The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages Part 9

evidently an old dame's school; where, however, we may infer from the arrangement of the accomplishments taught, and the special mention of needlework, that the extra expense would be for the _sewing_; whereas, in our time and country (or county), the routine has been, "REDING AND SOING, THREE-PENCE A WEEK: A PENY EXTRA FOR MANNERS."

This expensive and troublesome acquirement--the art of sewing in "golde and silke"--was of general adoption: gorgeous must have been the appearance of the damsels and knights of those days, when their

"----Clothys wyth bestes & byrdes wer _bete_,[42]

All abowte for pryde."

"By that light Amadis saw his lady, and she appeared more beautiful than man could fancy woman could be. She had on a robe of _Indian silk, thickly wrought with flowers of gold_; her hair was so beautiful that it was a wonder, and she had covered it only with a garland."[43]

"Now when the fair Grasinda heard of the coming of the fleet, and of all that had befallen, she made ready to receive Oriana, whom of all persons in the world she most desired to see, because of her great renown that was everywhere spread abroad. She therefore wished to appear before her like a lady of such rank and such wealth as indeed she was: the robe which she put on was adorned with _roses of gold, wrought with marvellous skill, and bordered with pearls and precious stones_ of exceeding value."[44]

"His fine, soft garments, wove with cunning skill, All over, ease and wantonness declare; These with her hand, such subtle toil well taught, For him, in silk and gold, Alcina wrought."[45]

"Mayde Elene, al so tyte.

In a robe of samyte,[46]

Anoon sche gan her tyre, To do Lybeau's profyte In kevechers whyt, Arayde wyth golde wyre.

A velvwet mantyll gay, Pelored[47] wyth grys and gray Sche caste abowte her swyre; A sercle upon her molde, Of stones and of golde, The best yn that empyre."[48]

We read perpetually of "kercheves well schyre,[49]

"Arayde wyth ryche gold wyre."

But the labours of those days were not confined to merely good-appearing garments: the skill of the needlewoman--for doubtless it was solely attributable to that--could imbue them with a value far beyond that of mere outward garnish.

"She seyde, Syr Knight, gentyl and hende,[50]

I wot thy stat, ord, and ende, Be naught aschamed of me; If thou wylt truly to me take, And alle wemen for me forsake Ryche i wyll make the.

I wyll the geve an alner,[51]

Imad of sylk and of gold cler, Wyth fayr ymages thre; As oft thou puttest the hond therinne A mark of gold thou schalt wynne, In wat place that thou be."[52]

But infinitely more marvellous is the following:--"King Lisuarte was so content with the tidings of Amadis and Galaor, which the dwarf had brought him, that he determined to hold the most honourable court that ever had been held in Great Britain. Presently three knights came through the gate, two of them armed at all points, the third unarmed, of good stature and well proportioned, his hair grey, but of a green and comely old age. He held in his hand a coffer; and, having inquired which was the king, dismounted from his palfrey and kneeled before him, saying, 'G.o.d preserve you, Sir! for you have made the n.o.blest promise that ever king did, if you hold it.' 'What promise was that?'

quoth Lisuarte. 'To maintain chivalry in its highest honour and degree: few princes now-a-days labour to that end; therefore are you to be commended above all other.' 'Certes, knight, that promise shall hold while I live.' 'G.o.d grant you life to complete it!' quoth the old man: 'and because you have summoned a great court to London, I have brought something here which becomes such a person, for such an occasion.' Then he opened the coffer and took out a Crown of Gold, so curiously wrought and set with pearls and gems, that all were amazed at its beauty; and it well appeared that it was only fit for the brow of some mighty lord. 'Is it not a work which the most cunning artists would wonder at?' said the old knight. Lisuarte answered, 'In truth it is.' 'Yet,' said the knight, 'it hath a virtue more to be esteemed than its rare work and richness: whatever king hath it on his head shall always increase his honour; this it did for him for whom it was made till the day of his death: since then no king hath worn it. I will give it you, sir, for one boon.'----'You also, Lady,' said the knight, 'should purchase a rich mantle that I bring:' and he took from the coffer the richest and most beautiful mantle that ever was seen; for besides the pearls and precious stones with which it was beautified, there were figured on it all the birds and beasts in nature; so that it looked like a miracle. 'On my faith,' exclaimed the Queen, 'this cloth can only have been made by that Lord who can do everything.' 'It is the work of man,' said the old knight; 'but rarely will one be found to make its fellow: it should belong to wife rather than maiden, for she that weareth it _shall never have dispute with her husband_.' Britna answered, 'If that be true, it is above all price; I will give you for it whatsoever you ask.' And Lisuarte bade him demand what he would for the mantle and crown."[53]

But the robe which occupied the busy fingers of the Saracen king's daughter for seven long years, and of which the jewelled ornaments inwrought in it--as was then very usual--were sought far and wide, has often been referred to (albeit wanting in fairy gifts) as a crowning proof of female industry and talent. We give the full description from the Romance of 'EMARE,' in Ritson's collection:--

"Sone aftur yu a whyle, The ryche Kynge of Cesyle To the Emperour gaun wende, A ryche present wyth hym he browght, A cloth that was wordylye wroght, He wellcomed hym at the hende.[54]

"Syr Tergaunte, that n.o.byll knyghte hyghte, He presented the Emperour ryght, And sette hym on hys kne, Wyth that cloth rychyly dyght.

Full of stones ther hit was pyght, At thykke as. .h.i.t myght be, Off topaze and rubyes, And other stones of myche prys, That semely wer to se, Of c.r.a.powtes and nakette, As thykke ar they sette For sothe as y say the.

"The cloth was displayed sone, The Emperoer lokede therupone, And myght hyt not se, For glysteryng of the ryche ston Redy syght had he non, And sayde, How may thys be?

The Emperour sayde on hygh, Sertes thys ys a fayry, Or ellys a vanyte.

The Kyng of Cysyle answered than, So ryche a jewell ys ther non In all Crystyante.

"The amerayle[55] dowghter of hethennes Made this cloth withouten lees, And wrowghte hit all with pride, And purtreyed hyt with gret honour, Wyth ryche golde and asowr,[56]

And stones on ylke a side; And, as the story telles in honde, The stones that yn this cloth stonde Sowghte they wer full wyde.

Seven wynter hit was yn makynge, Or hit was browght to endynge, In herte ys not to hyde.

"In that on korner made was Idoyne and Amadas, With love that was so trewe, For they loveden hem wit honour, Portrayed they wer with trewe-love flour, Of stones bryght of hewe, Wyth carbankull and safere, Kasydonys and onyx so clere, Sette in golde newe, Deamondes and rubyes, And other stones of mychyll pryse, And menstrellys with her gle.

"In that other korner was dyght, Trystram and Isowde so bryght, That semely wer to se, And for they loved hem ryght, As full of stones ar they dyght, As thykke as they may be, Of topase and of rubyes, And other stones of myche pryse, That semely wer to se, With c.r.a.pawtes and nakette, Thykke of stones ar they sette, For sothe as y say the.

"In the thyrdde korner, with gret honour, Was Florys and dame Blawncheflour, As love was hem betwene, For they loved wyth honour, Purtrayed they wer with trewe-love-flower, With stones bryght and shene.

Ther wer knyghtes and senatowres, Emerawdes of gret vertues, To wyte withouten wene, Deamondes and koralle, Perydotes and crystall, And G.o.de garnettes bytwene.

"In the fowrthe korner was oon Of Babylone the sowdan sonne, The amerayle's dowghter hym by, For hys sake the cloth was wrowght, She loved hym in hert and thowght, As testy-moyeth thys storye.

The fayr mayden her byforn Was purtrayed an unykorn, With hys horn so hye, Flowres and bryddes on ylke a syde, Wyth stones that wer sowght wyde, Stuffed wyth ymagerye.

"When the cloth to ende was wrought, To the sowdan sone hit was browght, That semely was of syghte: 'My fadyr was a n.o.byll man, Of the sowdan he hit wan, Wyth maystrye and myghth; For gret love he yaf hyt me, I brynge hit the in specyalte, Thys cloth ys rychely dyght.'

He yaf hit the Emperour, He receyved hit wyth gret honour, And thonkede hym fayr and ryght."

We must not dismiss this subject without recording a species of mantle much celebrated in romance, and which must have tried the skill and patience of the fair votaries of the needle to the uttermost. We all have seen, perhaps we have some of us been foolish enough to manufacture, initials with hair, as tokens or souvenirs, or some other such fooleries. In our mothers' and grandmothers' days, when "fine marking" was the _sine qua non_ of a good education, whole sets of linen were thus elaborately marked; and often have we marvelled when these tokens of grandmotherly skill and industry were displayed to our wondering and aching eyes. What then should we have thought of King Ryence's mantle, of rich scarlet, bordered round with the beards of kings, sewed thereon full craftily by accomplished female hands. Thus runs the anecdote in the 'Morte Arthur:'--

"Came a messenger hastely from King Ryence, of North Wales, saying, that King Ryence had discomfited and overcomen eleaven kings, and everiche of them did him homage, and that was thus: they gave him their beards cleane flayne off,--wherefore the messenger came for King Arthur's beard, for King Ryence had purfeled a mantell with king's beards, and there lacked for one a place of the mantell, wherefore he sent for his beard, or else he would enter into his lands, and brenn and slay, and never leave till he have thy head and thy beard. 'Well,'

said King Arther, 'thou hast said thy message, which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent to a king.

Also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet for to make a purfell of; but tell thou the king that--or it be long--he shall do to _me_ homage on both his knees, or else he shall leese his head.'"

In Queen Elizabeth's day, when they were beginning to skim the cream of the ponderous tomes of former times into those elaborate ditties from which the more modern ballad takes its rise, this incident was put into rhyme, and was sung before her majesty at the grand entertainment at Kenilworth Castle, 1575, thus:--

"As it fell out on a Pentecost day, King Arthur at Camelot kept his Court royall, With his faire queene dame Guenever the gay, And many bold barons sitting in hall; With ladies attired in purple and pall; And heraults in hewkes,[57] hooting on high, Cryed, _Largesse, largesse, Chevaliers tres hardie_.

"A doughty dwarfe to the uppermost deas Right pertlye gan p.r.i.c.ke, kneeling on knee; With steven[58] fulle stoute amids all the preas, Sayd, Nowe sir King Arthur, G.o.d save thee, and see!

Sir Ryence of Northgales greeteth well thee, And bids thee thy beard anon to him send, Or else from thy jaws he will it off rend.

"For his robe of state is a rich scarlet mantle, With eleven kings beards bordered about, And there is room lefte yet in a kantle,[59]

For thine to stande, to make the twelfth out: This must be done, be thou never so stout; This must be done, I tell thee no fable, Maugre the teethe of all thy rounde table.

"When this mortal message from his mouthe past, Great was the noyse bothe in hall and in bower, The king fum'd; the queen screecht; ladies were aghast; Princes puff'd; barons bl.u.s.tered; lords began lower; Knights stormed; squires startled, like steeds in a stower; Pages and yeomen yell'd out in the hall; Then in came Sir Kay, the king's seneschal.

"Silence, my soveraignes, quoth this courteous knight, And in that stound the stowre began still: Then the dwarfe's dinner full deerely was dight; Of wine and wa.s.sel he had his wille: And when he had eaten and drunken his fill, An hundred pieces of fine coyned gold Were given this dwarfe for his message bold.

"But say to Sir Ryence, thou dwarfe, quoth the king, That for his bold message I do him defye; And shortly with basins and pans will him ring Out of North Gales; where he and I With swords, and not razors, quickly shall trye Whether he or King Arthur will prove the best barbor: And therewith he shook his good sword Excalabor."

Drayton thus alludes to the same circ.u.mstance:--

"Then told they, how himselfe great Arthur did advance, To meet (with his Allies) that puissant force in France, By Lucius thither led; those Armies that while ere Affrighted all the world, by him strooke dead with feare: Th' report of his great Acts that over Europe ran, In that most famous field he with the Emperor wan: As how great Rython's selfe hee slew in his repaire, Who ravisht Howell's Neece, young Helena the faire; And for a trophy brought the Giant's coat away, Made of the beards of kings."[60]----

And Spenser is too uncourteous in his adoption of the incident; for he not only levels tolls on the gentlemen's beards, but even on the flowing and golden locks of the gentle s.e.x:--

"Not farre from hence, upon yond rocky hill, Hard by a streight there stands a castle strong, Which doth observe a custom lewd and ill, And it hath long mayntaind with mighty wrong: For may no knight nor lady pa.s.se along That way, (and yet they needs must pa.s.se that way, By reason of the streight, and rocks among,) But they that Ladies locks doe shave away, And that knight's berd for toll, which they for pa.s.sage pay.

"A shamefull use, as ever I did heare, Said Calidore, and to be overthrowne.

But by what means did they at first it reare, And for what cause, tell, if thou have it knowne.

Sayd then that Squire: The Lady which doth owne This Castle is by name Briana hight; Then which a prouder Lady liveth none; She long time hath deare lov'd a doughty knight, And sought to win his love by all the meanes she might.

"His name is Crudor, who through high disdaine And proud despight of his selfe-pleasing mynd, Refused hath to yeeld her love againe, Untill a Mantle she for him doe fynd, With beards of knights and locks of Ladies lynd, Which to provide, she hath this Castle dight, And therein hath a Seneschall a.s.synd, Cald Maleffort, a man of mickle might, Who executes her wicked will, with worse despight."[61]

"To pluck the beard" of another has ever been held the highest possible sign of scorn and contumely; but it was certainly a refinement on the matter, for which we are indebted to the Morte Arthur, or rather probably, according to Bishop Percy, to Geoffrey of Monmouth's history originally, for the unique and ornamental purpose to which these despoiled locks were applied. So particularly anxious was Charlemagne to shew this despite to an enemy that, as we read in Huon de Bordeaux, he despatched no less than fifteen successive messengers from France to Babylon to pull the beard of Admiral Gaudisse. And this, by no means pleasant operation, was to be accompanied by one even still less inviting.

"Alors le duc Naymes, & tres tous les Barons, s'en retournerent au palais avec le Roy, lequel s'a.s.sist sur un banc dore de fin or, & les Barons tous autour de luy. Si commanda qu'on luy amenast Huon, lequel il vint, et se mist a genoux devant le roy, ou luy priant moult humblement que pitie & mercy voulsist avoir de luy. Alors le roy le voyant en sa presence luy dist: Huon puisque vers moy veux estre accorde, si convient que faciez ce que je vous or donneray. Sire, ce dist Huon, pour obeir a vous, il n'est aujourd'huy chose en ce monde mortel, que corps humain puisse porter, que hardiment n'osa.s.se entreprendre, ne ia pour peur de mort ne le laisseray a faire, & fust a aller jusques a l'arbre sec, voire jusques aux portaux d'enfer combattre aux infernaux, comme fist le fort Hercule: avant qu'a vous ne fusse accorde. Huon, ce dist Charles, je cuide qu'en pire lieu vous envoyeray, car, de quinze messages qui de par moy y ont este envoyez, n'en est par revenu un seul homme. Si te diray ou tu iras, puis que tu veux qui de toy aye mercy, m'a volonte est, qu'il te convient aller en la cite de Babylonne, par devers diray, & gardes que sur ta vie ne face faute, quand la seras venu tu monteras en son palais, la ou tu attendras l'heure de son disner & que tu le verras a.s.sis a table. Si convient que tu sois arme de toutes armes, l'espee nue au poing, par tel si que le premier & le plus grand baron que tu verras manger a sa table tu luy trencheras le chef quel qu'il soit, soit Roy, ou Admiral.

Et apres ce te convient tant faire que la belle Esclarmonde fille a l'Amiral Gaudisse tu fiances, & la baises trois fois en la presence de son pere, & de tous sous qui la seront presens, car je veux que tu scaches que c'est la plus belle pucelle qu'aujourd'huy soit en vie, puis apres diras de par moy a l'Admiral qu'il m'envoye mille espreuiers, mille ours, mille viautres, tous enchainez, & mille jeune valets, & mille des plus belles pucelles de son royaume, & avecques ce, convient _que tu me rapportes une poignee de sa barbe, et quatre de ses dents machoires_. Ha! Sire, dirent les Barons, bien desirez sa mort, quant de tel message faire luy enchargez, vous dites la verite ce dit le Roy, car si tant ne fait que j'aye la barbe & les dents machoires sans aucune tromperie ne mensonge, jamais ne retourne en France, ne devant moi ne se monstre. Car je le ferois pendre & trainer. Sire, ce dit Huon, m'avez vous dit & racompte tout ce que voulez que je face. Oui dist le Roy Charles ma volonte est telle, si vers moy veux avoir paix. Sire ce dit Huon, au plaisir de nostre Seigneur, je feray & fourniray vostre message."