#medieval textiles

[livingligeia]

this took genuinely 3 straight days….it was really fun though haha. a new (to me) style of embroidery for my college project on the medieval

[sigkit]

Looking forward to exploring Medieval European Nalbinding with the Medieval Dress and Textiles Society soon. Registration details on the MEDATS site: https://www.medats.org.uk/events/medieval-european-nalbinding/

[themedievalproject]

🧵 Textile Time: House of Dragons Season Two Opening Credits

It took nearly 2 years for House of Dragons to come back to us and yes, this post is a bit late with only one episode left of the season 😬 but I’m trying to embrace the "it's better late than never," and I'm working on being an im-perfectionist these days, so here we go.

A rush of excitement ran through me like an electric jolt as I heard the first notes of epic opening credits theme.

I settled in on the couch and to my utter delight, I saw not the expected template of blood spreading rapidly while fueling the mechanical architectural map of last season and GoT but a fabric becoming blood stained as it is digitally embroidered, threading a chronicle of Targaryen history (updated throughout the season) and expanding before our eyes.

What makes the new opening credits so stunning beyond the Targaryen content is the method in which the captivating digital embroidered effect, coined “threadification,” is executed by design studio yU+co’s 3D division. Kudos for taking a medieval art and a modern art form to create a striking Medieval-esque masterpiece.

The success of which can only be credited to the commitment in understanding the threading process and how it could be transformed into a digital media.

I embroider myself and am self-taught. It was something I picked up more than a year ago, so this truly hit the spot for me.

Research pays off

yU+co’s design team studied the embroidery process from the Game of Thrones Tapestry and examined the Apocalypse Tapestry. It comes as no surprise that the GoT show runner would pitch The Bayeux Tapestry as inspiration for yU+co. 

The Bayeux Tapestry is not a tapestry!, it is a 1,000 year old embroidery narrative depicting the series of events leading up to the Norman conquest of England in 1066, fought between William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England.

Using this real world pictorial testimony of medieval war as a guide for the House of Dragons opening scenes only adds to the credibility and stellar execution.

Now a confession -

I was only this many years old when I found out about the existence of the Game of Thrones Tapestry😳. I thought I was a fan.. but apparently I was living under a rock because how did I miss this amazing piece of GoT content and art???!?

Game of Thrones Tapestry, Season 7, Episode 4 📸 Kal242382, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I believed the new opening credit sequence was completely original, as in no embroidery existed in the GoT world until HoD’s season two opening. Nevertheless, the opening credits are still amazing, still impressive, still educating people about the middle ages and how not dark they were.

Embroidery vs Tapestry

Magaret Wade Labarge in her article, "Stitches in Time: Medieval embroidery in its Social Setting," defines embroidery as:

"..the art of applying decoration by needle and thread to the surface of a piece of woven cloth, usually called the "ground." It is an optional decoration worked after the while weaving process, including the dyeing and finishing, has been completed."

When we look at the Bayeux Tapestry we clearly see the richly colored stitches embroidered on top of a cloth. The “design” is independent of the weave.

See what the Bayeux Museum has to say for itself-

The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery - Analysis of the making of the Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is a narrative embroidery of about 70 meters long and 50 centimeters wide. It consists of nine linen panels on which are

So why does this misnomer matter? Because knowledge is power or maybe not, but you never know when this topic will come up at a dinner party or when you might bump into Chris Hemsworth.

But really why should you care? First of all, it's important not to take things at face value, like The Bayeux Tapestry. And also this visual record is an extraordinary piece of history. Do you know how difficult it is to find textiles that survive, let alone in this condition?

The Norman Conquest was a big deal in European History. French speaking Normans ended up conquering England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and even got to Southern Italy and Sicily! And, in doing so, they brought a wealth of new words, thousands of which are still used by us English speakers today.

Want more?

How the Medieval Tapestry in the New ‘House of the Dragon’ Opening Sequence Got Its Weave

Game of Thrones Tapestry

Frenchified English - thank you, Normans

[medievalistsnet]

Intersections: Entanglements with Medieval and Renaissance Textiles, 1100-1550 - Medievalists.net

Twelve papers from the 28th Medieval Postgraduate Colloquium at The Courtauld

[selfconsciousfangirl]

Lovely art at the Cluny Museum

[luckymohair]

(Detail) The Butler Bowdon Cope, 1330 – 45, England

[themedievalproject]

🧵 Textile Time: The Coronation Mantle of Hungarian Monarchs

The Coronation Mantle. Copyright Hungarian National Museum, Budapest

Going through some old pictures, I found my picture of the incredible bronze relief of the Hungarian coronation mantle. Sculptor Rieger Tibor honored the 1000th anniversary of the coronation of King Stephen I with a recreation of the elaborately embroidered coronation mantle.

The Coronation Mantle, cast in bronze. On the exact spot where Francis I was coronated in 1792. Budapest, May 2022.

The original mantle wasn't designed for coronations. It was initially a vestment worn by a priest and made at the request of King Stephen I and his wife Gisela of Bavaria who donated it to the Church of the Virgin Mary in Székesfehérvár in 1031.

It wasn’t until the late 12th century, when due to its ornateness and connection to King Stephen I (later becoming St. Stephen in 1083) that the vestment transformed into a coronation mantle. Thereafter, it was worn by all future monarchs. The last time it was used was in 1916, by Charles IV.

A closer look at a copy of the mantle reveals iconography common at the time. We see more clearly that Christ is shown twice.

Unknown author, scanned by Szilas from A magyar Szent Korona by Tóth Endre, Szelényi Károly, Kossuth 2000, Budapest, Wikicommons, Public Domain

In the upper center, Christ treading on the beasts (a variant of Christ in Triumph), victorious over death, holding his feet on the necks of beasts- a dragon and a lion. This refers to Psalm 91:13, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." aka the Devil. On either side of him sit a crew of Old Testament prophets.

By Unknown author - The Coronation Mantle, close up of Christ. Wikicommons, Public Domain

Below the upper Christ, in the center is Christ in Mandorla Majesty on the throne flanked by Apostles.

Last but not least, patrons of the mantle, Gisela of Bavaria and King Stephen I get themselves featured below the Christs.

It is possible to make out the crowns as well as the objects in hand. Gisela holds a type of tower or building. King Stephen with an orb and spear of sorts.

By Unknown author - Wikicommons, Public Domain

According to the Textile Research Centre, embroiderers used several stitch types- stem stitch, chain stitch and feather stitch. The couching technique was used to create additional details. 

Want to read more?

Textile Research Centre - Hungarian Coronation Mantle Rieger Tibor - The Coronation Mantle

[tombsaint]

textile with flower motive, 14th century, italo-arabic. made of silk, linen, and golden thread.