invite homage by its outstretched arms, instead of suggesting +that the arms had to bear the weight of the body. Indeed, it is a +Christ triumphant and regnant though crucified—a very unusual +treatment of the subject in the Middle Ages. It was brought from the +East, in all probability, by a returning warrior from the Crusades. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The foundation of Chartres was very early: the first Bishop St. +Aventin occupied his see as early as 200 A. D. The early Gothic type +in figure sculpture is always characterized by a few features in +common, though different districts produced varying forms and facial +expressions. The figures are always narrow, and much elongated, from +a monumental sentiment which governed the design of the period. The +influence of the Caryatid may have remained in the consciousness of +later artists, leading them to make their figures conform so far as +expedient to the proportions of the columns which stood behind them +and supported them. In any case, it was considered an indispensable +condition that these proportions should be maintained, and has come +to be regarded as an architectural necessity. As soon as sculptors +began to consider their figures as realistic representations of +human beings instead of ornamental motives in their buildings, +the art declined, and poor results followed. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The west porch of Chartres dates from the twelfth century. The +church was injured by fire in 1194. In <a name="page_232"><span +class="page">Page 232</span></a> 1226 certain restorations were +made, and an old chronicle says that at that time it was quite +fire-proof, remarking: "It has nothing to fear from any earthly +fire from this time to the day of Judgment, and will save from +fires eternal the many Christians who by their alms have helped +in its rebuilding." The whole edifice was consecrated by St. Louis +on Oct. 17, 1260. The King gave the north porch, and several of the +windows, and the whole royal family was present at this impressive +function. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +About the time of William the Conqueror it became customary to +carve effigies on tombstones, at first simple figures in low relief +lying on flat slabs: this idea being soon elaborated, however, +into canopied tombs, which grew year by year more ornate, until +Gothic structures enriched with finials and crockets began to be +erected in churches to such an extent that the interior of the +edifice was quite filled with these dignified little buildings. +In many instances it is quite impossible to obtain any view of +the sanctuary except looking directly down the central aisle; the +whole ambulatory is often one continuous succession of exquisite +sepulchral monuments. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 526px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig045.jpg" width="526" height="362" alt="Figure 45"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>TOMB OF THE SON OF ST. LOUIS, ST. DENIS</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Perhaps the most satisfying monument of French Gothic style is +the tomb of the elder son of St. Louis at St. Denis. The majesty +of the recumbent figure is striking, but the little procession of +mourners about the main body of the tomb is absolutely unrivalled +in art of this character. The device of little weeping figures <a +name="page_233"><span class="page">Page 233</span></a> surrounding +the lower part of a tomb is also carried out in an exquisite way +on the tomb of Aymer de Valence in Westminster. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Some interesting saints are carved on the north portal of Amiens, +among others, St. Ulpha, a virgin who is chiefly renowned for having +lived in a chalk cave near Amiens, where she was greatly annoyed +by frogs. Undaunted, she prayed so lustily and industriously, that +she finally succeeded in silencing them! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The thirteenth century revival in France was really a new birth; almost +more than a Renaissance. It is a question among archæologists +if France was not really more original and more brilliant than Italy +in this respect. A glance at such figures as the Virgin from the +Gilded Portal at Amiens, and another Virgin from the same cathedral, +will show the change which came over the spirit of art in that one +city during the thirteenth century. The figure on the right door +of the western façade is a work of the early part of the +century. She is grave and dignified in bearing, her hand extended +in favour, while the Child gives the blessing in calm majesty. This +figure has the spirit of a goddess receiving homage, and bestowing +grace: it is conventional and monumental. The Virgin from the Gilded +Portal is of a later generation. Her attention is given to the +Child, and her aspect is human and spirited,—almost merry. +It may be said to be less religious than the other statue, but +it is filled with more modern grace and charm, and glorifies the +idea of happy maternity: every angle and <a name="page_234"><span +class="page">Page 234</span></a> fold of the drapery is full of +life and action without being over realistic. There is much in +common between this pleasing statue and the Virgins of the Pisani +in Italy. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Professor Moore considers the statue of the Virgin on the Portal +of the Virgin at the west end of Notre Dame in Paris as about the +best example of Gothic figure sculpture in France. He says further +that the finest statues in portals of any age are those of the +north porch at Paris. The Virgin here is marvellously fine also. +It combines the dignity and monumental qualities of the first of +the Virgins at Amiens, with the living buoyancy of the Virgin on +the Gilded Portal. It is the clear result of a study of nature +grafted on Byzantine traditions. It dates from 1250. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While sculpture was practised chiefly by monastic artists, it retained +the archaic and traditional elements. When trained carvers from +secular life began to take the chisel, the spirit of the world +entered in. For a time this was a marked improvement: later the +pendulum swung too far, and decadence set in. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A favourite device on carved tympana above portals was the Last +Judgment. Michael with the scales, engaged in weighing souls, was +the tall central figure, and the two depressed saucers of the scales +help considerably in filling the triangular space usually left +over a Gothic doorway. At Chartres, there is an example of this +subject, in which Mortal Sin, typified by a devil and two toads, are +being weighed against the soul of a departed hero. As is customary +in such compositions, <a name="page_235"><span class="page">Page +235</span></a> a little devil is seen pulling on the side of the +scale in which he is most interested! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the most cheerful and delightful figures at Chartres is +that of the very tall angel holding a sun dial, on the corner of +the South tower. A certain optimistic inconsequence is his chief +characteristic, as if he really believed that the hours bore more +of happiness than of sorrow to the world. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is no limit to the originality and the symbolic messages +of the Gothic grotesques. Two whole books might be written upon +this subject alone to do it justice; but a few notable instances +of these charming little adornments to the stern structures of +the Middle Ages must be noticed here. The little medallions at +Amiens deserve some attention. They represent the Virtues and Vices, +the Follies, and other ethical qualities. Some of them deal with +Scriptural scenes. "Churlishness" is figured by a woman kicking +over her cup-bearer. Apropos of her attitude, Ruskin observes that +the final forms of French churlishness are to be discovered in +the feminine gestures in the can-can. He adds: "See the favourite +print shops in Paris." Times have certainly changed little! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of these Amiens reliefs, signifying "Rebellion," is that of a +man snapping his fingers at his bishop! Another known as "Atheism" +is variously interpreted. A man is seen stepping out of his shoes at +the church porch. Ruskin explains this as meaning that the infidel +is shown in contradistinction to the faithful who is supposed <a +name="page_236"><span class="page">Page 236</span></a> to have +"his feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace;" but +Abbé Roze thinks it more likely that this figure represents +an unfrocked monk abandoning the church. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of these displays the beasts in Nineveh, and a little squat +monkey, developing into a devil, is wittily characterized by Ruskin +as reversing the Darwinian theory. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The statues above these little quatrefoils are over seven feet +in height, differing slightly, and evidently portrait sculptures +inspired by living models, adapted to their more austere use in +this situation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A quiet and inconspicuous example of exquisite refinement in Gothic +bas-relief is to be seen in the medallioned "Portail aux Libraires" +at the Cathedral in Rouen. This doorway was built in 1278 by Jean +Davi, who must have been one of the first sculptors of his time. +The medallions are a series of little grotesques, some of them +ineffably entertaining, and others expressive of real depth of +knowledge and thought. Ruskin has eulogized some of these little +figures: one as having in its eye "the expression which is never +seen but in the eye of a dog gnawing something in jest, and preparing +to start away with it." Again, he detects a wonderful piece of +realism and appreciative work in the face of a man who leans with +his head on his hand in thought: the wrinkles pushed up under his +eye are especially commended. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the south transept at Amiens is a piece of elaborate <a +name="page_237"><span class="page">Page 237</span></a> sculpture +in four compartments, which are the figures of many saints. There +is a legend in connection with those figures: when the millers were +about to select a patron saint, they agreed to choose the saint +on whose head a dove, released for the purpose, should alight; +but as the bird elected to settle on the head of a demon, they +abandoned their plan! The figures in these carvings are almost +free of the ground; they appear to be a collection of separate +statuettes, the scenes being laid in three or four planes. It is +not restrained bas-relief; but the effect is extremely rich. The +sculptures in high relief, but in more conventional proportion +than these, which occur on the dividing wall between the choir and +the north aisle, are thoroughly satisfactory. They are coloured; +they were executed in 1531, and they represent scenes in the life +of the Baptist. In the panel where Salomé is portrayed as +dancing, a grave little monkey is seen watching her from under +the table. The similar screen surrounding the sanctuary at Paris +was the work of the chief cathedral architect, Jean Renoy, with +whom worked his nephew, Jehan le Bouteiller. These stone carved +screens are quite usual in the Ile de France. The finest are at +Chartres, where they go straight around the ambulatory, the whole +choir being fenced in, as it were, about the apse, by this exquisite +work. This screen is more effective, too, for being left in the +natural colour of the stone: where these sculptures are painted, +as they usually are, they suggest wood carvings, and have <a +name="page_238"><span class="page">Page 238</span></a> not as much +dignity as when the stone is fully recognized. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Door of St. Marcel has the oldest carving on Notre Dame in +Paris. The plate representing the iron work, in Chapter IV., shows +the carving on this portal, which is the same that has Biscornette's +famous hinges. The central figure of St. Marcel himself presents +the saint in the act of reproving a naughty dragon which had had +the indiscretion to devour the body of a rich but wicked lady. The +dragon is seen issuing from the dismantled tomb of this unfortunate +person. The dragon repented his act, when the saint had finished +admonishing him, and showed his attachment and gratitude for thus +being led in paths of rectitude, by following the saint for four +miles, apparently walking much as a seal would walk, beseeching +the saint to forgive him. But Marcel was firm, and punished the +serpent, saying to him: "Go forth and inhabit the deserts or plunge +thyself into the sea;" and, as St. Patrick rid the Celtic land of +snakes, so St. Marcel seems to have banished dragons from fair +France. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 364px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig046.jpg" width="364" height="565" alt="Figure 46"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CARVINGS AROUND CHOIR AMBULATORY, CHARTRES</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +At Chartres there are eighteen hundred statues, and almost as many +at Amiens and at Rheims and Paris. One reason for the superiority of +French figure sculpture in the thirteenth century, over that existing +in other countries, is that the French used models. There has been +preserved the sketch book of a mediæval French architect, +Vilard de Honcourt, which is filled <a name="page_239"><span +class="page">Page 239</span></a> with studies from life: and why +should we suppose him to be the only one who worked in this way? +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Rheims Cathedral is the Mecca of the student of mediæval +sculpture. The array of statues on the exterior is amazing, and +a walk around the great structure reveals unexpected riches in +corbels, gargoyles, and other grotesques, hidden at all heights, +each a veritable work of art, repaying the closest study, and inviting +the enthusiast to undue extravagance at a shop in the vicinity, +which advertises naïvely, that it is an "Artistical Photograph +Laboratory." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the door of St. Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris, there is a portrait +statue of St. Geneviève, holding a lighted candle, while +"the devil in little" sits on her shoulder, exerting himself to +blow it out! It is quite a droll conceit of the thirteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of the leaf forms in Gothic sculpture, three styles are enough to +generalize about. The early work usually represented springlike +leaves, clinging, half-developed, and buds. Later, a more luxuriant +foliage was attempted: the leaves and stalks were twisted, and +the style was more like that actually seen in nature. Then came +an overblown period, when the leaves were positively detached, +and the style was lost. The foliage was no longer integral, but +was applied. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is little of the personal element to be exploited in dealing +with the sculptors in the Middle Ages. Until the days of the Renaissance +individual artists were scarcely recognized; master masons employed +"Imagers" <a name="page_240"><span class="page">Page 240</span></a> +as casually as we would employ brick-layers or plasterers; and no +matter how brilliant the work, it was all included in the general +term "building." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The first piece of signed sculpture in France is a tympanum in the +south transept at Paris, representing the Stoning of Stephen. It +is by Jean de Chelles, in 1257. St. Louis of France was a patron of +arts, and took much interest in his sculptors. There were two Jean +de Montereau, who carved sacred subjects in quite an extraordinary +way. Jean de Soignoles, in 1359, was designated as "Macon et Ymageur." +One of the chief "imageurs," as they were called, was Jacques Haag, +who flourished in the latter half of the fifteenth century, in +Amiens. This artist was imprisoned for sweating coin, but in 1481 +the king pardoned him. He executed large statues for the city gates, +of St. Michael and St. Firmin, in 1464 and 1489. There was a sculptor +in Paris in the fourteenth century, one Hennequin de Liege, who +made several tombs in black and white marble, among them that of +Blanche de France, and the effigy of Queen Philippa at Westminster. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was customary both in France and England to use colour on Gothic +architecture. It is curious to realize that the façade of +Notre Dame in Paris was originally a great colour scheme. A literary +relic, the "Voyage of an Armenian Bishop," named Martyr, in the +year 1490, alludes to the beauty of this cathedral of Paris, as +being ablaze with gold and colour. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +An old record of the screen of the chapel of St. Andrew <a +name="page_241"><span class="page">Page 241</span></a> at Westminster +mentions that it was "adorned with curious carvings and engravings, +and other imagery work of birds, flowers, cherubims, devices, mottoes, +and coats of arms of many of the chief nobility painted thereon. +All done at the cost of Edmond Kirton, Abbot, who lies buried on +the south side of the chapel under a plain gray marble slab." H. +Keepe, who wrote of Westminster Abbey in 1683, mentioned the virgin +over the Chapter House door as being "all richly enamelled and set +forth with blue, some vestigia of all which are still remaining, +whereby to judge of the former splendour and beauty thereof." Accounts +make frequent mention of painters employed, one being "Peter of +Spain," and another William of Westminster, who was called the +"king's beloved painter." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +King René of Anjou was an amateur of much versatility; he +painted and made many illuminations: among other volumes, copies +of his own works in prose and verse. Aside from his personal claim +to renown in the arts, he founded a school in which artists and +sculptors were included. One of the chief sculptors was Jean Poncet, +who was followed in the king's favour by his son Pons Poncet. Poor +Pons was something of a back-slider, being rather dissipated; but +King René was fond of him, and gave him work to do when +he was reduced to poverty. The monument to his nurse, Tiphanie, +at Saumur, was entrusted to Pons Poncet. After the death of Pons, +the chief sculptor of the court was Jacques Moreau. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_242"><span class="page">Page 242</span></a> +CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">(<i>England and Germany</i>)</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A progressive history of English sculpture in stone could be compiled +by going from church to church, and studying the tympana, over +the doors, in Romanesque and Norman styles, and in following the +works in the spandrils between the arches in early Gothic work. +First we find rude sculptures, not unlike those in France. The +Saxon work like the two low reliefs now to be seen in Chichester +Cathedral show dug-out lines and almost flat modelling; then the +Norman, slightly rounded, are full of historic interest and +significance, though often lacking in beauty. The two old panels +alluded to, now in Chichester, were supposed to have been brought +from Selsea Cathedral, having been executed about the twelfth century. +There is a good deal of Byzantine feeling in them; one represents +the Raising of Lazarus, and the other, Our Lord entering the house +of Mary and Martha. The figures are long and stiff, and there is +a certain quality in the treatment of draperies not unlike that +in the figures at Chartres. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then follows the very early Gothic, like the delightful <a +name="page_243"><span class="page">Page 243</span></a> little spandrils +in the chapter house at Salisbury, and at Westminster, familiar to +all travellers. They are full of life, partly through the unanatomic +contortions by means of which they are made to express their emotions. +Often one sees elbows bent the wrong way to emphasize the gesture +of denunciation, or a foot stepping quite across the instep of +its mate in order to suggest speed of motion. Early Gothic work +in England is usually bas-relief; one does not find the statue as +early as in France. In 1176 William of Sens went over to England, +to work on Canterbury Cathedral, and after that French influence +was felt in most of the best English work in that century. Before +the year 1200 there was little more than ornamented spaces, enriched +by carving; after that time, figure sculpture began in earnest, +and, in statues and in effigies, became a large part of the +craftsmanship of the thirteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The transition was gradual. First small separate heads began to +obtain, as corbels, and were bracketed at the junctures of the +arch-mouldings in the arcade and triforium of churches. Then on +the capitals little figures began to emerge from the clusters of +foliage. In many cases the figures are very inferior to the faces, +as if more time and study had been given to expressing emotions than +to displaying form. The grotesque became very general. Satire and +caricature had no other vehicle in the Middle Ages than the carvings +in and out of the buildings, for the cartoon had not yet become +possible, and painting offered but a limited <a name="page_244"><span +class="page">Page 244</span></a> scope to the wit, especially in +the North; in Italy this outlet for humour was added to that of +the sculptor. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of the special examples of great figure sculpture in England the +façade at Wells is usually considered the most significant. +The angel choir at Lincoln, too, has great interest; there is real +power in some of the figures, especially the angel with the flaming +sword driving Adam and Eve from Eden, and the one holding aloft a +small figure,—probably typical of the Creation. At Salisbury, +too, there is much splendid figure sculpture; it is cause for regret +that the names of so few of the craftsmen have survived. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Wells Cathedral is one of the most interesting spots in which to +study English Gothic sculpture. Its beautiful West Front is covered +with tier after tier of heroes and saints; it was finished in 1242. +This is the year that Cimabue was three years old; Niccola Pisano +had lived during its building, Amiens was finished forty-six years +later, and Orvieto was begun thirty-six years later. It is literally +the earliest specimen of so advanced and complete a museum of sculpture +in the West. Many critics have assumed that the statues on the West +Front of Wells were executed by foreign workmen; but there are +no special characteristics of any known foreign school in these +figures. Messrs. Prior and Gardner have recently expressed their +opinion that these statues, like most of the thirteenth century +work in England, are of native origin. The theory is that two kinds +of influence were brought to bear to create English "imagers." +<a name="page_245"><span class="page">Page 245</span></a> In the +first place, goldsmiths and ivory carvers had been making figures on +a small scale: their trade was gradually expanded until it reached +the execution of statues for the outside ornament of buildings. +The figures carved by such artists are inclined to be squat, these +craftsmen having often been hampered by being obliged to accommodate +their design to their material, and to treat the human figure to +appear in spaces of such shapes as circles, squares, and trefoils. +Another class of workers who finally turned their attention to +statuary, were the carvers of sepulchral slabs: these slabs had +for a long time shown the effigies of the deceased. This theory +accounts for both types of figures that are found in English +Gothic,—the extremely attenuated, and the blunt squat statues. +At Wells it would seem that both classes of workmen were employed, +some of the statues being short and some extremely tall. They were +executed, evidently, at different periods, the façade being +gradually decorated, sometimes in groups of several statues, and +sometimes in simple pairs. This theory, too, lends a far greater +interest to the west front than the theory that it was all carried +out at once, from one intentional design. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Baptism, is here represented, +holding a child on his arm, and standing in water up to his knees. +The water, being treated in a very conventional way, coiling about +the lower limbs, is so suggestive of tiers of flat discs, that +it has won for this statue the popular name of "the pancake <a +name="page_246"><span class="page">Page 246</span></a> man," for +he certainly looks as if he had taken up his position in the midst +of a pile of pancakes, into which he had sunk. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The old statue of St. Hugh at Lincoln is an attractive early Gothic +work. In 1743 he was removed from his precarious perch on the top +of a stone pinnacle, and was placed more firmly afterwards. In a +letter from the Clerk of the Works this process was described. +"I must acquaint you that I took down the antient image of St. +Hugh, which is about six foot high, and stood upon the summit of a +stone pinnacle at the South corner of the West Front... and pulled +down twenty-two feet of the pinnacle itself, which was ready to +tumble into ruins, the shell being but six inches thick, and the +ribs so much decayed that it declined visibly.... I hope to see +the saint fixed upon a firmer basis before the Winter." On the top +of a turret opposite St. Hugh is the statue of the Swineherd of +Stowe. This personage became famous through contributing a peck of +silver pennies toward the building of the cathedral. As is usually +the case, the saint and the donor therefore occupy positions of +equal exaltation! The swineherd is equipped with a winding horn. +A foolish tradition without foundation maintains that this figure +does not represent the Swineherd at all, but is a play upon the +name of Bishop Bloet,—the horn being intended to suggest "Blow +it!" It seems hardly possible to credit the mediæval wit with +no keener sense of humour than to perpetrate such a far-fetched +pun. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_247"><span class="page">Page 247</span></a> +The Lincoln Imp, who sits enthroned at the foot of a cul-de-lampe +in the choir, is so familiar to every child, now, through his +photographs and casts, that it is hardly necessary to describe +him. But many visitors to the cathedral fail to come across the old +legend of his origin. It is as follows: "The wind one day brought +two imps to view the new Minster at Lincoln. Both imps were greatly +impressed with the magnitude and beauty of the structure, and one +of them, smitten by a fatal curiosity, slipped inside the building +to see what was going on. His temerity, however, cost him dear, +for he was so petrified with astonishment, that his heart became +as stone within him, and he remained rooted to the spot. The other +imp, full of grief at the loss of his brother, flew madly round +the Minster, seeking in vain for the lost one. At length, being +wearied out, he alighted, quite unwittingly, upon the shoulders +of a certain witch, and was also, and in like manner, instantly +turned to stone. But the wind still haunts the Minster precincts, +waiting their return, now hopelessly desolate, now raging with +fury." A verse, also, is interesting in this connection: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"The Bishop we know died long ago,<br /> + The wind still waits, nor will he go,<br /> + Till he has a chance of beating his foe.<br /> + But the devil hopped without a limp,<br /> + And at once took shape as the Lincoln Imp.<br /> + And there he sits atop of a column,<br /> + And grins at the people who gaze so solemn,<br /> + Moreover, he mocks at the wind below,<br /> + And says: 'You may wait till doomsday, O!'" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_248"><span class="page">Page 248</span></a> +The effigies in the Round Church at the Temple in London have created +much discussion. They represent Crusaders, two dating from the +twelfth century, and seven from the thirteenth. Most of them have +their feet crossed, and the British antiquarian mind has exploited +and tormented itself for some centuries in order to prove, or to +disprove, that this signifies that the warriors were crusaders who +had actually fought. There seems now to be rather a concensus of +opinion that they do not represent Knights Templars, but "associates +of the Temple." As none of them can be certainly identified, this +controversy would appear to be of little consequence to the world +at large. The effigies are extremely interesting from an artistic +point of view, and, in repairing them, in 1840, Mr. Richardson +discovered traces of coloured enamels and gilding, which must have +rendered them most attractive. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Henry III. of England was a genuine art patron, and even evinced +some of the spirit of socialism so dear to the heart of William +Morris, for the old records relate that the Master Mason, John +of Gloucester, was in the habit of taking wine each day with the +King! This shows that Henry recognized the levelling as Well as +the raising power of the arts. In 1255 the king sent five casks of +wine to the mason, in payment for five with which John of Gloucester +had accommodated his Majesty at Oxford! This is an intimate and +agreeable departure from the despotic and grim reputation of early +Kings of England. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_249"><span class="page">Page 249</span></a> +In 1321 the greatest mediæval craftsman in England was Alan +de Walsingham, who built the great octagon from which Ely derives +its chief character among English cathedrals. In a fourteenth century +manuscript in the British Museum is a tribute to him, which is +thus translated by Dean Stubbs (now Bishop of Truro): +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"A Sacrist good and Prior benign,<br /> + A builder he of genius fine:<br /> + The flower of craftsmen, Alan, Prior,<br /> + Now lying entombed before the choir...<br /> + And when, one night, the old tower fell,<br /> + This new one he built, and mark it well." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This octagon was erected to the glory of God and to St. Etheldreda, +the Queen Abbess of Ely, known frequently as St. Awdry. Around +the base of the octagon, at the crests of the great piers which +carry it, Prior Alan had carved the Deeds of the Saint in a series +of decorative bosses which deserve close study. The scene of her +marriage, her subsequently taking the veil at Coldingham, and the +various miracles over which she presided, terminate in the death +and "chesting" of the saint. This ancient term is very literal, +as the body was placed in a stone coffin above the ground, and +therefore the word "burial" would be incorrect. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The tomb of Queen Eleanor in Westminster is of Purbeck marble, +treated in the style of Southern sculpture, being cut in thin slabs +and enriched with low relief ornamentation. The recumbent effigy +is in bronze, and was cast, as has been stated, by Master William +<a name="page_250"><span class="page">Page 250</span></a> Torel. +Master Walter of Durham painted the lower portion. Master Richard +Crundale was in charge of the general work. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Master John of St. Albans worked in about 1257, and was designated +"sculptor of the king's images." There was at this time a school +of sculpture at the Abbey. This Westminster School of Artificers +supplied statuettes and other sculptured ornaments to order for +various places. One of the craftsmen was Alexander "le imaginator." +In the Rolls of the Works at Westminster, there is an entry, "Master +John, with a carpenter and assistant at St. Albans, worked on the +lectern." This referred to a copy which was ordered of a rarely +beautiful lectern at St. Albans' cathedral, which had been made by +the "incomparable Walter of Colchester." Labour was cheap! There +is record of three shillings being paid to John Benet for three +capitals! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among Westminster labourers was one known as Brother Ralph, the +Convert; this individual was a reformed Jew. Among the craftsmen +selected to receive wine from the convent with "special grace" is +the goldsmith, Master R. de Fremlingham, who was then the Abbey +plumber. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was a master mason in 1326, who worked at Westminster and +in various other places on His Majesty's Service. This was William +Ramsay, who also superintended the building then in progress at St. +Paul's, and was a man of such importance in his art, that the mayor +and aldermen ordered that he should "not be <a name="page_251"><span +class="page">Page 251</span></a> placed on juries or inquests" +during the time of his activity. He was also chief mason at the +Tower. But in spite of the city fathers it was not possible to +keep this worthy person out of court! For he and some of his friends, +in 1332, practically kidnapped a youth of fourteen named Robert +Huberd, took him forcibly from his appointed guardian, and married +him out of hand to William Ramsay's daughter Agnes, the reason +for this step being evidently that the boy had money. Upon the +complaint of his guardian, Robert was given his choice whether +he would remain with his bride or return to his former home. He +deliberately chose his new relations, and so, as the marriage was +quite legal according to existing laws, everything went pleasantly +for Master William! It made no difference, either, in the respect +of the community or the king for the master mason; in 1344, he was +appointed to superintend the building at Windsor, and was made +a member of the Common Council in 1347. Verily, the Old Testament +days were not the last in which every man "did that which was right +in his own eyes." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Carter gives some curious historical explanations of some very +quaint and little-known sculptures in a frieze high up in the Chapel +of Edward the Confessor in Westminster. One of them represents the +Trial of Queen Emma, and is quite a spirited scene. The little accusing +hands raised against the central figure of the queen, are unique in +effect in a carving of this character. Queen Emma was accused of +so many misdemeanours, <a name="page_252"><span class="page">Page +252</span></a> poor lady! She had agreed to marry the enemy of +her kingdom, King Canute: she gave no aid to her sons, Edward the +Confessor and Alfred, when in exile; and she was also behaving +in a very unsuitable manner with Alwin, Bishop of Winchester: she +seems to have been versatile in crime, and it is no wonder that +she was invited to withdraw from her high estate. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The burial of Henry V. is interestingly described in an old manuscript +of nearly contemporary origin: "His body was embalmed and cired and +laid on a royal carriage, and an image like to him was laid upon +the corpse, open: and with divers banners, and horses, covered +with the arms of England and France, St. Edward and St. Edmund... +and brought with great solemnity to Westminster, and worshipfully +buried; and after was laid on his tomb a royal image like to himself, +of silver and gilt, which was made at the cost of Queen Katherine... +he ordained in his life the place of his sepulchre, where he is +now buried, and every daye III. masses perpetually to be sungen +in a fair chapel over his sepulchre." This exquisite arrangement +of a little raised chantry, and the noble tomb itself, was the +work of Master Mapilton, who came from Durham in 1416. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mr. W. R. Lethaby calls attention to the practical and expedient +way in which mediæval carvers of effigies utilized their +long blocks of stone: "Notice," he says, "how... the angels at +the head and the beast at the foot were put in just to square out +the block, and how all the points of high relief come to one plane +so that <a name="page_253"><span class="page">Page 253</span></a> +a drawing board might be firmly placed on the statue." Only such +cutting away as was actually necessary was encouraged; the figure +was usually represented as putting the earthly powers beneath his +feet, while angels ministered at his head. St. Louis ordered a +crown of thorns to be placed on his head when he was dying, and +the crown of France placed at his feet. The little niches around +the tombs, in which usually stood figures of saints, were called +"hovels." It is amusing to learn this to-day, with our long established +association of the word with poverty and squalor. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Henry VII. left directions for the design of his tomb. Among other +stipulations, it was to be adorned with "ymages" of his patron +saints "of copper and gilte." Henry then "calls and cries" to his +guardian saints and directs that the tomb shall have "a grate, +in manner of a closure, of coper and gilte," which was added by +English craftsmen. Inside this grille in the early days was an +altar, containing a unique relic,—a leg of St. George. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Sculpture and all other decorative arts reached their ultimatum in +England about the time of the construction of Henry VII.'s chapel +at Westminster. The foundation stone was laid in 1502, by Henry +himself. Of the interesting monuments and carvings contained in it, +the most beautiful is the celebrated bronze figure by Torregiano +on the tomb of the king and queen, which was designed during their +lives. Torregiano was born in 1470, and died in 1522, so he is not +quite a mediæval <a name="page_254"><span class="page">Page +254</span></a> figure, but in connection with his wonderful work we +must consider his career a moment. Vasari says that he had "more +pride than true artistic excellence." He was constantly interfering +with Michelangelo, with whom he was a student in Florence, and on +one memorable occasion they came to blows: and that was the day +when "Torregiano struck Michelangelo on the nose with his fist, +using such terrible violence and crushing that feature in such a +manner that the proper form could never be restored to it, and +Michelangelo had his nose flattened by that blow all his life." So +Torregiano fled from the Medicean wrath which would have descended +upon him. After a short career as a soldier, impatient at not being +rapidly promoted, he returned to his old profession of a sculptor. +He went to England, where, says Vasari, "he executed many works +in marble, bronze, and wood, for the king." The chief of these +was the striking tomb of Henry VII. and the queen. Torregiano's +agreement was to make it for a thousand pounds: also there is a +contract which he signed with Henry VIII., agreeing to construct a +similar tomb also for that monarch, to be one quarter part larger +than that of Henry VII., but this was not carried out. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +St. Anthony appears on a little sculptured medallion on the tomb +of Henry VII., with a small pig trotting beside him. This is St. +Anthony of Vienna, not of Padua. His legend is as follows. In an +old document, Newcourt's Repertorium, it is related that "the monks +of St. Anthony with their importunate begging, contrary <a +name="page_255"><span class="page">Page 255</span></a> to the example +of St. Anthony, are so troublesome, as, if men give them nothing, +they will presently threaten them with St. Anthony's fire; so that +many simple people, out of fear or blind zeal, every year use to +bestow on them a fat pig, or porker, which they have ordinarily +painted in their pictures of St. Anthony, whereby they may procure +their good will and their prayers, and be secure from their menaces." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Torregiano's contract read that he should "make well, surely, cleanly, +and workmanlike, curiously, and substantially" the marble tomb +with "images, beasts, and other things, of copper, gilte." Another +craftsman who exercised his skill in this chapel was Lawrence Imber, +image maker, and in 1500 the names of John Hudd, sculptor, and +Nicolas Delphyn, occur. Some of the figures and statuettes on the +tomb were also made by Drawswerd of York. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +On the outer ribs of Henry VII.'s chapel may be detected certain +little symmetrically disposed bosses, which at first glance one +would suppose to be inconspicuous crockets. But in an admirable +spirit of humour, the sculptor has here carved a series of griffins, +in procession, holding on for dear life, in the attitudes of children +sliding down the banisters. They are delightfully animated and +amusing. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The well-known figures of the Vices which stand around the quadrangle +at Magdalen College, Oxford, are interpreted by an old Latin manuscript +in the college. The statues should properly be known as the Virtues <a +name="page_256"><span class="page">Page 256</span></a> and Vices, for +some of them represent such moral qualities as Vigilance, Sobriety, +and Affection. It is indeed a shock to learn from this presumably +authoritative source, that the entertaining figure of a patient +nondescript animal, upon whose back a small reptile clings, is +<i>not</i> intended to typify "back biting," but is intended for +a "hippopotamus, or river-horse, carrying his young one upon his +shoulders; this is the emblem of a good tutor, or fellow of the +college, who is set to watch over the youth." But a large number +of the statues are devoted to the Vices, which generally explain +themselves. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 184px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig047.jpg" width="184" height="286" alt="Figure 47"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>GROTESQUE FROM OXFORD, POPULARLY KNOWN AS "THE +BACKBITER"</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_257"><span class="page">Page 257</span></a> +No more spirited semi-secular carvings are to be seen in England +than the delightful row of the "Beverly Minstrels." They stand on +brackets round a column in St. Mary's Church, Beverly, and are +exhibited as singing and playing on musical instruments. They were +probably carved and presented by the Minstrels or Waits, themselves, +or at any rate at their expense, for an angel near by holds a tablet +inscribed: "This pyllor made the meynstyrls." These "waits" were +quite an institution, being a kind of police to go about day and +night and inspect the precincts, announcing break of day by blowing +a horn, and calling the workmen together by a similar signal. The +figures are of about the period of Henry VII. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 356px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig048.jpg" width="356" height="172" alt="Figure 48"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>THE "BEVERLY MINSTRELS"</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The general excellence of sculpture in Germany is said to be lower +than that of France; in fact, such mediæval German sculpture +as is specially fine is based upon French work. Still, while this +statement holds <a name="page_258"><span class="page">Page +258</span></a> good in a general way, there are marked departures, +and examples of extremely interesting and often original sculpture +in Germany, although until the work of such great masters as Albrecht +Dürer, Adam Kraft, and Viet Stoss, the wood carver, who are +much later, there is not as prolific a display of the sculptor's +genius as in France. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The figures on the Choir screen at Hildesheim are rather heavy, +and decidedly Romanesque; but the whole effect is most delightful. +Some of the heads have almost Gothic beauty. The screen is of about +1186, and the figures are made of stucco; but it is exceptionally +good stucco, very different in character from the later work, which +Browning has designated as "stucco twiddlings everywhere." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Much good German sculpture may be seen in Nüremberg. The +Schöner Brunnen, the beautiful fountain, is a delight, in +spite of the fact that one is not looking at the original, which +was relegated to the museum for safe keeping long ago. The carving, +too, on the Frauenkirche, and St. Sebald's, and on St. Lorenz, is +as fine as anything one will find in Germany. Another exception +stands out in the memory. Nothing is more exquisite than the Bride's +Door, at St. Sebald's, in Nüremberg; the figures of the Wise +and Foolish Virgins who guard the entrance could hardly be surpassed +in the realm of realistic sculpture, retaining at the same time +a just proportion of monumental feeling. They are bewitching and +dainty, full of grace not often seen in German work of that period. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_259"><span class="page">Page 259</span></a> +The figures on the outside of Bamberg Cathedral are also as fine +as anything in France, and there are some striking examples at +Naumburg, but often the figures in German work lack lightness and +length, which are such charming elements in the French Gothic +sculptures. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At Strasburg the Cathedral is generally conceded to be the most +interesting and ornate of the thirteenth century work in Germany, +although, as has been indicated, French influence is largely +responsible. A very small deposit of this influence escaped into +the Netherlands, and St. Gudule in Brussels shows some good carving +in Gothic style. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A gruesome statue on St. Sebald's in Nüremberg represents +the puritanical idea of "the world," by exhibiting a good-looking +young woman, whose back is that of a corpse; the shroud is open, +and the half decomposed body is displayed, with snakes and toads +depredating upon it. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the early Renaissance artists in Nüremberg, was Hans +Decker, who was named in the Burgher Lists of 1449. He may have +had influence upon the youth of Adam Kraft, whose great pyx in +St. Lorenz's is known to everyone who has visited Germany. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Adam Kraft was born in Nüremberg in the early fifteenth century +and his work is a curious link between Gothic and Renaissance styles. +His chief characteristic is expressed by P. J. Rée, who +says: "The essence of his art is best described as a naïve +realism sustained by tender and warm religious zeal." Adam Kraft +carved <a name="page_260"><span class="page">Page 260</span></a> +the Stations of the Cross, to occupy, on the road to St. John's +Cemetery in Nüremberg, the same relative distances apart as +those of the actual scenes between Pilate's house and Golgotha. +Easter Sepulchres were often enriched with very beautiful sculptures +by the first masters. Adam Kraft carved the noble scene of the +Burial of Christ in St. John's churchyard in Nüremberg. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig049.jpg" width="360" height="553" alt="Figure 49"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ST. LORENZ CHURCH, NUREMBERG, SHOWING ADAM KRAFT'S +PYX, AND THE HANGING MEDALLION BY VEIT STOSS</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +It is curious that the same mind and hand which conceived and carved +these short stumpy figures, should have made the marvel of slim +grace, the Tabernacle, or Pyx, at St. Lorenz. A figure of the artist +kneeling, together with two workmen, one old and one young, supports +the beautiful shrine, which rears itself in graduated stages to +the tall Gothic roof, where it follows the curve of a rib, and +turns over at the top exactly like some beautiful clinging plant +departing from its support, and flowering into an exquisitely +proportioned spiral. It suggests a gigantic crozier. Before it was +known what a slender metal core followed this wonderful growth, +on the inside, there was a tradition that Kraft had discovered +"a wonderful method for softening and moulding hard stones." The +charming relief by Kraft on the Weighing Office exhibits quite +another side of his genius; here three men are engaged in weighing +a bale of goods in a pair of scales: a charming arrangement of +proportion naturally grows out of this theme, which may have been +a survival in the mind of the artist of his memory of the numerous +tympana with the Judgment <a name="page_261"><span class="page">Page +261</span></a> of Michael weighing souls. The design is most attractive, +and the decorative feeling is enhanced by two coats of arms and a +little Gothic tracery running across the top. When Adam Kraft died +in 1508, the art of sculpture practically ceased in Nüremberg. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 366px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig050.jpg" width="366" height="373" alt="Figure 50"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>RELIEF BY ADAM KRAFT</td></tr> +</table> + +<h2> +<a name="page_262"><span class="page">Page 262</span></a> +CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">CARVING IN WOOD AND IVORY</p> + +<p class="indent"> +If the Germans were somewhat less original than the French, English, +and Italians in their stone carving, they made up for this deficiency +by a very remarkable skill in wood carving. Being later, in period, +this art was usually characterized by more naturalism than that +of sculpture in stone. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Germany the art of sculpture in wood is said to have been in full +favour as early as the thirteenth century. There are two excellent +wooden monuments, one at Laach erected to Count Palatine Henry III., +who died in 1095, and another to Count Henry III. of Sayne, in +1246. The carving shows signs of the transition to Gothic forms. +Large wooden crucifixes were carved in Germany in the eleventh and +twelfth centuries. Byzantine feeling is usual in these figures, +which are frequently larger than life. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mediæval wood carving developed chiefly along the line of +altar pieces and of grotesque adornments of choir stalls. Among +the most interesting of these are the "miserere" seats, of which +we shall speak at more length. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The general methods of wood carving resemble somewhat <a +name="page_263"><span class="page">Page 263</span></a> those of +stone carving; that is to say, flat relief, round relief, and entirely +disengaged figures occur in both, while in both the drill is used +as a starting point in many forms of design. As with the other +arts, this of carving in wood emanated from the monastery. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 362px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig051.jpg" width="362" height="349" alt="Figure 51"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CARVED BOX-WOOD PYX, 14TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The monk Tutilo, of St. Gall, was very gifted. The old chronicle +tells us that "he was eloquent, with a fine voice, skilful in carving, +and a painter. A musician, like his companions, but in all kinds +of wind and stringed <a name="page_264"><span class="page">Page +264</span></a> instruments... he excelled everybody. In building +and in his other arts he was eminent." Tutilo was a monk of the ninth +century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A celebrated wood carving of the thirteenth century, on a large +scale, is the door of the Church of St. Sabina in Rome. It is divided +into many small panels, finely carved. These little reliefs are +crowded with figures, very spirited in action. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Painted and carved shields and hatchments were popular. The Italian +artists made these with great refinement. Sometimes stucco was +employed instead of genuine carving, and occasionally the work was +embossed on leather. They were painted in heraldic colours, and +gold, and nothing could be more decorative. Even Giotto produced +certain works of this description, as well as a carved crucifix. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Altar pieces were first carved and painted, the backgrounds being +gilded. By degrees stucco for the figures came in to replace the +wood: after that, they were gradually modelled in lower relief, +until finally they became painted pictures with slightly raised +portions, and the average Florentine altar piece resulted. With +the advance in painting, and the ability to portray the round, +the necessity for carved details diminished. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Orders from a great distance were sometimes sent to the Florentine +Masters of Wood,—the choir stalls in Cambridge, in King's +College Chapel, were executed by them, in spite of the fact that +Torregiano alluded to them as "beasts of English." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_265"><span class="page">Page 265</span></a> +An early French wood carver was Girard d'Orleans, who, in 1379, +carved for Charles V. "ung tableau de boys de quatre pieces." Ruskin +considers the choir stalls in Amiens the best worth seeing in France; +he speaks of the "carpenter's work" with admiration, for no nails +are used, nor is the strength of glue relied upon; every bit is true +"joinery," mortised, and held by the skill and conscientiousness +of its construction. Of later work in wood it is a magnificent +example. The master joiner, Arnold Boulin, undertook the construction +of the stalls in 1508. He engaged Anton Avernier, an image maker, +to carve the statuettes and figures which occur in the course of +the work. Another joiner, Alexander Hust, is reported as working +as well, and in 1511, both he and Boulin travelled to Rouen, to +study the stalls in the cathedral there. Two Franciscan monks, +"expert and renowned in working in wood," came from Abbeville to +give judgment and approval, their expenses being paid for this +purpose. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Jean Troupin, a "simple workman at the wages of three sous a day," +was added to the staff of workers in 1516, and in one of the stalls +he has carved his own portrait, with the inscription, "Jan Troupin, +God take care of thee." In 1522 the entire work was completed, and +was satisfactorily terminated on St. John's day, representing the +entire labour of six or eight men for about fourteen years. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the fifteenth century Germany led all countries in the art of +wood carving. Painting was nearly always <a name="page_266"><span +class="page">Page 266</span></a> allied to this art in ecclesiastical +use. The sculptured forms were gilded and painted, and, in some +cases, might almost be taken for figures in faience, so high was +the polish. Small altars, with carved reredos and frontals, were +very popular, both for church and closet. The style employed was +pictorial, figures and scenes being treated with great naturalism. +One of the famous makers of such altar pieces was Lucas Möser, +in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. A little later came +Hans Schülein, and then followed Freidrich Herlin, who carved +the fine altar in Rothenburg. Jorg Syrlin of Ulm and his son of +the same name cover the latter half of the century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bavaria was the chief province in which sculptors in wood flourished. +The figures are rather stumpy sometimes, and the draperies rather +heavy and lacking in delicate grace, but the works are far more +numerous than those of other districts, and vary enormously in +merit. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Then followed the great carvers of the early Renaissance—Adam +Kraft, and Veit Stoss, contemporaries of Peter Vischer and Albrecht +Dürer, whom we must consider for a little, although they hardly +can be called mediæval workmen. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Veit Stoss was born in the early fifteenth century, in Nüremberg. +He went to Cracow when he was about thirty years of age, and spent +some years working hard. He returned to his native city, however, +in 1496, and worked there for the rest of his life. A delicate +specimen of his craft is the Rosenkranztafel, a wood carving in <a +name="page_267"><span class="page">Page 267</span></a> the Germanic +Museum, which exhibits medallions in relief, representing the Communion +of Saints, with a wreath of roses encircling it. Around the border +of this oblong composition there are small square reliefs, and a +Last Judgment which is full of grim humour occupies the lower part +of the space. Among the amusing incidents represented, is that of +a redeemed soul, quite naked, climbing up a vine to reach heaven, +in which God the Father is in the act of "receiving" Adam and Eve, +shaking hands most sociably! The friends of this aspiring climber +are "boosting" him from below; the most deliciously realistic proof +that Stoss had no use for the theory of a winged hereafter! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Veit Stoss was a very versatile craftsman. Besides his wonderful +wood carvings, for which he is chiefly noted, he was a bridge-builder, +a stone-mason, a bronze caster, painter of altars, and engraver +on copper! Like all such variously talented persons, he suffered +somewhat from restlessness and preferred work to peace,—but his +compensation lay in the varied joys of creative works. His naturalism +was marked in all that he did: a naïve old chronicler remarks +that he made some life-sized coloured figures of Adam and Eve, "so +fashioned that one was <i>afraid</i> that they were alive!" Veit +Stoss was an interesting individual. He was not especially moral +in all his ways, narrowly escaping being executed for forgery; +but his brilliancy as a technician was unsurpassed. He lived until +1533, when he died in Nüremberg as a very old man. One of +his most delightful <a name="page_268"><span class="page">Page +268</span></a> achievements is the great medallion with an open +background, which hangs in the centre of the Church of St. Lorenz. +It shows two large and graceful figures,—Mary and the Angel +Gabriel, the subject being the Annunciation. A wreath of angels and +flowers surrounds the whole, with small medallions representing the +seven joys of the Virgin. It is a masterly work, and was presented by +Anton Tucher in 1518. Veit Stoss was the leading figure among wood +carvers of the Renaissance, although Albrecht Dürer combined +this with his many accomplishments, as well. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Some of the carvings in wood in the chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster, +are adapted from drawings by Albrecht Dürer, and are probably +the work of Germans. Two of these, Derrick van Grove and Giles +van Castel, were working at St. George's, Windsor, about the same +time. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The very finest example of Nüremberg carving, however, is the +famous wooden Madonna, which has been ascribed to Peter Vischer +the Younger, both by Herr von Bezold and by Cecil Headlam. It seems +very reasonable after a study of the other works of this remarkable +son of Peter Vischer, for there is no other carver of the period, +in all Nüremberg, who could have executed such a flawlessly +lovely figure. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the noted wood carvers in Spain in the Renaissance, was +Alonso Cano. He was a native of Granada and was born in 1601. His +father was a carver of "retablos," and brought the boy up to follow his +profession. <a name="page_269"><span class="page">Page 269</span></a> +Cano was also a painter of considerable merit, but as a sculptor +in wood he was particularly successful. His first conspicuous work +was a new high altar for the church of Lebrija, which came to him +on account of the death of his father, who was commencing the work +in 1630, when his life was suddenly cut off. Alonso made this altar +so beautifully, that he was paid two hundred and fifty ducats more +than he asked! Columns and cornices are arranged so as to frame four +excellent statues. These carvings have been esteemed so highly +that artists came to study them all the way from Flanders. The +altar is coloured, like most of the Spanish retablos. Cano was +a pugnacious character, always getting into scrapes, using his +stiletto, and being obliged to shift his residence on short notice. +It is remarkable that his erratic life did not interfere with his +work, which seems to have gone calmly on in spite of domestic and +civic difficulties. Among his works at various places, where his +destiny took him, was a tabernacle for the Cathedral of Malaga. He +had worked for some time at the designs for this tabernacle, when +it was whispered to him that the Bishop of Malaga intended to get +a bargain, and meant to beat him down in his charges. So, packing +up his plans and drawings, and getting on his mule. Cano observed, +"These drawings are either to be given away for nothing, or else +they are to bring two thousand ducats." The news of his departure +caused alarm among those in authority, and he was urged to bring +back the designs, and receive his own price. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_270"><span class="page">Page 270</span></a> +Cano carved a life-size crucifix for Queen Mariana, which she presented +to the Convent of Monserrati at Madrid. Alonso Cano entered the +Church and became canon of the Cathedral of Granada. But all his +talents had no effect upon his final prosperity: he died in extreme +want in 1667, the Cathedral records showing that he was the recipient +of charity, five hundred reals being voted to "the canon Cano, +being sick and very poor, and without means to pay the doctor." +Another record mentions the purchase of "poultry and sweet-meats" +also for him. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cano made one piece of sculpture in marble, a guardian angel for +the Convent at Granada, but this no longer exists. Some of his +architectural drawings are preserved in the Louvre. Ford says that +his St. Francesco in Toledo is "a masterpiece of cadaverous ecstatic +sentiment." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The grotesques which played so large a part in church art are bewailed +by St. Bernard: "What is the use," he asks, "of those absurd +monstrosities displayed in the cloisters before the reading monks?... +Why are unclean monkeys and savage lions, and monstrous centaurs and +semi-men, and spotted tigers, and fighting soldiers, and pipe-playing +hunters, represented?" Then St. Bernard inadvertently admits the +charm of all these grotesques, by adding: "The variety of form +is everywhere so great, that marbles are more pleasant reading +than manuscripts, and the whole day is spent in looking at them +instead of in meditating on the law of God." <a name="page_271"><span +class="page">Page 271</span></a> St. Bernard concludes with the +universal argument: "Oh, God, if one is not ashamed of these +puerilities, why does not one at least spare the expense?" A hundred +years later, the clergy were censured by the Prior de Coinsi for +allowing "wild cats and lions" to stand equal with the saints. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig052.jpg" width="360" height="146" alt="Figure 52"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MISERERE STALL; AN ARTISAN AT WORK</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The real test of a fine grotesque—a genuine Gothic +monster—is, that he shall, in spite of his monstrosity, retain +a certain anatomical consistency: it must be conceivable that the +animal organism could have developed along these lines. In the +thirteenth century, this is always possible; but in much later +times, and in the Renaissance, the grotesques simply became comic +and degraded, and lacking in humour: in a later chapter this idea +will be developed further. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The art of the choir stalls and miserere seats was a natural ebullition +of the humourous instinct, which had so little opportunity for +exploiting itself in monastic seclusion. The joke was hidden away, +under the seat, <a name="page_272"><span class="page">Page +272</span></a> out of sight of visitors, or laymen: inconspicuous, +but furtively entertaining. There was no self-consciousness in +its elaboration, it was often executed for pure love of fun and +whittling; and for that very reason embodies all the most attractive +qualities of its art. There was no covert intention to produce a +genre history of contemporary life and manners, as has sometimes +been claimed. These things were accidentally introduced in the +work, but the carvers had no idea of ministering to this or any +other educational theory. Like all light-hearted expression of +personality, the miserere stalls have proved of inestimable worth +to the world of art, as a record of human skill and genial mirth. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 559px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig053.jpg" width="559" height="364" alt="Figure 53"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MISERERE STALL, ELY: NOAH AND THE DOVE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +A good many of the vices of the times were portrayed on the miserere +seats. The "backbiter" is frequently seen, in most unlovely form, +and two persons gossiping with an "unseen witness" in the shape +of an avenging friend, looking on and waiting for his opportunity +to strike! Gluttons and misers are always accompanied by familiar +devils, who prod and goad them into such sin as shall make them +their prey at the last. Among favourite subjects on miserere seats +is the "alewife." No wonder ale drinking proved so large a factor in +the jokes of the fraternity, for the rate at which it was consumed, +in this age when it took the place of both tea and coffee, was +enormous. The inmates of St. Cross Hospital, Winchester, who were +alluded to as "impotents," received daily one gallon of beer each, +with two extra quarts on holidays! If this were the allowance of <a +name="page_273"><span class="page">Page 273</span></a> pensioners, +what must have been the proportion among the well-to-do? In 1558 +there is a record of a dishonest beer seller who gave only a pint +for a penny drink, instead of the customary quart! The subject +of the alewife who had cheated her customers, being dragged to +hell by demons, is often treated by the carvers with much relish, +in the sacred precincts of the church choir! +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 359px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig054.jpg" width="359" height="221" alt="Figure 54"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MISERERE STALL; THE FATE OF THE ALE-WIFE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +At Ludlow there is a relief which shows the unlucky lady carried +on the back of a demon, hanging with her head upside down, while a +smiling "recording imp" is making notes in a scroll concerning her! +In one of the Chester Mysteries, the Ale Wife is made to confess +her own shortcomings: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"Some time I was a taverner,<br /> + A gentle gossip and a tapster,<br /> + Of wine and ale a trusty brewer,<br /> + Which woe hath me wrought. +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +<a name="page_274"><span class="page">Page 274</span></a> + Of cans I kept no true measure,<br /> + My cups I sold at my pleasure,<br /> + Deceiving many a creature,<br /> + Though my ale were nought!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is a curious miserere in Holderness representing a nun between +two hares: she is looking out with a smile, and winking! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At Ripon the stalls show Jonah being thrown to the whale, and the +same Jonah being subsequently relinquished by the sea monster. The +whale is represented by a large bland smiling head, with gaping +jaws, occurring in the midst of the water, and Jonah takes the usual +"header" familiar in mediæval art, wherever this episode is +rendered. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A popular treatment of the stall was the foliate mask; stems issuing +from the mouth of the mask and developing into leaves and vines. +This is an entirely foolish and unlovely design: in most cases +it is quite lacking in real humour, and makes one think more of +the senseless Roman grotesques and those of the Renaissance. The +mediæval quaintness is missing. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At Beverly a woman is represented beating a man, while a dog is +helping himself out of the soup cauldron. The misereres at Beverly +date from about 1520. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Animals as musicians, too, were often introduced,—pigs playing +on viols, or pipes, an ass performing on the harp, and similar +eccentricities may be found in numerous places, while Reynard the +Fox in all his forms abounds. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The choir stalls at Lincoln exhibit beautiful carving <a +name="page_275"><span class="page">Page 275</span></a> and design: +they date from the fourteenth century, and were given by the treasurer, +John de Welburne. There are many delightful miserere seats, many +of the selections in this case being from the legend of Reynard +the Fox. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Abbot Islip of Westminster was a great personality, influencing +his times and the place where his genius expressed itself. He was +very constant and thorough in repairing and restoring at the Abbey, +and under his direction much fine painting and illuminating were +accomplished. The special periods of artistic activity in most of +the cathedrals may be traced to the personal influence of some +cultured ecclesiastic. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A very beautiful specimen of English carving is the curious oak +chest at York Cathedral, on which St. George fighting the dragon +is well rendered. However, the termination of the story differs +from that usually associated with this legend, for the lady leads +off the subdued dragon in a leash, and the very abject crawl of +the creature is depicted with much humour. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mediæval ivory carving practically commenced with the fourth +century; in speaking of the tools employed, it is safe to say that +they corresponded to those used by sculptors in wood. It is generally +believed by authorities that there was some method by which ivory +could be taken from the whole rounded surface of the tusk, and then, +by soaking, or other treatment, rendered sufficiently malleable +to be bent out into a large flat sheet: for some of the large +mediæval ivories are much wider <a name="page_276"><span +class="page">Page 276</span></a> than the diameter of any known +possible tusk. There are recipes in the early treatises which tell +how to soften the ivory that it may be more easily sculptured: +in the Mappae Clavicula, in the twelfth century, directions are +given for preparing a bath in which to steep ivory, in order to +make it soft. In the Sloane MS. occurs another recipe for the same +purpose. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ahab's "ivory house which he made" must have been either covered +with a very thin veneer, or else the ivory was used as inlay, which +was often the case, in connection with ebony. Ezekiel alludes to +this combination. Ivory and gold were used by the Greeks in their +famous Chryselephantine statues, in which cases thin plates of +ivory formed the face, hands, and exposed parts, the rest being +overlaid with gold, This art originated with the brothers +Dipœnus and Scillis, about 570 B. C., in Crete. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +"In sculpturing ivory," says Theophilus, "first form a tablet of +the magnitude you may wish, and superposing chalk, portray with +a lead the figures according to your pleasure, and with a pointed +instrument mark the lines that they may appear: then carve the +grounds as deeply as you wish with different instruments, and sculp +the figures or other things you please, according to your invention +and skill." He tells how to make a knife handle with open work +carvings, through which a gold ground is visible: and extremely +handsome would such a knife be when completed, according to Theophilus' +directions. He also tells how to redden <a name="page_277"><span +class="page">Page 277</span></a> ivory. "There is likewise an herb +called 'rubrica,' the root of which is long, slender, and of a +red colour; this being dug up is dried in the sun and is pounded +in a mortar with the pestle, and so being scraped into a pot, and +a lye poured over it, is then cooked. In this, when it has well +boiled, the bone of the elephant or fish or stag, being placed, +is made red." Mediæval chessmen were made in ivory: very +likely the need for a red stain was felt chiefly for such pieces. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The celebrated Consular Diptychs date from the fourth century onwards. +It was the custom for Consuls to present to senators and other +officials these little folding ivory tablets, and the adornment +of Diptychs was one of the chief functions of the ivory worker. +Some of them were quite ambitious in size; in the British Museum +is a Diptych measuring over sixteen inches by five: the tusk from +which this was made must have been almost unique in size. It is +a Byzantine work, and has the figure of an angel carved upon it. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Gregory the Great sent a gift of ivory to Theodolinda, Queen of +the Lombards, in 600. This is decorated with three figures, and +is a most interesting diptych. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The earliest diptych, however, is of the year 406, known as the +Diptych of Probus, on which may be seen a bas-relief portrait of +Emperor Honorius. On the Diptych of Philoxenus is a Greek verse +signifying, "I, Philoxenus, being Consul, offer this present to the wise +Senate." An interesting diptych, sixteen inches by six, is inscribed, +"Flavius Strategius Apius, illustrious <a name="page_278"><span +class="page">Page 278</span></a> man, count of the most fervent +servants, and consul in ordinary." This consul was invested in 539; +the work was made in Rome, but it is the property of the Cathedral +of Orviedo in Spain, where it is regarded as a priceless treasure. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Claudian, in the fourth century, alludes to diptychs, speaking of +"huge tusks cut with steel into tablets and gleaming with gold, +engraved with the illustrious name of the Consul, circulated among +great and small, and the great wonder of the Indies, the elephant, +wanders about in tuskless shame!" In Magaster, a city which according +to Marco Polo, was governed by "four old men," they sold "vast +quantities of elephants' teeth." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Rabanus, a follower of Alcuin, born in 776, was the author of an +interesting encyclopædia, rejoicing in the comprehensive +title, "On the Universe." This work is in twenty-two books, which +are supposed to cover all possible subjects upon which a reader +might be curious.... The seventeenth book is on "the dust and soil +of the earth," under which uninviting head he includes all kinds of +stones, common and precious; salt, flint, sand, lime, jet, asbestos, +and the Persian moonstone, of whose brightness he claims that it +"waxes and wanes with the moon." Later he devotes some space to +pearls, crystals, and glass. Metals follow, and marbles and +<i>ivory</i>, though why the latter should be classed among minerals +we shall never understand. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig055.jpg" width="360" height="452" alt="Figure 55"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>IVORY TABERNACLE, RAVENNA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The Roman diptychs were often used as after-dinner gifts to +distinguished guests. They were presented on <a name="page_279"><span +class="page">Page 279</span></a> various occasions. In the Epistles +of Symmachus, the writer says: "To my Lord and Prince I sent a +diptych edged with gold. I presented other friends also with these +ivory note books." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While elephant's tusks provided ivory for the southern races, the +more northern peoples used the walrus and narwhale tusks. In Germany +this was often the case. The fabulous unicorn's horn, which is so +often alluded to in early literature, was undoubtedly from the +narwhale, although its possessor always supposed that he had secured +the more remarkable horn which was said to decorate the unicorn. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Triptychs followed diptychs in natural sequence. These, in the Middle +Ages, were usually of a devotional character, although sometimes +secular subjects occur. Letters were sometimes written on ivory +tablets, which were supposed to be again used in forwarding a reply. +St. Augustine apologizes for writing on parchment, explaining, "My +ivory tablets I sent with letters to your uncle; if you have any +of my tablets, please send them in case of similar emergencies." +Tablets fitted with wax linings were used also in schools, as children +now use slates. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ivory diptychs were fashionable gifts and keepsakes in the later +Roman imperial days. They took the place which had been occupied +in earlier days by illuminated books, such as were produced by +Lala of Cyzicus, of whom mention will be made in connection with +book illuminators. +<a name="page_280"><span class="page">Page 280</span></a> +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig056.jpg" width="360" height="494" alt="Figure 56"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>THE NATIVITY; IVORY CARVING</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +After the triptychs came sets of five leaves, hinged together; +sometimes these were arranged in groups of <a name="page_281"><span +class="page">Page 281</span></a> four around a central plaque. +Often they were intended to be used as book covers. Occasionally +the five leaves were made up of classical ivories which had been +altered in such a way that they now had Christian significance. +The beautiful diptych in the Bargello, representing Adam in the +Earthly Paradise, may easily have been originally intended for +Orpheus, especially since Eve is absent! The treatment is rather +classical, and was probably adapted to its later name. Some diptychs +which were used afterwards for ecclesiastical purposes, show signs +of having had the Consular inscription erased, and the wax removed, +while Christian sentiments were written or incised within the book +itself. Parts of the service were also occasionally transcribed on +diptychs. In Milan the Rites contain these passages: "The lesson +ended, a scholar, vested in a surplice, takes the ivory tablets from +the altar or ambo, and ascends the pulpit;" and in another place +a similar allusion occurs: "When the Deacon chants the Alleluia, +the key bearer for the week hands the ivory tablets to him at the +exit of the choir." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Anastatius, in his Life of Pope Agatho, tells of a form of posthumous +excommunication which was sometimes practised: "They took away from +the diptychs... wherever it could be done, the names and figures +of these patriarchs, Cyrus, Sergius, Paul, Pyrrhus, and Peter, +through whom error had been brought among the orthodox." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among ivory carvings in Carlovingian times may be <a +name="page_282"><span class="page">Page 282</span></a> cited a +casket with ornamental colonettes sent by Eginhard to his son. +In 823, Louis le Debonaire owned a statuette, a diptych, and a +coffer, while in 845 the Archbishop of Rheims placed an order for +ivory book covers, for the works of St. Jerome, a Lectionary, and +other works. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The largest and best known ivory carving of the middle ages is +the throne of Maximian, Archbishop of Ravenna. This entire chair, +with an arched back and arms, is composed of ivory in intricately +carved plaques. It is considerably over three feet in height, and is +a superb example of the best art of the sixth century. Photographs +and reproductions of it may be seen in most works dealing with +this subject. Scenes from Scripture are set all over it, divided +by charming meanders of deeply cut vine motives. Some authorities +consider the figures inferior to the other decorations: of course +in any delineation of the human form, the archaic element is more +keenly felt than when it appears in foliate forms or conventional +patterns. Diptychs being often taken in considerable numbers and +set into large works of ivory, has led some authorities to suppose +that the Ravenna throne was made of such a collection; but this is +contradicted by Passeri in 1759, who alludes to the panels in the +following terms: "They might readily be taken by the ignorant for +diptychs.... This they are not, for they cannot be taken from the +consular diptychs which had their own ornamentation, referring to the +consultate and the insignia, differing from the sculpture destined +for other purposes. Hence they are obviously <a name="page_283"><span +class="page">Page 283</span></a> mistaken who count certain tablets +as diptychs which have no ascription to any consul, but represent +the Muses, Bacchantes, or Gods. These seem to me to have been book +covers." Probably the selected form of an upright tablet for the +majority of ivory carvings is based on economic principles: the +best use of the most surface from any square block of material +is to cut it in thin slices. In their architecture the southern +mediæval builders so treated stone, building a substructure +of brick and laying a slab or veneer of the more costly material +on its surface: with ivory this same principle was followed, and +the shape of the tusk, being long and narrow, naturally determined +the form of the resulting tablets. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Throne of Ivan III. in Moscow and that of St. Peter in Rome +are also magnificent monuments of this art. Ivory caskets were the +chief manifestation of taste in that medium, during the period of +transition from the eighth century until the revival of Byzantine +skill in the tenth century. This form of sculpture was at its best +at a time when stone sculpture was on the decline. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is a fascinating book cover in Ravenna which is a good example +of sixth century work of various kinds. In the centre, Christ is +seen, enthroned under a kind of palmetto canopy; above him, on +a long panel, are two flying angels displaying a cross set in a +wreath; at either end stand little squat figures, with balls and +crosses in their hands. Scenes from the miracles of Our Lord occupy +the two side panels, which are subdivided <a name="page_284"><span +class="page">Page 284</span></a> so that there are four scenes +in all; they are so quaint as to be really grotesque, but have a +certain blunt charm which is enhanced by the creamy lumpiness of +the material in which they are rendered. The healing of the blind, +raising of the dead, and the command to the man by the pool to take +up his bed and walk, are accurately represented; the bed in this +instance is a form of couch with a wooden frame and mattress, the +carrying of which would necessitate an unusual amount of strength +on the part of even a strong, well man. One of the most naïve +of these panels of the miracles is the curing of "one possessed:" +the boy is tied with cords by the wrists and ankles, while, at the +touch of the Master, a little demon is seen issuing from the top +of the head of the sufferer, waving its arms proudly to celebrate +its freedom! Underneath is a small scene of the three Children in +the Fiery Furnace; they look as if they were presenting a vaudeville +turn, being spirited in action, and very dramatic. Below all, is +a masterly panel of Jonah and the whale,—an old favourite, +frequently appearing in mediæval art. The whale, positively +smiling and sportive, eagerly awaits his prey at the right. Jonah +is making a graceful dive from the ship, apparently with an effort +to land in the very jaws of the whale. At the opposite side, the +whale, having coughed up his victim, looks disappointed, while Jonah, +in an attitude of lassitude suggestive of sea-sickness, reclines on +a bank; an angel, with one finger lifted as if in reproach, is +hurrying towards him. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_285"><span class="page">Page 285</span></a> +An ingenuous ivory carving of the ninth century in Carlovingian +style is a book cover on which is depicted the finding of St. Gall, +by tame bears in the wilderness. These bears, walking decorously +on their hind legs, are figured as carrying bread to the hungry +saint: one holds a long French loaf of a familiar pattern, and +the other a breakfast roll! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Bernward of Hildesheim had a branch for ivory carving in his celebrated +academy, to which allusion has been made. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ivory drinking horns were among the most beautiful and ornate examples +of secular ivories. They were called Oliphants, because the tusks +of elephants were chiefly used in their manufacture. In 1515 the +Earl of Ormonde leaves in his will "a little white horn of ivory +garnished at both ends with gold," and in St. Paul's in the thirteenth +century, there is mention of "a great horn of ivory engraved with +beasts and birds." The Horn of Ulphas at York is an example of the +great drinking horns from which the Saxons and Danes, in early +days, drank in token of transfer of lands; as we are told by an old +chronicler, "When he gave the horn that was to convey his estate, +he filled it with wine, and went on his knees before the altar... +so that he drank it off in testimony that thereby he gave them +his lands." This horn was given by Ulphas to the Cathedral with +certain lands, a little before the Conquest, and placed by him +on the altar. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Interesting ivories are often the pastoral staves <a +name="page_286"><span class="page">Page 286</span></a> carried by +bishops. That of Otho Bishop of Hildesheim in 1260 is inscribed in +the various parts: "Persuade +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 366px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig057.jpg" width="366" height="402" alt="Figure 57"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>PASTORAL STAFF; IVORY, GERMAN, 12TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +by the lower part; rule by the middle; +and correct by the point." These were apparently the symbolic functions +of the crozier. The French Gothic ivory croziers are perhaps more +beautiful than others, the little figures <a name="page_287"><span +class="page">Page 287</span></a> standing in the carved volutes +being especially delicate and graceful. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Before a mediæval bishop could perform mass he was enveloped +in a wrapper, and his hair was combed "respectfully and lightly" +(no tugging!) by the deacon. This being a part of the regular +ceremonial, special carved combs of ivory, known as Liturgical +Combs, were used. Many of them remain in collections, and they are +often ornamented in the most delightful way, with little processions +and Scriptural scenes in bas-relief. In the Regalia of England, +there was mentioned among things destroyed in 1649, "One old comb +of horn, worth nothing." According to Davenport, this may have +been the comb used in smoothing the king's hair on the occasion +of a Coronation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The rich pulpit at Aix la Chapelle is covered with plates of gold +set with stones and ivory carvings; these are very fine. It was +given to the cathedral by the Emperor Henry II. The inscription +may be thus translated: "Artfully brightened in gold and precious +stones, this pulpit is here dedicated by King Henry with reverence, +desirous of celestial glory: richly it is decorated with his own +treasures, for you, most Holy Virgin, in order that you may obtain +the highest gain as a future reward for him." The sentiment is +not entirely disinterested; but are not motives generally mixed? +St. Bernard preached a Crusade from this pulpit in 1146. The ivory +carvings are very ancient, and remarkably fine, representing figures +from the Greek myths. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_288"><span class="page">Page 288</span></a> +Ivory handles were usual for the fly-fan, or flabellum, used at +the altar, to keep flies and other insects away from the Elements. +One entry in an inventory in 1429 might be confusing if one did not +know of this custom: the article is mentioned as "one muscifugium +de pecock" meaning a fly-fan of peacock's feathers! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Small round ivory boxes elaborately sculptured were used both for +Reserving the Host and for containing relics. In the inventory of +the Church of St. Mary Hill, London, was mentioned, in the fifteenth +century, "a lytill yvory cofyr with relyks." At Durham, in 1383, +there is an account of an "ivory casket conteining a vestment of +St. John the Baptist," and in the fourteenth century, in the same +collection, was "a tooth of St. Gendulphus, good for the Falling +Sickness, in a small ivory pyx." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig058.jpg" width="360" height="358" alt="Figure 58"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>IVORY MIRROR CASE; EARTH 14TH CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Ivory mirror backs lent themselves well to decorations of a more +secular nature: these are often carved with the Siege of the Castle +of Love, and with scenes from the old Romances; tournaments were +very popular, with ladies in balconies above pelting the heroes +with roses as large as themselves, and the tutor Aristotle "playing +horse" was a great favourite. Little elopements on horseback were +very much liked, too, as subjects; sometimes rows of heroes on steeds +appear, standing under windows, from which, in a most wholesale +way, whole nunneries or boarding-schools seem to be descending to +fly with them. One of these mirrors shows Huon of Bordeaux playing +at chess with the king's daughter: <a name="page_289"><span +class="page">Page 289</span></a> another represents a castle, which +occupies the upper centre of the circle, and under the window is a +drawbridge, across which passes a procession of mounted knights. +One of these has paused, and, standing balancing himself in a most +precarious way on the pommels of his saddle, is assisting a lady +to descend from a window. Below are seen others, or perhaps the +same lovers, in a later stage of the game, escaping in a boat. +At the <a name="page_290"><span class="page">Page 290</span></a> +windows are the heads of other ladies awaiting their turn to be +carried off. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 364px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig059.jpg" width="364" height="364" alt="Figure 59"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>IVORY MIRROR CASE, 1340</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +An ivory chest of simple square shape, once the property of the Rev. +Mr. Bowle, is given in detail by Carter in the Ancient Specimens, +and is as interesting an example of allegorical romance as can +be imagined. Observe the attitude of the knight who has laid his +sword across a chasm in order to use it as a bridge. He is <a +name="page_291"><span class="page">Page 291</span></a> proceeding +on all fours, with unbent knees, right up the sharp edge of the +blade! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among small box shrines which soon developed in Christian times +from the Consular diptychs is one, in the inventory of Roger de +Mortimer, "a lyttle long box of yvory, with an ymage of Our ladye +therein closed." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The differences in expression between French, English, and German +ivory carvings is quite interesting. The French faces and figures have +always a piquancy of action: the nose is a little retroussée +and the eyelids long. The German shows more solidity of person, less +transitoriness and lightness about the figure, and the nose is +blunter. The English carvings are often spirited, so as to be almost +grotesque in their strenuousness, and the tool-mark is visible, +giving ruggedness and interest. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Nothing could be more exquisite than the Gothic shrines in ivory +made in the thirteenth century, but descriptions, unless accompanied +by illustrations, could give little idea of their individual charm, +for the subject is usually the same: the Virgin and child, in the +central portion of the triptych, while scenes from the Passion +occupy the spaces on either side, in the wings. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Statuettes in the round were rare in early Christian times: one of +the Good Shepherd in the Basilewski collection is almost unique, +but pyxes in cylindrical form were made, the sculpture on them +being in relief. In small ivory statuettes it was necessary to +follow the natural curve of the tusk in carving the figure, hence +<a name="page_292"><span class="page">Page 292</span></a> the usual +twisted, and sometimes almost contorted forms often seen in these +specimens. Later, this peculiarity was copied in stone, unconsciously, +simply because the style had become customary. One of the most +charming little groups of figures in ivory is in the Louvre, the +Coronation of the Virgin. The two central figures are flanked by +delightful jocular little angels, who have that characteristic +close-lipped, cat-like smile, which is a regular feature in all +French sculpture of the Gothic type. In a little triptych of the +fourteenth century, now in London, there is the rather unusual +scene of Joseph, sitting opposite the Virgin, and holding the Infant +in his arms. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the few names of mediæval ivory carvers known, are +Henry de Grès, in 1391, Héliot, 1390, and Henry de +Senlis, in 1484. Héliot is recorded as having produced for +Philip the Bold "two large ivory tablets with images, one of which +is the... life of Monsieur St. John Baptist." This polite description +occurs in the Accounts of Amiot Arnaut, in 1392. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A curious freak of the Gothic period was the making of ivory statuettes +of the Virgin, which opened down the centre (like the Iron Maiden +of Nüremberg), and disclosed within a series of Scriptural +scenes sculptured on the back and on both sides. These images were +called Vierges Ouvrantes, and were decidedly more curious than +beautiful. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the British Museum is a specimen of northern work, a basket cut +out from the bone of a whale; it is Norse <a name="page_293"><span +class="page">Page 293</span></a> in workmanship, and there is a Runic +inscription about the border, which has been thus translated: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"The whale's bones from the fishes' flood<br> + I lifted on Fergen Hill:<br> + He was dashed to death in his gambols<br> + And aground he swam in the shallows." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Fergen Hill refers to an eminence near Durham. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 132px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig060.jpg" width="132" height="238" alt="Figure 60"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CHESSMAN FROM LEWIS</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Some very ancient chessmen are preserved in the British Museum, in +particular a set called the Lewis Chessmen. They were discovered +in the last century, being laid bare by the pick axe of a labourer. +These chessmen have strange staring eyes; when the workman saw +them, he took them for gnomes who had come up out of the bowels +of the earth, to annoy him, and he rushed off in terror to report +what proved to be an important archæological discovery. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_294"><span class="page">Page 294</span></a> +One of the chessmen of Charlemagne is to be seen in Paris: he rides +an elephant, and is attended by a cortège, all in one piece. +Sometimes these men are very elaborate ivory carvings in themselves. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +As Mr. Maskell points out that bishops did not wear mitres, according +to high authority, until after the year 1000, it is unlikely that +any of the ancient chessmen in which the Bishop appears in a mitre +should be of earlier date than the eleventh century. There is one +fine Anglo-Saxon set of draughts in which the white pieces are +of walrus ivory, and the black pieces, of genuine jet. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Paxes, which were passed about in church for the Kiss of Peace, +were sometimes made of ivory. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are few remains of early Spanish ivory sculpture. Among them +is a casket curiously and intricately ornamented and decorated, +with the following inscription: "In the Name of God, The Blessing +of God, the complete felicity, the happiness, the fulfilment of +the hope of good works, and the adjourning of the fatal period +of death, be with Hagib Seifo.... This box was made by his orders +under the inspection of his slave Nomayr, in the year 395." Ivory +caskets in Spain were often used to contain perfumes, or to serve as +jewel boxes. It was customary, also, to use them to convey presents +of relics to churches. Ivory was largely used in Spain for inlay +in fine furniture. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +King Don Sancho ordered a shrine, in 1033, to contain the relics of +St. Millan. The ivory plaques which are set about this shrine are +interesting specimens of <a name="page_295"><span class="page">Page +295</span></a> Spanish art under Oriental domination. Under one +little figure is inscribed Apparitio Scholastico, and Remirus Rex +under another, while a figure of a sculptor carving a shield, with +a workman standing by him, is labelled "Magistro and Ridolpho his +son." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Few individual ivory carvers are known by name. A French artist, +Jean Labraellier, worked in ivory for Charles V. of France; and +in Germany it must have been quite a fashionable pursuit in high +life; the Elector of Saxony, August the Pious, who died in 1586, +was an ivory worker, and there are two snuff-boxes shown as the +work of Peter the Great. The Elector of Brandenburgh and Maximilian +of Bavaria both carved ivory for their own recreation. In the +seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were many well-known +sculptors who turned their attention to ivory; but our researches +hardly carry us so far. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +For a moment, however, I must touch on the subject of billiard +balls. It may interest our readers to know that the size of the +little black dot on a ball indicates its quality. The nerve which +runs through a tusk, is visible at this point, and a ball made from +the ivory near the end of the tusk, where the nerve has tapered +off to its smallest proportions, is the best ball. The finest balls +of all are made from short stubby tusks, which are known as "ball +teeth." The ivory in these is closer in grain, and they are much +more expensive. Very large tusks are more liable to have coarse +grained bony spaces near the centre. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_296"><span class="page">Page 296</span></a> +CHAPTER X</h2> + +<p class="subtitle"> +INLAY AND MOSAIC +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There are three kinds of inlay, one where the pattern is incised, +and a plastic filling pressed in, and allowed to harden, on the +principle of a niello; another, where both the piece to be set +in and the background are cut out separately; and a third, where +a number of small bits are fitted together as in a mosaic. The +pavement in Siena is an example of the first process. The second +process is often accomplished with a fine saw, like what is popularly +known as a jig saw, cutting the same pattern in light and dark +wood, one layer over another; the dark can then be set into the +light, and the light in the dark without more than one cutting +for both. The mosaic of small pieces can be seen in any of the +Southern churches, and, indeed, now in nearly every country. It +was the chief wall treatment of the middle ages. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +About the year 764, Maestro Giudetto ornamented the delightful +Church of St. Michele at Lucca. This work, or at least the best of +it, is a procession of various little partly heraldic and partly +grotesque animals, inlaid with white marble on a ground of green +serpentine. They are full of the best expression of mediæval +art. +<a name="page_297"><span class="page">Page 297</span></a> +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 306px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig061.jpg" width="306" height="540" alt="Figure 61"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MARBLE INLAY FROM LUCCA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a name="page_298"><span class="page">Page 298</span></a> +The Lion of Florence, the Hare of Pisa, the Stork of Perugia, the +Dragon of Pistoja, are all to be seen in these simple mosaics, +if one chooses to consider them as such, hardly more than white +silhouettes, and yet full of life and vigour. The effect is that +of a vast piece of lace,—the real cut work of the period. +Absurd little trees, as space fillers, are set in the green and +white marble. Every reader will remember how Ruskin was enthusiastic +over these little creatures, and no one can fail to feel their +charm. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The pavements at the Florentine Baptistery and at San Miniato are +interesting examples of inlay in black and white marble. They are +early works, and are the natural forerunners of the marvellous +pavement at Siena, which is the most remarkable of its kind in the +world. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The pavement masters worked in varying methods. The first of these +was the joining together of large flat pieces of marble, cut in +the shapes of the general design, and then outlining on them an +actual black drawing by means of deeply cut channels, filled with +hard black cement. The channels were first cut superficially and +then emphasized and deepened by the use of a drill, in a series +of holes. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 362px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig062.jpg" width="362" height="560" alt="Figure 62"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL OF PAVEMENT, BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Later workers used black marbles for the backgrounds, red for the +ground, and white for the figures, sometimes adding touches of +yellow inlay for decorations, jewels, and so forth. Some of the +workers even used gray marble to represent shadows, but this was +very difficult, <a name="page_299"><span class="page">Page +299</span></a> and those who attempted less chiaroscuro were more +successful from a decorator's point of view. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This work covered centuries. The earliest date of the ornamental +work in Siena is 1369. From 1413 to 1423 Domenico del Coro, a famous +worker in glass and in intarsia, was superintendent of the works. The +beauty and spirit of much of the earlier inlay have been impaired +by restoration, but the whole effect is unique, and on so vast a +scale that one hesitates to criticize it just as one hesitates +to criticize the windows at Gouda. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One compartment of the floor is in genuine mosaic, dating from +1373. The designer is unknown, but the feeling is very Sienese; +Romulus and Remus are seen in their customary relation to the +domesticated wolf, while the symbolical animals of various Italian +cities are arranged in a series of circles around this centrepiece. +One of the most striking designs is that of Absalom, hanging by his +hair. It is in sharp black and white, and the foliage of the trees +is remarkably decorative, rendered with interesting minutiæ. +This is attributed to Pietro del Minella, and was begun in 1447. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A very interesting composition is that of the Parable of the Mote and +the Beam. This is an early work, about 1375; it shows two gentlemen +in the costume of the period, arguing in courtly style, one apparently +declaiming to the other how much better it would be for him if it +were not for the mote in his eye, while from the eye of the speaker +himself extends, at an impossible angle, a huge wedge of wood, longer +than his head, from <a name="page_300"><span class="page">Page +300</span></a> which he appears to suffer no inconvenience, and +which seems to have defied the laws of gravitation! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The renowned Matteo da Siena worked on the pavement; he designed +the scene of the Massacre of the Innocents—it seems to have +been always his favourite subject. He was apparently of a morbid +turn. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1505 Pinturicchio was paid for a work on the floor: "To master +Bernardino Pinturicchio, ptr., for his labour in making a cartoon +for the design of Fortune, which is now being made in the Cathedral, +on this 13th day of March, 12 Lires for our said Master Alberto." +The mosaic is in red, black, and white, while other coloured marbles +are introduced in the ornamental parts of the design, several of which +have been renewed. Fortune herself has been restored, also, as have +most of the lower figures in the composition. Her precariousness +is well indicated by her action in resting one foot on a ball, and +the other on an unstable little boat which floats, with broken +mast, by the shore. She holds a sail above her head, so that she +is liable to be swayed by varying winds. The three upper figures +are in a better state of preservation than the others. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig063.jpg" width="360" height="464" alt="Figure 63"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL OF PAVEMENT, SIENA; "FORTUNE," BY PINTURICCHIO</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +There was also in France some interest in mosaic during the eleventh +century. At St. Remi in Rheims was a celebrated pavement in which +enamels were used as well as marbles. Among the designs which appeared +on this pavement, which must have positively rivalled Siena in its +glory, was a group of the Seven Arts, as well as numerous Biblical +scenes. It is said that certain <a name="page_301"><span +class="page">Page 301</span></a> bits of valuable stone, like jasper, +were exhibited in marble settings, like "precious stones in a ring." +There were other French pavements, of the eleventh century, which +were similar in their construction, in which terra cotta was employed +for the reds. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +"Pietra Dura" was a mosaic laid upon either a thick wood or a marble +foundation. Lapis lazuli, malachite, and jasper were used largely, +as well as bloodstones, onyx, and Rosso Antico. In Florentine Pietra +Dura work, the inlay of two hard and equally cut materials reached +its climax. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Arnolfo del Cambio, who built the Cathedral of Sta. Maria Fiore in +Florence, being its architect from 1294 till 1310, was the first +in that city to use coloured slabs and panels of marble in a sort +of flat mosaic on a vast scale on the outside of buildings. His +example has been extensively followed throughout Italy. The art +of Pietra Dura mosaic began under Cosimo I. who imported it, if +one may use such an expression, from Lombardy. It was used chiefly, +like Gobelins Tapestry, to make very costly presents, otherwise +unprocurable, for grandees and crowned heads. For a long time the +work was a Royal monopoly. There are several interesting examples +in the Pitti Palace, in this case in the form of tables. Flowers, +fruits, shells, and even figures and landscapes have been represented +in this manner. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Six masters of the art of Pietra Dura came from Milan in 1580, +to instruct the Florentines: and a portrait of Cosimo I. was the +first important result of their labours. <a name="page_302"><span +class="page">Page 302</span></a> It was executed by Maestro Francesco +Ferucci. The Medicean Mausoleum in Florence exhibits magnificent +specimens of this craft. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the time of Ferdinand I. the art was carried by Florentines +to India, where it was used in decorating some of the palaces. +Under Ferdinand II. Pietra Dura reached its climax, there being in +Florence at this time a most noted Frenchman, Luigi Siriès, +who settled in Florence in 1722. He refined the art by ceasing to +use the stone as a pigment in producing pictures, and employing +it for the more legitimate purposes of decoration. Some of the +large tables in the Pitti are his work. Flowers and shells on a +porphyry ground were especially characteristic of Siriès. +There was a famous inlayer of tables, long before this time, named +Antonio Leopardi, who lived from 1450 to 1525. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The inlay of wood has been called marquetry and intarsia, and was +used principally on furniture and choir stalls. Labarte gives the +origin of this art in Italy to the twelfth century. The Guild of +Carpenters in Florence had a branch of Intarsiatura workers, which +included all forms of inlay in wood. It is really more correct to +speak of intarsia when we allude to early Italian work, the word +being derived from "interserere," the Latin for "insert;" while +marquetry originates in France, much later, from "marqueter," to mark. +Italian wood inlay began in Siena, where one Manuello is reported +to have worked in the Cathedral in 1259. Intarsia was also made in +Orvieto at this time. Vasari did not hold <a name="page_303"><span +class="page">Page 303</span></a> the art in high estimation, saying +that it was practised by "those persons who possessed more patience +than skill in design," and I confess to a furtive concurrence in +Vasari's opinion. He criticizes it a little illogically, however, +when he goes on to say that the "work soon becomes dark, and is +always in danger of perishing from the worms and by fire," for in +these respects it is no more perishable than any great painting on +canvas or panel. Vasari always is a little extreme, as we know. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The earliest Italian workers took a solid block of wood, chiselled +out a sunken design, and then filled in the depression with other +woods. The only enemy to such work was dampness, which might loosen +the glue, or cause the small thin bits to swell or warp. The glue +was applied always when the surfaces were perfectly clean, and +the whole was pressed, being screwed down on heated metal plates, +that all might dry evenly. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In 1478 there were thirty-four workshops of intarsia makers in +Florence. The personal history of several of the Italian workers +in inlay is still available, and, as it makes a craft seem much +more vital when the names of the craftsmen are known to us, it +will be interesting to glance at a few names of prominent artists +in this branch of work. Bernardo Agnolo and his family are among +them; and Domenico and Giovanni Tasso were wood-carvers who worked +with Michelangelo. Among the "Novelli," there is a quaint tale +called "The Fat Ebony Carver," which is interesting to read in this +connection. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_304"><span class="page">Page 304</span></a> +Benedetto da Maiano, one of the "most solemn" workers in intarsia in +Florence, became disgusted with his art after one trying experience, +and ever after turned his attention to other carving. Vasari's +version of the affair is as follows. Benedetto had been making +two beautiful chests, all inlaid most elaborately, and carried +them to the Court of Hungary, to exhibit the workmanship. "When +he had made obeisance to the king, and had been kindly received, +he brought forward his cases and had them unpacked... but it was +then he discovered that the humidity of the sea voyage had softened +the glue to such an extent that when the waxed cloths in which +the coffers had been wrapped were opened, almost all the pieces +were found sticking to them, and so fell to the ground! Whether +Benedetto stood amazed and confounded at such an event, in the +presence of so many nobles, let every one judge for himself." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +A famous family of wood inlayers were the del Tasso, who came from +S. Gervasio. One of the brothers, Giambattista, was a wag, and +is said to have wasted much time in amusement and standing about +criticizing the methods of others. He was a friend of Cellini, and +all his cronies pronounce him to have been a good fellow. On one +occasion he had a good dose of the spirit of criticism, himself, +from a visiting abbot, who stopped to see the Medicean tomb, where +Tasso happened to be working. Tasso was requested to show the stranger +about, which he did. The abbot began by depreciating the beauty of +the building, remarking that Michelangelo's <a name="page_305"><span +class="page">Page 305</span></a> figures in the Sacristy did not +interest him, and on his way up the stairs, he chanced to look +out of a window and caught sight of Brunelleschi's dome. When the +dull ecclesiastic began to say that this dome did not merit the +admiration which it raised, the exasperated Tasso, who was loyal to +his friends, could stand no more. Il Lasca recounts what happened: +"Pulling the abbot backward with force, he made him tumble down +the staircase, and he took good care to fall himself on top of +him, and calling out that the frater had been taken mad, he bound +his arms and legs with cords... and then taking him, hanging over +his shoulders, he carried him to a room near, stretched him on +the ground, and left him there in the dark, taking away the key." +We will hope that if Tasso himself was too prone to criticism, he +may have learned a lesson from this didactic monastic, and was +more tolerant in the future. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of the work of Canozio, a worker of about the same time, Matteo +Colaccio in 1486, writes, "In visiting these intarsiad figures I +was so much taken with the exquisiteness of the work that I could +not withold myself from praising the author to heaven!" He refers +thus ecstatically to the Stalls at St. Antonio at Padua, which +were inlaid by Canozio, assisted by other masters. For his work +in the Church of St. Domenico in Reggio, the contract called for +some curious observances: he was bound by this to buy material for +fifty lire, to work one third of the whole undertaking for fifty +lire, to earn another fifty lire for each succeeding third, and +then <a name="page_306"><span class="page">Page 306</span></a> to +give "forty-eight planks to the Lady," whatever that may mean! Among +the instruments mentioned are: "Two screw profiles: one outliner: +four one-handed little planes: rods for making cornices: two large +squares and one grafonetto: three chisels, one glued and one all +of iron: a pair of big pincers: two little axes: and a bench to +put the tarsia on." Pyrography has its birth in intarsia, where +singeing was sometimes employed as a shading in realistic designs. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Study of the Palace at Urbino, there is mention of "arm +chairs encircling a table all mosaicked with tarsia, and carved +by Maestro Giacomo of Florence," a worker of considerable repute. +One of the first to adopt the use of ivory, pearl, and silver for +inlay was Andrea Massari of Siena. In this same way inlay of +tortoise-shell and brass was made,—the two layers were sawed +out together, and then counterchanged so as to give the pattern +in each material upon the other. Cabinets are often treated in +this way. Ivory and sandal-wood or ebony, too, have been sometimes +thus combined. In Spain cabinets were often made of a sort of mosaic +of ebony and silver; in 1574 a Prohibtion was issued against using +silver in this way, since it was becoming scarce. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In De Luna's "Diologos Familiarea," a Spanish work of 1669, the +following conversation is given: "How much has your worship paid +for this cabinet? It is worth more than forty ducats. What wood +is it made of? The red is of mahogany, from Habaña, and <a +name="page_307"><span class="page">Page 307</span></a> the black is +made of ebony, and the white of ivory. You will find the workmanship +excellent." This proves that inlaid cabinets were usual in Spain. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Ebony being expensive, it was sometimes simulated with stain. An +old fifteenth century recipe says: "Take boxwood and lay in oil +with sulphur for a night, then let it stew for an hour, and it +will become as black as coal." An old Italian book enjoins the +polishing of this imitation ebony as follows: "Is the wood to be +polished with burnt pumice stone? Rub the work carefully with canvas +and this powder, and then wash the piece with Dutch lime water so +that it may be more beautifully polished... then the rind of a +pomegranate must be steeped, and the wood smeared over with it, +and set to dry, but in the shade." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Inlay was often imitated; the elaborate marquetry cabinets in Sta. +Maria della Grazia in Milan which are proudly displayed are in +reality, according to Mr. Russell Sturgis, cleverly painted to +simulate the real inlaid wood. Mr. Hamilton Jackson says that these, +being by Luini, are intended to be known as paintings, but to imitate +intarsia. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Intarsia was made also among the monasteries. The Olivetans practised +this art extensively, and, much as some monasteries had scriptoria +for the production of books, so others had carpenter's shops and +studios where, according to Michele Caffi, they showed "great talent +for working in wood, succeeding to the heirship of the art of tarsia +in coloured woods, which they got from <a name="page_308"><span +class="page">Page 308</span></a> Tuscany." One of the more important +of the Olivetan Monasteries was St. Michele in Bosco, where the noted +worker in tarsia, Fra Raffaello da Brescia, made some magnificent +choir stalls. In 1521 these were finished, but they were largely +destroyed by the mob in the suppression of the convents in the +eighteenth century. In 1812 eighteen of the stalls were saved, +bought by the Marquis Malvezzi, and placed in St. Petronio. He tried +also to save the canopies, but these had been sold for firewood +at about twopence each! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The stalls of St. Domenico at Bologna are by Fra Damiano of Bergamo; +it is said of him that his woods were coloured so marvellously +that the art of tarsia was by him raised to the rank of that of +painting! He was a Dominican monk in Bologna most of his life. +When Charles V. visited the choir of St. Domenico, and saw these +stalls, he would not believe that the work was accomplished by +inlay, and actually cut a piece out with his sword by way of +investigation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Castiglione the Courtier expresses himself with much admiration +of the work of Fra Damiano, "rather divine than human." Of the +technical perfection of the workmanship he adds: "Though these +works are executed with inlaid pieces, the eye cannot even by the +greatest exertion detect the joints.... I think, indeed, I am certain, +that it will be called the eighth wonder of the world." (Count +Castiglione did not perhaps realize what a wonderful world he lived +in!) But at any rate there is no objection to subscribing to his +eulogy: <a name="page_309"><span class="page">Page 309</span></a> +"All that I could say would be little enough of his rare and singular +virtue, and on the goodness of his religious and holy life." Another +frate who wrote about that time alluded to Fra Damiano as "putting +together woods with so much art that they appear as pictures painted +with the brush." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Germany there was some interesting intarsia made by the Elfen +Brothers, of St. Michael's in Hildesheim, who produced beautiful +chancel furniture. Hans Stengel of Nüremberg, too, was renowned +in this art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +After the Renaissance marquetry ran riot in France, but that is +out of the province of our present study. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The art of mosaic making has changed very little during the centuries. +Nearly all the technical methods now used were known to the ancients. +In fact, this art is rather an elemental one, and any departure +from old established rules is liable to lead the worker into a +new craft; his art becomes that of the inlayer or the enameller +when he attempts to use larger pieces in cloissons, or to fuse +bits together by any process. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Mosaic is a natural outgrowth from other inlaying; when an elaborate +design had to be set up, quite too complicated to be treated in +tortuously-cut large pieces, the craftsman naturally decided to +render the whole work with small pieces, which demanded less accurate +shaping of each piece. Originally, undoubtedly, each bit of glass +or stone was laid in the soft plaster of wall or floor; but now +a more labour saving method has obtained; it is amusing to watch +the modern rest-cure. <a name="page_310"><span class="page">Page +310</span></a> Instead of an artist working in square bits of glass +to carry out his design, throwing his interest and personality +into the work, a labourer sits leisurely before a large cartoon, +on which he glues pieces of mosaic the prescribed colour and size, +mechanically fitting them over the design until it is completely +covered. Then this sheet of paper, with the mosaic glued to it, +is slapped on to the plaster wall, having the stones next to the +plaster, so that, until it is dry, all that can be seen is the +sheet of paper apparently fixed on the wall. But lo! the grand +transformation! The paper is washed off, leaving in place the finished +product—a very accurate imitation of the picture on which the +artist laboured, all in place in the wall, every stone evenly set +as if it had been polished—entirely missing the charm of the +irregular faceted effect of an old mosaic—again mechanical +facility kills the spirit of an art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Much early mosaic, known as Cosmati Work, is inlaid into marble, +in geometric designs; twisted columns of this class of work may +be seen in profusion in Rome, and the façade of Orvieto is +similarly decorated. Our illustration will demonstrate the technical +process as well as a description. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The mosaic base of Edward the Confessor's shrine is inscribed to +the effect that it was wrought by Peter of Rome. It was a dignified +specimen of the best Cosmati. All the gold glass which once played +its part in the scheme of decoration has been picked out, and in +fact most of the pieces in the pattern are missing. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 503px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig064.jpg" width="503" height="361" alt="Figure 64"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>AMBO AT RAVELLO; SPECIMEN OF COSMATI MOSAIC</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_311"><span class="page">Page 311</span></a> +The mosaic pavement in Westminster Abbey Presbytery is as fine +an example of Roman Cosmati mosaic as one can see north of the +Alps. An inscription, almost obliterated, is interpreted by Mr. +Lethaby as signifying, that in the year 1268 "Henry III. being +King, and Odericus the cementarius, Richard de Ware, Abbot, brought +the porphyry and divers jaspers and marbles of Thaso from Rome." In +another place a sort of enigma, drawn from an arbitrary combination +of animal forms and numbers, marks a chart for determining the end +of the world! There is also a beautiful mosaic tomb at Westminster, +inlaid with an interlacing pattern in a ground of marble, like the +work so usual in Rome, and in Palermo, and other Southern centres +of the art. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +While the material used in mosaic wall decoration is sometimes a +natural product, like marble, porphyry, coral, or alabaster, the +picture is composed for the most part of artificially prepared +smalts—opaque glass of various colours, made in sheets and +then cut up into cubes. An infinite variety in gradations of colour +and texture is thus made possible. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The gold grounds which one sees in nearly all mosaics are constructed +in an interesting way. Each cube is composed of plain rather coarse +glass, of a greenish tinge, upon which is laid gold leaf. Over this +leaf is another film of glass, extremely thin, so that the actual +metal is isolated between two glasses, and is thus impervious to such +qualities in the air as would tarnish it or cause it to deteriorate. +To prevent an uninteresting evenness <a name="page_312"><span +class="page">Page 312</span></a> of surface on which the sun's +rays would glint in a trying manner, it was usual to lay the gold +cubes in a slightly irregular manner, so that each facet, as it +were, should reflect at a different angle, and the texture, especially +in the gold grounds, never became monotonous. One does not realize +the importance of this custom until one sees a cheap modern mosaic +laid absolutely flat, and then it is evident how necessary this +broken surface is to good effect. Any one who has tried to analyze +the reason for the superiority of old French stained glass over any +other, will be surprised, if he goes close to the wall, under one +of the marvellous windows of Chartres, for instance, and looks +up, to see that the whole fabric is warped and bent at a thousand +angles,—it is not only the quality of the ancient glass, +nor its colour, that gives this unattainable expression to these +windows, but the accidental warping and wear of centuries have laid +each bit of glass at a different angle, so that the refraction of +the light is quite different from any possible reflection on the +smooth surface of a modern window. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The dangers of a clear gold ground were, felt more fully by the +workers at Ravenna and Rome, than in Venice. Architectural schemes +were introduced to break up the surface: clouds and backgrounds, +fields of flowers, and trees, and such devices, were used to prevent +the monotony of the unbroken glint. But in Venice the decorators +were brave; their faith in their material was unbounded, and they +not only frankly laid gold in enormous masses on flat wall and +cupola, but they even <a name="page_313"><span class="page">Page +313</span></a> moulded the edges and archivolts without separate +ribs or strips to relieve them; the gold is carried all over the +edges, which are rounded into curves to receive the mosaic, so +that the effect is that of the entire upper part of the church +having been <i>pressed</i> into shape out of solid gold. The lights +on these rounded edges are incomparably rich. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is equally important to vary the plain values of the colour, +and this was accomplished by means of dilution and contrast in +tints instead of by unevenness of surface, although in many of the +most satisfactory mosaics, both means have been employed. Plain +tints in mosaic can be relieved in a most delightful way by the +introduction of little separate cubes of unrelated colour, and +the artist who best understands this use of mass and dot is the +best maker of mosaic. The actual craft of construction is similar +everywhere, but the use of what we may regard as the pigment has +possibilities similar to the colours of a painter. The manipulation +being of necessity slow, it is more difficult to convey the idea +of spontaneity in design than it is in a fresco painting. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +To follow briefly the history of mosaic as used in the Dark Ages, +the Middle Ages, and the period of the Renaissance, it is interesting +to note that by the fourth century mosaic was the principal decoration +in ecclesiastical buildings. Contantine employed this art very +extensively. Of his period, however, few examples remain. The most +notable is the little church of Sta. Constanza, the vaults of which +are ornamented in this <a name="page_314"><span class="page">Page +314</span></a> way, with a fine running pattern of vines, interspersed +with figures on a small scale. The Libel Pontificalis tells how +Constantine built the Basilica of St. Agnese at the request of his +daughter, and also a baptistery in the same place, where Constance +was baptized, by Bishop Sylvester. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among the most interesting early mosaics is the apse of the Church +of St. Pudentiana in Rome. Barbet de Jouy, who has written extensively +on this mosaic, considers it to be an eighth century achievement. +But a later archæologist, M. Rossi, believes it to have been +made in the fourth century, in which theory he is upheld by M. +Vitet. The design is that of a company of saints gathered about the +Throne on which God the Father sits to pass judgment. In certain +restorations and alterations made in 1588 two of these figures +were cut away, and the lower halves of those remaining were also +removed, so that the figures are now only half length. The faces +and figures are drawn in a very striking manner, being realistic +and full of graceful action, very different from the mosaics of +a later period, which were dominated by Byzantine tradition. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In France were many specimens of the mosaics of the fifth century. +But literary descriptions are all that have survived of these works, +which might once have been seen at Nantes, Tours, and Clermont. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 493px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig065.jpg" width="493" height="363" alt="Figure 65"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MOSAIC FROM RAVENNA; THEODORA AND HER SUITE, 16TH +CENTURY</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Ravenna is the shrine of the craft in the fifth and sixth centuries. +It is useless in so small a space to attempt to describe or do +justice to these incomparable walls, <a name="page_315"><span +class="page">Page 315</span></a> where gleam the marvellous procession +of white robed virgins, and where glitters the royal cortège +of Justinian and Theodora. The acme of the art was reached when +these mural decorations were planned and executed, and the churches +of Ravenna may be considered the central museum of the world for +a study of mosaic. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among those who worked at Ravenna a few names have descended. These +craftsmen were, Cuserius, Paulus, Janus, Statius and Stephanus, +but their histories are vague. Theodoric also brought some mosaic +artists from Rome to work in Ravenna, which fact accounts for a +Latin influence discernible in these mosaics, which are in many +instances free from Byzantine stiffness. The details of the textiles +in the great mosaics of Justinian and Theodora are rarely beautiful. +The chlamys with which Justinian is garbed is covered with circular +interlaces with birds in them; on the border of the Empress's robe +are embroideries of the three Magi presenting their gifts; on one +of the robes of the attendants there is a pattern of ducks swimming, +while another is ornamented with leaves of a five-pointed form. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is a mosaic in the Tomb of Galla Placida in Ravenna, representing +St. Lawrence, cheerfully approaching his gridiron, with the Cross and +an open book encumbering his hands, while in a convenient corner stands +a little piece of furniture resembling a meat-safe, containing the +Four Gospels. The saint is walking briskly, and is fully draped; the +gridiron is <a name="page_316"><span class="page">Page 316</span></a> +of the proportions of a cot bedstead, and has a raging fire beneath +it,—a gruesome suggestion of the martyrdom. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +No finer examples of the art of the colourist in mosaic can be +seen than in the procession of Virgins at San Apollinaire Nuovo +in Ravenna. Cool, restrained, and satisfying, the composition has +all the elements of chromatic perfection. In the golden background +occasional dots of light and dark brown serve to deepen the tone +into a slightly bronze colour. The effect is especially scintillating +and rich, more like hammered gold than a flat sheet. The colours +in the trees are dark and light green, while the Virgins, in brown +robes, with white draperies over them, are relieved with little +touches of gold. The whole tone being thus green and russet, with +purplish lines about the halos, is an unusual colour-scheme, and +can hardly carry such conviction in a description as when it is +seen. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the East, the Church of Sta. Sophia at Constantinople exhibited +the most magnificent specimens of this work; the building was +constructed under Constantine, by the architects Anthemius and +Isidore, and the entire interior, walls and dome included, was covered +by mosaic pictures. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among important works of the seventh century is the apse of St. +Agnese, in Rome. Honorius decorated the church, about 630, and it +is one of the most effective mosaics in Rome. At St. John Lateran, +also, Pope John IV. caused a splendid work to be carried out, <a +name="page_317"><span class="page">Page 317</span></a> which has +been reported as being as "brilliant as the sacred waters." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the eighth century a magnificent achievement was accomplished +in the monastery of Centula, in Picardie, but all traces of this +have been lost, for the convent was burnt in 1131. The eighth was +not an active century for the arts, for in 726 Leo's edict was sent +forth, prohibiting all forms of image worship, and at a Council +at Constantinople in 754 it was decided that all iconographic +representation and all use of symbols (except in the Sacrament) were +blasphemous. Idolatrous monuments were destroyed, and the iconoclasts +continued their devastations until the death of Theophilus in 842. +Fortunately this wave of zeal was checked before the destruction of +the mosaics in Ravenna and Rome, but very few specimens survived +in France. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the ninth century a great many important monuments were added, +and a majority of the mosaics which may still be seen, date from +that time: they are not first in quality, however, although they +are more numerous. After this, there was a period of inanition, +in this art as in all others, while the pseudo-prophets awaited +the ending of the world. After the year 1000 had passed, and the +astonished people found that they were still alive, and that the +world appeared as stable as formerly, interest began to revive, +and the new birth of art produced some significant examples in +the field of mosaic. There was some activity in Germany, for a +time, the versatile Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim adding this <a +name="page_318"><span class="page">Page 318</span></a> craft to +his numerous accomplishments, although it is probable that his +works resembled the graffiti and inlaid work rather than the mosaics +composed of cubes of smalt. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the Monastery of Monte Cassino in the eleventh century was an +interesting personality,—the Abbé Didier, its Superior. +About 1066 he brought workers from Constantinople, who decorated +the apse and walls of the basilica under his direction. At the +same time, he established a school at the monastery, and the young +members were instructed in the arts and crafts of mosaic and inlay, +and the illumination of books. Greek influence was thus carried +into Italy through Monte Cassino. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the twelfth century the celebrated Suger of St. Denis decorated +one of the porches of his church with mosaic, in smalt, marbles, +and gold; animal and human forms were introduced in the ornament. +But this may not have been work actually executed on the spot, +for another narrator tells us that Suger brought home from Italy, +on one of his journeys, a mosaic, which was placed over the door +at St. Denis; as it is no longer in its position, it is not easy +to determine which account is correct. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The mosaics at St. Mark's in Venice were chiefly the work of two +centuries and a half. Greek artists were employed in the main, +bringing their own tesseræ and marbles. In 1204 there was +special activity in this line, at the time when the Venetians took +Constantinople. After this, an establishment for making the smalts +and <a name="page_319"><span class="page">Page 319</span></a> gold +glass was set up at Murano, and Venice no longer imported its material. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The old Cathedral at Torcello has one of the most perfect examples +of the twelfth century mosaic in the world. The entire west end of +the church is covered with a rich display of figures and Scriptural +scenes. A very lurid Hell is exhibited at the lower corner, in the +depths of which are seen stewing, several Saracens, with large +hoop earrings. Their faces are highly expressive of discomfort. +This mosaic is full of genuine feeling; one of the subjects is +Amphitrite riding a seahorse, among those who rise to the surface +when "the sea gives up its dead." The Redeemed are seen crowding +round Abraham, who holds one in his bosom; they are like an infant +class, and are dressed in uniform pinafores, intended to look like +little ecclesiastical vestments! The Dead who are being given up +by the Earth are being vomited forth by wild animals—this +is original, and I believe, almost the only occasion on which this +form of literal resurrection is represented. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the thirteenth century a large number of mosaic artists appeared +in Florence, many of whose names and histories are available. In the +Baptistery, Andrea Tafi, who lived between 1213 and 1294, decorated +the cupola. With him were two assistants who are known by +name—Apollonius a Greek, which in part accounts for the stiff +Byzantine figures in this work, and another who has left his signature, +"Jacobus Sancti Francisci Frater"—evidently a monastic craftsman. +Gaddo <a name="page_320"><span class="page">Page 320</span></a> +Gaddi also assisted in this work, executing the Prophets which +occur under the windows, and professing to combine in his style +"the Greek manner and that of Cimabue." Apollonius taught Andrea +Tafi how to compose the smalt and to mix the cement, but this latter +was evidently unsuccessful, for in the next century the mosaic +detached itself and fell badly, when Agnolo Gaddi, the grandson +of Gaddo, was engaged to restore it. Tafi, Gaddi, and Jacobus were +considered as a promising firm, and they undertook other large works +in mosaic. They commenced the apse at Pisa, which was finished +in 1321 by Vicini, Cimabue designing the colossal figure of Christ +which thus dominates the cathedral. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Vasari says that Andrea Tafi was considered "an excellent, nay, +a divine artist" in his specialty. Andrea, himself more modest, +visited Venice, and deigned to take instruction from Greek mosaic +workers, who were employed at St. Mark's. One of them, Apollonius, +became attached to Tafi, and this is how he came to accompany him +to Florence. The work on the Baptistery was done actually <i>in +situ</i>, every cube being set directly in the plaster. The work +is still extant, and the technical and constructive features are +perfect, since their restoration. It is amusing to read Vasari's +patronizing account of Tafi; from the late Renaissance point of +view, the mosaic worker seemed to be a barbarous Goth at best: "The +good fortune of Andrea was really great," says Vasari, "to be born +in an age which, doing <a name="page_321"><span class="page">Page +321</span></a> all things in the rudest manner, could value so +highly the works of an artist who really merited so little, not +to say nothing!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Gaddo Gaddi was a painstaking worker in mosaic, executing some +works on a small scale entirely in eggshells of varying tints. In +the Baroncelli chapel in Florence is a painting by Taddeo Gaddi, +in which occur the portraits of his father, Gaddo Gaddi, and Andrea +Tafi. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +About this time the delightful mosaic at St. Clemente, in Rome, +was executed. With its central cross and graceful vine decorations, +it stands out unique among the groups of saints and seraphs, of +angels and hierarchies, of most of the Roman apsidal ornaments. The +mosaic in the basilica of St. John Lateran is by Jacopo Torriti. +In the design there are two inconspicuous figures, intentionally +smaller than the others, of two monks on their knees, working, +with measure and compass. These represent Jacopo Torriti and his +co-worker, Camerino. One of them is inscribed (translated) "Jacopo +Torriti, painter, did this work," and the other, "Brother Jacopo +Camerino, companion of the master worker, commends himself to the +blessed John." The tools and implements used by mosaic artists are +represented in the hands of these two monks. Torriti was apparently +a greater man in some respects than his contemporaries. He based his +art rather on Roman than Greek tradition, and his works exhibit +less Byzantine formality than many mosaics of the period. On <a +name="page_322"><span class="page">Page 322</span></a> the apse +of Sta. Maria Maggiore there appears a signature, "Jacopo Torriti +made this work in mosaic." Gaddo Gaddi also added a composition +below the vault, about 1308. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The well-known mosaic called the Navicella in the atrium of St. +Peter's, Rome, was originally made by Giotto. It has been much +restored and altered, but some of the original design undoubtedly +remains. Giotto went to Rome to undertake this work in 1298; but the +present mosaic is largely the restoration of Bernini, who can hardly +be considered as a sympathetic interpreter of the early Florentine +style. Vasari speaks of the Navicella as "a truly wonderful work, +and deservedly eulogized by all enlightened judges." He marvels +at the way in which Giotto has produced harmony and interchange of +light and shade so cleverly: "with mere pieces of glass" (Vasari +is so naïvely overwhelmed with ignorance when he comes to +deal with handicraft) especially on the large sail of the boat. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In Venice, the Mascoli chapel was ornamented by scenes from the +life of the Virgin, in 1430. The artist was Michele Zambono, who +designed and superintended the work himself. At Or San Michele in +Florence, the painter Peselli, or Guliano Arrigo, decorated the +tabernacle, in 1416. Among other artists who entered the field of +mosaic, were Baldovinetti and Domenico Ghirlandajo, the painter who +originated the motto: "The only painting for eternity is mosaic." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the sixteenth century the art of mosaic ceased to <a +name="page_323"><span class="page">Page 323</span></a> observe +due limitations. The ideal was to reproduce exactly in mosaic such +pictures as were prepared by Titian, Pordenone, Raphael, and other +realistic painters. Georges Sand, in her charming novel, "Les Maitres +Mosaïstes," gives one the atmosphere of the workshops in Venice +in this later period. Tintoretto and Zuccato, the aged painter, are +discussing the durability of mosaic:—"Since it resists so +well," says Zuccato, "how comes it that the Seignory is repairing +all the domes of St. Mark's, which to-day are as bare as my skull?" +To which Tintoretto makes answer: "Because at the time when they +were decorated with mosaics, Greek artists were scarce in Venice. +They came from a distance, and remained but a short time: their +apprentices were hastily trained, and executed the works entrusted +to them without knowing their business, and without being able +to give them the necessary solidity. Now that this art has been +cultivated in Venice, century after century, we have become as +skilful as even the Greeks were." The two sons of Zuccato, who +are engaged in this work, confide to each other their trials and +difficulties in the undertaking: like artists of all ages, they +cannot easily convince their patrons that they comprehend their art +better than their employers! Francesco complains of the Procurator, +who is commissioned to examine the work: "He is not an artist. +He sees in mosaic only an application of particles more or less +brilliant. Perfection of tone, beauty of design, ingenuity of +composition, are nothing to him.... Did <a name="page_324"><span +class="page">Page 324</span></a> I not try in vain the other day to +make him understand that the old pieces of gilded crystal used by +our ancestors and a little tarnished by time, were more favourable to +colour than those manufactured to-day?" "Indeed, you make a mistake, +Messer Francesco," said he, "in handing over to the Bianchini all +the gold of modern manufacture. The Commissioners have decided +that the old will do mixed with the new."... "But did I not in +vain try to make him understand that this brilliant gold would +hurt the faces, and completely ruin the effect of colour?"... The +answer of the Procurator was, "The Bianchini do not scruple to +use it, and their mosaics please the eye much better than yours," +so his brother Valerio, laughing, asks, "What need of worrying +yourself after such a decision as that? Suppress the shadows, cut +a breadth of material from a great plate of enamel and lay it over +the breast of St. Nicaise, render St. Cecilia's beautiful hair +with a badly cut tile, a pretty lamb for St. John the Baptist, +and the Commission will double your salary and the public clap +its hands. Really, my brother, you who dream of glory, I do not +understand how you can pledge yourself to the worship of art." "I +dream of glory, it is true," replied Francesco, "but of a glory +that is lasting, not the vain popularity of a day. I should like to +leave an honoured name, if not an illustrious one, and make those +who examine the cupolas of St. Mark's five hundred years hence +say, 'This was the work of a conscientious artist.'" A description +follows of the scene of the mosaic workers <a name="page_325"><span +class="page">Page 325</span></a> pursuing their calling. "Here +was heard abusive language, there the joyous song; further on, +the jest; above, the hammer: below, the trowel: now the dull and +continuous thud of the tampon on the mosaics, and anon the clear +and crystal like clicking of the glassware rolling from the baskets +on to the pavement, in waves of rubies and emeralds. Then the fearful +grating of the scraper on the cornice, and finally the sharp rasping +cry of the saw in the marble, to say nothing of the low masses +said at the end of the chapel in spite of the racket." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 362px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig066.jpg" width="362" height="562" alt="Figure 66"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MOSAIC IN BAS-RELIEF, NAPLES</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The Zuccati were very independent skilled workmen, as well as being +able to design their own subjects. They were, in the judgment of +Georges Sand, superior to another of the masters in charge of the +works, Bozza, who was less of a man, although an artist of some +merit. Later than these men, there were few mosaic workers of high +standing; in Florence the art degenerated into a mere decorative +inlay of semi-precious material, heraldic in feeling, costly and +decorative, but an entirely different art from that of the Greeks +and Romans. Lapis-lazuli with gold veinings, malachite, coral, +alabaster, and rare marbles superseded the smalts and gold of an +elder day. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_326"><span class="page">Page 326</span></a> +CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<p class="subtitle">ILLUMINATION OF BOOKS</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One cannot enter a book shop or a library to-day without realizing +how many thousands of books are in constant circulation. There was +an age when books were laboriously but most beautifully written, +instead of being thus quickly manufactured by the aid of the +type-setting machine; the material on which the glossy text was +executed was vellum instead of the cheap paper of to-day, the +illustrations, instead of being easily reproduced by photographic +processes, were veritable miniature paintings, most decorative, +ablaze with colour and fine gold,—in these times it is easy +to forget that there was ever a period when the making of a single +book occupied years, and sometimes the life-time of one or two +men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In those days, when the transcription of books was one of the chief +occupations in religious houses, the recluse monk, in the quiet +of the scriptorium, was, in spite of his seclusion, and indeed, +by reason of it, the chief link between the world of letters and +the world of men. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_327"><span class="page">Page 327</span></a> +The earliest known example of work by a European monk dates from +the year 517; but shortly after this there was a great increase +in book making, and monasteries were founded especially for the +purpose of perpetuating literature. The first establishment of +this sort was the monastery of Vivaria, in Southern Italy, founded +by Cassiodorus, a Greek who lived between the years 479 and 575, +and who had been the scribe (or "private secretary") of Theodoric +the Goth. About the same time, St. Columba in Ireland founded a +house with the intention of multiplying books, so that in the sixth +century, in both the extreme North and in the South, the religious +orders had commenced the great work of preserving for future ages +the literature of the past and of their own times. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Before examining the books themselves, it will be interesting to +observe the conditions under which the work was accomplished. Sometimes +the scriptorium was a large hall or studio, with various desks +about; sometimes the North walk of the cloister was divided into +little cells, called "carrels," in each of which was room for the +writer, his desk, and a little shelf for his inks and colours. +These carrels may be seen in unusual perfection in Gloucester. In +very cold weather a small brazier of charcoal was also introduced. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Cassiodorus writes thus of the privilege of being a copyist of +holy books. "He may fill his mind with the Scriptures while copying +the sayings of the Lord; with his fingers he gives life to men +and arms against the <a name="page_328"><span class="page">Page +328</span></a> wiles of the Devil; as the antiquarius copies the +word of Christ, so many wounds does he inflict upon Satan. What +he writes in his cell will be carried far and wide over distant +provinces. Man multiplies the word of Heaven: if I may dare so to +speak, the three fingers of his right hand are made to represent +the utterances of the Holy Trinity. The fast travelling reed writes +down the holy words, thus avenging the malice of the wicked one, +who caused a reed to be used to smite the head of the Saviour." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +When the scriptorium was consecrated, these words were used (and +they would be most fitting words to-day, in the consecration of +libraries or class rooms which are to be devoted to religious study): +"Vouchsafe, O, Lord, to bless this workroom of thy servants, that all +which they write therein may be comprehended by their intelligence, +and realized by their work." Scriptorium work was considered equal +to labour in the fields. In the Rule of St. Fereol, in the sixth +century, there is this clause: "He who doth not turn up the earth +with his plough, ought to write the parchment with his fingers." +The Capitulary of Charlemagne contains this phrase: "Do not permit +your scribes or pupils, either in reading or writing, to garble the +text; when you are preparing copies of the Gospels, the Psalter, +or the Missal, see that the work is confided to men of mature age, +who will write with due care." Some of the scribes were prolific +book transcribers. Jacob of Breslau, who died in 1480, copied so +many books that <a name="page_329"><span class="page">Page +329</span></a> it is said that "six horses could with difficulty +bear the burden of them!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The work of each scriptorium was devoted first to the completion +of the library of the individual monastery, and after that, to +other houses, or to such patrons as were rich enough to order books +to be transcribed for their own use. The library of a monastery +was as much a feature as the scriptorium. The monks were not like +the rising literary man, who, when asked if he had read "Pendennis" +replied, "No—I never read books—I write them." Every +scribe was also a reader. There was a regular system of lending +books from the central store. A librarian was in charge, and every +monk was supposed to have some book which he was engaged in reading +"straight through" as the Rule of St. Benedict enjoins, just as +much as the one which he was writing. As silence was obligatory +in the scriptorium and library, as well as in the cloisters, they +were forced to apply for the volumes which they desired by signs. +For a general work, the sign was to extend the hand and make a +movement as if turning over the leaves of a book. If a Missal was +wanted, the sign of the cross was added to the same form; for a +Gospel, the sign of the cross was made upon the forehead, while +those who wished tracts to read, should lay one hand on the mouth +and the other on the stomach; a Capitulary was indicated by the +gesture of raising the clasped hands to heaven, while a Psalter could +be obtained by raising the hands above the head in the form of a +crown. As the good brothers <a name="page_330"><span class="page">Page +330</span></a> were not possessed of much religious charity, they +indicated a secular book by scratching their ears, as dogs are +supposed to do, to imply the suggestion that the infidel who wrote +such a book was no better than a dog! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +This extract is made from a book in one of the early monastic libraries. +"Oh, Lord, send the blessing of thy Holy Spirit upon these books, +that, cleansing them from all earthly things, they may mercifully +enlighten our hearts, and give us true understanding, and grant +that by their teaching they may brightly preserve and make a full +abundance of good works according to Thy will." The books were +kept in cupboards, with doors; in the Customs of the Augustine +Priory of Barnwell, these directions are given: "The press in which +the books are kept ought to be lined with wood, that the damp of +the walls may not moisten or stain the books. The press should be +divided vertically as well as horizontally, by sundry partitions, +on which the books may be ranged so as to be separated from one +another, for fear they be packed so close as to injure one another, +or to delay those who want them." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +We read of the "chained books" of the Middle Ages, and I think +there is a popular belief that this referred to the fact that the +Bible was kept in the priest's hands, and chained so that the people +should not be able to read it for themselves and become familiar +with every part of it. This, however, is a mistake. It was the books +in the libraries which were chained, so that dishonest people should +not make way with them! In one Chapter <a name="page_331"><span +class="page">Page 331</span></a> Library, there occurs a denunciation +of such thieves, and instructions how to fasten the volumes. It +reads as follows: "Since to the great reproach of the Nation, and a +greater one to our Holy Religion, the thievish disposition of some +who enter libraries to learn no good there, hath made it necessary +to secure the sacred volumes themselves with chains (which are +better deserved by those ill persons, who have too much learning +to be hanged, and too little to be honest), care shall be taken +that the chains should neither be too long nor too clumsy, more +than the use of them requires: and that the loops whereby they +are fastened to the books may be rivetted on such a part of the +cover, and so smoothly, as not to gall or graze the books, while +they are moved to or from their respective places. And forasmuch +as the more convenient way to place books in libraries is to turn +their backs out showing the title and other decent ornaments in +gilt work which ought not to be hidden, this new method of fixing +the chain to the back of the book is recommended until one more +suitable shall be contrived." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Numerous monasteries in England devoted much time to scriptorium +work. In Gloucester may still be seen the carrels of the scribes +in the cloister wall, and there was also much activity in the book +making art in Norwich, Glastonbury, and Winchester, and in other +cities. The two monasteries of St. Peter and St. Swithin in Winchester +were, the chronicler says, "so close packed together,... that between +the foundation of their <a name="page_332"><span class="page">Page +332</span></a> respective buildings there was barely room for a +man to pass along. The choral service of one monastery conflicted +with that of the other, so that both were spoiled, and the ringing +of their bells together produced a horrid effect." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of the most important monasteries of early times, on the Continent, +was that conducted by Alcuin, under the protection of Charlemagne. +When the appointed time for writing came round, the monks filed +into the scriptorium, taking their places at their desks. One of +their number then stood in the midst, and read aloud, slowly, for +dictation, the work upon which they were engaged as copyists; in +this way, a score of copies could be made at one time. Alcuin himself +would pass about among them, making suggestions and correcting +errors, a beautiful example of true consecration, the great scholar +spending his time thus in supervising the transcription of the +Word of God, from a desire to have it spread far and wide. Alcuin +sent a letter to Charlemagne, accompanying a present of a copy +of the Bible, at the time of the emperor's coronation, and from +this letter, which is still preserved, it may be seen how reverent +a spirit his was, and how he esteemed the things of the spiritual +life as greater than the riches of the world. "After deliberating +a long while," he writes, "what the devotion of my mind might find +worthy of a present equal to the splendour of your Imperial dignity, +and the increase of your wealth,—at length by the inspiration +of the Holy Spirit, I found what it <a name="page_333"><span +class="page">Page 333</span></a> would be competent for me to offer, +and fitting for your prudence to accept. For to me inquiring and +considering, nothing appeared more worthy of your peaceful honour +than the gifts of the Sacred Scriptures... which, knit together +in the sanctity of one glorious body, and diligently amended, I +have sent to your royal authority, by this your faithful son and +servant, so that with full hands we may assist at the delightful +service of your dignity." One of Alcuin's mottoes was: "Writing +books is better than planting vines: for he who plants a vine serves +his belly, while he who writes books serves his soul." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Many different arts were represented in the making of a mediæval +book. Of those employed, first came the scribe, whose duty it was +to form the black even glossy letters with his pen; then came the +painter, who must not only be a correct draughtsman, and an adept +with pencil and brush, but must also understand how to prepare +mordaunts and to lay the gold leaf, and to burnish it afterwards +with an agate, or, as an old writer directs, "a dogge's tooth set +in a stick." After him, the binder gathered the lustrous pages and +put them together under silver mounted covers, with heavy clasps. +At first, the illuminations were confined only to the capital letters, +and red was the selected colour to give this additional life to the +evenly written page. The red pigment was known as "minium." The +artist who applied this was called a "miniator," and from this, +was derived the term "miniature," which later referred to <a +name="page_334"><span class="page">Page 334</span></a> the pictures +executed in the developed stages of the art. The use of the word +"miniature," as applied to paintings on a small scale, was evolved +from this expression. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig067.jpg" width="360" height="492" alt="Figure 67"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>A SCRIBE AT WORK: 12TH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_335"><span class="page">Page 335</span></a> +The difficulties were numerous. First, there was climate and temperature +to consider. It was necessary to be very careful about the temperature +to which gold leaf was exposed, and in order to dry the sizing +properly, it was important that the weather should not be too damp +nor too warm. Peter de St. Audemar, writing in the late thirteenth +century, says: "Take notice that you ought not to work with gold +or colours in a damp place, on account of the hot weather, which, +as it is often injurious in burnishing gold, both to the colours +on which the gold is laid and also to the gilding, if the work +is done on parchment, so also it is injurious when the weather +is too dry and arid." John Acherius, in 1399, observes, too, that +"care must be taken as regards the situation, because windy weather +is a hindrance, unless the gilder is in an enclosed place, and +if the air is too dry, the colour cannot hold the gold under the +burnisher." Illumination is an art which has always been difficult; +we who attempt it to-day are not simply facing a lost art which +has become impossible because of the changed conditions; even when +followed along the best line in the best way the same trials were +encountered. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Early treatises vary regarding the best medium for laying leaf on +parchment. There are very few vehicles which will form a connecting +and permanent link between these two substances. There is a general +impression that white of egg was used to hold the gold: but any one +who has experimented knows that it is impossible to fasten metal +to vellum by white of egg <a name="page_336"><span class="page">Page +336</span></a> alone. Both oil and wax were often employed, and +in nearly all recipes the use of glue made of boiled-down vellum +is enjoined. In some of the monasteries there are records that +the scribes had the use of the kitchen for drying parchment and +melting wax. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The introductions to the early treatises show the spirit in which +the work was undertaken. Peter de St. Audemar commences: "By the +assistance of God, of whom are all things that are good, I will +explain to you how to make colours for painters and illuminators +of books, and the vehicles for them, and other things appertaining +thereto, as faithfully as I can in the following chapters." Peter +was a North Frenchman of the thirteenth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Of the recipes given by the early treatises, I will quote a few, +for in reality they are all the literature we have upon the subject. +Eraclius, who wrote in the twelfth century, gives accurate directions: +"Take ochre and distemper it with water, and let it dry. In the +meanwhile make glue with vellum, and whip some white of egg. Then +mix the glue and the white of egg, and grind the ochre, which by this +time is well dried, upon a marble slab; and lay it on the parchment +with a paint brush;... then apply the gold, and let it remain so, +without pressing it with the stone. When it is dry, burnish it well +with a tooth. This," continues Eraclius naïvely, "is what I have +learned by experiment, and have frequently proved, and you may safely +believe me that I shall have told you the truth." This assurance of +good <a name="page_337"><span class="page">Page 337</span></a> +faith suggests that possibly it was a habit of illuminators to be +chary of information, guarding their own discoveries carefully, +and only giving out partial directions to others of their craft. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Bolognese Manuscript, one is directed to make a simple size +from incense, white gum, and sugar candy, distempering it with +wine; and in another place, to use the white of egg, whipped with +the milk of the fig tree and powdered gum Arabic. Armenian Bole is +a favourite ingredient. Gum and rose water are also prescribed, +and again, gesso, white of egg, and honey. All of these recipes +sound convincing, but if one tries them to-day, one has the doubtful +pleasure of seeing the carefully laid gold leaf slide off as soon +as the whole mixture is quite dry. Especially improbable is the +recipe given in the Brussels Manuscript: "You lay on gold with well +gummed water alone, and this is very good for gilding on parchment. +You may also use fresh white of egg or fig juice alone in the same +manner." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Theophilus does not devote much time or space to the art of +illuminating, for, as he is a builder of everything from church +organs to chalices, glass windows, and even to frescoed walls, we +must not expect too much information on minor details. He does not +seem to direct the use of gold leaf at all, but of finely ground +gold, which shall be applied with its size in the form of a paste, +to be burnished later. He says (after directing that the gold dust +shall be placed in a shell): "Take pure minium and add to it a third +part of cinnibar, grinding <a name="page_338"><span class="page">Page +338</span></a> it upon a stone with water. Which, being carefully +ground, beat up the clear white of an egg, in summer with water, +in winter without water," and this is to be used as a slightly +raised bed for the gold. "Then," he continues, "place a little pot +of glue on the fire, and when it is liquefied, pour it into the +shell of gold and wash it with it." This is to be painted on to +the gesso ground just mentioned, and when quite dry, burnished with +an agate. This recipe is more like the modern Florentine method of +gilding in illumination. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Concerning the gold itself, there seem to have been various means +employed for manufacturing substitutes for the genuine article. +A curious recipe is given in the manuscript of Jehan de Begue, +"Take bulls' brains, put them in a marble vase, and leave them for +three weeks, when you will find gold making worms. Preserve them +carefully." More quaint and superstitious is Theophilus' recipe +for making Spanish Gold; but, as this is not quotable in polite +pages, the reader must refer to the original treatise if he cares +to trace its manufacture. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Brushes made of hair are recommended by the Brussels manuscript, +with a plea for "pencils of fishes' hairs for softening." If this +does not refer to <i>sealskin</i>, it is food for conjecture! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +And for the binding of these beautiful volumes, how was the leather +obtained? This is one way in which business and sport could be combined +in the monastery, Warton says, "About the year 790, Charlemagne granted +an unlimited right of hunting to the Abbot <a name="page_339"><span +class="page">Page 339</span></a> and monks of Sithiu, for making... +of the skins of the deer they killed... covers for their books." +There is no doubt that it had occurred to artists to experiment upon +human skin, and perhaps the fact that this was an unsatisfactory +texture is the chief reason why no books were made of it. A French +commentator observes: "The skin of a man is nothing compared with +the skin of a sheep.... Sheep is good for writing on both sides, +but the skin of a dead man is just about as profitable as his +bones,—better bury him, skin and bones together." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There was some difficulty in obtaining manuscripts to copy. The +Breviary was usually enclosed in a cage; rich parishioners were bribed +by many masses and prayers, to bequeath manuscripts to churches. In +old Paris, the Parchment Makers were a guild of much importance. +Often they combined their trade with tavern keeping, in the twelfth +and thirteenth centuries. The Rector of the University was glad +when this occurred, for the inn keeper and parchment maker was +under his control, both being obliged to reside in the Pays Latin. +Bishops were known to exhort the parchment makers, from the pulpit, +to be honest and conscientious in preparing skins. A bookseller, +too, was solemnly made to swear "faithfully to receive, take care +of, and expose for sale the works which should be entrusted to +him." He might not buy them for himself until they had been for +sale a full month "at the disposition of the Masters and Scholars." +But in return for these <a name="page_340"><span class="page">Page +340</span></a> restrictions, the bookseller was admitted to the +rights and privileges of the University. As clients of the University, +these trades, which were associated with book making, joined in +the "solemn processions" of those times; booksellers, binders, +parchment makers, and illuminators, all marched together on these +occasions. They were obliged to pay toll to the Rector for these +privileges; the recipe for ink was a carefully guarded secret. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It now becomes our part to study the books themselves, and see +what results were obtained by applying all the arts involved in +their making. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The transition from the Roman illuminations to the Byzantine may +be traced to the time when Constantine moved his seat of government +from Rome to Constantinople. Constantinople then became the centre +of learning, and books were written there in great numbers. For +some centuries Constantinople was the chief city in the art of +illuminating. The style that here grew up exhibited the same features +that characterized Byzantine art in mosaic and decoration. The +Oriental influence displayed itself in a lavish use of gold and +colour; the remnant of Classical art was slight, but may sometimes +be detected in the subjects chosen, and the ideas embodied. The +Greek influence was the strongest. But the Greek art of the seventh +and eighth centuries was not at all like the Classic art of earlier +Greece; a conventional type had entered with Christianity, and is +chiefly recognized by a stubborn conformity to precedent. It <a +name="page_341"><span class="page">Page 341</span></a> is difficult +to date a Byzantine picture or manuscript, for the same severe +hard form that prevailed in the days of Constantine is carried +on to-day by the monks of Mt. Athos, and a Byzantine work of the +ninth century is not easily distinguished from one of the fifteenth. +In manuscripts, the caligraphy is often the only feature by which +the work can be dated. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In the earlier Byzantine manuscripts there is a larger proportion +of Classical influence than in later ones, when the art had taken +on its inflexible uniformity of design. One of the most interesting +books in which this classical influence may be seen is in the Imperial +Library at Vienna, being a work on Botany, by Dioscorides, written +about 400 A. D. The miniatures in this manuscript have many of +the characteristics of Roman work. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The pigments used in Byzantine manuscripts are glossy, a great deal +of ultramarine being used. The high lights are usually of gold, +applied in sharp glittering lines, and lighting up the picture with +very decorative effect. In large wall mosaics the same characteristics +may be noted, and it is often suggested that these gold lines may +have originated in an attempt to imitate cloisonné enamel, +in which the fine gold line separates the different coloured spaces +one from another. This theory is quite plausible, as cloisonné +was made by the Byzantine goldsmiths. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +M. Lecoy de la Marche tells us that the first recorded name of an +illuminator is that of a woman—Lala de <a name="page_342"><span +class="page">Page 342</span></a> Cizique, a Greek, who painted on +ivory and on parchment in Rome during the first Christian century. +But such a long period elapses between her time and that which we +are about to study, that she can here occupy only the position +of being referred to as an interesting isolated case. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Byzantine is a very easy style to recognize, because of the +inflexible stiffness of the figures, depending for any beauty largely +upon the use of burnished gold, and the symmetrical folds of the +draperies, which often show a sort of archaic grace. Byzantine +art is not so much representation as suggestion and symbolism. +There is a book which may still be consulted, called "A Byzantine +Guide to Painting," which contains accurate recipes to be followed +in painting pictures of each saint, the colours prescribed for the +dress of the Virgin, and the grouping to be adopted in representing +each of the standard Scriptural scenes; and it has hardly from +the first occurred to any Byzantine artist to depart from these +regulations. The heads and faces lack individuality, and are outlined +and emphasized with hard, unsympathetic black lines; the colouring +is sallow and the expression stolid. Any attempt at delineating +emotion is grotesque, and grimacing. The beauty, for in spite of +all these drawbacks there is great beauty, in Byzantine manuscripts, +is, as has been indicated, a charm of colour and gleaming gold +rather than of design. In the Boston Art Museum there is a fine +example of a large single miniature of a Byzantine "Flight into <a +name="page_343"><span class="page">Page 343</span></a> Egypt," in +which the gold background is of the highest perfection of surface, +and is raised so as to appear like a plate of beaten gold. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +There is no attempt to portray a scene as it might have occurred; +the rule given in the Manual is followed, and the result is generally +about the same. The background is usually either gold or blue, with +very little effort at landscape. Trees are represented in flat +values of green with little white ruffled edges and articulations. +The sea is figured by a blue surface with a symmetrical white pattern +of a wavy nature. A building is usually introduced about half as +large as the people surrounding it. There is no attempt, either, +at perspective. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The anatomy of the human form was not understood at all. Nearly +all the figures in the art of this period are draped. Wherever +it is necessary to represent the nude, a lank, disproportioned +person with an indefinite number of ribs is the result, proving +that the monastic art school did not include a life class. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Most of the best Byzantine examples date from the fifth to the +seventh centuries. After that a decadence set in, and by the eleventh +century the art had deteriorated to a mere mechanical process. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Irish and Anglo-Saxon work are chiefly characterized in their +early stages by the use of interlaced bands as a decorative motive. +The Celtic goldsmiths were famous for their delicate work in filigree, +made of threads of gold used in connection with enamelled grounds. +In decorating their manuscripts, the artists were perhaps <a +name="page_344"><span class="page">Page 344</span></a> unconsciously +influenced by this, and the result is a marvellous use of conventional +form and vivid colours, while the human figure is hardly attempted +at all, or, when introduced, is so conventionally treated, as to +be only a sign instead of a representation. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Probably the earliest representation of a pen in the holder, although +of a very primitive pattern, occurs in a miniature in the Gospels +of Mac Durnam, where St. John is seen writing with a pen in one +hand and a knife, for sharpening it, in the other. This picture +is two centuries earlier than any other known representation of +the use of the pen, the volume having been executed in the early +part of the eighth century. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Two of the most famous Irish books are the Book of Kells, and the +Durham Book. The Book of Kells is now in Trinity College, Dublin. +It is also known as the Gospel of St. Columba. St. Columba came, +as the Chronicle of Ethelwerd states, in the year 565: "five years +afterwards Christ's servant Columba came from Scotia (Ireland) +to Britain, to preach the word of God to the Picts." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 362px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig068.jpg" width="362" height="458" alt="Figure 68"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL FROM THE DURHAM BOOK</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +The intricacy of the interlacing decoration is so minute that it +is impossible to describe it. Each line may be followed to its +conclusion, with the aid of a strong magnifying glass, but cannot +be clearly traced with the naked eye. Westwood reports that, with a +microscope, he counted in one square inch of the page, one hundred +and fifty-eight interlacements of bands, each being of white, bordered +on either side with a black line. In this <a name="page_345"><span +class="page">Page 345</span></a> book there is no use of gold, +and the treatment of the human form is most inadequate. There is +no idea of drawing except for decorative purposes; it is an art +of the pen rather than of the brush—it hardly comes into +the same category as most of the books designated as illuminated +manuscripts. The so-called Durham Book, or the Gospels of St. Cuthbert, +was executed at the Abbey of Lindisfarne, in 688, and is now in +the British Museum. There is a legend that in the ninth century +pirates plundered the Abbey, and the few monks who survived decided +to seek a situation less unsafe than that on the coast, so they +gathered up their treasures, the body of the saint, their patron, +Cuthbert, and the book, which had been buried with him, and set +out for new lands. They set sail for Ireland, but a storm arose, +and their boat was swamped. The body and the book were lost. After +reaching land, however, the fugitives discovered the box containing +the book, lying high and dry upon the shore, having been cast up +by the waves in a truly wonderful state of preservation. Any one +who knows the effect of dampness upon parchment, and how it cockles +the material even on a damp day, will the more fully appreciate +this miracle. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Giraldus Cambriensis went to Ireland as secretary to Prince John, +in 1185, and thus describes the Gospels of Kildare, a book which +was similar to the Book of Kells, and his description may apply +equally to either volume. "Of all the wonders of Kildare I have +found nothing more wonderful than this marvellous book, <a +name="page_346"><span class="page">Page 346</span></a> written +in the time of the Virgin St. Bridget, and, as they say, at the +dictation of an angel. Here you behold the magic face divinely +drawn, and there the mystical forms of the Evangelists, there an +eagle, here a calf, so closely wrought together, that if you look +carelessly at them, they would seem rather like a uniform blot +than like an exquisite interweavement of figures; exhibiting no +perfection of skill or art, where all is really skill and perfection +of art. But if you look closely at them with all the acuteness of +sight that you can command, and examine the inmost secrets of this +wondrous art, you will discover such delicate, such wonderful and +finely wrought lines, twisted and interwoven with such intricate +knots and adorned with such fresh and brilliant colours, that you +will readily acknowledge the whole to have been the work of angelic +rather than human skill." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At first gold was not used at all in Irish work, but the manuscripts +of a slightly later date, and especially of the Anglo-Saxon school, +show a superbly decorative use both of gold and silver. The "Coronation +Oath Book of the Anglo-Saxon Kings" is especially rich in this +exquisite metallic harmony. By degrees, also, the Anglo-Saxons +became more perfected in the portrayal of the human figure, so +that by the twelfth century the work of the Southern schools and +those of England were more alike than at any previous time. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig069.jpg" width="360" height="491" alt="Figure 69"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>IVY PATTERN, FROM A 14TH CENTURY FRENCH MANUSCRIPT</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +In the Northern manuscripts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries +it is amusing to note that the bad <a name="page_347"><span +class="page">Page 347</span></a> characters are always represented +as having large hooked noses, which fact testifies to the dislike +of the Northern races for the Italians and Southern peoples. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries may be considered to stand +for the "Golden Age" of miniature art in all the countries of Europe. +In England and France especially the illuminated books of the thirteenth +century were marvels of delicate work, among which the Tenison +Psalter and the Psalter of Queen Mary, both in the British Museum, +are excellent examples. Queen Mary's Psalter was not really painted +for Queen Mary; it was executed two centuries earlier. But it was +being sent abroad in 1553, and was seized by the Customs. They +refused to allow it to pass. Afterwards it was presented to Queen +Mary. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At this time grew up a most beautiful and decorative style, known +as "ivy pattern," consisting of little graceful flowering sprays, +with tiny ivy leaves in gold and colours. The Gothic feeling prevails +in this motive, and the foliate forms are full of spined cusps. +The effect of a book decorated in the ivy pattern, is radiant and +jewelled as the pages turn, and the burnishing of the gold was +brought to its full perfection at this time. The value of the creamy +surface of the vellum was recognized as part of the colour scheme. +With the high polish of the gold it was necessary to use always +the strong crude colours, as the duller tints would appear faded +by contrast. In the later stages of the art, when a greater realism +was attempted, and better drawing had +<a name="page_348"><span class="page">Page 348</span></a> +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 278px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig070.jpg" width="278" height="560" alt="Figure 70"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>MEDIÆVAL ILLUMINATION</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a name="page_349"><span class="page">Page 349</span></a> +made it necessary to use quieter tones, gold paint was generally +adopted instead of leaf, as being less conspicuous and more in +harmony with the general scheme; and one of the chief glories of +book decoration died in this change. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The divergences of style in the work of various countries are well +indicated by Walter de Gray Birch, who says: "The English are famous +for clearness and breadth; the French for delicate fineness and +harmoniously assorted colours, the Flemish for minutely stippled +details, and the Italian for the gorgeous yet calm dignity apparent +in their best manuscripts." Individuality of facial expression, +although these faces are generally ugly, is a characteristic of +Flemish work, while the faces in French miniatures are uniform +and pretty. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One marked feature in the English thirteenth and fourteenth century +books, is the introduction of many small grotesques in the borders, +and these little creatures, partly animal and partly human, show +a keen sense of humour, which had to display itself, even though +inappropriately, but always with a true spirit of wit. One might +suppose on first looking at these grotesques, that the droll expression +is unintentional: that the monks could draw no better, and that +their sketches are funny only because of their inability to portray +more exactly the thing represented. But a closer examination will +convince one that the wit was deliberate, and that the very subtlety +and reserve of their expression of humour is an indication of its +depth. To-day an artist <a name="page_350"><span class="page">Page +350</span></a> with the sense of caricature expresses himself in +the illustrated papers and other public channels provided for the +overflow of high spirits; but the cloistered author of the Middle +Ages had only the sculptured details and the books belonging to +the church as vehicles for his satire. The carvings on the miserere +seats in choirs of many cathedrals were executed by the monks, and +abound in witty representations of such subjects as Reynard the +Fox, cats catching rats, etc.; inspired generally by the knowledge +of some of the inconsistencies in the lives of ecclesiastical +personages. The quiet monks often became cynical. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The spirit of the times determines the standard of wit. At various +periods in the world's history, men have been amused by strange and +differing forms of drollery; what seemed excruciatingly funny to +our grandparents does not strike us as being at all entertaining. +Each generation has its own idea of humour, and its own fun-makers, +varying as much as fashion in dress. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In mediæval times, the sense of humour in art was more developed +than at any period except our own day. Even-while the monk was +consecrating his time to the work of beautifying the sanctuary, +his sense of humour was with him, and must crop out. The grotesque +has always played an important part in art; in the subterranean +Roman vaults of the early centuries, one form of this spirit is +exhibited. But the element of wit is <a name="page_351"><span +class="page">Page 351</span></a> almost absent; it is displayed +in oppressively obvious forms, so that it loses its subtlety: it +represents women terminating in floral scrolls, or sea-horses with +leaves growing instead of fins. The same spirit is seen in the +grotesques of the Renaissance, where the sense of humour is not +emphasized, the ideal in this class of decoration being simply +to fill the space acceptably, with voluptuous graceful lines, +mythological monstrosities, the inexpressive mingling of human and +vegetable characteristics, grinning dragons, supposed to inspire +horror, and such conceits, while the attempt to amuse the spectator +is usually absent. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In mediæval art, however, the beauty of line, the sense of +horror, and the voluptuous spirit, are all more or less subservient +to the light-hearted buoyancy of a keen sense of fun. To illustrate +this point, I wish to call the attention of the reader to the wit +of the monastic scribes during the Gothic period. Who could look at +the little animals which are found tucked away almost out of sight +in the flowery margins of many illuminated manuscripts, without seeing +that the artist himself must have been amused at their pranks, and +intended others to be so? One can picture a gray-hooded brother, +chuckling alone at his own wit, carefully tracing a jolly little +grotesque, and then stealing softly to the alcove of some congenial +spirit, and in a whisper inviting his friend to come and see the +satire which he has carefully introduced: "A perfect portrait of +the Bishop, only with claws instead of legs! So very droll! And +dear brother, while you are here, just look at the expression of +this <a name="page_352"><span class="page">Page 352</span></a> +little rabbit's ears, while he listens to the bombastic utterance +of this monkey who wears a stole!" +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 135px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig071.jpg" width="135" height="165" alt="Figure 71"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CARICATURE OF A BISHOP</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Such a fund of playful humour is seldom found in a single book as +that embodied in the Tenison Psalter, of which only a few pages +remain of the work of the original artist. The book was once the +property of Archbishop Tenison. These few pages show to the world the +most perfect example of the delicacy and skill of the miniaturist. +On one page, a little archer, after having pulled his bow-string, +stands at the foot of the border, gazing upwards after the arrow, +which has been caught in the bill of a stork at the top of the +page. The attitude of a little fiddler who is exhibiting his trick +monkeys can hardly be surpassed by caricaturists of any time. A +quaint bit of cloister scandal is indicated in an initial from +the Harleian Manuscript, in which a monk who has been entrusted +with the cellar keys is seen availing himself of the situation, +eagerly quaffing a cup of wine while he stoops before a large cask. +In a German manuscript <a name="page_353"><span class="page">Page +353</span></a> I have seen, cuddled away among the foliage, in the +margin, a couple of little monkeys, feeding a baby of their own +species with pap from a spoon. The baby monkey is closely wrapped in +the swathing bands with which one is familiar as the early trussing of +European children. Satire and wrath are curiously blended in a German +manuscript of the twelfth century, in which the scribe introduces a +portrait of himself hurling a missile at a venturesome mouse who +is eating the monk's cheese—a fine Camembert!—under his +very nose. In the book which he is represented as transcribing, the +artist has traced the words—"Pessime mus, sepius me provocas +ad iram, ut te Deus perdat." ("Wicked mouse, too often you provoke +me to anger—may God destroy thee!") +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +In their illustrations the scribes often showed how literal was +their interpretation of Scriptural text. For instance, in a passage +in the book known as the Utrecht Psalter, there is an illustration +of the verse, "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver +tried in the furnace, purified seven times." A glowing forge is +seen, and two craftsmen are working with bellows, pincers, and +hammer, to prove the temper of some metal, which is so molten that +a stream of it is pouring out of the furnace. Another example of +this literal interpretation, is in the Psalter of Edwin, where +two men are engaged in sharpening a sword upon a grindstone, in +illustration of the text about the wicked, "who whet their tongue +like a sword." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_354"><span class="page">Page 354</span></a> +There is evidence of great religious zeal in the exhortations of +the leaders to those who worked under them. Abbot John of Trittenham +thus admonished the workers in the Scriptorium in 1486: "I have +diminished your labours out of the monastery lest by working badly +you should only add to your sins, and have enjoined on you the +manual labour of writing and binding books. There is in my opinion +no labour more becoming a monk than the writing of ecclesiastical +books.... You will recall that the library of this monastery... +had been dissipated, sold, or made way with by disorderly monks +before us, so that when I came here I found but fourteen volumes." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It was often with a sense of relief that a monk finished his work +upon a volume, as the final word, written by the scribe himself, +and known as the Explicit, frequently shows. In an old manuscript +in the Monastery of St. Aignan the writer has thus expressed his +emotions: "Look out for your fingers! Do not put them on my writing! +You do not know what it is to write! It cramps your back, it obscures +your eyes, it breaks your sides and stomach!" It is interesting +to note the various forms which these final words of the scribes +took; sometimes the Explicit is a pathetic appeal for remembrance +in the prayers of the reader, and sometimes it contains a note of +warning. In a manuscript of St. Augustine now at Oxford, there is +written: "This book belongs to St. Mary's of Robert's Bridge; whoever +shall steal it or in any way alienate it from this house, or mutilate +<a name="page_355"><span class="page">Page 355</span></a> it, let +him be Anathema Marantha!" A later owner, evidently to justify +himself, has added, "I, John, Bishop of Exeter, know not where this +aforesaid house is, nor did I steal this book, but acquired it in +a lawful way!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Explicit in the Benedictional of Ethelwold is touching: the +writer asks "all who gaze on this book to ever pray that after the +end of the flesh I may inherit health in heaven; this is the prayer +of the scribe, the humble Godemann." A mysterious Explicit occurs +at the end of an Irish manuscript of 1138, "Pray for Moelbrighte +who wrote this book. Great was the crime when Cormac Mac Carthy +was slain by Tardelvach O'Brian." Who shall say what revelation +may have been embodied in these words? Was it in the nature of a +confession or an accusation of some hitherto unknown occurrence? +Coming as it does at the close of a sacred book, it was doubtless +written for some important reason. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Among curious examples of the Explicit may be quoted the following: +"It is finished. Let it be finished, and let the writer go out for +a drink." A French monk adds: "Let a pretty girl be given to the +writer for his pains." Ludovico di Cherio, a famous illuminator +of the fifteenth century, has this note at the end of a book upon +which he had long been engaged: "Completed on the vigil of the +nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on an empty stomach." (Whether +this refers to an imposed penance or fast, or whether Ludovico +considered that the offering of a meek and empty stomach would be +especially acceptable, the reader may determine.) +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_356"><span class="page">Page 356</span></a> +There is an amusing rhymed Explicit in an early fifteenth century +copy of Froissart: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"I, Raoul Tanquy, who never was drunk<br> + (Or hardly more than judge or monk,)<br> + On fourth of July finished this book,<br> + Then to drink at the Tabouret myself took,<br> + With Pylon and boon companions more<br> + Who tripe with onions and garlic adore." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But if some of the monks complained or made sport of their work, +there were others to whom it was a divine inspiration, and whose +affection for their craft was almost fanatic, an anecdote being +related of one of them, who, when about to die, refused to be parted +from the book upon which he had bestowed much of his life's energy, +and who clutched it in his last agony so that even death should +not take it from him. The good Othlonus of Ratisbon congratulates +himself upon his own ability in a spirit of humility even while +he rejoices in his great skill; he says: "I think proper to add +an account of the great knowledge and capacity for writing which +was given me by the Lord in my childhood. When as yet a little +child, I was sent to school and quickly learned my letters, and +I began long before the time of learning, and without any order +from my master, to learn the art of writing. Undertaking this in a +furtive and unusual manner, and without any teacher, I got a habit +of holding my pen wrongly, nor were any of my teachers afterwards +able to correct me on that point." This very human touch comes +down to us through the <a name="page_357"><span class="page">Page +357</span></a> ages to prove the continuity of educational experience! +The accounts of his monastic labours put us to the blush when we +think of such activity. "While in the monastery of Tegernsee in +Bavaria I wrote many books.... Being sent to Franconia while I was +yet a boy, I worked so hard writing that before I had returned I +had nearly lost my eyesight. After I became a monk at St. Emmerem, +I was appointed the school-master. The duties of the office so +fully occupied my time that I was able to do the transcribing I was +interested in only by nights and in holidays.... I was, however, +able, in addition to writing the books that I had myself composed, +and the copies which I gave away for the edification of those who +asked for them, to prepare nineteen missals, three books of the +Gospels and Epistles, besides which I wrote four service books for +Matins. I wrote in addition several other books for the brethren at +Fulda, for the monks at Hirschfeld, and at Amerbach, for the Abbot +of Lorsch, for certain friends at Passau, and for other friends +in Bohemia, for the monastery at Tegernsee, for the monastery at +Preyal, for that at Obermunster, and for my sister's son. Moreover, +I sent and gave at different times sermons, proverbs, and edifying +writings. Afterward old age's infirmities of various kinds hindered +me." Surely Othlonus was justified in retiring when his time came, +and enjoying some respite from his labours! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Religious feeling in works of art is an almost indefinable thing, but +one which is felt in all true emanations of the conscientious spirit +of devotion. Fra Angelico <a name="page_358"><span class="page">Page +358</span></a> had a special gift for expressing in his artistic +creations is own spiritual life; the very qualities for which he +stood, his virtues and his errors,—purity, unquestioning +faith in the miraculous, narrowness of creed, and gentle and adoring +humility,—all these elements are seen to completeness in +his decorative pictures. Perhaps this is because he really lived +up to his principles. One of his favourite sayings was "He who +occupies himself with the things of Christ, must ever dwell with +Christ." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +It is related that, in the Monastery of Maes Eyck, while the +illuminators were at work in the evening, copying Holy Writ, the +devil, in a fit of rage, extinguished their candles; they, however, +were promptly lighted again by a Breath of the Holy Spirit, and +the good work went on! Salvation was supposed to be gained through +conscientious writing. A story is told of a worldly and frivolous +brother, who was guilty of many sins and follies, but who, nevertheless, +was an industrious scribe. When he came to die, the devil claimed +his soul. The angels, however, brought before the Throne a great +book of religious Instructions which he had illuminated, and for +every letter therein, he received pardon for one sin. Behold! When +the account was completed, there proved to be one letter over! +the narrator adds naïvely, "And it was a very big book." +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 572px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig072.jpg" width="572" height="368" alt="Figure 72"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>ILLUMINATION BY GHERART DAVID OF BRUGES, 1498; ST. +BARBARA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Perhaps more than any books executed in the better period, after the +decline had begun, were the Books of Hours, containing the numerous +daily devotions which form part of the ritual of the Roman Church. +Every <a name="page_359"><span class="page">Page 359</span></a> +well appointed lady was supposed to own a copy, and there is a +little verse by Eustache Deschamps, a poet of the time of Charles +V., in which a woman is supposed to be romancing about the various +treasures she would like to possess. She says: +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"Hours of Our Lady should be mine,<br /> + Fitting for a noble dame,<br /> + Of lofty lineage and name;<br /> + Wrought most cunningly and quaint,<br /> + In gold and richest azure paint.<br /> + Rare covering of cloth of gold<br /> + Full daintily it shall enfold,<br /> + Or, open to the view exposed,<br /> + Two golden clasps to keep it closed." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +John Skelton the poet did honour to the illuminated tomes of his +day, in spite of the fact that the æesthetic deterioration +had begun. +</p> + +<p class="bquote"> +"With that of the boke lozende were the clasps<br /> + The margin was illumined all with golden railes,<br /> + And bice empictured, with grasshoppers and waspes<br /> + With butterflies and fresh peacock's tailes:<br /> + Englosed with... pictures well touched and quickly,<br /> + It wold have made a man hole that had be right sickly!" +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But here we have an indication of that realism which rung the death +knell of the art. The grasshoppers on a golden ground, and the +introduction of carefully painted insect and floral life, led to +all sorts of extravagances of taste. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +But before this decadence, there was a very interesting period of +transition, which may be studied to special <a name="page_360"><span +class="page">Page 360</span></a> advantage in Italy, and is seen +chiefly in the illuminations of the great choral books which were +used in the choirs of churches. One book served for all the singers +in those days, and it was placed upon an open lectern in the middle +of the choir, so that all the singers could see it: it will be +readily understood that the lettering had to be generous, and the +page very large for this purpose. The decoration of these books took +on the characteristics of breadth in keeping with their dimensions, +and of large masses of ornament rather than delicate meander. The +style of the Italian choral books is an art in itself. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The Books of Hours and Missals developed during the fifteenth and +sixteenth centuries into positive art galleries, whole pages being +occupied by paintings, the vellum being entirely hidden by the +decoration. The art of illumination declined as the art of miniature +painting progressed. The fact that the artist was decorating a page +in a book was lost sight of in his ambition to paint a series of +small pictures. The glint of burnished gold on the soft surface +of the vellum was no longer considered elegant, and these more +elaborate pictures often left not even a margin, so that the pictures +might as well have been executed on paper and canvas and framed +separately, for they do not suggest ornaments in a book after this +change had taken place. Lettering is hardly introduced at all on +the same page with the illustration, or, when it is, is placed +in a little tablet which is simply part of the general scheme. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 360px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig073.jpg" width="360" height="499" alt="Figure 73"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>CHORAL BOOK, SIENA</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +<a name="page_361"><span class="page">Page 361</span></a> +Among the books in this later period I will refer specifically to +two only, the Hours of Ann of Brittany, and the Grimani Breviary. +The Hours of Ann of Brittany, illuminated by a famous French artist +of the time of Louis XII., is reproduced in facsimile by Curmer, and +is therefore available for consultation in most large libraries. +It will repay any one who is interested in miniature art to examine +this book, for the work is so excellent that it is almost like +turning the leaves of the original. The Grimani Breviary, which +was illuminated by Flemish artists of renown, was the property of +Cardinal Grimani, and is now one of the treasures of the Library +of St. Marc in Venice. It is impossible in a short space to comment +to any adequate extent upon the work of such eminent artists as +Jean Foucquet, Don Giulio Clovio, Sano di Pietro, and Liberale da +Verona; they were technically at the head of their art, and yet, +so far as taste in book decoration is to be considered, their work +would be more satisfactory as framed miniatures than as marginal +or paginal ornament. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Stippling was brought to its ultimate perfection by Don Giulio +Clovio, but it is supposed to have been first practised by Antonio +de Holanda. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +One of Jehan Foucquet's assistants was Jehan Bourdichon. There is an +interesting memorandum extant, relating to a piece of illumination which +Bourdichon had accomplished. "To the said B. for having had written +a book in parchment named the Papalist, the same illuminated in gold +and azure and made in the <a name="page_362"><span class="page">Page +362</span></a> same nine rich Histories, and for getting it bound +and covered, thirty crowns in gold." +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +At the time of the Renaissance there was a rage for "tiny books," +miniature copies of famous works. M. Würtz possessed a copy +of the Sonnets of Petrarch, written in italics, in brown ink, of +which the length was one inch, and the breadth five-eighths of +an inch, showing fifty lines on a page. The text is only visible +through a glass. It is in Italian taste, with several miniatures, +and is bound in gold filigree. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The value of illuminated books is enormous. An Elector of Bavaria +once offered a town for a single book; but the monks had sufficient +worldly wisdom to know that he could easily take the town again, +and so declined the exchange! +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +With the introduction of printing, the art of illumination was +doomed. The personal message from the scribe to the reader was +merged in the more comprehensive message of the press to the public. +It was no longer necessary to spend a year on a work that could be +accomplished in a day; so the artists found themselves reduced to +painting initial letters in printed books, sometimes on vellum, but +more often on paper. This art still flourishes in many localities; +but it is no more illumination, though it is often so designated, +than photography is portrait painting. Both are useful in their +departments and for their several purposes, but it is incorrect +to confound them. +</p> + +<table class="center" style="width: 357px;"> +<tr><td> + <img src="images/fig074.jpg" width="357" height="458" alt="Figure 74"> +</td></tr> +<tr><td>DETAIL FROM AN ITALIAN CHORAL BOOK</td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="indent"> +Once, while examining an old choral book, I was particularly <a +name="page_363"><span class="page">Page 363</span></a> struck with +the matchless personal element which exists in a book which is +made, as this was, by the hand, from the first stroke to the last. +The first page showed a bold lettering, the sweep of the pen being +firm and free. Animal vigour was demonstrated in the steady hand +and the clear eye. The illuminations were daintily painted, and +the sure touch of the little white line used to accentuate the +colours, was noticeable. After several pages, the letters became +less true and firm. The lines had a tendency to slant to the right; +a weakness could be detected in the formerly strong man. Finally +the writing grew positively shaky. The skill was lost. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +Suddenly, on another page, came a change. A new hand had taken +up the work—that of a novice. He had not the skill of the +previous worker in his best days, but the indecision of his lines +was that of inexperience, not of failing ability. Gradually he +improved. His colours were clearer and ground more smoothly; his +gold showed a more glassy surface. The book ended as it had begun, +a virile work of art; but in the course of its making, one man had +grown old, lost his skill, and died, and another had started in +his immaturity, gained his education, and devoted his best years +to this book. +</p> + +<p class="indent"> +The printing press stands for all that is progressive and desirable; +modern life and thought hang upon this discovery. But in this glorious +new birth there was sacrificed a certain indescribable charm which +can never <a name="page_364"><span class="page">Page 364</span></a> +be felt now except by a book lover as he turns the leaves of an +ancient illuminated book. To him it is given to understand that +pathetic appeal across the centuries. +</p> + +<p class="center">THE END.</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_365"><span class="page">Page 365</span></a> +BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> + +<p> +Arts and Crafts Movement. O. L. Triggs.<br /> +Two Lectures. William Morris.<br /> +Decorative Arts. William Morris.<br /> +Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini.<br /> +Library of British Manufactories.<br /> +Gold and Silver. Wheatley.<br /> +Ye Olden Time. E. S. Holt.<br /> +Arts and Crafts Essays. Ed. by Morris.<br /> +Industrial Arts. Maskell.<br /> +Old English Silver. Cripps.<br /> +Spanish Arts. J. E. Riañio.<br /> +History of the Fine Arts. W. B. Scott.<br /> +Art Work in Gold and Silver. P. H. Delamotte.<br /> +Gold and Silver. J. H. Pollen.<br /> +Une Ville du Temps Jadis. M. E. Del Monte.<br /> +Industrial Arts. P. Burty.<br /> +Arts of the Middle Ages. Labarte.<br /> +Miscellanea Graphica. Fairholt.<br /> +Artist's Way of Working. R. Sturgis.<br /> +Jewellery. Cyril Davenport.<br /> +Enamels. Mrs. Nelson Dawson.<br /> +Precious Stones. Jones.<br /> +Ghiberti and Donatello. Leader Scott.<br /> +Iron Work. J. S. Gardner.<br /> +Guilds of Florence. E. Staley.<br /> +Armour in England. J. S. Gardner.<br /> +Foreign Armour in England. J. S. Gardner.<br /> +Cameos. Cyril Davenport.<br /> +Peter Vischer. Cecil Headlam.<br /> +St. Eloi and St. Bernward. Baring Gould; Lives of the Saint.<br /> +European Enamels. H. Cunynghame.<br /> +Intarsia and Marquetry. H. Jackson.<br /> +<a name="page_366"><span class="page">Page 366</span></a> +Pavement Masters of Siena. R. H. Cust.<br /> +Sculpture in Ivory. Digby Wyatt.<br /> +Ancient and Mediæval Ivories. Wm. Maskell.<br /> +Ivory Carvers of the Middle Ages. A. M. Cust.<br /> +Arts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. P. Lacroix.<br /> +Ivories. A. Maskell.<br /> +Old English Embroidery. F. and H. Marshall.<br /> +The Bayeux Tapestry. F. R. Fowke.<br /> +History of Tapestry. W. G. Thomson.<br /> +La Broderie. L. de Farcy.<br /> +Textile Fabrics. Dr. Rock.<br /> +Needlework as Art. Lady Alford.<br /> +History of Needlework. Countess of Wilton.<br /> +Gilds; Their Origins, etc. C. Walford.<br /> +Tapestry. A. Champeaux.<br /> +Tapestry. J. Hayes.<br /> +Ornamental Metal Work. Digby Wyatt.<br /> +La Mosaïque. Gerspach.<br /> +The Master Mosaic Workers. G. Sand.<br /> +Revival of Sculpture. A. L. Frothingham.<br /> +History of Italian Sculpture. C. H. Perkins.<br /> +Art Applied to Industry. W. Burges.<br /> +Four Centuries of Art. Noel Humphreys.<br /> +Aratra Pentelici. Ruskin.<br /> +Seven Lamps of Architecture. Ruskin.<br /> +Val d'Arno. Ruskin.<br /> +Stones of Venice. Ruskin.<br /> +Lectures on Sculpture. Flaxman.<br /> +Brick and Marble. G. E. Street.<br /> +Sculpture in Wood. Williams.<br /> +Greek and Gothic. St. J. Tyrwhitt.<br /> +Westminster Abbey and Craftsmen. W. R. Lethaby.<br /> +Le Roi René. L. de la Marche.<br /> +English Mediæval Figure Sculpture. Prior and Gardner.<br /> +Churches of Paris. Sophia Beale.<br /> +Matthew Paris' Chronicle.<br /> +Crowns and Coronations. Jones.<br /> +Bell's Handbooks of Rouen, Chartres, Amiens, Wells, Salisbury and +Lincoln.<br /> +History of Sculpture. D'Agincourt.<br /> +The Grotesque in Church Art. T. T. Wildridge.<br /> +<a name="page_367"><span class="page">Page 367</span></a> +Choir Stalls and Their Carving. Emma Phipson.<br /> +Memorials of Westminster Abbey. Dean Stanley.<br /> +Memorials of Canterbury. Dean Stanley.<br /> +Les Corporations des Arts et Metiers. Hubert Valeroux.<br /> +Finger Ring Lore. Jones.<br /> +Goldsmith's and Silversmith's Work. Nelson Dawson.<br /> +The Dark Ages. Maitland.<br /> +Rambles of an Archæologist. F. W. Fairholt.<br /> +History of Furniture. A. Jacquemart.<br /> +Embroidery. W. G. P. Townsend.<br /> +Le Livre des Metiers. Etienne Boileau.<br /> +Illuminated Manuscripts. J. H. Middleton.<br /> +Illuminated Manuscripts. Edward Quaile.<br /> +English Illuminated Manuscripts. Maunde Thompson.<br /> +Les Manuscrits et l'art de les Orner. Alphonse Labitte.<br /> +Les Manuscrits et la Miniature. L. de la Marche.<br /> +Primer of Illumination. Delamotte.<br /> +Primer of Illumination. Digby Wyatt.<br /> +Ancient Painting and Sculpture in England. J. Carter.<br /> +Vasari's Lives of the Painters. (Selected.)<br /> +Benvenuto Cellini—Autobiography.<br /> +Illuminated Manuscripts. O. Westwood.<br /> +Celtic Illuminative Art. S. F. H. Robinson.<br /> +Illuminated Manuscripts. Bradley. +</p> + +<h2> +<a name="page_369"><span class="page">Page 369</span></a> +INDEX</h2> + +<p class="index">Aachen, <a href="#page_16">16</a></p> + +<p class="index">Abbeville, <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Abbo, <a href="#page_57">57</a></p> + +<p class="index">Absalom, <a href="#page_299">299</a></p> + +<p class="index">Acherius, J., <a href="#page_335">335</a></p> + +<p class="index">Adam, <a href="#page_28">28</a></p> + +<p class="index">Adam, Abbot, <a href="#page_21">21</a></p> + +<p class="index">Adaminus, <a href="#page_222">222</a></p> + +<p class="index">Adelard, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aelfled, <a href="#page_199">199</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aelst, <a href="#page_172">172</a></p> + +<p class="index">Agatho, <a href="#page_281">281</a></p> + +<p class="index">Agnelli, Fra, <a href="#page_226">226</a></p> + +<p class="index">Agnese, St., <a href="#page_14">14</a>, +<a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Agnolo, B., <a href="#page_303">303</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ahab, <a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aignan, St., <a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aix-la-Chapelle, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, +<a href="#page_287">287</a></p> + +<p class="index">Albans, St., <a href="#page_114">114</a>, +<a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, +<a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alberti, L., <a href="#page_131">131</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aleuin, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>, <a href="#page_332">332</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aldobrandini, <a href="#page_131">131</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alfred, King, <a href="#page_4">4</a>, +<a href="#page_64">64</a>, <a href="#page_67">67</a>, +<a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alford, Lady, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, +<a href="#page_303">303</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alicante, <a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Almeria, <a href="#page_183">183</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aloise, <a href="#page_20">20</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alwin, Bp., <a href="#page_252">252</a></p> + +<p class="index">Alwyn, H. F., <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Amasia, Bp. of, <a href="#page_191">191</a></p> + +<p class="index">America, <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Amiens, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, +<a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, +<a href="#page_233">233</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a>, +<a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>, +<a href="#page_244">244</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anastatius, <a href="#page_201">201</a>, +<a href="#page_281">281</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Anatomy of Abuses," <a href="#page_26">26</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ancona, <a href="#page_224">224</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Ancren Riwle," <a href="#page_75">75</a></p> + +<p class="index">Angers, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, +<a href="#page_208">208</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anglo-Saxons, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, +<a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, +<a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, +<a href="#page_159">159</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, +<a href="#page_294">294</a>, <a href="#page_343">343</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anne of Bohemia, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anne of Brittany, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, +<a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anne of Cleves, <a href="#page_206">206</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anquetil, <a href="#page_230">230</a></p> + +<p class="index">Antelami, <a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anthemius, <a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Anthony, St., <a href="#page_254">254</a></p> + +<p class="index">Antwerp, <a href="#page_116">116</a></p> + +<p class="index">Apollinaire, St., <a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Apollonius, <a href="#page_319">319</a></p> + +<p class="index">Apulia, <a href="#page_182">182</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arabia, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, +<a href="#page_14">14</a>, <a href="#page_147">147</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arles, <a href="#page_18">18</a>, +<a href="#page_192">192</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arnant, A., <a href="#page_292">292</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arnolfo di Cambio, <a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Armour, <a href="#page_121">121-132</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arphe, H. d' and J. d', <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arras, <a href="#page_20">20</a>, +<a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, +<a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a></p> + +<p class="index">Arrigo (see Peselli)</p> + +<p class="index">Arthur, Prince, <a href="#page_205">205</a></p> + +<p class="index">Artois, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Asser, <a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index">Asterius, St., <a href="#page_192">192</a></p> + +<p class="index">Atlas, <a href="#page_9">9</a></p> + +<p class="index">Athelmay, <a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index">August the Pious, <a href="#page_245">245</a></p> + +<p class="index">Augustine, St., <a href="#page_279">279</a>, +<a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aurelian, <a href="#page_180">180</a></p> + +<p class="index">Auquilinus, <a href="#page_230">230</a></p> + +<p class="index">Austin, W., <a href="#page_129">129</a></p> + +<p class="index">Auxene, <a href="#page_162">162</a></p> + +<p class="index">Aventin, St., <a href="#page_231">231</a></p> + +<p class="index">Avernier, A., <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Avignon, M. de, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">"Babee's Book," <a href="#page_39">39</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bakes, J., <a href="#page_171">171</a></p> + +<p class="index">Balbastro, <a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baldini, B., <a href="#page_34">34</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baldovinetto, <a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ballin, C., <a href="#page_35">35</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bamberg, <a href="#page_258">258</a></p> + +<p class="index">Baptist, John, <a href="#page_65">65</a></p> + +<p class="index">Barbarossa, <a href="#page_16">16</a></p> + +<p class="index">Barcheston, <a href="#page_171">171</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bargello, <a href="#page_281">281</a></p> + +<p class="index">Barnwell, <a href="#page_330">330</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bartholomew Anglicus, <a href="#page_4">4</a>, +<a href="#page_81">81</a>, <a href="#page_83">83</a>, +<a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a></p> + +<p class="index">Basilewski, <a href="#page_291">291</a></p> + +<p class="index">Basle, <a href="#page_23">23</a></p> + +<p class="index">Basse-taille, <a href="#page_103">103</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bataille, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bavaria, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, +<a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a>, +<a href="#page_362">362</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bayeux Tapestry, <a href="#page_154">154-159</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bazinge, A. de, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Beauchamp, R., <a href="#page_144">144</a></p> + +<p class="index">Becket, T. à, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, +<a href="#page_46">46</a>, <a href="#page_54">54</a>, +<a href="#page_61">61</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bede, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, +<a href="#page_145">145</a></p> + +<p class="index">Begue, J. de, <a href="#page_338">338</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bells, <a href="#page_145">145</a></p> + +<p class="index">Benedict, St., <a href="#page_4">4</a>, +<a href="#page_329">329</a></p> + +<p class="index">Benedictional of Ethelwold, +<a href="#page_355">355</a></p> + +<p class="index">Benet, J., <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bergamo, <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bernard, M., <a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bernard, St., <a href="#page_21">21</a>, +<a href="#page_22">22</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, +<a href="#page_287">287</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bernward, Bp., <a href="#page_16">16-20</a>, +<a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, +<a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a></p> + +<p class="index">Berquem, L., <a href="#page_74">74</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bess of Hardwick, <a href="#page_211">211</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bethancourt, J. de, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Beverly, <a href="#page_257">257</a>, +<a href="#page_274">274</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bezaleel, <a href="#page_1">1</a>, +<a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bezold, H. van, <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bianchini, <a href="#page_324">324</a></p> + +<p class="index">Billiard Balls, <a href="#page_295">295</a></p> + +<p class="index">Birch, W. de G., <a href="#page_349">349</a></p> + +<p class="index">Biscornette, <a href="#page_113">113</a></p> + +<p class="index">Black Prince, <a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Blandiver, Jack," <a href="#page_152">152</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bloet, Bp., <a href="#page_246">246</a></p> + +<p class="index">Blois, <a href="#page_174">174</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boabdil, <a href="#page_127">127</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boileau, E., <a href="#page_217">217</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boleyn, A., <a href="#page_78">78</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bologna, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, +<a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bolognese, M. S., <a href="#page_337">337</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boningegna, G., <a href="#page_98">98</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boston Art Museum, <a href="#page_342">342</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bosworth, <a href="#page_66">66</a></p> + +<p class="index">Botticelli, <a href="#page_190">190</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boudichon, J., <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boulin, A., <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Boutellier, J. le, <a href="#page_237">237</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bradshaw, <a href="#page_170">170</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brandenburgh, <a href="#page_295">295</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bridget, St., <a href="#page_53">53</a>, +<a href="#page_346">346</a></p> + +<p class="index">Briolottus, <a href="#page_222">222</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brithnoth, <a href="#page_160">160</a></p> + +<p class="index">British Museum, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, +<a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Bronze, <a href="#page_132">132-149</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brooches, <a href="#page_50">50-56</a></p> + +<p class="index">Browning, R., <a href="#page_258">258</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brunelleschi, <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brussels, <a href="#page_172">172</a></p> + +<p class="index">Brussels, M. S., <a href="#page_337">337</a></p> + +<p class="index">Burgundy, <a href="#page_194">194</a></p> + +<p class="index">Byzantine style, <a href="#page_13">13</a>, +<a href="#page_22">22</a>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_63">63</a>, +<a href="#page_84">84</a>, <a href="#page_87">87</a>, +<a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_97">97</a>, +<a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, +<a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, +<a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, +<a href="#page_340">340</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Byzantine Guide," <a href="#page_342">342</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Cadwollo, <a href="#page_134">134</a></p> + +<p class="index">Caffi, M., <a href="#page_307">307</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cambio, A. del, <a href="#page_301">301</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cambridge, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, +<a href="#page_364">364</a></p> + +<p class="index">Camerino, J., <a href="#page_321">321</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cameos, <a href="#page_85">85-90</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cano, A., <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Canterbury, <a href="#page_54">54</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a>, +<a href="#page_243">243</a></p> + +<p class="index">Canute (see Knut)</p> + +<p class="index">Canozio, <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Caradosso, <a href="#page_8">8</a></p> + +<p class="index">Caramania, <a href="#page_168">168</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carazan, <a href="#page_5">5</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carlencas, <a href="#page_218">218</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carovage, <a href="#page_151">151</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carpentras, Bp. of, <a href="#page_37">37</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carrara, <a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Carter, J., <a href="#page_106">106</a>, +<a href="#page_251">251</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a></p> + +<p class="index">Casati, <a href="#page_90">90</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cassiodorus, <a href="#page_327">327</a></p> + +<p class="index">Castel, G. van, <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Castiglione, Count, <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cecilia, St., <a href="#page_186">186</a></p> + +<p class="index">Celestine III., Pope, <a href="#page_18">18</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cellini, Benvenuto, +<a href="#page_xii">xii</a>, <a href="#page_7">7-13</a>, +<a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_56">56</a>, +<a href="#page_68">68-71</a>, <a href="#page_91">91</a>, +<a href="#page_96">96</a>, <a href="#page_105">105</a>, +<a href= "#page_127">127</a>, <a href="#page_132">132</a>, +<a href= "#page_304">304</a></p> + +<p class="index">Celtic style, <a href="#page_50">50-54</a>, +<a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_343">343</a></p> + +<p class="index">Centula, <a href="#page_317">317</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chained Books, <a href="#page_330">330</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chalices, <a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Champlevé, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, +<a href="#page_103">103</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charlemagne, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, +<a href="#page_15">15</a>, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, +<a href="#page_62">62</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, +<a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_146">146</a>, +<a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, +<a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a>, +<a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_332">332</a>, +<a href="#page_338">338</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charles I., <a href="#page_212">212</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charles V., <a href="#page_40">40</a>, +<a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, +<a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, +<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + +<p class="index">Charles the Bold, <a href="#page_15">15</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chartres, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, +<a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, +<a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a>, +<a href="#page_234">234</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, +<a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, +<a href="#page_312">312</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chaucer, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, +<a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chelles, J. de, <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cherio, L. de, <a href="#page_355">355</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chester, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, +<a href="#page_273">273</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chichester, <a href="#page_242">242</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chilperic, <a href="#page_38">38</a></p> + +<p class="index">Chinchintalas, <a href="#page_187">187</a></p> + +<p class="index">Christin of Margate, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cid, The, <a href="#page_128">128</a></p> + +<p class="index">Claudian, <a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clement le Brodeur, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clement, Pope, <a href="#page_9">9</a>, +<a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_89">89</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clemente, St., <a href="#page_321">321</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clermont, <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clocks, <a href="#page_150">150</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clothaire II., <a href="#page_157">157</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clovio, G., <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Clovis II., <a href="#page_62">62</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cluny, <a href="#page_14">14</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cockayne, W., <a href="#page_44">44</a></p> + +<p class="index">Coinsi, Prior, <a href="#page_270">270</a></p> + +<p class="index">Colaccio, M., <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cola di Rienzi, <a href="#page_204">204</a></p> + +<p class="index">Coldingham, <a href="#page_249">249</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cologne, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a></p> + +<p class="index">Columba, St., <a href="#page_220">220</a>, +<a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">Columbkille, <a href="#page_52">52</a></p> + +<p class="index">Constantine, <a href="#page_13">13</a>, +<a href="#page_313">313</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, +<a href="#page_340">340</a></p> + +<p class="index">Constantinople, <a href="#page_57">57</a>, +<a href="#page_84">84</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>, +<a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, +<a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, +<a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, +<a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a></p> + +<p class="index">Constanza, Sta., <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Coquille, G. de, <a href="#page_32">32</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cordova, <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Coro, D. del, <a href="#page_299">299</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cosmati Mosaic, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Coula, <a href="#page_53">53</a></p> + +<p class="index">Courtray, <a href="#page_152">152</a></p> + +<p class="index">Coventry, <a href="#page_201">201</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cozette, <a href="#page_177">177</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cracow, <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crete, <a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crest, H., <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crivelli, C., <a href="#page_183">183</a></p> + +<p class="index">Croisètes, J. de, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cromwell, O., <a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crown Jewels, <a href="#page_66">66</a></p> + +<p class="index">Croyland, <a href="#page_147">147</a>, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_192">192</a>, +<a href="#page_200">200</a></p> + +<p class="index">Crumdale, R., <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cunegonde, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cunegunda, Queen, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_24">24</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cups, <a href="#page_44">44</a></p> + +<p class="index">Curfew, <a href="#page_147">147</a></p> + +<p class="index">Curmer, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cuserius, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cuthbert, St., <a href="#page_53">53</a>, +<a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, +<a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cynewulf, <a href="#page_149">149</a></p> + +<p class="index">Cyzicus, L. de, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, +<a href="#page_341">341</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Dagobert, <a href="#page_62">62</a>, +<a href="#page_162">162</a></p> + +<p class="index">Damascening, <a href="#page_126">126</a></p> + +<p class="index">Damiano, Fra, <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Davenport, <a href="#page_287">287</a></p> + +<p class="index">Davenport, C., <a href="#page_86">86</a></p> + +<p class="index">Davi, J., <a href="#page_236">236</a></p> + +<p class="index">Day, Lewis, <a href="#page_183">183</a></p> + +<p class="index">Decker, H., <a href="#page_259">259</a></p> + +<p class="index">Delhi, <a href="#page_57">57</a></p> + +<p class="index">Delphyn, N., <a href="#page_255">255</a></p> + +<p class="index">Delobel, <a href="#page_196">196</a></p> + +<p class="index">Denis, St., <a href="#page_20">20</a>, +<a href="#page_22">22</a>, <a href="#page_58">58</a>, +<a href="#page_83">83</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, +<a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a></p> + +<p class="index">Deschamps, E., <a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + +<p class="index">Diamonds, <a href="#page_71">71-74</a></p> + +<p class="index">Diàne of de Poictiers, +<a href="#page_107">107</a></p> + +<p class="index">Didier, Abbé, <a href="#page_318">318</a></p> + +<p class="index">Didron, <a href="#page_18">18</a>, +<a href="#page_140">140</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dijon, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, +<a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dipoenus, <a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dioscorides, <a href="#page_341">341</a></p> + +<p class="index">Domenico of the Cameos, <a href="#page_88">88</a></p> + +<p class="index">Donatello, xiii, <a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Donne, Dr., <a href="#page_79">79</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dourdan, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Drawswerd, <a href="#page_255">255</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dresden, <a href="#page_85">85</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dublin, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, +<a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ducarel, <a href="#page_159">159</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dunstan, St., <a href="#page_75">75</a>, +<a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_182">182</a></p> + +<p class="index">Dürer, A., <a href="#page_132">132</a>, +<a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, +<a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Durham, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, +<a href="#page_148">148</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_250">250</a>, +<a href="#page_252">252</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>, +<a href="#page_318">318</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Durham Book," <a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">Durosne, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Duval, J., <a href="#page_173">173</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Ebony, <a href="#page_307">307</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ecclesiasticus, <a href="#page_81">81</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edinburgh, <a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edgitha, <a href="#page_193">193</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edith, Queen, <a href="#page_159">159</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edrisi, <a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edward, goldsmith, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, +<a href="#page_36">36</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edward I., <a href="#page_75">75</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edward II., <a href="#page_168">168</a>, +<a href="#page_199">199</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edward III., <a href="#page_36">36</a>, +<a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edward IV., <a href="#page_37">37</a>, +<a href="#page_117">117</a></p> + +<p class="index">Edward the Confessor, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, +<a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_75">75</a>, +<a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, +<a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_251">251</a></p> + +<p class="index">Egebric, <a href="#page_147">147</a></p> + +<p class="index">Eginhard, <a href="#page_282">282</a></p> + +<p class="index">Egyptians, <a href="#page_1">1</a></p> + +<p class="index">Eleanor, Queen, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, +<a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_249">249</a></p> + +<p class="index">Elfen, <a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Elizabeth, Queen, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, +<a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a></p> + +<p class="index">Eloi, St., <a href="#page_22">22</a>, +<a href="#page_57">57-62</a>, <a href="#page_111">111</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ely, <a href="#page_159">159</a>, +<a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, +<a href="#page_249">249</a></p> + +<p class="index">Embroideries, <a href="#page_179">179-212</a></p> + +<p class="index">Emesa, <a href="#page_65">65</a></p> + +<p class="index">Emma, Queen, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, +<a href="#page_251">251</a></p> + +<p class="index">Enamels, <a href="#page_91">91-108</a></p> + +<p class="index">England, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_4">4</a>, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, +<a href="#page_214">214</a></p> + +<p class="index">Eraclius, <a href="#page_336">336</a></p> + +<p class="index">Essex, William of, <a href="#page_107">107</a></p> + +<p class="index">Etheldreda, St., <a href="#page_249">249</a></p> + +<p class="index">Explicit, <a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="index">Exodus, <a href="#page_1">1</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ezekiel, <a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Fairill, <a href="#page_53">53</a></p> + +<p class="index">Falkland, Viscount, <a href="#page_211">211</a></p> + +<p class="index">Farcy, L., <a href="#page_189">189</a>, +<a href="#page_203">203</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ferdinand I., <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ferdinand II., <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fereol, St., <a href="#page_328">328</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ferucci, F., <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Filigree, <a href="#page_12">12</a></p> + +<p class="index">Finger-rings, <a href="#page_74">74-78</a></p> + +<p class="index">Finiguerra, M., <a href="#page_34">34</a>, +<a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Flagons, <a href="#page_37">37</a></p> + +<p class="index">Flanders, <a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Florence, +<a href="#page_xii">xii</a>, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, +<a href="#page_34">34</a>, <a href="#page_88">88</a>, +<a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, +<a href="#page_147">147</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a>, +<a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, +<a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>, +<a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Florence, Jean of, <a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Florent, St., <a href="#page_163">163</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fontaine, E. la, <a href="#page_23">23</a></p> + +<p class="index">Foucquet, J., <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fowke, F. R., <a href="#page_155">155</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fra Angelico, <a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">France, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_3">3</a>, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, +<a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_214">214-216</a>, +<a href="#page_257">257</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a>, +<a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a></p> + +<p class="index">Francia, <a href="#page_34">34</a>, +<a href="#page_183">183</a></p> + +<p class="index">Francis I., <a href="#page_11">11</a>, +<a href="#page_105">105</a>, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, +<a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, +<a href="#page_177">177</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fremlingham, R. de, <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Froissart, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, +<a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a></p> + +<p class="index">Fuller, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, +<a href="#page_201">201</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Gaddi, G. and A., <a href="#page_319">319-320</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gaegart, <a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gale, P., <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gall, St., <a href="#page_124">124</a>, +<a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_263">263</a>, +<a href="#page_285">285</a></p> + +<p class="index">Galla Placida, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Gammer Gurton's Needle," <a href="#page_188">188</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gandesheim, <a href="#page_19">19</a></p> + +<p class="index">Garlande, J. de, <a href="#page_62">62</a></p> + +<p class="index">Garnier, <a href="#page_230">230</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gaunt, J. of, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, +<a href="#page_55">55</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gautier, R., <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gendulphus, St., <a href="#page_288">288</a></p> + +<p class="index">Genesis, <a href="#page_160">160</a></p> + +<p class="index">Genevieve, St., <a href="#page_3">3</a>, +<a href="#page_239">239</a></p> + +<p class="index">Genoa, <a href="#page_12">12</a>, +<a href="#page_180">180</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gerbert, <a href="#page_150">150</a></p> + +<p class="index">Germany, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, +<a href="#page_16">16</a>, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, +<a href="#page_114">114</a>, <a href="#page_130">130</a>, +<a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, +<a href="#page_185">185</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, +<a href="#page_214">214</a>, <a href="#page_257">257</a>, +<a href="#page_262">262</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a></p> + +<p class="index">George II., <a href="#page_186">186</a></p> + +<p class="index">George IV., <a href="#page_75">75</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gerona, <a href="#page_160">160</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ghent, <a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ghiberti, +<a href="#page_xii">xii</a>, <a href="#page_34">34</a>, +<a href="#page_71">71</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, +<a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ghirlandajo, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Giacomo, Maestro, <a href="#page_306">306</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gifford, G., <a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gilles, St., <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Giralda, <a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">Giraldus, Cambriensis, <a href="#page_335">335</a></p> + +<p class="index">Girard d'Orleans, <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Giotto, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Giovanni of the Camelians," <a href="#page_88">88</a></p> + +<p class="index">Giudetto, Maestro, <a href="#page_296">296</a></p> + +<p class="index">Glastonbury, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, +<a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, +<a href="#page_331">331</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gloucester, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, +<a href="#page_331">331</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gloucester, John of, <a href="#page_248">248</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gobelins Tapestry, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a></p> + +<p class="index">Godemann, <a href="#page_355">355</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gold Leaf, <a href="#page_335">335</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gontran, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gothic style, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gouda, <a href="#page_299">299</a></p> + +<p class="index">Granada, <a href="#page_183">183</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gregory, St., <a href="#page_221">221</a>, +<a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gresham, Sir T., <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grès, H. de, <a href="#page_292">292</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grimani Breviary, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grosso, N., <a href="#page_116">116</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grotesques, <a href="#page_235">235-243</a>, +<a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, +<a href="#page_353">353</a></p> + +<p class="index">Grove, D. van, <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Guerrazzar, Treasure of, <a href="#page_63">63</a></p> + +<p class="index">Guillaume, Abbot, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Gutierez, <a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Haag, J., <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hall Mark, <a href="#page_3">3</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hankford, Sir W., <a href="#page_36">36</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hampton Court, <a href="#page_171">171</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hannequin, <a href="#page_32">32</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harleian MS., <a href="#page_352">352</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harrison, <a href="#page_193">193</a></p> + +<p class="index">Harold, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, +<a href="#page_158">158</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hasquin, J. de, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hatfield, <a href="#page_171">171</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hayes, S. L., <a href="#page_156">156</a></p> + +<p class="index">Headlam, C., <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hebrides, <a href="#page_196">196</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hebrews, <a href="#page_1">1</a></p> + +<p class="index">Héliot, <a href="#page_292">292</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hennequin de Liege, <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry I., <a href="#page_23">23</a>, +<a href="#page_155">155</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry II., <a href="#page_83">83</a>, +<a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry III, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, +<a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, +<a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>, +<a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, +<a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, +<a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, +<a href="#page_311">311</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry V., <a href="#page_252">252</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry VI., <a href="#page_185">185</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry VII., <a href="#page_102">102</a>, +<a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, +<a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, +<a href="#page_257">257</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry VIII., <a href="#page_131">131</a>, +<a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, +<a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a></p> + +<p class="index">Henry the Pious, <a href="#page_23">23</a></p> + +<p class="index">Herlin, F., <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Herman, <a href="#page_74">74</a></p> + +<p class="index">Herodias, <a href="#page_65">65</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hezilo, <a href="#page_20">20</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hildesheim, +<a href="#page_xii">xii</a>, <a href="#page_16">16-20</a>, +<a href="#page_116">116</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, +<a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, +<a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a>, +<a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>, +<a href="#page_317">317</a></p> + +<p class="index">Holanda, A. de, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Holderness, <a href="#page_273">273</a></p> + +<p class="index">Honorius, Pope, <a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hudd, A., <a href="#page_255">255</a></p> + +<p class="index">Huberd, R., <a href="#page_251">251</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hugh, St., <a href="#page_246">246</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hughes, Abbot, <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Husee, <a href="#page_37">37-78</a></p> + +<p class="index">Hust, A., <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Il Lasca, <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Illumination, <a href="#page_326">326-364</a></p> + +<p class="index">Imber, L., <a href="#page_255">255</a></p> + +<p class="index">Inlay, <a href="#page_296">296-309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Innocent IV., <a href="#page_200">200</a></p> + +<p class="index">Iona, <a href="#page_220">220</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ireland, <a href="#page_342">342-345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Iron, <a href="#page_109">109-121</a></p> + +<p class="index">Isaiah, <a href="#page_1">1</a></p> + +<p class="index">Isidore, <a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Isle of Man, <a href="#page_77">77</a></p> + +<p class="index">Islip, Abbot, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, +<a href="#page_275">275</a></p> + +<p class="index">Italy, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, +<a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_92">92</a>, +<a href="#page_141">141</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ivan III, <a href="#page_283">283</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ivory carving, <a href="#page_275">275-295</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Ivy Pattern," <a href="#page_347">347</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Jackson, H., <a href="#page_307">307</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jacob of Breslau, <a href="#page_328">328</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jacobus, Fra, <a href="#page_319">319</a></p> + +<p class="index">James, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">James I., <a href="#page_56">56</a>, +<a href="#page_176">176</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jeanne, Queen, <a href="#page_173">173</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jeanne of Navarre, <a href="#page_68">68</a></p> + +<p class="index">John, King, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, +<a href="#page_105">105</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">John XII., <a href="#page_111">111</a></p> + +<p class="index">John IV., <a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">Johnson, R., <a href="#page_117">117</a></p> + +<p class="index">Joinville, Sirede, <a href="#page_194">194</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jones, Sir E. B., <a href="#page_203">203</a></p> + +<p class="index">Jouy, B. de, <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Justinian, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, +<a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Katherine, Queen, <a href="#page_252">252</a></p> + +<p class="index">Katherine of Aragon, <a href="#page_209">209</a></p> + +<p class="index">Keepe, H., <a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kells, Book of, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, +<a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kent, Fair Maid of, <a href="#page_196">196</a></p> + +<p class="index">Keys, <a href="#page_119">119</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kildare, Gospels of, <a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kirton, Ed., <a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Kleine Heldenbuch," <a href="#page_189">189</a></p> + +<p class="index">Knight, <a href="#page_210">210</a></p> + +<p class="index">Knut, King, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, +<a href="#page_252">252</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kohinoor, <a href="#page_71">71</a></p> + +<p class="index">Kraft, A., <a href="#page_141">141</a>, +<a href="#page_213">213</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, +<a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, +<a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Krems, <a href="#page_115">115</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Laach, <a href="#page_262">262</a></p> + +<p class="index">Labenwolf, <a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">Labarte, <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Laborde, <a href="#page_74">74</a></p> + +<p class="index">Labraellier, J., <a href="#page_295">295</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lacordaire, <a href="#page_160">160</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lagrange, <a href="#page_168">168</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lambspring, B., <a href="#page_129">129</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lamoury, S., <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lateran, The, <a href="#page_205">205</a>, +<a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a></p> + +<p class="index">Laura, <a href="#page_193">193</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lawrence, St., <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lead, <a href="#page_149">149</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lebrija, <a href="#page_269">269</a></p> + +<p class="index">Leighton, T. de, <a href="#page_117">117</a></p> + +<p class="index">Leland, <a href="#page_206">206</a></p> + +<p class="index">Leo III., <a href="#page_203">203</a></p> + +<p class="index">Leo X., <a href="#page_172">172</a></p> + +<p class="index">Leon, <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Leopardi, <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Les Maitres Mosaïtes," +<a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lethaby, W. R., <a href="#page_252">252</a>, +<a href="#page_311">311</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lewis, <a href="#page_293">293</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lewis, H., <a href="#page_117">117</a></p> + +<p class="index">Liberale da Verona, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Liber Eliensis," <a href="#page_200">200</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lille, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Limoges, <a href="#page_24">24-57</a>, +<a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, +<a href="#page_144">144</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lincoln, <a href="#page_244">244</a>, +<a href="#page_246">246</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lincoln Imp, <a href="#page_247">247</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lindisfarne, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, +<a href="#page_345">345</a></p> + +<p class="index">Limousin, E. and L., <a href="#page_107">107</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lisle, Lord, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, +<a href="#page_55">55</a></p> + +<p class="index">Little Gidding, <a href="#page_212">212</a></p> + +<p class="index">Locks, <a href="#page_120">120</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lombards, The, <a href="#page_18">18</a>, +<a href="#page_63">63</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, +<a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">London, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, +<a href="#page_26">26</a>, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, +<a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_185">185</a>, +<a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, +<a href="#page_288">288</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lothaire, <a href="#page_38">38</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louis VI., <a href="#page_21">21</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louis VII., <a href="#page_21">21</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louis XII., <a href="#page_174">174</a>, +<a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louis XIV., <a href="#page_197">197</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louis, Prince, <a href="#page_20">20</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louis, St., <a href="#page_22">22</a>, +<a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, +<a href="#page_240">240</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a></p> + +<p class="index">Louvre, The, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, +<a href="#page_292">292</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lübke, <a href="#page_xi">xi</a></p> + +<p class="index">Lucca, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, +<a href="#page_296">296</a></p> + +<p class="index">Luca della Robbia, <a href="#page_213">213</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ludlow, <a href="#page_273">273</a></p> + +<p class="index">Luini, B., <a href="#page_307">307</a></p> + +<p class="index">Luna, de, <a href="#page_306">306</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">MacDurnam, <a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Mad Meg," <a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Madrid, <a href="#page_177">177-270</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maes Eyck, <a href="#page_358">358</a></p> + +<p class="index">Magaster, <a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maiano, B. de, <a href="#page_304">304</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maitland, <a href="#page_14">14</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maitani, L., <a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Malaga, <a href="#page_269">269</a></p> + +<p class="index">Malmsbury, W. of, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, +<a href="#page_75">75</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a></p> + +<p class="index">Malvezzi, M., <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Manne, P., <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mantegna, <a href="#page_101">101</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mantreux, J. de, <a href="#page_32">32</a></p> + +<p class="index">Manuello, <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mapilton, Master, <a href="#page_252">252</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Mappae Claviculae," <a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="index">Marcel, St., <a href="#page_238">238</a></p> + +<p class="index">Marcellus, <a href="#page_65">65</a></p> + +<p class="index">Marche, L. de la, <a href="#page_341">341</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maretta, G., <a href="#page_8">8</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mariana, Queen, <a href="#page_270">270</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mark's, St., <a href="#page_318">318</a>, +<a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Marten, <a href="#page_66">66</a></p> + +<p class="index">Martin, St., <a href="#page_17">17</a>, +<a href="#page_87">87</a></p> + +<p class="index">Martyr, Bp., <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mary, Queen of Scots, <a href="#page_210">210</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maskell, A. and W., <a href="#page_32">32</a>, +<a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a></p> + +<p class="index">Massari, A., <a href="#page_306">306</a></p> + +<p class="index">Matilda, Queen, <a href="#page_155">155</a></p> + +<p class="index">Matsys, Q., <a href="#page_118">118</a>, +<a href="#page_141">141</a></p> + +<p class="index">Matteo da Siena, <a href="#page_300">300</a></p> + +<p class="index">Maximian, <a href="#page_282">282</a></p> + +<p class="index">Medici, The, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, +<a href="#page_176">176</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, +<a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a></p> + +<p class="index">Memlinc, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mexicans, <a href="#page_18">18</a></p> + +<p class="index">Michael, St., <a href="#page_18">18</a>, +<a href="#page_19">19</a></p> + +<p class="index">Michelangelo, <a href="#page_9">9</a>, +<a href="#page_90">90</a>, <a href="#page_116">116</a>, +<a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_303">303</a></p> + +<p class="index">Milan, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, +<a href="#page_307">307</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mildmay, H., <a href="#page_67">67</a></p> + +<p class="index">Minella, P. de, <a href="#page_299">299</a></p> + +<p class="index">Miniato, San, <a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Miserere Stalls, <a href="#page_271">271-275</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Mons Meg," <a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Monte Cassino, <a href="#page_318">318</a></p> + +<p class="index">Montereau, J. de, <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Montfort, S. de, <a href="#page_63">63</a></p> + +<p class="index">Montarsy, P. de, <a href="#page_35">35</a></p> + +<p class="index">Monza, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, +<a href="#page_63">63</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Monzon, <a href="#page_146">146</a></p> + +<p class="index">Moore, Charles, +<a href="#page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#page_234">234</a></p> + +<p class="index">Moorish style, <a href="#page_24">24</a></p> + +<p class="index">Moreau, J., <a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">Morel, B., <a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mortlake, <a href="#page_178">178</a></p> + +<p class="index">Morris, Wm., <a href="#page_v">v</a>, +<a href="#page_x">x</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a></p> + +<p class="index">Moryson, F., <a href="#page_26">26</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mt. Athos, <a href="#page_341">341</a></p> + +<p class="index">Möser, L., <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Mosaic, <a href="#page_309">309-327</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Nantes, <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Nassaro, M. dal, <a href="#page_88">88</a></p> + +<p class="index">Naumberg, <a href="#page_259">259</a></p> + +<p class="index">Navagiero, <a href="#page_183">183</a></p> + +<p class="index">Nevers, Count of, <a href="#page_194">194</a></p> + +<p class="index">Nicolas, J., <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Niello, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, +<a href="#page_99">99-102</a></p> + +<p class="index">Nomenticum, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Norfolk, <a href="#page_31">31</a></p> + +<p class="index">Norman style, <a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Norton, C. E., <a href="#page_219">219</a>, +<a href="#page_226">226</a></p> + +<p class="index">Norwich, <a href="#page_45">45</a>, +<a href="#page_196">196</a>, <a href="#page_331">331</a></p> + +<p class="index">Nôtre Dame, Paris, +<a href="#page_218">218</a>, <a href="#page_234">234</a>, +<a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Noyon, <a href="#page_58">58</a>, <a href="#page_60">60</a></p> + +<p class="index">Nüremberg, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, +<a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, +<a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, +<a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Oath Book of the Saxon Kings, +<a href="#page_346">346</a></p> + +<p class="index">Odericus, <a href="#page_311">311</a></p> + +<p class="index">Odo, goldsmith, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, +<a href="#page_27">27</a></p> + +<p class="index">Odo, Abbot, <a href="#page_115">115</a></p> + +<p class="index">Olivetans, <a href="#page_307">307-308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orcagna, <a href="#page_34">34</a>, +<a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, +<a href="#page_227">227</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orebsc, S. M., <a href="#page_24">24</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orghet, J., <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Oriental, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_84">84</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orleans, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orso Magister, <a href="#page_222">222</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orviedo, <a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">Orvieto, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, +<a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_244">244</a>, +<a href="#page_302">302</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Osmont, <a href="#page_204">204</a></p> + +<p class="index">Othlonus, <a href="#page_356">356</a></p> + +<p class="index">Otho, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, +<a href="#page_286">286</a></p> + +<p class="index">Otto III., Emperor, <a href="#page_16">16</a></p> + +<p class="index">Oudenardes, <a href="#page_169">169</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ouen, St., <a href="#page_58">58</a></p> + +<p class="index">Oxford, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, +<a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, +<a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Pacheco, <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Padua, <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pala d'Oro, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, +<a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a></p> + +<p class="index">Palermo, <a href="#page_311">311</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Pancake Man" <a href="#page_245">245</a></p> + +<p class="index">Paris, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_17">17</a>, <a href="#page_20">20-23</a>, +<a href="#page_26">26</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, +<a href="#page_52">52</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, +<a href="#page_86">86</a>, <a href="#page_113">113</a>, +<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, +<a href="#page_186">186</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, +<a href="#page_218">218</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, +<a href="#page_234">234</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, +<a href="#page_239">239</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>, +<a href="#page_339">339</a></p> + +<p class="index">Paris, Matthew, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, +<a href="#page_180">180</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Parma, <a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Patras, L., <a href="#page_139">139</a></p> + +<p class="index">Patrick, St., <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_52">52</a>, +<a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a></p> + +<p class="index">Paul the Deacon, <a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Paulus, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pausanias, <a href="#page_121">121</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pavia, <a href="#page_221">221</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pembroke, Earl, <a href="#page_67">67</a></p> + +<p class="index">Penne, <a href="#page_208">208</a></p> + +<p class="index">Perseus, <a href="#page_134">134</a></p> + +<p class="index">Persia, <a href="#page_55">55</a></p> + +<p class="index">Perugia, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peselli, <a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter Albericus, <a href="#page_224">224</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter Amabilis, <a href="#page_224">224</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter the Great, <a href="#page_295">295</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter de St. Andeman, <a href="#page_335">335</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter Orfever, <a href="#page_224">224</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter of Rome, <a href="#page_310">310</a></p> + +<p class="index">Peter of Spain, <a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">Petrarch, <a href="#page_192">192</a>, +<a href="#page_362">362</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philip IV., <a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philip the Bold, <a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philip the Good, <a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philippa, Queen, <a href="#page_194">194</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philostratus, <a href="#page_91">91</a>, +<a href="#page_103">103</a></p> + +<p class="index">Philoxenus, <a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">Picardie, <a href="#page_317">317</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pickering, W., <a href="#page_129">129</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pietra Dura, <a href="#page_301">301</a></p> + +<p class="index">Piggigny, J. de, <a href="#page_32">32</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pinturicchio, <a href="#page_300">300</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pirckheimer, W., <a href="#page_132">132</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pisa, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, +<a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pisani, The, <a href="#page_71">71</a>, +<a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, +<a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_234">234</a>, +<a href="#page_244">244</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pistoja, <a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pitti Palace, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, +<a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>, +<a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pius II., <a href="#page_67">67</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pliny, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, +<a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a></p> + +<p class="index">Poitiers, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, +<a href="#page_163">163</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pollajuolo, <a href="#page_xiii">xiii</a>, +<a href="#page_34">34</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a></p> + +<p class="index">Polo, Marco, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, +<a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_71">71</a>, +<a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pordenone, <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Portland Vase, <a href="#page_87">87</a></p> + +<p class="index">Poucet, J. de and B., <a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">Poulligny, G. de, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Poussin, N., <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Precious Stones, <a href="#page_77">77-83</a></p> + +<p class="index">Prior and Gardner, <a href="#page_244">244</a></p> + +<p class="index">Probus, <a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Properties of Things," <a href="#page_4">4</a></p> + +<p class="index">Psalter of Edwin, <a href="#page_353">353</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ptolemies, The, <a href="#page_83">83</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pudenziana, St., <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Pugin, <a href="#page_120">120</a>, +<a href="#page_153">153</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Quentin, St., <a href="#page_60">60</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Queen Mary's Psalter," <a href="#page_347">347</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Rabanus, <a href="#page_278">278</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rabotin, L., <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Raffaelo da Brescia, <a href="#page_308">308</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ralph, Brother, <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ramsay, W., <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Raphael, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, +<a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rausart, J. de, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ravenna, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, +<a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_282">282</a>, +<a href="#page_283">283</a>, <a href="#page_312">312</a>, +<a href="#page_314">314</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Redgrave, R., <a href="#page_xi">xi</a>, +<a href="#page_47">47</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rée, J. P., <a href="#page_259">259</a></p> + +<p class="index">Reformation, The, <a href="#page_29">29</a>, +<a href="#page_31">31</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a></p> + +<p class="index">Reggio, <a href="#page_305">305</a></p> + +<p class="index">Renaissance, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, +<a href="#page_88">88</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_192">192</a>, +<a href="#page_205">205</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, +<a href="#page_239">239</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a>, +<a href="#page_271">271</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a></p> + +<p class="index">René of Anjou, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, +<a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, +<a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">Renoy, J., <a href="#page_237">237</a></p> + +<p class="index">Reynolds, Sir J., <a href="#page_139">139</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rheims, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, +<a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, +<a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_239">239</a>, +<a href="#page_300">300</a></p> + +<p class="index">Richard II., <a href="#page_37">37</a>, +<a href="#page_135">135</a></p> + +<p class="index">Richard III., <a href="#page_66">66</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ripon, <a href="#page_273">273</a></p> + +<p class="index">Robert, King, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, +<a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rock, Dr., <a href="#page_155">155</a>, +<a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rome, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, +<a href="#page_19">19</a>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a>, +<a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_278">278</a>, +<a href="#page_283">283</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a>, +<a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Romanesque style, <a href="#page_18">18</a>, +<a href="#page_29">29</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, +<a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a></p> + +<p class="index">Romulus and Remus, <a href="#page_299">299</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rosebeque, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, +<a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rossi, <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rothenburg, <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Rouen, <a href="#page_60">60</a>, +<a href="#page_236">236</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Roze, Abbé, <a href="#page_236">236</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ruskin, J., +<a href="#page_v">v</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, +<a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, +<a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, +<a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, +<a href="#page_298">298</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Salinas, <a href="#page_130">130</a></p> + +<p class="index">Salisbury, <a href="#page_243">243</a></p> + +<p class="index">Salisbury, Earl, <a href="#page_35">35</a></p> + +<p class="index">Salt-cellars, <a href="#page_43">43</a></p> + +<p class="index">Salutati, B., <a href="#page_195">195</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sand, G., <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sandwich, <a href="#page_30">30</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sansovino, <a href="#page_xii">xii</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sano di Pietro, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Saumur, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, +<a href="#page_241">241</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sauval, <a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Savonarola, <a href="#page_195">195</a></p> + +<p class="index">Schülein, H., <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Scillis, <a href="#page_276">276</a></p> + +<p class="index">Scholastico, A., <a href="#page_295">295</a></p> + +<p class="index">Schutz, C., <a href="#page_185">185</a></p> + +<p class="index">Scott, W., <a href="#page_51">51</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sculpture, <a href="#page_213">213</a></p> + +<p class="index">Selsea, <a href="#page_242">242</a></p> + +<p class="index">Senlis, H. de, <a href="#page_292">292</a></p> + +<p class="index">Seville, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, +<a href="#page_132">132</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sewald, <a href="#page_165">165</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shakespeare, <a href="#page_77">77</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shoreditch, J. of, <a href="#page_168">168</a></p> + +<p class="index">Shrewsbury, <a href="#page_211">211</a></p> + +<p class="index">Siena, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, +<a href="#page_298">298-300</a>, <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Silk, <a href="#page_179">179</a></p> + +<p class="index">Siriès, L., <a href="#page_302">302</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sithiu, <a href="#page_339">339</a></p> + +<p class="index">Skelton, J., <a href="#page_359">359</a></p> + +<p class="index">Smyrna, <a href="#page_168">168</a></p> + +<p class="index">Soignoles, J. de, <a href="#page_240">240</a></p> + +<p class="index">Solignac, <a href="#page_58">58</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sophia, Sta., <a href="#page_316">316</a></p> + +<p class="index">South Kensington Museum, <a href="#page_19">19</a>, +<a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, +<a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, +<a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a></p> + +<p class="index">Spain, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, +<a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_120">120</a>, +<a href="#page_127">127-8</a>, <a href="#page_130">130</a>, +<a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, +<a href="#page_278">278</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a>, +<a href="#page_306">306</a></p> + +<p class="index">Spoons, <a href="#page_39">39</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Squire of Low Degree," <a href="#page_197">197</a></p> + +<p class="index">Staley, E., <a href="#page_134">134</a></p> + +<p class="index">Statius, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stauracius, <a href="#page_136">136</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stengel, H., <a href="#page_309">309</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stephanus, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stephen IV., <a href="#page_187">187</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stevens, T., <a href="#page_144">144</a></p> + +<p class="index">Strasburg, <a href="#page_259">259</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stoss-Veit, <a href="#page_258">258-266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stubbes, <a href="#page_25">25</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stubbs, Charles, <a href="#page_249">249</a></p> + +<p class="index">Stump Work, <a href="#page_212">212</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sturgis, R., <a href="#page_vii">vii</a>, +<a href="#page_218">218</a>, <a href="#page_307">307</a></p> + +<p class="index">Suger, Abbot, <a href="#page_20">20-23</a>, +<a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a></p> + +<p class="index">Suinthila, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, +<a href="#page_63">63</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sumercote, J. de, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Swineherd of Stowe," <a href="#page_246">246</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sylvester II., <a href="#page_151">151</a></p> + +<p class="index">Sylvester, Bp., <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Symmachus, <a href="#page_279">279</a></p> + +<p class="index">Symonds, J. A., <a href="#page_139">139</a></p> + +<p class="index">Syon Cope, <a href="#page_201">201</a></p> + +<p class="index">Syrlin, J., <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Tali, A., <a href="#page_319">319-320</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tanagra, <a href="#page_213">213</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tancho, <a href="#page_146">146</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tapestry, <a href="#page_154">154-178</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tapicier, G. le, <a href="#page_168">168</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tappistere, J. le, <a href="#page_168">168</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tara Brooch, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, +<a href="#page_83">83</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tartary, <a href="#page_184">184</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tassach, <a href="#page_53">53</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tasso, D. and G., <a href="#page_303">303</a>, +<a href="#page_304">304</a></p> + +<p class="index">Taugmar, <a href="#page_17">17</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tegernsee, <a href="#page_357">357</a></p> + +<p class="index">Temple Church, <a href="#page_248">248</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tenison Psalter, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, +<a href="#page_352">352</a></p> + +<p class="index">Texier, Abbé, <a href="#page_xiii">xiii</a></p> + +<p class="index">Textiles, <a href="#page_154">154</a></p> + +<p class="index">Thebes, <a href="#page_181">181</a></p> + +<p class="index">Thergunna, <a href="#page_196">196</a></p> + +<p class="index">Theodolinda, Queen, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, +<a href="#page_277">277</a></p> + +<p class="index">Theodora, <a href="#page_315">315</a></p> + +<p class="index">Theodoric, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, +<a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a></p> + +<p class="index">Theophilus the Monk, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, +<a href="#page_6">6</a>, <a href="#page_7">7</a>, +<a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>, +<a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, +<a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, +<a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_185">185</a>, +<a href="#page_276">276</a>, <a href="#page_337">337</a>,</p> + +<p class="index">Theophilus, Emperor, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, +<a href="#page_317">317</a></p> + +<p class="index">Thillo, <a href="#page_58">58</a></p> + +<p class="index">Thomson, M. G., <a href="#page_165">165</a>, +<a href="#page_171">171</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tintoretto, <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Titian, <a href="#page_323">323</a></p> + +<p class="index">Toledo, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, +<a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_63">63</a>, +<a href="#page_125">125</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, +<a href="#page_270">270</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tonquin, J., <a href="#page_114">114</a></p> + +<p class="index">Topf, J., <a href="#page_129">129</a></p> + +<p class="index">Torcello, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, +<a href="#page_319">319</a></p> + +<p class="index">Torel, W., <a href="#page_144">144</a>, +<a href="#page_249">249</a>, <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Torpenhow, <a href="#page_31">31</a></p> + +<p class="index">Torregiano, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, +<a href="#page_264">264</a></p> + +<p class="index">Torriti, J., <a href="#page_321">321</a></p> + +<p class="index">Touraine, <a href="#page_194">194</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tours, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, +<a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, +<a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">"Treatises" of Cellini, <a href="#page_11">11</a></p> + +<p class="index">Trittenham, J. of, <a href="#page_354">354</a></p> + +<p class="index">Trophimes, St., <a href="#page_229">229</a></p> + +<p class="index">Troupin, J., <a href="#page_265">265</a></p> + +<p class="index">Troyes, <a href="#page_170">170</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tucher, A., <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tudela, B. of, <a href="#page_57">57</a>, +<a href="#page_181">181</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tudor, <a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tuscany, <a href="#page_5">5</a></p> + +<p class="index">Tutilon, or Tutilo, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, +<a href="#page_263">263</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Ubaldo, St., <a href="#page_204">204</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ugolino of Siena, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ulm, <a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ulpha, St., <a href="#page_233">233</a></p> + +<p class="index">Urbino, <a href="#page_306">306</a></p> + +<p class="index">Utrecht Psalter, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, +<a href="#page_353">353</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Valence, A. de, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, +<a href="#page_233">233</a></p> + +<p class="index">Valencia, <a href="#page_146">146</a></p> + +<p class="index">Valerio Vincentino, <a href="#page_89">89</a></p> + +<p class="index">Van Eyck, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vasari, G., <a href="#page_34">34</a>, +<a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, +<a href="#page_106">106</a>, <a href="#page_116">116</a>, +<a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, +<a href="#page_302">302</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, +<a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vatican, <a href="#page_204">204</a></p> + +<p class="index">Velasquez, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, +<a href="#page_167">167</a></p> + +<p class="index">Venice, <a href="#page_84">84</a>, +<a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, +<a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_312">312</a>, +<a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, +<a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a></p> + +<p class="index">Verocchio, <a href="#page_33">33</a>, +<a href="#page_34">34</a></p> + +<p class="index">Verona, <a href="#page_88">88</a>, +<a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a></p> + +<p class="index">Villant, P. de, <a href="#page_208">208</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vinci, L. da, <a href="#page_33">33</a></p> + +<p class="index">Viollet-le-Duc, <a href="#page_52">52</a>, +<a href="#page_218">218</a></p> + +<p class="index">Virgil, <a href="#page_228">228</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vischer, Peter, <a href="#page_141">141-143</a>, +<a href="#page_266">266</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vischer, Peter, Jr., <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vitel, <a href="#page_314">314</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vitruvius, <a href="#page_187">187</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vivaria, <a href="#page_327">327</a></p> + +<p class="index">Vopiscus, F., <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Wallois, H., <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Walpole, H., <a href="#page_148">148</a></p> + +<p class="index">Walsingham, A. de, <a href="#page_248">248</a></p> + +<p class="index">Walter of Colchester, <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Walter of Durham, <a href="#page_250">250</a></p> + +<p class="index">Ware, R. de, <a href="#page_311">311</a></p> + +<p class="index">Warwick, <a href="#page_144">144</a></p> + +<p class="index">Waquier, <a href="#page_207">207</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wechter, F. de, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">Welburne, J., <a href="#page_275">275</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wells, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, +<a href="#page_244">244</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wendover, R. de, <a href="#page_180">180</a></p> + +<p class="index">Westminster, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, +<a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, +<a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, +<a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, +<a href="#page_233">233</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>, +<a href="#page_241">241</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, +<a href="#page_249">249-255</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a>, +<a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_311">311</a>, +<a href="#page_331">331</a></p> + +<p class="index">Westwood, O., <a href="#page_344">344</a></p> + +<p class="index">Weyden, van der, <a href="#page_169">169</a></p> + +<p class="index">Willaume, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">William the Conqueror, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, +<a href="#page_232">232</a></p> + +<p class="index">Williams of Sens, <a href="#page_243">243</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wilton, Countess of, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, +<a href="#page_172">172</a></p> + +<p class="index">Winchester, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, +<a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, +<a href="#page_272">272</a></p> + +<p class="index">Windsor, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, +<a href="#page_131">131</a>, <a href="#page_268">268</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wire-drawing, <a href="#page_184">184</a></p> + +<p class="index">Withaf, King, <a href="#page_192">192</a></p> + +<p class="index">Withers, G., <a href="#page_67">67</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wolsey, Card., <a href="#page_175">175</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wood-carving, <a href="#page_262">262-275</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wood, <a href="#page_66">66</a></p> + +<p class="index">Woolstrope, <a href="#page_29">29</a></p> + +<p class="index">Worsted, <a href="#page_196">196</a></p> + +<p class="index">Wyckham, W., <a href="#page_102">102</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Ypres, <a href="#page_166">166</a></p> + +<p class="index">York, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, +<a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a></p> + +<p class="spacer"></p> + +<p class="index">Zamborro, M., <a href="#page_322">322</a></p> + +<p class="index">Zuccati, The, <a href="#page_323">323-325</a></p> + + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full"> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 18212-h.txt or 18212-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/1/18212</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages + A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance + + +Author: Julia De Wolf Addison + + + +Release Date: April 19, 2006 [eBook #18212] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE +AGES*** + + +E-text prepared by Robert J. Hall + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 18212-h.htm or 18212-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212/18212-h/18212-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212/18212-h.zip) + + + + + +ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES + +A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments +of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in +the Early Renaissance + +by + +JULIA DE WOLF ADDISON + +Author of "The Art of the Pitti Palace," "The Art of the National +Gallery," "Classic Myths in Art," etc. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF ECCLESIASTICAL METAL WORK] + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +The very general and keen interest in the revival of arts and crafts +in America is a sign full of promise and pleasure to those who +are working among the so-called minor arts. One reads at every +turn how greatly Ruskin and Morris have influenced handicraft: how +much these men and their co-workers have modified the appearance +of our streets and houses, our materials, textiles, utensils, and +all other useful things in which it is possible to shock or to +please the aesthetic taste, without otherwise affecting the value +of these articles for their destined purposes. + +In this connection it is interesting to look into the past, particularly +to those centuries known as the Middle Ages, in which the handicrafts +flourished in special perfection, and to see for ourselves how +these crafts were pursued, and exactly what these arts really were. +Many people talk learnedly of the delightful revival of the arts +and crafts without having a very definite idea of the original +processes which are being restored to popular favour. William Morris +himself, although a great modern spirit, and reformer, felt the +necessity of a basis of historic knowledge in all workers. "I do +not think," he says, "that any man but one of the highest genius +could do anything in these days without much study of ancient art, +and even he would be much hindered if he lacked it." It is but +turning to the original sources, then, to examine the progress +of mediaeval artistic crafts, and those sources are usually to be +found preserved for our edification in enormous volumes of plates, +inaccessible to most readers, and seldom with the kind of information +which the average person would enjoy. There are very few books +dealing with the arts and crafts of the olden time, which are adapted +to inform those who have no intention of practising such arts, +and yet who wish to understand and appreciate the examples which +they see in numerous museums or exhibitions, and in travelling +abroad. There are many of the arts and crafts which come under +the daily observation of the tourist, which make no impression +upon him and have no message for him, simply because he has never +considered the subject of their origin and construction. After +one has once studied the subject of historic carving, metal work, +embroidery, tapestry, or illumination, one can never fail to look +upon these things with intelligent interest and vastly increased +pleasure. + +Until the middle of the nineteenth century art had been regarded +as a luxury for the rich dilettante,--the people heard little of +it, and thought less. The utensils and furniture of the middle class +were fashioned only with a view to utility; there was a popular belief +that beautiful things were expensive, and the thrifty housekeeper who +had no money to put into bric-a-brac never thought of such things as +an artistic lamp shade or a well-coloured sofa cushion. Decorative +art is well defined by Mr. Russell Sturgis: "Fine art applied to the +making beautiful or interesting that which is made for utilitarian +purposes." + +Many people have an impression that the more ornate an article +is, the more work has been lavished upon it. There never was a +more erroneous idea. The diligent polish in order to secure nice +plain surfaces, or the neat fitting of parts together, is infinitely +more difficult than adding a florid casting to conceal clumsy +workmanship. Of course certain forms of elaboration involve great +pains and labour; but the mere fact that a piece of work is decorated +does not show that it has cost any more in time and execution than if +it were plain,--frequently many hours have been saved by the device +of covering up defects with cheap ornament. How often one finds that +a simple chair with a plain back costs more than one which is +apparently elaborately carved! The reason is, that the plain one had +to be made out of a decent piece of wood, while the ornate one was +turned out of a poor piece, and then stamped with a pattern in order +to attract the attention from the inferior material of which it was +composed. The softer and poorer the wood, the deeper it was possible +to stamp it at a single blow. The same principle applies to +much work in metal. Flimsy bits of silverware stamped with cheap +designs of flowers or fruits are attached to surfaces badly finished, +while the work involved in making such a piece of plate with a +plain surface would increase its cost three or four times. + +A craft may easily be practised without art, and still serve its +purpose; the alliance of the two is a means of giving pleasure +as well as serving utility. But it is a mistake to suppose that +because a design is artistic, its technical rendering is any the +less important. Frequently curious articles are palmed off on us, +and designated as "Arts and Crafts" ornaments, in which neither +art nor craft plays its full share. Art does not consist only in +original, unusual, or unfamiliar designs; craft does not mean hammering +silver so that the hammer marks shall show; the best art is that +which produces designs of grace and appropriateness, whether they +are strikingly new or not, and the best craftsman is so skilful +that he is able to go beyond the hammer marks, so to speak, and +to produce with the hammer a surface as smooth as, and far more +perfect than, that produced by an emery and burnisher. Some people +think that "Arts and Crafts" means a combination which allows of +poor work being concealed under a mask of aesthetic effect. Labour +should not go forth blindly without art, and art should not proceed +simply for the attainment of beauty without utility,--in other +words, there should be an alliance between labour and art. + +One principle for which craftsmen should stand is +a respect for their own tools: a frank recognition of the methods +and implements employed in constructing any article. If the article +in question is a chair, and is really put together by means of +sockets and pegs, let these constructive necessities appear, and do +not try to disguise the means by which the result is to be attained. +Make the requisite feature a beauty instead of a disgrace. + +It is amusing to see a New England farmer build a fence. He begins +with good cedar posts,--fine, thick, solid logs, which are at least +genuine, and handsome so far as a cedar post is capable of being +handsome. You think, "Ah, that will be a good unobjectionable fence." +But, behold, as soon as the posts are in position, he carefully lays +a flat plank vertically in front of each, so that the passer-by +may fancy that he has performed the feat of making a fence of flat +laths, thus going out of his way to conceal the one positive and +good-looking feature in his fence. He seems to have some furtive +dread of admitting that he has used the real article! + +A bolt is to be affixed to a modern door. Instead of being applied +with a plate of iron or brass, in itself a decorative feature on +a blank space like that of the surface of a door, the carpenter +cuts a piece of wood out of the edge of the door, sinks the bolt +out of sight, so that nothing shall appear to view but a tiny +meaningless brass handle, and considers that he has performed a very +neat job. Compare this method with that of a mediaeval locksmith, +and the result with his great iron bolt, and if you can not appreciate +the difference, both in principle and result, I should recommend a +course of historic art study until you are convinced. On the other +hand, it is not necessary to carry your artistry so far that you +build a fence of nothing but cedar logs touching one another, or that +you cover your entire door with a meander of wrought iron which +culminates in a small bolt. Enthusiastic followers of the Arts and +Crafts movement often go to morbid extremes. _Recognition_ of +material and method does not connote a _display_ of method and +material out of proportion to the demands of the article to be +constructed. As in other forms of culture, balance and sanity are +necessary, in order to produce a satisfactory result. + +But when a craftsman is possessed of an aesthetic instinct and faculty, +he merits the congratulations offered to the students of Birmingham by +William Morris, when he told them that they were among the happiest +people in all civilization--"persons whose necessary daily work is +inseparable from their greatest pleasure." + +A mediaeval artist was usually a craftsman as well. He was not content +with furnishing designs alone, and then handing them over to men +whose hands were trained to their execution, but he took his own +designs and carried them out. Thus, the designer adapted his drawing +to the demands of his material and the craftsman was necessarily in +sympathy with the design since it was his own. The result was a harmony +of intention and execution which is often lacking when two men of +differing tastes produce one object. Luebke sums up the talents of +a mediaeval artist as follows: "A painter could produce panels with +coats of arms for the military men of noble birth, and devotional +panels with an image of a saint or a conventionalized scene from +Scripture for that noble's wife. With the same brush and on a larger +panel he could produce a larger sacred picture for the convent +round the corner, and with finer pencil and more delicate touch +he could paint the vellum leaves of a missal;" and so on. If an +artistic earthenware platter was to be made, the painter turned +to his potter's wheel and to his kiln. If a filigree coronet was +wanted, he took up his tools for metal and jewelry work. + +Redgrave lays down an excellent maxim for general guidance to designers +in arts other than legitimate picture making. He says: "The picture +must be independent of the material, the thought alone should govern +it; whereas in decoration the material must be one of the suggestors +of the thought, its use must govern the design." This shows the +difference between decoration and pictorial art. + +One hears a great deal of the "conventional" in modern art talk. Just +what this means, few people who have the word in their vocabularies +really know. As Professor Moore defined it once, it does not apply +to an arbitrary theoretical system at all, but is instinctive. It +means obedience to the limits under which the artist works. The +really greatest art craftsmen of all have been those who have +recognized the limitations of the material which they employed. Some +of the cleverest have been beguiled by the fascination of overcoming +obstacles, into trying to make iron do the things appropriate only +to wood, or to force cast bronze into the similitude of a picture, +or to discount all the credit due to a fine piece of embroidery by +trying to make it appear like a painting. But these are the exotics; +they are the craftsmen who have been led astray by a false impulse, +who respect difficulty more than appropriateness, war rather than +peace! No elaborate and tortured piece of Cellini's work can compare +with the dignified glory of the Pala d'Oro; Ghiberti's gates in +Florence, though a marvellous _tour de force_, are not so satisfying +as the great corona candelabrum of Hildesheim. As a rule, we shall +find that mediaeval craftsmen were better artists than those of the +Renaissance, for with facility in the use of material, comes always +the temptation to make it imitate some other material, thus losing +its individuality by a contortion which may be curious and interesting, +but out of place. We all enjoy seeing acrobats on the stage, but it +would be painful to see them curling in and out of our drawing-room +chairs. + +The true spirit which the Arts and Crafts is trying to inculcate +was found in Florence when the great artists turned their attention +to the manipulation of objects of daily use, Benvenuto Cellini being +willing to make salt-cellars, and Sansovino to work on inkstands, and +Donatello on picture frames, while Pollajuolo made candlesticks. +The more our leading artists realize the need of their attention +in the minor arts, the more nearly shall we attain to a genuine +alliance between the arts and the crafts. + +To sum up the effect of this harmony between art and craft in the +Middle Ages, the Abbe Texier has said: "In those days art and +manufactures were blended and identified; art gained by this affinity +great practical facility, and manufacture much original beauty." +And then the value to the artist is almost incalculable. To spend +one's life in getting means on which to live is a waste of all +enjoyment. To use one's life as one goes along--to live every day +with pleasure in congenial occupation--that is the only thing worth +while. The life of a craftsman is a constant daily fulfilment of +the final ideal of the man who spends all his time and strength +in acquiring wealth so that some time (and he may never live to +see the day) he may be able to control his time and to use it as +pleases him. There is stored up capital represented in the life +of a man whose work is a recreation, and expressive of his own +personality. + +In a book of this size it is not possible to treat of every art +or craft which engaged the skill of the mediaeval workers. But at +some future time I hope to make a separate study of the ceramics, +glass in its various forms, the arts of engraving and printing, and +some of the many others which have added so much to the pleasure +and beauty of the civilized world. + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER + INTRODUCTION + I. Gold and Silver + II. Jewelry and Precious Stones + III. Enamel + IV. Other Metals + V. Tapestry + VI. Embroideries + VII. Sculpture in Stone (France and Italy) + VIII. Sculpture in Stone (England and Germany) + IX. Carving in Wood and Ivory + X. Inlay and Mosaic + XI. Illumination of Books + Bibliography + Index + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Examples of Ecclesiastical Metal Work +Crown of Charlemagne +Bernward's Cross and Candlesticks, Hildesheim +Bernward's Chalice, Hildesheim +Corona at Hildesheim. (detail) +Reliquary at Orvieto +Apostle spoons +Ivory Knife Handles, with Portraits of Queen Elizabeth and James I. Englis +The "Milkmaid Cup" +Saxon Brooch +The Tara Brooch +Shrine of the Bell of St. Patrick +The Treasure of Guerrazzar +Hebrew Ring +Crystal Flagons, St. Mark's, Venice +Sardonyx Cup, 11th Century, Venice +German Enamel, 13th Century +Enamelled Gold Book Cover, Siena +Detail; Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne +Finiguerra's Pax, Florence +Italian Enamelled Crozier, 14th Century +Wrought Iron Hinge, Frankfort +Biscornette's Doors at Paris +Wrought Iron from the Bargello, Florence +Moorish Keys, Seville +Armour. Showing Mail Developing into Plate +Damascened Helmet +Moorish Sword +Enamelled Suit of Armour +Brunelleschi's Competitive Panel +Ghiberti's Competitive Panel +Font at Hildesheim, 12th Century +Portrait Statuette of Peter Vischer +A Copper "Curfew" +Sanctuary Knocker, Durham Cathedral +Anglo-Saxon Crucifix of Lead +Detail, Bayeux Tapestry +Flemish Tapestry, "The Prodigal Son" +Tapestry, Representing Paris in the 15th Century +Embroidery on Canvas, 16th Century, South Kensington Museum +Detail of the Syon Cope +Dalmatic of Charlemagne +Embroidery, 15th Century, Cologne +Carved Capital from Ravenna +Pulpit of Nicola Pisano, Pisa +Tomb of the Son of St. Louis, St. Denis +Carvings around Choir Ambulatory, Chartres +Grotesque from Oxford, Popularly Known as "The Backbiter" +The "Beverly minstrels" +St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg, Showing Adam Kraft's Pyx, and the Hanging + Medallion by Veit Stoss +Relief by Adam Kraft +Carved Box--wood Pyx, 14th Century +Miserere Stall; An Artisan at Work +Miserere Stall, Ely; Noah and the Dove +Miserere Stall; the Fate of the Ale-wife +Ivory Tabernacle, Ravenna +The Nativity; Ivory Carving +Pastoral Staff; Ivory, German, 12th Century +Ivory Mirror Case; Early 14th Century +Ivory Mirror Case, 1340 +Chessman from Lewis +Marble Inlay from Lucca +Detail of Pavement, Baptistery, Florence +Detail of Pavement, Siena; "Fortune," by Pinturicchio +Ambo at Ravello; Specimen of Cosmati Mosaic +Mosaic from Ravenna; Theodora and Her Suite, 16th Century +Mosaic in Bas-relief, Naples +A Scribe at Work; 12th Century Manuscript +Detail from the Durham Book +Ivy Pattern, from a 14th Century French Manuscript +Mediaeval Illumination +Caricature of a Bishop +Illumination by Gherart David of Bruges, 1498; St. Barbara +Choral Book, Siena +Detail from an Italian Choral Book + + + + +ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES + + +CHAPTER I + +GOLD AND SILVER + +The worker in metals is usually called a smith, whether he be +coppersmith or goldsmith. The term is Saxon in origin, and is derived +from the expression "he that smiteth." Metal was usually wrought +by force of blows, except where the process of casting modified +this. + +Beaten work was soldered from the earliest times. Egyptians evidently +understood the use of solder, for the Hebrews obtained their knowledge +of such things from them, and in Isaiah xli. 7, occurs the passage: +"So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth +with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, 'It is ready +for the soldering.'" In the Bible there are constant references +to such arts in metal work as prevail in our own times: "Of beaten +work made he the candlesticks," Exodus. In the ornaments of the +tabernacle, the artificer Bezaleel "made two cherubims of gold +beaten out of one piece made he them." + +An account of gold being gathered in spite of vicissitudes +is given by Pliny: "Among the Dardoe the ants are as large as Egyptian +wolves, and cat coloured. The Indians gather the gold dust thrown up +by the ants, when they are sleeping in their holes in the Summer; +but if these animals wake, they pursue the Indians, and, though +mounted on the swiftest camels, overtake and tear them to pieces." + +Another legend relates to the blessed St. Patrick, through whose +intercession special grace is supposed to have been granted to +all smiths. St. Patrick was a slave in his youth. An old legend +tells that one time a wild boar came rooting in the field, and +brought up a lump of gold; and Patrick brought it to a tinker, +and the tinker said, "It is nothing but solder. Give it here to +me." But then he brought it to a smith, and the smith told him it +was gold; and with that gold he bought his freedom. "And from that +time," continues the story, "the smiths have been lucky, taking +money every day, and never without work, but as for the tinkers, +every man's face is against them!" + +In the Middle Ages the arts and crafts were generally protected by +the formation of guilds and fraternities. These bodies practically +exercised the right of patent over their professions, and infringements +could be more easily dealt with, and frauds more easily exposed, by +means of concerted effort on the part of the craftsmen. The goldsmiths +and silversmiths were thus protected in England and France, and in most +of the leading European art centres. The test of pure gold was made +by "six of the more discreet goldsmiths," who went about and +superintended the amount of alloy to be employed; "gold of the +standard of the touch of Paris" was the French term for metal of the +required purity. Any goldsmith using imitation stones or otherwise +falsifying in his profession was punished "by imprisonment and by +ransom at the King's pleasure." There were some complaints that +fraudulent workers "cover tin with silver so subtilely... that +the same cannot be discovered or separated, and so sell tin for +fine silver, to the great damage and deceipt of us." This state +of things finally led to the adoption of the Hall Mark, which is +still to be seen on every piece of silver, signifying that it has +been pronounced pure by the appointed authorities. + +The goldsmiths of France absorbed several other auxiliary arts, and +were powerful and influential. In state processions the goldsmiths +had the first place of importance, and bore the royal canopy when +the King himself took part in the ceremony, carrying the shrine +of St. Genevieve also, when it was taken forth in great pageants. + +In the quaint wording of the period, goldsmiths were forbidden to +gild or silver-plate any article made of copper or latten, unless +they left some part of the original exposed, "at the foot or some +other part,... to the intent that a man may see whereof the thing +is made for to eschew the deceipt aforesaid." This law was enacted +in 1404. + +Many of the great art schools of the Middle Ages were established +in connection with the numerous monasteries scattered through all +the European countries and in England. The Rule of St. Benedict +rings true concerning the proper consecration of an artist: "If +there be artists in the monastery, let them exercise their crafts +with all humility and reverence, provided the abbot shall have +ordered them. But if any of them be proud of the skill he hath in +his craft, because he thereby seemeth to gain something for the +monastery, let him be removed from it and not exercise it again, +unless, after humbling himself, the abbot shall permit him." Craft +without graft was the keynote of mediaeval art. + +King Alfred had a monastic art school at Athelney, in which he had +collected "monks of all kinds from every quarter." This accounts +for the Greek type of work turned out at this time, and very likely +for Italian influences in early British art. The king was active in +craft work himself, for Asser tells us that he "continued, during +his frequent wars, to teach his workers in gold and artificers of +all kinds." + +The quaint old encyclopaedia of Bartholomew Anglicus, called, "The +Properties of Things," defines gold and silver in an original way, +according to the beliefs of this writer's day. He says of gold, +that "in the composition there is more sadness of brimstone than +of air and moisture of quicksilver, and therefore gold is more +sad and heavy than silver." Of silver he remarks, "Though silver +be white yet it maketh black lines and strakes in the body that +is scored therewith." + +Marco Polo says that in the province of Carazan "the rivers yield +great quantities of washed gold, and also that which is solid, and +on the mountains they find gold in the vein, and they give one +pound of gold for six of silver." + +Workers in gold or silver usually employ one of two methods--casting +or beating, combined with delicacy of finish, chasing, and polishing. +The technical processes are interestingly described by the writers +of the old treatises on divers arts. In the earliest of these, by +the monk Theophilus, in the eleventh century, we have most graphic +accounts of processes very similar to those now in use. The naive +monastic instructor, in his preface, exhorts his followers to honesty +and zeal in their good works. "Skilful in the arts let no one glorify +himself," say Theophilus, "as if received from himself, and not from +elsewhere; but let him be thankful humbly in the Lord, from whom all +things are received." He then advises the craftsman earnestly to +study the book which follows, telling him of the riches of instruction +therein to be found; "you will there find out whatever... Tuscany +knows of mosaic work, or in variety of enamels, whatever Arabia +shows forth in work of fusion, ductility or chasing, whatever Italy +ornaments with gold... whatever France loves in a costly variety +of windows; whatever industrious Germany approves in work of gold, +silver or copper, and iron, of woods and of stones." No wonder the +authorities are lost in conjecture as to the native place of the +versatile Theophilus! After promising all these delightful things, +the good old monk continues, "Act therefore, well intentioned man,... +hasten to complete with all the study of thy mind, those things which +are still wanting among the utensils of the House of the Lord," and +he enumerates the various pieces of church plate in use in the Middle +Ages. + +Directions are given by Theophilus for the workroom, the benches +at which the smiths are to sit, and also the most minute technical +recipes for "instruments for sculping," for scraping, filing, and +so forth, until the workshop should be fitted with all necessary +tools. In those days, artists began at the very beginning. There were +no "Windsor and Newtons," no nice makers of dividers and T-squares, +to whom one could apply; all implements must be constructed by the +man who contemplated using them. + +We will see how Theophilus proceeds, after he has his tools in +readiness, to construct a chalice. First, he puts the silver in a +crucible, and when it has become fluid, he turns it into a mould +in which there is wax (this is evidently the "cire perdu" process +familiar to casters of every age), and then he says, "If by some +negligence it should happen that the melted silver be not whole, +cast it again until it is whole." This process of casting would +apply equally to all metals. + +Theophilus instructs his craftsman how to make the +handles of the chalice as follows: "Take wax, form handles with +it, and grave upon them dragons or animals or birds, or leaves--in +whatever manner you may wish. But on the top of each handle place a +little wax, round like a slender candle, half a finger in length,... +this wax is called the funnel.... Then take some clay and cover +carefully the handle, so that the hollows of the sculpture may +be filled up.... Afterwards place these moulds near the coals, +that when they have become warm you may pour out the wax. Which +being turned out, melt the silver,... and cast into the same place +whence you poured out the wax. And when they have become cold remove +the clay." The solid silver handles are found inside, one hardly +need say. + +In casting in the "cire perdu" process, Benvenuto Cellini warns +you to beware lest you break your crucible--"just as you've got +your silver nicely molten," he says, "and are pouring it into the +mould, crack goes your crucible, and all your work and time and +pains are lost!" He advises wrapping it in stout cloths. + +The process of repousse work is also much the same to-day as it +has always been. The metal is mounted on cement and the design +partly beaten in from the outside; then the cement is melted out, +and the design treated in more detail from the inside. Theophilus +tells us how to prepare a silver vessel to be beaten with a design. +After giving a recipe for a sort of pitch, he says, "Melt this +composition and fill the vial to the top. And when it has become +cold, portray... whatever you wish, and taking a slender ductile +instrument, and a small hammer, design that which you have portrayed +around it by striking lightly." This process is practically, on a +larger scale, what Cellini describes as that of "minuterie." Cellini +praises Caradosso beyond all others in this work, saying "it was just +in this very getting of the gold so equal all over, that I never knew +a man to beat Caradosso!" He tells how important this equality of +surface is, for if, in the working, the gold became thicker in one +place than in another, it was impossible to attain a perfect finish. +Caradosso made first a wax model of the object which he was to +make; this he cast in copper, and on that he laid his thin gold, +beating and modelling it to the form, until the small hollow bas-relief +was complete. The work was done with wooden and steel tools of +small proportions, sometimes pressed from the back and sometimes +from the front; "ever so much care is necessary," writes Cellini, +"...to prevent the gold from splitting." After the model was brought +to such a point of relief as was suitable for the design, great +care had to be exercised in extending the gold further, to fit +behind heads and arms in special relief. In those days the whole +film of gold was then put in the furnace, and fired until the gold +began to liquefy, at which exact moment it was necessary to remove +it. Cellini himself made a medal for Girolamo Maretta, representing +Hercules and the Lion; the figures were in such high relief that +they only touched the ground at a few points. Cellini reports with +pride that Michelangelo said to him: "If this work were made in +great, whether in marble or in bronze, and fashioned with as +exquisite a design as this, it would astonish the world; and +even in its present size it seems to me so beautiful that I +do not think even a goldsmith of the ancient world fashioned aught +to come up to it!" Cellini says that these words "stiffened him +up," and gave him much increased ambition. He describes also an +Atlas which he constructed of wrought gold, to be placed upon a +lapis lazuli background: this he made in extreme relief, using +tiny tools, "working right into the arms and legs, and making all +alike of equal thickness." A cope-button for Pope Clement was also +quite a _tour de force_; as he said, "these pieces of work are often +harder the smaller they are." The design showed the Almighty seated +on a great diamond; around him there were "a number of jolly little +angels," some in complete relief. He describes how he began with a +flat sheet of gold, and worked constantly and conscientiously, +gradually bossing it up, until, with one tool and then another, he +finally mastered the material, "till one fine day God the Father +stood forth in the round, most comely to behold." So skilful was +Cellini in this art that he "bossed up in high relief with his +punches some fifteen little angels, without even having to solder +the tiniest rent!" The fastening of the clasp was decorated with +"little snails and masks and other pleasing trifles," which suggest +to us that Benvenuto was a true son of the Renaissance, and that his +design did not equal his ability as a craftsman. + +Cellini's method of forming a silver vase was on this wise. The +original plate of silver had to be red hot, "not too red, for then +it would crack,--but sufficient to burn certain little grains thrown +on to it." It was then adjusted to the stake, and struck with the +hammer, towards the centre, until by degrees it began to take convex +form. Then, keeping the central point always in view by means of +compasses, from that point he struck "a series of concentric circles +about half a finger apart from each other," and with a hammer, +beginning at the centre, struck so that the "movement of the hammer +shall be in the form of a spiral, and follow the concentric circles." +It was important to keep the form very even all round. Then the +vase had to be hammered from within, "till it was equally bellied +all round," and after that, the neck was formed by the same method. +Then, to ornament the vase, it was filled with pitch, and the design +traced on the outside. When it was necessary to beat up the ornament +from within, the vase was cleared out, and inverted upon the point +of a long "snarling-iron," fastened in an anvil stock, and beaten +so that the point should indent from within. The vase would often +have to be filled with pitch and emptied in this manner several +times in the course of its construction. + +Benvenuto Cellini was one of the greatest art personalities of all +time. The quaintness of the aesthetic temperament is nowhere found +better epitomized than in his life and writings. But as a producer of +artistic things, he is a great disappointment. Too versatile to be a +supreme specialist, he is far more interesting as a man and craftsman +than as a designer. Technical skill he had in unique abundance. And +another faculty, for which he does not always receive due credit, is +his gift for imparting his knowledge. His Treatises, containing +valuable information as to methods of work, are less familiar to most +readers than his fascinating biography. These Treatises, or directions +to craftsmen, are full of the spice and charm which characterize his +other work. One cannot proceed from a consideration of the bolder +metal work to a study of the dainty art of the goldsmith without a +glance at Benvenuto Cellini. + +The introduction to the Treatises has a naive opening: "What first +prompted me to write was the knowledge of how fond people are of +hearing anything new." This, and other reasons, induced him to +"write about those loveliest secrets and wondrous methods of the +great art of goldsmithing." + +Francis I. indeed thought highly of Cellini. Upon viewing one of his +works, his Majesty raised his hands, and exclaimed to the Mareschal +de France, "I command you to give the first good fat abbey that +falls vacant to our Benvenuto, for I do not want my kingdom to +be deprived of his like." + +Benvenuto describes the process of making filigree work, the principle +of which is, fine wire coiled flat so as to form designs with an +interesting and varied surface. Filigree is quite common still, and +any one who has walked down the steep street of the Goldsmiths in +Genoa is familiar with most of its modern forms. Cellini says: "Though +many have practised the art without making drawings first, because the +material in which they worked was so easily handled and so pliable, +yet those who made their drawings first did the best work. Now give +ear to the way the art is pursued." He then directs that the craftsman +shall have ready three sizes of wire, and some little gold granules, +which are made by cutting the short lengths of wire, and then subjecting +them to fervent heat until they become as little round beads. He +then explains how the artificer must twist and mould the delicate +wires, and tastily apply the little granules, so as to make a graceful +design, usually of some floriate form. When the wire flowers and +leaves were formed satisfactorily, a wash of gum tragacanth should +be applied, to hold them in place until the final soldering. The +solder was in powdered form, and it was to be dusted on "just as +much as may suffice,... and not more,"... this amount of solder +could only be determined by the experience of the artist. Then came +the firing of the finished work in the little furnace; Benvenuto is +here quite at a loss how to explain himself: "Too much heat would +move the wires you have woven out of place," he says, "really it is +quite impossible to tell it properly in writing; I could explain it +all right by word of mouth, or better still, show you how it is +done,--still, come along,--we'll try to go on as we started!" + +Sometimes embossing was done by thin sheets of metal being pressed +on to a wooden carving prepared for the purpose, so that the result +would be a raised silver pattern, which, when filled up with pitch +or lead, would pass for a sample of repousse work. I need hardly +say that a still simpler mechanical form of pressing obtains on +cheap silver to-day. + +So much for the mechanical processes of treating these metals. We +will now examine some of the great historic examples, and glance +at the lives of prominent workers in gold and silver in the past. + +One of the most brilliant times for the production of works of art +in gold and silver, was when Constantine, upon becoming Christian, +moved the seat of government to Byzantium. Byzantine ornament lends +itself especially to such work. The distinguishing mark between +the earlier Greek jewellers and the Byzantine was, that the former +considered chiefly line, form, and delicacy of workmanship, while +the latter were led to expression through colour and texture, and +not fineness of finish. + +The Byzantine emperors loved gold in a lavish way, and on a superb +scale. They were not content with chaste rings and necklets, or +even with golden crowns. The royal thrones were of gold; their +armour was decorated with the precious metal, and their chariots +enriched in the same way. Even the houses of the rich people +were more endowed with precious furnishings than most of the churches +of other nations, and every family possessed a massive silver table, +and solid vases and plate. + +The Emperor Theophilus, who lived in the ninth century, was a great +lover of the arts. His palace was built after the Arabian style, +and he had skilful mechanical experts to construct a golden tree +over his throne, on the branches of which were numerous birds, +and two golden lions at the foot. These birds were so arranged +by clockwork, that they could be made to sing, and the lions also +joined a roar to the chorus! + +A great designer of the Middle Ages was Alcuin, the teacher of +Charlemagne, who lived from 735 to 804; he superintended the building +of many fine specimens of church plate. The school of Alcuin, however, +was more famous for illumination, and we shall speak of his work +at more length when we come to deal with that subject. + +Another distinguished patron of art was the Abbot Odo of Cluny, +who had originally been destined for a soldier; but he was visited +with what Maitland describes as "an inveterate headache, which, from +his seventeenth to his nineteenth year, defied all medical skill," +so he and his parents, convinced that this was a manifestation of +the disapproval of Heaven, decided to devote his life to religious +pursuits. He became Abbot of Cluny in the year 927. + +[Illustration: CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE] + +Examples of ninth century goldsmithing are rare. Judging from the +few specimens existing, the crown of Charlemagne, and the beautiful +binding of the Hours of Charles the Bold, one would be inclined to +think that an almost barbaric wealth of closely set jewels was the +entire standard of the art of the time, and that grace of form or +contour was quite secondary. The tomb was rifled about the twelfth +century, and many of the valuable things with which he was surrounded +were taken away. The throne was denuded of its gold, and may be seen +to-day in the Cathedral at Aachen, a simple marble chair plain and +dignified, with the copper joints showing its construction. Many of +the relics of Charlemagne are in the treasury at Aachen, among other +interesting items, the bones of the right arm of the Emperor in a +golden shrine in the form of a hand and arm. There is a thrill in +contemplating the remains of the right arm of Charlemagne after all +the centuries, when one remembers the swords and sceptres which have +been wielded by that mighty member. The reliquary containing the +right arm of Charlemagne is German work (of course later than the +opening of the tomb), probably between 1155 and 1190. Frederic +Barbarossa and his ancestors are represented on its ornamentation. + +There is little goldsmith's work of the Norman period in Great +Britain, for that was a time of the building of large structures, +and probably minor arts and personal adornment took a secondary +place. + +[Illustration: BERNWARD'S CROSS AND CANDLESTICKS, HILDESHEIM] + +Perhaps the most satisfactory display of mediaeval arts and crafts +which may be seen in one city is at Hildesheim: the special richness +of remains of the tenth century is owing to the life and example +of an early bishop--Bernward--who ruled the See from 993 to 1022. +Before he was made bishop, Bernward was tutor to the young Emperor +Otto III. He was a student of art all his life, and a practical +craftsman, working largely in metals, and training up a Guild of +followers in the Cathedral School. He was extremely versatile: one +of the great geniuses of history. In times of war he was Commander +in Chief of Hildesheim; he was a traveller, having made pilgrimages +to Rome and Paris, and the grave of St. Martin at Tours. This wide +culture was unusual in those days; it is quite evident from his +active life of accomplishment in creative art, that good Bishop +Bernward was not to be numbered among those who expected the end of +the world to occur in the year 1000 A. D. Of his works to be seen +in Hildesheim, there are splendid examples. The Goldsmith's School +under his direction was famous. + +He was created bishop in 992; Taugmar pays him a tribute, saying: +"He was an excellent penman, a good painter, and as a household +manager was unequalled." Moreover, he "excelled in the mechanical +no less than in the liberal arts." In fact, a visit to Hildesheim +to-day proves that to this man who lived ten centuries ago is due +the fact that Hildesheim is the most artistic city in Germany from +the antiquarian's point of view. This bishop influenced every branch +of art, and with so vital an influence, that his See city is still +full of his works and personality. He was not only a practical +worker in the arts and crafts, but he was also a collector, forming +quite a museum for the further instruction of the students who came +in touch with him. He decorated the walls of his cathedral; the great +candelabrum, or corona, which circles above the central aisle of the +cathedral, was his own design, and the work of his followers; and +the paschal column in the cathedral was from his workshop, wrought +as delightfully as would be possible in any age, and yet executed +nearly a thousand years ago. No bishop ever deserved sainthood +more, or made a more practical contribution to the Church. Pope +Celestine III. canonized him in 1194. + +Bernward came of a noble family. His figure may be seen--as near +an approach to a portrait of this great worker as we have--among +the bas-reliefs on the beautiful choir-screen in St. Michael's +Church in Hildesheim. + +[Illustration: BERNWARD'S CHALICE, HILDESHEIM] + +The cross executed by Bernward's own hands in 994 is a superb work, +with filigree covering the whole, and set with gems _en cabochon_, +with pearls, and antique precious stones, carved with Greek divinities +in intaglio. The candlesticks of St. Bernward, too, are most +interesting. They are made of a metal composed of gold, silver, +and iron, and are wrought magnificently, into a mass of animal +and floriate forms, their outline being well retained, and the +grace of the shaft and proportions being striking. They are partly +the work of the mallet and partly of the chisel. They had been +buried with Bernward, and were found in his sarcophagus in 1194. +Didron has likened them, in their use of animal form, to the art +of the Mexicans; but to me they seem more like delightful German +Romanesque workmanship, leaning more towards that of certain spirited +Lombard grotesques, or even that of Arles and certain parts of +France, than to the Aztec to which Didron has reference. The little +climbing figures, while they certainly have very large hands and +feet, yet are endowed with a certain sprightly action; they all +give the impression of really making an effort,--they are trying +to climb, instead of simply occupying places in the foliage. There +is a good deal of strength and energy displayed in all of them, +and, while the work is rude and rough, it is virile. It is not +unlike the workmanship on the Gloucester candlestick in the South +Kensington Museum, which was made in the twelfth century. + +Bernward's chalice is set with antique stones, some of them carved. +On the foot may be seen one representing the three Graces, in their +customary state of nudity "without malice." + +Bernward was also an architect. He built the delightful church of +St. Michael, and its cloister. He also superintended the building +of an important wall by the river bank in the lower town. + +When there was an uneasy time of controversy at Gandesheim, Bernward +hastened to headquarters in Rome, to arrange to bring about better +feeling. In 1001 he arrived, early in January, and the Pope went +out to meet him, kissed him, and invited him to stay as a guest +at his palace. After accomplishing his diplomatic mission, and +laden with all sorts of sacred relics, Bernward returned home, not +too directly to prevent his seeing something of the intervening +country. + +A book which Bishop Bernward had made and illuminated in 1011 has the +inscription: "I, Bernward, had this codex written out, at my own cost, +and gave it to the beloved Saint of God, Michael. Anathema to him who +alienates it." This inscription has the more interest for being the +actual autograph of Bernward. + +He was succeeded by Hezilo, and many other pupils. These men made +the beautiful corona of the cathedral, of which I give an illustration +in detail. Great coronas or circular chandeliers hung in the naves +of many cathedrals in the Middle Ages. The finest specimen is this +at Hildesheim, the magnificent ring of which is twenty feet across, +as it hangs suspended by a system of rods and balls in the form +of chains. It has twelve large towers and twelve small ones set +around it, supposed to suggest the Heavenly Jerusalem with its many +mansions. There are sockets for seventy-two candles. The detail +of its adornment is very splendid, and repays close study. Every +little turret is different in architectonic form, and statues of +saints are to be seen standing within these. The pierced silver +work on this chandelier is as beautiful as any mediaeval example +in existence. + +[Illustration: CORONA AT HILDESHEIM (DETAIL)] + +The great leader of mediaeval arts in France was the Abbot Suger +of St. Denis. Suger was born in 1081, he and his brother, Alvise, +who was Bishop of Arras, both being destined for the Episcopate. +As a youth he passed ten years at St. Denis as a scholar. Here he +became intimate with Prince Louis, and this friendship developed +in after life. On returning from a voyage to Italy, in 1122, +he learned at the same time of the death of his spiritual father, +Abbot Adam, and of his own election to be his successor. He +thus stood at the head of the convent of St. Denis in 1123. +This was due to his noble character, his genius for diplomacy +and his artistic talent. He was minister to Louis VI., and afterwards +to Louis VII., and during the second Crusade, he was made Regent +for the kingdom. Suger was known, after this, as the Father of his +Country, for he was a courageous counsellor, firm and convincing +in argument, so that the king had really been guided by his advice. +While he was making laws and instigating crusades, he was also +directing craft shops and propagating the arts in connection with +the life of the Church. St. Bernard denounced him, as encouraging +too luxurious a ritual; Suger made a characteristic reply: "If +the ancient law... ordained that vessels and cups of gold should +be used for libations, and to receive the blood of rams,... how +much rather should we devote gold, precious stones, and the rarest +of materials, to those vessels which are destined to contain the +blood of Our Lord." + +Suger ordered and himself made most beautiful appointments for the +sanctuary, and when any vessel already owned by the Abbey was of +costly material, and yet unsuitable in style, he had it remodelled. +An interesting instance of this is a certain antique vase of red +porphyry. There was nothing ecclesiastical about this vase; it was +a plain straight Greek jar, with two handles at the sides. Suger +treated it as the body of an eagle, making the head and neck to +surmount it, and the claw feet for it to stand on, together with +its soaring wings, of solid gold, and it thus became transformed +into a magnificent reliquary in the form of the king of birds. The +inscription on this Ampula of Suger is: "As it is our duty to present +unto God oblations of gems and gold, I, Suger, offer this vase unto +the Lord." + +Suger stood always for the ideal in art and character. He had the +courage of his convictions in spite of the fulminations of St. +Bernard. Instead of using the enormous sums of money at his disposal +for importing Byzantine workmen, he preferred to use his funds +and his own influence in developing a native French school of +artificers. + +It is interesting to discover that Suger, among his many adaptations +and restorations at St. Denis, incorporated some of the works of +St. Eloi into his own compositions. For instance, he took an ivory +pulpit, and remodelled it with the addition of copper animals. +Abbots of St. Denis made beautiful offerings to the church. One of +them, Abbot Matthiew de Vendome, presented a wonderful reliquary, +consisting of a golden head and bust, while another gave a reliquary +to contain the jaw of St. Louis. Suger presented many fine products +of his own art and that of his pupils, among others a great cross +six feet in height. A story is told of him, that, while engaged in +making a particularly splendid crucifix for St. Denis, he ran short +of precious stones, nor could he in any way obtain what he required, +until some monks came to him and offered to sell him a superb lot of +stones which had formerly embellished the dinner service of Henry +I. of England, whose nephew had given them to the convent in exchange +for indulgences and masses! In these early and half-barbaric days of +magnificence, form and delicacy of execution were not understood. +Brilliancy and lavish display of sparkling jewels, set as thickly +as possible without reference to a general scheme of composition, +was the standard of beauty; and it must be admitted that, with +such stones available, no more effective school of work has ever +existed than that of which such works Charlemagne's crown, the +Iron Crown of Monza, and the crown of King Suinthila, are typical +examples. Abbot Suger lamented when he lacked a sufficient supply +of stones; but he did not complain when there occurred a deficiency +in workmen. It was comparatively easy to train artists who could +make settings and bind stones together with soldered straps! + +In 1352 a royal silversmith of France, Etienne La Fontaine, made +a "fauteuil of silver and crystal decorated with precious stones," +for the king. + +The golden altar of Basle is almost as interesting as the great +Pala d'Oro in Venice, of which mention is made elsewhere. It was +ordered by Emperor Henry the Pious, before 1024, and presented to +the Prime Minister at Basle. The central figure of the Saviour +has at its feet two tiny figures, quite out of scale; these are +intended for the donors, Emperor Henry and his queen, Cunegunda. + +Silversmith's work in Spain was largely in Byzantine style, while +some specimens of Gothic and Roman are also to be seen there. Moorish +influence is noticeable, as in all Spanish design, and filigree work +of Oriental origin is frequently to be met with. Some specimens of +champleve enamel are also to be seen, though this art was generally +confined to Limoges during the Middle Ages. A Guild was formed in +Toledo which was in flourishing condition in 1423. + +An interesting document has been found in Spain showing that craftsmen +were supplied with the necessary materials when engaged to make +valuable figures for the decoration of altars. It is dated May 12, +1367, "I, Sancho Martinez Orebsc, silversmith, native of Seville, +inform you, the Dean and Chapter of the church of Seville, that it +was agreed that I make an image of St. Mary with its tabernacle, +that it should be finished at a given time, and that you were to +give me the silver and stones required to make it." + +In Spain, the most splendid triumphs of the goldsmith's skill were +the "custodias," or large tabernacles, in which the Host was carried +in procession. The finest was one made for Toledo by Enrique d'Arphe, +in competition with other craftsmen. His design being chosen, he +began his work in 1517, and in 1524 the custodia was finished. It +was in the form of a Gothic temple, six sided, with a jewelled +cross on the top, and was eight feet high. Some of the gold employed +was the first ever brought from America. The whole structure weighed +three hundred and eighty-eight pounds. Arphe made a similar custodia +for Cordova and another for Leon. His grandson, Juan d'Arphe, wrote +a verse about the Toledo custodia, in which these lines occur: + + "Custodia is a temple of rich plate + Wrought for the glory of Our Saviour true... + That holiest ark of old to imitate, + Fashioned by Bezaleel the cunning Jew, + Chosen of God to work his sovereign will, + And greatly gifted with celestial skill." + +Juan d'Arphe himself made a custodia for Seville, the decorations +and figures on which were directed by the learned Francesco Pacheco, +the father-in-law of Velasquez. When this custodia was completed, +d'Arphe wrote a description of it, alluding boldly to this work +as "the largest and finest work in silver known of its kind," and +this could really be said without conceit, for it is a fact. + +A Gothic form of goldsmith's work obtained in Spain in the 13th, +14th and 15th centuries; it was based upon architectural models and +was known as "plateresca." The shrines for holding relics became +in these centuries positive buildings on a small scale in precious +material. In England also were many of these shrines, but few of +them now remain. + +The first Mayor of London, from 1189 to 1213, was a goldsmith, +Henry Fitz Alwyn, the Founder of the Royal Exchange; Sir Thomas +Gresham, in 1520, was also a goldsmith and a banker. There is an +entertaining piece of cynical satire on the Goldsmiths in Stubbes' +Anatomy of Abuses, written in the time of Queen Elizabeth, showing +that the tricks of the trade had come to full development by that +time, and that the public was being aroused on the subject. Stubbes +explains how the goldsmith's shops are decked with chains and rings, +"wonderful richly." Then he goes on to say: "They will make you any +monster or article whatsoever of gold, silver, or what you will. Is +there no deceit in these goodlye shows? Yes, too many; if you will +buy a chain of gold, a ring, or any kind of plate, besides that you +shall pay almost half more than it is worth... you shall also perhaps +have that gold which is naught, or else at least mixed with drossie +rubbage.... But this happeneth very seldom by reason of good orders, +and constitutions made for the punishment of them that offend in +this kind of deceit, and therefore they seldom offend therein, +though now and then they chance to stumble in the dark!" + +Fynes Moryson, a traveller who died in 1614, says that "the goldsmiths' +shops in London... are exceedingly richly furnished continually +with gold, with silver plate, and with jewels.... I never see any +such daily show, anything so sumptuous, in any place in the world, +as in London." He admits that in Florence and Paris the similar +shops are very rich upon special occasions; but it is the steady +state of the market in London to which he has reference. + +The Company of Goldsmiths in Dublin held quite a prominent social +position in the community. In 1649, a great festival and pageant +took place, in which the goldsmiths and visiting craftsmen from +other corporations took part. + +Henry III. set himself to enrich and beautify the shrine of his +patron saint, Edward the Confessor, and with this end in view he +made various extravagant demands: for instance, at one time he +ordered all the gold in London to be detailed to this object, and +at another, he had gold rings and brooches purchased to the value +of six hundred marks. The shrine was of gold, and, according to +Matthew Paris, enriched with jewels. It was commenced in 1241. +In 1244 the queen presented an image of the Virgin with a ruby +and an emerald. Jewels were purchased from time to time,--a great +cameo in 1251, and in 1255 many gems of great value. The son of +ado the Goldsmith, Edward, was the "king's beloved clerk," and was +made "keeper of the shrine." Most of the little statuettes were +described as having stones set somewhere about them: "an image of +St. Peter holding a church in one hand and the keys in the other, +trampling on Nero, who had a big sapphire on his breast;" and "the +Blessed Virgin with her Son, set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, +and garnets," are among those cited. The whole shrine was described +as "a basilica adorned with purest gold and precious stones." + +Odo the Goldsmith was in charge of the works for a good while. He +was succeeded by his son Edward. Payments were made sometimes in a +regular wage, and sometimes for "task work." The workmen were usually +known by one name--Master Alexander the King's Carpenter, Master Henry +the King's Master Mason, and so forth. In an early life of Edward the +Confessor, there is an illumination showing the masons and carpenters +kneeling to receive instruction from their sovereign. + +The golden shrine of the Confessor was probably made in the Palace +itself; this was doubtless considered the safest place for so valuable +a work to remain in process of construction; for there is an allusion +to its being brought on the King's own shoulders (with the assistance +of others), from the palace to the Abbey, in 1269, for its consecration. + +In 1243 Henry III. ordered four silver basins, fitted with cakes +of wax with wicks in them, to be placed as lights before the shrine +of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The great gold shrine of Becket +appears to have been chiefly the work of a goldsmith, Master Adam. +He also designed the Coronation Chair of England, which is now +in Westminster Abbey. + +The chief goldsmith of England employed by Edward I. was one Adam +of Shoreditch. He was versatile, for he was also a binder of books. +A certain bill shows an item of his workmanship, "a group in silver +of a child riding upon a horse, the child being a likeness of Lord +Edward, the King's son." + +A veritable Arts and Crafts establishment had been in existence +in Woolstrope, Lincolnshire, before Cromwell's time; for Georde +Gifford wrote to Cromwell regarding the suppression of this monastery: +"There is not one religious person there but what doth use either +embrothering, wryting books with a faire hand, making garments, +or carving." + +In all countries the chalices and patens were usually, designed +to correspond with each other. The six lobed dish was a very usual +form; it had a depressed centre, with six indented scallops, and +the edge flat like a dinner plate. In an old church inventory, +mention is made of "a chalice with _his_ paten." Sometimes there was +lettering around the flat edge of the paten. Chalices were-composed +of three parts: the cup, the ball or knop, and the stem, with the +foot. The original purpose of having this foot hexagonal in shape +is said to have been to prevent the chalice from rolling when it +was laid on its side to drain. Under many modifications this general +plan of the cup has obtained. The bowl is usually entirely plain, +to facilitate keeping it clean; most of the decoration was lavished +on the knop, a rich and uneven surface being both beautiful and +functional in this place. + +Such Norman and Romanesque chalices as remain are chiefly in museums +now. They were usually "coffin chalices"--that is, they had been +buried in the coffin of some ecclesiastic. Of Gothic chalices, or +those of the Tudor period, fewer remain, for after the Reformation, +a general order went out to the churches, for all "chalices to be +altered to decent Communion cups." The shape was greatly modified +in this change. + +In the thirteenth century the taste ran rather to a chaster form +of decoration; the large cabochons of the Romanesque, combined +with a liquid gold surface, gave place to refined ornaments in +niello and delicate enamels. The bowls of the earlier chalices +were rather flat and broad. When it became usual for the laity to +partake only of one element when communicating, the chalice, which +was reserved for the clergy alone, became modified to meet this +condition, and the bowl was much smaller. After the Reformation, +however, the development was quite in the other direction, the bowl +being extremely large and deep. In that period they were known +as communion cups. In Sandwich there is a cup which was made over +out of a ciborium; as it quite plainly shows its origin, it is +naively inscribed: "This is a Communion Coop." When this change in +the form of the chalice took place, it was provided, by admonition +of the Archbishop, in all cases with a "cover of silver... which +shall serve also for the ministration of the Communion bread." To +make this double use of cover and dish satisfactory, a foot like +a stand was added to the paten. + +The communion cup of the Reformation differed from the chalice, +too, in being taller and straighter, with a deep bowl, almost in +the proportions of a flaring tumbler, and a stem with a few close +decorations instead of a knop. The small paten served as a cover +to the cup, as has been mentioned. + +It is not always easy to see old church plate where it originally +belonged. On the Scottish border, for instance, there were constant +raids, when the Scots would descend upon the English parish churches, +and bear off the communion plate, and again the English would cross +the border and return the compliment. In old churches, such as the +eleventh century structure at Torpenhow, in Cumberland, the deep +sockets still to be seen in the stone door jambs were intended +to support great beams with which the church had constantly to +be fortified against Scottish invasion. Another reason for the +disappearance of church plate, was the occasional sale of the silver +in order to continue necessary repairs on the fabric. In a church +in Norfolk, there is a record of sale of communion silver and "for +altering of our church and fynnishing of the same according to our +mindes and the parishioners." It goes on to state that the proceeds +were appropriated for putting new glass in the place of certain windows +"wherein were conteined the lives of certain prophane histories," +and for "paving the king's highway" in the church precincts. At the +time of the Reformation many valuable examples of Church plate were +cast aside by order of the Commissioners, by which "all monuments +of feyned miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition," were +to be destroyed. At this time a calf or a sheep might have been seen +browsing in the meadows with a sacring-bell fastened at its neck, +and the pigs refreshed themselves with drinking from holy-water +fonts! + +Croziers of ornate design especially roused the ire of the Puritans. +In Mr. Alfred Maskell's incomparable book on Ivories, he translates +a satirical verse by Guy de Coquille, concerning these objectionable +pastoral staves (which were often made of finely sculptured ivory). + + "The staff of a bishop of days that are old + Was of wood, and the bishop himself was of gold. + But a bishop of wood prefers gorgeous array, + So his staff is of gold in the new fashioned way!" + +During the Renaissance especially, goldsmith's work was carried +to great technical perfection, and yet the natural properties of +the metal were frequently lost sight of, and the craftsmen tried +to produce effects such as would be more suitable in stone or +wood,--little architectonic features were introduced, and gold +was frequently made to do the work of other materials. Thus it +lost much of its inherent effectiveness. Too much attention was +given to ingenuity, and not enough to fitness and beauty. + +[Illustration: RELIQUARY AT ORVIETO] + +In documents of the fourteenth century, the following list of goldsmiths +is given: Jean de Mantreux was goldsmith to King Jean. Claux de +Friburg was celebrated for a gold statuette of St. John which he +made for the Duke of Normandy. A diadem for this Duke was also +recorded, made by Jean de Piguigny. Hannequin made three golden crowns +for Charles V. Hans Crest was goldsmith to the Duke of Orleans, while +others employed by him were Durosne, of Toulouse, Jean de Bethancourt, +a Flemish goldsmith. In the fifteenth century the names of Jean de +Hasquin, Perrin Manne, and Margerie d'Avignon, were famous. + +Artists in the Renaissance were expected to undertake several branches +of their craft. Hear Poussin: "It is impossible to work at the +same time upon frontispieces of books: a Virgin: at the picture +for the congregation of St. Louis, at the designs for the gallery, +and for the king's tapestry! I have only a feeble head, and am +not aided by anyone!" + +A goldsmith attached to the Court of King Rene of Anjou was Jean +Nicolas. Rene also gave many orders to one Liguier Rabotin, of +Avignon, who made him several cups of solid gold, on a large tray +of the same precious metal. The king often drew his own designs +or such bijoux. + +Among the famous men of Italy were several who practised the art of +the goldsmith. Ugolino of Siena constructed the wonderful reliquary +at Orvieto; this, is in shape somewhat similar to the facade of +the cathedral. + +Verocchio, the instructor of Leonardo da Vinci, accomplished several +important pieces of jewelery in his youth: cope-buttons and silver +statuettes, chiefly, which were so successful that he determined to +take up the career of a sculptor. Ghirlandajo, as is well known, +was trained as a goldsmith originally, his father having been the +inventor of a pretty fashion then prevailing among young girls of +Florence, and being the maker of those golden garlands worn on +the heads of maidens. The name Ghirlandajo, indeed, was derived +from these garlands (ghirlandes). + +Francia began life as a goldsmith, too, and was never in after life +ashamed of his profession, for he often signed his works Francesco +Francia Aurifex. Francia was a very skilful workman in niello, +and in enamels. In fact, to quote the enthusiastic Vasari, "he +executed everything that is most beautiful, and which can be performed +in that art more perfectly than any other master had ever done." +Baccio Baldini, also, was a goldsmith, although a greater portion +of his ability was turned in the direction of engraving. His pupil +Maso Finniguerra, who turned also to engraving, began his career +as a goldsmith. + +The great silver altar in the Baptistery in Florence occupied nearly +all the goldsmiths in that city. In 1330 the father of the Orcagnas, +Cione, died; he had worked for some years before that on the altar. +In 1366 the altar was destroyed, but the parts in bas-relief by +Cione were retained and incorporated into the new work, which was +finished in 1478. Ghiberti, Orcagna, Verocchio, and Pollajuolo, +all executed various details of this magnificent monument. + +Goldsmiths did not quite change their standing and characteristics +until late in the sixteenth century. About that time it may be said +that the last goldsmith of the old school was Claude Ballin, while +the first jeweller, in the modern acceptation of the word, was Pierre +de Montarsy. + +Silver has always been selected for the better household utensils, +not only on account of its beauty, but also because of its ductility, +which is desirable in making larger vessels; its value, too, is +less than that of gold, so that articles which would be quite out +of the reach of most householders, if made in gold, become very +available in silver. Silver is particularly adapted to daily use, +for the necessary washing and polishing which it receives keeps +it in good condition, and there is no danger from poison through +corrosion, as with copper and brass. + +In the middle ages the customary pieces of plate in English homes +were basins, bottles, bowls, candlesticks, saucepans, jugs, dishes, +ewers and flagons, and chafing-dishes for warming the hands, which +were undoubtedly needed, when we remember how intense the cold +must have been in those high, bare, ill-ventilated halls! There +were also large cups called hanaps, smaller cups, plates, and +porringers, salt-cellars, spoons, and salvers. Forks were of much +later date. + +There are records of several silver basins in the Register of John +of Gaunt, and also in the Inventory of Lord Lisle: one being "a +basin and ewer with arms" and another, "a shaving basin." John of +Gaunt also owned "a silver bowl for the kitchen." If the mediaeval +household lacked comforts, it could teach us lessons in luxury +in some other departments! He also had a "pair of silver bottles, +partly gilt, and enamelled, garnished with tissues of silk, white +and blue," and a "casting bottle" for distributing perfume: Silver +candelabra were recorded; these, of course, must have been in constant +service, as the facilities for lighting were largely dependent upon +them. When the Crown was once obliged to ask a loan from the Earl +of Salisbury, in 1432, the Earl received, as earnest of payment, +"two golden candelabra, garnished with pearls and precious stones." + +In the Close Roll of Henry III. of England, there is found an +interesting order to a goldsmith: "Edward, son of Eudo, with all +haste, by day and by night, make a cup with a foot for the Queen: +weighing two marks, not more; price twenty marks, against Christmas, +that she may drink from it in that feast: and paint it and enamel it +all over, and in every other way that you can, let it be decently +and beautifully wrought, so that the King, no less than the said +Queen, may be content therewith." All the young princes and princesses +were presented with silver cups, also, as they came to such age as +made the use of them expedient; Lionel and John, sons of Edward +III., were presented with cups "with leather covers for the same," +when they were one and three years old respectively. In 1423 the +chief justice, Sir William Hankford, gave his great-granddaughter +a baptismal gift of a gilt cup and a diamond ring, together with a +curious testimonial of eight shillings and sixpence to the nurse! + +Of dishes, the records are meagre, but there is an amusing entry +among the Lisle papers referring to a couple of "conserve dishes" +for which Lady Lisle expressed a wish. Husee had been ordered to +procure these, but writes, "I can get no conserve dishes... however, +if they be to be had, I will have of them, or it shall cost me hot +water!" A little later he observes, "Towards Christmas day they +shall be made at Bevoys, betwixt Abbeville and Paris." + +Flagons were evidently a novelty in 1471, for there is an entry +in the Issue Roll of Edward IV., which mentions "two ollas called +silver flagons for the King." An olla was a Latin term for a jar. +Lord Lisle rejoiced in "a pair of flagons, the gilt sore worn." +Hanaps were more usual, and appear to have been usually in the form +of goblets. They frequently had stands called "tripers." Sometimes +these stands were very ornate, as, for instance, one owned by the +Bishop of Carpentras, "in the shape of a flying dragon, with a +crowned damsel sitting upon a green terrace." Another, belonging +to the Countess of Cambridge, was described as being "in the shape +of a monster, with three buttresses and three bosses of mother of +pearl... and an ewer,... partly enamelled with divers babooneries"--a +delightful expression! Other hanaps were in the forms of swans, oak +trees, white harts, eagles, lions, and the like--probably often +of heraldic significance. + +A set of platters was sent from Paris to Richard II., all of gold, +with balas rubies, pearls and sapphires set in them. It is related +of the ancient Frankish king, Chilperic, that he had made a dish of +solid gold, "ornamented all over with precious stones, and weighing +fifty pounds," while Lothaire owned an enormous silver basin bearing +as decoration "the world with the courses of the stars and the +planets." + +The porringer was a very important article of table use, for pap, +and soft foods such as we should term cereals, and for boiled pudding. +These were all denominated porridge, and were eaten from these vessels. +Soup was doubtless served in them as well. They were numerous in +every household. In the Roll of Henry III. is an item, mentioning +that he had ordered twenty porringers to be made, "like the one +hundred porringers" which had already been ordered! + +An interesting pattern of silver cups in Elizabethan times were +the "trussing cups," namely, two goblets of silver, squat in shape +and broad in bowl, which fitted together at the rim, so that one +was inverted as a sort of cover on top of the other when they were +not in use. Drinking cups were sometimes made out of cocoanuts, +mounted in silver, and often of ostrich eggs, similarly treated, +and less frequently of horns hollowed out and set on feet. Mediaeval +loving cups were usually named, and frequently for some estates +that belonged to the owner. Cups have been known to bear such names +as "Spang," "Bealchier," and "Crumpuldud," while others bore the +names of the patron saints of their owners. + +A kind of cruet is recorded among early French table silver, "a +double necked bottle in divisions, in which to place two kinds +of liquor without mixing them." A curious bit of table silver in +France, also, was the "almsbox," into which each guest was supposed +to put some piece of food, to be given to the poor. + +Spoons were very early in their origin; St. Radegond is reported +by a contemporary to have used a spoon, in feeding the blind and +infirm. A quaint book of instructions to children, called "The +Babee's Booke," in 1475, advises by way of table manners: + + "And whenever your potage to you shall be brought, + Take your sponys and soupe by no way, + And in your dish leave not your spoon, I pray!" + +And a later volume on the same subject, in 1500, commends a proper +respect for the implements of the table: + + "Ne playe with spoone, trencher, ne knife." + +Spoons of curious form were evidently made all the way from 1300 +to the present day. In an old will, in 1477, mention is made of +spoons "wt leopards hedes printed in the sponself," and in another, +six spoons "wt owles at the end of the handles." Professor Wilson +said, "A plated spoon is a pitiful imposition," and he was right. +If there is one article of table service in which solidity of metal +is of more importance than in another, it is the spoon, which must +perforce come in contact with the lips whenever it is used. In England +the earliest spoons were of about the thirteenth century, and the first +idea of a handle seems to have been a plain shaft ending in a ball or +knob. Gradually spoons began to show more of the decorative instinct +of their designers; acorns, small statuettes, and such devices +terminated the handles, which still retained their slender proportions, +however. Finally it became popular to have images of the Virgin on +individual spoons, which led to the idea, after a bit, of decorating +the dozen with the twelve apostles. These may be seen of all periods, +differently elaborated. Sets of thirteen are occasionally met with, +these having one with the statue of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, +with a lamb on his shoulders: it is known as the "Master spoon." + +[Illustration: APOSTLE SPOONS] + +The first mention of forks in France is in the Inventory, of Charles +V., in 1379. We hear a great deal about the promiscuous use of +knives before forks were invented; how in the children's book of +instructions they are enjoined "pick not thy teeth with thy knife," +as if it were a general habit requiring to be checked. Massinger +alludes to a + + "silver fork + To convey an olive neatly to thy mouth," + +but this may apply to pickle forks. Forks were introduced from Italy +into England about 1607. + +A curiosity in cutlery is the "musical knife" at the Louvre; the +blade is steel, mounted in parcel gilt, and the handle is of ivory. +On the blade is engraved a few bars of music (arranged for the +bass only), accompanying the words, "What we are about to take +may Trinity in Unity bless. Amen." This is a literal translation. +It indicates that there were probably three other knives in the +set so ornamented, one with the soprano, one alto, and one tenor, +so that four persons sitting down to table together might chant +their "grace" in four-part harmony, having the requisite notes +before them! It was a quaint idea, but quite in keeping with the +taste of the sixteenth century. + +[Illustration: IVORY KNIFE HANDLES, WITH PORTRAITS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH +AND JAMES I. ENGLIS] + +The domestic plate of Louis, Duke of Anjou, in 1360, consisted of +over seven hundred pieces, and Charles V. of France had an enormous +treasury of such objects for daily use. Strong rooms and safes were +built during the fourteenth century, for the lodging of the household +valuables. About this time the Dukes of Burgundy were famous for +their splendid table service. Indeed, the craze for domestic display +in this line became so excessive, that in 1356 King John of France +prohibited the further production of such elaborate pieces, "gold or +silver plate, vases, or silver jewelry, of more than one mark of gold, +or silver, excepting for churches." This edict, however, accomplished +little, and was constantly evaded. Many large pieces of silver made +in the period of the Renaissance were made simply with a view to +standing about as ornaments. Cellini alludes to certain vases which +had been ordered from him, saying that "they are called ewers, and +they are placed upon buffets for the purpose of display." + +The salt cellar was always a _piece de resistance_, and stood in +the centre of the table. It was often in the form of a ship in +silver. A book entitled "Ffor to serve a Lorde," in 1500, directs +the "boteler" or "panter," to bring forth the principal salt, and to +"set the saler in the myddys of the table." Persons helped themselves +to salt with "a clene kniffe." The seats of honour were all about +the salt, while those of less degree were at the lower end of the +table, and were designated as "below the salt." The silver ship was +commonly an immense piece of plate, containing the napkin, goblet, +and knife and spoon of the host, besides being the receptacle for +the spices and salt. Through fear of poison, the precaution was +taken of keeping it covered. This ship was often known as the "nef," +and frequently had a name, as if it were the family yacht! One is +recorded as having been named the "Tyger," while a nef belonging to +the Duke of Orleans was called the "Porquepy," meaning porcupine. +One of the historic salts, in another form, is the "Huntsman's +salt," and is kept at All Soul's College, Oxford. The figure of a +huntsman, bears upon its head a rock crystal box with a lid. About +the feet of this figure are several tiny animals and human beings, +so that it looks as if the intent had been to picture some gigantic +legendary hunter--a sort of Gulliver of the chase. + +The table was often furnished also with a fountain, in which +drinking-water was kept, and upon which either stood or hung cups +or goblets. These fountains were often of fantastic shapes, and +usually enamelled. One is described as representing a dragon on +a tree top, and another a castle on a hill, with a convenient tap +at some point for drawing off the water. + +The London City Companies are rich in their possessions of valuable +plate. Some of the cups are especially beautiful. The Worshipful +Company of Skinners owns some curious loving cups, emblematic of +the names of the donors. There are five Cockayne Loving Cups, made +in the form of cocks, with their tail feathers spread up to form +the handles. The heads have to be removed for drinking. These cups +were bequeathed by William Cockayne, in 1598. Another cup is in +the form of a peacock, walking with two little chicks of minute +proportions on either side of the parent bird. This is inscribed, +"The gift of Mary the daughter of Richard Robinson, and wife to +Thomas Smith and James Peacock, Skinners." Whether the good lady +were a bigamist or took her husbands in rotation, does not transpire. + +An interesting cup is owned by the Vintners in London, called the +Milkmaid. The figure of a milkmaid, in laced bodice, holds above +her head a small cup on pivots, so that it finds its level when +the figure is inverted, as is the case when the cup is used, the +petticoat of the milkmaid forming the real goblet. It is constructed +on the same principle as the German figures of court ladies holding +up cups, which are often seen to-day, made on the old pattern. The +cups in the case of this milkmaid are both filled with wine, and +it is quite difficult to drink from the larger cup without spilling +from the small swinging cup which is then below the other. Every +member is expected to perform this feat as a sort of initiation. +It dates from 1658. + +[Illustration: THE "MILKMAID CUP"] + +One of the most beautiful Corporation cups is at Norwich, where +it is known as the "Petersen" cup. It is shaped like a very thick +and squat chalice, and around its top is a wide border of decorative +lettering, bearing the inscription, "THE + MOST + HERE + OF. + IS ++ DUNNE + BY + PETER + PETERSON +." This craftsman was a Norwich +silversmith of the sixteenth century, very famous in his day, and +a remarkably chaste designer as well. A beautiful ivory cup twelve +inches high, set in silver gilt, called the Grace Cup, of +Thomas a Becket, is inscribed around the top band, "_Vinum tuum bibe +cum gaudio_." It has a hall-mark of a Lombardic letter H, signifying +the year 1445. It is decorated by cherubs, roses, thistles, and +crosses, relieved with garnets and pearls. On another flat band +is the inscription: "_Sobrii estote_," and on the cover, +in Roman capitals, "_Ferare God_." It is owned by the Howard family, +of Corby. + +Tankards were sometimes made of such crude materials as leather +(like the "lether bottel" of history), and of wood. In fact, the +inventory of a certain small church in the year 1566 tells of a +"penny tankard of wood," which was used as a "holy water stock." + +An extravagant design, of a period really later than we are supposed +to deal with in this book, is a curious cup at Barber's and Surgeon's +Hall, known as the Royal Oak. It is built to suggest an oak tree,--a +naturalistic trunk, with its roots visible, supporting the cup, +which is in the form of a semi-conventional tree, covered with +leaves, detached acorns swinging free on rings from the sides at +intervals! + +Richard Redgrave called attention to some of the absurdities of +the exotic work of his day in England. "Rachel at a well, under +an imitative palm tree," he remarks, "draws, not water, but ink; +a grotto of oyster shells with children beside it, contains... an +ink vessel; the milk pail on a maiden's head contains, not goat's +milk, as the animal by her side would lead you to suppose, but a +taper!" + +One great secret of good design in metal is to avoid imitating +fragile things in a strong material. The stalk of a flower or leaf, +for instance, if made to do duty in silver to support a heavy cup or +vase, is a very disagreeable thing to contemplate; if the article +were really what it represented, it would break under the strain. +While there should be no deliberate perversion of Nature's forms, +there should be no naturalistic imitation. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +JEWELRY AND PRECIOUS STONES + +We are told that the word "jewel" has come by degrees from Latin, +through French, to its present form; it commenced as a "gaudium" +(joy), and progressed through "jouel" and "joyau" to the familiar +word, as we have it. + +The first objects to be made in the form of personal adornment were +necklaces: this may be easily understood, for in certain savage +lands the necklace formed, and still forms, the chief feature in +feminine attire. In this little treatise, however, we cannot deal +with anything so primitive or so early; we must not even take time +to consider the exquisite Greek and Roman jewelry. Amongst the +earliest mediaeval jewels we will study the Anglo-Saxon and the +Byzantine. + +Anglo-Saxon and Irish jewelry is famous for delicate filigree, fine +enamels, and flat garnets used in a very decorative way. Niello +was also employed to some extent. It is easy, in looking from the +Bell of St. Patrick to the Book of Kells, to see how the illuminators +were influenced by the goldsmiths in early times,--in Celtic and +Anglo-Saxon work. + +[Illustration: SAXON BROOCH] + +The earliest forms of brooches were the annular,--that is, a long +pin with a hinged ring at its head for ornament, and the "penannular," +or pin with a broken circle at its head. Through the opening in the +circle the pin returns, and then with a twist of the ring, it is +held more firmly in the material. Of these two forms are notable +examples in the Arbutus brooch and the celebrated Tara brooch. The +Tara brooch is a perfect museum in itself of the jeweller's art. +It is ornamented with enamel, with jewels set in silver, amber, +scroll filigree, fine chains, Celtic tracery, moulded glass--nearly +every branch of the art is represented in this one treasure, which +was found quite by accident near Drogheda, in 1850, a landslide +having exposed the buried spot where it had lain for centuries. +As many as seventy-six different kinds of workmanship are to be +detected on this curious relic. + +[Illustration: THE TARA BROOCH] + +At a great Exhibition at Ironmonger's Hall in 1861 +there was shown a leaden fibula, quite a dainty piece of personal +ornament, in Anglo-Saxon taste, decorated with a moulded spiral +meander. It was found in the Thames in 1855, and there are only +three other similar brooches of lead known to exist. + +Of the Celtic brooches Scott speaks: + + "...the brooch of burning gold + That clasps the chieftain's mantle fold, + Wrought and chased with rare device, + Studded fair with gems of price." + +One of the most remarkable pieces of Celtic jewelled work is the +bell of St. Patrick, which measures over ten inches in height. +This saint is associated with several bells: one, called the Broken +Bell of St. Brigid, he used on his last crusade against the demons +of Ireland; it is said that when he found his adversaries specially +unyielding, he flung the bell with all his might into the thickest +of their ranks, so that they fled precipitately into the sea, leaving +the island free from their aggressions for seven years, seven months, +and seven days. + +One of St. Patrick's bells is known, in Celtic, as the "white toned," +while another is called the "black sounding." This is an early and +curious instance of the sub-conscious association of the qualities +of sound with those of colour. Viollet le Duc tells how a blind man +was asked if he knew what the colour red was. He replied, "Yes: +red is the sound of the trumpet." And the great architect himself, +when a child, was carried by his nurse into the Cathedral of Notre +Dame in Paris, where he cried with terror because he fancied that +the various organ notes which he heard were being hurled at him +by the stained glass windows, each one represented by a different +colour in the glass! + +[Illustration: SHRINE OF THE BELL OF ST. PATRICK] + +But the most famous bell in connection with St. Patrick is the one +known by his own name and brought with his relics by Columbkille +only sixty years after the saint's death. The outer case is an +exceedingly rich example of Celtic work. On a ground of brass, fine +gold and silver filigree is applied, in curious interlaces and knots, +and it is set with several jewels, some of large size, in green, +blue, and dull red. In the front are two large tallow-cut Irish +diamonds, and a third was apparently set in a place which is now +vacant. On the back of the bell appears a Celtic inscription in most +decorative lettering all about the edge; the literal translation +of this is: "A prayer for Donnell O'Lochlain, through whom this +bell shrine was made; and for Donnell, the successor of Patrick, +with whom it was made; and for Cahalan O'Mulhollan, the keeper of +the bell, and for Cudilig O'Immainen, with his sons, who covered +it." Donald O'Lochlain was monarch of Ireland in 1083. Donald the +successor of Patrick was the Abbot of Armagh, from 1091 to 1105. +The others were evidently the craftsmen who worked on the shrine. +In many interlaces, especially on the sides, there may be traced +intricate patterns formed of serpents, but as nearly all Celtic +work is similarly ornamented, there is probably nothing personal +in their use in connection with the relic of St. Patrick! Patrick +brought quite a bevy of workmen into Ireland about 440: some were +smiths, Mac Cecht, Laebhan, and Fontchan, who were turned at once +upon making of bells, while some other skilled artificers, Fairill +and Tassach, made patens and chalices. St. Bridget, too, had a +famous goldsmith in her train, one Bishop Coula. + +The pectoral cross of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne is now to be seen +in Durham. It was buried with the saint, and was discovered with +his body. The four arms are of equal length, and not very heavy in +proportion. It is of gold, made in the seventh century, and is set +with garnets, a very large one in the centre, one somewhat smaller +at the ends of the arms, where the lines widen considerably, and +with smaller ones continuously between. + +Among the many jewels which decorated the shrine of Thomas a Becket +at Canterbury was a stone "with an angell of gold poynting thereunto," +which was a gift from the King of France, who had had it "made +into a ring and wore it on his thumb." Other stones described as +being on this shrine were sumptuous, the whole being damascened +with gold wire, and "in the midst of the gold, rings; or cameos +of sculptured agates, carnelians, and onyx stones." A visitor to +Canterbury in 1500 writes: "Everything is left far behind by a +ruby not larger than a man's thumb nail, which is set to the right +of the altar. The church is rather dark, and when we went to see +it the sun was nearly gone down, and the weather was cloudy, yet +we saw the ruby as well as if it had been in my hand. They say +it was a gift of the King of France." + +Possessions of one kind were often converted into another, according +to changing fashions. Philippa of Lancaster had a gold collar made +"out of two bottles and a turret," in 1380. + +Mediaeval rosaries were generally composed of beads of coral or +carnelian, and often of gold and pearls as well. Marco Polo tells +of a unique rosary worn by the King of Malabar; one hundred and +four large pearls, with occasional rubies of great price, composed +the string. Marco Polo adds: "He has to say one hundred and four +prayers to his idols every morning and evening." + +In the possession of the Shah of Persia is a gold casket studded +with emeralds, which is said to have the magic power of rendering +the owner invisible as long as he remains celibate. I fancy that +this is a safe claim, for the tradition is not likely to be put +to the proof in the case of a Shah! Probably there has never been +an opportunity of testing the miraculous powers of the stones. + +The inventory of Lord Lisle contains many interesting side lights +on the jewelry of the period: "a hawthorne of gold, with twenty +diamonds;" "a little tower of gold," and "a pair of beads of gold, +with tassels." Filigree or chain work was termed "perry." In old +papers such as inventories, registers, and the like, there are +frequent mentions of buttons of "gold and perry;" in 1372 Aline +Gerbuge received "one little circle of gold and perry, emeralds +and balasses." Clasps and brooches were used much in the fourteenth +century. They were often called "ouches," and were usually of jewelled +gold. One, an image of St. George, was given by the Black Prince to +John of Gaunt. The Duchess of Bretagne had among other brooches one +with a white griffin, a balas ruby on its shoulder, six sapphires +around it, and then six balasses, and twelve groups of pearls with +diamonds. + +Brooches were frequently worn by being stuck in the hat. In a curious +letter from James I. to his son, the monarch writes: "I send for +your wearing the Three Brethren" (evidently a group of three stones) +"...but newly set... which I wolde wish you to weare alone in your +hat, with a Littel black feather." To his favourite Buckingham +he also sends a diamond, saying that his son will lend him also +"an anker" in all probability; but he adds: "If my Babee will not +spare the anker from his Mistress, he may well lend thee his round +brooch to weare, and yett he shall have jewels to weare in his +hat for three grate dayes." + +In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the women wore nets in +their hair, composed of gold threads adorned with pearls. At first +two small long rolls by the temples were confined in these nets: +later, the whole back hair was gathered into a large circular +arrangement. These nets were called frets--"a fret of pearls" was +considered a sufficient legacy for a duchess to leave to her daughter. + +In the constant resetting and changing of jewels, many important +mediaeval specimens, not to mention exquisite vessels and church +furniture, were melted down and done over by Benvenuto Cellini, +especially at the time that Pope Clement was besieged at the Castle +of St. Angelo. + +Probably the most colossal jewel of ancient times was the Peacock +Throne of Delhi. It was in the form of two spread tails of peacocks, +composed entirely of sapphires, emeralds and topazes, feather by +feather and eye by eye, set so as to touch each other. A parrot of +life size carved from a single emerald, stood between the peacocks. + +In 1161 the throne of the Emperor in Constantinople is described +by Benjamin of Tudela: "Of gold ornamented with precious stones. +A golden crown hangs over it, suspended on a chain of the same +material, the length of which exactly admits the Emperor to sit +under it. The crown is ornamented with precious stones of inestimable +value. Such is the lustre of these diamonds that even without any +other light, they illumine the room in which they are kept." + +The greatest mediaeval jeweller was St. Eloi of Limoges. His history +is an interesting one, and his achievement and rise in life was very +remarkable in the period in which he lived. Eloi was a workman in +Limoges, as a youth, under the famous Abho, in the sixth century; +there he learned the craft of a goldsmith. He was such a splendid +artisan that he soon received commissions for extensive works on his +own account. King Clothaire II. ordered from him a golden throne, +and supplied the gold which was to be used. To the astonishment of +all, Eloi presented the king with _two_ golden thrones (although +it is difficult to imagine what a king would do with duplicate +thrones!), and immediately it was noised abroad that the goldsmith +Eloi was possessed of miraculous powers, since, out of gold sufficient +for one throne, he had constructed two. People of a more practical +turn found out that Eloi had learned the art of alloying the gold, +so as to make it do double duty. + +A great many examples of St. Eloi's work might have been seen in +France until the Revolution in 1792, especially at the Abbey of St. +Denis. A ring made by him, with which St. Godiberte was married to +Christ, according to the custom of mediaeval saints, was preserved at +Noyon until 1793, when it disappeared in the Revolution. The Chronicle +says of Eloi: "He made for the king a great numer of gold vesses +enriched with precious stones, and he worked incessantly, seated +with his servant Thillo, a Saxon by birth, who followed the lessons +of his master." St. Eloi founded two institutions for goldsmithing: +one for the production of domestic and secular plate, and the other +for ecclesiastical work exclusively, so that no worker in profane +lines should handle the sacred vessels. The secular branch was +situated near the dwelling of Eloi, in the Cite itself, and was +known as "St. Eloi's Enclosure." When a fire burned them out of +house and shelter, they removed to a suburban quarter, which soon +became known in its turn, as the "Cloture St. Eloi." The religious +branch of the establishment was presided over by the aforesaid +Thillo, and was the Abbey of Solignac, near Limoges. This school +was inaugurated in 631. + +While Eloi was working at the court of King Clothaire II., St. Quen +was there as well. The two youths struck up a close friendship, and +afterwards Ouen became his biographer. His description of Eloi's +personal appearance is worth quoting, to show the sort of figure a +mediaeval saint sometimes cut before canonization. "He was tall, with +a ruddy face, his hair and beard curly. His hands well made, and his +fingers long, his face full of angelic sweetness.... At first he +wore habits covered with pearls and precious stones; he had also +belts sewn with pearls. His dress was of linen encrusted with gold, +and the edges of his tunic trimmed with gold embroidery. Indeed, his +clothing was very costly, and some of his dresses were of silk. Such +was his exterior in his first period at court, and he dressed thus +to avoid singularity; but under this garment he wore a rough sack +cloth, and later on, he disposed of all his ornaments to relieve the +distressed; and he might be seen with only a cord round his waist +and common clothes. Sometimes the king, seeing him thus divested of +his rich clothing, would take off his own cloak and girdle and give +them to him, saying: 'It is not suitable that those who dwell for +the world should be richly clad, and that those who despoil +themselves for Christ should be without glory.'" + +Among the numerous virtues of St. Eloi was that of a consistent +carrying out of his real beliefs and theories, whether men might +consider him quixotic or not. He was strongly opposed to the institution +of slavery. In those days it would have been futile to preach actual +emancipation. The times were not ripe. But St. Eloi did all that he +could for the cause of freedom by investing most of his money in +slaves, and then setting them at liberty. Sometimes he would "corner" +a whole slave market, buying as many as thirty to a hundred at a +time. Some of these manumitted persons became his own faithful +followers: some entered the religious life, and others devoted their +talents to their benefactor, and worked in his studios for the +furthering of art in the Church. + +He once played a trick upon the king. He requested the gift of +a town, in order, as he explained, that he might there build a +ladder by which they might both reach heaven. The king, in the +rather credulous fashion of the times, granted his request, and +waited to see the ladder. St. Eloi promptly built a monastery. +If the monarch did not choose to avail himself of this species of +ladder,--surely it was no fault of the builder! + +St. Quen and St. Eloi were consecrated bishops on the same day, +May 14, St. Quen to the Bishopric of Rouen, and Eloi to the See of +Noyon. He made a great hunt for the body of St. Quentin, which had +been unfortunately mislaid, having been buried in the neighbourhood +of Noyon; he turned up every available spot of ground around, within +and beneath the church, until he found a skeleton in a tomb, with +some iron nails. This he proclaimed to be the sacred body, for +the legend was that St. Quentin had been martyred by having nails +driven into his head! Although it was quite evident to others that +these were coffin nails, still St. Eloi insisted upon regarding his +discovery as genuine, and they began diligently to dismember the +remains for distribution among the churches. As they were pulling +one of the teeth, a drop of blood was seen to follow it, which +miracle was hailed by St. Eloi as the one proof wanting. Eloi had +the genuine artistic temperament and his religious zeal was much +influenced by his aesthetic nature. He once preached an excellent +sermon, still preserved, against superstition. He inveighed +particularly against the use of charms and incantations. But he had +his own little streak of superstition in spite of the fact that he +fulminated against it. When he had committed some fault, after +confession, he used to hang bags of relics in his room, and watch +them for a sign of forgiveness. When one of these would turn oily, +or begin to affect the surrounding atmosphere peculiarly, he would +consider it a sign of the forgiveness of heaven. It seems to us +to-day as if he might have looked to his own relic bags before +condemning the ignorant. + +St. Eloi died in 659, and was himself distributed to the faithful +in quite a wholesale way. One arm is in Paris. He was canonized +both for his holy life and for his great zeal in art. He was buried +in a silver coffin adorned with gold, and his tomb was said to +work miracles like the shrine of Becket. Indeed, Becket himself +was pretty dressy in the matter of jewels; when he travelled to +Paris, the simple Frenchmen exclaimed: "What a wonderful personage +the King of England must be, if his chancellor can travel in such +state!" + +There are various legends about St. Eloi. It is told that a certain +horse once behaved in a very obstreperous way while being shod; St. +Eloi calmly cut off the animal's leg, and fixed the shoe quietly +in position, and then replaced the leg, which grew into place again +immediately, to the pardonable astonishment of all beholders, not +to mention the horse. + +St. Eloi was also employed to coin the currency of Dagobert and +Clovis II., and examples of these coins may now be seen, as authentic +records of the style of his work. A century after his death the +monasteries which he had founded were still in operation, and +Charlemagne's crown and sword are very possibly the result of St. +Eloi's teachings to his followers. + +While the monasteries undoubtedly controlled most of the art education +of the early middle ages, there were also laymen who devoted themselves +to these pursuits. John de Garlande, a famous teacher in the University +of Paris, wrote, in the eleventh century, a "Dictionarius" dealing +with various arts. In this interesting work he describes, the trades +of the moneyers (who controlled the mint), the coining of gold and +silver into currency (for the making of coin in those days was +permitted by individuals), the clasp makers, the makers of cups +or hanaps, jewellers and harness makers, and other artificers. +John de Garlande was English, born about the middle of the twelfth +century, and was educated in Oxford. In the early thirteenth century +he became associated with the University, and when Simon de Montfort +was slain in 1218, at Toulouse, John was at the University of +Toulouse, where he was made So professor, and stayed three years, +returning then to Paris. He died about the middle of the thirteenth +century. He was celebrated chiefly for his Dictionarius, a work on +the various arts and crafts of France, and for a poem "De Triumphis +Ecclesiae." + +During the Middle Ages votive crowns were often presented to churches; +among these a few are specially famous. The crowns, studded with +jewels, were suspended before the altar by jewelled chains, and often +a sort of fringe of jewelled letters was hung from the rim, forming +an inscription. The votive crown of King Suinthila, in Madrid, is +among the most ornate of these. It is the finest specimen in the +noted "Treasure of Guerrazzar," which was discovered by peasants +turning up the soil near Toledo; the crowns, of which there were +many, date from about the seventh century, and are sumptuous with +precious stones. The workmanship is not that of a barbarous nation, +though it has the fascinating irregularities of the Byzantine style. + +Of the delightful work of the fifth and sixth centuries there are +scarcely any examples in Italy. The so-called Iron Crown of Monza +is one of the few early Lombard treasures. This crown has within +it a narrow band of iron, said to be a nail of the True Cross; +but the crown, as it meets the eye, is anything but iron, being +one of the most superb specimens of jewelled golden workmanship, +as fine as those in the Treasure of Guerrazzar. + +[Illustration: THE TREASURE OF GUERRAZZAR.] + +The crown of King Alfred the Great is mentioned in an old inventory +as being of "gould wire worke, sett with slight stones, and two +little bells." A diadem is described by William of Malmsbury, "so +precious with jewels, that the splendour... threw sparks of light +so strongly on the beholder, that the more steadfastly any person +endeavoured to gaze, so much the more he was dazzled, and compelled +to avert the eyes!" In 1382 a circlet crown was purchased for Queen +Anne of Bohemia, being set with a large sapphire, a balas, and four +large pearls with a diamond in the centre. + +The Cathedral at Amiens owns what is supposed to be the head of +John the Baptist, enshrined in a gilt cup of silver, and with bands +of jewelled work. The head is set upon a platter of gilded and +jewelled silver, covered with a disc of rock crystal. The whole, +though ancient, is enclosed in a modern shrine. The legend of the +preservation of the Baptist's head is that Herodias, afraid that +the saint might be miraculously restored to life if his head and +body were laid in the same grave, decided to hide the head until +this danger was past. Furtively, she concealed the relic for a time, +and then it was buried in Herod's palace. It was there opportunely +discovered by some monks in the fourth century. This "invention of +the head" (the word being interpreted according to the credulity of +the reader) resulted in its removal to Emesa, where it was exhibited +in 453. In 753 Marcellus, the Abbot of Emesa, had a vision by means +of which he re-discovered (or re-invented) the head, which had in +some way been lost sight of. Following the guidance of his dream, +he repaired to a grotto, and proceeded to exhume the long-suffering +relic. After many other similar and rather disconnected episodes, +it finally came into possession of the Bishop of Amiens in 1206. + +A great calamity in early times was the loss of all the valuables +of King John of England. Between Lincolnshire and Norfolk the royal +cortege was crossing the Wash: the jewels were all swept away. +Crown and all were thus lost, in 1216. + +Several crowns have been through vicissitudes. When Richard III. +died, on Bosworth Field, his crown was secured by a soldier and +hidden in a bush. Sir Reginald de Bray discovered it, and restored +it to its rightful place. But to balance such cases several of the +queens have brought to the national treasury their own crowns. +In 1340 Edward III. pawned even the queen's jewels to raise money +for fighting France. + +The same inventory makes mention of certain treasures deposited +at Westminster: the values are attached to each of these, crowns, +plates, bracelets, and so forth. Also, with commendable zeal, a +list was kept of other articles stored in an iron chest, among which +are the items, "one liver coloured silk robe, very old, and worth +nothing," and "an old combe of horne, worth nothing." A frivolous +scene is described by Wood, when the notorious Republican, Marten, +had access to the treasure stored in Westminster. Some of the wits +of the period assembled in the treasury, and took out of the iron +chest several of its jewels, a crown, sceptre, and robes; these +they put upon the merry poet, George Withers, "who, being thus +crowned and royally arrayed, first marched about the room with a +stately gait, and afterwards, with a thousand ridiculous and apish +actions, exposed the sacred ornaments to contempt and laughter." +No doubt the "olde comb" played a suitable part in these +pranks,--perhaps it may even have served as orchestra. + +One Sir Henry Mildmay, in 1649, was responsible for dreadful vandalism, +under the Puritan regime. Among other acts which he countenanced was +the destruction and sale of the wonderful Crown of King Alfred, +to which allusion has just been made. In the Will of the Earl of +Pembroke, in 1650, is this clause showing how unpopular Sir Henry +had become: "Because I threatened Sir Henry Mildmay, but did not +beat him, I give L50 to the footman who cudgelled him. Item, my +will is that the said Sir Harry shall not meddle with my jewels. I +knew him... when he handled the Crown jewels,... for which reason +I now name him the Knave of Diamonds." + +Jewelled arms and trappings became very rich in the fifteenth century. +Pius II. writes of the German armour: "What shall I say of the +neck chains of the men, and the bridles of the horses, which are +made of the purest gold; and of the spears and scabbards which are +covered with jewels?" Spurs were also set with jewels, and often +damascened with gold, and ornamented with appropriate mottoes. + +An inventory of the jewelled cups and reliquaries of Queen Jeanne +of Navarre, about 1570, reads like a museum. She had various gold +and jewelled dishes for banquets; one jewel is described as "Item, +a demoiselle of gold, represented as riding upon a horse, of mother +of pearl, standing upon a platform of gold, enriched with ten rubies, +six turquoises and three fine pearls." Another item is, "A fine rock +crystal set in gold, enriched with three rubies, three emeralds, +and a large sapphire, set transparently, the whole suspended from +a small gold chain." + +It is time now to speak of the actual precious stones themselves, +which apart from their various settings are, after all, the real +jewels. According to Cellini there are only four precious stones: +he says they are made "by the four elements," ruby by fire, sapphire +by air, emerald by earth, and diamond by water. It irritated him +to have any one claim others as precious stones. "I have a thing +or two to say," he remarks, "in order not to scandalize a certain +class of men who call themselves jewellers, but may be better likened +to hucksters, or linen drapers, pawn brokers, or grocers... with a +maximum of credit and a minimum of brains... these dunderheads... +wag their arrogant tongues at me and cry, 'How about the chrysophrase, +or the jacynth, how about the aqua marine, nay more, how about the +garnet, the vermeil, the crysolite, the plasura, the amethyst? +Ain't these all stones and all different?' Yes, and why the devil +don't you add pearls, too, among the jewels, ain't they fish bones?" +Thus he classes the stones together, adding that the balas, though +light in colour, is a ruby, and the topaz a sapphire. "It is of the +same hardness, and though of a different colour, must be classified +with the sapphire: what better classification do you want? hasn't +the air got its sun?" + +Cellini always set the coloured stones in a bezel or closed box +of gold, with a foil behind them. He tells an amusing story of +a ruby which he once set on a bit of frayed silk instead of on +the customary foil. The result happened to be most brilliant. The +jewellers asked him what kind of foil he had used, and he replied +that he had employed no foil. Then they exclaimed that he must have +tinted it, which was against all laws of jewelry. Again Benvenuto +swore that he had neither used foil, nor had he done anything forbidden +or unprofessional to the stone. "At this the jeweller got a little +nasty, and used strong language," says Cellini. They then offered +to pay well for the information if Cellini would inform them by what +means he had obtained so remarkably a lustre. Benvenuto, expressing +himself indifferent to pay, but "much honoured in thus being able to +teach his teachers," opened the setting and displayed his secret, +and all parted excellent friends. + +Even so early as the thirteenth century, the jewellers of Paris had +become notorious for producing artificial jewels. Among their laws +was one which stipulated that "the jeweller was not to dye the +amethyst, or other false stones, nor mount them in gold leaf nor other +colour, nor mix them with rubies, emeralds, or other precious stones, +except as a crystal simply without mounting or dyeing." + +One day Cellini had found a ruby which he believed to be set +dishonestly, that is, a very pale stone with a thick coating of +dragon's blood smeared on its back. When he took it to some of +his favourite "dunderheads," they were sure that he was mistaken, +saying that it had been set by a noted jeweller, and could not be +an imposition. So Benvenuto immediately removed the stone from +its setting, thereby exposing the fraud. "Then might that ruby have +been likened to the crow which tricked itself out in the feathers +of the peacock," observes Cellini, adding that he advised these +"old fossils in the art" to provide themselves with better eyes +than they then _wore_. "I could not resist saying this," chuckles +Benvenuto, "because all three of them wore great gig-lamps on their +noses; whereupon they all three gasped at each other, shrugged +their shoulders, and with God's blessing, made off." Cellini tells +of a Milanese jeweller who concocted a great emerald, by applying a +very thin layer of the real stone upon a large bit of green glass: +he says that the King of England bought it, and that the fraud +was not discovered for many years. + +A commission was once given Cellini to make a magnificent crucifix +for a gift from the Pope to Emperor Charles V., but, as he expresses +it, "I was hindered from finishing it by certain beasts who had the +vantage of the Pope's ear," but when these evil whisperers had so +"gammoned the Pope," that he was dissuaded from the crucifix, the +Pope ordered Cellini to make a magnificent Breviary instead, so +that the "job" still remained in his hands. + +Giovanni Pisano made some translucid enamels for the decorations of +the high altar in Florence, and also a jewelled clasp to embellish +the robe of a statue of the Virgin. + +Ghiberti was not above turning his attention to goldsmithing, and +in 1428 made a seal for Giovanni de Medici, a cope-button and mitre +for Pope Martin V., and a gold nutre with precious stones weighing +five and a half pounds, for Pope Eugene IV. + +Diamonds were originally cut two at a time, one cutting the other, +whence has sprung the adage, "diamond cut diamond." Cutting in +facets was thus the natural treatment of this gem. The practise +originated in India. Two diamonds rubbing against each other +systematically will in time form a facet on each. In 1475 it was +discovered by Louis de Berghem that diamonds could be cut by their +own dust. + +It is an interesting fact in connection with the Kohinoor that +in India there had always been a legend that its owner should be +the ruler of India. Probably the ancient Hindoos among whom this +legend developed would be astonished to know that, although the +great stone is now the property of the English, the tradition is +still unbroken! + +Marco Polo alludes to the treasures brought from the +Isle of Ormus, as "spices, pearls, precious stones, cloth of gold +and silver, elephant's teeth, and all other precious things from +India." In Balaxiam he says are found "ballasses and other precious +stones of great value. No man, on pain of death, dare either dig +such stones or carry them out of the country, for all those stones +are the King's. Other mountains also in this province yield stones +called lapis lazuli, whereof the best azure is made. The like is +not found in the world. These mines also yield silver, brass, and +lead." He speaks of the natives as wearing gold and silver earrings, +"with pearls and-other stones artificially wrought in them." In +a certain river, too, are found jasper and chalcedons. + +Marco Polo's account of how diamonds are obtained is ingenuous +in its reckless defiance of fact. He says that in the mountains +"there are certain great deep valleys to the bottom of which there +is no access. Wherefore the men who go in search of the diamonds +take with them pieces of meat," which they throw into this deep +valley. He relates that the eagles, when they see these pieces of +meat, fly down and get them, and when they return, they settle on +the higher rocks, when the men raise a shout, and drive them off. +After the eagles have thus been driven away, "the men recover the +pieces of meat, and find them full of diamonds, which have stuck to +them. For the abundance of diamonds down in the depths," continues +Marco Polo, naively "is astonishing; but nobody can get down, and +if one could, it would be only to be incontinently devoured +by the serpents which are so rife there." A further account proceeds +thus: "The diamonds are so scattered and dispersed in the earth, +and lie so thin, that in the most plentiful mines it is rare to +find one in digging;... they are frequently enclosed in clods,... +some... have the earth so fixed about them that till they grind +them on a rough stone with sand, they cannot move it sufficiently +to discover they are transparent or... to know them from other +stones. At the first opening of the mine, the unskilful labourers +sometimes, to try what they have found, lay them on a great stone, +and, striking them one with another, to their costly experience, +discover that they have broken a diamond.... They fill a cistern +with water, soaking therein as much of the earth they dig out of +the mine as it can hold at one time, breaking the clods, picking +out the great stones, and stirring it with shovels... then they +open a vent, letting out the foul water, and supply it with clean, +till the earthy substance be all washed away, and only the gravelly +one remains at the bottom." A process of sifting and drying is then +described, and the gravel is all spread out to be examined, "they +never examine the stuff they have washed but between the hours of +ten and three, lest any cloud, by interposing, intercept the brisk +beams of the sun, which they hold very necessary to assist them +in their search, the diamonds constantly reflecting them when they +shine on them, rendering themselves thereby the more conspicuous." + +The earliest diamond-cutter is frequently mentioned as Louis de +Berquem de Bruges, in 1476. But Laborde finds earlier records of +the art of cutting this gem: there was in Paris a diamond-cutter +named Herman, in 1407. The diamond cutters of Paris were quite +numerous in that year, and lived in a special district known as "la +Courarie, where reside the workers in diamonds and other stones." + +Finger rings almost deserve a history to themselves, for their +forms and styles are legion. Rings were often made of glass in the +eleventh century. Theophilus tells in a graphic and interesting +manner how they were constructed. He recommends the use of a bar +of iron, as thick as one's finger, set in a wooden handle, "as a +lance is joined in its pike." There should also be a large piece +of wood, at the worker's right hand, "the thickness of an arm, +dug into the ground, and reaching to the top of the window." On +the left of the furnace a little clay trench is to be provided. +"Then, the glass being cooked," one is admonished to take the little +iron in the wooden handle, dip it into the molten glass, and pick +up a small portion, and "prick it into the wood, that the glass +may be pierced through, and instantly warm it in the flame, and +strike it twice upon the wood, that the glass may be dilated, and +with quickness revolve your hand with the same iron;" when the +ring is thus formed, it is to be quickly thrown into the trench. +Theophilus adds, "If you wish to vary your rings with other colours... +take... glass of another colour, surrounding the glass of the ring +with it in the manner of a thread... you can also place upon the +ring glass of another kind, as a gem, and warm it in the fire that +it may adhere." One can almost see these rings from this accurate +description of their manufacture. + +The old Coronation Ring, "the wedding ring of England," was a gold +ring with a single fine balas ruby; the pious tradition had it +that this ring was given to Edward the Confessor by a beggar, who +was really St. John the Evangelist in masquerade! The palace where +this unique event occurred was thereupon named Have-ring-at-Bower. +The Stuart kings all wore this ring and until it came to George +IV., with other Stuart bequests, it never left the royal Stuart +line. + +Edward I. owned a sapphire ring made by St. Dunstan. Dunstan was +an industrious art spirit, being reported by William of Malmsbury +as "taking great delight in music, painting, and engraving." In +the "Ancren Riwle," a book of directions for the cloistered life +of women, nuns are forbidden to wear "ne ring ne brooche," and +to deny themselves other personal adornments. + +Archbishops seem to have possessed numerous rings in ancient times. +In the romance of "Sir Degrevant" a couplet alludes to: + + "Archbishops with rings + More than fifteen." + +Episcopal rings were originally made of sapphires, said to be typical +of the cold austerity of the life of the wearer. Later, however, +the carbuncle became a favourite, which was supposed to suggest fiery +zeal for the faith. Perhaps the compromise of the customary amethyst, +which is now most popularly used, for Episcopal rings, being a +combination of the blue and the red, may typify a blending of more +human qualities! + +[Illustration: HEBREW RING] + +In an old will of 1529, a ring was left as a bequest to a relative, +described as "a table diamond set with black aniell, meate for my +little finger." + +The accompanying illustration represents a Hebrew ring, surmounted +by a little mosque, and having the inscription "Mazul Toub" (God +be with you, or Good luck to you). + +It was the custom in Elizabethan times to wear "posie rings" (or +poesie rings) in which inscriptions were cut, such as, "Let likinge +Laste," "Remember the ? that is in pain," or, "God saw fit this +knot to knit," and the like. These posie rings are so called +because of the little poetical sentiments associated with them. +They were often used as engagement rings, and sometimes as wedding +rings. In an old Saxon ring is the inscription, "Eanred made me and +Ethred owns me." One of the mottoes in an old ring is pathetic; +evidently it was worn by an invalid, who was trying to be patient, +"Quant Dieu Plera melior sera." (When it shall please God, I shall +be better.) And in a small ring set with a tiny diamond, "This +sparke shall grow." An agreeable and favourite "posie" was + + "The love is true + That I O U." + +A motto in a ring owned by Lady Cathcart was inscribed on the occasion +of her fourth marriage; with laudable ambition, she observes, + + "If I survive, + I will have five." + +It is to these "posie rings" that Shakespeare has reference when +he makes Jaques say to Orlando: "You are full of pretty answers: +have you not been acquainted with goldsmiths' wives, and conned +them out of rings?" + +In the Isle of Man there was once a law that any girl who had been +wronged by a man had the right to redress herself in one of three +ways: she was given a sword, a rope and a ring, and she could decide +whether she would behead him, hang him, or marry him. Tradition +states that the ring was almost invariably the weapon chosen by +the lady. + +Superstition has ordained that certain stones should cure certain +evils: the blood-stone was of very general efficacy, it was claimed, +and the opal, when folded in a bay leaf, had the power of rendering +the owner invisible. Some stones, especially the turquoise, turned +pale or became deeper in hue according to the state of the owner's +health; the owner of a diamond was invincible; the possession of an +agate made a man amiable, and eloquent. Whoever wore an amethyst +was proof against intoxication, while a jacynth superinduced sleep +in cases of insomnia. Bed linen was often embroidered, and set with +bits of jacynth, and there is even a record of diamonds having +been used in the decoration of sheets! Another entertaining instance +of credulity was the use of "cramp rings." These were rings blessed +by the queen, and supposed to cure all manner of cramps, just as the +king's touch was supposed to cure scrofula. When a queen died, the +demand for these rings became a panic: no more could be produced, +until a new queen was crowned. After the beheading of Anne Boleyn, +Husee writes to his patroness: "Your ladyship shall receive of this +bearer nine cramp rings of silver. John Williams says he never +had so few of gold as this year!" + +A stone engraved with the figure of a hare was believed to be valuable +in exorcising the devil. That of a dog preserved the owner from +"dropsy or pestilence;" a versatile ring indeed! An old French book +speaks of an engraved stone with the image of Pegasus being particularly +healthful for warriors; it was said to give them "boldness and swiftness +in flight." These two virtues sound a trifle incompatible! + +The turquoise was supposed to be especially sympathetic. According +to Dr. Donne: + + "A compassionate turquoise, that cloth tell + By looking pale, the owner is not well," + +must have been a very sensitive stone. + +There was a physician in the fourth century who was famous for his +cures of colic and biliousness by means of an iron ring engraved +with an exorcism requesting the bile to go and take possession of +a bird! There was also a superstition that fits could be cured +by a ring made of "sacrament money." The sufferer was obliged to +stand at the church door, begging a penny from every unmarried +man who passed in or out; this was given to a silversmith, who +exchanged it at the cathedral for "sacrament money," out of which +he made a ring. If this ring was worn by the afflicted person, +the seizures were said to cease. + +The superstition concerning the jewel in the toad's head was a +strangely persistent one: it is difficult to imagine what real +foundation there could ever have been for the idea. An old writer +gives directions for getting this stone, which the toad in his life +time seems to have guarded most carefully. "A rare good way to get +the stone out of a toad," he says, "is to put a... toad... into +an earthen pot: put the same into an ant's hillocke, and cover +the same with earth, which toad... the ants will eat, so that the +bones... and stone will be left in the pot." Boethius once stayed +up all night watching a toad in the hope that it might relinquish +its treasure; but he complained that nothing resulted "to gratify +the great pangs of his whole night's restlessness." + +An old Irish legend says that "the stone Adamant in the land of +India grows no colder in any wind or snow or ice; there is no heat +in it under burning sods" (this is such an Hibernian touch! The +peat fuel was the Celtic idea of a heating system), "nothing is +broken from it by striking of axes and hammers; there is one thing +only breaks that stone, the blood of the Lamb at the Mass; and +every king that has taken that stone in his right hand before going +into battle, has always gained the victory." There is also a +superstition regarding the stone Hibien, which is said to flame +like a fiery candle in the darkness, "it spills out poison before +it in a vessel; every snake that comes near to it or crosses it +dies on the moment." Another stone revered in Irish legend is the +Stone of Istien, which is found "in the brains of dragons after +their deaths," and a still more capable jewel seems to be the Stone +of Fanes, within which it is claimed that the sun, moon, and twelve +stars are to be seen. "In the hearts of the dragons it is always +found that make their journey under the sea. No one having it in +his hand can tell any lie until he has put it from him; no race or +army could bring it into a house where there is one that has made +way with his father. At the hour of matins it gives out sweet music +that there is not the like of under heaven." + +Bartholomew, the mediaeval scientist, tells narratives of the magical +action of the sapphire. "The sapphire is a precious stone," he +says, "and is blue in colour, most like to heaven in fair weather +and clear, and is best among precious stones, and most apt and able +to fingers of kings. And if thou put an addercop in a box, and +hold a very sapphire of India at the mouth of the box any while, +by virtue thereof the addercop is overcome and dieth, as it were +suddenly. And this same I have seen proved oft in many and divers +places." Possibly the fact that the addercop is so infrequent an +invader of our modern life accounts for the fact that we are left +inert upon reading so surprising a statement; or possibly our +incredulity dominates our awe. + +The art of the lapidary, or science of glyptics, is a most interesting +study, and it would be a mistake not to consider it for a few moments +on its technical side. It is very ancient as an art. In Ecclesiasticus +the wise Son of Sirach alludes to craftsmen "that cut and grave +seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves +to counterfeit imagery, and watch to finish a work." + +Theophilus on glyptics is too delightfully naive for us to resist +quoting his remarks. "Crystal," he announces, "which is water hardened +into ice, and the ice of great age hardened into stone, is trimmed +and polished in this manner." He then directs the use of sandstone +and emery, chiefly used by rubbing, as one might infer, to polish the +stones, probably _en cabochon_ as was the method in his time; this +style of finish on a gem was called "tallow cutting." But when one +wishes to sculp crystal, Theophilus informs one: "Take a goat of two +or three years... make an opening between his breast and stomach, in +the position of the heart, and lay in the crystal, so that it may lie +in its blood until it grow warm... cut what you please in it as long +as the heat lasts." Just how many goats were required to the finishing +of a sculptured crystal would be determined by the elaboration of +the design! Unfortunately Animal Rescue Leagues had not invaded +the monasteries of the eleventh century. + +In sculpturing glass, the ingenuous Theophilus is quite at his best. +"Artists!" he exclaims, "who wish to engrave glass in a beautiful +manner, I now can teach you, as I have myself made trial. I have +sought the gross worms which the plough turns up in the ground, +and the art necessary in these things also bid me procure vinegar, +and the warm blood of a lusty goat, which I was careful to place +under the roof for a short time, bound with a strong ivy plant. +After this I infused the worms and vinegar with the warm blood and +I anointed the whole clearly shining vessel; which being done, I +essayed to sculp the glass with the hard stone called the Pyrites." +What a pity good Theophilus had not begun with the pyrites, when +he would probably have made the further discovery that his worms +and goats could have been spared. + +In the polishing of precious stones, he is quite sane in his directions. +"Procure a marble slab, very smooth," he enjoins, "and act as useful +art points out to you." In other words, rub it until it is smooth! + +Bartholomew Anglicus is as entertaining as Theophilus regarding +crystal. "Men trowe that it is of snow or ice made hard in many +years," he observes complacently. "This stone set in the sun taketh +fire, insomuch if dry tow be put thereto, it setteth the tow on +fire," and again, quoting Gregory on Ezekiel I., he adds, "water +is of itself fleeting, but by strength of cold it is turned and +made stedfast crystal." + +Of small specimens of sculptured crystal some little dark purple +beads carved into the semblance of human faces may be seen on the +Tara brooch; while also on the same brooch occur little purple +daisies. + +The Cup of the Ptolemies, a celebrated onyx cup in Paris, is over +fifteen inches in circumference, and is a fine specimen of early +lapidary's work. It was presented in the ninth century by Charles +the Bald to St. Denis, and was always used to contain the consecrated +wine when Queens of France were crowned. Henry II. once pawned +it to a Jew when he was hard up, and in 1804 it was stolen and +the old gold and jewelled setting removed. It was found again in +Holland, and was remounted within a century. + +In the Treasury of St. Mark's in Venice are many valuable examples +of carved stones, made into cups, flagons, and the like. These were +brought from Constantinople in 1204, when the city was captured +by the Venetians. Constantinople was the only place where glyptics +were understood and practised upon large hard stones in the early +Middle Ages. The Greek artists who took refuge in Italy at that time +brought the art with them. There are thirty-two of these Byzantine +chalices in St. Mark's. Usually the mountings are of gold, and precious +stones. There are also two beautiful cruets of agate, elaborately +ornamented, but carved in curious curving forms requiring skill +of a superior order. Two other rock crystal cruets are superbly +carved, probably by Oriental workmen, however, as they are not +Byzantine in their decorations. One of them was originally a vase, +and, indeed, is still, for the long gold neck has no connection +with the inside; the handle is also of gold, both these adjuncts +seem to have been regarded as simply ornament. The other cruet is +carved elaborately with leopards, the first and taller one showing +monsters and foliate forms. Around the neck of the lower of these +rock crystal cruets is an inscription, praying for God's blessing +on the "Imam Aziz Billah," who was reigning in Egypt in 980. This +cruet has a gold stand. The handle is cleverly cut in the same +piece of crystal, but a band of gold is carried down it to give it +extra strength. The forming of this handle in connection with the +rest of the work is a veritable _tour de force_, and we should have +grave doubts whether Theophilus with his goats could have managed +it! + +[Illustration: CRYSTAL FLAGONS, ST. MARK'S, VENICE] + +Vasari speaks with characteristic enthusiasm of the glyptics of +the Greeks, "whose works in that manner may be called divine." +But, as he continues, "many and very many years passed over during +which the art was lost".... until in the days of Lorenzo di Medici +the fashion for cameos and intaglios revived. + +In the Guild of the Masters of Wood and Stone in Florence, the +cameo-cutters found a place, nevertheless it seems fitting to include +them at this point among jewellers, instead of among carvers. + +The Italians certainly succeeded in performing feats of lapidary +art at a later period. Vasari mentions two cups ordered by Duke +Cosmo, one cut out of a piece of lapis lazuli, and the other from +an enormous heliotrope, and a crystal galley with gold rigging +was made by the Sanachi brothers. In the Green Vaults in Dresden +may be seen numerous specimens of valuable but hideous products +of this class. In the seventeenth century, the art had run its +course, and gave place to a taste for cameos, which in its turn +was run into the ground. + +Cameo-cutting and gem engraving has always been accomplished partly +by means of a drill; the deepest point to be reached in the cutting +would be punctured first, and then the surfaces cut, chipped, and +ground away until the desired level was attained. This is on much +the same principle as that adopted by marble cutters to-day. + +Mr. Cyril Davenport's definition of a cameo is quite satisfactory: +"A small sculpture executed in low relief upon some substance precious +either for its beauty, rarity, or hardness." Cameos are usually +cut in onyx, the different layers and stratifications of colour +being cut away at different depths, so that the sculpture appears +to be rendered in one colour on another, and sometimes three or +four layers are recognized, so that a shaded effect is obtained. +Certain pearly shells are sometimes used for cameo cutting; these +were popular in Italy in the fifteenth century. In Greece and Rome +the art of cameo cutting was brought to astonishing perfection, the +sardonyx being frequently used, and often cut in five different +coloured layers. An enormous antique cameo, measuring over nine +inches across, may be seen in Vienna; it represents the Apotheosis +of Augustus, and the scene is cut in two rows of spirited figures. +It dates from the first century A. D. It is in dark brown and white. + +Among the treasures of the art-loving Henry III. was a "great cameo," +in a golden case; it was worth two hundred pounds. This cameo was +supposed to compete with a celebrated work at Ste. Chapelle in Paris, +which had been brought by Emperor Baldwin II. from Constantinople. + +[Illustration: SARDONYX CUP, 11TH CENTURY, VENICE] + +In Paris was a flourishing guild, the "Lapidaries, Jewel Cutters, +and Engravers of Cameos and Hard Stones," in the thirteenth century; +glass cutters were included in this body for a time, but after 1584 +the revised laws did not permit of any imitative work, so glass +cutters were no longer allowed to join the society. The French work +was rather coarse compared with the classic examples. + +The celebrated Portland Vase is a glass cameo, of enormous proportions, +and a work of the first century, in blue and white. There is a +quaint legend connected with the famous stone cameo known as the +Vase of St. Martin, which is as follows: when St. Martin visited +the Martyr's Field at Agaune, he prayed for some time, and then +stuck his knife into the ground, and was excusably astonished at +seeing blood flow forth. Recognizing at once that he was in the +presence of the miraculous (which was almost second nature to mediaeval +saints), he began sedulously to collect the precious fluid in a +couple of receptacles with which he had had the foresight to provide +himself. The two vases, however, were soon filled, and yet the +mystical ruby spring continued. At his wit's ends, he prayed again +for guidance, and presently an angel descended, with a vase of +fine cameo workmanship, in which the remainder of the sacred fluid +was preserved. This vase is an onyx, beautifully cut, with fine +figures, and is over eight inches high, mounted at foot and collar +with Byzantine gold and jewelled work. The subject appears to be +an episode during the Siege of Troy,--a whimsical selection of +design for an angel. + +Some apparently mediaeval cameos are in reality antiques recut with +Christian characters. A Hercules could easily be turned into a +David, while Perseus and Medusa could be transformed quickly into +a David and Goliath. There are two examples of cameos of the Virgin +which had commenced their careers, one as a Leda, and the other as +Venus! While a St. John had originally figured as Jupiter with his +eagle! + +In the Renaissance there was great revival of all branches of gem +cutting, and cameos began to improve, and to resemble once more +their classical ancestors. Indeed, their resemblance was rather +academic, and there was little originality in design. Like most of +the Renaissance arts, it was a reversion instead of a new creation. +Technically, however, the work was a triumph. The craftsmen were +not satisfied until they had quite outdone the ancients, and they +felt obliged to increase the depth of the cutting, in order to show +how cleverly they could coerce the material; they even under-cut +in some cases. During the Medicean period of Italian art, cameos +were cut in most fantastic forms; sometimes a negro head would +be introduced simply to exhibit a dark stratum in the onyx, and +was quite without beauty. One of the Florentine lapidaries was +known as Giovanni of the Carnelians, and another as Domenico of +the Cameos. This latter carved a portrait of Ludovico il Moro on +a red balas ruby, in intaglio. Nicolo Avanzi is reported as having +carved a lapis lazuli "three fingers broad" into the scene of the +Nativity. Matteo dal Nassaro, a son of a shoemaker in Verona, developed +extraordinary talent in gem cutting. + +An exotic production is a crucifix cut in a blood-stone by Matteo +del Nassaro, where the artist has so utilized the possibilities of +this stone that he has made the red patches to come in suitable +places to portray drops of blood. Matteo worked also in Paris, in +1531, where he formed a school and craft shop, and where he was +afterwards made Engraver of the Mint. + +Vasari tells of an ingenious piece of work by Matteo, where he +has carved a chalcedony into a head of Dejanira, with the skin of +the lion about it. He says, "In the stone there was a vein of red +colour, and here the artist has made the skin turn over... and he +has represented this skin with such exactitude that the spectator +imagines himself to behold it newly torn from the animal! Of another +mark he has availed himself, for the hair, and the white parts +he has taken for the face and breast." Matteo was an independent +spirit: when a baron once tried to beat him down in his price for a +gem, he refused to take a small sum for it, but asked the baron to +accept it as a gift. When this offer was refused, and the nobleman +insisted upon giving a low price, Matteo deliberately took his +hammer and shattered the cameo into pieces at a single blow. His +must have been an unhappy life. Vasari says that he "took a wife in +France and became the father of children, but they were so entirely +dissimilar to himself, that he had but little satisfaction from +them." + +Another famous lapidary was Valerio Vicentino, who carved a set +of crystals which were made into a casket for Pope Clement VII., +while for Paul III. he made a carved crystal cross and chandelier. + +Vasari reserves his highest commendation for Casati, called "el +Greco," "by whom every other artist is surpassed in the grace and +perfection as well as in the universality of his productions."... +"Nay, Michelangelo himself, looking at them one day while Giovanni +Vasari was present, remarked that the hour for the death of the +art had arrived, for it was not possible that better work could +be seen!" Michelangelo proved a prophet, in this case surely, for +the decadence followed swiftly. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ENAMEL + +"Oh, thou discreetest of readers," says Benvenuto Cellini, "marvel +not that I have given so much time to writing about all this," and +we feel like making the same apology for devoting a whole chapter +to enamel; but this branch of the goldsmith's art has so many +subdivisions, that it cries for space. + +The word Enamel is derived from various sources. The Greek language +has contributed "maltha," to melt; the German "schmeltz," the old +French "esmail," and the Italian "smalta," all meaning about the +same thing, and suggesting the one quality which is inseparable +from enamel of all nations and of all ages,--its fusibility. For +it is always employed in a fluid state, and always must be. + +Enamel is a type of glass product reduced to powder, and then melted +by fervent heat into a liquid condition, which, when it has hardened, +returns to its vitreous state. + +Enamel has been used from very early times. The first allusion to +it is by Philostratus, in the year 200 A. D., where he described +the process as applied to the armour of his day. "The barbarians +of the regions of the ocean," he writes, "are skilled in fusing +colours on heated brass, which become as hard as stone, and render +the ornament thus produced durable." + +Enamels have special characteristics in different periods: in the late +tenth century, of Byzantium and Germany; in the eleventh century, of +Italy; while most of the later work owes its leading characteristics +to the French, although it continued to be produced in the other +countries. + +It helps one to understand the differences and similarities in +enamelled work, to observe the three general forms in which it is +employed; these are, the cloisonne, the champleve, and the painted +enamel. There are many subdivisions of these classifications, but +for our purpose these three will suffice. + +In cloisonne, the only manner known to the Greek, Anglo-Saxon, and +Celtic craftsmen, the pattern is made upon a gold ground, by little +upright wire lines, like filigree, the enamel is fused into all the +little compartments thus formed, each bit being one clear colour, +on the principle of a mosaic. The colours were always rather clear +and crude, but are the more sincere and decorative on this account, +the worker recognizing frankly the limitation of the material; and +the gold outline harmonizes the whole, as it does in any form of +art work. A cloisonne enamel is practically a mosaic, in which the +separations consist of narrow bands of metal instead of plaster. +The enamel was applied in its powdered state on the gold, and then +fused all together in the furnace. + +[Illustration: GERMAN ENAMEL, 13TH CENTURY] + +Champleve enamel has somewhat the same effect as the cloisonne, +but the end is attained by different means. The outline is left in +metal, and the whole background is cut away and sunk, thus making +the hollow chambers for the vitreous paste, in one piece, instead of +by means of wires. Often it is not easy to determine which method +has been employed to produce a given work. + +Painted enamels were not employed in the earliest times, but came +to perfection in the Renaissance. A translucent enamel prevailed +especially in Italy: a low relief was made with the graver on gold +or silver; fine raised lines were left here and there, to separate +the colours. Therefore, where the cutting was deepest, the enamel +ran thicker, and consequently darker in colour, giving the effect of +shading, while in reality only one tint had been used. The powdered +and moistened enamel was spread evenly with a spatula over the +whole surface, and allowed to stand in the kiln until it liquefied. +Another form of enamel was used to colour gold work in relief, +with a permanent coating of transparent colour. Sometimes this +colour was applied in several coats, one upon another, and the +features painted with a later touch. Much enamelled jewelry was +made in this way, figures, dragons, and animal forms, being among +the most familiar. But an actual enamel painting--on the principle +of a picture, was rendered in still another way. In preparing the +ground for enamel painting, there are two things which have been +essentially considered in all times and countries. The enamel ground +must be more fusible than the metal on which it is placed, or else +both would melt together. Also the enamel with which the final +decoration is executed must be more easily made fluid than the harder +enamel on which it is laid. In fact, each coat must of necessity +be a trifle more fusible than the preceding one. A very accurate +knowledge is necessary to execute such a work, as will be readily +understood. + +[Illustration: ENAMELLED GOLD BOOK COVER, SIENA] + +In examining historic examples of enamel, the curious oval set +in gold, known as the Alfred Jewel, is among the first which come +within our province. It was found in Somersetshire, and probably +dates from about the year 878. It consists of an enamelled figure +covered by a thick crystal, set in filigree, around the edge of +which runs the inscription, "AELFRED MEC REHT GAVUR CAN" (Alfred +ordered me to be wrought). King Alfred was a great patron of the +arts. Of such Anglo-Saxon work, an ancient poem in the Exeter Book +testifies: + + "For one a wondrous skill + in goldsmith's art is provided + Full oft he decorates and well adorns + A powerful king's nobles." + +Celtic enamels are interesting, being usually set in the spaces +among the rambling interlaces of this school of goldsmithing. The +Cross of Cong is among the most famous specimens of this work, +and also the bosses on the Ardagh Chalice. + +The monk Theophilus describes the process of enamelling in a graphic +manner. He directs his workmen to "adapt their pieces of gold in all +the settings in which the glass gems are to be placed" (by which we +see that he teaches the cloisonne method). "Cut small bands of +exceedingly thin gold," he continues, "in which you will bend and +fashion whatever work you wish to make in enamel, whether circles, +knots, or small flowers, or birds, or animals, or figures." He then +admonishes one to solder it with greatest care, two or three times, +until all the pieces adhere firmly to the plate. To prepare the +powdered glass, Theophilus advises placing a piece of glass in the +fire, and, when it has become glowing, "throw it into a copper vessel +in which there is water, and it instantly flies into small fragments +which you break with a round pestle until quite fine. The next step +is to put the powder in its destined cloison, and to place the whole +jewel upon a thin piece of iron, over which fits a cover to protect +the enamel from the coals, and put it in the most intensely hot part +of the fire." Theophilus recommends that this little iron cover be +"perforated finely all over so that the holes may be inside flat and +wide, and outside finer and rough, in order to stop the cinders if by +chance they should fall upon it." This process of firing may have +to be repeated several times, until the enamel fills every space +evenly. Then follows the tedious task of burnishing; setting the +jewel in a strong bit of wax, you are told to rub it on a "smooth +hard bone," until it is polished well and evenly. + +Benvenuto Cellini recommends a little paper sponge +to be used in smoothing the face of enamels. "Take a clean nice piece +of paper," he writes, "and chew it well between your teeth,--that +is, if you have got any--I could not do it, because I've none left!" + +A celebrated piece of goldsmith's work of the tenth century is +the Pala d'Oro at St. Mark's in Venice. This is a gold altar piece +or reredos, about eleven feet long and seven feet high, richly +wrought in the Byzantine style, and set with enamels and precious +stones. The peculiar quality of the surface of the gold still lingers +in the memory; it looks almost liquid, and suggests the appearance +of metal in a fluid state. On its wonderful divisions and arched +compartments are no less than twelve hundred pearls, and twelve +hundred other precious gems. These stones surround the openings +in which are placed the very beautiful enamel figures of saints +and sacred personages. St. Michael occupies a prominent position; +the figure is partly in relief. The largest medallion contains +the figure of Christ in glory, and in other compartments may be +seen even such secular personages as the Empress Irene, and the +Doge who was ruling Venice at the time this altar piece was put +in place--the year 1106. The Pala d'Oro is worked in the champleve +process, the ground having been cut away to receive the melted +enamel. It is undoubtedly a Byzantine work; the Doge Orseolo, in +976, ordered it to be made by the enamellers of Constantinople. +It was not finished for nearly two centuries, arriving in Venice +in 1102, when the portrait of the Doge then reigning was added +to it. The Byzantine range of colours was copious; they had white, +two reds, bright and dark, dark and light blue, green, violet, +yellow, flesh tint, and black. These tints were always fused +separately, one in each cloison: the Greeks in this period never +tried to blend colours, and more than one tint never appears in +a compartment. The enlarging and improving of the Pam d'Oro was +carried on by Greek artists in Venice in 1105. It was twice +altered after that, once in the fourteenth century for Dandolo, +and thus the pure Byzantine type is somewhat invaded by the Gothic +spirit. The restorations in 1345 were presided over by Gianmaria +Boninsegna. + +One of the most noted specimens of enamel work is on the Crown of +Charlemagne,[1] which is a magnificent structure of eight plaques +of gold, joined by hinges, and surmounted by a cross in the front, +and an arch crossing the whole like a rib from back to front. The +other cross rib has been lost, but originally the crown was arched +by two ribs at the top. The plates of gold are ornamented, one +with jewels, and filigree, and the next with a large figure in +enamel. These figures are similar to those occurring on the Pala +d'Oro. + +[Footnote 1: See Fig. 1.] + +[Illustration: DETAIL; SHRINE OF THE THREE KINGS, COLOGNE] + +The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne is decorated both with +cloisonne and champleve enamels,--an unusual circumstance. In Aix +la Chapelle the shrine of Charlemagne is extremely like it in some +respects, but the only enamels are in champleve. Good examples +of translucent enamels in relief may be seen on several of the +reliquaries at Aix la Chapelle. + +Theophilus gives us directions for making a very ornate chalice +with handles, richly embossed and ornamented with mello. Another +paragraph instructs us how to make a golden chalice decorated with +precious stones and pearls. It would be interesting as a modern +problem, to follow minutely his directions, and to build the actual +chalice described in the eleventh century. To apply the gems and +pearls Theophilus directs us to "cut pieces like straps," which +you "bend together to make small settings of them, by which the +stones may be enclosed." These little settings, with their stones, +are to be fixed with flour paste in their places and then warmed +over the coals until they adhere. This sounds a little risky, but +we fancy he must have succeeded, and, indeed, it seems to have been +the usual way of setting stones in the early centuries. Filigree +flowers are then to be added, and the whole soldered into place in +a most primitive manner, banking the coals in the shape of a small +furnace, so that the coals may lie thickly around the circumference, +and when the solder "flows about as if undulating," the artist is +to sprinkle it quickly with water, and take it out of the fire. + +Niello, with which the chalice of Theophilus is also to be enriched, +stands in relation to the more beautiful art of enamel, as drawing +does to painting, and it is well to consider it here. Both the +Romans and the Anglo-Saxons understood its use. It has been employed +as an art ever since the sixth and seventh centuries. The term +"niello" probably is an abbreviation of the Italian word "nigellus" +(black); the art is that of inlaying an engraved surface with a +black paste, which is thoroughly durable and hard as the metal +itself in most cases, the only difference being in flexibility; +if the metal plate is bent, the niello will crack and flake off. + +[Illustration: FINIGUERRA'S PAX, FLORENCE] + +Niello is more than simply a drawing on metal. That would come +under the head of engraving. A graver is used to cut out the design +on the surface of the silver, which is simply a polished plane. When +the drawing has been thus incised, a black enamel, made of lead, +lamp black, and other substances, is filled into the interstices, +and rubbed in; when quite dry and hard, this is polished. The result +is a black enamel which is then fused into the silver, so that +the whole is one surface, and the decoration becomes part of the +original plate. The process as described by Theophilus is as follows: +"Compose the niello in this manner; take pure silver and divide +it into equal parts, adding to it a third part of pure copper, +and taking yellow sulphur, break it very small... and when you +have liquefied the silver with the copper, stir it evenly with +charcoal, and instantly pour into it lead and sulphur." This niello +paste is then made into a stick, and heated until "it glows: then +with another forceps, long and thin, hold the niello and rub it +all over the places which you wish to make black, until the drawing +be full, and carrying it away from the fire, make it smooth with a +flat file, until the silver appear." When Theophilus has finished +his directions, he adds: "And take great care that no further work +is required." To polish the niello, he directs us to "pumice it +with a damp stone, until it is made everywhere bright." + +There are various accounts of how Finiguerra, who was a worker +in niello in Florence, discovered by its means the art of steel +engraving. It is probably only a legendary narrative, but it is +always told as one of the apocryphal stories when the origin of +printing is discussed, and may not be out of place here. Maso +Finiguerra, a Florentine, had just engraved the plate for his famous +niello, a Pax which is now to be seen in the Bargello, and had +filled it in with the fluid enamel, which was standing waiting +until it should be dry. Then, according to some authorities, a +piece of paper blew upon the damp surface, on which, after carefully +removing it, Maso found his design was impressed; others state that +it was through the servant's laying a damp cloth upon it, that +the principle of printing from an incised plate was suggested. +At any rate, Finiguerra took the hint, it is said, and made an +impression on paper, rolling it, as one would do with an etching +or engraving. + +In the Silver Chamber in the Pitti Palace is a Pax, by Mantegna, +made in the same way as that by Finiguerra, and bearing comparison +with it. The engraving is most delicate, and it is difficult +to imagine a better specimen of the art. The Madonna and Child, +seated in an arbour, occupy the centre of the composition, which +is framed with jewelled bands, the frame being divided into sixteen +compartments, in each of which is seen a tiny and exquisite picture. +The work on the arbour of roses in which the Virgin sits is of +remarkable quality, as well as the small birds and animals +introduced into the composition. In the background, St. Christopher +is seen crossing the river with the Christ Child on his back, while +in the water a fish and a swan are visible. + +In Valencia in Spain may be seen a chalice which has been supposed +to be the very cup in which Our Saviour instituted the Communion. +The cup itself is of sardonyx, and of fine form. The base is made +of the same stone, and handles and bands are of gold, adorned with +black enamel. Pearls, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are set in +profusion about the stem and base. It is a work of the epoch of +Imperial Rome. + +In England, one of the most perfect specimens of fine, close work, +is the Wilton Chalice, dating from the twelfth century. The Warwick +Bowl, too, is of very delicate workmanship, and both are covered +with minute scenes and figures. One of the most splendid treasures +in this line is the crozier of William Wyckham, now in Oxford. +It is strictly national in style. + +The agreement entered into between Henry VII., and Abbot Islip, +for the building of the chapel of that king in Westminster, is +extant. It is bound in velvet and bossed with enamels. It is an +interesting fact that some of the enamels are in the Italian +style, while others are evidently English. + +Limoges was the most famous centre of the art of enamelling in +the twelfth century, the work being known as Opus de Limogia, or +Labor Limogiae. Limoges was a Roman settlement, and enamels were +made there as early as the time of Philostratus. Champleve enamel, +while it was not produced among the Greeks, nor even in Byzantine +work, was almost invariable at Limoges in the earlier days: one +can readily tell the difference between a Byzantine enamel and an +early Limoges enamel by this test, when there is otherwise sufficient +similarity of design to warrant the question. + +Some of the most beautiful enamels of Limoges were executed in what +was called basse-taille, or transparent enamel on gold grounds, which +had been first prepared in bas-relief. Champleve enamel was often +used on copper, for such things as pastoral staves, reliquaries, and +larger bits of church furniture. The enamel used on copper is usually +opaque, and somewhat coarser in texture than that employed on gold +or silver. Owing to their additional toughness, these specimens +are usually in perfect preservation. In 1327, Guillaume de Harie, +in his will, bequeathed 800 francs to make two high tombs, to be +covered with Limoges enamel, one for himself, and the other for +"Blanche d'Avange, my dear companion." + +[Illustration: ITALIAN ENAMELLED CROZIER, 14TH CENTURY] + +An interesting form of cloisonne enamel was that known as "plique +a jour," which consists of a filigree setting with the enamel +in transparent bits, without any metallic background. It is +still made in many parts of the world. When held to the light +it resembles minute arrangements of stained glass. Francis I. +showed Benvenuto Cellini a wonderful bowl of this description, +and asked Cellini if he could possibly imagine how the result +was attained. "Sacred Majesty," replied Benvenuto, "I can +tell you exactly how it is done," and he proceeded to explain +to the astonished courtiers how the bowl was constructed, bit by +bit, inside a bowl of thin iron lined with clay. The wires were +fastened in place with glue until the design was complete, and +then the enamel was put in place, the whole being fused together at +the soldering. The clay form to which all this temporarily adhered +was then removed, and the work, transparent and ephemeral, was +ready to stand alone. + +King John gave to the city of Lynn a magnificent cup of gold, enamelled, +with figures of courtiers of the period, engaged in the sports of +hawking and hare-hunting, and dressed in the costume of the king's +reign. "King John gave to the Corporation a rich cup and cover," +says Mackarel, "weighing seventy-three ounces, which is preserved +to this day and upon all public occasions and entertainments used +with some uncommon ceremonies at drinking the health of the King +or Queen, and whoever goes to visit the Mayor must drink out of +this cup, which contains a full pint." The colours of the enamels +which are used as flat values in backgrounds to the little silver +figures, are dark rose, clear blue, and soft green. The dresses of +the persons are also picked out in the same colours, varied from +the grounds. This cup was drawn by John Carter in 1787, he having +had much trouble in getting permission to study the original for +that purpose! He took letters of introduction to the Corporation, +but they appeared to suspect him of some imposture; at first they +refused to entertain his proposal at all, but after several +applications, he was allowed to have the original before him, in +a closed room, in company with a person appointed by them but at +his expense, to watch him and see that no harm came to the precious +cup! + +The translucent enamels on relief were made a great deal by the +Italian goldsmiths; Vasari alludes to this class of work as "a +species of painting united with sculpture." + +As enamel came by degrees to be used as if it were paint, one of +the chief charms of the art died. The limits of this art were its +strength, and simple straight-forward use of the material was its +best expression. The method of making a painted enamel was as follows. +The design was laid out with a stilus on a copper plate. Then a +flux of plain enamel was fused on to the surface, all over it. The +drawing was then made again, on the same lines, in a dark medium, +and the colours were laid flat inside the dark lines, accepting +these lines as if they had been wires around cloisons. All painted +enamels had to be enamelled on the back as well, to prevent warping +in the furnace when the shrinkage took place. After each layer of +colour the whole plate was fired. In the fifteenth century these +enamels were popular and retained some semblance of respect for the +limitation of material; later, greater facility led, as it does in +most of the arts, to a decadence in taste, and florid pictures, with +as many colours and shadows as would appear in an oil painting, +resulted. Here and there, where special metallic brilliancy was +desired, a leaf of gold was laid under the colour of some transparent +enamel, giving a decorative lustre. These bits of brilliant metal +were known as _paillons_. + +When Limoges had finally become the royal manufactory of enamels, +under Francis I., the head of the works was Leonard Limousin, created +"Valet de Chambre du Roi," to show his sovereign's appreciation. +Remarkable examples of the work of Leonard Limousin, executed in +1547, are the large figures of the Apostles to be seen in the church +of St. Pierre, at Chartres, where they are ranged about the apsidal +chapel. They are painted enamels on copper sheets twenty-four by +eleven inches, and are in a wonderful state of preservation. They +were the gift of Henri II. to Diane de Poictiers and were brought +to Chartres from the Chateau d'Anet. These enamels, being on a +white ground, have something the effect of paintings in Faience; +the colouring is delicate, and they have occasional gold touches. + +A treatise by William of Essex directs the artist how to prepare +a plate for a painted enamel, such as were used in miniature work. +He says "To make a plate for the artist to paint upon: a piece of +gold or copper being chosen, of requisite dimensions, and varying +from about 1/18 to 1/16 of an inch in thickness, is covered with +pulverized enamel, and passed through the fire, until it becomes +of a white heat; another coating of enamel is then added, and the +plate again fired; afterwards a thin layer of a substance called +flux is laid upon the surface of the enamel, and the plate +undergoes the action of heat for a third time. It is now ready for +the painter to commence his picture upon." + +Leonard Limousin painted from 1532 until 1574. He used the process +as described by William of Essex (which afterwards became very +popular for miniaturists), and also composed veritable pictures +of his own design. It is out of our province to trace the history +of the Limoges enamellers after this period. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +OTHER METALS + +The "perils that environ men that meddle with cold iron" are many; +but those who attempt to control hot iron are also to be respected, +when they achieve an artistic result with this unsympathetic metal, +which by nature is entirely lacking in charm, in colour and texture, +and depends more upon a proper application of design than any other, +in order to overcome the obstacles to beauty with which it is beset. + +"Rust hath corrupted," unfortunately, many interesting antiquities +in iron, so that only a limited number of specimens of this metal +have come down to us from very early times; one of the earliest +in England is a grave-stone of cast metal, of the date 1350: it +is decorated with a cross, and has the epitaph, "Pray for the soul +of Joan Collins." + +The process of casting iron was as follows. The moulds were made +of a sandy substance, composed of a mixture of brick dust, loam, +plaster, and charcoal. A bed of this sand was made, and into it +was pressed a wooden or metal pattern. When this was removed, the +imprint remained in the sand. Liquid metal was run into the mould +so formed, and would cool into the desired shape. As with a +plaster cast, it was necessary to employ two such beds, the sand +being firmly held in boxes, if the object was to be rounded, and +then the two halves thus made were put together. Flat objects, +such as fire-backs, could be run into a single mould. + +Bartholomew, in his book "On the Properties of Things," makes certain +statements about iron which are interesting: "Though iron cometh of +the earth, yet it is most hard and sad, and therefore with beating +and smiting it suppresseth and dilateth all other metal, and maketh +it stretch on length and on breadth." This is the key-note to the +work of a blacksmith: it is what he has done from the first, and +is still doing. + +In Spain there have been iron mines ever since the days when Pliny +wrote and alluded to them, but there are few samples in that country +to lead us to regard it as aesthetic in its purpose until the fifteenth +century. + +For tempering iron instruments, there are recipes given by the +monk Theophilus, but they are unfortunately quite unquotable, being +treated with mediaeval frankness of expression. + +St. Dunstan was the patron of goldsmiths and blacksmiths. He was +born in 925, and lived in Glastonbury, where he became a monk rather +early in life. He not only worked in metal, but was a good musician +and a great scholar, in fact a genuine rounded man of culture. He +built an organ, no doubt something like the one which Theophilus +describes, which, Bede tells us, being fitted with "brass pipes, +filled with air from the bellows, uttered a grand and most sweet +melody." Dunstan was a favourite at court, in the reign of King +Edmund. Enemies were plentiful, however, and they spread the report +that Dunstan evoked demoniac aid in his almost magical work in its +many departments. It was said that occasionally the evil spirits +were too aggravating, and that in such cases Dunstan would stand +no nonsense. There is an old verse: + + "St. Dunstan, so the story goes, + Once pulled the devil by the nose, + With red hot tongs, which made him roar + That he was heard three miles or more!" + +The same story is told of St. Eloi, and probably of most of the +mediaeval artistic spirits who were unfortunate enough to be human +in their temperaments and at the same time pious and struggling. He +was greatly troubled by visitations such as persecuted St. Anthony. +On one occasion, it is related that he was busy at his forge when +this fiend was unusually persistent: St. Dunstan turned upon the +demon, and grasped its nose in the hot pincers, which proved a most +successful exorcism. In old portraits, St. Dunstan is represented +in full ecclesiastical habit, holding the iron pincers as symbols +of his prowess. + +He became Archbishop of Canterbury after having held the Sees of +Worcester and London. He journeyed to Rome, and received the pallium +of Primate of the Anglo-Saxons, from Pope John XII. Dunstan was a +righteous statesman, twice reproving the king for evil deeds, and +placing his Royal Highness under the ban of the Church for immoral +conduct! St. Dunstan died in 988. + +[Illustration: WROUGHT IRON HINGE, FRANKFORT] + +Wrought iron has been in use for many centuries for hinges and +other decorations on doors; a necessity to every building in a +town from earliest times. The word "hinge" comes from the Saxon, +_hengen_, to hang. Primitive hinges were sometimes sockets cut +in stone, as at Torcello; but soon this was proved a clumsy and +inconvenient method of hanging a door, and hinges more simple in +one way, and yet more ornate, came into fashion. Iron hinges were +found most useful when they extended for some distance on to the +door; this strengthened the door against the invasion of pirates, +when the church was the natural citadel of refuge for the inhabitants +of a town, and also held it firmly from warping. At first single +straps of iron were clamped on: then the natural craving for beauty +prevailed, and the hinges developed, flowering out into scrolls and +leaves, and spreading all over the doors, as one sees them constantly +in mediaeval examples. The general scheme usually followed was a +straight strap of iron flanked by two curving horns like a crescent, +and this motive was elaborated until a positive lace of iron, often +engraved or moulded, covered the surface of the door, as in the +wonderful work of Biscornette at Notre Dame in Paris. + +Biscornette was a very mysterious worker, and no one ever saw him +constructing the hinges. Reports went round that the devil was helping +him, that he had sold his soul to the King of Darkness in order to +enlist his assistance in his work; an instance of aesthetic altruism +almost commendable in its exotic zeal. Certain jealous artificers +even went so far as to break off bits of the meandering iron, to +test it, but with no result; they could not decide whether it was +cast or wrought. Later a legend grew up explaining the reason why +the central door was not as ornate as the side doors: the story was +that the devil was unable to assist Biscornette on this door because +it was the aperture through which the Host passed in processions. It +is more likely, however, that the doors were originally uniform, +and that the iron was subsequently removed for some other reason. +The design is supposed to represent the Earthly Paradise. Sauval +says: "The sculptured birds and ornaments are marvellous. They are +made of wrought iron, the invention of Biscornette and which died +with him. He worked the iron with an almost incredible industry, +rendering it flexible and tractable, and gave it all the forms +and scrolls he wished, with a 'douceur et une gentillesse' which +surprised and astonished all the smiths." The iron master Gaegart +broke off fragments of the iron, and no member of the craft has +ever been able to state with certainty just how the work was +accomplished. Some think that it is cast, and then treated with +the file; others say that it must have been executed by casting +entire, with no soldering. In any case, the secret will never be +divulged, for no one was in the confidence of Biscornette. + +Norman blacksmiths and workers in wrought iron were more plentiful +than goldsmiths. They had, in those warlike times, more call for +arms and the massive products of the forge than for gaudy jewels and +table appointments. One of the doors of St. Alban's Abbey displays the +skill of Norman smiths dealing with this stalwart form of ornament. + +Among special artists in iron whose names have survived is that +of Jehan Tonquin, in 1388. Earlier than that, a cutler, Thomas +de Fieuvillier, is mentioned, as having flourished about 1330. + +[Illustration: BISCORNETTE'S DOORS AT PARIS] + +Elaborate iron work is rare in Germany; the Germans always excelled +rather in bronze than in the sterner metal. At St. Ursula's in +Cologne there are iron floriated hinges, but the design and idea +are French, and not native. + +One may usually recognize a difference between French and English +wrought iron, for the French is often in detached pieces, not an +outgrowth of the actual hinge itself, and when this is found in +England, it indicates French work. + +Ornaments in iron were sometimes cut out of flat sheet metal, and +then hammered into form. In stamping this flat work with embossed +effect, the smith had to work while the iron was hot,--as Sancho +Panza expressed it, "Praying to God and hammering away." Dies were +made, after a time, into which the design could be beaten with +less effort than in the original method. + +One of the quaintest of iron doors is at Krems, where the gate is +made up of square sheets of iron, cut into rude pierced designs, +giving scenes from the New Testament, and hammered up so as to be +slightly embossed. + +The Guild of Blacksmiths in Florence flourished as early as the +thirteenth century. It covered workers in many metals, copper, +iron, brass, and pewter included. Among the rules of the Guild +was one permitting members to work for ready money only. They were +not allowed to advertise by street crying, and were fined if they +did so. The Arms of the Guild was a pair of furnace tongs upon a +white field. Among the products of the forge most in demand were +the iron window-gratings so invariable on all houses, and called +by Michelangelo "kneeling windows," on account of the bulging shape +of the lower parts. + +One famous iron worker carried out the law of the Guild both in +spirit and letter to the extent of insisting upon payment in advance! +This was Nicolo Grosso, who worked about 1499. Vasari calls him +the "money grabber." His specialty was to make the beautiful torch +holders and lanterns such as one sees on the Strozzi Palace and +in the Bargello. + +In England there were Guilds of Blacksmiths; in Middlesex one was +started in 1434, and members were known as "in the worship of St. +Eloi." Members were alluded to as "Brethren and Sisteren,"--this +term would fill a much felt vacancy! Some of the Guilds exacted +fines from all members who did not pay a proper proportion of their +earnings to the Church. + +Another general use of iron for artistic purposes was in the manufacture +of grilles. Grilles were used in France and England in cathedrals. +The earliest Christian grille is a pierced bronze screen in the +Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. + +In Hildesheim is an original form of grille; the leaves and rosettes +in the design are pierced, instead of being beaten up into bosses. +This probably came from the fact that the German smith did not +understand the Frankish drawing, and supposed that the shaded portions +of the work were intended to be open work. The result, however, +is most happy, and a new feature was thus introduced into grille +work. + +[Illustration: WROUGHT IRON FROM THE BARGELLO, FLORENCE] + +Many grilles were formed by the smith's taking an iron bar and, +under the intense heat, splitting it into various branches, each +of which should be twisted in a different way. Another method was +to use the single slighter bar for the foundation of the design, +and welding on other volutes of similar thickness to make the scroll +work associated with wrought iron. + +Some of the smiths who worked at Westminster Abbey are known by +name; Master Henry Lewis, in 1259, made the iron work for the tomb +of Henry III. A certain iron fragment is signed Gilibertus. The iron +on the tomb of Queen Eleanor is by Thomas de Leighton, in 1294. +Lead workers also had a place assigned to them in the precincts, +which was known as "the Plumbery." In 1431 Master Roger Johnson +was enjoined to arrest or press smiths into service in order to +finish the ironwork on the tomb of Edward IV. + +Probably the most famous use of iron in Spain is in the stupendous +"_rejas_," or chancel screens of wrought iron; but these are nearly +all of a late Renaissance style, and hardly come within the scope +of this volume. The requirements of Spanish cathedrals, too, for +wrought iron screens for all the side chapels, made plenty of work +for the iron masters. In fact, the "_rejeros_," or iron master, was +as regular an adjunct to a cathedral as an architect or a painter. +Knockers were often very handsome in Spain, and even nail heads +were decorated. + +An interesting specimen of iron work is the grille that surrounds +the tomb of the Scaligers in Verolla. It is not a hard stiff +structure, but is composed of circular forms, each made separately, +and linked together with narrow bands, so that the construction is +flexible, and is more like a gigantic piece of chain mail than an +iron fence. + +Quentin Matsys was known as the "blacksmith of Antwerp," and is +reported to have left his original work among metals to become a +painter. This was done in order to marry the lady of his choice, for +she refused to join her fate to that of a craftsman. She, however, +was ready to marry a painter. Quentin, therefore, gave up his hammer +and anvil, and began to paint Madonnas that he might prosper in his +suit. Some authorities, however, laugh at this story, and claim +that the specimens of iron work which are shown as the early works +of Matsys date from a time when he would have been only ten or +twelve years old, and that they must therefore have been the work +of his father, Josse Matsys, who was a locksmith. The well-cover +in Antwerp, near the cathedral, is always known as Quentin Matsys' +well. It is said that this was not constructed until 1470, while +Quentin was born in 1466. + +The iron work of the tomb of the Duke of Burgundy, in Windsor, +is supposed to be the work of Quentin Matsys, and is considered +the finest grille in England. It is wrought with such skill and +delicacy that it is more like the product of the goldsmith's art +than that of the blacksmith. + +[Illustration: MOORISH KEYS, SEVILLE] + +Another object of utility which was frequently ornamented was the +key. The Key of State, especially, was so treated. Some are nine +or ten inches long, having been used to present to visiting grandees +as typical of the "Freedom of the City." Keys were often decorated +with handles having the appearance of Gothic tracery. In an old +book published in 1795, there is an account of the miraculous Keys +of St. Denis, made of silver, which they apply to the faces of +these persons who have been so unfortunate as to be bitten by mad +dogs, and who received certain and immediate relief in only touching +them. A key in Valencia, over nine inches in length, is richly +embossed, while the wards are composed of decorative letters, looking +at first like an elaborate sort of filigree, but finally resolving +themselves into the autographic statement: "It was made by Ahmed +Ahsan." It is a delicate piece of thirteenth or fourteenth century +work in iron. + +Another old Spanish key has a Hebrew inscription round the handle: +"The King of Kings will open: the King of the whole Earth will +enter," and, in the wards, in Spanish, "God will open, the King +will enter." + +The iron smiths of Barcelona formed a Guild in the thirteenth century: +it is to be regretted that more of their work could not have descended +to us. + +A frank treatment of locks and bolts, using them as decorations, +instead of treating them as disgraces, upon the surface of a door, +is the only way to make them in any degree effective. As Pugin has +said, it is possible to use nails, screws, and rivets, so that +they become "beautiful studs and busy enrichments." Florentine +locksmiths were specially famous; there also was a great fashion +for damascened work in that city, and it was executed with much +elegance. + +In blacksmith's work, heat was used with the hammer at each stage +of the work, while in armourer's or locksmith's work, heat was +employed only at first, to achieve the primitive forms, and then +the work was carried on with chisel and file on the cold metal. +Up to the fourteenth century the work was principally that of the +blacksmith, and after that, of the locksmith. + +The mention of arms and armour in a book of these proportions must +be very slight; the subject is a vast one, and no effort to treat +it with system would be satisfactory in so small a space. But a +few curious and significant facts relating to the making of armour +may be cited. + +The rapid decay of iron through rust--rapid, that is to say, in +comparison with other metals--is often found to have taken place when +the discovery of old armour has been made; so that gold ornaments, +belonging to a sword or other weapon, may be found in excavating, +while the iron which formed the actual weapon has disappeared. + +Primitive armour was based on a leather foundation, hence the name +cuirass, was derived from _cuir_ (leather). In a former book I have +alluded to the armour of the nomadic tribes, which is described by +Pausanias as coarse coats of mail made out of the hoofs of horses, +split, and laid overlapping each other, making them "something like +dragon's scales," as Pausanias explains; adding for the benefit +of those who are unfamiliar with dragons' anatomy, "Whoever has +not _yet_ seen a dragon, has, at any rate, seen a pine cone still +green. These are equally like in appearance to the surface of this +armour." These horny scales of tough hoofs undoubtedly suggested, +at a later date, the use of thick leather as a form of protection, +and the gradual evolution may be imagined. + +The art of the armourer was in early mediaeval times the art of the +chain maker. The chain coat, or coats of mail, reached in early +days as far as the knees. Finally this developed into an entire +covering for the man, with head gear as well; of course this form +of armour allowed of no real ornamentation, for there was no space +larger than the links of the chain upon which to bestow decoration. +Each link of a coat of mail was brought round into a ring, the ends +overlapped, and a little rivet inserted. Warriors trusted to no +solder or other mode of fastening. All the magnificence of knightly +apparel was concentrated in the surcoat, a splendid embroidered or +gem-decked tunic to the knees, which was worn over the coat of +mail. These surcoats were often trimmed with costly furs, ermine +or vair, the latter being similar to what we now call squirrel, +being part gray and part white. Cinderella's famous slipper was +made of "vair," which, through a misapprehension in being translated +"verre," has become known as a glass slipper. + +[Illustration: ARMOUR, SHOWING MAIL DEVELOPING INTO PLATE] + +After a bit, the makers of armour discovered that much tedious +labor in chain making might be spared, if one introduced a large +plate of solid metal on the chest and back. This was in the thirteenth +century. The elbows and knees were also treated in this way, and in +the fourteenth century, the principle of armour had changed to a set +of separate plates fastened together by links. This was the evolution +from mail to plate armour. A description of Charlemagne as he appeared +on the field of battle, in his armour, is given by the Monk of +St. Gall, his biographer, and is dramatic. "Then could be seen +the iron Charles, helmeted with an iron helmet, his iron breast +and broad shoulders protected with an iron breast plate; an iron +spear was raised on high in his left hand, his right always rested +on his unconquered iron falchion.... His shield was all of iron, +his charger was iron coloured and iron hearted.... The fields and +open spaces were filled with iron; a people harder than iron paid +universal homage to the hardness of iron. The horror of the dungeon +seemed less than the bright gleam of iron. 'Oh, the iron! woe for +the iron!' was the confused cry that rose from the citizens. The +strong walls shook at the sight of iron: the resolution of young +and old fell before the iron." + +By the end of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, whole +suits of armour were almost invariable, and then came the opportunity +for the goldsmith, the damascener, and the niellist. Some of the +leading artists, especially in Italy, were enlisted in designing +and decorating what might be called the _armour-de-luxe_ of the +warrior princes! The armour of horses was as ornate as that of +the riders. + +The sword was always the most imposingly ornamented +part of a knight's equipment, and underwent various modifications +which are interesting to note. At first, it was the only weapon +invariably at hand: it was enormously large, and two hands were +necessary in wielding it. As the arquebuse came into use, the sword +took a secondary position: it became lighter and smaller. And ever +since 1510 it is a curious fact that the decorations of swords +have been designed to be examined when the sword hangs with the +point down; the earlier ornament was adapted to being seen at its +best when the sword was held upright, as in action. Perhaps the +later theory of decoration is more sensible, for it is certain +that neither a warrior nor his opponent could have occasion to +admire fine decoration at a time when the sword was drawn! That +the arts should be employed to satisfy the eye in times of peace, +sufficed the later wearers of ornamented swords. + +Toledo blades have always been famous, and rank first among the +steel knives of the world. Even in Roman times, and of course under +the Moors, Toledo led in this department. The process of making a +Toledo blade was as follows. There was a special fine white sand +on the banks of the Tagus, which was used to sprinkle on the blade +when it was red hot, before it was sent on to the forger's. When +the blade was red hot from being steeped four-fifths of its length +in flame, it was dropped point first into a bucket of water. If it +was not perfectly straight when it was withdrawn, it was beaten +into shape, more sand being first put upon it. After this the +remaining fifth of the blade was subjected to the fire, and was +rubbed with suet while red hot; the final polish of the whole sword +was produced by emery powder on wooden wheels. + +[Illustration: DAMASCENED HELMET] + +Damascening was a favourite method of ornamenting choice suits +of armour, and was also applied to bronzes, cabinets, and such +pieces of metal as lent themselves to decoration. The process began +like niello: little channels for the design were hollowed out, in +the iron or bronze, and then a wire of brass, silver, or gold, was +laid in the groove, and beaten into place, being afterwards polished +until the surface was uniform all over. One great feature of the art +was to sink the incision a little broader at the base than at the top, +and then to force the softer metal in, so that, by this undercutting, +it was held firmly in place. Cellini tells of his first view of +damascened steel blades. "I chanced," he says, "to become possessed +of certain little Turkish daggers, the handle of which together +with the guard and blade were ornamented with beautiful Oriental +leaves, engraved with a chisel, and inlaid with gold. This kind of +work differed materially from any which I had as yet practised or +attempted, nevertheless I was seized with a great desire to try my +hand at it, and I succeeded so admirably that I produced articles +infinitely finer and more solid than those of the Turks." Benvenuto +had such a humble opinion of his own powers! But when one considers +the pains and labour expended upon the arts of damascening and +niello, one regrets that the workers had not been inspired to attempt +dentistry, and save so much unnecessary individual suffering! + +On the Sword of Boabdil are many inscriptions, among them, "God is +clement and merciful," and "God is gifted with the best memory." +No two sentiments could be better calculated to keep a conqueror +from undue excesses. + +Mercia was a headquarters for steel and other metals +in the thirteenth century. Seville was even then famous for its +steel, also, and in the words of a contemporary writer, "the steel +which is made in Seville is most excellent; it would take too much +time to enumerate the delicate objects of every kind which are +made in this town." King Don Pedro, in his will, in the fourteenth +century, bequeathes to his son, his "Castilian sword, which I had +made here in Seville, ornamented with stones and gold." Swords +were baptized; they were named, and seemed to have a veritable +personality of their own. The sword of Charlemagne was christened +"Joyeuse," while we all know of Arthur's Excalibur; Roland's sword +was called Durandel. Saragossa steel was esteemed for helmets, +and the sword of James of Arragon in 1230, "a very good sword, +and lucky to those who handled it," was from Monzon. The Cid's +sword was similar, and named Tizona. There is a story of a Jew who +went to the grave of the Cid to steal his sword, which, according +to custom, was interred with the owner: the corpse is said to have +resented the intrusion by unsheathing the weapon, which miracle +so amazed the Jew that he turned Christian! + +[Illustration: MOORISH SWORD] + +German armour was popular. Cologne swords were great favourites +in England. King Arthur's sword was one of these,-- + + "For all of Coleyne was the blade + And all the hilt of precious stone." + +In the British Museum is a wonderful example of a wooden shield, +painted on a gesso ground, the subject being a Knight kneeling +before a lady, and the motto: "Vous ou la mort." These wooden shields +were used in Germany until the end of Maximilian's reign. + +The helmet, or Heaume, entirely concealed the face, so that for +purposes of identification, heraldic badges and shields were displayed. +Later, crests were also used on the helmets, for the same purpose. + +Certain armourers were very well known in their day, and were as +famous as artists in other branches. William Austin made a superb +suit for the Earl of Warwick, while Thomas Stevyns was the coppersmith +who worked on the same, and Bartholomew Lambspring was the polisher. +There was a famous master-armourer at Greenwich in the days of +Elizabeth, named Jacob: some important arms of that period bear +the inscription, "Made by me Jacob." There is some question whether +he was the same man as Jacob Topf who came from Innsbruck, and +became court armourer in England in 1575. Another famous smith +was William Pickering, who made exquisitely ornate suits of what +we might call full-dress armour. + +Colossal cannon were made: two celebrated guns may be seen, the +monster at Ghent, called Mad Meg, and the huge cannon at Edinburgh +Castle, Mons Meg, dating from 1476. These guns are composed of steel +coils or spirals, afterwards welded into a solid mass instead of +being cast. They are mammoth examples of the art of the blacksmith +and the forge. In Germany cannon were made of bronze, and these +were simply cast. + +Cross bows obtained great favour in Spain, even after the arquebuse +had come into use. It was considered a safer weapon to the one +who used it. An old writer in 1644 remarks, "It has never been +known that a man's life has been lost by breaking the string or +cord, two things which are dangerous, but not to a considerable +extent,"... and he goes on "once set, its shot is secure, which +is not the case with the arquebus, which often misses fire." There +is a letter from Ambassador Salimas to the King of Hungary, in +which he says: "I went to Balbastro and there occupied myself in +making a pair of cross bows for your Majesty. I believe they will +satisfy the desires which were required... as your Majesty is annoyed +when they do not go off as you wish." It would seem as though his +Majesty's "annoyance" was justifiable; imagine any one dependent +upon the shot of a cross bow, and then having the weapon fail to +"go off!" Nothing could be more discouraging. + +[Illustration: ENAMELLED SUIT OF ARMOUR] + +There is a contemporary treatise which is full of interest, +entitled, "How a Man shall be Armed at his ease when he shall Fight +on Foot." It certainly was a good deal of a contract to render +a knight comfortable in spite of the fact that he could see or +breathe only imperfectly, and was weighted down by iron at every +point. This complete covering with metal added much to the actual +noise of battle. Froissart alludes to the fact that in the battle of +Rosebeque, in 1382, the hammering on the helmets made a noise which +was equal to that of all the armourers of Paris and Brussels working +together. And yet the strength needed to sport such accoutrements +seems to have been supplied. Leon Alberti of Florence, when clad +in a full suit of armour, could spring with ease upon a galloping +horse, and it is related that Aldobrandini, even with his right +arm disabled, could cleave straight through his opponent's helmet +and head, down to the collar bone, with a single stroke! + +One of the richest suits of armour in the world is to be seen at +Windsor; it is of Italian workmanship, and is made of steel, blued +and gilded, with wonderfully minute decorations of damascene and +applique work. This most ornate armour was made chiefly for show, +and not for the field: for knights to appear in their official +capacity, and for jousting at tournaments, which were practically +social events. In the days of Henry VIII. a chronicler tells of +a jouster who "tourneyed in harneyse all of gilt from the head +piece to the sabattons." Many had "tassels of fine gold" on their +suits. + +Italian weapons called "lasquenets" were very deadly. In a letter +from Albrecht Duerer to Pirckheimer, he alludes to them, as having +"roncions with two hundred and eighteen points: and if they pink a +man with any of these, the man is dead, as they are all poisoned." + +Bronze is composed of copper with an alloy of about eight or ten +per cent. of tin. The fusing of these two metals produces the brown +glossy substance called bronze, which is so different from either of +them. The art of the bronze caster is a very old and interesting one. +The method of proceeding has varied very little with the centuries. A +statue to be cast either in silver or bronze would be treated in +the following manner. + +A general semblance of the finished work was first set up in clay; +then over this a layer of wax was laid, as thick as the final bronze +was intended to be. The wax was then worked with tools and by hand +until it took on the exact form designed for the finished product. +Then a crust of clay was laid over the wax; on this were added other +coatings of clay, until quite a thick shell of clay surrounded +the wax. The whole was then subjected to fervent heat, and the wax +all melted out, leaving a space between the core and the outer +shell. Into this space the liquid bronze was poured, and after it +had cooled and hardened the outer shell was broken off, leaving +the statue in bronze exactly as the wax had been. + +Cellini relates an experience in Paris, with an old man +eighty years of age, one of the most famous bronze casters whom +he had engaged to assist him in his work for Francis I. Something +went wrong with the furnace, and the poor old man was so upset and +"got into such a stew" that he fell upon the floor, and Benvenuto +picked him up fancying him to be dead: "Howbeit," explains Cellini, +"I had a great beaker of the choicest wine brought him,... I mixed +a large bumper of wine for the old man, who was groaning away like +anything, and I bade him most winning-wise to drink, and said: +'Drink, my father, for in yonder furnace has entered in a devil, +who is making all this mischief, and, look you, we'll just let him +bide there a couple of days, till he gets jolly well bored, and +then will you and I together in the space of three hours firing, +make this metal run, like so much batter, and without any exertion +at all.' The old fellow drank and then I brought him some little +dainties to eat: meat pasties they were, nicely peppered, and I +made him take down four full goblets of wine. He was a man quite +out of the ordinary, this, and a most lovable old thing, and what +with my caresses and the virtue of the wine, I found him soon moaning +away as much with joy as he had moaned before with grief." Cellini +displayed in this incident his belief in the great principle that +the artist should find pleasure in his work in order to impart +to that work a really satisfactory quality, and did exactly the +right thing at the right minute; instead of trusting to a faltering +effort in a disheartened man, he cheered the old bronze founder +up to such a pitch that after a day or two the work was completed +with triumph and joy to both. + +In the famous statue of Perseus, Cellini experienced much difficulty +in keeping the metal liquid. The account of this thrilling experience, +told in his matchless autobiography, is too long to quote at this +point; an interesting item, however, should be noted. Cellini used +pewter as a solvent in the bronze which had hardened in the furnace. +"Apprehending that the cause of it was, that the fusibility of +the metal was impaired, by the violence of the fire," he says, "I +ordered all my dishes and porringers, which were in number about +two hundred, to be placed one by one before my tubes, and part of +them to be thrown into the furnace, upon which all present perceived +that my bronze was completely dissolved, and that my mould was +filling," and, such was the relief that even the loss of the entire +pewter service of the family was sustained with equanimity; the +family, "without delay, procured earthen vessels to supply the place +of the pewter dishes and porringers, and we all dined together very +cheerfully." Edgecumb Staley, in the "Guilds of Florence," speaks +of the "pewter fattened Perseus:" this is worthy of Carlyle. + +Early Britons cast statues in brass. Speed tells of King Cadwollo, +who died in 677, being buried "at St. Martin's church near Ludgate, +his image great and terrible, triumphantly riding on horseback, +artificially cast in brass, was placed on the Western gate of the +city, to the further fear and terror of the Saxons!" + +In 1562 Bartolomeo Morel, who made the celebrated statue of the +Giralda Tower in Seville, executed a fifteen branched candelabrum +for the Cathedral. It is a rich Renaissance design, in remarkably +chaste and good lines, and holds fifteen statuettes, which are +displaced to make room for the candles only during the last few +days of Lent. + +A curious form of mediaeval trinket was the perfume ball; this consisted +of a perforated ball of copper or brass, often ornamented with +damascene, and intended to contain incense to perfume the air, the +balls being suspended. + +The earliest metal statuary in England was rendered in latten, a +mixed metal of a yellow colour, the exact recipe for which has not +survived. The recumbent effigies of Henry III. and Queen Eleanor +are made of latten, and the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury +is the same, beautifully chased. Many of these and other tombs were +probably originally covered with gilding, painting, and enamel. + +The effigies of Richard II. and his queen, Anne of Bohemia, were +made during the reign of the monarch; a contemporary document states +that "Sir John Innocent paid another part of a certain indenture +made between the King and Nicolas Broker and Geoffrey Prest, +coppersmiths of London, for the making of two images, likenesses +of the King and Queen, of copper and latten, gilded upon the said +marble tomb." + +There are many examples of bronze gates in ecclesiastical +architecture. The gates of St. Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome were +made in 1070, in Constantinople, by Stauracius the Founder. Many +authorities think that those at St. Mark's in Venice were similarly +produced. The bronze doors in Rome are composed of fifty-four small +designs, not in relief, but with the outlines of the subjects inlaid +with silver. The doors are in Byzantine taste. + +The bronze doors at Hildesheim differ from nearly all other such +portals, in the elemental principle of design. Instead of being +divided into small panels, they are simply blocked off into seven +long horizontal compartments on each side, and then filled with a +pictorial arrangement of separate figures; only three or four in +each panel, widely spaced, and on a background of very low relief. +The figures are applied, at scattered distances apart, and are +in unusually high modelling, in some cases being almost detached +from the door. The effect is curious and interesting rather than +strictly beautiful, on the whole; but in detail many of the figures +display rare power of plastic skill, proportion, and action. They +are, at any rate, very individual: there are no other doors at +all like them. They are the work of Bishop Bernward. + +Unquestionably, one of the greatest achievements in bronze of any +age is the pair of gates by Lorenzo Ghiberti on the Baptistery +in Florence. Twenty-one years were devoted to their making, by +Ghiberti and his assistants, with the stipulation that all figures +in the design were to be personal work of the master, the +assistants only attending to secondary details. The doors were in +place in April, 1424. + +[Illustration: BRUNELLESCHI'S COMPETITIVE PANEL] + +The competition for the Baptistery doors reads like a romance, +and is familiar to most people who know anything of historic art. +When the young Ghiberti heard that the competition was open to +all, he determined to go to Florence and work for the prize; in +his own words: "When my friends wrote to me that the governors +of the Baptistery were sending for masters whose skill in bronze +working they wished to prove, and that from all Italian lands many +maestri were coming, to place themselves in this strife of talent, +I could no longer forbear, and asked leave of Sig. Malatesta, who +let me depart." The result of the competition is also given in +Ghiberti's words: "The palm of victory was conceded to me by all +judges, and by those who competed with me. Universally all the +glory was given to me without any exception." + +[Illustration: GHIBERTI'S COMPETITIVE PANEL] + +Symonds considers the first gate a supreme accomplishment in bronze +casting, but criticizes the other, and usually more admired gate, as +"overstepping the limits that separate sculpture from painting," by +"massing together figures in multitudes at three and sometimes four +distances. He tried to make a place in bas-relief for perspective." +Sir Joshua Reynolds finds fault with Ghiberti, also, for working at +variance with the severity of sculptural treatment, by distributing +small figures in a spacious landscape framework. It was not really +in accordance with the limitations of his material to treat a bronze +casting as Ghiberti treated it, and his example has led many men of +inferior genius astray, although there is no use in denying that +Ghiberti himself was clever enough to defy the usual standards +and rules. + +Fonts were sometimes made in bronze. There is such a one at Liege +cast by Lambert Patras, which stands upon twelve oxen. It is decorated +with reliefs from the Gospels. This artist, Patras, was a native +of Dinant, and lived in the twelfth century. The bronze font in +Hildesheim is among the most interesting late Romanesque examples in +Germany. It is a large deep basin entirely covered with enrichment +of Scriptural scenes, and is supported by four kneeling figures, +typical of the four Rivers of Paradise. The conical cover is also +covered with Scriptural scenes, and surmounted by a foliate knob. +Among the figures with which the font is covered are the Cardinal +Virtues, flanked by their patron saints. Didron considers this a most +important piece of bronze from an iconographic point of view +theologically and poetically. The archaic qualities of the figures +are fascinating and sometimes diverting. In the scene of the Baptism +of Christ the water is positively trained to flow upwards in pyramidal +form, in order to reach nearly to the waist, while at either side it +recedes to the ground level again,--it has an ingenuous and almost +startling suddenness in the rising of its flood! An interesting +comment upon the prevalence of early national forms may be deduced, +when one observes that on the table, at the Last Supper, there +lies a perfectly shaped pretzel! + +The great bronze column constructed by St. Bernward at Hildesheim +has the Life of Christ represented in consecutive scenes in a spiral +form, like those ornamenting the column of Trajan. Down by Bernward's +grave there is a spring which is said to cure cripples and rheumatics. +Peasants visit Hildesheim on saints' days in order to drink of +it, and frequently, after one of these visitations, crutches are +found abandoned near by. + +Saxony was famous for its bronze founders, and work was sent forth, +from this country, in the twelfth century, all over Europe. + +[Illustration: FONT AT HILDESHEIM, 12TH CENTURY] + +Orcagna's tabernacle at Or San Michele is, as Symonds +has expressed it, "a monumental jewel," and "an epitome of the +minor arts of mediaeval Italy." On it one sees bas-relief carving, +intaglios, statuettes, mosaic, the lapidary's art in agate; enamels, +and gilded glass, and yet all in good taste and harmony. The sculpture +is properly subordinated to the architectonic principle, and one +can understand how it is not only the work of a goldsmith, but +of a painter. + +Of all bronze workers, perhaps Peter Vischer is the best known +and is certainly one of the best deserving of his wide fame. Peter +Vischer was born about the same time as Quentin Matsys, between +1460 and 1470. He was the most important metal worker in Germany. +He and Adam Kraft, of whom mention will be made when we come to +deal with sculptural carving, were brought up together as boys, +and "when older boys, went with one another on all holidays, acting +still as though they were apprentices together." Vischer's normal +expression was in Gothic form. His first design for the wonderful +shrine of St. Sebald in Nuremberg was made by him in 1488, and +is still preserved in Vienna. It is a pure late-Gothic canopy, +and I cannot help regretting that the execution was delayed until +popular taste demanded more concession towards the Renaissance, +and it was resolved in 1507, "to have the Shrine of St. Sebald +made of brass." + +Therefore, although the general lines continue to hold a Gothic +semblance, the shrine has many Renaissance features. Regret, however, +is almost morbid, in relation to such a perfect work of art. Italian +feeling is evident throughout, and the wealth of detail in figures +and foliate forms is magnificent. The centre of interest is the +little portrait statuette of Peter Vischer himself, according to his +biographer, "as he looked, and as he daily went about and worked in +the foundry." Though Peter had not been to Italy himself, his son +Hermann had visited the historic land, and had brought home "artistic +things that he sketched and drew, which delighted his old father, and +were of great use to his brothers." Peter Vischer had three sons, who +all followed him in the craft. His workshop must have been an ideal +institution in its line. + +Some remnants of Gothic grotesque fancy are to be seen on the shrine, +although treated outwardly with Renaissance feeling. A realistic +life-sized mouse may be seen in one place, just as if it had run +out to inspect the work; and the numbers of little tipsy "putti" +who disport themselves in all attitudes, in perilous positions +on narrow ledges, are full of merry humour. + +The metal of St. Sebald's shrine is left as it came from the casting, +and owes much of its charm to the lack of filing, polishing, and +pointing usual in such monuments. The molten living expression is +retained. Only the details and spirit of the figures are Renaissance; +the Gothic plan is hardly disturbed, and the whole monument is +pleasing in proportion. The figures are exquisite, especially that +of St. Peter. + +[Illustration: PORTRAIT STATUETTE OF PETER VISCHER] + +A great Renaissance work in Germany was the grille +of the Rathaus made for Nuremberg by Peter Vischer the Younger. It +was of bronze, the symmetrical diapered form of the open work part +being supported by chaste and dignified columns of the Corinthian +order. It was first designed by Peter Vischer the Elder, and revised +and changed by the whole family after Hermann's return from Rome +with his Renaissance notions. It was sold in 1806 to a merchant +for old metal; later it was traced to the south of France, where +it disappeared. + +Another famous bronze of Nuremberg is the well-known "Goose Man" +fountain, by Labenwolf. Every traveller has seen the quaint half-foolish +little man, as he stands there holding his two geese who politely +turn away their heads in order to produce the streams of water! + +With the best bronzes, and with steel used for decorative purposes, +the original casting has frequently been only for general form, +the whole of the surface finishing being done with a shaping tool, +by hand, giving the appearance of a carving in bronze or steel. In +Japanese bronzes this is particularly felt. The classical bronzes +were evidently perfect mosaics of different colours, in metal. Pliny +tells of a bronze figure of a dying woman, who was represented +as having changed colour at the extremities, the fusion of the +different shades of bronze being disguised by anklets, bracelets, +and a necklace! A curious and very disagreeable work of art, we +should say. One sometimes sees in antique fragments ivory or silver +eyeballs, and hair and eyelashes made separately in thin strips and +coils of metal; while occasionally the depression of the edge of +the lips is sufficient to give rise to the opinion that a thin +veneer of copper was applied to give colour. + +The bronze effigies of Henry III. and Eleanor, at Westminster, were +the work of a goldsmith, Master William Torel, and are therefore +finer in quality and are in some respects superior to the average +casting in bronze. Torel worked at the palace, and the statues were +cast in "cire perdue" process, being executed in the churchyard +itself. They are considered among the finest bronzes of the period +extant. Gilding and enamel were often used in bronze effigies. + +Splendid bronzes, cast each in a single flow, are the recumbent +figures of two bishops at Amiens; they are of the thirteenth century. +Ruskin says: "They are the only two bronze tombs of her men of the +great ages left in France." An old document speaks of the "moulds +and imagines" which were in use for casting effigy portraits, in +1394. + +Another good English bronze is that of Richard Beauchamp at Warwick, +the work of Thomas Stevens, which has been alluded to. In Westminster +Abbey, the effigy of Aymer de Valence, dating from 1296, is of +copper, but it is not cast; it is of beaten metal, and is enamelled, +probably at Limoges. + +Bells and cannon are among the objects of actual utility which +were cast in bronze. Statues as a rule came later. In the sixteenth +and seventeenth centuries in England, bronze was used to such an +extent, that one authority suggested that it should be called the +"Age of Bronze." Primitive bells were made of cast iron riveted +together: one of these is at the Cologne museum, and the Irish bells +were largely of this description. A great bell was presented to the +Cathedral of Chartres in 1028, by a donor named Jean, which affords +little clue to his personality. This bell weighed over two tons. + +There is considerable interest attaching to the subject of the +making of bells in the Middle Ages. Even in domestic life bells +played quite a part; it was the custom to ring a bell when the +bath was ready and to announce meals, as well as to summon the +servitors. Church bells, both large and small, were in use in England +by 670, according to Bede. They were also carried by missionaries; +those good saints, Patrick and Cuthbert, announced their coming +like town criers! The shrine of St. Patrick's bell has been already +described. Bells used to be regarded with a superstitious awe, and +were supposed to have the ability to dispel evil spirits, which were +exorcised with "bell, book, and candle." The bell of St. Patrick, +inside the great shrine, is composed of two pieces of sheet iron, +one of which forms the face, and being turned over the top, descends +about half-way down the other side, where it meets the second sheet. +Both are bent along the edges so as to form the sides of the bell, +and they are both secured by rivets. A rude handle is similarly +attached to the top. + +A quaint account is given by the Monk of St. Gall +about a bell ordered by Charlemagne. Charlemagne having admired +the tone of a certain bell, the founder, named Tancho, said to +him: "Lord Emperor, give orders that a great weight of copper be +brought to me that I may refine it, and instead of tin give me as +much silver as I need,--a hundred pounds at least,--and I will +cast such a bell for you that this will seem dumb in comparison +to it." Charlemagne ordered the required amount of silver to be +sent to the founder, who was, however, a great knave. He did not +use the silver at all, but, laying it aside for his own use, he +employed tin as usual in the bell, knowing that it would make a +very fair tone, and counting on the Emperor's not observing the +difference. The Emperor was glad when it was ready to be heard, +and ordered it to be hung, and the clapper attached. "That was soon +done," says the chronicler, "and then the warden of the church, +the attendants, and even the boys of the place, tried, one after +the other, to make the bell sound. But all was in vain; and so +at last the knavish maker of the bell came up, seized the rope, +and pulled at the bell. When, lo! and behold! down from on high +came the brazen mass; fell on the very head of the cheating brass +founder; killed him on the spot; and passed straight through his +carcase and crashed to the ground.... When the aforementioned weight +of silver was found, Charles ordered it to be distributed among +the poorest servants of the palace." + +There is record of bronze bells in Valencia as early as 622, and +an ancient mortar was found near Monzon, in the ruins of a castle +which had formerly belonged to the Arabs. Round the edge of this +mortar was the inscription: "Complete blessing, and ever increasing +happiness and prosperity of every kind and an elevated and happy +social position for its owner." The mortar was richly ornamented. + +At Croyland, Abbot Egebric "caused to be made two great bells which +he named Bartholomew and Bethelmus, two of middle size, called +Turketul and Tatwyn, and two lesser, Pega and Bega." Also at Croyland +were placed "two little bells which Fergus the brass worker of St. +Botolph's had lately given," in the church tower, "until better +times," when the monks expressed a hope that they should improve +all their buildings and appointments. + +Oil that dropped from the framework on which church bells were +hung was regarded in Florence as a panacea for various ailments. +People who suffered from certain complaints were rubbed with this +oil, and fully believed that it helped them. + +The curfew bell was a famous institution; but the name was not +originally applied to the bell itself. This leads to another curious +bit of domestic metal. The popular idea of a curfew is that of +a bell; a bell was undoubtedly rung at the curfew hour, and was +called by its name; but the actual curfew (or _couvre feu_) was an +article made of copper, shaped not unlike a deep "blower," which +was used in order to extinguish the fire when the bell rang. There +are a few specimens in England of these curious covers: they stood +about ten to fifteen inches high, with a handle at the top, and +closed in on three sides, open at the back. The embers were +shovelled close to the back of the hearth, and the curfew, with the +open side against the back of the chimney, was placed over them, +thus excluding all air. Horace Walpole owned, at Strawberry Hill, +a famous old curfew, in copper, elaborately decorated with vines +and the York rose. + +[Illustration: A COPPER "CURFEW"] + +[Illustration: SANCTUARY KNOCKER, DURHAM CATHEDRAL] + +The Sanctuary knocker at Durham Cathedral is an important example +of bronze work, probably of the same age as the Cathedral door on +which it is fastened. They both date from about the eleventh +century. Ever since 740, in the Episcopate of Cynewulf, criminals +were allowed to claim Sanctuary in Durham. When this knocker was +sounded, the door was opened, by two porters who had their +accommodations always in two little chambers over the door, and +for a certain length of time the criminal was under the protection +of the Church. + +In speaking of the properties of lead, the old English Bartholomew +says: "Of uncleanness of impure brimstone, lead hath a manner of +neshness, and smircheth his hand who toucheth it... a man may wipe +off the uncleanness, but always it is lead, although it seemeth +silver." Weather vanes, made often of lead, were sometimes quite +elaborate. One of the most important pieces of lead work in art +is the figure of an angel on the chewet of Ste. Chapelle in Paris. +Originally this figure was intended to be so controlled by clockwork +that it would turn around once in the course of the twenty-four +hours, so that his attitude of benediction should be directed to +all four quarters of the city; but this was not practicable, and +the angel is stationary. The cock on the weather vane at Winchester +was described as early as the tenth century, in the Life of St. +Swithin, by the scribe Walstan. He calls it "a cock of elegant +form, and all resplendent and shining with gold who occupies the +summit of the tower. He regards the world from on high, he commands +all the country. Before him extend the stars of the North, and all +the constellations of the zodiac. Under his superb feet he holds +the sceptre of the law, and he sees under him all the people of +Winchester. The other cocks are humble subjects of this one, whom +they see thus raised in mid-air above them: he scorns the winds, +that bring the rains, and, turning, he presents to them his back. +The terrible efforts of the tempest do not annoy him, he receives +with courage either snow or lightning, alone he watches the sun as +it sets and dips into the ocean: and it is he who gives it its first +salute on its rising again. The traveller who sees him afar off, +fixes on him his gaze; forgetting the road he has still to follow, +he forgets his fatigues: he advances with renewed ardour. While he +is in reality a long way from the end, his eyes deceive him, and he +thinks that he has arrived." Quite a practical tribute to a weather +cock! + +The fact that leaden roofs were placed on all churches and monastic +buildings in the Middle Ages, accounts in part for their utter +destruction in case of fire; for it is easy to see how impossible +it would be to enter a building in order to save anything, if, to +the terror of flames, were added the horror of a leaden shower +of molten metal proceeding from every part of the roof at once! +If a church once caught fire, that was its end, as a rule. + +The invention of clocks, on the principle of cog-wheels and weights, +is attributed to a monk, named Gerbert, who died in 1013. He had +been instructor to King Robert, and was made Bishop of Rheims, +later becoming Pope Sylvester II. Clocks at first were large affairs +in public places. Portable clocks were said to have been first made +by Carovage, in 1480. + +[Illustration: ANGLO SAXON CRUCIFIX OF LEAD] + +An interesting specimen of mediaeval clock work is the old Dijon time +keeper, which still performs its office, and which is a privilege +to watch at high noon. Twelve times the bell is struck: first by a +man, who turns decorously with his hammer, and then by a woman, +who does the same. This staunch couple have worked for their living +for many centuries. Froissart alludes to this clock, saying: "The +Duke of Burgundy caused to be carried away from the market place at +Courtray a clock that struck the hours, one of the finest which could +be found on either side of the sea: and he conveyed it by pieces in +carts, and the bell also, which clock was brought and carted into the +town of Dijon, in Burgundy, where it was deposited and put up, and +there strikes the twenty-four hours between day and night." This was +in 1382, and there is no knowing how long the clock may have performed +its functions in Courtray prior to its removal to Dijon. + +The great clock at Nuremberg shows a procession of the Seven Electors, +who come out of one door, pass in front of the throne, each turning +and doing obeisance, and pass on through another door. It is quite +imposing, at noon, to watch this procession repeated twelve times. +The clock is called the Mannleinlauffen. + +In the Statutes of Francis I., there is a clause stating that +clockmakers as well as goldsmiths were authorized to employ in their +work gold, silver, and all other materials. + +In Wells Cathedral is a curious clock, on which is a figure of a +monarch, like Charles I., seated above the bell, which he kicks +with his heels when the hour comes round. He is popularly known as +"Jack Blandiver." This clock came originally from Glastonbury. On +the hour a little tournament takes place, a race of little mounted +knights rushing out in circles and charging each other vigorously. + +Pugin regrets the meaningless designs used by early Victorian clock +makers. He calls attention to the fact that "it is not unusual to +cast a Roman warrior in a flying chariot, round one of the wheels +of which on close inspection the hours may be descried; or the whole +front of a cathedral church reduced to a few inches in height, +with the clock face occupying the position of a magnificent rose +window!" This is not overdrawn; taste has suffered many vicissitudes +in the course of time, but we hope that the future will hold more +beauty for us in the familiar articles of the household than have +prevailed at some periods in the past. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TAPESTRY + +A study of textiles is often subdivided into tapestry, carpet-weaving, +mechanical weaving of fabrics of a lighter weight, and embroidery. +These headings are useful to observe in our researches in the mediaeval +processes connected with the loom and the needle. + +Tapestry, as we popularly think of it, in great rectangular +wall-hangings with rather florid figures from Scriptural scenes, +commonly dates from the sixteenth century or later, so that it is +out of our scope to study its manufacture on an extensive scale. +But there are earlier tapestries, much more restrained in design, +and more interesting and frequently more beautiful. Of these earlier +works there is less profusion, for the examples are rare and precious, +and seldom come into the market nowadays. The later looms were of +course more prolific as the technical facilities increased. But +a study of the craft as it began gives one all that is necessary +for a proper appreciation of the art of tapestry weaving. + +The earliest European work with which we have to concern ourselves +is the Bayeux tapestry. Although this is really needlework, it +is usually treated as tapestry, and there seems to be no special +reason for departing from the custom. Some authorities state that +the Bayeux tapestry was made by the Empress Matilda, daughter of +Henry I., while others consider it the achievement of Queen Matilda, +the wife of William the Conqueror. She is recorded to have sat +quietly awaiting her lord's coming while she embroidered this quaint +souvenir of his prowess in conquest. A veritable mediaeval Penelope, +it is claimed that she directed her ladies in this work, which is +thoroughly Saxon in feeling and costuming. It is undoubtedly the most +interesting remaining piece of needlework of the eleventh century, +and it would be delightful if one could believe the legend of its +construction. Its attribution to Queen Matilda is very generally +doubted by those who have devoted much thought to the subject. Mr. +Frank Rede Fowke gives it as his opinion, based on a number of +arguments too long to quote in this place, that the tapestry was +not made by Queen Matilda, but was ordered by Bishop Odo as an +ornament for the nave of Bayeux Cathedral, and was executed by +Norman craftsmen in that city. Dr. Rock also favours the theory +that it was worked by order of Bishop Odo. Odo was a brother of +William the Conqueror and might easily have been interested in +preserving so important a record of the Battle of Hastings. Dr. +Rock states that the tradition that Queen Matilda executed the +tapestry did not arise at all until 1730. + +The work is on linen, executed in worsteds. Fowke gives the length +as two hundred and thirty feet, while it is only nineteen inches +wide,--a long narrow strip of embroidery, in many colours on a cream +white ground. In all, there are six hundred and twenty-three figures, +besides two hundred horses and dogs, five hundred and five animals, +thirty-seven buildings, forty-one ships, forty-nine trees, making in +all the astonishing number of one thousand five hundred and twelve +objects! + +The colours are in varying shades of blue, green, red and yellow +worsted. The colours are used as a child employs crayons; just as +they come to hand. When a needleful of one thread was used up, +the next was taken, apparently quite irrespective of the colour or +shade. Thus, a green horse will be seen standing on red legs, and +a red horse will sport a blue stocking! Mr. J. L. Hayes believes +that these varicoloured animals are planned purposely: that two +legs of a green horse are rendered in red on the further side, to +indicate perspective, the same principle accounting for two blue +legs on a yellow horse! + +[Illustration: DETAIL, BAYEUX TAPESTRY] + +The buildings are drawn in a very primitive way, without consideration +for size or proportion. The solid part of the embroidery is couched +on, while much of the work is only rendered in outline. But the +spirited little figures are full of action, and suggest those in +the celebrated Utrecht Psalter. Sometimes one figure will be as +high as the whole width of the material, while again, the people +will be tiny. In the scene representing the burial of Edward the +Confessor, in Westminster Abbey, the roof of the church is several +inches lower than the bier which is borne on the shoulders of men +nearly as tall as the tower! + +The naive treatment of details is delicious. Harold, when about +to embark, steps with bare legs into the tide: the water is laid +out in the form of a hill of waves, in order to indicate that it +gets deeper later on. It might serve as an illustration of the Red +Sea humping up for the benefit of the Israelites! The curious little +stunted figure with a bald head, in the group of the conference of +messengers, would appear to be an abortive attempt to portray a +person at some distance--he is drawn much smaller than the others +to suggest that he is quite out of hearing! This seems to have +been the only attempt at rendering the sense of perspective. Then +comes a mysterious little lady in a kind of shrine, to whom a clerk +is making curious advances; to the casual observer it would appear +that the gentleman is patting her on the cheek, but we are informed +by Thierry that this represents an embroideress, and that the clerk +is in the act of ordering the Bayeux Tapestry itself! Conjecture +is swamped concerning the real intention of this group, and no +certain diagnosis has ever been pronounced! The Countess of Wilton +sees in this group "a female in a sort of porch, with a clergyman +in the act of pronouncing a benediction upon her!" Every one to +his taste. + +A little farther on there is another unexplained figure: that of +a man with his feet crossed, swinging joyously on a rope from the +top of a tower. + +Soon after the Crowning of Harold, may be seen a crowd of people +gazing at an astronomic phenomenon which has been described by an +old chronicler as a "hairy star." It is recorded as "a blazing +starre" such as "never appears but as a prognostic of afterclaps," +and again, as "dreadful to be seen, with bloudie haires, and all +over rough and shagged at the top." Another author complacently +explains that comets "were made to the end that the ethereal regions +might not be more void of monsters than the ocean is of whales and +other great thieving fish!" A very literal interpretation of this +"hairy star" has been here embroidered, carefully fitted out with +cog-wheels and all the paraphernalia of a conventional mediaeval +comet. + +In the scenes dealing with the preparation of the army and the +arrangement of their food, there occurs the lassooing of an ox; the +amount of action concentrated in this group is really wonderful. +The ox, springing clear of the ground, with all his legs gathered +up under him, turns his horned head, which is set on an unduly +long neck, for the purpose of inspecting his pursuers. No better +origin for the ancient tradition of the cow who jumped over the +moon could be adduced. And what shall we say of the acrobatic antics +of Leofwine and Gyrth when meeting their deaths in battle? These +warriors are turning elaborate handsprings in their last moments, +while horses are represented as performing such somersaults that +they are practically inverted. In the border of this part of the +tapestry, soldiers are seen stripping off the coats of mail from +the dead warriors on the battle-field; this they do by turning the +tunic inside out and pulling it off at the head, and the resulting +attitudes of the victims are quaint and realistic in the extreme! +The border has been appropriately described as "a layer of dead men." +In the tenth and eleventh centuries one of the regular petitions in +the Litany was "From the fury of the Normans Good Lord Deliver us." + +The Bayeux Tapestry was designated, in 1746, as "the noblest monument +in the world relating to our old English History." It has passed +through most trying vicissitudes, having been used in war time as a +canvas covering to a transport wagon, among other experiences. For +centuries this precious treasure was neglected and not understood. In +his "Tour" M. Ducarel states: "The priests... to whom we addressed +ourselves for a sight of this remarkable piece of antiquity, knew +nothing of it; the circumstance only of its being annually hung up +in their church led them to understand what we wanted, no person +then knowing that the object of our inquiries any ways related to +the Conqueror." This was in the nineteenth century. + +Anglo-Saxon women spent much of their time in embroidering. Edith, +Queen of Edward the Confessor, was quite noted for her needlework, +which was sometimes used to decorate the state robes of the king. + +Formerly there existed at Ely Cathedral a work very like the Bayeux +Tapestry, recording the deeds of the heroic Brihtnoth, the East +Saxon, who was slain in 991, fighting the Danish forces. His wife +rendered his history in needlework, and presented it to Ely. +Unhappily there are no remains of this interesting monument now +existing. The nearest thing to the Bayeux Tapestry in general +texture and style is perhaps a twelfth century work in the Cathedral +at Gerona, a little over four yards square, which is worked in +crewels on linen, and is ornamented with scenes of an Oriental and +primitive character, taken mainly from the story of Genesis. These +tapestries come under the head of needlework. The tapestries made +on looms proceed upon a different principle, and are woven instead +of embroidered. + +Two kinds of looms were used under varying conditions in different +places; high warp looms, or _Haute Lisse_, and low warp looms, +known as _Basse Lisse_. + +The general method of making tapestries on a high warp loom has been +much the same for many centuries. The warp is stretched vertically +in two sets, every other thread being first forward and then back in +the setting. M. Lacordaire, late Director of the Gobelins, writes +as follows: "The workman takes a spindle filled with worsted or +silk... he stops off the weft thread and fastens it to the warp, +to the left of the space to be occupied by the colour he has in +hand; then, by passing his left hand between the back and the front +threads, he separates those that are to be covered with colours; +with his right hand, having passed it through the same threads, +he reaches to the left side, for the spindle which he brings back +to the right; his left hand, then, seizing hold of the warp, brings +the back threads to the front, while the right hand thrusts the +spindle back to the point whence it started." When a new colour +is to be introduced, the artist takes a new shuttle. He fastens +his thread on the wrong side of the tapestry (the side on which +he works) and repeats the process just described on the strings +stretched up and down before him, like harp strings; the work is +commenced at the lower part, and worked upwards, so that, when +this strictly "hand weaving" is accomplished, it may be crowded +down into place by means of a kind of ivory comb, so adjusted that +the teeth fit between the warp threads. In tapestry weaving, the +warp could be of any inferior but strong thread, for, by the nature +of the work, only the woof was visible, the warp being quite hidden +and incorporated into the texture under the close lying stitches +which met and dove-tailed over it. + +The worker on a low loom does not see the right side of the work +at all, unless he lifts the loom, which is a difficult undertaking. +On a high loom, it is only necessary for the worker to go around +to the front in order to see exactly what he is doing. The design +is put below the work, however, in a low loom, and the work is +thus practically traced as the tapestry proceeds. + +On account of the limitations of the human arm in reaching, the +low warp tapestry requires more seams than does that made on the +"haute lisse" loom, the pieces being individually smaller. One +whole division of the workmen in tapestry establishments used to be +known as the "fine drawers," whose whole duty was to join the +different pieces together, and also to repair worn tapestries, +inserting new stitches for restorations. Tapestry repairing was +a necessary craft; at Rheims some tapestries were restored by +Jacquemire de Bergeres; these hangings had been "much damaged by +dogs, rats, mice, and other beasts." It is not stated where they +had been hung! + +High warp looms have been known in Europe certainly since the ninth +century. There is an order extant, from the Bishop of Auxerre, +who died in 840, for some "carpets for his church." In 890 the +monks of Saumur were manufacturing tapestries. Beautiful textiles +had been used to ornament the Church of St. Denis as early as 630, +but there is no proof that these were actually tapestries. There +is a legend that in 732 a tapestry establishment existed in the +district between Tours and Poitiers. At Beauvais, too, the weavers +of arras were settled at the time of the Norman ravages. + +King Dagobert was a mediaeval patron of arts in France. He had the +walls of St. Denis (which he built) hung with rich tapestries set +with pearls and wrought with gold. At the monastery of St. Florent, +at Saumur in 985, the monks wove tapestries, using floral and animal +forms in their designs. At Poitiers there was quite a flourishing +factory as early as 1025. Tapestry was probably first made in France, +to any considerable extent, then, in the ninth century. The historian +of the monastery of Saumur tells us an interesting incident in +connection with the works there. The Abbot of St. Florent had placed +a magnificent order for "curtains, canopies, hangings, bench covers, +and other ornaments,... and he caused to be, made two pieces of tapestry +of large size and admirable quality, representing elephants." While +these were about to be commenced, the aforesaid abbot was called +away on a journey. The ecclesiastic who remained issued a command +that the tapestries should be made with a woof different from that +which they habitually used. "Well," said they, "in the absence of +the good abbot we will not discontinue our employment; but as you +thwart us, we shall make quite a different kind of fabric." So they +deliberately set to work to make square carpets with silver lions on +a red ground, with a red and white border of various animals! Abbot +William was fortunately pleased with the result, and used lions +interchangeably with elephants thereafter in his decorations. + +At the ninth century tapestry manufactory in Poitiers, an amusing +correspondence took place between the Count of Poitou and an Italian +bishop, in 1025. Poitou was at that time noted for its fine breed +of mules. The Italian bishop wrote to ask the count to send him +one mule and one tapestry,--as he expressed it, "both equally +marvellous." The count replied with spirit: "I cannot send you +what you ask, because for a mule to merit the epithet _marvellous_, +he would have to have horns, or three tails, or five legs, and +this I should not be able to find. I shall have to content myself +with sending you the best that I can procure!" + +In 992 the Abbey of Croyland, in England, owned "two large foot +cloths woven with lions, to be laid before the high altar on great +festivals, and two shorter ones trailed all over with flowers, +for the feast days of the Apostles." + +Under Church auspices in the twelfth century, the tapestry industry +rose to its most splendid perfection. When the secular looms were +started, the original beauty of the work was retained for a considerable +time; in the tenth century German craftsmen worked as individuals, +independently of Guilds or organizations. In the thirteenth century +the work was in a flourishing condition in France, where both looms +were in use. The upright loom is still used at the Gobelin factory. + +As an adjunct to the stained glass windows in churches, there never +was a texture more harmonious than good mediaeval tapestry. In 1260 +the best tapestries in France were made by the Church exclusively; +in 1461 King Rene of Anjou bequeathed a magnificent tapestry in +twenty-seven subjects representing the Apocalypse, to "the church +of Monsieur St. Maurice," at Angers. + +Although tapestry was made in larger quantities during the Renaissance, +the mediaeval designs are better adapted to the material. + +The royal chambers of the Kings of England were hung with tapestry, +and it was the designated duty of the Chamberlain to see to such +adornment. In 1294 there is mention of a special artist in tapestry, +who lived near Winchester; his name was Sewald, and he was further +known as "le tapenyr," which, according to M. G. Thomson, signifies +tapestrier. + +One is led to believe that tapestries were used as church adornments +before they were introduced into dwellings; for it was said, when +Queen Eleanor of Castile had her bedroom hung with tapestries, that +"it was like a church." At Westminster, a writer of 1631 alludes +to the "cloths of Arras which adorn the choir." + +Sets of tapestries to hang entire apartments were known as "Hallings." +Among the tapestries which belonged to Charles V. was one "worked +with towers, fallow bucks and does, to put over the King's boat." +Among early recorded tapestries are those mentioned in the inventory +of Philip the Bold, in 1404, while that of Philip the Good tells of +his specimens, in 1420. Nothing can well be imagined more charming +than the description of a tapestried chamber in 1418; the room +being finished in white was decorated with paroquets and damsels +playing harps. This work was accomplished for the Duchess of Bavaria +by the tapestry maker, Jean of Florence. + +Flanders tapestry was famous in the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. +Arras particularly was the town celebrated for the beauty of its +work. This famous manufactory was founded prior to 1350, as there +is mention of work of that period. Before the town became known as +Arras, while it still retained its original name, Nomenticum, the +weavers were famous who worked there. In 282 A. D. the woven cloaks +of Nomenticum were spoken of by Flavius Vopiscus. + +The earliest record of genuine Arras tapestry occurs in an order +from the Countess of Artois in 1313, when she directs her receiver +"de faire faire six tapis a Arras." Among the craftsmen at Arras +in 1389 was a Saracen, named Jehan de Croisetes, and in 1378 there +was a worker by the name of Huwart Wallois. Several of its workmen +emigrated to Lille, in the fifteenth century, among them one Simon +Lamoury and another, Jehan de Rausart. In 1419 the Council Chamber +of Ypres was ornamented with splendid tapestries by Francois de +Wechter, who designed them, and had them executed by Arras workmen. +The Van Eycks and Memlinc also designed tapestries, and there is no +doubt that the art would have continued to show a more consistent +regard for the demands of the material if Raphael had never executed +his brilliant cartoons. The effort to be Raphaelesque ruined the +effect of many a noble piece of technique, after that. + +In 1302 a body of ten craftsmen formed a Corporation in Paris. +The names of several workmen at Lille have been handed down to +us. In 1318 Jehan Orghet is recorded, and in 1368, Willaume, a +high-warp worker. Penalties for false work were extreme. One of +the best known workers in France was Bataille, who was closely +followed by one Dourdain. + +[Illustration: FLEMISH TAPESTRY, "THE PRODIGAL SON"] + +A famous Arras tapestry was made in 1386 by a weaver of the name +of Michel Bernard. It measured over two hundred and eighty-five +square yards, and represented the battle of Roosebecke. At this +time a tapestry worker lived, named Jehanne Aghehe, one of the +first attested women's names in connection with this art. In the +Treasury of the church of Douai there is mention of three cushions +made of high loom tapestry presented in 1386 by "la demoiselle +Englise." It is not known who this young lady may have been. France +and Flanders made the most desirable tapestries in the fourteenth +century. In Italy the art had little vogue until the fifteenth. + +Very little tapestry was made in Spain in the Middle Ages,--the +earliest well known maker was named Gutierrez, in the time of Philip +IV. The picture by Velasquez, known as "The Weavers," represents +the interior of his manufactory. + +A table cloth in mediaeval times was called a "carpett:" these were +often very ornate, and it is useful to know that their use was not +for floor covering, for the inventories often mention "carpetts" +worked with pearls and silver tissue, which would have been singularly +inappropriate. The Arabs introduced the art of carpet weaving into +Spain. An Oriental, Edrisi, writing in the twelfth century, says +that such carpets were made at that time in Alicante, as could not +be produced elsewhere, owing to certain qualities in both air and +water which greatly benefited the wool used in their manufacture. + +In the Travels of Jean Lagrange, the author says that all carpets +of Smyrna and Caramania are woven by women. As soon as a girl can +hold a shuttle, they stretch cords between two trees, to make a +warp, and then they give her all colours of wools, and leave her +to her own devices. They tell her, "It is for you to make your own +dowry." Then, according to the inborn art instinct of the child, she +begins her carpet. Naturally, traditions and association with others +engaged in the same pursuit assist in the scheme and arrangement; +usually the carpet is not finished until she is old enough to marry. +"Then," continues Lagrange, "two masters, two purchasers, present +themselves; the one carries off a carpet, and the other a wife." + +Edward II.. of England owned a tapestry probably of English make, +described as "a green hanging of wool wove with figures of Kings +and Earls upon it." There was a roistering Britisher called John le +Tappistere, who was complained of by certain people near Oxford, as +having seized Master John of Shoreditch, and assaulted and imprisoned +him, confiscating his goods and charging him fifty pounds for ransom. +It is not stated what the gentleman from Shoreditch had done thus +to bring down upon him the wrath of John the weaver! + +English weavers had rather the reputation of being fighters: in +1340 one George le Tapicier murdered John le Dextre of Leicester; +while Giles de la Hyde also slew Thomas Tapicier in 1385. Possibly +these rows occurred on account of a practical infringement upon +the manufacturing rights of others as set down in the rules of the +Company. There was a woman in Finch Lane who produced tapestry, +with a cotton back, "after the manner of the works of Arras:" this +was considered a dishonest business, and the work was ordered to +be burnt. + +Roger van der Weyden designed a set of tapestries representing +the History of Herkinbald, the stern uncle who, with his own hand, +beheaded his nephew for wronging a young woman. Upon his death-bed, +Herkinbald refused to confess this act as a sin, claiming the murder +to have been justifiable and a positive virtue. Apparently the +Higher Powers were on his side, too, for, when the priest refused +the Eucharist to the impertinent Herkinbald, it is related that +the Host descended by a miracle and entered the lips of the dying +man. A dramatic story, of which van der Weyden made the most, in +designing his wonderfully decorative tapestries. The originals +were lost, but similar copies remain. + +As early as 1441 tapestries were executed in Oudenardes; usually +these were composed of green foliage, and known as "verdures." In +time the names "verdure" and "Oudenarde" became interchangeably +associated with this class of tapestry. They represented woodland +and hunting scenes, and were also called "Tapestry verde," and +are alluded to by Chaucer. + +Curious symbolic subjects were often used: for instance, for a +set of hangings for a banquet hall, what could be more whimsically +appropriate than the representation of "Dinner," giving a feast to +"Good Company," while "Banquet" and "Maladies" attack the guests! +This scene is followed by the arrest of "Souper" and "Banquet" by +"Experience," who condemns them both to die for their cruel treatment +of the Feasters! + +There is an old poem written by a monk of Chester, named Bradshaw, +in which a large hall decorated with tapestries is described as +follows: + + "All herbs and flowers, fair and sweet, + Were strawed in halls, and layd under their feet; + Cloths of gold, and arras were hanged on the wall, + Depainted with pictures and stories manifold + Well wrought and craftely." + +A set of tapestries was made by some of the monks of Troyes, who +worked upon the high loom, displaying scenes from the Life of the +Magdalen. This task was evidently not devoid of the lighter elements, +for in the bill, the good brothers made charge for such wine as +they drank "when they consulted together in regard to the life +of the Saint in question!" + +Among the most interesting tapestries are those representing scenes +from the Wars of Troy, in South Kensington. They are crowded with +detail, and in this respect exhibit most satisfactorily the beauties +of the craft, which is enhanced by small intricacies, and rendered +less impressive when treated in broad masses of unrelieved woven +colour. Another magnificent set, bearing similar characteristics, +is the History of Clovis at Rheims. + +There is a fascinating set of English tapestries representing the +Seasons, at Hatfield: these were probably woven at Barcheston. +The detail of minute animal and vegetable forms--the flora and +fauna, as it were in worsted--are unique for their conscientious +finish. They almost amount to catalogues of plants and beasts. +The one which displays Summer is a herbal and a Noah's Ark turned +loose about a full-sized Classical Deity, who presides in the centre +of the composition. + +Among English makers of tapestries was a workman named John Bakes, +who was paid the magnificent sum of twelve pence a day, while in an +entry in another document he is said to have received only fourpence +daily. + +The Hunting Tapestries belonging to the Duke of Devonshire are +as perfect specimens as any that exist of the best period of the +art. They are represented in colour in W. G. Thomson's admirable +work on Tapestries, and are thus available to most readers in some +public collection. + +Another splendidly decorative specimen is at Hampton Court, being +a series of the Seven Deadly Sins. They measure about twenty-five +by thirteen feet each, and are worked in heavy wools and silks. + +As technical facility developed, certain weaknesses began to show +themselves. Tapestry weavers had their favourite figures, which, +to save themselves trouble, they would often substitute for others +in the original design. + +Arras tapestries were no longer made in the sixteenth +century, and the best work of that time was accomplished in the +Netherlands. About 1540 Brussels probably stood at the head of the +list of cities famous for the production of these costly textiles. +The Raphael tapestries were made there, by Peter van Aelst, under +the order of Pope Leo X. They were executed in the space of four +years, being finished in 1519, only a year before Raphael's death. + +In the sixteenth century the Brussels workers began to make certain +"short cuts" not quite legitimate in an art of the highest standing, +such as touching up the faces with liquid dyes, and using the same +to enhance the effect after the work was finished. A law was passed +that this must not be done on any tapestry worth more than twelve +pence a yard. In spite of this trickery, the Netherlandish tapestries +led all others in popularity in that century. + +It was almost invariable, especially in Flemish work, to treat +Scriptural subjects as dressed in the costume of the period in +which the tapestry happened to be made. When one sees the Prodigal +Son attired in a delightful Flemish costume of a well-appointed +dandy, and Adam presented to God the Father, both being clothed in +Netherlandish garments suitable for Burgomasters of the sixteenth +century, then we can believe that the following description, quoted +by the Countess of Wilton, is hardly overdrawn. "In a corner of +the apartment stood a bed, the tapestry of which was enwrought +with gaudy colours, representing Adam and Eve in the Garden +of Eden.... Adam was presenting our first mother with a large yellow +apple gathered from a tree which scarcely reached his knee.... +To the left of Eve appeared a church, and a dark robed gentleman +holding something in his hand which looked like a pin cushion, but +doubtless was intended for a book; he seemed pointing to the holy +edifice, as if reminding them that they were not yet married! On +the ground lay the rib, out of which Eve, who stood a head higher +than Adam, had been formed: both of them were very respectably +clothed in the ancient Saxon costume; even the angel wore breeches, +which, being blue, contrasted well with his flaming red wings." + +In France, the leading tapestry works were at Tours in the early +sixteenth century. A Flemish weaver, Jean Duval, started the work +there in 1540. Until 1552 he and his three sons laboured together +with great results, and they left a large number of craftsmen to +follow in their footsteps. + +In Italy the art had almost died out in the early sixteenth century, +but revived in full and florid force under the Raphaelesque influence. + +King Rene of Anjou collected tapestries so assiduously that the +care and repairing of them occupied the whole time of a staff of +workers, who were employed steadily, living in the palace, and +sleeping at night in the various apartments in which the hangings +were especially costly. + +Queen Jeanne, the mother of Henri IV., was a skilled +worker in tapestry. To quote Miss Freer in the Life of Jeanne d'Albret, +"During the hours which the queen allowed herself for relaxation, +she worked tapestry and discoursed with some one of the learned men +whom she protected." This queen was of an active mental calibre and +one to whom physical repose was most repugnant. She was a regular +and pious attendant at church, but sitting still was torture to +her, and listening to the droning sermons put her to sleep. So, +with a courage to be admired, Jeanne "demanded permission from +the Synod to work tapestry during the sermon. This request was +granted; from thenceforth Queen Jeanne, bending decorously over +her tapestry frame, and busy with her needle, gave due attention." + +The Chateau of Blois, during the reign of Louis XII. and Ann of +Brittany, is described as being regally appointed with tapestries: +"Those which were hung in the apartments of the king and queen," +says the chronicler, "were all full of gold; and the tapestries +and embroideries of cloth of gold and of silk had others beneath +them ornamented with personages and histories as those were above. +Indeed, there was so great a number of rich tapestries, velvet +carpets, and bed coverings, of gold and silk, that there was not +a chamber, hall, or wardrobe, that was not full." + +In an inventory of the Princess of Burgundy there occurs this curious +description of a tapestry: "The three tapestries of the Church +Militant, wrought in gold, whereon may be seen represented God Almighty +seated in majesty, and around him many cardinals, and below him many +princes who present to him a church." + +Household luxury in England is indicated by a quaint writer in 1586: +"In noblemen's houses," he says, "it is not rare to see abundance of +arras, rich hangings, of tapestrie... Turkie wood, pewter, brasse, +and fine linen.... In times past the costly furniture stayed there, +whereas now it is discarded yet lower, even unto the inferior +artificers, and many farmers... have for the most part learned to +garnish their beds with tapestries and hangings, and their tables +with carpetts and fine napery." + +Henry VIII. was devoted to tapestry collecting, also. An agent +who was buying for him in the Netherlands in 1538, wrote to the +king: "I have made a stay in my hands of two hundred ells of goodly +tapestry; there hath not been brought this twenty year eny so good +for the price." Henry VIII. had in his large collection many subjects, +among them such characteristic pieces as: "ten peeces of the rich +story of King David" (in which Bathsheba doubtless played an important +part), "seven peeces of the Stories of Ladies," "A peece with a man +and woman and a flagon," "A peece of verdure... having poppinjays +at the nether corners," "One peece of Susannah," "Six fine new +tapestries of the History of Helena and Paris." + +A set of six "verdure" tapestries was owned by Cardinal Wolsey, +which "served for the hanging of Durham Hall of inferior days." +The hangings in a hall in Chester are described as depicting "Adam, +Noe, and his Shyppe." In 1563 a monk of Canterbury was mentioned as +a tapestry weaver. At York, Norwich, and other cities, were also to +be found "Arras Workers" during the sixteenth century. + +There was an amusing law suit in 1598, which was brought by a gentleman, +Charles Lister, against one Mrs. Bridges, for accepting from him, on +the understanding of an engagement in marriage, a suite of tapestries +for her apartment. He sued for the return of his gifts! + +Among the State Papers of James I., there is a letter in which +the King remarks "Sir Francis Crane desires to know if my baby +will have him to-hasten the making of that suite of tapestry that +he commanded him." + +In Florence, the art flourished under the Medici. In 1546 a regular +Academy of instruction in tapestry weaving was set up, under the +direction of Flemish masters. All the leading artists of the Golden +Age furnished designs which, though frequently inappropriate for +being rendered in textile, were fine pictures, at any rate. In +Venice, too, there were work shops, but the influence of Italy was +Flemish in every case so far as technical instruction was concerned. +The most celebrated artists of the Renaissance made cartoons: Raphael, +Giulio Romano, Jouvenet, Le Brun, and numerous others, in various +countries. + +[Illustration: TAPESTRY, REPRESENTING PARIS IN THE 15TH CENTURY] + +The Gobelins work in Paris was inaugurated in the fifteenth century +under Jean Gobelins, a native of Rheims. His son, Philibert, and +later, many descendants persevered steadily at the work; the art +prospered under Francis I., the whole force of tapestry weavers being +brought together at Fontainebleau, and under Henry II., the direction +of the whole was given to the celebrated artist Philibert Delorme. In +1630 the Gobelins was fully established as a larger plant, and has +never made another move. The work has increased ever since those days, +on much the same general lines. Celebrated French artists have +designed tapestries: Watteau, Boucher, and others were interpreted +by the brilliant manager whose signature appears on the works, +Cozette, who was manager from 1736 until 1792. With this technical +perfection came the death of the art of tapestry: the pictures +might as well have been painted on canvas, and all feeling for the +material was lost, so that the naive charm of the original workers +ceased to be a part of the production. + +Among European collections now visible, the best is in Madrid, +where over six hundred tapestries may be seen, chiefly Flemish, +of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The collection at the +Pitti Palace in Florence comprises six hundred, while in the Vatican +are preserved the original Raphael tapestries. South Kensington +Museum, too, is rich in interesting examples of various schools. +It is a very helpful collection to students, especially, although +not so large as some others. + +In 1663, "two well intended statutes" were introduced dealing with +curiously opposite matters: one was to encourage linen and tapestry +manufacture in England, and the other was "for regulating the packing +of herrings!" + +The famous English Mortlake tapestry manufactory was not established +until the seventeenth century, and that is rather late for us. The +progress of craftsmanship has been steady, especially at the Gobelins +in France. Many other centres of industry developed, however, in +various countries. The study of modern tapestry is a branch by +itself with which we are unable to concern ourselves now. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +EMBROIDERIES + +The materials used as groundwork for mediaeval embroideries were +rich in themselves. Samit was the favourite--shimmering, and woven +originally of solid flat gold wire. Ciclatoun was also a brilliant +textile, as also was Cendal. Cendal silk is spoken of by early +writers. + +The first use of silk is interesting to trace. A monopoly, a veritable +silk trust, was established in 533, in the Roman Empire. Women +were employed at the Court of Justinian to preside over the looms, +and the manufacture of silk was not allowed elsewhere. The only +hindrance to this scheme was that the silk itself had to be brought +from China. But in the reign of Justinian, two monks who had been +travelling in the Orient, brought to the emperor, as curiosities, +some silkworms and cocoons. They obtained some long hollow walking +sticks, which they packed full of silkworms' eggs, and thus imported +the producers of the raw material. The European silk industry, in +fabrics, embroideries, velvets, and such commodities, may owe its +origin to this bit of monastic enterprise in 550. + +Silk garments were very costly, however, and it was +not every lady in early times who could have such luxuries. It is +said that even the Emperor Aurelian refused his wife her request +for just one single cloak of silk, saying: "No, I could never think +of buying such a thing, for it sells for its weight in gold!" + +Fustian and taffeta were less costly, but frequently used in important +work, as also were sarcenet and camora. Velvet and satin were of later +date, not occurring until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. +Baudekin, a good silk and golden weave, was very popular. + +Cut velvets with elaborate patterns were made in Genoa. The process +consisted in leaving the main ground in the original fine rib which +resulted from weaving, while in the pattern these little ribs were +split open, making that part of a different ply from the rest of +the material, in fact, being the finished velvet as we now know +it, while the ground remained uncut, and had more the appearance +of silk reps. Velvet is first mentioned in England in 1295, but +probably existed earlier on the Continent. + +Both Roger de Wendover and Matthew Paris mention a stuff called +"imperial:" it was partly gold in weave, but there is some doubt +as to its actual texture. + +Baudekin was a very costly textile of gold and silk which was used +largely in altar coverings and hangings, such as dossals; by degrees +the name became synonymous with "baldichin," and in Italy the whole +altar canopy is still called a _baldachino_. + +During Royal Progresses the streets were always hung with rich cloth +of gold. As Chaucer makes allusion to streets + + "By ordinance throughout the city large + Hanged with cloth of gold, and not with serge," + +so Leland tells how the Queen of Henry VII. was conducted to her +coronation and "all the stretes through which she should pass were +clenely dressed... with cloths of tapestry and Arras, and some +stretes, as Cheepe, hanged with rich cloths of gold, velvetts, +and silks." And in Machyn's Diary, he says that "as late as 1555 +at Bow church in London, was hangyd with cloth of gold and with +rich Arras." + +The word "satin" is derived from the silks of the Mediterranean, +called "aceytuni," which became "zetani" in Italian, and gradually +changed through French and English influence, to "satin." The first +mention of it in England is about 1350, when Bishop Grandison made +a gift of choice satins to Exeter Cathedral. + +The Dalmatic of Charlemagne is embroidered on blue satin, although +this is a rare early example of the material. At Constantinople, +also, as early as 1204, Baldwin II. wore satin at his coronation. +It was nearly always made in a fiery red in the early days. It +is mentioned in a Welsh poem of the thirteenth century. + +Benjamin of Tudela, a traveller who wrote in 1161, mentions that +the Jews were living in great numbers in Thebes, and that they +made silks there at that time. There is record that in the late +eleventh century a Norman Abbot brought home from Apulia a quantity +of heavy and fine silk, from which four copes were made. French +silks were not remarkable until the sixteenth century, while those +of the Netherlands led all others as early as the thirteenth. + +Shot silks were popular in England in the sixteenth century. York +Cathedral possessed, in 1543, a "vestment of changeable taffety +for Good Friday." + +St. Dunstan is reported to have once "tinted" a sacerdotal vestment +to oblige a lady, thus departing from his regular occupation as +goldsmith to perform the office of a dyer of stuff. + +Many rich mediaeval textiles were ornamented by designs, which usually +show interlaces and animal forms, and sometimes conventional floral +ornament. Patterns originated in the East, and, through Byzantine +influence, in Italy, and Saracenic in Spain, they were adopted and +modified by Europeans. In 1295 St. Paul's in London owned a hanging +"patterned with wheels and two-headed birds." Sicilian silks, and +many others of the contemporary textiles, display variations of +the "tree of life" pattern. This consists of a little conventional +shrub, sometimes hardly more than a "budding rod," with two birds +or animals advancing vis-a-vis on either side. Sometimes these +are two peacocks; often lions or leopards and frequently griffins +and various smaller animals. Whenever one sees a little tree or +a single stalk, no matter how conventionally treated, with a +couple of matched animals strutting up to each other on either +side, this pattern owes its origin to the old tradition of the +decorative motive usual in Persia and in Byzantium, the Tree of +Life, or Horn. The origin of patterns does not come within our +scope, and has been excellently treated in the various books of +Lewis Day, and other writers on this subject. + +Textiles of Italian manufacture may be seen represented in the +paintings of the old masters: Orcagna, Francia, Crivelli, and others, +who delighted in the rendering of rich stuffs; later, they abound +in the creations of Veronese and Titian. A "favourite Italian +vegetable," as Dr. Rock quaintly expresses it, is the artichoke, +which, often, set in oval forms, is either outlined or worked solidly +in the fabric. + +Almeria was a rich city in the thirteenth century, noted for its +textiles. A historian of that period writes: "Christians of all +nations came to its port to buy and to sell. From thence... they +travelled to other parts of the interior of the country, where +they loaded their vessels with such goods as they wanted. Costly +silken robes of the brightest colours are manufactured in Almeria." +Granada was famous too, a little later, for its silks and woven +goods. About 1562 Navagiero wrote: "All sorts of cloth and silks +are made there: the silks made at Granada are much esteemed all +over Spain; they are not so good as those that come from Italy. +There are several looms, but they do not yet know how to work them +well. They make good taffetas, sarcenet, and silk serges. The +velvets are not bad, but those that are made at Valencia are better +in quality." + +Marco Polo says of the Persians in certain sections; "There are +excellent artificers in the cities, who make wonderful things in +gold, silk, and embroidery.... In veins of the mountains stones +are found, commonly called turquoises, and other jewels. There +also are made all sorts of arms and ammunition for war, and by the +women excellent needlework in silks, with all sorts of creatures +very admirably wrought therein." Marco Polo also reports the King +of Tartary as wearing on his birthday a most precious garment of +gold, while his barons wore the same, and had given them girdles of +gold and silver, and "pearls and garments of great price." This Khan +also "has the tenths of all wool, silk, and hemp, which he causes to +be made into clothes, in a house for that purpose appointed: for +all trades are bound one day in the week to serve him." He clothed +his armies with this tythe wool. + +In Anglo-Saxon times a fabric composed of fine basket-weaving of +thin flat strips of pure gold was used; sometimes the flat metal +was woven on a warp of scarlet silk threads. Later strips of gilded +parchment were fraudulently substituted for the genuine flat metal +thread. Often the woof of gold strips was so solid and heavy that +it was necessary to have a silk warp of six strands, to support +its wear. + +Gold cloth was of varying excellence, however: among the items in +an inventory for the Earl of Warwick in the time of Henry VI., there +is allusion to "one coat for My Lord's body, beat with fine gold; +two coats for heralds, beat with demi-gold." + +It is generally assumed that the first wire-drawing machines were +made about 1360 in Germany; they were not used in England until +about 1560. Theophilus, however, in the eleventh century, tells +"Of the instruments through which wires are drawn," saying that +they consist of "two irons, three fingers in breadth, narrow above +and below, everywhere thin, and perforated with three or four ranges, +through which holes wires are drawn." This would seem to be a primitive +form of the more developed instrument. Wire drawing was introduced +into England by Christian Schutz about 1560. In 1623 was incorporated +in London, "The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wire-Drawers." +The preamble of their charter reads thus: "The Trade Art of Drawing +and flattening of gold and silver wire, and making and spinning +of gold and silver thread and stuffe." It seems as though there +were some kind of work that corresponded to wire-drawing, earlier +than its supposed introduction, for a petition was sent to King +Henry VI. in 1423, by the "wise and worthy Communes of London, & +the Wardens of Broderie in the said Citie," requesting protection +against "deceit and default in the work of divers persons occupying +the craft of embroidery;" and in 1461 "An act of Common Council +was passed respecting the gold-drawers," showing that the art was +known to some extent and practised at that time. In the reign of +George II., in 1742, "An act to prevent the counterfeiting of gold +and silver lace and for the settling and adjusting the proportions +of fine silver and silk, and for the better making of gold and silver +lace," was passed. + +Ecclesiastical vestments were often trimmed with heavy gold fringe, +knotted "fretty wise," and the embroideries were further enriched +with jewels and small plaques of enamel. Matthew Paris relates a +circumstance of certain garments being so heavily weighted with +gold that the clergy could not walk in them, and, in order to get +the solid metal out again, it was necessary to burn the garments +and thus melt the gold. + +Jewelled robes were often seen in the Middle Ages; a chasuble is +described as having been made for the Abbot of St. Albans, in the +twelfth century, which was practically covered with plaques of gold +and precious stones. Imagine the unpleasant physical sensation +of a bishop in 1404, who was obliged to wear a golden mitre of +which the ground was set with large pearls, bordered with balas +rubies, and sapphires, and trimmed with indefinite extra pearls! + +The body of St. Cecilia, who was martyred in 230, was interred in +a garment of pure woven gold. + +The cloth of solid gold which was used for state occasions was +called "tissue;" the thin paper in which it was wrapped when it +was laid away was known as tissue paper, and Mr. William Maskell +states that the name has clung to it, and that is why thin paper +is called "tissue paper" to-day. + +St. Peter's in Rome possessed a great pair of silver curtains, +which hung at the entrance to the church, given by Pope Stephen +IV. in the eighth century. + +Vitruvius tells how to preserve the gold in old embroidery, or +in worn-out textiles where the metal has been extensively used. +He says: "When gold is embroidered on a garment which is worn out, +and no longer fit for use, the cloth is burnt over the fire in +earthen pots. The ashes are thrown into water, and quicksilver +added to them. This collects all particles of gold, and unites +with them. The water is then poured off, and the residuum placed +in a cloth, which, when squeezed with the hands suffers the liquid +quicksilver to pass through the pores of the cloth, but retains +the gold in a mass within it." + +An early allusion to asbestos woven as a cloth is made by Marco +Polo, showing that fire-proof fabrics were known in his time. In +the province of Chinchintalas, "there is a mountain wherein are +mines of steel... and also, as was reported, salamanders, of the +wool of which cloth was made, which if cast into the fire, cannot +burn. But that cloth is in reality made of stone in this manner, +as one of my companions a Turk, named Curifar, a man endued with +singular industry, informed me, who had charge of the minerals in +that province. A certain mineral is found in that mountain which +yields threads not unlike wool; and these being dried in the +sun, are bruised in a brazen mortar, and afterwards washed, and +whatsoever earthy substance sticks to them is taken away. Lastly, +these threads are spun like ordinary wool, and woven into cloth. +And when they would whiten those cloths, they cast them into the +fire for an hour, and then take them out unhurt whiter than snow. +After the same manner they cleanse them when they have taken any +spots, for no other washing is used to them, besides the fire." + +In the Middle Ages it would have been possible, as Lady Alford +suggests, to play the game "Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral" with +textiles only! Between silk, hemp, cotton, gold, silver, wool, +flax, camel's hair, and asbestos, surely the three elements all +played their parts. + +Since the first record of Eve having "sewn fig leaves together to +make aprons," women have used the needle in some form. In England, +it is said that the first needles were made by an Indian, in 1545, +before which time they were imported. The old play, "Gammer Gurton's +Needle," is based upon the extreme rarity of these domestic implements, +and the calamity occasioned in a family by their loss. There is a +curious old story about a needle, which was supposed to possess +magic powers. This needle is reported to have worked at night while +its owner was resting, saving her all personal responsibility about +her mending. When the old lady finally died, another owner claimed +this charmed needle, and began at once to test its powers. But, do +what she would, she was unable to force a thread through its obstinate +eye. At last, after trying all possible means to thread the needle, +she took a magnifying glass to examine and see what the impediment +was, and, lo! the eye of the needle was filled with a great tear,--it +was weeping for the loss of its old mistress, and no one was ever +able to thread it again! + +Embroidery is usually regarded as strictly a woman's craft, but in +the Middle Ages the leading needleworkers were often men. The old +list of names given by Louis Farcy has almost an equal proportion of +workers of both sexes. But the finest work was certainly accomplished +by the conscientious dwellers in cloisters, and the nuns devoted +their vast leisure in those days to this art. Fuller observes: +"Nunneries were also good shee-schools, wherein the girls of the +neighbourhood were taught to read and work... that the sharpnesse +of their wits and suddennesse of their conceits (which even their +enemies must allow unto them!) might by education be improved into +a judicious solidity." In some of these schools the curriculum +included "Reading and sewing, threepence a week: a penny extra +for manners." An old thirteenth century work, called the "Kleine +Heldenbuch," contains a verse which may be thus translated: + + "Who taught me to embroider in a frame with silk? + And to draw and design the wild and tame + Beasts of the forest and field? + Also to picture on plain surface: + Round about to place golden borders, + A narrow and a broader one, + With stags and hinds lifelike." + +A study of historic embroidery should be preceded by a general knowledge +of the principle stitches employed. + +One of the simplest forms was chain stitch, in which one stitch +was taken through the loop of the stitch just laid. In the Middle +Ages it was often used. Sometimes, when the material was of a loose +weave, it was executed by means of a little hook--the probable +origin of crochet. + +Tapestry stitch, of which one branch is cross-stitch, was formed by +laying close single stitches of uniform size upon a canvas specially +prepared for this work. + +[Illustration: EMBROIDERY ON CANVAS, 16TH CENTURY, SOUTH KENSINGTON +MUSEUM] + +Fine embroidery in silk was usually executed in long smooth stitches +of irregular length, which merged into each other. This is generally +known as satin stitch, for the surface of the work is that of a satin +texture when the work is completed. This was frequently executed +upon linen, and then, when the entire surface had been hidden by the +close silk stitches, it was cut out and transferred on a brocade +background, this style of rendering being known as applique. Botticelli +recommended this work as most durable and satisfactory: it is oftenest +associated with church embroidery. A simple applique was also done +by cutting out pieces of one material and applying them to another, +hiding the edge-joinings by couching on a cord. As an improvement +upon painted banners to be used in processions, Botticelli introduced +this method of cutting out and resetting colours upon a different +ground. As Vasari says: "This he did that the colors might not +sink through, showing the tint of the cloth on each side." But +Dr. Rock points out that it is hardly fair to earlier artificers +to give the entire credit for this method of work to Botticelli, +since such cut work or applique was practised in Italy a hundred +years before Botticelli was born! + +Sometimes solid masses of silk or gold thread were laid in ordered +flatness upon a material, and then sewn to it by long or short +stitches at right angles. This is known as couching, and is a very +effective way of economizing material by displaying it all on the +surface. As a rule, however, the surface wears off somewhat, but +it is possible to execute it so that it is as durable as embroidery +which has been rendered in separate stitches. + +In Sicily it was a common practice to use coral in embroideries +as well as pearls. Coral work is usually called Sicilian work, +though it was also sometimes executed in Spain. + +The garments worn by the Byzantines were very ornate; they were +made of woven silk and covered with elaborate devices. In the fourth +century the Bishop of Amasia ridiculed the extravagant dress of his +contemporaries. "When men appear in the streets thus dressed," he +says, "the passers by look at them as at painted walls. Their clothes +are pictures, which little children point out to one another. The +saintlier sort wear likenesses of Christ, the Marriage of Galilee, +and Lazarus raised from the dead." Allusion was made in a sermon: +"Persons who arrayed themselves like painted walls" "with beasts and +flowers all over them" were denounced! + +In the early Dark Ages there was some prejudice against these rich +embroideries. In the sixth century the Bishop St. Cesaire of Arles +forbade his nuns to embroider robes with precious stones or painting +and flowers. King Withaf of Mercia willed to the Abbey of Croyland +"my purple mantle which I wore at my Coronation, to be made into +a cope, to be used by those who minister at the holy altar: and +also my golden veil, embroidered with the Siege of Troy, to be +hung up in the Church on my anniversary." St. Asterius preached to +his people, "Strive to follow in your lives the teachings of the +Gospel, rather than have the miracles of Our Redeemer embroidered +on your outward dress!" This prejudice, however, was not long lived, +and the embroidered vestments and garments continued to hold their +popularity all through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. + +It has been said on grave authority that "Woman is an animal that +delights in the toilette," while Petrarch, in 1366, recognized the +power of fashion over its votaries. "Who can see with patience," +he writes, "the monstrous fantastical inventions which people of +our times have invented to deform rather than adorn their persons? +Who can behold without indignation their long pointed shoes, their +caps with feathers, their hair twisted and hanging down like +tails,... their bellies so cruelly squeezed with cords that they +suffer as much pain from vanity as the martyrs suffered for +religion!" And yet who shall say whether a "dress-reform" Laura would +have charmed any more surely the eye of the poet? + +Chaucer, in England, also deplores the fashions of his day, alluding +to the "sinful costly array of clothing, namely, in too much superfluity +or else indisordinate scantiness!" Changing fashions have always been +the despair of writers who have tried to lay down rules for aesthetic +effect in dress. "An Englishman," says Harrison, "endeavouring +some time to write of our attire... when he saw what a difficult +piece of work he had taken in hand, he gave over his travail, and +onely drue a picture of a naked man unto whom he gave a pair of +shears in the one hand and a piece of cloth in the other, to the +end that he should shape his apparel after such fashion as himself +liked, sith he could find no garment that could please him any +while together: and this he called an Englishman." + +Edward the Confessor wore State robes which had been beautifully +embroidered with gold by his accomplished wife, Edgitha. In the +Royal Rolls of Edward III., in 1335, we find allusion to two vests +of green velvet embroidered respectively with sea sirens and coats +of arms. The tunics worn over armour offered great opportunities to +the needleworker. They were richly embroidered, usually in heraldic +style. When Symon, Bishop of Ely, performed the ceremony of Churching +for Queen Philippa, the royal dame bestowed upon him the gown which +she wore on that occasion; it is described as a murrey-coloured +velvet, powdered with golden squirrels, and was of such voluminous +pattern that it was cut over into three copes! Bridal gowns were +sometimes given to churches, as well. + +St. Louis of France was what might be called temperate in dress. +The Sire de Joinville says he "never saw a single embroidered coat +or ornamented saddle in the possession of the king, and reproved +his son for having such things. I replied that he would have acted +better if he had given them in charity, and had his dress made of +good sendal, lined and strengthened with his arms, like as the +king his father had done!" + +At the marriage of the Lord of Touraine in 1389, the Duke of Burgundy +presented magnificent habits and clothing to his nephew the Count +of Nevers: among these were tunics, ornamented with embroidered +trees conventionally displayed on their backs, fronts, and sleeves; +others showed heraldic blazonry, while a blue velvet tunic was +covered with balas rubies set in pearls, alternating with suns +of solid gold with great solitaire pearls as centres. Again, in +1390, when the king visited Dijon, he presented to the same nephew a +set of harnesses for jousting. Some of them were composed largely of +sheets of beaten gold and silver. In some gold and silver marguerites +were introduced also. + +Savonarola reproved the Florentine nuns for employing +their valuable time in manufacturing "gold laces with which to +adorn persons and houses." The Florentine gold lace was very popular +in England, in the days of Henry VIII., and later the art was taken +up by the "wire-drawers" of England, and a native industry took the +place of the imported article. Among prohibited gowns in Florence +was one owned by Donna Francesca degli Albizi, "a black mantle of +raised cloth: the ground is yellow, and over it are woven birds, +parrots, butterflies, red and white roses, and many figures in +vermilion and green, with pavilions and dragons, and yellow and +black letters and trees, and many other figures of various colours, +the whole lined with cloth in hues of black and vermilion." As +one reads this description, it seems as though the artistic sense +as much as conscientious scruples might have revolted and led to +its banishment! + +Costumes for tournaments were also lavish in their splendour. In +1467 Benedetto Salutati ordered made for such a pageant all the +trappings for two horses, worked in two hundred pounds of silver +by Pollajuolo; thirty pounds of pearls were also used to trim the +garments of the sergeants. No wonder Savonarola was enthusiastic +in his denunciation of such extravagance. + +Henry VIII. had "a pair of hose of purple silk and Venice gold, +woven like a caul." For one of his favoured lady friends, also, +there is an item, of a certain sum paid, for one pound of gold +for embroidering a nightgown. + +The unrivalled excellence of English woollen cloths was made manifest +at an early period. There was a fabric produced at Norwich of such +superiority that a law was passed prohibiting monks from wearing it, +the reason being that it was considered "smart enough for military +men!" This was in 1422. The name of Worsted was given to a certain +wool because it was made at Worsted, a town in Norfolk; later the +"worsted thread" was sold for needleworkers. + +Ladies made their own gold thread in the Middle Ages by winding +a fine flat gold wire, scarcely of more body than a foil, around +a silk thread. + +Patches were embroidered into place upon such clothes or vestments +as were torn: those who did this work were as well recognized as +the original designers, and were called "healers" of clothes! + +Embroidered bed hangings were very much in order in mediaeval times +in England. In the eleventh century there lived a woman who had +emigrated from the Hebrides, and who had the reputation for witchcraft, +chiefly based upon the unusually exquisite needlework on her bed +curtains! The name of this reputed sorceress was Thergunna. Bequests +in important wills indicate the sumptuous styles which were usual +among people of position. The Fair Maid of Kent left to her son her +"new bed curtains of red velvet, embroidered with ostrich feathers +of silver, and heads of leopards of gold," while in 1380 the Earl +of March bequeathed his "large bed of black satin embroidered with +white lions and gold roses, and the escutcheons of the arms of +Mortimer and Ulster." This outfit must have resembled a Parisian +"first class" funeral! The widow of Henry II. slept in a sort of +mourning couch of black velvet, which must have made her feel as if +she too were laid out for her own burial! + +A child's bedquilt was found mentioned in an inventory of furniture +at the Priory of Durham, in 1446, which was embroidered in the +four corners with the Evangelistic symbols. In the "Squier of Lowe +Degree," a fifteenth century romance, there is allusion to a bed, +of which the head sheet is described "with diamonds set and rubies +bright." The king of England, in 1388, refers, in a letter, to "a bed +of gold cloth." Wall hangings in bedrooms were also most elaborate, +and the effect of a chamber adorned with gold and needlework must +have been fairly regal. An embroiderer named Delobel made a set +of furnishings for the bedroom of Louis XIV. the work upon which +occupied three years. The subject was the Triumph of Venus. + +In South Kensington Museum there is a fourteenth century linen cloth +of German workmanship, upon which occurs the legend of the unicorn, +running for protection to a maiden. An old Bestiary describes how +the unicorn, or as it is there called, the "monocerus," "is an +animal which has one horn on its head: it is caught by means of +a virgin." The unicorn and virgin, with a hunter in pursuit, is +quite a favourite bit of symbolism in the middle ages. + +Another interesting piece of German embroidery in South Kensington +is a table cloth, worked on heavy canvas, in heraldic style: long +decorative inscriptions embellish the corners. A liberal translation +of these verses is given by Dr. Rock, some of the sentences being +quaint and interesting to quote. Evidently the embroideress indulged +in autobiography in the following: "And she, to honour the esquire +her husband, wished to adorn and increase his house furniture, and +there has worked, with her own hand, this and still many other +pretty cloths, to her memory." And in another corner, "Now follows +here my own birthday. When one wrote 1565 my mother's heart was +gladdened by my first cry. In the year 1585 I gave birth my self +to a daughter. Her name is Emilia Catharina, and she has been a +proper and praiseworthy child." Then, to her children the following +address is directed: "Do not forget your prayers in the morning. And +be temperate in your pleasures. And make yourselves acquainted with +the Word of God.... I beseech you to be sincere in all matters. That +will make you great and glorious. Honour everybody according to his +station: it will make you honourably known. You, my truly beloved sons, +beware of fiery wines... you, my truly beloved daughters, preserve +and guard your honour, and reflect before you do anything: many have +been led into evil by acting first and thinking afterwards." In +another compartment, a lament goes up in which she deplores the +death of her husband. "His age was sixty and eight years," she says. +"The dropsy has killed him. I, his afflicted Anna Blickin von +Liechtenperg who was left behind, have related it with my hand in +this cloth, that might be known to my children this greater sorrow +which God has sent me." The cloth is a naive and unusual record of +German home life. + +Ecclesiastical embroidery began in the fourth century. In earliest +days the work was enhanced with quantities of gold thread. The shroud +in which St. Cuthbert's body was wrapped is a mass of gold: a Latin +inscription on the vestments in which the body was clad may be thus +translated: "Queen to Alfred's son and successor, Edward the Elder, +was one Aelflaed, who caused this stole and maniple to be made for a +gift to Fridestan consecrated Bishop of Winchester, A. D. 905." The +maniple is of "woven gold, with spaces left vacant for needlework +embroidery." Such garments for burial were not uncommon; but they +have as a rule perished from their long residence underground. +St. Cuthbert's vestments are splendid examples of tenth century +work in England. After the death of King Edward II., and his wife +Aelflaed, Bishop Frithestan also having passed away, Athelstan, as +King, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Cuthbert and bestowed +these valuable embroideries there. They were removed from the body +of the saint in 1827. The style of the work inclines to Byzantine. +The Saxon embroideries must have been very decorative: a robe is +described by Aldhelme in 709, as "of a most delicate thread of +purple, adorned with black circles and peacocks." At the church at +Croyland some vestments were decorated with birds of gold cut out +and applique and at Exeter they had "nothing about them but true +needlework." + +In the "Liber Eliensis," in the Muniment room at Ely, is an account +of a gift to the church by Queen Emma, the wife of King Knut, who +"on a certain day came to Ely in a boat, accompanied by his wife +the Queen Emma, and the chief nobles of his kingdom." This royal +present was "a purple cloth worked with gold and set with jewels +for St. Awdry's shrine," and the Monk Thomas assures us that "none +other could be found in the kingdom of the English of such richness +and beauty of workmanship." + +The various stitches in English work had their several names, the +opus plumarium, or straight overlapping stitches, resembling the +feathers of a bird; the opus pluvarium, or cross stitch, and many +others. A great deal of work was accomplished by means of applique +in satin and silk, and sometimes the ground was painted, as has +already been described in Italian work. In the year 1246 Matthew +Paris writes: "About this time the Lord Pope, Innocent IV., having +observed that the ecclesiastical ornaments of some Englishmen, +such as choristers' copes and mitres, were embroidered in gold +thread, after a very desirable fashion, asked where these works +were made, and received in answer, 'England.' Then," said the Pope, +"England is surely a garden of delight for us; it is truly a never +failing Spring, and there where many things abound much may be +extorted." This far sighted Pope, with his semi-commercial views, +availed himself of his discovery. + +In the days of Anastatius, ecclesiastical garments were spoken of +by name according to the motive of their designs: for instance, +the "peacock garment," the "elephant chasuble," and the "lion cope." +Fuller tells of the use of a pall as an ecclesiastical vestment, +remarking tersely: "It is made up of lamb's wool and superstition." + +Mediaeval embroiderers in England got into certain habits of work, so +that there are some designs which are almost as hall-marks to English +work; the Cherubim over the wheel is especially characteristic, as +is also the vase of lilies, and various heraldic devices which are +less frequently found in the embroidered work of European peoples. + +The Syon Cope is perhaps the most conspicuous example of the mediaeval +embroiderer's art. It was made by nuns about the end of the thirteenth +century, in a convent near Coventry. It is solid stitchery on a +canvas ground, "wrought about with divers colours" on green. The +design is laid out in a series of interlacing square forms, with +rounded and barbed sides and corners. In each of these is a figure +or a scriptural scene. The orphreys, or straight borders which go +down both fronts of the cope, are decorated with heraldic charges. +Much of the embroidery is raised, and wrought in the stitch known +as Opus Anglicanum. The effect was produced by pressing a heated +metal knob into the work at such points as were to be raised. The +real embroidery was executed on a flat surface, and then bossed up +by this means until it looked like bas-relief. The stitches in every +part run in zig-zags, the vestments, and even the nimbi about the +heads, are all executed with the stitches slanting in one direction, +from the centre of the cope outward, without consideration of the +positions of the figures. Each face is worked in circular progression +outward from the centre, as well. The interlaces are of crimson, and +look well on the green ground. The wheeled Cherubim is well developed +in the design of this famous cope, and is a pleasing decorative bit of +archaic ecclesiasticism. In the central design of the Crucifixion, +the figure of the Lord is rendered in silver on a gold ground. The +anatomy is according to the rules laid down by an old sermonizer, +in a book entitled "The Festival," wherein it is stated that the +body of Christ was "drawn on the cross as a skin of parchment on a +harrow, so that all his bones might be told." With such instruction, +there was nothing left for the mediaeval embroiderers but to render +the figure with as much realistic emaciation as possible. + +The heraldic ornaments on the Syon Cope are especially interesting +to all students of this graceful art. It is not our purpose here +to make much allusion to this aspect of the work, but it is of +general interest to know that on the orphreys, the devices of most +of the noble families of that day appear. + +[Illustration: DETAIL OF THE SYON COPE] + +English embroidery fell off greatly in excellence during the Wars +of the Roses. In the later somewhat degenerate raised embroidery, +it was customary to represent the hair of angels by little tufted +curls of auburn silk! + +Many of the most important examples of ancient ecclesiastical embroidery +are in South Kensington Museum. A pair of orphreys of the fifteenth +century, of German work (probably made at Cologne), shows a little +choir of angels playing on musical instruments. These figures are +cut out and applied on crimson silk, in what was called "cut work." +This differed entirely from what modern embroiderers mean by cut +work, as has been explained. + +The Dalmatic of Charlemagne is given by Louis Farcy to the twelfth +century. He calls it the Dalmatic of Leo III. But Lady Alford claims +for this work a greater antiquity. Certainly, as one studies its +details, one is convinced that it is not quite a Gothic work, nor +yet is it Byzantine; for the figures have all the grace of Greek +work prior to the age of Byzantine stiffness. It is embroidered +chiefly in gold, on a delicate bluish satin ground, and has not +been transferred, although it has been carefully restored. The +central ornament on the front is a circular composition, and the +arrangement of the figures both here and on the back suggests that +Sir Edward Burne Jones must have made a study of this magnificent +dalmatic, from which it would seem that much of his inspiration +might have been drawn. The composition is singularly restful and +rhythmical. The little black outlines to the white silk faces, and +to the glowing figures, give this work a peculiarly decorative +quality, not often seen in other embroideries of the period. It is +unique and one of the most valuable examples of its art in the world. +It is now in the Treasury of the Vatican. When Charlemagne sang the +Gospel at High Mass on the day of his Coronation, this was his +vestment. It must have been a strangely gorgeous sight when Cola di +Rienzi, according to Lord Lindsay, took this dalmatic, and placed it +over his armour, and, with his crown and truncheon, ascended to the +palace of the Popes! + +A very curious Italian piece of the fourteenth century is an altar +frontal, on which the subjects introduced are strange. It displays +scenes from the life of St. Ubaldo, with some incidents also in +that of St. Julian Hospitaler. St. Ubaldo is seen forgiving a mason +who, having run a wall across his private grounds, had knocked +the saint down for remonstrating. Another scene shows the death +bed of the saint, and the conversion of a possessed man at the +foot of the bed: a lady is throwing her arms above her head in +astonishment while the evil spirit flies from its victim into the +air. Later, the saint is seen going to the grave in a cart drawn +by oxen. + +[Illustration: DALMATIC OF CHARLEMAGNE] + +The peacock was symbolical both of knightly vigilance and of Christian +watchfulness. An old Anglo-Norman, Osmont, writes: "The eye-speckled +feathers should warn a man that never too often can he have his +eyes wide open, and gaze inwardly upon his own heart." These +dear people were so introspective and self-conscious, always looking +for trouble--in their own motives, even--that no doubt many good +impulses perished unnoticed, while the originator was chasing mental +phantoms of heresy and impurity. + +Painting and jewelry were sometimes introduced in connection with +embroideries. In the celebrated Cope of St. John Lateran, the faces +and hands of the personages are rendered in painting; but this +method was more generally adopted in the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries, when sincerity counted for less than effect, and when +genuine religious fervour for giving one's time and best labour to +the Lord's service no longer dominated the workers. Gold thread was +used extensively in English work, and spangles were added at quite +an early period, as well as actual jewels set in floral designs. +The finest work was accomplished in the Gothic period, before the +Renaissance came with its aimless scrolls to detract from the dignity +of churchly ornament. + +In the sixteenth century the winged angels have often a degenerate +similitude to tightly laced coryphees, who balance themselves upon +their wheels as if they were performing a vaudeville turn. They +are not as dignified as their archaic predecessors. + +Very rich funeral palls were in vogue in the sixteenth century. A +description of Prince Arthur's burial in 1502 relates how numerous +palls were bestowed, apparently much as friends would send wreaths +or important floral tributes to-day. "The Lord Powys went to the +Queere Doore," writes Leland, "where two gentlemen ushers delivered +him a riche pall of cloth of gould of tissue, which he offered to +the corpse, where two Officers of the Armes received it, and laid it +along the corpse. The Lord Dudley in like manner offered a pall... +the Lord Grey Ruthen offered another, and every each of the three +Earls offered to the corpse three palls of the same cloth of gould... +all the palls were layd crosse over the corpse." + +The account of the obsequies of Henry VII. also contains mention +of these funeral palls: the Earls and Dukes came in procession, +from the Vestry, with "certain palls, which everie of them did +bring solemnly between their hands and coming in order one before +another as they were in degree, unto the said herse, they kissed +their said palls... and laid them upon the King's corpse." At Ann +of Cleves' burial the same thing was repeated, in 1557. Finally +these rich shimmering hangings came to be known in England as "cloth +of pall," whether they were used for funerals or coronations, for +bridals or pageants. + +The London City Guilds possessed magnificent palls; especially +well known is that of the Fishmongers, with its kneeling angels +swinging censers; this pall is frequently reproduced in works on +embroidery. It is embroidered magnificently with angels, saints, +and strange to say, mermaids. The peacock's wings of the angels +make a most decorative feature in this famous piece of old +embroidery. The Arms of the Company are also emblazoned. + +French embroiderers are known by name in many instances; in 1299 +allusion was made to "Clement le Brodeur," who furnished a cope for +the Count of Artois, and in 1316 a magnificent set of hangings was +made for the Queen, by one Gautier de Poulleigny. Nicolas Waquier was +armourer and embroiderer to King John in 1352. Among Court workers in +1384 were Perrin Gale, and Henriet Gautier. In the "Book of Rules" +by Etienne Boileau, governing the "Embroiderers and embroideresses +of the City of Paris," one of the chief laws was that no work should +be permitted in the evening, "because the work of the night cannot +be so good or so satisfactory as that accomplished in the day." +When one remembers the facilities for evening lighting in the middle +ages, one fully appreciates the truth of this statement. + +Matthew Paris, in his Life of St. Alban, tells of an excellent +embroideress, Christine, Prioress of Margate, who lived in the +middle of the twelfth century. In the thirteenth century several +names occur. Adam de Bazinge made, in 1241, by order of Henry III. +of England, a cope for the Bishop of Hereford. Cunegonde, Abbess +of Goss, in Styria, accomplished numerous important works in that +period. Also, Henry III. employed Jean de Sumercote to make jewelled +robes of state. + +On a certain thirteenth century chasuble are the words +"Penne fit me" (Penne made me), pointing to the existence of a +needleworker of that name. Among the names of the fourteenth century +are those of Gautier de Bruceles, Renier de Treit, Gautier de Poulogne, +and Jean de Laon, while Jean Harent of Calais is recorded as having +worked, for Mme. d'Artois, in 1319, a robe decorated "a bestelettes +et a testes." These names prove that the art had been taught in +many cities and countries: Ogier de Gant, Jean de Savoie, Etienne +le Hongre, and Roger de Varennes, all suggest a cosmopolitan and +dispersed number of workers, who finally all appeared in Paris. + +Rene d'Anjou had in his employ a worker in embroidery, named Pierre +du Villant. This artist executed a set of needlework pieces for +the Cathedral of Angers, of such important proportions that they +were known collectively as "La Grande Broderie." In 1462, when +they were put in place, a special mass was performed by way of a +dedication. The letter which accompanied this princely donation +contained the following sentences: "We, Rene, by the Grace of God... +give... to this church... the adornments for a chapell all composd +of golden embroidery, comprising five pieces" (which are enumerated) +"and an altar cloth illustrated with scenes from the Passion of +Our Saviour.... Given in our castle in Angers, the fourth day of +March, 1462. Rene." + +[Illustration: EMBROIDERY, 15TH CENTURY, COLOGNE] + +In 1479 another altar frontal was presented. Two other rich chapels +were endowed by Rene. One was known as La Chapelle Joyeuse, and the +other as La Grande Chapelle des Trepasses. It is likely that the +same embroiderer executed the pieces of all these. + +A guild of embroiderers was in standing in Seville in 1433, where +Ordinances were enforced to protect from fraud and otherwise to +regulate this industry. The same laws were in existence in Toledo. +One of the finest and largest pieces of embroidery in Spain is +known as the Tent of Ferdinand and Isabella. This was used in 1488, +when certain English Ambassadors were entertained. The following +is their description of its use. "After the tilting was over, the +majesties returned to the palace, and took the Ambassadors with +them, and entered a large room... and there they sat under a rich +cloth of state of crimson velvet, richly embroidered, with the +arms of Castile and Aragon." + +A curious effect must have been produced by a piece of embroidery +described in the inventory of Charles V., as "two little pillows +with savage beasts having the heads of armed men, and garnished +with pearls." + +After the Reformation it became customary to use ecclesiastical +ornaments for domestic purposes. Heylin, in his "History of the +Reformation," makes mention of many "private men's parlours" which +"were hung with altar cloths, and their tables and beds covered +with copes instead of carpetts and coverlids." + +Katherine of Aragon, while the wife of Henry VIII., consoled herself +in her unsatisfactory life by needlework: it is related that she +and her ladies "occupied themselves working with their own hands +something wrought in needlework, costly and artificially, which she +intended to the honour of God to bestow upon some churches." +Katherine of Aragon was such a devoted needlewoman, in fact, that on +one occasion Burnet records that she stepped out to speak to two +ambassadors, with a skein of silk about her neck, and explained that +she had been embroidering with her ladies when they were announced. +In an old sonnet she is thus commemorated: + + "She to the eighth king Henry married was + And afterwards divorced, when virtuously, + Although a queen, yet she her days did pass + In working with the needle curiously." + +Queen Elizabeth was also a clever embroiderer; she worked a book-cover +for Katherine Parr, bearing the initials K. P., and it is now in +the Bodleian Library at Oxford. + +Mary Queen of Scots was also said to be skilful with her needle; +in fact it seems to have been the consolation of most queens in +their restricted existence in those centuries. Dr. Rock considers +that the "corporal" which Mary Queen of Scots had bound about her +eyes at the time of her execution, was in reality a piece of her own +needle-work, probably wrought upon fine linen. Knight, in describing +the scene in his "Picturesque History of England," says: "Then the +maid Kennedy took a handkerchief edged with gold, in which the +Eucharist had formerly been enclosed, and fastened it over her eyes;" +so accounts differ and traditions allow considerable scope for varied +preferred interpretation. + +It is stated that Catherine de Medicis was fond of needlework, +passing her evenings embroidering in silk "which was as perfect +as was possible," says Brantome. + +Anne of Brittany instructed three hundred of the children of the +nobles at her court, in the use of the needle. These children produced +several tapestries, which were presented by the queen to various +churches. + +The volatile Countess of Shrewsbury, the much married "Bess of +Hardwick," was a good embroideress, who worked, probably, in company +with the Queen of Scots when that unfortunate woman was under the +guardianship of the Earl of Shrewsbury. One of these pieces is +signed E. S., and dated 1590. + +A form of intricate pattern embroidery in black silk on fine linen +was executed in Spain in the sixteenth century, and was known as +"black work." Viscount Falkland owns some important specimens of +this curious work. It was introduced into England by Katherine of +Aragon, and became very popular, being exceedingly suitable and +serviceable for personal adornment. The black was often relieved +by gold or silver thread. + +The Petit Point, or single square stitch on canvas, became popular +in England during the reign Elizabeth. It suggested Gobelins tapestry, +on a small scale, when finished, although the method of execution +is quite different, being needlework pure and simple. + +In Elizabeth's time was incorporated the London +Company of Broderers, which flourished until about the reign of +Charles I., when there is a complaint registered that "trade was +so much decayed and grown out of use, that a great part of the +company, for want of employment, were much impoverished." + +Raised embroidery, when it was padded with cotton, was called Stump +Work. This was made extensively by the nuns of Little Gidding in +the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Decided changes and +developments took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, +in all forms of embroidery, but these are not for us to consider +at present. A study of historic samples alone is most tempting, +but there is no space for the intrusion of any subject much later +than the Renaissance. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +SCULPTURE IN STONE + +(_France and Italy_) + +Sculpture is not properly speaking the "plastic art," as is often +understood. The real meaning of sculpture is work which is cut +into form, whereas plastic art is work that is moulded or cast +into form. Terra cotta, which is afterwards baked, is plastic; +and yet becomes hard; thus a Tanagra figurine is an example of +plastic art, while a Florentine marble statuette is a product of +sculpture. The two are often confounded. We shall allude to them +under different heads, taking for our consideration now only such +sculpture as is the result of cutting in the stone. The work of +Luca Della Robbia will not be treated as sculpture in this book. +Luca Della Robbia is a worker in plastic art, while Adam Kraft, +hewing directly at the stone, is a sculptor. + +We have no occasion to study the art of the sculptor who produces +actual statues; only so far as sculpture is a companion to architecture, +and a decorative art, does it come within the scope of the arts and +crafts. Figure sculpture, then, is only considered when strictly +of a monumental character. + +In attacking such a subject as sculpture in the Middle Ages it +is impossible to do more than indicate the general tendencies in +different countries. But there are certain defined characteristics an +observance of which will make clear to any reader various fundamental +principles by which it is easy to determine the approximate age and +style of works. + +In the first place, the great general rule of treatment of stone +in the North and in the South is to be mentioned. In the Northern +countries, France, Germany, and England, the stone which was employed +for buildings and their decorations was obtainable in large blocks +and masses; it was what, for our purposes, we will call ordinary +stone, and could be used in the solid; therefore it was possible +for carving in the North to be rendered as deeply and as roundly as +the sculptor desired. In Southern countries, however, and chiefly in +Italy, the stone used for building was not ordinary, but semi-precious +stone. Marble, porphyry, and alabaster were available; and the use +of such material led to a different ideal in architecture and +decoration,--that of incrustation instead of solid piling. These +valuable stones of Italy could not be used, generally speaking, +in vast blocks, into which the chisel was at liberty to plough as +it pleased; when a mass of marble or alabaster was obtained, the +aesthetic soul of the Italian craftsman revolted against shutting +up all that beauty of veining and texture in the confines of a +solid square, of which only the two sides should ever be visible, +and often only one. So he cut his precious block into slices: made +slabs and shallow surfaces of it, and these he laid, as an outward +adornment to his building, upon a substructure of brick or rubble. + +It is easy to perceive, then, the difference of the problem of the +sculptors of the North and the South. The plain, solid Northern +building was capable of unlimited enrichment by carving; this carving, +when deeply cut, with forcible projection, acted as a noble +embellishment in which the principal feature was a varied play of +light and shade; the stone having little charm of colour or texture +in itself, depended for its beauty entirely upon its bold relief, +its rounded statuary, and its well shaped chiselled ornament. The +shallow surface, already beautiful, both in colour and texture, +in the Southern building material, called only for enrichment in +low relief: ornament only slightly raised from the level or simply +perforating the thin slab of glowing stone on which it was used +was the more usual choice of the Italian craftsman. + +This statement applies, of course, only to general principles of +the art of sculpture; there is some flat bas-relief in the North, +and some rounded sculpture in the South; but as a rule the tendencies +are as they have just been outlined. + +Another difference between sculpture in the North and South is +due to the fact that in Italy the work was individual, as a rule, +and in France it was the labour of a Guild or company. In Italy +it is usually known who was the author of any striking piece of +sculpture, while in France it is the exception when a work is signed, +or the names of artisans recorded. In Italy, then, each piece was +made more with a view to its own display, than as a part of a +building, while in France statuary was regarded as an integral part +of the architecture, and rows of figures were used as commonly as +rows of columns in Italy. It is tragic to think of the personal skill +and brilliancy of all these great French craftsmen being absorbed in +one general reputation, while there were undoubtedly among them great +art personalities who would have stood equally with the Pisani if +they had been recognized. + +A good deal of flat carving, especially in the interlace and acanthus +of Ravenna, was accomplished by commencing with a series of drilled +holes, which were afterwards channelled into each other and formed +patterns. When the subsequent finish is not particularly delicate, +it is quite easy to detect these symmetrical holes, but the effect, +under the circumstances, is not objectionable. + +[Illustration: CARVED CAPITAL FROM RAVENNA] + +The process of cutting a bas-relief was generally to outline the +whole with an incision, and then cut away the background, leaving +the simple elevated flat value, the shape of the proposed design. +The modelling was then added by degrees, until the figure looked +like half of a rounded object. While it is often unpractical to refer +one's readers to examples of work in far and various countries, and +advise them instantly to examine them, it is frequently possible +to call attention to well-produced plates in certain modern +art books which are in nearly every public library. To understand +thoroughly the use of the drill in flat sculpture, I wish my +readers would refer to Fig. 121 in Mr. Russell Sturgis's "Artist's +Way of Working," Vol. II. + +In a quaint treatise on Belles Lettres in France nearly two centuries +ago, by Carlencas, the writer says: "It is to no great purpose to +speak of the Gothick sculptures: for everybody knows that they +are the works of a rude art, formed in spite of nature and rules: +sad productions of barbrous and dull spirits, which disfigure our +old churches." Fie on a Frenchman who could so express himself! We +recall the story of how Viollet le Duc made the people of Paris +appreciate the wonderful carvings on Notre Dame. All the rage in +France was for Greek and Roman remains, and the people persisted +in their adoration of the antique, but would not deign to look +nearer home, at their great mediaeval works of art. So the architect +had plaster casts made of the principal figures on the cathedral, +and these were treated so as to look like ancient marble statues; +he then opened an exhibition, purporting to show new discoveries +and excavations among antiques. The exhibition was thronged, and +everyone was deeply interested, expressing the greatest admiration +for the marvellously expressive sculptures. Viollet le Duc then +admitted what he had done, and confessing that these treasures +were to be found in their native city, advised them to pay more +attention to the beauties of Gothic art in Paris. + +We will not enter into a discussion of the relative merits of Northern +and Southern art; whether the great revival really originated in +France or Italy; but this is certain: Nicolo Pisano lived in the +latter half of the thirteenth century, while the great sculptures +of Notre Dame, Paris, and those of Chartres, were executed half +a century earlier. + +But prior to either were the Byzantine and Romanesque sculptures +in Italy and Southern France. Our attention must first be turned +to them. Charles Eliot Norton's definition of this word Romanesque +is as satisfactory as any that could be instanced: "It very nearly +corresponds to the term of Romance as applied to language. It signifies +the derivation of the main elements, both in plan and construction, +from the works of the later Roman Empire. But Romanesque architecture" +(and this applies equally to sculpture) "was not, as it has been +called, a corrupted imitation of the Roman architecture, any more +than the Provencal or the Italian language was a corrupted imitation +of the Latin. It was a new thing, the slowly matured product of +a long period of many influences." + +All mediaeval carving was subordinate to architecture, therefore +every piece of carving was designed with a view to being suitable to +appear in some special place. The most striking difference between +mediaeval and later sculpture is that the latter is designed as +a thing apart, an object to be stood anywhere to be admired for +its intrinsic merit, instead of being a functional component +in a general scheme for beautifying a given building. + +The use of the interlace in all primitive arts is very interesting. +It undoubtedly began in an unconscious imitation of local architecture. +For instance, in the British Isles, the building in earliest times +was with wattles: practically walls of basket work. William of +Malmsbury says that Glastonbury was "a mean structure of wattle +work," while of the Monastery of Iona, it is related that in 563, +Columba "sent forth his monks to gather twigs to build his hospice." +British baskets were famous even so far away as Rome. So the first +idea of ornament was to copy the interlacing forms. The same idea +was worked out synchronously in metal work, and in illuminated +books. Carving in stone, wood, and ivory, show the same influence. + +Debased Roman sculptural forms were used in Italy during the fourth +and fifth centuries. Then Justinian introduced the Byzantine which +was grafted upon the Roman, producing a characteristic and fascinating +though barbaric combination. This was the Romanesque, or +Romano-Byzantine, in the North of Italy generally being recognized +as the Lombard style. The sculptures of this period, from the fifth +to the thirteenth century, are blunt and heavy, but full of quaint +expression due to the elemental and immature conditions of the +art. Many of the old Byzantine carvings are to be seen in Italy. + +The Lombards, when invading Northern Italy, +brought with them a mighty smith, Paul the Deacon, who had much +skill with the hammer. When these rude Norsemen found themselves +among the aesthetic treasures of Byzantium, and saw the fair Italian +marbles, and the stately work of Theodoric and Justinian, they were +inflamed with zeal for artistic expression, and began to hew and +carve rough but spirited forms out of the Pisan and Carrara stones. +The animals which they sculptured were, as Ruskin has said, "all alive: +hungry and fierce, wild, with a life-like spring." The Byzantine +work was quiescent: the designs formal, decent, and monumental. But +the Lombards threw into their work their own restless energy, and +some of their cruelty and relentlessness. Queen Theodolinda, in +her palace at Monza, encouraged the arts; it was because of her +appreciative comprehension of such things that St. Gregory sent +her the famous Iron Crown, of which a description has been given, on +the occasion of the baptism of her son. Under the influence of these +subsequently civilized barbarians many of the greatest specimens of +carving in North Italy came into being. The most delightful little +stumpy saints and sacred emblems may be found on the facade of +St. Michele at Pavia, and also at Lucca, and on the Baptistery +at Parma. The sculptor who produced these works at Parma was a +very interesting craftsman, named Antelami. His Descent from the +Cross is one of the most striking pieces of early sculpture before +the Pisani. He lived in the twelfth century. The figures are of +Byzantine proportions and forms, but have a good deal of grace and +suggestion of movement. + +Among the early names known in Italy is that of Magister Orso, +of Verona. Another, in the ninth century, was Magister Pacifico, +and in the twelfth there came Guglielmus, who carved the charming +naive wild hunting scenes on the portal of St. Zeno of Verona. +These reliefs represent Theodoric on horseback, followed by an +able company of men and horses which, according to legend, were +supplied by the infernal powers. The eyes of these fugitives have +much expression, being rendered with a drill, and standing out +in the design as little black holes--fierce and effective. + +There is a fine round window at St. Zeno at Verona, designed and +executed by one Briolottus, which, intended to represent the Wheel +of Fortune, is decorated all over with little clinging figures, +some falling and some climbing, and has the motto: "I elevate some +mortals and depose others: I give good or evil to all: I clothe +the naked and strip the clothed: in me if any one trust he will +be turned to derision." + +Perhaps the most wonderful carvings on the church of St. Zeno at +Verona are over the arched entrance to the crypt. These, being +chiefly grotesque animal forms, are signed by Adaminus. Among the +humourous little conceits is a couple of strutting cocks carrying +between them a dead fox slung on a rod. Ruskin has characterized +the carvings at Verona, especially those on the porch, as being +among the best examples of the true function of flat decorative +carving in stone. He says: "The primary condition is that the mass +shall be beautifully rounded, and disposed with due discretion and +order;... sculpture is essentially the production of a pleasant +bossiness or roundness of surface. The pleasantness of that bossy +condition to the eye is irrespective of imitation on one side, and +of structure on the other." The more one considers this statement, +the more he is convinced of its comprehensiveness. If the lights +and shadows fall pleasantly, how little one stops to inquire, "What +is the subject? Do I consider that horse well proportioned, or do +I not? Is that woman in good drawing?" Effectiveness is almost +independent of detail, except as that detail affects the law of +proportion. There are varying degrees of relief: from flat (where +the ornament is hardly more than incised, and the background planed +away) to a practically solid round figure cut almost entirely free +of its ground. + +In Venice, until the revival in the thirteenth century, the Greek +Byzantine influence was marked. There is no more complete storehouse +of the art of the East adapted to mediaeval conditions than the +Church of St. Mark's. If space permitted, nothing could be more +delightful than to examine in detail these marvellous capitals and +archivolts which Ruskin has so lovingly immortalized for English +readers. Of all decorative sculpture there is none more satisfying +from the ornamental point of view than the Byzantine interlace +and vine forms so usual in Venice. The only place where these +may be seen to even greater advantage is Ravenna. The pierced +marble screens and capitals, with their restful combinations of +interlacing bands and delicate foliate forms, are nowhere surpassed. +The use of the acanthus leaf conventionalized in a strictly primitive +fashion characterizes most of the Byzantine work in Italy. With +these are combined delightful stiff peacocks, and curious bunches +of grapes, rosettes, and animal forms of quaint grotesqueness. +Such work exemplifies specially what has been said regarding the +use of flat thin slabs for sculptural purposes in the South of +Europe. Nearly all these carvings are executed in fine marbles +and alabasters. The chief works of this period in the round are +lions and gryphons supporting columns as at Ancona and Perugia, +and many other Italian cities. + +In Rome there were several sculptors of the name of Peter. One +of them, Peter Amabilis, worked about 1197; and another, Peter +le Orfever, went to England and worked on the tomb of Edward the +Confessor at Westminster. + +In Bologna is an interesting crucifix probably carved in the eighth +or ninth century. Christ's figure is upon the cross and that of +his mother stands near. The sculptor was Petrus Albericus. On the +cross is an inscription in the form of a dialogue: "My son?" "What, +Mother?" "Are you God?" "I am." "Why do you hang on the cross?" +"That Mankind may not perish." + +The Masters of Stone and Wood were among the early Guilds and +Corporations of Florence. Charlemagne patronized this industry and +helped to develop it. Of craftsmen in these two branches exclusive +of master builders, and recognized artists, there were, in 1299, +about a hundred and forty-six members of the Guild. + +Italy was backward for a good while in the progress of art, for +while great activities were going on in the North, the Doge of +Venice in 976 was obliged to import artists from Constantinople +to decorate St. Mark's church. + +The tombs of this early period in Italy, as elsewhere, are significant +and beautiful. Recumbent figures, with their hands devoutly pressed +together, are usually seen, lying sometimes on couches and sometimes +under architectural canopies. + +The first great original Italian sculptor of the Renaissance was +Nicola Pisano. He lived through almost the whole of the thirteenth +century, being born about 1204, and dying in 1278. What were the +early influences of Nicola Pisano, that helped to make him so much +more more modern, more truly classic, than any of his age? In the +first place, he was born at the moment when interest in ancient +art was beginning to awaken; the early thirteenth century. In the +Campo Santo of Pisa may be seen two of the most potent factors in +his aesthetic education, the Greek sarcophagus on which was carved the +Hunting of Meleager, and the Greek urn with Bacchic figures wreathing +it in classic symmetry. With his mind tuned to the beautiful, the +boy Nioola gazed at the work of genuine pagan Greek artists, +who knew the sinuousness of the human form and the joy of living +with no thought of the morrow. These joyous pagan elements, grafted +on solemn religious surroundings and influences, combined to produce +his peculiar genius. Basing his early endeavours on these specimens +of genuine classical Greek art, there resulted his wonderful pulpits +at Pisa and Siena, and his matchlessly graceful little Madonnas +denote the Hellenistic sentiment for beauty. His work was a marked +departure from the Byzantine and Romanesque work which constituted +Italian sculpture up to that period. An examination of his designs +and methods proves his immense originality. By profession he was +an architect. Of his pulpit in Siena Charles Eliot Norton speaks +with much appreciation. Alluding to the lions used as bases to its +columns, he says: "These are the first realistic representations +of living animals which the mediaeval revival of art has produced; +and in vivacity and energy of rendering, and in the thoroughly +artistic treatment of leonine spirit and form, they have never +been surpassed." It is usually claimed that one may learn much of +the rise of Gothic sculpture by studying the models in the South +Kensington Museum. In a foot-note to such a statement in a book +edited by Ruskin, the indignant editor has observed, "You cannot +do anything of the kind. Pisan sculpture can only be studied in +the original marble: half its virtue is in the chiselling!" Nicola +was assisted in the work on his shrine of St. Dominic at Bologna +by one Fra Guglielmo Agnelli, a monk of a very pious turn, who, +nevertheless, committed a curious theft, which was never discovered +until his own death-bed confession. He absconded with a bone of +St. Dominic, which he kept for private devotions all his subsequent +life! An old chronicler says, naively: "If piety can absolve from +theft, Fra Guglielmo is to be praised, though never to be imitated." + +[Illustration: PULPIT OF NICOLA PISANO, PISA] + +Andrea Pisano was Nicola's greatest scholar, though not his son. +He took the name of his master after the mediaeval custom. His work +was largely in bronze, and the earlier gates of the Baptistery in +Florence are by him. We have already alluded to the later gates +by Ghiberti, when speaking of bronze. Andrea had the honour to +teach the celebrated Orcagna,--more painter than sculptor,--whose +most noted work in this line was the Tabernacle at Or San Michele. +Among the loveliest of the figures sculptured by the Pisani are +the angels standing in a group, blowing trumpets, on the pulpit at +Pistoja, the work of Giovanni. Among Nicola's pupils were his son +Giovanni, Donatello, Arnolfo di Cambio, and Lorenzo Maitani, who +executed the delightful sculptures on the facade of the Cathedral +of Orvieto,--perhaps the most interesting set of bas-reliefs in +detail of the Early Renaissance, although in general symmetrical +"bossiness" of effect, so much approved by Ruskin, they are very +uneven. In this respect they come rather under the head of realistic +than of decorative art. + +Lorenzo Maitani was a genuine leader of his guild of craftsmen, +and superintended the large body of architects who worked at +Orvieto, stone masons, mosaicists, bronze founders, painters, +and minor workmen. He lived until 1330, and practically devoted +his life to Orvieto. It is uncertain whether any of the Pisani +were employed in any capacity, although for a time it was +popularly supposed that the four piers on the facade were their +work. An iconographic description of these sculptures would occupy +too much time here, but one or two features of special interest +should be noted: the little portrait relief of the master Maitani +himself occurs on the fourth pier, among the Elect in heaven, wearing +his workman's cap and carrying his architect's square. Only his +head and shoulders can be seen at the extreme left of the second +tier of sculptures. In accordance with an early tradition, that +Virgil was in some wise a prophet, and that he had foretold the +coming of Christ, he is here introduced, on the second pier, near +the base, crowned with laurel. The incident of the cutting off of +the servant's ear, by Peter, is positively entertaining. Peter +is sawing away industriously at the offending member; a fisherman +ought to understand a more deft use of the knife! In the scenes +of the Creation, depicted on the first pier, Maitani has proved +himself a real nature lover in the tender way he has demonstrated +the joy of the birds at finding the use of their wings. + +The earliest sculptures in France were very rude,--it was rather +a process than an art to decorate a building with carvings as the +Gauls did! But the latent race talent was there; as soon as the +Romanesque and Byzantine influences were felt, a definite school +of sculpture was formed in France; almost at once they seized on +the best elements of the craft and abandoned the worthless, and +the great note of a national art was struck in the figures at +Chartres, Paris, Rheims, and other cathedrals of the Ile de France. + +Prior to this flowering of art in Northern France, the churches +of the South of France developed a charming Romanesque of their +own, a little different from that in Italy. A monk named Tutilon, +of the monastery of St. Gall, was among the most famous sculptors +of the Romanesque period. Another name is that of Hughes, Abbot of +Montier-en-Der. At the end of the tenth century one Morard, under +the patronage of King Robert, built and ornamented the Church of St. +Germain des Pres, Paris, while Guillaume, an Abbot at Dijon, was +at the head of the works of forty monasteries. Guillaume probably +had almost as wide an influence upon French art as St. Bernward +had on the German, or Nicola Pisano on that of Italy. In Metz were +two noted architects, Adelard and Gontran, who superintended the +building of fourteen churches, and an early chronicler says that +the expense was so great that "the imperial treasury would scarce +have sufficed for it." + +At Arles are two of the most famous monuments of Romanesque art, +the porches of St. Trophime, and of St. Gilles. The latter exhibits +almost classical feeling and influence; the former is much blunter +and more Byzantine; both are highly interesting for purposes +of study, being elaborately ornamented with figure sculptures and +other decorative motives. + +Abbot Suger, the art-craftsman par excellence of the Ile de France, +was the sculptor in chief of St. Denis from 1137 to 1180. This +magnificent facade is harmonious in its treatment, betokening plainly +that one brain conceived and carried out the plan. We have not the +names of the minor architects and sculptors who were employed, +but doubtless they were the scholars and followers of Suger, and +rendered work in a similar manner. + +There are some names which have been handed down from early times +in Normandy: one Otho, another Garnier, and a third, Anquetil, +while a crucifix carved by Auquilinus of Moissac was popularly +believed to have been created by divine means. If one will compare +the statues of St. Trophime of Arles with those at St. Denis, it +will be found that the latter are better rounded, those at St. +Trophime being coarsely blocked out; although at first glance one +would say that there was little to choose between them. + +The old font at Amiens is very ancient, older than the church. It +is seven feet long, and stands on short square piers: it resembles +a stone coffin, and was apparently so made that a grown person +might be baptized by immersion, by lying at full length. Angels +holding scrolls are carved at its four corners, otherwise it is +very plain. There is an ancient Byzantine crucifix at Amiens, on +which the figure of Our Lord is fully draped, and on his head is +a royal crown instead of thorns. The figure, too, is erect, as if +to invite homage by its outstretched arms, instead of suggesting +that the arms had to bear the weight of the body. Indeed, it is a +Christ triumphant and regnant though crucified--a very unusual +treatment of the subject in the Middle Ages. It was brought from the +East, in all probability, by a returning warrior from the Crusades. + +The foundation of Chartres was very early: the first Bishop St. +Aventin occupied his see as early as 200 A. D. The early Gothic type +in figure sculpture is always characterized by a few features in +common, though different districts produced varying forms and facial +expressions. The figures are always narrow, and much elongated, from +a monumental sentiment which governed the design of the period. The +influence of the Caryatid may have remained in the consciousness of +later artists, leading them to make their figures conform so far as +expedient to the proportions of the columns which stood behind them +and supported them. In any case, it was considered an indispensable +condition that these proportions should be maintained, and has come +to be regarded as an architectural necessity. As soon as sculptors +began to consider their figures as realistic representations of +human beings instead of ornamental motives in their buildings, +the art declined, and poor results followed. + +The west porch of Chartres dates from the twelfth century. The church +was injured by fire in 1194. In 1226 certain restorations were made, +and an old chronicle says that at that time it was quite fire-proof, +remarking: "It has nothing to fear from any earthly fire from this +time to the day of Judgment, and will save from fires eternal the +many Christians who by their alms have helped in its rebuilding." +The whole edifice was consecrated by St. Louis on Oct. 17, 1260. +The King gave the north porch, and several of the windows, and the +whole royal family was present at this impressive function. + +About the time of William the Conqueror it became customary to +carve effigies on tombstones, at first simple figures in low relief +lying on flat slabs: this idea being soon elaborated, however, +into canopied tombs, which grew year by year more ornate, until +Gothic structures enriched with finials and crockets began to be +erected in churches to such an extent that the interior of the +edifice was quite filled with these dignified little buildings. +In many instances it is quite impossible to obtain any view of +the sanctuary except looking directly down the central aisle; the +whole ambulatory is often one continuous succession of exquisite +sepulchral monuments. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF THE SON OF ST. LOUIS, ST. DENIS] + +Perhaps the most satisfying monument of French Gothic style is +the tomb of the elder son of St. Louis at St. Denis. The majesty +of the recumbent figure is striking, but the little procession of +mourners about the main body of the tomb is absolutely unrivalled +in art of this character. The device of little weeping figures +surrounding the lower part of a tomb is also carried out in an exquisite +way on the tomb of Aymer de Valence in Westminster. + +Some interesting saints are carved on the north portal of Amiens, +among others, St. Ulpha, a virgin who is chiefly renowned for having +lived in a chalk cave near Amiens, where she was greatly annoyed +by frogs. Undaunted, she prayed so lustily and industriously, that +she finally succeeded in silencing them! + +The thirteenth century revival in France was really a new birth; +almost more than a Renaissance. It is a question among archaeologists +if France was not really more original and more brilliant than Italy +in this respect. A glance at such figures as the Virgin from the +Gilded Portal at Amiens, and another Virgin from the same cathedral, +will show the change which came over the spirit of art in that one +city during the thirteenth century. The figure on the right door +of the western facade is a work of the early part of the century. +She is grave and dignified in bearing, her hand extended in favour, +while the Child gives the blessing in calm majesty. This figure has +the spirit of a goddess receiving homage, and bestowing grace: it +is conventional and monumental. The Virgin from the Gilded Portal +is of a later generation. Her attention is given to the Child, +and her aspect is human and spirited,--almost merry. It may be +said to be less religious than the other statue, but it is filled +with more modern grace and charm, and glorifies the idea of happy +maternity: every angle and fold of the drapery is full of life +and action without being over realistic. There is much in common +between this pleasing statue and the Virgins of the Pisani in Italy. + +Professor Moore considers the statue of the Virgin on the Portal +of the Virgin at the west end of Notre Dame in Paris as about the +best example of Gothic figure sculpture in France. He says further +that the finest statues in portals of any age are those of the +north porch at Paris. The Virgin here is marvellously fine also. +It combines the dignity and monumental qualities of the first of +the Virgins at Amiens, with the living buoyancy of the Virgin on +the Gilded Portal. It is the clear result of a study of nature +grafted on Byzantine traditions. It dates from 1250. + +While sculpture was practised chiefly by monastic artists, it retained +the archaic and traditional elements. When trained carvers from +secular life began to take the chisel, the spirit of the world +entered in. For a time this was a marked improvement: later the +pendulum swung too far, and decadence set in. + +A favourite device on carved tympana above portals was the Last +Judgment. Michael with the scales, engaged in weighing souls, was +the tall central figure, and the two depressed saucers of the scales +help considerably in filling the triangular space usually left +over a Gothic doorway. At Chartres, there is an example of this +subject, in which Mortal Sin, typified by a devil and two toads, are +being weighed against the soul of a departed hero. As is customary +in such compositions, a little devil is seen pulling on the side +of the scale in which he is most interested! + +One of the most cheerful and delightful figures at Chartres is +that of the very tall angel holding a sun dial, on the corner of +the South tower. A certain optimistic inconsequence is his chief +characteristic, as if he really believed that the hours bore more +of happiness than of sorrow to the world. + +There is no limit to the originality and the symbolic messages +of the Gothic grotesques. Two whole books might be written upon +this subject alone to do it justice; but a few notable instances +of these charming little adornments to the stern structures of +the Middle Ages must be noticed here. The little medallions at +Amiens deserve some attention. They represent the Virtues and Vices, +the Follies, and other ethical qualities. Some of them deal with +Scriptural scenes. "Churlishness" is figured by a woman kicking +over her cup-bearer. Apropos of her attitude, Ruskin observes that +the final forms of French churlishness are to be discovered in +the feminine gestures in the can-can. He adds: "See the favourite +print shops in Paris." Times have certainly changed little! + +One of these Amiens reliefs, signifying "Rebellion," is that of a +man snapping his fingers at his bishop! Another known as "Atheism" +is variously interpreted. A man is seen stepping out of his shoes at +the church porch. Ruskin explains this as meaning that the infidel +is shown in contradistinction to the faithful who is supposed +to have "his feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace;" +but Abbe Roze thinks it more likely that this figure represents +an unfrocked monk abandoning the church. + +One of these displays the beasts in Nineveh, and a little squat +monkey, developing into a devil, is wittily characterized by Ruskin +as reversing the Darwinian theory. + +The statues above these little quatrefoils are over seven feet +in height, differing slightly, and evidently portrait sculptures +inspired by living models, adapted to their more austere use in +this situation. + +A quiet and inconspicuous example of exquisite refinement in Gothic +bas-relief is to be seen in the medallioned "Portail aux Libraires" +at the Cathedral in Rouen. This doorway was built in 1278 by Jean +Davi, who must have been one of the first sculptors of his time. +The medallions are a series of little grotesques, some of them +ineffably entertaining, and others expressive of real depth of +knowledge and thought. Ruskin has eulogized some of these little +figures: one as having in its eye "the expression which is never +seen but in the eye of a dog gnawing something in jest, and preparing +to start away with it." Again, he detects a wonderful piece of +realism and appreciative work in the face of a man who leans with +his head on his hand in thought: the wrinkles pushed up under his +eye are especially commended. + +In the south transept at Amiens is a piece of elaborate +sculpture in four compartments, which are the figures of many saints. +There is a legend in connection with those figures: when the millers +were about to select a patron saint, they agreed to choose the saint +on whose head a dove, released for the purpose, should alight; +but as the bird elected to settle on the head of a demon, they +abandoned their plan! The figures in these carvings are almost +free of the ground; they appear to be a collection of separate +statuettes, the scenes being laid in three or four planes. It is +not restrained bas-relief; but the effect is extremely rich. The +sculptures in high relief, but in more conventional proportion +than these, which occur on the dividing wall between the choir and +the north aisle, are thoroughly satisfactory. They are coloured; +they were executed in 1531, and they represent scenes in the life +of the Baptist. In the panel where Salome is portrayed as dancing, +a grave little monkey is seen watching her from under the table. +The similar screen surrounding the sanctuary at Paris was the work +of the chief cathedral architect, Jean Renoy, with whom worked +his nephew, Jehan le Bouteiller. These stone carved screens are +quite usual in the Ile de France. The finest are at Chartres, where +they go straight around the ambulatory, the whole choir being fenced +in, as it were, about the apse, by this exquisite work. This screen +is more effective, too, for being left in the natural colour of +the stone: where these sculptures are painted, as they usually +are, they suggest wood carvings, and have not as much dignity as +when the stone is fully recognized. + +The Door of St. Marcel has the oldest carving on Notre Dame in +Paris. The plate representing the iron work, in Chapter IV., shows +the carving on this portal, which is the same that has Biscornette's +famous hinges. The central figure of St. Marcel himself presents +the saint in the act of reproving a naughty dragon which had had +the indiscretion to devour the body of a rich but wicked lady. The +dragon is seen issuing from the dismantled tomb of this unfortunate +person. The dragon repented his act, when the saint had finished +admonishing him, and showed his attachment and gratitude for thus +being led in paths of rectitude, by following the saint for four +miles, apparently walking much as a seal would walk, beseeching +the saint to forgive him. But Marcel was firm, and punished the +serpent, saying to him: "Go forth and inhabit the deserts or plunge +thyself into the sea;" and, as St. Patrick rid the Celtic land of +snakes, so St. Marcel seems to have banished dragons from fair +France. + +[Illustration: CARVINGS AROUND CHOIR AMBULATORY, CHARTRES] + +At Chartres there are eighteen hundred statues, and almost as many +at Amiens and at Rheims and Paris. One reason for the superiority +of French figure sculpture in the thirteenth century, over that +existing in other countries, is that the French used models. There +has been preserved the sketch book of a mediaeval French architect, +Vilard de Honcourt, which is filled with studies from life: and why +should we suppose him to be the only one who worked in this way? + +Rheims Cathedral is the Mecca of the student of mediaeval sculpture. +The array of statues on the exterior is amazing, and a walk around +the great structure reveals unexpected riches in corbels, gargoyles, +and other grotesques, hidden at all heights, each a veritable work +of art, repaying the closest study, and inviting the enthusiast +to undue extravagance at a shop in the vicinity, which advertises +naively, that it is an "Artistical Photograph Laboratory." + +On the door of St. Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris, there is a portrait +statue of St. Genevieve, holding a lighted candle, while "the devil +in little" sits on her shoulder, exerting himself to blow it out! +It is quite a droll conceit of the thirteenth century. + +Of the leaf forms in Gothic sculpture, three styles are enough to +generalize about. The early work usually represented springlike +leaves, clinging, half-developed, and buds. Later, a more luxuriant +foliage was attempted: the leaves and stalks were twisted, and +the style was more like that actually seen in nature. Then came +an overblown period, when the leaves were positively detached, +and the style was lost. The foliage was no longer integral, but +was applied. + +There is little of the personal element to be exploited in dealing +with the sculptors in the Middle Ages. Until the days of the Renaissance +individual artists were scarcely recognized; master masons employed +"Imagers" as casually as we would employ brick-layers or plasterers; +and no matter how brilliant the work, it was all included in the general +term "building." + +The first piece of signed sculpture in France is a tympanum in the +south transept at Paris, representing the Stoning of Stephen. It +is by Jean de Chelles, in 1257. St. Louis of France was a patron of +arts, and took much interest in his sculptors. There were two Jean +de Montereau, who carved sacred subjects in quite an extraordinary +way. Jean de Soignoles, in 1359, was designated as "Macon et Ymageur." +One of the chief "imageurs," as they were called, was Jacques Haag, +who flourished in the latter half of the fifteenth century, in +Amiens. This artist was imprisoned for sweating coin, but in 1481 +the king pardoned him. He executed large statues for the city gates, +of St. Michael and St. Firmin, in 1464 and 1489. There was a sculptor +in Paris in the fourteenth century, one Hennequin de Liege, who +made several tombs in black and white marble, among them that of +Blanche de France, and the effigy of Queen Philippa at Westminster. + +It was customary both in France and England to use colour on Gothic +architecture. It is curious to realize that the facade of Notre +Dame in Paris was originally a great colour scheme. A literary +relic, the "Voyage of an Armenian Bishop," named Martyr, in the +year 1490, alludes to the beauty of this cathedral of Paris, as +being ablaze with gold and colour. + +An old record of the screen of the chapel of St. Andrew +at Westminster mentions that it was "adorned with curious carvings +and engravings, and other imagery work of birds, flowers, cherubims, +devices, mottoes, and coats of arms of many of the chief nobility +painted thereon. All done at the cost of Edmond Kirton, Abbot, who +lies buried on the south side of the chapel under a plain gray +marble slab." H. Keepe, who wrote of Westminster Abbey in 1683, +mentioned the virgin over the Chapter House door as being "all +richly enamelled and set forth with blue, some vestigia of all +which are still remaining, whereby to judge of the former splendour +and beauty thereof." Accounts make frequent mention of painters +employed, one being "Peter of Spain," and another William of +Westminster, who was called the "king's beloved painter." + +King Rene of Anjou was an amateur of much versatility; he painted +and made many illuminations: among other volumes, copies of his own +works in prose and verse. Aside from his personal claim to renown +in the arts, he founded a school in which artists and sculptors +were included. One of the chief sculptors was Jean Poncet, who +was followed in the king's favour by his son Pons Poncet. Poor +Pons was something of a back-slider, being rather dissipated; but +King Rene was fond of him, and gave him work to do when he was +reduced to poverty. The monument to his nurse, Tiphanie, at Saumur, +was entrusted to Pons Poncet. After the death of Pons, the chief +sculptor of the court was Jacques Moreau. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SCULPTURE IN STONE + +(_England and Germany_) + +A progressive history of English sculpture in stone could be compiled +by going from church to church, and studying the tympana, over +the doors, in Romanesque and Norman styles, and in following the +works in the spandrils between the arches in early Gothic work. +First we find rude sculptures, not unlike those in France. The +Saxon work like the two low reliefs now to be seen in Chichester +Cathedral show dug-out lines and almost flat modelling; then the +Norman, slightly rounded, are full of historic interest and +significance, though often lacking in beauty. The two old panels +alluded to, now in Chichester, were supposed to have been brought +from Selsea Cathedral, having been executed about the twelfth century. +There is a good deal of Byzantine feeling in them; one represents +the Raising of Lazarus, and the other, Our Lord entering the house +of Mary and Martha. The figures are long and stiff, and there is +a certain quality in the treatment of draperies not unlike that +in the figures at Chartres. + +Then follows the very early Gothic, like the delightful +little spandrils in the chapter house at Salisbury, and at Westminster, +familiar to all travellers. They are full of life, partly through the +unanatomic contortions by means of which they are made to express +their emotions. Often one sees elbows bent the wrong way to emphasize +the gesture of denunciation, or a foot stepping quite across the +instep of its mate in order to suggest speed of motion. Early Gothic +work in England is usually bas-relief; one does not find the statue +as early as in France. In 1176 William of Sens went over to England, +to work on Canterbury Cathedral, and after that French influence +was felt in most of the best English work in that century. Before +the year 1200 there was little more than ornamented spaces, enriched +by carving; after that time, figure sculpture began in earnest, +and, in statues and in effigies, became a large part of the +craftsmanship of the thirteenth century. + +The transition was gradual. First small separate heads began to +obtain, as corbels, and were bracketed at the junctures of the +arch-mouldings in the arcade and triforium of churches. Then on +the capitals little figures began to emerge from the clusters of +foliage. In many cases the figures are very inferior to the faces, +as if more time and study had been given to expressing emotions +than to displaying form. The grotesque became very general. Satire +and caricature had no other vehicle in the Middle Ages than the +carvings in and out of the buildings, for the cartoon had not yet +become possible, and painting offered but a limited scope to the +wit, especially in the North; in Italy this outlet for humour was +added to that of the sculptor. + +Of the special examples of great figure sculpture in England the +facade at Wells is usually considered the most significant. The +angel choir at Lincoln, too, has great interest; there is real +power in some of the figures, especially the angel with the flaming +sword driving Adam and Eve from Eden, and the one holding aloft a +small figure,--probably typical of the Creation. At Salisbury, too, +there is much splendid figure sculpture; it is cause for regret +that the names of so few of the craftsmen have survived. + +Wells Cathedral is one of the most interesting spots in which to +study English Gothic sculpture. Its beautiful West Front is covered +with tier after tier of heroes and saints; it was finished in 1242. +This is the year that Cimabue was three years old; Niccola Pisano +had lived during its building, Amiens was finished forty-six years +later, and Orvieto was begun thirty-six years later. It is literally +the earliest specimen of so advanced and complete a museum of sculpture +in the West. Many critics have assumed that the statues on the West +Front of Wells were executed by foreign workmen; but there are +no special characteristics of any known foreign school in these +figures. Messrs. Prior and Gardner have recently expressed their +opinion that these statues, like most of the thirteenth century +work in England, are of native origin. The theory is that two kinds +of influence were brought to bear to create English "imagers." +In the first place, goldsmiths and ivory carvers had been making +figures on a small scale: their trade was gradually expanded until +it reached the execution of statues for the outside ornament of +buildings. The figures carved by such artists are inclined to be +squat, these craftsmen having often been hampered by being obliged +to accommodate their design to their material, and to treat the +human figure to appear in spaces of such shapes as circles, squares, +and trefoils. Another class of workers who finally turned their +attention to statuary, were the carvers of sepulchral slabs: these +slabs had for a long time shown the effigies of the deceased. This +theory accounts for both types of figures that are found in English +Gothic,--the extremely attenuated, and the blunt squat statues. At +Wells it would seem that both classes of workmen were employed, +some of the statues being short and some extremely tall. They were +executed, evidently, at different periods, the facade being gradually +decorated, sometimes in groups of several statues, and sometimes +in simple pairs. This theory, too, lends a far greater interest +to the west front than the theory that it was all carried out at +once, from one intentional design. + +St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Baptism, is here represented, +holding a child on his arm, and standing in water up to his knees. +The water, being treated in a very conventional way, coiling about +the lower limbs, is so suggestive of tiers of flat discs, that +it has won for this statue the popular name of "the pancake +man," for he certainly looks as if he had taken up his position +in the midst of a pile of pancakes, into which he had sunk. + +The old statue of St. Hugh at Lincoln is an attractive early Gothic +work. In 1743 he was removed from his precarious perch on the top +of a stone pinnacle, and was placed more firmly afterwards. In a +letter from the Clerk of the Works this process was described. +"I must acquaint you that I took down the antient image of St. +Hugh, which is about six foot high, and stood upon the summit of a +stone pinnacle at the South corner of the West Front... and pulled +down twenty-two feet of the pinnacle itself, which was ready to +tumble into ruins, the shell being but six inches thick, and the +ribs so much decayed that it declined visibly.... I hope to see +the saint fixed upon a firmer basis before the Winter." On the top +of a turret opposite St. Hugh is the statue of the Swineherd of +Stowe. This personage became famous through contributing a peck of +silver pennies toward the building of the cathedral. As is usually +the case, the saint and the donor therefore occupy positions of +equal exaltation! The swineherd is equipped with a winding horn. +A foolish tradition without foundation maintains that this figure +does not represent the Swineherd at all, but is a play upon the +name of Bishop Bloet,--the horn being intended to suggest "Blow +it!" It seems hardly possible to credit the mediaeval wit with no +keener sense of humour than to perpetrate such a far-fetched pun. + +The Lincoln Imp, who sits enthroned at the foot of a cul-de-lampe +in the choir, is so familiar to every child, now, through his +photographs and casts, that it is hardly necessary to describe +him. But many visitors to the cathedral fail to come across the old +legend of his origin. It is as follows: "The wind one day brought +two imps to view the new Minster at Lincoln. Both imps were greatly +impressed with the magnitude and beauty of the structure, and one +of them, smitten by a fatal curiosity, slipped inside the building +to see what was going on. His temerity, however, cost him dear, +for he was so petrified with astonishment, that his heart became +as stone within him, and he remained rooted to the spot. The other +imp, full of grief at the loss of his brother, flew madly round +the Minster, seeking in vain for the lost one. At length, being +wearied out, he alighted, quite unwittingly, upon the shoulders +of a certain witch, and was also, and in like manner, instantly +turned to stone. But the wind still haunts the Minster precincts, +waiting their return, now hopelessly desolate, now raging with +fury." A verse, also, is interesting in this connection: + + "The Bishop we know died long ago, + The wind still waits, nor will he go, + Till he has a chance of beating his foe. + But the devil hopped without a limp, + And at once took shape as the Lincoln Imp. + And there he sits atop of a column, + And grins at the people who gaze so solemn, + Moreover, he mocks at the wind below, + And says: 'You may wait till doomsday, O!'" + +The effigies in the Round Church at the Temple in London have created +much discussion. They represent Crusaders, two dating from the +twelfth century, and seven from the thirteenth. Most of them have +their feet crossed, and the British antiquarian mind has exploited +and tormented itself for some centuries in order to prove, or to +disprove, that this signifies that the warriors were crusaders who +had actually fought. There seems now to be rather a concensus of +opinion that they do not represent Knights Templars, but "associates +of the Temple." As none of them can be certainly identified, this +controversy would appear to be of little consequence to the world +at large. The effigies are extremely interesting from an artistic +point of view, and, in repairing them, in 1840, Mr. Richardson +discovered traces of coloured enamels and gilding, which must have +rendered them most attractive. + +Henry III. of England was a genuine art patron, and even evinced +some of the spirit of socialism so dear to the heart of William +Morris, for the old records relate that the Master Mason, John +of Gloucester, was in the habit of taking wine each day with the +King! This shows that Henry recognized the levelling as Well as +the raising power of the arts. In 1255 the king sent five casks of +wine to the mason, in payment for five with which John of Gloucester +had accommodated his Majesty at Oxford! This is an intimate and +agreeable departure from the despotic and grim reputation of early +Kings of England. + +In 1321 the greatest mediaeval craftsman in England was Alan de +Walsingham, who built the great octagon from which Ely derives its +chief character among English cathedrals. In a fourteenth century +manuscript in the British Museum is a tribute to him, which is +thus translated by Dean Stubbs (now Bishop of Truro): + + "A Sacrist good and Prior benign, + A builder he of genius fine: + The flower of craftsmen, Alan, Prior, + Now lying entombed before the choir... + And when, one night, the old tower fell, + This new one he built, and mark it well." + +This octagon was erected to the glory of God and to St. Etheldreda, +the Queen Abbess of Ely, known frequently as St. Awdry. Around +the base of the octagon, at the crests of the great piers which +carry it, Prior Alan had carved the Deeds of the Saint in a series +of decorative bosses which deserve close study. The scene of her +marriage, her subsequently taking the veil at Coldingham, and the +various miracles over which she presided, terminate in the death +and "chesting" of the saint. This ancient term is very literal, +as the body was placed in a stone coffin above the ground, and +therefore the word "burial" would be incorrect. + +The tomb of Queen Eleanor in Westminster is of Purbeck marble, +treated in the style of Southern sculpture, being cut in thin slabs +and enriched with low relief ornamentation. The recumbent effigy +is in bronze, and was cast, as has been stated, by Master William +Torel. Master Walter of Durham painted the lower portion. Master +Richard Crundale was in charge of the general work. + +Master John of St. Albans worked in about 1257, and was designated +"sculptor of the king's images." There was at this time a school +of sculpture at the Abbey. This Westminster School of Artificers +supplied statuettes and other sculptured ornaments to order for +various places. One of the craftsmen was Alexander "le imaginator." +In the Rolls of the Works at Westminster, there is an entry, "Master +John, with a carpenter and assistant at St. Albans, worked on the +lectern." This referred to a copy which was ordered of a rarely +beautiful lectern at St. Albans' cathedral, which had been made by +the "incomparable Walter of Colchester." Labour was cheap! There +is record of three shillings being paid to John Benet for three +capitals! + +Among Westminster labourers was one known as Brother Ralph, the +Convert; this individual was a reformed Jew. Among the craftsmen +selected to receive wine from the convent with "special grace" is +the goldsmith, Master R. de Fremlingham, who was then the Abbey +plumber. + +There was a master mason in 1326, who worked at Westminster and +in various other places on His Majesty's Service. This was William +Ramsay, who also superintended the building then in progress at +St. Paul's, and was a man of such importance in his art, that the +mayor and aldermen ordered that he should "not be placed on juries +or inquests" during the time of his activity. He was also chief +mason at the Tower. But in spite of the city fathers it was not +possible to keep this worthy person out of court! For he and some +of his friends, in 1332, practically kidnapped a youth of fourteen +named Robert Huberd, took him forcibly from his appointed guardian, +and married him out of hand to William Ramsay's daughter Agnes, +the reason for this step being evidently that the boy had money. +Upon the complaint of his guardian, Robert was given his choice +whether he would remain with his bride or return to his former +home. He deliberately chose his new relations, and so, as the +marriage was quite legal according to existing laws, everything +went pleasantly for Master William! It made no difference, either, +in the respect of the community or the king for the master mason; +in 1344, he was appointed to superintend the building at Windsor, +and was made a member of the Common Council in 1347. Verily, the +Old Testament days were not the last in which every man "did that +which was right in his own eyes." + +Carter gives some curious historical explanations of some very +quaint and little-known sculptures in a frieze high up in the Chapel +of Edward the Confessor in Westminster. One of them represents the +Trial of Queen Emma, and is quite a spirited scene. The little +accusing hands raised against the central figure of the queen, +are unique in effect in a carving of this character. Queen Emma +was accused of so many misdemeanours, poor lady! She had agreed to +marry the enemy of her kingdom, King Canute: she gave no aid to her +sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred, when in exile; and she was +also behaving in a very unsuitable manner with Alwin, Bishop of +Winchester: she seems to have been versatile in crime, and it is +no wonder that she was invited to withdraw from her high estate. + +The burial of Henry V. is interestingly described in an old manuscript +of nearly contemporary origin: "His body was embalmed and cired and +laid on a royal carriage, and an image like to him was laid upon +the corpse, open: and with divers banners, and horses, covered +with the arms of England and France, St. Edward and St. Edmund... +and brought with great solemnity to Westminster, and worshipfully +buried; and after was laid on his tomb a royal image like to himself, +of silver and gilt, which was made at the cost of Queen Katherine... +he ordained in his life the place of his sepulchre, where he is +now buried, and every daye III. masses perpetually to be sungen +in a fair chapel over his sepulchre." This exquisite arrangement +of a little raised chantry, and the noble tomb itself, was the +work of Master Mapilton, who came from Durham in 1416. + +Mr. W. R. Lethaby calls attention to the practical and expedient +way in which mediaeval carvers of effigies utilized their long blocks +of stone: "Notice," he says, "how... the angels at the head and +the beast at the foot were put in just to square out the block, +and how all the points of high relief come to one plane so that +a drawing board might be firmly placed on the statue." Only such +cutting away as was actually necessary was encouraged; the figure +was usually represented as putting the earthly powers beneath his +feet, while angels ministered at his head. St. Louis ordered a +crown of thorns to be placed on his head when he was dying, and +the crown of France placed at his feet. The little niches around +the tombs, in which usually stood figures of saints, were called +"hovels." It is amusing to learn this to-day, with our long established +association of the word with poverty and squalor. + +Henry VII. left directions for the design of his tomb. Among other +stipulations, it was to be adorned with "ymages" of his patron +saints "of copper and gilte." Henry then "calls and cries" to his +guardian saints and directs that the tomb shall have "a grate, +in manner of a closure, of coper and gilte," which was added by +English craftsmen. Inside this grille in the early days was an +altar, containing a unique relic,--a leg of St. George. + +Sculpture and all other decorative arts reached their ultimatum in +England about the time of the construction of Henry VII.'s chapel +at Westminster. The foundation stone was laid in 1502, by Henry +himself. Of the interesting monuments and carvings contained in it, +the most beautiful is the celebrated bronze figure by Torregiano +on the tomb of the king and queen, which was designed during their +lives. Torregiano was born in 1470, and died in 1522, so he is +not quite a mediaeval figure, but in connection with his wonderful +work we must consider his career a moment. Vasari says that he had +"more pride than true artistic excellence." He was constantly +interfering with Michelangelo, with whom he was a student in Florence, +and on one memorable occasion they came to blows: and that was the +day when "Torregiano struck Michelangelo on the nose with his fist, +using such terrible violence and crushing that feature in such a +manner that the proper form could never be restored to it, and +Michelangelo had his nose flattened by that blow all his life." So +Torregiano fled from the Medicean wrath which would have descended +upon him. After a short career as a soldier, impatient at not being +rapidly promoted, he returned to his old profession of a sculptor. +He went to England, where, says Vasari, "he executed many works in +marble, bronze, and wood, for the king." The chief of these was the +striking tomb of Henry VII. and the queen. Torregiano's agreement +was to make it for a thousand pounds: also there is a contract which +he signed with Henry VIII., agreeing to construct a similar tomb +also for that monarch, to be one quarter part larger than that of +Henry VII., but this was not carried out. + +St. Anthony appears on a little sculptured medallion on the tomb +of Henry VII., with a small pig trotting beside him. This is St. +Anthony of Vienna, not of Padua. His legend is as follows. In an +old document, Newcourt's Repertorium, it is related that "the monks +of St. Anthony with their importunate begging, contrary to the +example of St. Anthony, are so troublesome, as, if men give them +nothing, they will presently threaten them with St. Anthony's +fire; so that many simple people, out of fear or blind zeal, every +year use to bestow on them a fat pig, or porker, which they have +ordinarily painted in their pictures of St. Anthony, whereby they +may procure their good will and their prayers, and be secure from +their menaces." + +Torregiano's contract read that he should "make well, surely, cleanly, +and workmanlike, curiously, and substantially" the marble tomb +with "images, beasts, and other things, of copper, gilte." Another +craftsman who exercised his skill in this chapel was Lawrence Imber, +image maker, and in 1500 the names of John Hudd, sculptor, and +Nicolas Delphyn, occur. Some of the figures and statuettes on the +tomb were also made by Drawswerd of York. + +On the outer ribs of Henry VII.'s chapel may be detected certain +little symmetrically disposed bosses, which at first glance one +would suppose to be inconspicuous crockets. But in an admirable +spirit of humour, the sculptor has here carved a series of griffins, +in procession, holding on for dear life, in the attitudes of children +sliding down the banisters. They are delightfully animated and +amusing. + +The well-known figures of the Vices which stand around the quadrangle +at Magdalen College, Oxford, are interpreted by an old Latin manuscript +in the college. The statues should properly be known as the Virtues +and Vices, for some of them represent such moral qualities as Vigilance, +Sobriety, and Affection. It is indeed a shock to learn from this +presumably authoritative source, that the entertaining figure of a +patient nondescript animal, upon whose back a small reptile clings, +is _not_ intended to typify "back biting," but is intended for a +"hippopotamus, or river-horse, carrying his young one upon his +shoulders; this is the emblem of a good tutor, or fellow of the +college, who is set to watch over the youth." But a large number +of the statues are devoted to the Vices, which generally explain +themselves. + +[Illustration: GROTESQUE FROM OXFORD, POPULARLY KNOWN AS "THE +BACKBITER"] + +No more spirited semi-secular carvings are to be seen in England +than the delightful row of the "Beverly Minstrels." They stand on +brackets round a column in St. Mary's Church, Beverly, and are +exhibited as singing and playing on musical instruments. They were +probably carved and presented by the Minstrels or Waits, themselves, +or at any rate at their expense, for an angel near by holds a tablet +inscribed: "This pyllor made the meynstyrls." These "waits" were +quite an institution, being a kind of police to go about day and +night and inspect the precincts, announcing break of day by blowing +a horn, and calling the workmen together by a similar signal. The +figures are of about the period of Henry VII. + +[Illustration: THE "BEVERLY MINSTRELS"] + +The general excellence of sculpture in Germany is said to be lower +than that of France; in fact, such mediaeval German sculpture as +is specially fine is based upon French work. Still, while this +statement holds good in a general way, there are marked departures, +and examples of extremely interesting and often original sculpture +in Germany, although until the work of such great masters as Albrecht +Duerer, Adam Kraft, and Viet Stoss, the wood carver, who are much +later, there is not as prolific a display of the sculptor's genius as +in France. + +The figures on the Choir screen at Hildesheim are rather heavy, +and decidedly Romanesque; but the whole effect is most delightful. +Some of the heads have almost Gothic beauty. The screen is of about +1186, and the figures are made of stucco; but it is exceptionally +good stucco, very different in character from the later work, which +Browning has designated as "stucco twiddlings everywhere." + +Much good German sculpture may be seen in Nueremberg. The Schoener +Brunnen, the beautiful fountain, is a delight, in spite of the +fact that one is not looking at the original, which was relegated +to the museum for safe keeping long ago. The carving, too, on the +Frauenkirche, and St. Sebald's, and on St. Lorenz, is as fine as +anything one will find in Germany. Another exception stands out +in the memory. Nothing is more exquisite than the Bride's Door, +at St. Sebald's, in Nueremberg; the figures of the Wise and Foolish +Virgins who guard the entrance could hardly be surpassed in the +realm of realistic sculpture, retaining at the same time a just +proportion of monumental feeling. They are bewitching and dainty, +full of grace not often seen in German work of that period. + +The figures on the outside of Bamberg Cathedral are also as fine +as anything in France, and there are some striking examples at +Naumburg, but often the figures in German work lack lightness and +length, which are such charming elements in the French Gothic +sculptures. + +At Strasburg the Cathedral is generally conceded to be the most +interesting and ornate of the thirteenth century work in Germany, +although, as has been indicated, French influence is largely +responsible. A very small deposit of this influence escaped into +the Netherlands, and St. Gudule in Brussels shows some good carving +in Gothic style. + +A gruesome statue on St. Sebald's in Nueremberg represents the +puritanical idea of "the world," by exhibiting a good-looking young +woman, whose back is that of a corpse; the shroud is open, and the +half decomposed body is displayed, with snakes and toads depredating +upon it. + +Among the early Renaissance artists in Nueremberg, was Hans Decker, +who was named in the Burgher Lists of 1449. He may have had influence +upon the youth of Adam Kraft, whose great pyx in St. Lorenz's is +known to everyone who has visited Germany. + +Adam Kraft was born in Nueremberg in the early fifteenth century and +his work is a curious link between Gothic and Renaissance styles. +His chief characteristic is expressed by P. J. Ree, who says: "The +essence of his art is best described as a naive realism sustained +by tender and warm religious zeal." Adam Kraft carved the Stations +of the Cross, to occupy, on the road to St. John's Cemetery in +Nueremberg, the same relative distances apart as those of the actual +scenes between Pilate's house and Golgotha. Easter Sepulchres were +often enriched with very beautiful sculptures by the first masters. +Adam Kraft carved the noble scene of the Burial of Christ in St. +John's churchyard in Nueremberg. + +[Illustration: ST. LORENZ CHURCH, NUREMBERG, SHOWING ADAM KRAFT'S +PYX, AND THE HANGING MEDALLION BY VEIT STOSS] + +It is curious that the same mind and hand which conceived and carved +these short stumpy figures, should have made the marvel of slim +grace, the Tabernacle, or Pyx, at St. Lorenz. A figure of the artist +kneeling, together with two workmen, one old and one young, supports +the beautiful shrine, which rears itself in graduated stages to +the tall Gothic roof, where it follows the curve of a rib, and +turns over at the top exactly like some beautiful clinging plant +departing from its support, and flowering into an exquisitely +proportioned spiral. It suggests a gigantic crozier. Before it was +known what a slender metal core followed this wonderful growth, +on the inside, there was a tradition that Kraft had discovered +"a wonderful method for softening and moulding hard stones." The +charming relief by Kraft on the Weighing Office exhibits quite +another side of his genius; here three men are engaged in weighing +a bale of goods in a pair of scales: a charming arrangement of +proportion naturally grows out of this theme, which may have been +a survival in the mind of the artist of his memory of the numerous +tympana with the Judgment of Michael weighing souls. The design is +most attractive, and the decorative feeling is enhanced by two +coats of arms and a little Gothic tracery running across the top. +When Adam Kraft died in 1508, the art of sculpture practically +ceased in Nueremberg. + +[Illustration: RELIEF BY ADAM KRAFT] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +CARVING IN WOOD AND IVORY + +If the Germans were somewhat less original than the French, English, +and Italians in their stone carving, they made up for this deficiency +by a very remarkable skill in wood carving. Being later, in period, +this art was usually characterized by more naturalism than that +of sculpture in stone. + +In Germany the art of sculpture in wood is said to have been in full +favour as early as the thirteenth century. There are two excellent +wooden monuments, one at Laach erected to Count Palatine Henry III., +who died in 1095, and another to Count Henry III. of Sayne, in +1246. The carving shows signs of the transition to Gothic forms. +Large wooden crucifixes were carved in Germany in the eleventh and +twelfth centuries. Byzantine feeling is usual in these figures, +which are frequently larger than life. + +Mediaeval wood carving developed chiefly along the line of altar +pieces and of grotesque adornments of choir stalls. Among the most +interesting of these are the "miserere" seats, of which we shall +speak at more length. + +The general methods of wood carving resemble somewhat +those of stone carving; that is to say, flat relief, round relief, +and entirely disengaged figures occur in both, while in both the +drill is used as a starting point in many forms of design. As with +the other arts, this of carving in wood emanated from the monastery. + +[Illustration: CARVED BOX-WOOD PYX, 14TH CENTURY] + +The monk Tutilo, of St. Gall, was very gifted. The old chronicle +tells us that "he was eloquent, with a fine voice, skilful in carving, +and a painter. A musician, like his companions, but in all kinds +of wind and stringed instruments... he excelled everybody. In building +and in his other arts he was eminent." Tutilo was a monk of the ninth +century. + +A celebrated wood carving of the thirteenth century, on a large +scale, is the door of the Church of St. Sabina in Rome. It is divided +into many small panels, finely carved. These little reliefs are +crowded with figures, very spirited in action. + +Painted and carved shields and hatchments were popular. The Italian +artists made these with great refinement. Sometimes stucco was +employed instead of genuine carving, and occasionally the work was +embossed on leather. They were painted in heraldic colours, and +gold, and nothing could be more decorative. Even Giotto produced +certain works of this description, as well as a carved crucifix. + +Altar pieces were first carved and painted, the backgrounds being +gilded. By degrees stucco for the figures came in to replace the +wood: after that, they were gradually modelled in lower relief, +until finally they became painted pictures with slightly raised +portions, and the average Florentine altar piece resulted. With +the advance in painting, and the ability to portray the round, +the necessity for carved details diminished. + +Orders from a great distance were sometimes sent to the Florentine +Masters of Wood,--the choir stalls in Cambridge, in King's College +Chapel, were executed by them, in spite of the fact that Torregiano +alluded to them as "beasts of English." + +An early French wood carver was Girard d'Orleans, who, in 1379, +carved for Charles V. "ung tableau de boys de quatre pieces." Ruskin +considers the choir stalls in Amiens the best worth seeing in France; +he speaks of the "carpenter's work" with admiration, for no nails +are used, nor is the strength of glue relied upon; every bit is true +"joinery," mortised, and held by the skill and conscientiousness +of its construction. Of later work in wood it is a magnificent +example. The master joiner, Arnold Boulin, undertook the construction +of the stalls in 1508. He engaged Anton Avernier, an image maker, +to carve the statuettes and figures which occur in the course of +the work. Another joiner, Alexander Hust, is reported as working +as well, and in 1511, both he and Boulin travelled to Rouen, to +study the stalls in the cathedral there. Two Franciscan monks, +"expert and renowned in working in wood," came from Abbeville to +give judgment and approval, their expenses being paid for this +purpose. + +Jean Troupin, a "simple workman at the wages of three sous a day," +was added to the staff of workers in 1516, and in one of the stalls +he has carved his own portrait, with the inscription, "Jan Troupin, +God take care of thee." In 1522 the entire work was completed, and +was satisfactorily terminated on St. John's day, representing the +entire labour of six or eight men for about fourteen years. + +In the fifteenth century Germany led all countries in the art of +wood carving. Painting was nearly always allied to this art in +ecclesiastical use. The sculptured forms were gilded and painted, +and, in some cases, might almost be taken for figures in faience, +so high was the polish. Small altars, with carved reredos and +frontals, were very popular, both for church and closet. The style +employed was pictorial, figures and scenes being treated with great +naturalism. One of the famous makers of such altar pieces was Lucas +Moeser, in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. A little later +came Hans Schuelein, and then followed Freidrich Herlin, who carved +the fine altar in Rothenburg. Jorg Syrlin of Ulm and his son of the +same name cover the latter half of the century. + +Bavaria was the chief province in which sculptors in wood flourished. +The figures are rather stumpy sometimes, and the draperies rather +heavy and lacking in delicate grace, but the works are far more +numerous than those of other districts, and vary enormously in +merit. + +Then followed the great carvers of the early Renaissance--Adam +Kraft, and Veit Stoss, contemporaries of Peter Vischer and Albrecht +Duerer, whom we must consider for a little, although they hardly +can be called mediaeval workmen. + +Veit Stoss was born in the early fifteenth century, in Nueremberg. +He went to Cracow when he was about thirty years of age, and spent +some years working hard. He returned to his native city, however, +in 1496, and worked there for the rest of his life. A delicate +specimen of his craft is the Rosenkranztafel, a wood carving in +the Germanic Museum, which exhibits medallions in relief, representing +the Communion of Saints, with a wreath of roses encircling it. Around +the border of this oblong composition there are small square reliefs, +and a Last Judgment which is full of grim humour occupies the lower +part of the space. Among the amusing incidents represented, is that +of a redeemed soul, quite naked, climbing up a vine to reach heaven, +in which God the Father is in the act of "receiving" Adam and Eve, +shaking hands most sociably! The friends of this aspiring climber +are "boosting" him from below; the most deliciously realistic proof +that Stoss had no use for the theory of a winged hereafter! + +Veit Stoss was a very versatile craftsman. Besides his wonderful +wood carvings, for which he is chiefly noted, he was a bridge-builder, +a stone-mason, a bronze caster, painter of altars, and engraver on +copper! Like all such variously talented persons, he suffered somewhat +from restlessness and preferred work to peace,--but his compensation +lay in the varied joys of creative works. His naturalism was marked +in all that he did: a naive old chronicler remarks that he made +some life-sized coloured figures of Adam and Eve, "so fashioned +that one was _afraid_ that they were alive!" Veit Stoss was an +interesting individual. He was not especially moral in all his ways, +narrowly escaping being executed for forgery; but his brilliancy as +a technician was unsurpassed. He lived until 1533, when he died +in Nueremberg as a very old man. One of his most delightful +achievements is the great medallion with an open background, which +hangs in the centre of the Church of St. Lorenz. It shows two large +and graceful figures,--Mary and the Angel Gabriel, the subject +being the Annunciation. A wreath of angels and flowers surrounds +the whole, with small medallions representing the seven joys of the +Virgin. It is a masterly work, and was presented by Anton Tucher +in 1518. Veit Stoss was the leading figure among wood carvers of +the Renaissance, although Albrecht Duerer combined this with his +many accomplishments, as well. + +Some of the carvings in wood in the chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster, +are adapted from drawings by Albrecht Duerer, and are probably the +work of Germans. Two of these, Derrick van Grove and Giles van +Castel, were working at St. George's, Windsor, about the same time. + +The very finest example of Nueremberg carving, however, is the famous +wooden Madonna, which has been ascribed to Peter Vischer the Younger, +both by Herr von Bezold and by Cecil Headlam. It seems very reasonable +after a study of the other works of this remarkable son of Peter +Vischer, for there is no other carver of the period, in all Nueremberg, +who could have executed such a flawlessly lovely figure. + +One of the noted wood carvers in Spain in the Renaissance, was +Alonso Cano. He was a native of Granada and was born in 1601. His +father was a carver of "retablos," and brought the boy up to follow +his profession. Cano was also a painter of considerable merit, but +as a sculptor in wood he was particularly successful. His first +conspicuous work was a new high altar for the church of Lebrija, +which came to him on account of the death of his father, who was +commencing the work in 1630, when his life was suddenly cut off. +Alonso made this altar so beautifully, that he was paid two hundred +and fifty ducats more than he asked! Columns and cornices are arranged +so as to frame four excellent statues. These carvings have been +esteemed so highly that artists came to study them all the way from +Flanders. The altar is coloured, like most of the Spanish retablos. +Cano was a pugnacious character, always getting into scrapes, using +his stiletto, and being obliged to shift his residence on short +notice. It is remarkable that his erratic life did not interfere with +his work, which seems to have gone calmly on in spite of domestic and +civic difficulties. Among his works at various places, where his +destiny took him, was a tabernacle for the Cathedral of Malaga. +He had worked for some time at the designs for this tabernacle, +when it was whispered to him that the Bishop of Malaga intended +to get a bargain, and meant to beat him down in his charges. So, +packing up his plans and drawings, and getting on his mule. Cano +observed, "These drawings are either to be given away for nothing, +or else they are to bring two thousand ducats." The news of his +departure caused alarm among those in authority, and he was urged +to bring back the designs, and receive his own price. + +Cano carved a life-size crucifix for Queen Mariana, which she presented +to the Convent of Monserrati at Madrid. Alonso Cano entered the +Church and became canon of the Cathedral of Granada. But all his +talents had no effect upon his final prosperity: he died in extreme +want in 1667, the Cathedral records showing that he was the recipient +of charity, five hundred reals being voted to "the canon Cano, +being sick and very poor, and without means to pay the doctor." +Another record mentions the purchase of "poultry and sweet-meats" +also for him. + +Cano made one piece of sculpture in marble, a guardian angel for +the Convent at Granada, but this no longer exists. Some of his +architectural drawings are preserved in the Louvre. Ford says that +his St. Francesco in Toledo is "a masterpiece of cadaverous ecstatic +sentiment." + +The grotesques which played so large a part in church art are bewailed +by St. Bernard: "What is the use," he asks, "of those absurd +monstrosities displayed in the cloisters before the reading monks?... +Why are unclean monkeys and savage lions, and monstrous centaurs +and semi-men, and spotted tigers, and fighting soldiers, and +pipe-playing hunters, represented?" Then St. Bernard inadvertently +admits the charm of all these grotesques, by adding: "The variety +of form is everywhere so great, that marbles are more pleasant +reading than manuscripts, and the whole day is spent in looking +at them instead of in meditating on the law of God." St. Bernard +concludes with the universal argument: "Oh, God, if one is not +ashamed of these puerilities, why does not one at least spare the +expense?" A hundred years later, the clergy were censured by the +Prior de Coinsi for allowing "wild cats and lions" to stand equal +with the saints. + +[Illustration: MISERERE STALL; AN ARTISAN AT WORK] + +The real test of a fine grotesque--a genuine Gothic monster--is, that +he shall, in spite of his monstrosity, retain a certain anatomical +consistency: it must be conceivable that the animal organism could +have developed along these lines. In the thirteenth century, this +is always possible; but in much later times, and in the Renaissance, +the grotesques simply became comic and degraded, and lacking in +humour: in a later chapter this idea will be developed further. + +The art of the choir stalls and miserere seats was a natural ebullition +of the humourous instinct, which had so little opportunity for +exploiting itself in monastic seclusion. The joke was hidden away, +under the seat, out of sight of visitors, or laymen: inconspicuous, +but furtively entertaining. There was no self-consciousness in its +elaboration, it was often executed for pure love of fun and whittling; +and for that very reason embodies all the most attractive qualities of +its art. There was no covert intention to produce a genre history of +contemporary life and manners, as has sometimes been claimed. These +things were accidentally introduced in the work, but the carvers +had no idea of ministering to this or any other educational theory. +Like all light-hearted expression of personality, the miserere +stalls have proved of inestimable worth to the world of art, as a +record of human skill and genial mirth. + +[Illustration: MISERERE STALL, ELY: NOAH AND THE DOVE] + +A good many of the vices of the times were portrayed on the miserere +seats. The "backbiter" is frequently seen, in most unlovely form, +and two persons gossiping with an "unseen witness" in the shape +of an avenging friend, looking on and waiting for his opportunity +to strike! Gluttons and misers are always accompanied by familiar +devils, who prod and goad them into such sin as shall make them +their prey at the last. Among favourite subjects on miserere seats +is the "alewife." No wonder ale drinking proved so large a factor in +the jokes of the fraternity, for the rate at which it was consumed, +in this age when it took the place of both tea and coffee, was +enormous. The inmates of St. Cross Hospital, Winchester, who were +alluded to as "impotents," received daily one gallon of beer each, +with two extra quarts on holidays! If this were the allowance of +pensioners, what must have been the proportion among the well-to-do? +In 1558 there is a record of a dishonest beer seller who gave only a +pint for a penny drink, instead of the customary quart! The subject +of the alewife who had cheated her customers, being dragged to hell +by demons, is often treated by the carvers with much relish, in +the sacred precincts of the church choir! + +[Illustration: MISERERE STALL; THE FATE OF THE ALE-WIFE] + +At Ludlow there is a relief which shows the unlucky lady carried +on the back of a demon, hanging with her head upside down, while a +smiling "recording imp" is making notes in a scroll concerning her! +In one of the Chester Mysteries, the Ale Wife is made to confess +her own shortcomings: + + "Some time I was a taverner, + A gentle gossip and a tapster, + Of wine and ale a trusty brewer, + Which woe hath me wrought. + + Of cans I kept no true measure, + My cups I sold at my pleasure, + Deceiving many a creature, + Though my ale were nought!" + +There is a curious miserere in Holderness representing a nun between +two hares: she is looking out with a smile, and winking! + +At Ripon the stalls show Jonah being thrown to the whale, and the +same Jonah being subsequently relinquished by the sea monster. The +whale is represented by a large bland smiling head, with gaping +jaws, occurring in the midst of the water, and Jonah takes the +usual "header" familiar in mediaeval art, wherever this episode is +rendered. + +A popular treatment of the stall was the foliate mask; stems issuing +from the mouth of the mask and developing into leaves and vines. +This is an entirely foolish and unlovely design: in most cases +it is quite lacking in real humour, and makes one think more of +the senseless Roman grotesques and those of the Renaissance. The +mediaeval quaintness is missing. + +At Beverly a woman is represented beating a man, while a dog is +helping himself out of the soup cauldron. The misereres at Beverly +date from about 1520. + +Animals as musicians, too, were often introduced,--pigs playing +on viols, or pipes, an ass performing on the harp, and similar +eccentricities may be found in numerous places, while Reynard the +Fox in all his forms abounds. + +The choir stalls at Lincoln exhibit beautiful carving +and design: they date from the fourteenth century, and were given by +the treasurer, John de Welburne. There are many delightful miserere +seats, many of the selections in this case being from the legend +of Reynard the Fox. + +Abbot Islip of Westminster was a great personality, influencing +his times and the place where his genius expressed itself. He was +very constant and thorough in repairing and restoring at the Abbey, +and under his direction much fine painting and illuminating were +accomplished. The special periods of artistic activity in most of +the cathedrals may be traced to the personal influence of some +cultured ecclesiastic. + +A very beautiful specimen of English carving is the curious oak +chest at York Cathedral, on which St. George fighting the dragon +is well rendered. However, the termination of the story differs +from that usually associated with this legend, for the lady leads +off the subdued dragon in a leash, and the very abject crawl of +the creature is depicted with much humour. + +Mediaeval ivory carving practically commenced with the fourth century; +in speaking of the tools employed, it is safe to say that they +corresponded to those used by sculptors in wood. It is generally +believed by authorities that there was some method by which ivory +could be taken from the whole rounded surface of the tusk, and then, +by soaking, or other treatment, rendered sufficiently malleable to +be bent out into a large flat sheet: for some of the large mediaeval +ivories are much wider than the diameter of any known possible tusk. +There are recipes in the early treatises which tell how to soften +the ivory that it may be more easily sculptured: in the Mappae +Clavicula, in the twelfth century, directions are given for preparing +a bath in which to steep ivory, in order to make it soft. In the +Sloane MS. occurs another recipe for the same purpose. + +Ahab's "ivory house which he made" must have been either covered +with a very thin veneer, or else the ivory was used as inlay, which +was often the case, in connection with ebony. Ezekiel alludes to +this combination. Ivory and gold were used by the Greeks in their +famous Chryselephantine statues, in which cases thin plates of +ivory formed the face, hands, and exposed parts, the rest being +overlaid with gold, This art originated with the brothers Dipoenus +and Scillis, about 570 B. C., in Crete. + +"In sculpturing ivory," says Theophilus, "first form a tablet of +the magnitude you may wish, and superposing chalk, portray with +a lead the figures according to your pleasure, and with a pointed +instrument mark the lines that they may appear: then carve the +grounds as deeply as you wish with different instruments, and sculp +the figures or other things you please, according to your invention +and skill." He tells how to make a knife handle with open work +carvings, through which a gold ground is visible: and extremely +handsome would such a knife be when completed, according to Theophilus' +directions. He also tells how to redden ivory. "There is likewise +an herb called 'rubrica,' the root of which is long, slender, and +of a red colour; this being dug up is dried in the sun and is pounded +in a mortar with the pestle, and so being scraped into a pot, and a +lye poured over it, is then cooked. In this, when it has well boiled, +the bone of the elephant or fish or stag, being placed, is made red." +Mediaeval chessmen were made in ivory: very likely the need for a red +stain was felt chiefly for such pieces. + +The celebrated Consular Diptychs date from the fourth century onwards. +It was the custom for Consuls to present to senators and other +officials these little folding ivory tablets, and the adornment +of Diptychs was one of the chief functions of the ivory worker. +Some of them were quite ambitious in size; in the British Museum +is a Diptych measuring over sixteen inches by five: the tusk from +which this was made must have been almost unique in size. It is +a Byzantine work, and has the figure of an angel carved upon it. + +Gregory the Great sent a gift of ivory to Theodolinda, Queen of +the Lombards, in 600. This is decorated with three figures, and +is a most interesting diptych. + +The earliest diptych, however, is of the year 406, known as the +Diptych of Probus, on which may be seen a bas-relief portrait of +Emperor Honorius. On the Diptych of Philoxenus is a Greek verse +signifying, "I, Philoxenus, being Consul, offer this present to +the wise Senate." An interesting diptych, sixteen inches by six, +is inscribed, "Flavius Strategius Apius, illustrious man, count +of the most fervent servants, and consul in ordinary." This +consul was invested in 539; the work was made in Rome, but it +is the property of the Cathedral of Orviedo in Spain, where it +is regarded as a priceless treasure. + +Claudian, in the fourth century, alludes to diptychs, speaking of +"huge tusks cut with steel into tablets and gleaming with gold, +engraved with the illustrious name of the Consul, circulated among +great and small, and the great wonder of the Indies, the elephant, +wanders about in tuskless shame!" In Magaster, a city which according +to Marco Polo, was governed by "four old men," they sold "vast +quantities of elephants' teeth." + +Rabanus, a follower of Alcuin, born in 776, was the author of an +interesting encyclopaedia, rejoicing in the comprehensive title, +"On the Universe." This work is in twenty-two books, which are +supposed to cover all possible subjects upon which a reader might +be curious.... The seventeenth book is on "the dust and soil of +the earth," under which uninviting head he includes all kinds of +stones, common and precious; salt, flint, sand, lime, jet, asbestos, +and the Persian moonstone, of whose brightness he claims that it +"waxes and wanes with the moon." Later he devotes some space to +pearls, crystals, and glass. Metals follow, and marbles and _ivory_, +though why the latter should be classed among minerals we shall +never understand. + +[Illustration: IVORY TABERNACLE, RAVENNA] + +The Roman diptychs were often used as after-dinner gifts to +distinguished guests. They were presented on various occasions. +In the Epistles of Symmachus, the writer says: "To my Lord and +Prince I sent a diptych edged with gold. I presented other friends +also with these ivory note books." + +While elephant's tusks provided ivory for the southern races, the +more northern peoples used the walrus and narwhale tusks. In Germany +this was often the case. The fabulous unicorn's horn, which is so +often alluded to in early literature, was undoubtedly from the +narwhale, although its possessor always supposed that he had secured +the more remarkable horn which was said to decorate the unicorn. + +Triptychs followed diptychs in natural sequence. These, in the Middle +Ages, were usually of a devotional character, although sometimes +secular subjects occur. Letters were sometimes written on ivory +tablets, which were supposed to be again used in forwarding a reply. +St. Augustine apologizes for writing on parchment, explaining, "My +ivory tablets I sent with letters to your uncle; if you have any +of my tablets, please send them in case of similar emergencies." +Tablets fitted with wax linings were used also in schools, as children +now use slates. + +Ivory diptychs were fashionable gifts and keepsakes in the later +Roman imperial days. They took the place which had been occupied +in earlier days by illuminated books, such as were produced by +Lala of Cyzicus, of whom mention will be made in connection with +book illuminators. + +[Illustration: THE NATIVITY; IVORY CARVING] + +After the triptychs came sets of five leaves, hinged together; +sometimes these were arranged in groups of four around a central +plaque. Often they were intended to be used as book covers. +Occasionally the five leaves were made up of classical ivories +which had been altered in such a way that they now had Christian +significance. The beautiful diptych in the Bargello, representing +Adam in the Earthly Paradise, may easily have been originally +intended for Orpheus, especially since Eve is absent! The treatment +is rather classical, and was probably adapted to its later name. +Some diptychs which were used afterwards for ecclesiastical +purposes, show signs of having had the Consular inscription erased, +and the wax removed, while Christian sentiments were written or +incised within the book itself. Parts of the service were also +occasionally transcribed on diptychs. In Milan the Rites contain +these passages: "The lesson ended, a scholar, vested in a surplice, +takes the ivory tablets from the altar or ambo, and ascends the +pulpit;" and in another place a similar allusion occurs: "When the +Deacon chants the Alleluia, the key bearer for the week hands the +ivory tablets to him at the exit of the choir." + +Anastatius, in his Life of Pope Agatho, tells of a form of posthumous +excommunication which was sometimes practised: "They took away from +the diptychs... wherever it could be done, the names and figures +of these patriarchs, Cyrus, Sergius, Paul, Pyrrhus, and Peter, +through whom error had been brought among the orthodox." + +Among ivory carvings in Carlovingian times may be +cited a casket with ornamental colonettes sent by Eginhard to his +son. In 823, Louis le Debonaire owned a statuette, a diptych, and +a coffer, while in 845 the Archbishop of Rheims placed an order +for ivory book covers, for the works of St. Jerome, a Lectionary, +and other works. + +The largest and best known ivory carving of the middle ages is +the throne of Maximian, Archbishop of Ravenna. This entire chair, +with an arched back and arms, is composed of ivory in intricately +carved plaques. It is considerably over three feet in height, and is +a superb example of the best art of the sixth century. Photographs +and reproductions of it may be seen in most works dealing with +this subject. Scenes from Scripture are set all over it, divided +by charming meanders of deeply cut vine motives. Some authorities +consider the figures inferior to the other decorations: of course +in any delineation of the human form, the archaic element is more +keenly felt than when it appears in foliate forms or conventional +patterns. Diptychs being often taken in considerable numbers and +set into large works of ivory, has led some authorities to suppose +that the Ravenna throne was made of such a collection; but this +is contradicted by Passeri in 1759, who alludes to the panels in +the following terms: "They might readily be taken by the ignorant +for diptychs.... This they are not, for they cannot be taken from +the consular diptychs which had their own ornamentation, referring +to the consultate and the insignia, differing from the sculpture +destined for other purposes. Hence they are obviously mistaken who +count certain tablets as diptychs which have no ascription to any +consul, but represent the Muses, Bacchantes, or Gods. These seem +to me to have been book covers." Probably the selected form of an +upright tablet for the majority of ivory carvings is based on +economic principles: the best use of the most surface from any +square block of material is to cut it in thin slices. In their +architecture the southern mediaeval builders so treated stone, building +a substructure of brick and laying a slab or veneer of the more +costly material on its surface: with ivory this same principle +was followed, and the shape of the tusk, being long and narrow, +naturally determined the form of the resulting tablets. + +The Throne of Ivan III. in Moscow and that of St. Peter in Rome +are also magnificent monuments of this art. Ivory caskets were the +chief manifestation of taste in that medium, during the period of +transition from the eighth century until the revival of Byzantine +skill in the tenth century. This form of sculpture was at its best +at a time when stone sculpture was on the decline. + +There is a fascinating book cover in Ravenna which is a good example +of sixth century work of various kinds. In the centre, Christ is +seen, enthroned under a kind of palmetto canopy; above him, on +a long panel, are two flying angels displaying a cross set in a +wreath; at either end stand little squat figures, with balls and +crosses in their hands. Scenes from the miracles of Our Lord occupy +the two side panels, which are subdivided so that there are four +scenes in all; they are so quaint as to be really grotesque, but +have a certain blunt charm which is enhanced by the creamy lumpiness +of the material in which they are rendered. The healing of the +blind, raising of the dead, and the command to the man by the pool +to take up his bed and walk, are accurately represented; the bed +in this instance is a form of couch with a wooden frame and +mattress, the carrying of which would necessitate an unusual amount +of strength on the part of even a strong, well man. One of the most +naive of these panels of the miracles is the curing of "one +possessed:" the boy is tied with cords by the wrists and ankles, +while, at the touch of the Master, a little demon is seen issuing +from the top of the head of the sufferer, waving its arms proudly +to celebrate its freedom! Underneath is a small scene of the three +Children in the Fiery Furnace; they look as if they were presenting +a vaudeville turn, being spirited in action, and very dramatic. +Below all, is a masterly panel of Jonah and the whale,--an old +favourite, frequently appearing in mediaeval art. The whale, +positively smiling and sportive, eagerly awaits his prey at the +right. Jonah is making a graceful dive from the ship, apparently +with an effort to land in the very jaws of the whale. At the +opposite side, the whale, having coughed up his victim, looks +disappointed, while Jonah, in an attitude of lassitude suggestive +of sea-sickness, reclines on a bank; an angel, with one finger +lifted as if in reproach, is hurrying towards him. + +An ingenuous ivory carving of the ninth century in Carlovingian +style is a book cover on which is depicted the finding of St. Gall, +by tame bears in the wilderness. These bears, walking decorously +on their hind legs, are figured as carrying bread to the hungry +saint: one holds a long French loaf of a familiar pattern, and +the other a breakfast roll! + +Bernward of Hildesheim had a branch for ivory carving in his celebrated +academy, to which allusion has been made. + +Ivory drinking horns were among the most beautiful and ornate examples +of secular ivories. They were called Oliphants, because the tusks +of elephants were chiefly used in their manufacture. In 1515 the +Earl of Ormonde leaves in his will "a little white horn of ivory +garnished at both ends with gold," and in St. Paul's in the thirteenth +century, there is mention of "a great horn of ivory engraved with +beasts and birds." The Horn of Ulphas at York is an example of the +great drinking horns from which the Saxons and Danes, in early +days, drank in token of transfer of lands; as we are told by an old +chronicler, "When he gave the horn that was to convey his estate, +he filled it with wine, and went on his knees before the altar... +so that he drank it off in testimony that thereby he gave them +his lands." This horn was given by Ulphas to the Cathedral with +certain lands, a little before the Conquest, and placed by him +on the altar. + +Interesting ivories are often the pastoral staves +carried by bishops. That of Otho Bishop of Hildesheim in 1260 is +inscribed in the various parts: "Persuade by the lower part; rule +by the middle; and correct by the point." These were apparently +the symbolic functions of the crozier. The French Gothic ivory +croziers are perhaps more beautiful than others, the little figures +standing in the carved volutes being especially delicate and graceful. + +[Illustration: PASTORAL STAFF; IVORY, GERMAN, 12TH CENTURY] + +Before a mediaeval bishop could perform mass he was enveloped in +a wrapper, and his hair was combed "respectfully and lightly" (no +tugging!) by the deacon. This being a part of the regular ceremonial, +special carved combs of ivory, known as Liturgical Combs, were used. +Many of them remain in collections, and they are often ornamented in +the most delightful way, with little processions and Scriptural scenes +in bas-relief. In the Regalia of England, there was mentioned among +things destroyed in 1649, "One old comb of horn, worth nothing." +According to Davenport, this may have been the comb used in smoothing +the king's hair on the occasion of a Coronation. + +The rich pulpit at Aix la Chapelle is covered with plates of gold +set with stones and ivory carvings; these are very fine. It was +given to the cathedral by the Emperor Henry II. The inscription +may be thus translated: "Artfully brightened in gold and precious +stones, this pulpit is here dedicated by King Henry with reverence, +desirous of celestial glory: richly it is decorated with his own +treasures, for you, most Holy Virgin, in order that you may obtain +the highest gain as a future reward for him." The sentiment is +not entirely disinterested; but are not motives generally mixed? +St. Bernard preached a Crusade from this pulpit in 1146. The ivory +carvings are very ancient, and remarkably fine, representing figures +from the Greek myths. + +Ivory handles were usual for the fly-fan, or flabellum, used at +the altar, to keep flies and other insects away from the Elements. +One entry in an inventory in 1429 might be confusing if one did not +know of this custom: the article is mentioned as "one muscifugium +de pecock" meaning a fly-fan of peacock's feathers! + +Small round ivory boxes elaborately sculptured were used both for +Reserving the Host and for containing relics. In the inventory of +the Church of St. Mary Hill, London, was mentioned, in the fifteenth +century, "a lytill yvory cofyr with relyks." At Durham, in 1383, +there is an account of an "ivory casket conteining a vestment of +St. John the Baptist," and in the fourteenth century, in the same +collection, was "a tooth of St. Gendulphus, good for the Falling +Sickness, in a small ivory pyx." + +[Illustration: IVORY MIRROR CASE; EARTH 14TH CENTURY] + +Ivory mirror backs lent themselves well to decorations of a more +secular nature: these are often carved with the Siege of the Castle +of Love, and with scenes from the old Romances; tournaments were +very popular, with ladies in balconies above pelting the heroes +with roses as large as themselves, and the tutor Aristotle "playing +horse" was a great favourite. Little elopements on horseback were +very much liked, too, as subjects; sometimes rows of heroes on steeds +appear, standing under windows, from which, in a most wholesale +way, whole nunneries or boarding-schools seem to be descending to +fly with them. One of these mirrors shows Huon of Bordeaux playing +at chess with the king's daughter: another represents a castle, +which occupies the upper centre of the circle, and under the window +is a drawbridge, across which passes a procession of mounted knights. +One of these has paused, and, standing balancing himself in a most +precarious way on the pommels of his saddle, is assisting a lady to +descend from a window. Below are seen others, or perhaps the same +lovers, in a later stage of the game, escaping in a boat. At the +windows are the heads of other ladies awaiting their turn to be +carried off. + +[Illustration: IVORY MIRROR CASE, 1340] + +An ivory chest of simple square shape, once the property of the Rev. +Mr. Bowle, is given in detail by Carter in the Ancient Specimens, +and is as interesting an example of allegorical romance as can +be imagined. Observe the attitude of the knight who has laid his +sword across a chasm in order to use it as a bridge. He is proceeding +on all fours, with unbent knees, right up the sharp edge of the blade! + +Among small box shrines which soon developed in Christian times +from the Consular diptychs is one, in the inventory of Roger de +Mortimer, "a lyttle long box of yvory, with an ymage of Our ladye +therein closed." + +The differences in expression between French, English, and German +ivory carvings is quite interesting. The French faces and figures +have always a piquancy of action: the nose is a little retroussee +and the eyelids long. The German shows more solidity of person, +less transitoriness and lightness about the figure, and the nose +is blunter. The English carvings are often spirited, so as to be +almost grotesque in their strenuousness, and the tool-mark is visible, +giving ruggedness and interest. + +Nothing could be more exquisite than the Gothic shrines in ivory +made in the thirteenth century, but descriptions, unless accompanied +by illustrations, could give little idea of their individual charm, +for the subject is usually the same: the Virgin and child, in the +central portion of the triptych, while scenes from the Passion +occupy the spaces on either side, in the wings. + +Statuettes in the round were rare in early Christian times: one of +the Good Shepherd in the Basilewski collection is almost unique, +but pyxes in cylindrical form were made, the sculpture on them +being in relief. In small ivory statuettes it was necessary to +follow the natural curve of the tusk in carving the figure, hence +the usual twisted, and sometimes almost contorted forms often seen +in these specimens. Later, this peculiarity was copied in stone, +unconsciously, simply because the style had become customary. One +of the most charming little groups of figures in ivory is in the +Louvre, the Coronation of the Virgin. The two central figures are +flanked by delightful jocular little angels, who have that +characteristic close-lipped, cat-like smile, which is a regular +feature in all French sculpture of the Gothic type. In a little +triptych of the fourteenth century, now in London, there is the +rather unusual scene of Joseph, sitting opposite the Virgin, and +holding the Infant in his arms. + +Among the few names of mediaeval ivory carvers known, are Henry de +Gres, in 1391, Heliot, 1390, and Henry de Senlis, in 1484. Heliot +is recorded as having produced for Philip the Bold "two large ivory +tablets with images, one of which is the... life of Monsieur St. +John Baptist." This polite description occurs in the Accounts of +Amiot Arnaut, in 1392. + +A curious freak of the Gothic period was the making of ivory statuettes +of the Virgin, which opened down the centre (like the Iron Maiden +of Nueremberg), and disclosed within a series of Scriptural scenes +sculptured on the back and on both sides. These images were called +Vierges Ouvrantes, and were decidedly more curious than beautiful. + +In the British Museum is a specimen of northern work, a basket cut +out from the bone of a whale; it is Norse in workmanship, and there +is a Runic inscription about the border, which has been thus +translated: + + "The whale's bones from the fishes' flood + I lifted on Fergen Hill: + He was dashed to death in his gambols + And aground he swam in the shallows." + +Fergen Hill refers to an eminence near Durham. + +[Illustration: CHESSMAN FROM LEWIS] + +Some very ancient chessmen are preserved in the British Museum, in +particular a set called the Lewis Chessmen. They were discovered +in the last century, being laid bare by the pick axe of a labourer. +These chessmen have strange staring eyes; when the workman saw +them, he took them for gnomes who had come up out of the bowels +of the earth, to annoy him, and he rushed off in terror to report +what proved to be an important archaeological discovery. + +One of the chessmen of Charlemagne is to be seen in Paris: he rides +an elephant, and is attended by a cortege, all in one piece. Sometimes +these men are very elaborate ivory carvings in themselves. + +As Mr. Maskell points out that bishops did not wear mitres, according +to high authority, until after the year 1000, it is unlikely that +any of the ancient chessmen in which the Bishop appears in a mitre +should be of earlier date than the eleventh century. There is one +fine Anglo-Saxon set of draughts in which the white pieces are +of walrus ivory, and the black pieces, of genuine jet. + +Paxes, which were passed about in church for the Kiss of Peace, +were sometimes made of ivory. + +There are few remains of early Spanish ivory sculpture. Among them +is a casket curiously and intricately ornamented and decorated, +with the following inscription: "In the Name of God, The Blessing +of God, the complete felicity, the happiness, the fulfilment of +the hope of good works, and the adjourning of the fatal period +of death, be with Hagib Seifo.... This box was made by his orders +under the inspection of his slave Nomayr, in the year 395." Ivory +caskets in Spain were often used to contain perfumes, or to serve as +jewel boxes. It was customary, also, to use them to convey presents +of relics to churches. Ivory was largely used in Spain for inlay +in fine furniture. + +King Don Sancho ordered a shrine, in 1033, to contain the relics +of St. Millan. The ivory plaques which are set about this shrine +are interesting specimens of Spanish art under Oriental domination. +Under one little figure is inscribed Apparitio Scholastico, and +Remirus Rex under another, while a figure of a sculptor carving a +shield, with a workman standing by him, is labelled "Magistro and +Ridolpho his son." + +Few individual ivory carvers are known by name. A French artist, +Jean Labraellier, worked in ivory for Charles V. of France; and +in Germany it must have been quite a fashionable pursuit in high +life; the Elector of Saxony, August the Pious, who died in 1586, +was an ivory worker, and there are two snuff-boxes shown as the +work of Peter the Great. The Elector of Brandenburgh and Maximilian +of Bavaria both carved ivory for their own recreation. In the +seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were many well-known +sculptors who turned their attention to ivory; but our researches +hardly carry us so far. + +For a moment, however, I must touch on the subject of billiard +balls. It may interest our readers to know that the size of the +little black dot on a ball indicates its quality. The nerve which +runs through a tusk, is visible at this point, and a ball made from +the ivory near the end of the tusk, where the nerve has tapered +off to its smallest proportions, is the best ball. The finest balls +of all are made from short stubby tusks, which are known as "ball +teeth." The ivory in these is closer in grain, and they are much +more expensive. Very large tusks are more liable to have coarse +grained bony spaces near the centre. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +INLAY AND MOSAIC + +There are three kinds of inlay, one where the pattern is incised, +and a plastic filling pressed in, and allowed to harden, on the +principle of a niello; another, where both the piece to be set +in and the background are cut out separately; and a third, where +a number of small bits are fitted together as in a mosaic. The +pavement in Siena is an example of the first process. The second +process is often accomplished with a fine saw, like what is popularly +known as a jig saw, cutting the same pattern in light and dark +wood, one layer over another; the dark can then be set into the +light, and the light in the dark without more than one cutting +for both. The mosaic of small pieces can be seen in any of the +Southern churches, and, indeed, now in nearly every country. It +was the chief wall treatment of the middle ages. + +[Illustration: MARBLE INLAY FROM LUCCA] + +About the year 764, Maestro Giudetto ornamented the delightful +Church of St. Michele at Lucca. This work, or at least the best of +it, is a procession of various little partly heraldic and partly +grotesque animals, inlaid with white marble on a ground of green +serpentine. They are full of the best expression of mediaeval art. +The Lion of Florence, the Hare of Pisa, the Stork of Perugia, the +Dragon of Pistoja, are all to be seen in these simple mosaics, +if one chooses to consider them as such, hardly more than white +silhouettes, and yet full of life and vigour. The effect is that +of a vast piece of lace,--the real cut work of the period. Absurd +little trees, as space fillers, are set in the green and white +marble. Every reader will remember how Ruskin was enthusiastic over +these little creatures, and no one can fail to feel their charm. + +The pavements at the Florentine Baptistery and at San Miniato are +interesting examples of inlay in black and white marble. They are +early works, and are the natural forerunners of the marvellous +pavement at Siena, which is the most remarkable of its kind in the +world. + +The pavement masters worked in varying methods. The first of these +was the joining together of large flat pieces of marble, cut in +the shapes of the general design, and then outlining on them an +actual black drawing by means of deeply cut channels, filled with +hard black cement. The channels were first cut superficially and +then emphasized and deepened by the use of a drill, in a series +of holes. + +[Illustration: DETAIL OF PAVEMENT, BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE] + +Later workers used black marbles for the backgrounds, red for the +ground, and white for the figures, sometimes adding touches of +yellow inlay for decorations, jewels, and so forth. Some of the +workers even used gray marble to represent shadows, but this was +very difficult, and those who attempted less chiaroscuro were more +successful from a decorator's point of view. + +This work covered centuries. The earliest date of the ornamental +work in Siena is 1369. From 1413 to 1423 Domenico del Coro, a famous +worker in glass and in intarsia, was superintendent of the works. The +beauty and spirit of much of the earlier inlay have been impaired +by restoration, but the whole effect is unique, and on so vast a +scale that one hesitates to criticize it just as one hesitates +to criticize the windows at Gouda. + +One compartment of the floor is in genuine mosaic, dating from +1373. The designer is unknown, but the feeling is very Sienese; +Romulus and Remus are seen in their customary relation to the +domesticated wolf, while the symbolical animals of various Italian +cities are arranged in a series of circles around this centrepiece. +One of the most striking designs is that of Absalom, hanging by +his hair. It is in sharp black and white, and the foliage of the +trees is remarkably decorative, rendered with interesting minutiae. +This is attributed to Pietro del Minella, and was begun in 1447. + +A very interesting composition is that of the Parable of the Mote and +the Beam. This is an early work, about 1375; it shows two gentlemen +in the costume of the period, arguing in courtly style, one apparently +declaiming to the other how much better it would be for him if +it were not for the mote in his eye, while from the eye of the +speaker himself extends, at an impossible angle, a huge wedge of +wood, longer than his head, from which he appears to suffer no +inconvenience, and which seems to have defied the laws of gravitation! + +The renowned Matteo da Siena worked on the pavement; he designed +the scene of the Massacre of the Innocents--it seems to have been +always his favourite subject. He was apparently of a morbid turn. + +In 1505 Pinturicchio was paid for a work on the floor: "To master +Bernardino Pinturicchio, ptr., for his labour in making a cartoon +for the design of Fortune, which is now being made in the Cathedral, +on this 13th day of March, 12 Lires for our said Master Alberto." +The mosaic is in red, black, and white, while other coloured marbles +are introduced in the ornamental parts of the design, several of which +have been renewed. Fortune herself has been restored, also, as have +most of the lower figures in the composition. Her precariousness +is well indicated by her action in resting one foot on a ball, and +the other on an unstable little boat which floats, with broken +mast, by the shore. She holds a sail above her head, so that she +is liable to be swayed by varying winds. The three upper figures +are in a better state of preservation than the others. + +[Illustration: DETAIL OF PAVEMENT, SIENA; "FORTUNE," BY PINTURICCHIO] + +There was also in France some interest in mosaic during the eleventh +century. At St. Remi in Rheims was a celebrated pavement in which +enamels were used as well as marbles. Among the designs which appeared +on this pavement, which must have positively rivalled Siena in its +glory, was a group of the Seven Arts, as well as numerous Biblical +scenes. It is said that certain bits of valuable stone, like jasper, +were exhibited in marble settings, like "precious stones in a ring." +There were other French pavements, of the eleventh century, which +were similar in their construction, in which terra cotta was employed +for the reds. + +"Pietra Dura" was a mosaic laid upon either a thick wood or a marble +foundation. Lapis lazuli, malachite, and jasper were used largely, +as well as bloodstones, onyx, and Rosso Antico. In Florentine Pietra +Dura work, the inlay of two hard and equally cut materials reached +its climax. + +Arnolfo del Cambio, who built the Cathedral of Sta. Maria Fiore in +Florence, being its architect from 1294 till 1310, was the first +in that city to use coloured slabs and panels of marble in a sort +of flat mosaic on a vast scale on the outside of buildings. His +example has been extensively followed throughout Italy. The art +of Pietra Dura mosaic began under Cosimo I. who imported it, if +one may use such an expression, from Lombardy. It was used chiefly, +like Gobelins Tapestry, to make very costly presents, otherwise +unprocurable, for grandees and crowned heads. For a long time the +work was a Royal monopoly. There are several interesting examples +in the Pitti Palace, in this case in the form of tables. Flowers, +fruits, shells, and even figures and landscapes have been represented +in this manner. + +Six masters of the art of Pietra Dura came from Milan in 1580, +to instruct the Florentines: and a portrait of Cosimo I. was the +first important result of their labours. It was executed by Maestro +Francesco Ferucci. The Medicean Mausoleum in Florence exhibits +magnificent specimens of this craft. + +In the time of Ferdinand I. the art was carried by Florentines +to India, where it was used in decorating some of the palaces. +Under Ferdinand II. Pietra Dura reached its climax, there being +in Florence at this time a most noted Frenchman, Luigi Siries, +who settled in Florence in 1722. He refined the art by ceasing to +use the stone as a pigment in producing pictures, and employing +it for the more legitimate purposes of decoration. Some of the +large tables in the Pitti are his work. Flowers and shells on a +porphyry ground were especially characteristic of Siries. There was +a famous inlayer of tables, long before this time, named Antonio +Leopardi, who lived from 1450 to 1525. + +The inlay of wood has been called marquetry and intarsia, and was +used principally on furniture and choir stalls. Labarte gives the +origin of this art in Italy to the twelfth century. The Guild of +Carpenters in Florence had a branch of Intarsiatura workers, which +included all forms of inlay in wood. It is really more correct +to speak of intarsia when we allude to early Italian work, the +word being derived from "interserere," the Latin for "insert;" +while marquetry originates in France, much later, from "marqueter," +to mark. Italian wood inlay began in Siena, where one Manuello is +reported to have worked in the Cathedral in 1259. Intarsia was +also made in Orvieto at this time. Vasari did not hold the art in +high estimation, saying that it was practised by "those persons who +possessed more patience than skill in design," and I confess to a +furtive concurrence in Vasari's opinion. He criticizes it a little +illogically, however, when he goes on to say that the "work soon +becomes dark, and is always in danger of perishing from the worms +and by fire," for in these respects it is no more perishable than +any great painting on canvas or panel. Vasari always is a little +extreme, as we know. + +The earliest Italian workers took a solid block of wood, chiselled +out a sunken design, and then filled in the depression with other +woods. The only enemy to such work was dampness, which might loosen +the glue, or cause the small thin bits to swell or warp. The glue +was applied always when the surfaces were perfectly clean, and +the whole was pressed, being screwed down on heated metal plates, +that all might dry evenly. + +In 1478 there were thirty-four workshops of intarsia makers in +Florence. The personal history of several of the Italian workers +in inlay is still available, and, as it makes a craft seem much +more vital when the names of the craftsmen are known to us, it +will be interesting to glance at a few names of prominent artists +in this branch of work. Bernardo Agnolo and his family are among +them; and Domenico and Giovanni Tasso were wood-carvers who worked +with Michelangelo. Among the "Novelli," there is a quaint tale +called "The Fat Ebony Carver," which is interesting to read in this +connection. + +Benedetto da Maiano, one of the "most solemn" workers in intarsia in +Florence, became disgusted with his art after one trying experience, +and ever after turned his attention to other carving. Vasari's +version of the affair is as follows. Benedetto had been making +two beautiful chests, all inlaid most elaborately, and carried +them to the Court of Hungary, to exhibit the workmanship. "When +he had made obeisance to the king, and had been kindly received, +he brought forward his cases and had them unpacked... but it was +then he discovered that the humidity of the sea voyage had softened +the glue to such an extent that when the waxed cloths in which +the coffers had been wrapped were opened, almost all the pieces +were found sticking to them, and so fell to the ground! Whether +Benedetto stood amazed and confounded at such an event, in the +presence of so many nobles, let every one judge for himself." + +A famous family of wood inlayers were the del Tasso, who came from +S. Gervasio. One of the brothers, Giambattista, was a wag, and +is said to have wasted much time in amusement and standing about +criticizing the methods of others. He was a friend of Cellini, and +all his cronies pronounce him to have been a good fellow. On one +occasion he had a good dose of the spirit of criticism, himself, +from a visiting abbot, who stopped to see the Medicean tomb, where +Tasso happened to be working. Tasso was requested to show the stranger +about, which he did. The abbot began by depreciating the beauty of +the building, remarking that Michelangelo's figures in the Sacristy +did not interest him, and on his way up the stairs, he chanced to +look out of a window and caught sight of Brunelleschi's dome. When +the dull ecclesiastic began to say that this dome did not merit +the admiration which it raised, the exasperated Tasso, who was +loyal to his friends, could stand no more. Il Lasca recounts what +happened: "Pulling the abbot backward with force, he made him +tumble down the staircase, and he took good care to fall himself +on top of him, and calling out that the frater had been taken mad, +he bound his arms and legs with cords... and then taking him, +hanging over his shoulders, he carried him to a room near, +stretched him on the ground, and left him there in the dark, taking +away the key." We will hope that if Tasso himself was too prone to +criticism, he may have learned a lesson from this didactic monastic, +and was more tolerant in the future. + +Of the work of Canozio, a worker of about the same time, Matteo +Colaccio in 1486, writes, "In visiting these intarsiad figures I +was so much taken with the exquisiteness of the work that I could +not withold myself from praising the author to heaven!" He refers +thus ecstatically to the Stalls at St. Antonio at Padua, which +were inlaid by Canozio, assisted by other masters. For his work +in the Church of St. Domenico in Reggio, the contract called for +some curious observances: he was bound by this to buy material +for fifty lire, to work one third of the whole undertaking for +fifty lire, to earn another fifty lire for each succeeding third, +and then to give "forty-eight planks to the Lady," whatever that may +mean! Among the instruments mentioned are: "Two screw profiles: one +outliner: four one-handed little planes: rods for making cornices: +two large squares and one grafonetto: three chisels, one glued and +one all of iron: a pair of big pincers: two little axes: and a bench +to put the tarsia on." Pyrography has its birth in intarsia, where +singeing was sometimes employed as a shading in realistic designs. + +In the Study of the Palace at Urbino, there is mention of "arm +chairs encircling a table all mosaicked with tarsia, and carved +by Maestro Giacomo of Florence," a worker of considerable repute. +One of the first to adopt the use of ivory, pearl, and silver for +inlay was Andrea Massari of Siena. In this same way inlay of +tortoise-shell and brass was made,--the two layers were sawed out +together, and then counterchanged so as to give the pattern in +each material upon the other. Cabinets are often treated in this +way. Ivory and sandal-wood or ebony, too, have been sometimes thus +combined. In Spain cabinets were often made of a sort of mosaic of +ebony and silver; in 1574 a Prohibtion was issued against using +silver in this way, since it was becoming scarce. + +In De Luna's "Diologos Familiarea," a Spanish work of 1669, the +following conversation is given: "How much has your worship paid +for this cabinet? It is worth more than forty ducats. What wood +is it made of? The red is of mahogany, from Habana, and the black +is made of ebony, and the white of ivory. You will find the +workmanship excellent." This proves that inlaid cabinets were +usual in Spain. + +Ebony being expensive, it was sometimes simulated with stain. An +old fifteenth century recipe says: "Take boxwood and lay in oil +with sulphur for a night, then let it stew for an hour, and it +will become as black as coal." An old Italian book enjoins the +polishing of this imitation ebony as follows: "Is the wood to be +polished with burnt pumice stone? Rub the work carefully with canvas +and this powder, and then wash the piece with Dutch lime water so +that it may be more beautifully polished... then the rind of a +pomegranate must be steeped, and the wood smeared over with it, +and set to dry, but in the shade." + +Inlay was often imitated; the elaborate marquetry cabinets in Sta. +Maria della Grazia in Milan which are proudly displayed are in +reality, according to Mr. Russell Sturgis, cleverly painted to +simulate the real inlaid wood. Mr. Hamilton Jackson says that these, +being by Luini, are intended to be known as paintings, but to imitate +intarsia. + +Intarsia was made also among the monasteries. The Olivetans practised +this art extensively, and, much as some monasteries had scriptoria +for the production of books, so others had carpenter's shops and +studios where, according to Michele Caffi, they showed "great talent +for working in wood, succeeding to the heirship of the art of tarsia +in coloured woods, which they got from Tuscany." One of the more +important of the Olivetan Monasteries was St. Michele in Bosco, where +the noted worker in tarsia, Fra Raffaello da Brescia, made some +magnificent choir stalls. In 1521 these were finished, but they were +largely destroyed by the mob in the suppression of the convents in +the eighteenth century. In 1812 eighteen of the stalls were saved, +bought by the Marquis Malvezzi, and placed in St. Petronio. He tried +also to save the canopies, but these had been sold for firewood at +about twopence each! + +The stalls of St. Domenico at Bologna are by Fra Damiano of Bergamo; +it is said of him that his woods were coloured so marvellously +that the art of tarsia was by him raised to the rank of that of +painting! He was a Dominican monk in Bologna most of his life. +When Charles V. visited the choir of St. Domenico, and saw these +stalls, he would not believe that the work was accomplished by +inlay, and actually cut a piece out with his sword by way of +investigation. + +Castiglione the Courtier expresses himself with much admiration +of the work of Fra Damiano, "rather divine than human." Of the +technical perfection of the workmanship he adds: "Though these +works are executed with inlaid pieces, the eye cannot even by the +greatest exertion detect the joints.... I think, indeed, I am certain, +that it will be called the eighth wonder of the world." (Count +Castiglione did not perhaps realize what a wonderful world he lived +in!) But at any rate there is no objection to subscribing to his +eulogy: "All that I could say would be little enough of his rare and +singular virtue, and on the goodness of his religious and holy life." +Another frate who wrote about that time alluded to Fra Damiano as +"putting together woods with so much art that they appear as pictures +painted with the brush." + +In Germany there was some interesting intarsia made by the Elfen +Brothers, of St. Michael's in Hildesheim, who produced beautiful +chancel furniture. Hans Stengel of Nueremberg, too, was renowned +in this art. + +After the Renaissance marquetry ran riot in France, but that is +out of the province of our present study. + +The art of mosaic making has changed very little during the centuries. +Nearly all the technical methods now used were known to the ancients. +In fact, this art is rather an elemental one, and any departure +from old established rules is liable to lead the worker into a +new craft; his art becomes that of the inlayer or the enameller +when he attempts to use larger pieces in cloissons, or to fuse +bits together by any process. + +Mosaic is a natural outgrowth from other inlaying; when an elaborate +design had to be set up, quite too complicated to be treated in +tortuously-cut large pieces, the craftsman naturally decided to +render the whole work with small pieces, which demanded less accurate +shaping of each piece. Originally, undoubtedly, each bit of glass or +stone was laid in the soft plaster of wall or floor; but now a more +labour saving method has obtained; it is amusing to watch the modern +rest-cure. Instead of an artist working in square bits of glass to +carry out his design, throwing his interest and personality into the +work, a labourer sits leisurely before a large cartoon, on which he +glues pieces of mosaic the prescribed colour and size, mechanically +fitting them over the design until it is completely covered. Then +this sheet of paper, with the mosaic glued to it, is slapped on to +the plaster wall, having the stones next to the plaster, so that, +until it is dry, all that can be seen is the sheet of paper apparently +fixed on the wall. But lo! the grand transformation! The paper is +washed off, leaving in place the finished product--a very accurate +imitation of the picture on which the artist laboured, all in place in +the wall, every stone evenly set as if it had been polished--entirely +missing the charm of the irregular faceted effect of an old +mosaic--again mechanical facility kills the spirit of an art. + +Much early mosaic, known as Cosmati Work, is inlaid into marble, +in geometric designs; twisted columns of this class of work may be +seen in profusion in Rome, and the facade of Orvieto is similarly +decorated. Our illustration will demonstrate the technical process +as well as a description. + +The mosaic base of Edward the Confessor's shrine is inscribed to +the effect that it was wrought by Peter of Rome. It was a dignified +specimen of the best Cosmati. All the gold glass which once played +its part in the scheme of decoration has been picked out, and in +fact most of the pieces in the pattern are missing. + +[Illustration: AMBO AT RAVELLO; SPECIMEN OF COSMATI MOSAIC] + +The mosaic pavement in Westminster Abbey Presbytery is as fine +an example of Roman Cosmati mosaic as one can see north of the +Alps. An inscription, almost obliterated, is interpreted by Mr. +Lethaby as signifying, that in the year 1268 "Henry III. being +King, and Odericus the cementarius, Richard de Ware, Abbot, brought +the porphyry and divers jaspers and marbles of Thaso from Rome." In +another place a sort of enigma, drawn from an arbitrary combination +of animal forms and numbers, marks a chart for determining the end +of the world! There is also a beautiful mosaic tomb at Westminster, +inlaid with an interlacing pattern in a ground of marble, like the +work so usual in Rome, and in Palermo, and other Southern centres +of the art. + +While the material used in mosaic wall decoration is sometimes a +natural product, like marble, porphyry, coral, or alabaster, the +picture is composed for the most part of artificially prepared +smalts--opaque glass of various colours, made in sheets and then +cut up into cubes. An infinite variety in gradations of colour +and texture is thus made possible. + +The gold grounds which one sees in nearly all mosaics are constructed +in an interesting way. Each cube is composed of plain rather coarse +glass, of a greenish tinge, upon which is laid gold leaf. Over +this leaf is another film of glass, extremely thin, so that the +actual metal is isolated between two glasses, and is thus impervious +to such qualities in the air as would tarnish it or cause it to +deteriorate. To prevent an uninteresting evenness of surface on +which the sun's rays would glint in a trying manner, it was usual +to lay the gold cubes in a slightly irregular manner, so that +each facet, as it were, should reflect at a different angle, +and the texture, especially in the gold grounds, never became +monotonous. One does not realize the importance of this custom +until one sees a cheap modern mosaic laid absolutely flat, and then +it is evident how necessary this broken surface is to good effect. +Any one who has tried to analyze the reason for the superiority of +old French stained glass over any other, will be surprised, if +he goes close to the wall, under one of the marvellous windows +of Chartres, for instance, and looks up, to see that the whole +fabric is warped and bent at a thousand angles,--it is not only +the quality of the ancient glass, nor its colour, that gives this +unattainable expression to these windows, but the accidental warping +and wear of centuries have laid each bit of glass at a different +angle, so that the refraction of the light is quite different from +any possible reflection on the smooth surface of a modern window. + +The dangers of a clear gold ground were, felt more fully by the +workers at Ravenna and Rome, than in Venice. Architectural schemes +were introduced to break up the surface: clouds and backgrounds, +fields of flowers, and trees, and such devices, were used to prevent +the monotony of the unbroken glint. But in Venice the decorators +were brave; their faith in their material was unbounded, and they +not only frankly laid gold in enormous masses on flat wall and +cupola, but they even moulded the edges and archivolts without +separate ribs or strips to relieve them; the gold is carried all +over the edges, which are rounded into curves to receive the mosaic, +so that the effect is that of the entire upper part of the church +having been _pressed_ into shape out of solid gold. The lights on +these rounded edges are incomparably rich. + +It is equally important to vary the plain values of the colour, +and this was accomplished by means of dilution and contrast in +tints instead of by unevenness of surface, although in many of the +most satisfactory mosaics, both means have been employed. Plain +tints in mosaic can be relieved in a most delightful way by the +introduction of little separate cubes of unrelated colour, and +the artist who best understands this use of mass and dot is the +best maker of mosaic. The actual craft of construction is similar +everywhere, but the use of what we may regard as the pigment has +possibilities similar to the colours of a painter. The manipulation +being of necessity slow, it is more difficult to convey the idea +of spontaneity in design than it is in a fresco painting. + +To follow briefly the history of mosaic as used in the Dark Ages, +the Middle Ages, and the period of the Renaissance, it is interesting +to note that by the fourth century mosaic was the principal decoration +in ecclesiastical buildings. Contantine employed this art very +extensively. Of his period, however, few examples remain. The most +notable is the little church of Sta. Constanza, the vaults of which +are ornamented in this way, with a fine running pattern of vines, +interspersed with figures on a small scale. The Libel Pontificalis +tells how Constantine built the Basilica of St. Agnese at the request +of his daughter, and also a baptistery in the same place, where +Constance was baptized, by Bishop Sylvester. + +Among the most interesting early mosaics is the apse of the Church +of St. Pudentiana in Rome. Barbet de Jouy, who has written extensively +on this mosaic, considers it to be an eighth century achievement. +But a later archaeologist, M. Rossi, believes it to have been made +in the fourth century, in which theory he is upheld by M. Vitet. The +design is that of a company of saints gathered about the Throne on +which God the Father sits to pass judgment. In certain restorations +and alterations made in 1588 two of these figures were cut away, and +the lower halves of those remaining were also removed, so that the +figures are now only half length. The faces and figures are drawn +in a very striking manner, being realistic and full of graceful +action, very different from the mosaics of a later period, which +were dominated by Byzantine tradition. + +In France were many specimens of the mosaics of the fifth century. +But literary descriptions are all that have survived of these works, +which might once have been seen at Nantes, Tours, and Clermont. + +[Illustration: MOSAIC FROM RAVENNA; THEODORA AND HER SUITE, 16TH +CENTURY] + +Ravenna is the shrine of the craft in the fifth and sixth centuries. +It is useless in so small a space to attempt to describe or do +justice to these incomparable walls, where gleam the marvellous +procession of white robed virgins, and where glitters the royal +cortege of Justinian and Theodora. The acme of the art was reached +when these mural decorations were planned and executed, and the +churches of Ravenna may be considered the central museum of the +world for a study of mosaic. + +Among those who worked at Ravenna a few names have descended. These +craftsmen were, Cuserius, Paulus, Janus, Statius and Stephanus, +but their histories are vague. Theodoric also brought some mosaic +artists from Rome to work in Ravenna, which fact accounts for a +Latin influence discernible in these mosaics, which are in many +instances free from Byzantine stiffness. The details of the textiles +in the great mosaics of Justinian and Theodora are rarely beautiful. +The chlamys with which Justinian is garbed is covered with circular +interlaces with birds in them; on the border of the Empress's robe +are embroideries of the three Magi presenting their gifts; on one +of the robes of the attendants there is a pattern of ducks swimming, +while another is ornamented with leaves of a five-pointed form. + +There is a mosaic in the Tomb of Galla Placida in Ravenna, representing +St. Lawrence, cheerfully approaching his gridiron, with the Cross +and an open book encumbering his hands, while in a convenient corner +stands a little piece of furniture resembling a meat-safe, containing +the Four Gospels. The saint is walking briskly, and is fully draped; +the gridiron is of the proportions of a cot bedstead, and has a raging +fire beneath it,--a gruesome suggestion of the martyrdom. + +No finer examples of the art of the colourist in mosaic can be +seen than in the procession of Virgins at San Apollinaire Nuovo +in Ravenna. Cool, restrained, and satisfying, the composition has +all the elements of chromatic perfection. In the golden background +occasional dots of light and dark brown serve to deepen the tone +into a slightly bronze colour. The effect is especially scintillating +and rich, more like hammered gold than a flat sheet. The colours +in the trees are dark and light green, while the Virgins, in brown +robes, with white draperies over them, are relieved with little +touches of gold. The whole tone being thus green and russet, with +purplish lines about the halos, is an unusual colour-scheme, and +can hardly carry such conviction in a description as when it is +seen. + +In the East, the Church of Sta. Sophia at Constantinople exhibited +the most magnificent specimens of this work; the building was +constructed under Constantine, by the architects Anthemius and +Isidore, and the entire interior, walls and dome included, was covered +by mosaic pictures. + +Among important works of the seventh century is the apse of St. +Agnese, in Rome. Honorius decorated the church, about 630, and it +is one of the most effective mosaics in Rome. At St. John Lateran, +also, Pope John IV. caused a splendid work to be carried out, +which has been reported as being as "brilliant as the sacred waters." + +In the eighth century a magnificent achievement was accomplished +in the monastery of Centula, in Picardie, but all traces of this +have been lost, for the convent was burnt in 1131. The eighth was +not an active century for the arts, for in 726 Leo's edict was sent +forth, prohibiting all forms of image worship, and at a Council +at Constantinople in 754 it was decided that all iconographic +representation and all use of symbols (except in the Sacrament) were +blasphemous. Idolatrous monuments were destroyed, and the iconoclasts +continued their devastations until the death of Theophilus in 842. +Fortunately this wave of zeal was checked before the destruction of +the mosaics in Ravenna and Rome, but very few specimens survived +in France. + +In the ninth century a great many important monuments were added, +and a majority of the mosaics which may still be seen, date from +that time: they are not first in quality, however, although they +are more numerous. After this, there was a period of inanition, +in this art as in all others, while the pseudo-prophets awaited +the ending of the world. After the year 1000 had passed, and the +astonished people found that they were still alive, and that the +world appeared as stable as formerly, interest began to revive, +and the new birth of art produced some significant examples in the +field of mosaic. There was some activity in Germany, for a time, +the versatile Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim adding this craft to +his numerous accomplishments, although it is probable that his +works resembled the graffiti and inlaid work rather than the +mosaics composed of cubes of smalt. + +At the Monastery of Monte Cassino in the eleventh century was an +interesting personality,--the Abbe Didier, its Superior. About +1066 he brought workers from Constantinople, who decorated the apse +and walls of the basilica under his direction. At the same time, +he established a school at the monastery, and the young members +were instructed in the arts and crafts of mosaic and inlay, and +the illumination of books. Greek influence was thus carried into +Italy through Monte Cassino. + +In the twelfth century the celebrated Suger of St. Denis decorated +one of the porches of his church with mosaic, in smalt, marbles, +and gold; animal and human forms were introduced in the ornament. +But this may not have been work actually executed on the spot, +for another narrator tells us that Suger brought home from Italy, +on one of his journeys, a mosaic, which was placed over the door +at St. Denis; as it is no longer in its position, it is not easy +to determine which account is correct. + +The mosaics at St. Mark's in Venice were chiefly the work of two +centuries and a half. Greek artists were employed in the main, +bringing their own tesserae and marbles. In 1204 there was special +activity in this line, at the time when the Venetians took +Constantinople. After this, an establishment for making the smalts +and gold glass was set up at Murano, and Venice no longer imported +its material. + +The old Cathedral at Torcello has one of the most perfect examples +of the twelfth century mosaic in the world. The entire west end of +the church is covered with a rich display of figures and Scriptural +scenes. A very lurid Hell is exhibited at the lower corner, in the +depths of which are seen stewing, several Saracens, with large +hoop earrings. Their faces are highly expressive of discomfort. +This mosaic is full of genuine feeling; one of the subjects is +Amphitrite riding a seahorse, among those who rise to the surface +when "the sea gives up its dead." The Redeemed are seen crowding +round Abraham, who holds one in his bosom; they are like an infant +class, and are dressed in uniform pinafores, intended to look like +little ecclesiastical vestments! The Dead who are being given up by +the Earth are being vomited forth by wild animals--this is original, +and I believe, almost the only occasion on which this form of literal +resurrection is represented. + +In the thirteenth century a large number of mosaic artists appeared +in Florence, many of whose names and histories are available. In the +Baptistery, Andrea Tafi, who lived between 1213 and 1294, decorated the +cupola. With him were two assistants who are known by name--Apollonius +a Greek, which in part accounts for the stiff Byzantine figures in +this work, and another who has left his signature, "Jacobus Sancti +Francisci Frater"--evidently a monastic craftsman. Gaddo Gaddi +also assisted in this work, executing the Prophets which occur +under the windows, and professing to combine in his style "the +Greek manner and that of Cimabue." Apollonius taught Andrea Tafi +how to compose the smalt and to mix the cement, but this latter +was evidently unsuccessful, for in the next century the mosaic +detached itself and fell badly, when Agnolo Gaddi, the grandson +of Gaddo, was engaged to restore it. Tafi, Gaddi, and Jacobus were +considered as a promising firm, and they undertook other large works +in mosaic. They commenced the apse at Pisa, which was finished +in 1321 by Vicini, Cimabue designing the colossal figure of Christ +which thus dominates the cathedral. + +Vasari says that Andrea Tafi was considered "an excellent, nay, +a divine artist" in his specialty. Andrea, himself more modest, +visited Venice, and deigned to take instruction from Greek mosaic +workers, who were employed at St. Mark's. One of them, Apollonius, +became attached to Tafi, and this is how he came to accompany him +to Florence. The work on the Baptistery was done actually _in situ_, +every cube being set directly in the plaster. The work is still +extant, and the technical and constructive features are perfect, +since their restoration. It is amusing to read Vasari's patronizing +account of Tafi; from the late Renaissance point of view, the mosaic +worker seemed to be a barbarous Goth at best: "The good fortune +of Andrea was really great," says Vasari, "to be born in an age +which, doing all things in the rudest manner, could value so highly +the works of an artist who really merited so little, not to say +nothing!" + +Gaddo Gaddi was a painstaking worker in mosaic, executing some +works on a small scale entirely in eggshells of varying tints. In +the Baroncelli chapel in Florence is a painting by Taddeo Gaddi, +in which occur the portraits of his father, Gaddo Gaddi, and Andrea +Tafi. + +About this time the delightful mosaic at St. Clemente, in Rome, +was executed. With its central cross and graceful vine decorations, +it stands out unique among the groups of saints and seraphs, of +angels and hierarchies, of most of the Roman apsidal ornaments. The +mosaic in the basilica of St. John Lateran is by Jacopo Torriti. +In the design there are two inconspicuous figures, intentionally +smaller than the others, of two monks on their knees, working, +with measure and compass. These represent Jacopo Torriti and his +co-worker, Camerino. One of them is inscribed (translated) "Jacopo +Torriti, painter, did this work," and the other, "Brother Jacopo +Camerino, companion of the master worker, commends himself to the +blessed John." The tools and implements used by mosaic artists are +represented in the hands of these two monks. Torriti was apparently +a greater man in some respects than his contemporaries. He based his +art rather on Roman than Greek tradition, and his works exhibit +less Byzantine formality than many mosaics of the period. On +the apse of Sta. Maria Maggiore there appears a signature, "Jacopo +Torriti made this work in mosaic." Gaddo Gaddi also added a composition +below the vault, about 1308. + +The well-known mosaic called the Navicella in the atrium of St. +Peter's, Rome, was originally made by Giotto. It has been much +restored and altered, but some of the original design undoubtedly +remains. Giotto went to Rome to undertake this work in 1298; but the +present mosaic is largely the restoration of Bernini, who can hardly +be considered as a sympathetic interpreter of the early Florentine +style. Vasari speaks of the Navicella as "a truly wonderful work, +and deservedly eulogized by all enlightened judges." He marvels +at the way in which Giotto has produced harmony and interchange of +light and shade so cleverly: "with mere pieces of glass" (Vasari +is so naively overwhelmed with ignorance when he comes to deal +with handicraft) especially on the large sail of the boat. + +In Venice, the Mascoli chapel was ornamented by scenes from the +life of the Virgin, in 1430. The artist was Michele Zambono, who +designed and superintended the work himself. At Or San Michele in +Florence, the painter Peselli, or Guliano Arrigo, decorated the +tabernacle, in 1416. Among other artists who entered the field of +mosaic, were Baldovinetti and Domenico Ghirlandajo, the painter who +originated the motto: "The only painting for eternity is mosaic." + +In the sixteenth century the art of mosaic ceased to +observe due limitations. The ideal was to reproduce exactly in +mosaic such pictures as were prepared by Titian, Pordenone, Raphael, +and other realistic painters. Georges Sand, in her charming novel, +"Les Maitres Mosaistes," gives one the atmosphere of the workshops +in Venice in this later period. Tintoretto and Zuccato, the aged +painter, are discussing the durability of mosaic:--"Since it resists +so well," says Zuccato, "how comes it that the Seignory is repairing +all the domes of St. Mark's, which to-day are as bare as my skull?" +To which Tintoretto makes answer: "Because at the time when they +were decorated with mosaics, Greek artists were scarce in Venice. +They came from a distance, and remained but a short time: their +apprentices were hastily trained, and executed the works entrusted +to them without knowing their business, and without being able +to give them the necessary solidity. Now that this art has been +cultivated in Venice, century after century, we have become as +skilful as even the Greeks were." The two sons of Zuccato, who +are engaged in this work, confide to each other their trials and +difficulties in the undertaking: like artists of all ages, they +cannot easily convince their patrons that they comprehend their art +better than their employers! Francesco complains of the Procurator, +who is commissioned to examine the work: "He is not an artist. +He sees in mosaic only an application of particles more or less +brilliant. Perfection of tone, beauty of design, ingenuity of +composition, are nothing to him.... Did I not try in vain the +other day to make him understand that the old pieces of gilded +crystal used by our ancestors and a little tarnished by time, +were more favourable to colour than those manufactured to-day?" +"Indeed, you make a mistake, Messer Francesco," said he, "in +handing over to the Bianchini all the gold of modern manufacture. +The Commissioners have decided that the old will do mixed with +the new."... "But did I not in vain try to make him understand +that this brilliant gold would hurt the faces, and completely ruin +the effect of colour?"... The answer of the Procurator was, "The +Bianchini do not scruple to use it, and their mosaics please the +eye much better than yours," so his brother Valerio, laughing, +asks, "What need of worrying yourself after such a decision as +that? Suppress the shadows, cut a breadth of material from a great +plate of enamel and lay it over the breast of St. Nicaise, render +St. Cecilia's beautiful hair with a badly cut tile, a pretty lamb +for St. John the Baptist, and the Commission will double your salary +and the public clap its hands. Really, my brother, you who dream +of glory, I do not understand how you can pledge yourself to the +worship of art." "I dream of glory, it is true," replied Francesco, +"but of a glory that is lasting, not the vain popularity of a day. +I should like to leave an honoured name, if not an illustrious +one, and make those who examine the cupolas of St. Mark's five +hundred years hence say, 'This was the work of a conscientious +artist.'" A description follows of the scene of the mosaic workers +pursuing their calling. "Here was heard abusive language, there +the joyous song; further on, the jest; above, the hammer: below, +the trowel: now the dull and continuous thud of the tampon on the +mosaics, and anon the clear and crystal like clicking of the glassware +rolling from the baskets on to the pavement, in waves of rubies and +emeralds. Then the fearful grating of the scraper on the cornice, +and finally the sharp rasping cry of the saw in the marble, to say +nothing of the low masses said at the end of the chapel in spite +of the racket." + +[Illustration: MOSAIC IN BAS-RELIEF, NAPLES] + +The Zuccati were very independent skilled workmen, as well as being +able to design their own subjects. They were, in the judgment of +Georges Sand, superior to another of the masters in charge of the +works, Bozza, who was less of a man, although an artist of some +merit. Later than these men, there were few mosaic workers of high +standing; in Florence the art degenerated into a mere decorative +inlay of semi-precious material, heraldic in feeling, costly and +decorative, but an entirely different art from that of the Greeks +and Romans. Lapis-lazuli with gold veinings, malachite, coral, +alabaster, and rare marbles superseded the smalts and gold of an +elder day. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +ILLUMINATION OF BOOKS + +One cannot enter a book shop or a library to-day without realizing +how many thousands of books are in constant circulation. There was +an age when books were laboriously but most beautifully written, +instead of being thus quickly manufactured by the aid of the +type-setting machine; the material on which the glossy text was +executed was vellum instead of the cheap paper of to-day, the +illustrations, instead of being easily reproduced by photographic +processes, were veritable miniature paintings, most decorative, +ablaze with colour and fine gold,--in these times it is easy to +forget that there was ever a period when the making of a single +book occupied years, and sometimes the life-time of one or two +men. + +In those days, when the transcription of books was one of the chief +occupations in religious houses, the recluse monk, in the quiet +of the scriptorium, was, in spite of his seclusion, and indeed, +by reason of it, the chief link between the world of letters and +the world of men. + +The earliest known example of work by a European monk dates from +the year 517; but shortly after this there was a great increase +in book making, and monasteries were founded especially for the +purpose of perpetuating literature. The first establishment of +this sort was the monastery of Vivaria, in Southern Italy, founded +by Cassiodorus, a Greek who lived between the years 479 and 575, +and who had been the scribe (or "private secretary") of Theodoric +the Goth. About the same time, St. Columba in Ireland founded a +house with the intention of multiplying books, so that in the sixth +century, in both the extreme North and in the South, the religious +orders had commenced the great work of preserving for future ages +the literature of the past and of their own times. + +Before examining the books themselves, it will be interesting to +observe the conditions under which the work was accomplished. Sometimes +the scriptorium was a large hall or studio, with various desks +about; sometimes the North walk of the cloister was divided into +little cells, called "carrels," in each of which was room for the +writer, his desk, and a little shelf for his inks and colours. +These carrels may be seen in unusual perfection in Gloucester. In +very cold weather a small brazier of charcoal was also introduced. + +Cassiodorus writes thus of the privilege of being a copyist of +holy books. "He may fill his mind with the Scriptures while copying +the sayings of the Lord; with his fingers he gives life to men +and arms against the wiles of the Devil; as the antiquarius copies +the word of Christ, so many wounds does he inflict upon Satan. What +he writes in his cell will be carried far and wide over distant +provinces. Man multiplies the word of Heaven: if I may dare so to +speak, the three fingers of his right hand are made to represent +the utterances of the Holy Trinity. The fast travelling reed writes +down the holy words, thus avenging the malice of the wicked one, +who caused a reed to be used to smite the head of the Saviour." + +When the scriptorium was consecrated, these words were used (and +they would be most fitting words to-day, in the consecration of +libraries or class rooms which are to be devoted to religious study): +"Vouchsafe, O, Lord, to bless this workroom of thy servants, that all +which they write therein may be comprehended by their intelligence, +and realized by their work." Scriptorium work was considered equal +to labour in the fields. In the Rule of St. Fereol, in the sixth +century, there is this clause: "He who doth not turn up the earth +with his plough, ought to write the parchment with his fingers." +The Capitulary of Charlemagne contains this phrase: "Do not permit +your scribes or pupils, either in reading or writing, to garble the +text; when you are preparing copies of the Gospels, the Psalter, +or the Missal, see that the work is confided to men of mature age, +who will write with due care." Some of the scribes were prolific +book transcribers. Jacob of Breslau, who died in 1480, copied so +many books that it is said that "six horses could with difficulty +bear the burden of them!" + +The work of each scriptorium was devoted first to the completion +of the library of the individual monastery, and after that, to +other houses, or to such patrons as were rich enough to order books +to be transcribed for their own use. The library of a monastery +was as much a feature as the scriptorium. The monks were not like +the rising literary man, who, when asked if he had read "Pendennis" +replied, "No--I never read books--I write them." Every scribe was +also a reader. There was a regular system of lending books from +the central store. A librarian was in charge, and every monk was +supposed to have some book which he was engaged in reading "straight +through" as the Rule of St. Benedict enjoins, just as much as the one +which he was writing. As silence was obligatory in the scriptorium +and library, as well as in the cloisters, they were forced to apply +for the volumes which they desired by signs. For a general work, +the sign was to extend the hand and make a movement as if turning +over the leaves of a book. If a Missal was wanted, the sign of the +cross was added to the same form; for a Gospel, the sign of the +cross was made upon the forehead, while those who wished tracts to +read, should lay one hand on the mouth and the other on the stomach; +a Capitulary was indicated by the gesture of raising the clasped +hands to heaven, while a Psalter could be obtained by raising the +hands above the head in the form of a crown. As the good brothers +were not possessed of much religious charity, they indicated a +secular book by scratching their ears, as dogs are supposed to +do, to imply the suggestion that the infidel who wrote such a book +was no better than a dog! + +This extract is made from a book in one of the early monastic libraries. +"Oh, Lord, send the blessing of thy Holy Spirit upon these books, +that, cleansing them from all earthly things, they may mercifully +enlighten our hearts, and give us true understanding, and grant +that by their teaching they may brightly preserve and make a full +abundance of good works according to Thy will." The books were +kept in cupboards, with doors; in the Customs of the Augustine +Priory of Barnwell, these directions are given: "The press in which +the books are kept ought to be lined with wood, that the damp of +the walls may not moisten or stain the books. The press should be +divided vertically as well as horizontally, by sundry partitions, +on which the books may be ranged so as to be separated from one +another, for fear they be packed so close as to injure one another, +or to delay those who want them." + +We read of the "chained books" of the Middle Ages, and I think +there is a popular belief that this referred to the fact that the +Bible was kept in the priest's hands, and chained so that the people +should not be able to read it for themselves and become familiar +with every part of it. This, however, is a mistake. It was the +books in the libraries which were chained, so that dishonest people +should not make way with them! In one Chapter Library, there occurs +a denunciation of such thieves, and instructions how to fasten the +volumes. It reads as follows: "Since to the great reproach of the +Nation, and a greater one to our Holy Religion, the thievish +disposition of some who enter libraries to learn no good there, +hath made it necessary to secure the sacred volumes themselves +with chains (which are better deserved by those ill persons, who +have too much learning to be hanged, and too little to be honest), +care shall be taken that the chains should neither be too long nor +too clumsy, more than the use of them requires: and that the loops +whereby they are fastened to the books may be rivetted on such a +part of the cover, and so smoothly, as not to gall or graze the +books, while they are moved to or from their respective places. +And forasmuch as the more convenient way to place books in +libraries is to turn their backs out showing the title and other +decent ornaments in gilt work which ought not to be hidden, this +new method of fixing the chain to the back of the book is +recommended until one more suitable shall be contrived." + +Numerous monasteries in England devoted much time to scriptorium +work. In Gloucester may still be seen the carrels of the scribes +in the cloister wall, and there was also much activity in the book +making art in Norwich, Glastonbury, and Winchester, and in other +cities. The two monasteries of St. Peter and St. Swithin in Winchester +were, the chronicler says, "so close packed together,... that between +the foundation of their respective buildings there was barely room +for a man to pass along. The choral service of one monastery +conflicted with that of the other, so that both were spoiled, and +the ringing of their bells together produced a horrid effect." + +One of the most important monasteries of early times, on the Continent, +was that conducted by Alcuin, under the protection of Charlemagne. +When the appointed time for writing came round, the monks filed +into the scriptorium, taking their places at their desks. One of +their number then stood in the midst, and read aloud, slowly, for +dictation, the work upon which they were engaged as copyists; in +this way, a score of copies could be made at one time. Alcuin himself +would pass about among them, making suggestions and correcting +errors, a beautiful example of true consecration, the great scholar +spending his time thus in supervising the transcription of the +Word of God, from a desire to have it spread far and wide. Alcuin +sent a letter to Charlemagne, accompanying a present of a copy +of the Bible, at the time of the emperor's coronation, and from +this letter, which is still preserved, it may be seen how reverent +a spirit his was, and how he esteemed the things of the spiritual +life as greater than the riches of the world. "After deliberating +a long while," he writes, "what the devotion of my mind might find +worthy of a present equal to the splendour of your Imperial dignity, +and the increase of your wealth,--at length by the inspiration of +the Holy Spirit, I found what it would be competent for me to +offer, and fitting for your prudence to accept. For to me inquiring +and considering, nothing appeared more worthy of your peaceful +honour than the gifts of the Sacred Scriptures... which, knit +together in the sanctity of one glorious body, and diligently +amended, I have sent to your royal authority, by this your faithful +son and servant, so that with full hands we may assist at the +delightful service of your dignity." One of Alcuin's mottoes was: +"Writing books is better than planting vines: for he who plants a +vine serves his belly, while he who writes books serves his soul." + +Many different arts were represented in the making of a mediaeval +book. Of those employed, first came the scribe, whose duty it was +to form the black even glossy letters with his pen; then came the +painter, who must not only be a correct draughtsman, and an adept +with pencil and brush, but must also understand how to prepare +mordaunts and to lay the gold leaf, and to burnish it afterwards +with an agate, or, as an old writer directs, "a dogge's tooth set +in a stick." After him, the binder gathered the lustrous pages and +put them together under silver mounted covers, with heavy clasps. +At first, the illuminations were confined only to the capital letters, +and red was the selected colour to give this additional life to the +evenly written page. The red pigment was known as "minium." The +artist who applied this was called a "miniator," and from this, +was derived the term "miniature," which later referred to the +pictures executed in the developed stages of the art. The use of +the word "miniature," as applied to paintings on a small scale, +was evolved from this expression. + +[Illustration: A SCRIBE AT WORK: 12TH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT] + +The difficulties were numerous. First, there was climate and temperature +to consider. It was necessary to be very careful about the temperature +to which gold leaf was exposed, and in order to dry the sizing +properly, it was important that the weather should not be too damp +nor too warm. Peter de St. Audemar, writing in the late thirteenth +century, says: "Take notice that you ought not to work with gold +or colours in a damp place, on account of the hot weather, which, +as it is often injurious in burnishing gold, both to the colours +on which the gold is laid and also to the gilding, if the work +is done on parchment, so also it is injurious when the weather +is too dry and arid." John Acherius, in 1399, observes, too, that +"care must be taken as regards the situation, because windy weather +is a hindrance, unless the gilder is in an enclosed place, and +if the air is too dry, the colour cannot hold the gold under the +burnisher." Illumination is an art which has always been difficult; +we who attempt it to-day are not simply facing a lost art which +has become impossible because of the changed conditions; even when +followed along the best line in the best way the same trials were +encountered. + +Early treatises vary regarding the best medium for laying leaf on +parchment. There are very few vehicles which will form a connecting +and permanent link between these two substances. There is a general +impression that white of egg was used to hold the gold: but any +one who has experimented knows that it is impossible to fasten +metal to vellum by white of egg alone. Both oil and wax were often +employed, and in nearly all recipes the use of glue made of +boiled-down vellum is enjoined. In some of the monasteries there +are records that the scribes had the use of the kitchen for drying +parchment and melting wax. + +The introductions to the early treatises show the spirit in which +the work was undertaken. Peter de St. Audemar commences: "By the +assistance of God, of whom are all things that are good, I will +explain to you how to make colours for painters and illuminators +of books, and the vehicles for them, and other things appertaining +thereto, as faithfully as I can in the following chapters." Peter +was a North Frenchman of the thirteenth century. + +Of the recipes given by the early treatises, I will quote a few, +for in reality they are all the literature we have upon the subject. +Eraclius, who wrote in the twelfth century, gives accurate directions: +"Take ochre and distemper it with water, and let it dry. In the +meanwhile make glue with vellum, and whip some white of egg. Then +mix the glue and the white of egg, and grind the ochre, which by +this time is well dried, upon a marble slab; and lay it on the +parchment with a paint brush;... then apply the gold, and let it +remain so, without pressing it with the stone. When it is dry, +burnish it well with a tooth. This," continues Eraclius naively, +"is what I have learned by experiment, and have frequently proved, +and you may safely believe me that I shall have told you the truth." +This assurance of good faith suggests that possibly it was a habit +of illuminators to be chary of information, guarding their own +discoveries carefully, and only giving out partial directions to +others of their craft. + +In the Bolognese Manuscript, one is directed to make a simple size +from incense, white gum, and sugar candy, distempering it with +wine; and in another place, to use the white of egg, whipped with +the milk of the fig tree and powdered gum Arabic. Armenian Bole is +a favourite ingredient. Gum and rose water are also prescribed, +and again, gesso, white of egg, and honey. All of these recipes +sound convincing, but if one tries them to-day, one has the doubtful +pleasure of seeing the carefully laid gold leaf slide off as soon +as the whole mixture is quite dry. Especially improbable is the +recipe given in the Brussels Manuscript: "You lay on gold with well +gummed water alone, and this is very good for gilding on parchment. +You may also use fresh white of egg or fig juice alone in the same +manner." + +Theophilus does not devote much time or space to the art of +illuminating, for, as he is a builder of everything from church +organs to chalices, glass windows, and even to frescoed walls, we +must not expect too much information on minor details. He does not +seem to direct the use of gold leaf at all, but of finely ground +gold, which shall be applied with its size in the form of a paste, +to be burnished later. He says (after directing that the gold dust +shall be placed in a shell): "Take pure minium and add to it a +third part of cinnibar, grinding it upon a stone with water. Which, +being carefully ground, beat up the clear white of an egg, in +summer with water, in winter without water," and this is to be +used as a slightly raised bed for the gold. "Then," he continues, +"place a little pot of glue on the fire, and when it is liquefied, +pour it into the shell of gold and wash it with it." This is to be +painted on to the gesso ground just mentioned, and when quite dry, +burnished with an agate. This recipe is more like the modern +Florentine method of gilding in illumination. + +Concerning the gold itself, there seem to have been various means +employed for manufacturing substitutes for the genuine article. +A curious recipe is given in the manuscript of Jehan de Begue, +"Take bulls' brains, put them in a marble vase, and leave them for +three weeks, when you will find gold making worms. Preserve them +carefully." More quaint and superstitious is Theophilus' recipe +for making Spanish Gold; but, as this is not quotable in polite +pages, the reader must refer to the original treatise if he cares +to trace its manufacture. + +Brushes made of hair are recommended by the Brussels manuscript, +with a plea for "pencils of fishes' hairs for softening." If this +does not refer to _sealskin_, it is food for conjecture! + +And for the binding of these beautiful volumes, how was the leather +obtained? This is one way in which business and sport could be combined +in the monastery, Warton says, "About the year 790, Charlemagne +granted an unlimited right of hunting to the Abbot and monks of +Sithiu, for making... of the skins of the deer they killed... +covers for their books." There is no doubt that it had occurred +to artists to experiment upon human skin, and perhaps the fact +that this was an unsatisfactory texture is the chief reason why +no books were made of it. A French commentator observes: "The +skin of a man is nothing compared with the skin of a sheep.... +Sheep is good for writing on both sides, but the skin of a dead +man is just about as profitable as his bones,--better bury him, +skin and bones together." + +There was some difficulty in obtaining manuscripts to copy. The +Breviary was usually enclosed in a cage; rich parishioners were bribed +by many masses and prayers, to bequeath manuscripts to churches. In +old Paris, the Parchment Makers were a guild of much importance. +Often they combined their trade with tavern keeping, in the twelfth +and thirteenth centuries. The Rector of the University was glad +when this occurred, for the inn keeper and parchment maker was +under his control, both being obliged to reside in the Pays Latin. +Bishops were known to exhort the parchment makers, from the pulpit, +to be honest and conscientious in preparing skins. A bookseller, +too, was solemnly made to swear "faithfully to receive, take care +of, and expose for sale the works which should be entrusted to +him." He might not buy them for himself until they had been for +sale a full month "at the disposition of the Masters and Scholars." +But in return for these restrictions, the bookseller was admitted +to the rights and privileges of the University. As clients of the +University, these trades, which were associated with book making, +joined in the "solemn processions" of those times; booksellers, +binders, parchment makers, and illuminators, all marched together +on these occasions. They were obliged to pay toll to the Rector +for these privileges; the recipe for ink was a carefully guarded +secret. + +It now becomes our part to study the books themselves, and see +what results were obtained by applying all the arts involved in +their making. + +The transition from the Roman illuminations to the Byzantine may +be traced to the time when Constantine moved his seat of government +from Rome to Constantinople. Constantinople then became the centre +of learning, and books were written there in great numbers. For +some centuries Constantinople was the chief city in the art of +illuminating. The style that here grew up exhibited the same features +that characterized Byzantine art in mosaic and decoration. The +Oriental influence displayed itself in a lavish use of gold and +colour; the remnant of Classical art was slight, but may sometimes +be detected in the subjects chosen, and the ideas embodied. The +Greek influence was the strongest. But the Greek art of the seventh +and eighth centuries was not at all like the Classic art of earlier +Greece; a conventional type had entered with Christianity, and is +chiefly recognized by a stubborn conformity to precedent. It +is difficult to date a Byzantine picture or manuscript, for the +same severe hard form that prevailed in the days of Constantine +is carried on to-day by the monks of Mt. Athos, and a Byzantine +work of the ninth century is not easily distinguished from one of +the fifteenth. In manuscripts, the caligraphy is often the only +feature by which the work can be dated. + +In the earlier Byzantine manuscripts there is a larger proportion +of Classical influence than in later ones, when the art had taken +on its inflexible uniformity of design. One of the most interesting +books in which this classical influence may be seen is in the Imperial +Library at Vienna, being a work on Botany, by Dioscorides, written +about 400 A. D. The miniatures in this manuscript have many of +the characteristics of Roman work. + +The pigments used in Byzantine manuscripts are glossy, a great deal +of ultramarine being used. The high lights are usually of gold, +applied in sharp glittering lines, and lighting up the picture with +very decorative effect. In large wall mosaics the same characteristics +may be noted, and it is often suggested that these gold lines may +have originated in an attempt to imitate cloisonne enamel, in which +the fine gold line separates the different coloured spaces one from +another. This theory is quite plausible, as cloisonne was made by +the Byzantine goldsmiths. + +M. Lecoy de la Marche tells us that the first recorded name of an +illuminator is that of a woman--Lala de Cizique, a Greek, who +painted on ivory and on parchment in Rome during the first Christian +century. But such a long period elapses between her time and that +which we are about to study, that she can here occupy only the +position of being referred to as an interesting isolated case. + +The Byzantine is a very easy style to recognize, because of the +inflexible stiffness of the figures, depending for any beauty largely +upon the use of burnished gold, and the symmetrical folds of the +draperies, which often show a sort of archaic grace. Byzantine +art is not so much representation as suggestion and symbolism. +There is a book which may still be consulted, called "A Byzantine +Guide to Painting," which contains accurate recipes to be followed +in painting pictures of each saint, the colours prescribed for the +dress of the Virgin, and the grouping to be adopted in representing +each of the standard Scriptural scenes; and it has hardly from +the first occurred to any Byzantine artist to depart from these +regulations. The heads and faces lack individuality, and are outlined +and emphasized with hard, unsympathetic black lines; the colouring +is sallow and the expression stolid. Any attempt at delineating +emotion is grotesque, and grimacing. The beauty, for in spite of +all these drawbacks there is great beauty, in Byzantine manuscripts, +is, as has been indicated, a charm of colour and gleaming gold +rather than of design. In the Boston Art Museum there is a fine +example of a large single miniature of a Byzantine "Flight into +Egypt," in which the gold background is of the highest perfection +of surface, and is raised so as to appear like a plate of beaten +gold. + +There is no attempt to portray a scene as it might have occurred; +the rule given in the Manual is followed, and the result is generally +about the same. The background is usually either gold or blue, with +very little effort at landscape. Trees are represented in flat +values of green with little white ruffled edges and articulations. +The sea is figured by a blue surface with a symmetrical white pattern +of a wavy nature. A building is usually introduced about half as +large as the people surrounding it. There is no attempt, either, +at perspective. + +The anatomy of the human form was not understood at all. Nearly +all the figures in the art of this period are draped. Wherever +it is necessary to represent the nude, a lank, disproportioned +person with an indefinite number of ribs is the result, proving +that the monastic art school did not include a life class. + +Most of the best Byzantine examples date from the fifth to the +seventh centuries. After that a decadence set in, and by the eleventh +century the art had deteriorated to a mere mechanical process. + +The Irish and Anglo-Saxon work are chiefly characterized in their +early stages by the use of interlaced bands as a decorative motive. +The Celtic goldsmiths were famous for their delicate work in filigree, +made of threads of gold used in connection with enamelled grounds. +In decorating their manuscripts, the artists were perhaps +unconsciously influenced by this, and the result is a marvellous +use of conventional form and vivid colours, while the human figure +is hardly attempted at all, or, when introduced, is so conventionally +treated, as to be only a sign instead of a representation. + +Probably the earliest representation of a pen in the holder, although +of a very primitive pattern, occurs in a miniature in the Gospels +of Mac Durnam, where St. John is seen writing with a pen in one +hand and a knife, for sharpening it, in the other. This picture +is two centuries earlier than any other known representation of +the use of the pen, the volume having been executed in the early +part of the eighth century. + +Two of the most famous Irish books are the Book of Kells, and the +Durham Book. The Book of Kells is now in Trinity College, Dublin. +It is also known as the Gospel of St. Columba. St. Columba came, +as the Chronicle of Ethelwerd states, in the year 565: "five years +afterwards Christ's servant Columba came from Scotia (Ireland) +to Britain, to preach the word of God to the Picts." + +[Illustration: DETAIL FROM THE DURHAM BOOK] + +The intricacy of the interlacing decoration is so minute that it +is impossible to describe it. Each line may be followed to its +conclusion, with the aid of a strong magnifying glass, but cannot +be clearly traced with the naked eye. Westwood reports that, with a +microscope, he counted in one square inch of the page, one hundred +and fifty-eight interlacements of bands, each being of white, bordered +on either side with a black line. In this book there is no use of +gold, and the treatment of the human form is most inadequate. +There is no idea of drawing except for decorative purposes; it +is an art of the pen rather than of the brush--it hardly comes +into the same category as most of the books designated as +illuminated manuscripts. The so-called Durham Book, or the Gospels +of St. Cuthbert, was executed at the Abbey of Lindisfarne, in 688, +and is now in the British Museum. There is a legend that in the +ninth century pirates plundered the Abbey, and the few monks who +survived decided to seek a situation less unsafe than that on the +coast, so they gathered up their treasures, the body of the saint, +their patron, Cuthbert, and the book, which had been buried with +him, and set out for new lands. They set sail for Ireland, but a +storm arose, and their boat was swamped. The body and the book +were lost. After reaching land, however, the fugitives discovered +the box containing the book, lying high and dry upon the shore, +having been cast up by the waves in a truly wonderful state of +preservation. Any one who knows the effect of dampness upon parchment, +and how it cockles the material even on a damp day, will the more +fully appreciate this miracle. + +Giraldus Cambriensis went to Ireland as secretary to Prince John, +in 1185, and thus describes the Gospels of Kildare, a book which +was similar to the Book of Kells, and his description may apply +equally to either volume. "Of all the wonders of Kildare I have +found nothing more wonderful than this marvellous book, written +in the time of the Virgin St. Bridget, and, as they say, at the +dictation of an angel. Here you behold the magic face divinely +drawn, and there the mystical forms of the Evangelists, there an +eagle, here a calf, so closely wrought together, that if you look +carelessly at them, they would seem rather like a uniform blot +than like an exquisite interweavement of figures; exhibiting no +perfection of skill or art, where all is really skill and perfection +of art. But if you look closely at them with all the acuteness of +sight that you can command, and examine the inmost secrets of this +wondrous art, you will discover such delicate, such wonderful and +finely wrought lines, twisted and interwoven with such intricate +knots and adorned with such fresh and brilliant colours, that you +will readily acknowledge the whole to have been the work of angelic +rather than human skill." + +At first gold was not used at all in Irish work, but the manuscripts +of a slightly later date, and especially of the Anglo-Saxon school, +show a superbly decorative use both of gold and silver. The "Coronation +Oath Book of the Anglo-Saxon Kings" is especially rich in this +exquisite metallic harmony. By degrees, also, the Anglo-Saxons +became more perfected in the portrayal of the human figure, so +that by the twelfth century the work of the Southern schools and +those of England were more alike than at any previous time. + +[Illustration: IVY PATTERN, FROM A 14TH CENTURY FRENCH MANUSCRIPT] + +In the Northern manuscripts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries +it is amusing to note that the bad characters are always represented +as having large hooked noses, which fact testifies to the dislike +of the Northern races for the Italians and Southern peoples. + +The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries may be considered to stand +for the "Golden Age" of miniature art in all the countries of Europe. +In England and France especially the illuminated books of the thirteenth +century were marvels of delicate work, among which the Tenison +Psalter and the Psalter of Queen Mary, both in the British Museum, +are excellent examples. Queen Mary's Psalter was not really painted +for Queen Mary; it was executed two centuries earlier. But it was +being sent abroad in 1553, and was seized by the Customs. They +refused to allow it to pass. Afterwards it was presented to Queen +Mary. + +At this time grew up a most beautiful and decorative style, known +as "ivy pattern," consisting of little graceful flowering sprays, +with tiny ivy leaves in gold and colours. The Gothic feeling prevails +in this motive, and the foliate forms are full of spined cusps. +The effect of a book decorated in the ivy pattern, is radiant and +jewelled as the pages turn, and the burnishing of the gold was +brought to its full perfection at this time. The value of the creamy +surface of the vellum was recognized as part of the colour scheme. +With the high polish of the gold it was necessary to use always +the strong crude colours, as the duller tints would appear faded +by contrast. In the later stages of the art, when a greater realism +was attempted, and better drawing had made it necessary to use +quieter tones, gold paint was generally adopted instead of leaf, as +being less conspicuous and more in harmony with the general scheme; +and one of the chief glories of book decoration died in this change. + +[Illustration: MEDIAEVAL ILLUMINATION] + +The divergences of style in the work of various countries are well +indicated by Walter de Gray Birch, who says: "The English are famous +for clearness and breadth; the French for delicate fineness and +harmoniously assorted colours, the Flemish for minutely stippled +details, and the Italian for the gorgeous yet calm dignity apparent +in their best manuscripts." Individuality of facial expression, +although these faces are generally ugly, is a characteristic of +Flemish work, while the faces in French miniatures are uniform +and pretty. + +One marked feature in the English thirteenth and fourteenth century +books, is the introduction of many small grotesques in the borders, +and these little creatures, partly animal and partly human, show +a keen sense of humour, which had to display itself, even though +inappropriately, but always with a true spirit of wit. One might +suppose on first looking at these grotesques, that the droll expression +is unintentional: that the monks could draw no better, and that +their sketches are funny only because of their inability to portray +more exactly the thing represented. But a closer examination will +convince one that the wit was deliberate, and that the very subtlety +and reserve of their expression of humour is an indication of its +depth. To-day an artist with the sense of caricature expresses +himself in the illustrated papers and other public channels provided +for the overflow of high spirits; but the cloistered author of the +Middle Ages had only the sculptured details and the books belonging +to the church as vehicles for his satire. The carvings on the +miserere seats in choirs of many cathedrals were executed by the +monks, and abound in witty representations of such subjects as +Reynard the Fox, cats catching rats, etc.; inspired generally by +the knowledge of some of the inconsistencies in the lives of +ecclesiastical personages. The quiet monks often became cynical. + +The spirit of the times determines the standard of wit. At various +periods in the world's history, men have been amused by strange and +differing forms of drollery; what seemed excruciatingly funny to +our grandparents does not strike us as being at all entertaining. +Each generation has its own idea of humour, and its own fun-makers, +varying as much as fashion in dress. + +In mediaeval times, the sense of humour in art was more developed +than at any period except our own day. Even-while the monk was +consecrating his time to the work of beautifying the sanctuary, +his sense of humour was with him, and must crop out. The grotesque +has always played an important part in art; in the subterranean +Roman vaults of the early centuries, one form of this spirit is +exhibited. But the element of wit is almost absent; it is displayed +in oppressively obvious forms, so that it loses its subtlety: it +represents women terminating in floral scrolls, or sea-horses with +leaves growing instead of fins. The same spirit is seen in the +grotesques of the Renaissance, where the sense of humour is not +emphasized, the ideal in this class of decoration being simply to +fill the space acceptably, with voluptuous graceful lines, +mythological monstrosities, the inexpressive mingling of human and +vegetable characteristics, grinning dragons, supposed to inspire +horror, and such conceits, while the attempt to amuse the spectator +is usually absent. + +In mediaeval art, however, the beauty of line, the sense of horror, +and the voluptuous spirit, are all more or less subservient to +the light-hearted buoyancy of a keen sense of fun. To illustrate +this point, I wish to call the attention of the reader to the wit +of the monastic scribes during the Gothic period. Who could look at +the little animals which are found tucked away almost out of sight +in the flowery margins of many illuminated manuscripts, without seeing +that the artist himself must have been amused at their pranks, and +intended others to be so? One can picture a gray-hooded brother, +chuckling alone at his own wit, carefully tracing a jolly little +grotesque, and then stealing softly to the alcove of some congenial +spirit, and in a whisper inviting his friend to come and see the +satire which he has carefully introduced: "A perfect portrait of +the Bishop, only with claws instead of legs! So very droll! And +dear brother, while you are here, just look at the expression of +this little rabbit's ears, while he listens to the bombastic utterance +of this monkey who wears a stole!" + +[Illustration: CARICATURE OF A BISHOP] + +Such a fund of playful humour is seldom found in a single book as +that embodied in the Tenison Psalter, of which only a few pages +remain of the work of the original artist. The book was once the +property of Archbishop Tenison. These few pages show to the world the +most perfect example of the delicacy and skill of the miniaturist. +On one page, a little archer, after having pulled his bow-string, +stands at the foot of the border, gazing upwards after the arrow, +which has been caught in the bill of a stork at the top of the +page. The attitude of a little fiddler who is exhibiting his trick +monkeys can hardly be surpassed by caricaturists of any time. A +quaint bit of cloister scandal is indicated in an initial from +the Harleian Manuscript, in which a monk who has been entrusted +with the cellar keys is seen availing himself of the situation, +eagerly quaffing a cup of wine while he stoops before a large cask. +In a German manuscript I have seen, cuddled away among the foliage, +in the margin, a couple of little monkeys, feeding a baby of their +own species with pap from a spoon. The baby monkey is closely wrapped +in the swathing bands with which one is familiar as the early +trussing of European children. Satire and wrath are curiously blended +in a German manuscript of the twelfth century, in which the scribe +introduces a portrait of himself hurling a missile at a venturesome +mouse who is eating the monk's cheese--a fine Camembert!--under his +very nose. In the book which he is represented as transcribing, the +artist has traced the words--"Pessime mus, sepius me provocas ad +iram, ut te Deus perdat." ("Wicked mouse, too often you provoke me +to anger--may God destroy thee!") + +In their illustrations the scribes often showed how literal was +their interpretation of Scriptural text. For instance, in a passage +in the book known as the Utrecht Psalter, there is an illustration +of the verse, "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver +tried in the furnace, purified seven times." A glowing forge is +seen, and two craftsmen are working with bellows, pincers, and +hammer, to prove the temper of some metal, which is so molten that +a stream of it is pouring out of the furnace. Another example of +this literal interpretation, is in the Psalter of Edwin, where +two men are engaged in sharpening a sword upon a grindstone, in +illustration of the text about the wicked, "who whet their tongue +like a sword." + +There is evidence of great religious zeal in the exhortations of +the leaders to those who worked under them. Abbot John of Trittenham +thus admonished the workers in the Scriptorium in 1486: "I have +diminished your labours out of the monastery lest by working badly +you should only add to your sins, and have enjoined on you the +manual labour of writing and binding books. There is in my opinion +no labour more becoming a monk than the writing of ecclesiastical +books.... You will recall that the library of this monastery... +had been dissipated, sold, or made way with by disorderly monks +before us, so that when I came here I found but fourteen volumes." + +It was often with a sense of relief that a monk finished his work +upon a volume, as the final word, written by the scribe himself, +and known as the Explicit, frequently shows. In an old manuscript +in the Monastery of St. Aignan the writer has thus expressed his +emotions: "Look out for your fingers! Do not put them on my writing! +You do not know what it is to write! It cramps your back, it obscures +your eyes, it breaks your sides and stomach!" It is interesting +to note the various forms which these final words of the scribes +took; sometimes the Explicit is a pathetic appeal for remembrance +in the prayers of the reader, and sometimes it contains a note of +warning. In a manuscript of St. Augustine now at Oxford, there +is written: "This book belongs to St. Mary's of Robert's Bridge; +whoever shall steal it or in any way alienate it from this house, +or mutilate it, let him be Anathema Marantha!" A later owner, +evidently to justify himself, has added, "I, John, Bishop of Exeter, +know not where this aforesaid house is, nor did I steal this book, +but acquired it in a lawful way!" + +The Explicit in the Benedictional of Ethelwold is touching: the +writer asks "all who gaze on this book to ever pray that after the +end of the flesh I may inherit health in heaven; this is the prayer +of the scribe, the humble Godemann." A mysterious Explicit occurs +at the end of an Irish manuscript of 1138, "Pray for Moelbrighte +who wrote this book. Great was the crime when Cormac Mac Carthy +was slain by Tardelvach O'Brian." Who shall say what revelation +may have been embodied in these words? Was it in the nature of a +confession or an accusation of some hitherto unknown occurrence? +Coming as it does at the close of a sacred book, it was doubtless +written for some important reason. + +Among curious examples of the Explicit may be quoted the following: +"It is finished. Let it be finished, and let the writer go out for +a drink." A French monk adds: "Let a pretty girl be given to the +writer for his pains." Ludovico di Cherio, a famous illuminator +of the fifteenth century, has this note at the end of a book upon +which he had long been engaged: "Completed on the vigil of the +nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on an empty stomach." (Whether +this refers to an imposed penance or fast, or whether Ludovico +considered that the offering of a meek and empty stomach would be +especially acceptable, the reader may determine.) + +There is an amusing rhymed Explicit in an early fifteenth century +copy of Froissart: + + "I, Raoul Tanquy, who never was drunk + (Or hardly more than judge or monk,) + On fourth of July finished this book, + Then to drink at the Tabouret myself took, + With Pylon and boon companions more + Who tripe with onions and garlic adore." + +But if some of the monks complained or made sport of their work, +there were others to whom it was a divine inspiration, and whose +affection for their craft was almost fanatic, an anecdote being +related of one of them, who, when about to die, refused to be parted +from the book upon which he had bestowed much of his life's energy, +and who clutched it in his last agony so that even death should +not take it from him. The good Othlonus of Ratisbon congratulates +himself upon his own ability in a spirit of humility even while +he rejoices in his great skill; he says: "I think proper to add +an account of the great knowledge and capacity for writing which +was given me by the Lord in my childhood. When as yet a little +child, I was sent to school and quickly learned my letters, and +I began long before the time of learning, and without any order +from my master, to learn the art of writing. Undertaking this in a +furtive and unusual manner, and without any teacher, I got a habit +of holding my pen wrongly, nor were any of my teachers afterwards +able to correct me on that point." This very human touch comes down +to us through the ages to prove the continuity of educational +experience! The accounts of his monastic labours put us to the blush +when we think of such activity. "While in the monastery of Tegernsee +in Bavaria I wrote many books.... Being sent to Franconia while I +was yet a boy, I worked so hard writing that before I had returned +I had nearly lost my eyesight. After I became a monk at St. Emmerem, +I was appointed the school-master. The duties of the office so fully +occupied my time that I was able to do the transcribing I was +interested in only by nights and in holidays.... I was, however, +able, in addition to writing the books that I had myself composed, +and the copies which I gave away for the edification of those who +asked for them, to prepare nineteen missals, three books of the +Gospels and Epistles, besides which I wrote four service books for +Matins. I wrote in addition several other books for the brethren +at Fulda, for the monks at Hirschfeld, and at Amerbach, for the +Abbot of Lorsch, for certain friends at Passau, and for other +friends in Bohemia, for the monastery at Tegernsee, for the +monastery at Preyal, for that at Obermunster, and for my sister's +son. Moreover, I sent and gave at different times sermons, proverbs, +and edifying writings. Afterward old age's infirmities of various +kinds hindered me." Surely Othlonus was justified in retiring when +his time came, and enjoying some respite from his labours! + +Religious feeling in works of art is an almost indefinable thing, +but one which is felt in all true emanations of the conscientious +spirit of devotion. Fra Angelico had a special gift for expressing +in his artistic creations is own spiritual life; the very qualities +for which he stood, his virtues and his errors,--purity, +unquestioning faith in the miraculous, narrowness of creed, and +gentle and adoring humility,--all these elements are seen to +completeness in his decorative pictures. Perhaps this is because +he really lived up to his principles. One of his favourite sayings +was "He who occupies himself with the things of Christ, must ever +dwell with Christ." + +It is related that, in the Monastery of Maes Eyck, while the +illuminators were at work in the evening, copying Holy Writ, the +devil, in a fit of rage, extinguished their candles; they, however, +were promptly lighted again by a Breath of the Holy Spirit, and +the good work went on! Salvation was supposed to be gained through +conscientious writing. A story is told of a worldly and frivolous +brother, who was guilty of many sins and follies, but who, nevertheless, +was an industrious scribe. When he came to die, the devil claimed +his soul. The angels, however, brought before the Throne a great +book of religious Instructions which he had illuminated, and for +every letter therein, he received pardon for one sin. Behold! When +the account was completed, there proved to be one letter over! +the narrator adds naively, "And it was a very big book." + +[Illustration: ILLUMINATION BY GHERART DAVID OF BRUGES, 1498; ST. +BARBARA] + +Perhaps more than any books executed in the better period, after +the decline had begun, were the Books of Hours, containing the +numerous daily devotions which form part of the ritual of the Roman +Church. Every well appointed lady was supposed to own a copy, and +there is a little verse by Eustache Deschamps, a poet of the time +of Charles V., in which a woman is supposed to be romancing about +the various treasures she would like to possess. She says: + + "Hours of Our Lady should be mine, + Fitting for a noble dame, + Of lofty lineage and name; + Wrought most cunningly and quaint, + In gold and richest azure paint. + Rare covering of cloth of gold + Full daintily it shall enfold, + Or, open to the view exposed, + Two golden clasps to keep it closed." + +John Skelton the poet did honour to the illuminated tomes of his +day, in spite of the fact that the aeesthetic deterioration had +begun. + + "With that of the boke lozende were the clasps + The margin was illumined all with golden railes, + And bice empictured, with grasshoppers and waspes + With butterflies and fresh peacock's tailes: + Englosed with... pictures well touched and quickly, + It wold have made a man hole that had be right sickly!" + +But here we have an indication of that realism which rung the death +knell of the art. The grasshoppers on a golden ground, and the +introduction of carefully painted insect and floral life, led to +all sorts of extravagances of taste. + +But before this decadence, there was a very interesting period of +transition, which may be studied to special advantage in Italy, +and is seen chiefly in the illuminations of the great choral books +which were used in the choirs of churches. One book served for +all the singers in those days, and it was placed upon an open +lectern in the middle of the choir, so that all the singers could +see it: it will be readily understood that the lettering had to +be generous, and the page very large for this purpose. The +decoration of these books took on the characteristics of breadth +in keeping with their dimensions, and of large masses of ornament +rather than delicate meander. The style of the Italian choral books +is an art in itself. + +The Books of Hours and Missals developed during the fifteenth and +sixteenth centuries into positive art galleries, whole pages being +occupied by paintings, the vellum being entirely hidden by the +decoration. The art of illumination declined as the art of miniature +painting progressed. The fact that the artist was decorating a page +in a book was lost sight of in his ambition to paint a series of +small pictures. The glint of burnished gold on the soft surface +of the vellum was no longer considered elegant, and these more +elaborate pictures often left not even a margin, so that the pictures +might as well have been executed on paper and canvas and framed +separately, for they do not suggest ornaments in a book after this +change had taken place. Lettering is hardly introduced at all on +the same page with the illustration, or, when it is, is placed +in a little tablet which is simply part of the general scheme. + +[Illustration: CHORAL BOOK, SIENA] + +Among the books in this later period I will refer specifically to +two only, the Hours of Ann of Brittany, and the Grimani Breviary. +The Hours of Ann of Brittany, illuminated by a famous French artist +of the time of Louis XII., is reproduced in facsimile by Curmer, and +is therefore available for consultation in most large libraries. +It will repay any one who is interested in miniature art to examine +this book, for the work is so excellent that it is almost like +turning the leaves of the original. The Grimani Breviary, which +was illuminated by Flemish artists of renown, was the property of +Cardinal Grimani, and is now one of the treasures of the Library +of St. Marc in Venice. It is impossible in a short space to comment +to any adequate extent upon the work of such eminent artists as +Jean Foucquet, Don Giulio Clovio, Sano di Pietro, and Liberale da +Verona; they were technically at the head of their art, and yet, +so far as taste in book decoration is to be considered, their work +would be more satisfactory as framed miniatures than as marginal +or paginal ornament. + +Stippling was brought to its ultimate perfection by Don Giulio +Clovio, but it is supposed to have been first practised by Antonio +de Holanda. + +One of Jehan Foucquet's assistants was Jehan Bourdichon. There is +an interesting memorandum extant, relating to a piece of illumination +which Bourdichon had accomplished. "To the said B. for having had +written a book in parchment named the Papalist, the same illuminated +in gold and azure and made in the same nine rich Histories, and for +getting it bound and covered, thirty crowns in gold." + +At the time of the Renaissance there was a rage for "tiny books," +miniature copies of famous works. M. Wuertz possessed a copy of the +Sonnets of Petrarch, written in italics, in brown ink, of which +the length was one inch, and the breadth five-eighths of an inch, +showing fifty lines on a page. The text is only visible through +a glass. It is in Italian taste, with several miniatures, and is +bound in gold filigree. + +The value of illuminated books is enormous. An Elector of Bavaria +once offered a town for a single book; but the monks had sufficient +worldly wisdom to know that he could easily take the town again, +and so declined the exchange! + +With the introduction of printing, the art of illumination was +doomed. The personal message from the scribe to the reader was +merged in the more comprehensive message of the press to the public. +It was no longer necessary to spend a year on a work that could be +accomplished in a day; so the artists found themselves reduced to +painting initial letters in printed books, sometimes on vellum, but +more often on paper. This art still flourishes in many localities; +but it is no more illumination, though it is often so designated, +than photography is portrait painting. Both are useful in their +departments and for their several purposes, but it is incorrect +to confound them. + +[Illustration: DETAIL FROM AN ITALIAN CHORAL BOOK] + +Once, while examining an old choral book, I was particularly +struck with the matchless personal element which exists in a book +which is made, as this was, by the hand, from the first stroke to +the last. The first page showed a bold lettering, the sweep of the +pen being firm and free. Animal vigour was demonstrated in the steady +hand and the clear eye. The illuminations were daintily painted, +and the sure touch of the little white line used to accentuate the +colours, was noticeable. After several pages, the letters became +less true and firm. The lines had a tendency to slant to the right; +a weakness could be detected in the formerly strong man. Finally +the writing grew positively shaky. The skill was lost. + +Suddenly, on another page, came a change. A new hand had taken up +the work--that of a novice. He had not the skill of the previous +worker in his best days, but the indecision of his lines was that +of inexperience, not of failing ability. Gradually he improved. +His colours were clearer and ground more smoothly; his gold showed +a more glassy surface. The book ended as it had begun, a virile +work of art; but in the course of its making, one man had grown +old, lost his skill, and died, and another had started in his +immaturity, gained his education, and devoted his best years to +this book. + +The printing press stands for all that is progressive and desirable; +modern life and thought hang upon this discovery. But in this glorious +new birth there was sacrificed a certain indescribable charm which +can never be felt now except by a book lover as he turns the leaves +of an ancient illuminated book. To him it is given to understand that +pathetic appeal across the centuries. + +THE END. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +Arts and Crafts Movement. O. L. Triggs. +Two Lectures. William Morris. +Decorative Arts. William Morris. +Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini. +Library of British Manufactories. +Gold and Silver. Wheatley. +Ye Olden Time. E. S. Holt. +Arts and Crafts Essays. Ed. by Morris. +Industrial Arts. Maskell. +Old English Silver. Cripps. +Spanish Arts. J. E. Rianio. +History of the Fine Arts. W. B. Scott. +Art Work in Gold and Silver. P. H. Delamotte. +Gold and Silver. J. H. Pollen. +Une Ville du Temps Jadis. M. E. Del Monte. +Industrial Arts. P. Burty. +Arts of the Middle Ages. Labarte. +Miscellanea Graphica. Fairholt. +Artist's Way of Working. R. Sturgis. +Jewellery. Cyril Davenport. +Enamels. Mrs. Nelson Dawson. +Precious Stones. Jones. +Ghiberti and Donatello. Leader Scott. +Iron Work. J. S. Gardner. +Guilds of Florence. E. Staley. +Armour in England. J. S. Gardner. +Foreign Armour in England. J. S. Gardner. +Cameos. Cyril Davenport. +Peter Vischer. Cecil Headlam. +St. Eloi and St. Bernward. Baring Gould; Lives of the Saint. +European Enamels. H. Cunynghame. +Intarsia and Marquetry. H. Jackson. +Pavement Masters of Siena. R. H. Cust. Sculpture in Ivory. Digby +Wyatt. Ancient and Mediaeval Ivories. Wm. Maskell. Ivory Carvers of +the Middle Ages. A. M. Cust. Arts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. +P. Lacroix. Ivories. A. Maskell. Old English Embroidery. F. and H. +Marshall. The Bayeux Tapestry. F. R. Fowke. History of Tapestry. +W. G. Thomson. La Broderie. L. de Farcy. Textile Fabrics. Dr. Rock. +Needlework as Art. Lady Alford. History of Needlework. Countess +of Wilton. Gilds; Their Origins, etc. C. Walford. Tapestry. A. +Champeaux. Tapestry. J. Hayes. Ornamental Metal Work. Digby Wyatt. +La Mosaique. Gerspach. The Master Mosaic Workers. G. Sand. Revival +of Sculpture. A. L. Frothingham. History of Italian Sculpture. C. +H. Perkins. Art Applied to Industry. W. Burges. Four Centuries +of Art. Noel Humphreys. Aratra Pentelici. Ruskin. Seven Lamps of +Architecture. Ruskin. Val d'Arno. Ruskin. Stones of Venice. Ruskin. +Lectures on Sculpture. Flaxman. Brick and Marble. G. E. Street. +Sculpture in Wood. Williams. Greek and Gothic. St. J. Tyrwhitt. +Westminster Abbey and Craftsmen. W. R. Lethaby. Le Roi Rene. L. de +la Marche. English Mediaeval Figure Sculpture. Prior and Gardner. +Churches of Paris. Sophia Beale. Matthew Paris' Chronicle. Crowns +and Coronations. Jones. Bell's Handbooks of Rouen, Chartres, Amiens, +Wells, Salisbury and Lincoln. History of Sculpture. D'Agincourt. +The Grotesque in Church Art. T. T. Wildridge. +Choir Stalls and Their Carving. Emma Phipson. Memorials of Westminster +Abbey. Dean Stanley. Memorials of Canterbury. Dean Stanley. Les +Corporations des Arts et Metiers. Hubert Valeroux. Finger Ring +Lore. Jones. Goldsmith's and Silversmith's Work. Nelson Dawson. The +Dark Ages. Maitland. Rambles of an Archaeologist. F. W. Fairholt. +History of Furniture. A. Jacquemart. Embroidery. W. G. P. Townsend. +Le Livre des Metiers. Etienne Boileau. Illuminated Manuscripts. +J. H. Middleton. Illuminated Manuscripts. Edward Quaile. English +Illuminated Manuscripts. Maunde Thompson. Les Manuscrits et l'art +de les Orner. Alphonse Labitte. Les Manuscrits et la Miniature. +L. de la Marche. Primer of Illumination. Delamotte. Primer of +Illumination. Digby Wyatt. Ancient Painting and Sculpture in England. +J. Carter. Vasari's Lives of the Painters. (Selected.) Benvenuto +Cellini--Autobiography. Illuminated Manuscripts. O. Westwood. Celtic +Illuminative Art. S. F. H. Robinson. Illuminated Manuscripts. Bradley. + + + + +INDEX + +Aachen, 16 +Abbeville, 265 +Abbo, 57 +Absalom, 299 +Acherius, J., 335 +Adam, 28 +Adam, Abbot, 21 +Adaminus, 222 +Adelard, 229 +Aelfled, 199 +Aelst, 172 +Agatho, 281 +Agnelli, Fra, 226 +Agnese, St., 14, 316 +Agnolo, B., 303 +Ahab, 276 +Aignan, St., 354 +Aix-la-Chapelle, 98, 287 +Albans, St., 114, 186, 207, 250 +Alberti, L., 131 +Aleuin, 14, 278, 332 +Aldobrandini, 131 +Alfred, King, 4, 64, 67, 94, 199 +Alford, Lady, 188, 303 +Alicante, 167 +Almeria, 183 +Aloise, 20 +Alwin, Bp., 252 +Alwyn, H. F., 25 +Amasia, Bp. of, 191 +America, 25 +Amiens, 65, 144, 230, 233, 236, 238, 240, 244, 265 +Anastatius, 201, 281 +"Anatomy of Abuses," 26 +Ancona, 224 +"Ancren Riwle," 75 +Angers, 164, 208 +Anglo-Saxons, 49, 92, 95, 100, 111, 159, 184, 294, 343 +Anne of Bohemia, 65, 135 +Anne of Brittany, 174, 211, 361 +Anne of Cleves, 206 +Anquetil, 230 +Antelami, 221 +Anthemius, 316 +Anthony, St., 254 +Antwerp, 116 +Apollinaire, St., 316 +Apollonius, 319 +Apulia, 182 +Arabia, 5, 14, 147 +Arles, 18, 192, 229 +Arnant, A., 292 +Arnolfo di Cambio, 227 +Armour, 121-132 +Arphe, H. d' and J. d', 24, 25 +Arras, 20, 165, 166, 167, 171 +Arrigo (see Peselli) +Arthur, Prince, 205 +Artois, 166 +Asser, 4 +Asterius, St., 192 +Atlas, 9 +Athelmay, 4 +August the Pious, 245 +Augustine, St., 279, 354 +Aurelian, 180 +Auquilinus, 230 +Austin, W., 129 +Auxene, 162 +Aventin, St., 231 +Avernier, A., 265 +Avignon, M. de, 33 + +"Babee's Book," 39 +Bakes, J., 171 +Balbastro, 130 +Baldini, B., 34 +Baldovinetto, 322 +Ballin, C., 35 +Bamberg, 258 +Baptist, John, 65 +Barbarossa, 16 +Barcheston, 171 +Bargello, 281 +Barnwell, 330 +Bartholomew Anglicus, 4, 81, 83, 110, 149 +Basilewski, 291 +Basle, 23 +Basse-taille, 103 +Bataille, 166 +Bavaria, 165, 266, 295, 362 +Bayeux Tapestry, 154-159 +Bazinge, A. de, 207 +Beauchamp, R., 144 +Becket, T. a, 28, 46, 54, 61 +Bede, 110, 145 +Begue, J. de, 338 +Bells, 145 +Benedict, St., 4, 329 +Benedictional of Ethelwold, 355 +Benet, J., 250 +Bergamo, 308 +Bernard, M., 167 +Bernard, St., 21, 22, 270, 287 +Bernward, Bp., 16-20, 136, 140, 229, 317 +Berquem, L., 74 +Bess of Hardwick, 211 +Bethancourt, J. de, 33 +Beverly, 257, 274 +Bezaleel, 1, 25 +Bezold, H. van, 268 +Bianchini, 324 +Billiard Balls, 295 +Birch, W. de G., 349 +Biscornette, 113 +Black Prince, 135 +"Blandiver, Jack," 152 +Bloet, Bp., 246 +Blois, 174 +Boabdil, 127 +Boileau, E., 217 +Boleyn, A., 78 +Bologna, 224, 308 +Bolognese, M. S., 337 +Boningegna, G., 98 +Boston Art Museum, 342 +Bosworth, 66 +Botticelli, 190 +Boudichon, J., 361 +Boulin, A., 265 +Boutellier, J. le, 237 +Bradshaw, 170 +Brandenburgh, 295 +Bridget, St., 53, 346 +Briolottus, 222 +Brithnoth, 160 +British Museum, 292, 345 +Bronze, 132-149 +Brooches, 50-56 +Browning, R., 258 +Brunelleschi, 305 +Brussels, 172 +Brussels, M. S., 337 +Burgundy, 194 +Byzantine style, 13, 22, 24, 49, 63, 84, 87, 92, 97, 103, 183, 191, +199, 220, 224, 340 +"Byzantine Guide," 342 + +Cadwollo, 134 +Caffi, M., 307 +Cambio, A. del, 301 +Cambridge, 37, 364 +Camerino, J., 321 +Cameos, 85-90 +Cano, A., 268 +Canterbury, 54, 135, 176, 243 +Canute (see Knut) +Canozio, 305 +Caradosso, 8 +Caramania, 168 +Carazan, 5 +Carlencas, 218 +Carovage, 151 +Carpentras, Bp. of, 37 +Carrara, 221 +Carter, J., 106, 251, 290 +Casati, 90 +Cassiodorus, 327 +Castel, G. van, 268 +Castiglione, Count, 308 +Cecilia, St., 186 +Celestine III., Pope, 18 +Cellini, Benvenuto, xii, 7-13, 43, 56, 68-71, 91, 96, 105, 127, 132, +304 +Celtic style, 50-54, 92, 343 +Centula, 317 +Chained Books, 330 +Chalices, 29 +Champleve, 94, 103 +Charlemagne, 14, 15, 23, 62, 98, 124, 146, 181, 203, 224, 294, 328, +332, 338 +Charles I., 212 +Charles V., 40, 70, 165, 209, 265, 295, 359 +Charles the Bold, 15 +Chartres, 107, 145, 219, 229, 231, 234, 237, 238, 242, 312 +Chaucer, 169, 181, 193 +Chelles, J. de, 240 +Cherio, L. de, 355 +Chester, 170, 273 +Chichester, 242 +Chilperic, 38 +Chinchintalas, 187 +Christin of Margate, 207 +Cid, The, 128 +Claudian, 278 +Clement le Brodeur, 207 +Clement, Pope, 9, 56, 89 +Clemente, St., 321 +Clermont, 314 +Clocks, 150 +Clothaire II., 157 +Clovio, G., 361 +Clovis II., 62 +Cluny, 14 +Cockayne, W., 44 +Coinsi, Prior, 270 +Colaccio, M., 305 +Cola di Rienzi, 204 +Coldingham, 249 +Cologne, 98, 115, 145 +Columba, St., 220, 327, 344 +Columbkille, 52 +Constantine, 13, 313, 316, 340 +Constantinople, 57, 84, 86, 97, 136, 181, 225, 316, 317, 318, 340 +Constanza, Sta., 314 +Coquille, G. de, 32 +Cordova, 25 +Coro, D. del, 299 +Cosmati Mosaic, 310 +Coula, 53 +Courtray, 152 +Coventry, 201 +Cozette, 177 +Cracow, 266 +Crete, 276 +Crest, H., 33 +Crivelli, C., 183 +Croisetes, J. de, 166 +Cromwell, O., 29 +Crown Jewels, 66 +Croyland, 147, 164, 192, 200 +Crumdale, R., 250 +Cunegonde, 207 +Cunegunda, Queen, 2, 24 +Cups, 44 +Curfew, 147 +Curmer, 361 +Cuserius, 315 +Cuthbert, St., 53, 145, 199, 345 +Cynewulf, 149 +Cyzicus, L. de, 279, 341 + +Dagobert, 62, 162 +Damascening, 126 +Damiano, Fra, 308 +Davenport, 287 +Davenport, C., 86 +Davi, J., 236 +Day, Lewis, 183 +Decker, H., 259 +Delhi, 57 +Delphyn, N., 255 +Delobel, 196 +Denis, St., 20, 22, 58, 83, 162, 230, 232 +Deschamps, E., 359 +Diamonds, 71-74 +Diane of de Poictiers, 107 +Didier, Abbe, 318 +Didron, 18, 140 +Dijon, 152, 194, 229 +Dipoenus, 276 +Dioscorides, 341 +Domenico of the Cameos, 88 +Donatello, xiii, 227 +Donne, Dr., 79 +Dourdan, 166 +Drawswerd, 255 +Dresden, 85 +Dublin, 27, 344 +Ducarel, 159 +Dunstan, St., 75, 110, 182 +Duerer, A., 132, 258, 266, 268 +Durham, 53, 148, 172, 197, 250, 252, 288, 318 +"Durham Book," 344 +Durosne, 33 +Duval, J., 173 + +Ebony, 307 +Ecclesiasticus, 81 +Edinburgh, 130 +Edgitha, 193 +Edith, Queen, 159 +Edrisi, 167 +Edward, goldsmith, 28, 36 +Edward I., 75 +Edward II., 168, 199 +Edward III., 36, 66, 193 +Edward IV., 37, 117 +Edward the Confessor, 26, 28, 75, 156, 193, 224, 251 +Egebric, 147 +Eginhard, 282 +Egyptians, 1 +Eleanor, Queen, 117, 135, 144, 165, 249 +Elfen, 309 +Elizabeth, Queen, 26, 129, 211 +Eloi, St., 22, 57-62, 111 +Ely, 159, 195, 200, 249 +Embroideries, 179-212 +Emesa, 65 +Emma, Queen, 200, 251 +Enamels, 91-108 +England, 2, 4, 23, 135, 164, 214 +Eraclius, 336 +Essex, William of, 107 +Etheldreda, St., 249 +Explicit, 354 +Exodus, 1 +Ezekiel, 276 + +Fairill, 53 +Falkland, Viscount, 211 +Farcy, L., 189, 203 +Ferdinand I., 302 +Ferdinand II., 302 +Fereol, St., 328 +Ferucci, F., 302 +Filigree, 12 +Finger-rings, 74-78 +Finiguerra, M., 34, 101 +Flagons, 37 +Flanders, 165 +Florence, xii, 26, 34, 88, 115, 136, 147, 176, 224, 264, 298, 301, +303, 319, 322 +Florence, Jean of, 165 +Florent, St., 163 +Fontaine, E. la, 23 +Foucquet, J., 361 +Fowke, F. R., 155 +Fra Angelico, 357 +France, 2, 3, 5, 23, 162, 164, 214-216, 257, 262, 291, 325 +Francia, 34, 183 +Francis I., 11, 105, 107, 133, 152, 177 +Fremlingham, R. de, 250 +Froissart, 131, 152, 356 +Fuller, 189, 201 + +Gaddi, G. and A., 319-320, 322 +Gaegart, 114 +Gale, P., 207 +Gall, St., 124, 145, 263, 285 +Galla Placida, 315 +"Gammer Gurton's Needle," 188 +Gandesheim, 19 +Garlande, J. de, 62 +Garnier, 230 +Gaunt, J. of, 35, 55 +Gautier, R., 207 +Gendulphus, St., 288 +Genesis, 160 +Genevieve, St., 3, 239 +Genoa, 12, 180 +Gerbert, 150 +Germany, 5, 16, 17, 114, 130, 139, 141, 185, 198, 214, 257, 262, 291 +George II., 186 +George IV., 75 +Gerona, 160 +Ghent, 130 +Ghiberti, xii, 34, 71, 136, 227 +Ghirlandajo, 33, 322 +Giacomo, Maestro, 306 +Gifford, G., 29 +Gilles, St., 229 +Giralda, 135 +Giraldus, Cambriensis, 335 +Girard d'Orleans, 265 +Giotto, 264, 322 +"Giovanni of the Camelians," 88 +Giudetto, Maestro, 296 +Glastonbury, 110, 152, 220, 331 +Gloucester, 327, 331 +Gloucester, John of, 248 +Gobelins Tapestry, 160, 164, 176 +Godemann, 355 +Gold Leaf, 335 +Gontran, 229 +Gothic style, 24, 29 +Gouda, 299 +Granada, 183 +Gregory, St., 221, 277 +Gresham, Sir T., 25 +Gres, H. de, 292 +Grimani Breviary, 361 +Grosso, N., 116 +Grotesques, 235-243, 273, 349, 353 +Grove, D. van, 268 +Guerrazzar, Treasure of, 63 +Guillaume, Abbot, 229 +Gutierez, 167 + +Haag, J., 240 +Hall Mark, 3 +Hankford, Sir W., 36 +Hampton Court, 171 +Hannequin, 32 +Harleian MS., 352 +Harrison, 193 +Harold, 157, 158 +Hasquin, J. de, 33 +Hatfield, 171 +Hayes, S. L., 156 +Headlam, C., 268 +Hebrides, 196 +Hebrews, 1 +Heliot, 292 +Hennequin de Liege, 240 +Henry I., 23, 155 +Henry II., 83, 107, 197 +Henry III, 27, 28, 36, 38, 86, 117, 135, 144, 207, 248, 287, 311 +Henry V., 252 +Henry VI., 185 +Henry VII., 102, 181, 206, 253, 254, 257, 268 +Henry VIII., 131, 175, 195, 209, 254 +Henry the Pious, 23 +Herlin, F., 266 +Herman, 74 +Herodias, 65 +Hezilo, 20 +Hildesheim, xii, 16-20, 116, 136, 139, 140, 258, 285, 286, 309, 317 +Holanda, A. de, 361 +Holderness, 273 +Honorius, Pope, 316 +Hudd, A., 255 +Huberd, R., 251 +Hugh, St., 246 +Hughes, Abbot, 229 +Husee, 37-78 +Hust, A., 265 + +Il Lasca, 305 +Illumination, 326-364 +Imber, L., 255 +Inlay, 296-309 +Innocent IV., 200 +Iona, 220 +Ireland, 342-345 +Iron, 109-121 +Isaiah, 1 +Isidore, 316 +Isle of Man, 77 +Islip, Abbot, 102, 275 +Italy, 5, 21, 92, 141 +Ivan III, 283 +Ivory carving, 275-295 +"Ivy Pattern," 347 + +Jackson, H., 307 +Jacob of Breslau, 328 +Jacobus, Fra, 319 +James, 315 +James I., 56, 176 +Jeanne, Queen, 173 +Jeanne of Navarre, 68 +John, King, 66, 105, 207 +John XII., 111 +John IV., 316 +Johnson, R., 117 +Joinville, Sirede, 194 +Jones, Sir E. B., 203 +Jouy, B. de, 314 +Justinian, 220, 221, 315 + +Katherine, Queen, 252 +Katherine of Aragon, 209 +Keepe, H., 241 +Kells, Book of, 49, 344 +Kent, Fair Maid of, 196 +Keys, 119 +Kildare, Gospels of, 345 +Kirton, Ed., 241 +"Kleine Heldenbuch," 189 +Knight, 210 +Knut, King, 200, 252 +Kohinoor, 71 +Kraft, A., 141, 213, 258, 259, 261, 266 +Krems, 115 + +Laach, 262 +Labenwolf, 143 +Labarte, 302 +Laborde, 74 +Labraellier, J., 295 +Lacordaire, 160 +Lagrange, 168 +Lambspring, B., 129 +Lamoury, S., 166 +Lateran, The, 205, 316, 321 +Laura, 193 +Lawrence, St., 315 +Lead, 149 +Lebrija, 269 +Leighton, T. de, 117 +Leland, 206 +Leo III., 203 +Leo X., 172 +Leon, 25 +Leopardi, 302 +"Les Maitres Mosaites," 323 +Lethaby, W. R., 252, 311 +Lewis, 293 +Lewis, H., 117 +Liberale da Verona, 361 +"Liber Eliensis," 200 +Lille, 166 +Limoges, 24-57, 103, 107, 144 +Lincoln, 244, 246, 274 +Lincoln Imp, 247 +Lindisfarne, 53, 345 +Limousin, E. and L., 107 +Lisle, Lord, 35, 55 +Little Gidding, 212 +Locks, 120 +Lombards, The, 18, 63, 220, 277 +London, 25, 26, 44, 182, 185, 206, 248, 288 +Lothaire, 38 +Louis VI., 21 +Louis VII., 21 +Louis XII., 174, 361 +Louis XIV., 197 +Louis, Prince, 20 +Louis, St., 22, 194, 232, 240, 253 +Louvre, The, 270, 292 +Luebke, xi +Lucca, 221, 296 +Luca della Robbia, 213 +Ludlow, 273 +Luini, B., 307 +Luna, de, 306 + +MacDurnam, 344 +"Mad Meg," 130 +Madrid, 177-270 +Maes Eyck, 358 +Magaster, 278 +Maiano, B. de, 304 +Maitland, 14 +Maitani, L., 227 +Malaga, 269 +Malmsbury, W. of, 65, 75, 220 +Malvezzi, M., 308 +Manne, P., 33 +Mantegna, 101 +Mantreux, J. de, 32 +Manuello, 302 +Mapilton, Master, 252 +"Mappae Claviculae," 276 +Marcel, St., 238 +Marcellus, 65 +Marche, L. de la, 341 +Maretta, G., 8 +Mariana, Queen, 270 +Mark's, St., 318, 323, 361 +Marten, 66 +Martin, St., 17, 87 +Martyr, Bp., 240 +Mary, Queen of Scots, 210 +Maskell, A. and W., 32, 186, 294 +Massari, A., 306 +Matilda, Queen, 155 +Matsys, Q., 118, 141 +Matteo da Siena, 300 +Maximian, 282 +Medici, The, 85, 176, 211, 254, 301 +Memlinc, 166 +Mexicans, 18 +Michael, St., 18, 19 +Michelangelo, 9, 90, 116, 254, 303 +Milan, 281, 307 +Mildmay, H., 67 +Minella, P. de, 299 +Miniato, San, 298 +Miserere Stalls, 271-275 +"Mons Meg," 130 +Monte Cassino, 318 +Montereau, J. de, 240 +Montfort, S. de, 63 +Montarsy, P. de, 35 +Monza, 23, 63, 221 +Monzon, 146 +Moore, Charles, xi, 234 +Moorish style, 24 +Moreau, J., 241 +Morel, B., 135 +Mortlake, 178 +Morris, Wm., v, x, 248 +Moryson, F., 26 +Mt. Athos, 341 +Moeser, L., 266 +Mosaic, 309-327 + +Nantes, 314 +Nassaro, M. dal, 88 +Naumberg, 259 +Navagiero, 183 +Nevers, Count of, 194 +Nicolas, J., 33 +Niello, 49, 99-102 +Nomenticum, 166 +Norfolk, 31 +Norman style, 29 +Norton, C. E., 219, 226 +Norwich, 45, 196, 331 +Notre Dame, Paris, 218, 234, 238, 240 +Noyon, 58, 60 +Nueremberg, 141, 152, 258, 259, 266, 292, 309 + +Oath Book of the Saxon Kings, 346 +Odericus, 311 +Odo, goldsmith, 14, 27 +Odo, Abbot, 115 +Olivetans, 307-308 +Orcagna, 34, 140, 183, 227 +Orebsc, S. M., 24 +Orghet, J., 166 +Oriental, 24, 84 +Orleans, 33 +Orso Magister, 222 +Orviedo, 278 +Orvieto, 33, 227, 244, 302, 310 +Osmont, 204 +Othlonus, 356 +Otho, 230, 286 +Otto III., Emperor, 16 +Oudenardes, 169 +Ouen, St., 58 +Oxford, 168, 210, 248, 255, 354 + +Pacheco, 25 +Padua, 305 +Pala d'Oro, 23, 97, 98 +Palermo, 311 +"Pancake Man" 245 +Paris, 2, 17, 20-23, 26, 37, 52, 69, 86, 113, 149, 166, 186, 200, 218, +229, 234, 238, 239, 240, 339 +Paris, Matthew, 27, 180, 207 +Parma, 221 +Patras, L., 139 +Patrick, St., 2, 49, 52, 145, 238 +Paul the Deacon, 221 +Paulus, 315 +Pausanias, 121 +Pavia, 221 +Pembroke, Earl, 67 +Penne, 208 +Perseus, 134 +Persia, 55 +Perugia, 224, 298 +Peselli, 322 +Peter Albericus, 224 +Peter Amabilis, 224 +Peter the Great, 295 +Peter de St. Andeman, 335 +Peter Orfever, 224 +Peter of Rome, 310 +Peter of Spain, 241 +Petrarch, 192, 362 +Philip IV., 167 +Philip the Bold, 165 +Philip the Good, 165 +Philippa, Queen, 194 +Philostratus, 91, 103 +Philoxenus, 277 +Picardie, 317 +Pickering, W., 129 +Pietra Dura, 301 +Piggigny, J. de, 32 +Pinturicchio, 300 +Pirckheimer, W., 132 +Pisa, 221, 225, 298 +Pisani, The, 71, 216, 221, 225, 234, 244 +Pistoja, 298 +Pitti Palace, 101, 177, 301, 302 +Pius II., 67 +Pliny, 2, 110, 143 +Poitiers, 162, 163 +Pollajuolo, xiii, 34, 195 +Polo, Marco, 5, 55, 71, 184, 187, 278 +Pordenone, 323 +Portland Vase, 87 +Poucet, J. de and B., 241 +Poulligny, G. de, 207 +Poussin, N., 33 +Precious Stones, 77-83 +Prior and Gardner, 244 +Probus, 277 +"Properties of Things," 4 +Psalter of Edwin, 353 +Ptolemies, The, 83 +Pudenziana, St., 314 +Pugin, 120, 153 + +Quentin, St., 60 +"Queen Mary's Psalter," 347 + +Rabanus, 278 +Rabotin, L., 33 +Raffaelo da Brescia, 308 +Ralph, Brother, 250 +Ramsay, W., 250 +Raphael, 166, 172, 323 +Rausart, J. de, 166 +Ravenna, 216, 224, 282, 283, 312, 314, 315 +Redgrave, R., xi, 47 +Ree, J. P., 259 +Reformation, The, 29, 31, 209 +Reggio, 305 +Renaissance, 32, 88, 117, 135, 141, 164, 192, 205, 227, 239, 268, 271, +362 +Rene of Anjou, 33, 164, 173, 208, 241 +Renoy, J., 237 +Reynolds, Sir J., 139 +Rheims, 150, 162, 229, 238, 239, 300 +Richard II., 37, 135 +Richard III., 66 +Ripon, 273 +Robert, King, 150, 229 +Rock, Dr., 155, 183, 191, 197, 210 +Rome, 17, 19, 24, 136, 187, 264, 278, 283, 310, 316, 321, 322 +Romanesque style, 18, 29, 219, 220, 258 +Romulus and Remus, 299 +Rosebeque, 131, 167 +Rossi, 314 +Rothenburg, 266 +Rouen, 60, 236, 265 +Roze, Abbe, 236 +Ruskin, J., v, 144, 221, 222, 226, 227, 235, 265, 298 + +Salinas, 130 +Salisbury, 243 +Salisbury, Earl, 35 +Salt-cellars, 43 +Salutati, B., 195 +Sand, G., 323 +Sandwich, 30 +Sansovino, xii +Sano di Pietro, 361 +Saumur, 162, 241 +Sauval, 114 +Savonarola, 195 +Schuelein, H., 266 +Scillis, 276 +Scholastico, A., 295 +Schutz, C., 185 +Scott, W., 51 +Sculpture, 213 +Selsea, 242 +Senlis, H. de, 292 +Seville, 24, 25, 128, 132, 209 +Sewald, 165 +Shakespeare, 77 +Shoreditch, J. of, 168 +Shrewsbury, 211 +Siena, 225, 298-300, 302 +Silk, 179 +Siries, L., 302 +Sithiu, 339 +Skelton, J., 359 +Smyrna, 168 +Soignoles, J. de, 240 +Solignac, 58 +Sophia, Sta., 316 +South Kensington Museum, 19, 170, 177, 197, 198, 303, 226 +Spain, 24, 102, 110, 117, 120, 127-8, 130, 211, 258, 278, 294, 306 +Spoons, 39 +"Squire of Low Degree," 197 +Staley, E., 134 +Statius, 315 +Stauracius, 136 +Stengel, H., 309 +Stephanus, 315 +Stephen IV., 187 +Stevens, T., 144 +Strasburg, 259 +Stoss-Veit, 258-266 +Stubbes, 25 +Stubbs, Charles, 249 +Stump Work, 212 +Sturgis, R., vii, 218, 307 +Suger, Abbot, 20-23, 230, 318 +Suinthila, 23, 63 +Sumercote, J. de, 207 +"Swineherd of Stowe," 246 +Sylvester II., 151 +Sylvester, Bp., 314 +Symmachus, 279 +Symonds, J. A., 139 +Syon Cope, 201 +Syrlin, J., 266 + +Tali, A., 319-320 +Tanagra, 213 +Tancho, 146 +Tapestry, 154-178 +Tapicier, G. le, 168 +Tappistere, J. le, 168 +Tara Brooch, 50, 83 +Tartary, 184 +Tassach, 53 +Tasso, D. and G., 303, 304 +Taugmar, 17 +Tegernsee, 357 +Temple Church, 248 +Tenison Psalter, 347, 352 +Texier, Abbe, xiii +Textiles, 154 +Thebes, 181 +Thergunna, 196 +Theodolinda, Queen, 221, 277 +Theodora, 315 +Theodoric, 221, 222, 327 +Theophilus the Monk, 5, 6, 7, 74, 81, 85, 95, 99, 100, 110, 185, 276, 337 +Theophilus, Emperor, 14, 317 +Thillo, 58 +Thomson, M. G., 165, 171 +Tintoretto, 323 +Titian, 323 +Toledo, 24, 25, 63, 125, 209, 270 +Tonquin, J., 114 +Topf, J., 129 +Torcello, 112, 319 +Torel, W., 144, 249, 250 +Torpenhow, 31 +Torregiano, 254, 264 +Torriti, J., 321 +Touraine, 194 +Tours, 17, 162, 173, 314 +"Treatises" of Cellini, 11 +Trittenham, J. of, 354 +Trophimes, St., 229 +Troupin, J., 265 +Troyes, 170 +Tucher, A., 268 +Tudela, B. of, 57, 181 +Tudor, 29 +Tuscany, 5 +Tutilon, or Tutilo, 229, 263 + +Ubaldo, St., 204 +Ugolino of Siena, 33 +Ulm, 266 +Ulpha, St., 233 +Urbino, 306 +Utrecht Psalter, 156, 353 + +Valence, A. de, 144, 233 +Valencia, 146 +Valerio Vincentino, 89 +Van Eyck, 166 +Vasari, G., 34, 85, 89, 106, 116, 191, 254, 302, 320, 322 +Vatican, 204 +Velasquez, 25, 167 +Venice, 84, 97, 136, 223, 312, 318, 322, 323, 361 +Verocchio, 33, 34 +Verona, 88, 117, 222 +Villant, P. de, 208 +Vinci, L. da, 33 +Viollet-le-Duc, 52, 218 +Virgil, 228 +Vischer, Peter, 141-143, 266 +Vischer, Peter, Jr., 268 +Vitel, 314 +Vitruvius, 187 +Vivaria, 327 +Vopiscus, F., 166 + +Wallois, H., 166 +Walpole, H., 148 +Walsingham, A. de, 248 +Walter of Colchester, 250 +Walter of Durham, 250 +Ware, R. de, 311 +Warwick, 144 +Waquier, 207 +Wechter, F. de, 166 +Welburne, J., 275 +Wells, 152, 244 +Wendover, R. de, 180 +Westminster, 66, 102, 117, 144, 156, 165, 224, 233, 240, 241, 243, +249-255, 268, 275, 311, 331 +Westwood, O., 344 +Weyden, van der, 169 +Willaume, 166 +William the Conqueror, 155, 232 +Williams of Sens, 243 +Wilton, Countess of, 157, 172 +Winchester, 149, 165, 199, 272 +Windsor, 118, 131, 268 +Wire-drawing, 184 +Withaf, King, 192 +Withers, G., 67 +Wolsey, Card., 175 +Wood-carving, 262-275 +Wood, 66 +Woolstrope, 29 +Worsted, 196 +Wyckham, W., 102 + +Ypres, 166 +York, 181, 275, 285 + +Zamborro, M., 322 +Zuccati, The, 323-325 + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES*** + + +******* This file should be named 18212.txt or 18212.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1/18212 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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