Scottish Royal tapestry collection
Encyclopedia
The Scottish royal tapestry collection was a group of tapestry
hangings assembled to decorate the palaces of sixteenth century kings and queens of Scotland
.
Like other European monarchs, the kings and queens of Scotland sought to impress their subjects and diplomatic visitors in costly surroundings. At Fontainebleau
in 1540, the King of France
himself personally helped the English ambassador onto a bench so he could examine and admire the 'antique borders' of the tapestry in his bedchamber, and this was seen as a sign of special favour. In Scotland, James V’s
tapestries were listed in two inventories, along with the crown jewels and fine clothes. These tapestries were used to hang the best chambers and halls in the palaces, and were transported with the monarch between residences and lined, fixed and hung by specialists on the court pay-roll. The rooms were decorated with a painted frieze at the top of the wall and plain beneath where the tapestries hung. Henry VIII of England
had nearly 2000 tapestries and James V had 200. None of the original Scottish tapestries are known to exist now, but the names of many of them were recorded, and the subjects are the same as those listed in other royal collections, and some examples survive in museums around the world. Some of the tapestries showed Biblical themes, or subjects with medieval roots, but most were stories from classical antiquity, reflecting renaissance taste, and some were scenes from the hunting field.
at Holyroodhouse on 8 August 1503, James IV of Scotland
bought new tapestries. A group was bought from a merchant called James Homyll, who imported textiles from Flanders, which cost £160 Scots. These were a piece with the subject of Hercules, two pieces of Susanna
sewn together, a Susanna bed cover, a Solomon, and a Marcus Coriolanus. The total measurement which, combined with quality, dictated the price, was 209 square ells. The tapestries were lined with canvas. A set of six verdure tapestries were bought for hanging in the gallery and on the stairs, each costing £3. Five other smaller verdures of various sizes cost £11-4s. Ten fine verdures were bought from John Stewart; three with 'beasts' cost £4-10s each, seven with no beasts cost £4 each. (The 'beasts' may have been unicorns) Four other verdures bought for beds were in quality, 'nocht sa gude,' and cost only 40 shillings each.
Before Margaret left England, the tapestry agent of Henry VII of England
, Cornelis van der Strete had been paid £7-8s (English money) for making or supplying 74 Flemish ells of tapestry for the Scottish Queen. The historian and curator Thomas P. Campbell suggests these may have been simple armorial tapestries or borders to be attached to figural tapestries purchased elsewhere.
The English Somerset Herald
, John Young, described some of the tapestry at Holyroodhouse on the two days of celebration. Young noted the hangings in the two outer rooms of the King and Queen's suites where meals were served. The Queen's hall was hung with the History of Hercules, and her great chamber with the History of Troy Town. The King's hall was hung with the History of Old Troy, and his great chamber with Hercules and other stories. Possibly some of these tapestries were brought to Scotland by Margaret, perhaps with new borders including Tudor heraldry supplied by Cornelis van der Strete.
said that Regent Albany
had cut up royal crimson and purple hangings to make clothes for his servants and pages, but many were bought by James V, or were presents from Francis I. An inventory of September 1561 lists those in Scotland belonging to Mary of Guise
, and another compiled on 25 November lists Mary, Queen of Scots’ collection. These lists have notes describing the later locations of the tapestries. An inventory of 1578 lists tapestries in Edinburgh Castle
and Stirling
, and while there may have been royal tapestries elsewhere in Scotland, the many omissions raise the interesting possibility that Regent Moray
sold tapestries abroad in 1568 along with selected royal jewels.
When Mary, a prisoner in England, was moved to Tutbury Castle
in February 1569, three suites of tapestries and carpets were delivered from the Removing Wardrobe at the Tower of London
to furnish her rooms. These included six pieces of the Passion, six pieces of the History of Ladies, and seven pieces of Hercules; the latter two subjects are found in the earlier Scottish inventories.
An inventory of Stirling Castle
made in 1584 records a set of five tapestries hanging in the king's audience chamber, and seven in the bedchamber of the Palace. Some of the tapestries were at Dunfermline Palace
in 1616, where Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline
, had looked after the infant Prince Charles
. Among the remaining contents of the Royal Wardrobe at Holyroodhouse in 1617, three pieces of green velvet embroidered with gold holly leaves and the Longueville
arms, which had belonged to Mary of Guise (Duchess of Longueville by her first marriage), were sent for repair. In 1635, Charles I wrote to John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair
, treasurer of Scotland, insisting on the payment of the wardrobe servants, so that hangings, cloths-of-estate, and beds could be aired. The remaining tapestries at Holyrood would have been seized by Commonwealth
troops in 1650. In April 1656, soldiers retrieved and sent to Whitehall four pieces of the Labours of Hercules, perhaps the latest mention of tapestry from the Scottish royal collection.
, each square ell costed at six francs. These were sent to Rouen
by boat and then to Newhaven
in France for shipping, along with another set called the Old and New Stories. A set with a similar name, the New Law and the Old, was listed among Catherine of Aragon
's effects in February 1536. The Scottish suite was probably the ten-piece Old Testament listed in the inventory of 1539. Only one piece was noted in 1542, and none was heard of again in Scotland. James V's servant George Steill was sent to Flanders from Paris on 3 February 1537 to acquire more tapestries. At the same time James V hired a new French tapestry-man, William, and gave him 20 crowns to bring his wife and children to Scotland.
Years later, when Mary, Queen of Scots, was a prisoner at Tutbury Castle
, six pieces of series called the History of Ladies were sent from the Tower of London. This was probably one of three sets of the City of Ladies that had belonged to Henry VIII, listed in the inventory of 1547
, which were identical in size piece by piece to the Scottish tapestries. These had decorated the childhood homes of Princess Elizabeth
and Prince Edward
The subject derives from Christine de Pizan
's The Book of the City of Ladies
. Other sets of the subject belonged to Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hungary, Anne of Brittany
and Francis I.
The other tapestry bought in Paris and packed for shipping to Rouen was the Creation of World, of which nine pieces were at Holyroodhouse in 1561, and in Edinburgh Castle in 1578. In 1616, Alexander Seton had some 'auld and worne' pieces described as the Storie of Mankynd at Dunfermline Palace. The set could possibly have been The World series, depicting various moral allegories and including a globe. A list of wedding gifts from Francis I adds four suites of rich arras hangings, and eight suites of coarser arras, all 'ret verey good.' These gifts would have been included among the tapestries named in the Scottish inventories mentioned below. In October 1546, an Antwerp merchant, Eustatius de Coqueil, wrote to Mary of Guise offering her histories and other tapestries, but it seems unlikely that any were bought during this brief period of peace in the war of the Rough Wooing.
, Pallas
, Hercules
, Mars
, Bacchus
, and Gaia
(Mother of the Earth), with the Biblical History of Solomon. Only six pieces of the Jason were listed in 1542. Four pieces of the Solomon were listed in September 1561, and noted circa 1568 to be at Stirling. The others are not heard of again. The Little Solomon was also noted in September 1561, another set, or perhaps three of the seven scenes pieces bought by William Schaw.
The seven-piece History of Perseus was presumably of this group, though not linked in the inventories of 1539 and 1540 to William Schaw’s purchase. James IV
had bought one piece of a History of Hercules, and nine were listed in 1542. This was a suite separate to the Hercules in the ancient god series of the Chambers.
Similarly a three piece History of Romulus was listed in 1542. The Old History of Troy of eight or nine pieces listed in 1539 and 1542 was perhaps a Stewart inheritance, old and already described as worn out, so distinguished from the Aeneas. The family of Mary of Guise's first husband, Louis II d'Orléans, Duc de Longueville
, had Troy tapestries at their Château de Châteaudun
as early as 1468.
The 13 pieces of the History of Aeneas were carried from Edinburgh Castle to St. Andrews in May 1539, and are listed in the inventory of 1539. Eight pieces described as the Sailing of Aeneas are listed in November 1561 at Holyroodhouse, with a note, presumably of c.1568, locating them at Stirling Castle. In 1578 there were eight Sailing pieces and four others at Edinburgh Castle. The extra tapestry may have been a piece from the Old History of Troy, or possibly the Sailing of Aeneas set, first listed in November 1561, was newly brought from France by Queen Mary and not part of James’s Aeneas. Alexander Seton had some of the Aeneas and Troy at Dunfermline among his 10 old pieces in 1616. An area of the garden of Holyroodhouse was called the Sege of Troy, and there may have been a connection, perhaps only that the tapestries were aired there.
was at Fotheringhay Castle
in 1587 as Mary's own possession. At Fotheringay, Mary, Queen of Scots, also had the six pieces of the History of Count Foix and the Battle of Ravenna, from the Scottish collection, but as this set was only previously listed in November 1561 it might not have belonged to her parents. Amias Paulet
her gaoler spent £113-10s in English money on lining, packing, and hanging eight pieces of her tapestry duing her move from Chartley
to Fotheringhay Castle
. Mary wished the Meleager and Ravenna to be sold after her death, with cloths-of-estate, to fund the return journeys of her physician and Mr Melville.
Like the Meleager, the biblical Roboam which appears in most inventories also dates from 1539.
from designs by Giulio Romano
, the Gestes of Scipion, the story of Scipio Africanus
, which includes the scene Siege of Carthagena. However, like the Battle of Ravenna, the five pieces are first listed in November 1561 and so this too might not have belonged to James and Mary of Guise, unless they were among the unspecified tapestries bought by William Schaw in 1539. However, there are other tapestries with the subject Siege of a Town in late medieval style which answer the description. Another possibility is that these were scenes of the Siege of Troy, a subject found in Henry VIII's collection. Possibly, this tapestry was in mind when Mary of Guise, according to John Knox
, remarked that the aftermath of the failed assault on Leith
of 7 May 1560 was the fairest tapestry she had ever seen.
. The Great Unicorn set has been identified as another version of the famous tapestries, the Hunt of the Unicorn
, now in the Cloisters
Museum of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York. Faithful copies using the original technique are being made for display in the Palace of Stirling Castle. These unicorn tapestries had belonged to his father, James IV, but the subject was still popular in 1540, when Pierre de Clanquemeulle, companion tapestry maker, was hired by Léon Brocart, master weaver in Paris, to complete two pieces of an Histoire de la Chasse à la licorne.
Listed in the September 1561 inventory, 10 pieces of History of Hunting and Hawking may have been a separate item originally belonging to James V, and perhaps distinct from the six-piece set of the Hunting of the Sanglier (wild boar), and seven-piece Coningars (the rabbit hunt), listed in later inventories. A tapestry, named as l’histoire des Chaffeur de Cogny, lost at Linlithgow
during the 1566 baptism of James VI at Stirling, was probably a scene of the rabbit hunt. The Burrell Collection
in Glasgow has an example of a tapestry of this subject, dated from c. 1475.
James IV bought one scene of Marcus Coriolanus, which may be the Mathiolus in later inventories, and a Solomon, which may be Judgement of Solomon noted in September 1561, of worsett with gold. Susan Groag Bell wonders if the Mathiolus was the first scene of the City of Ladies, featuring the author Matheolus
as a protagonist.
The subject of the History of the Shepherds of seven pieces and the History of Calveris and Moris of four pieces noted in 1561 may be obscure. The eight-piece Triumph of Verity also noted in November 1561 may have come to Scotland with Mary in 1561, unless perhaps this was yet another name for the City of Dames.
to save wear on tapestries in July 1541. Apart from this work, the men also made up and embroidered state beds with luxury imported silks and taffetas with hanks of gold thread, finished with passementerie
and ostrich feather trimmings. Guillaume, hired in France in 1538, Habet, and the embroiderer Robinet, were doubtless Frenchmen, but William Edbe was Scottish. Habet may have been the "Jacques Hebert" later hired by the Parisian master weaver Girard Laurens in 1564.
There was extra work when the tapestry was taken out of the castles and used on other occasions. In May 1544, when an English army burnt Edinburgh
, the tapestries were carried up the Royal Mile
from Holyroodhouse to the Castle for safety and watched by Reget Arran's wardrobe servant Malcolm Gourlay. Regent Arran borrowed the royal tapestry for his daughter Barbara's wedding in 1549, and after it had been cleaned by six apprentices it was brought out for the visit of Mary of Guise's brother, the Marquis de Maine
. In April 1569, tapestry was hung in Glasgow for the French ambassador, and in September 1572, William Murray, the varlet
of James VI's bedchamber hung the tollbooth of Stirling with tapestry. George Strathauchin, embroiderer, was James's "tapiser" with annual salary of £40 and lodging; on 7 October 1584, the Master of Gray
was made Keeper of the Wardrobe, including the tapestry, with all officers of the household commanded to reverence, acknowledge and obey him.
Tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
hangings assembled to decorate the palaces of sixteenth century kings and queens of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Like other European monarchs, the kings and queens of Scotland sought to impress their subjects and diplomatic visitors in costly surroundings. At Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
in 1540, the King of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
himself personally helped the English ambassador onto a bench so he could examine and admire the 'antique borders' of the tapestry in his bedchamber, and this was seen as a sign of special favour. In Scotland, James V’s
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
tapestries were listed in two inventories, along with the crown jewels and fine clothes. These tapestries were used to hang the best chambers and halls in the palaces, and were transported with the monarch between residences and lined, fixed and hung by specialists on the court pay-roll. The rooms were decorated with a painted frieze at the top of the wall and plain beneath where the tapestries hung. Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
had nearly 2000 tapestries and James V had 200. None of the original Scottish tapestries are known to exist now, but the names of many of them were recorded, and the subjects are the same as those listed in other royal collections, and some examples survive in museums around the world. Some of the tapestries showed Biblical themes, or subjects with medieval roots, but most were stories from classical antiquity, reflecting renaissance taste, and some were scenes from the hunting field.
The reception of Margaret Tudor at Holyroodhouse
In preparation for the arrival of his bride Margaret TudorMargaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
at Holyroodhouse on 8 August 1503, James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
bought new tapestries. A group was bought from a merchant called James Homyll, who imported textiles from Flanders, which cost £160 Scots. These were a piece with the subject of Hercules, two pieces of Susanna
Susanna (Book of Daniel)
Susanna or Shoshana included in the Book of Daniel by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It is one of the additions to Daniel, considered apocryphal by Protestants. It is listed in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England among the books which are included...
sewn together, a Susanna bed cover, a Solomon, and a Marcus Coriolanus. The total measurement which, combined with quality, dictated the price, was 209 square ells. The tapestries were lined with canvas. A set of six verdure tapestries were bought for hanging in the gallery and on the stairs, each costing £3. Five other smaller verdures of various sizes cost £11-4s. Ten fine verdures were bought from John Stewart; three with 'beasts' cost £4-10s each, seven with no beasts cost £4 each. (The 'beasts' may have been unicorns) Four other verdures bought for beds were in quality, 'nocht sa gude,' and cost only 40 shillings each.
Before Margaret left England, the tapestry agent of Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, Cornelis van der Strete had been paid £7-8s (English money) for making or supplying 74 Flemish ells of tapestry for the Scottish Queen. The historian and curator Thomas P. Campbell suggests these may have been simple armorial tapestries or borders to be attached to figural tapestries purchased elsewhere.
The English Somerset Herald
Somerset Herald
Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In the year 1448 Somerset Herald is known to have served the Duke of Somerset, but by the time of the coronation of King Henry VII in 1485 his successor appears to have been raised to the rank of a royal...
, John Young, described some of the tapestry at Holyroodhouse on the two days of celebration. Young noted the hangings in the two outer rooms of the King and Queen's suites where meals were served. The Queen's hall was hung with the History of Hercules, and her great chamber with the History of Troy Town. The King's hall was hung with the History of Old Troy, and his great chamber with Hercules and other stories. Possibly some of these tapestries were brought to Scotland by Margaret, perhaps with new borders including Tudor heraldry supplied by Cornelis van der Strete.
Tapestry inventories
Two inventories of 1539 and 1543 list the tapestries of James V. Some of these had belonged to James IV, though Gavin DouglasGavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas was a Scottish bishop, makar and translator. Although he had an important political career, it is for his poetry that he is now chiefly remembered. His principal pioneering achievement was the Eneados, a full and faithful vernacular translation of the Aeneid of Virgil and the first...
said that Regent Albany
Regent Albany
Regent Albany can refer to several Dukes of Albany who served as regent of the Kingdom of Scotland:*Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany *Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany *John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany...
had cut up royal crimson and purple hangings to make clothes for his servants and pages, but many were bought by James V, or were presents from Francis I. An inventory of September 1561 lists those in Scotland belonging to Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
, and another compiled on 25 November lists Mary, Queen of Scots’ collection. These lists have notes describing the later locations of the tapestries. An inventory of 1578 lists tapestries in Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
and Stirling
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
, and while there may have been royal tapestries elsewhere in Scotland, the many omissions raise the interesting possibility that Regent Moray
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...
sold tapestries abroad in 1568 along with selected royal jewels.
When Mary, a prisoner in England, was moved to Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building...
in February 1569, three suites of tapestries and carpets were delivered from the Removing Wardrobe at the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
to furnish her rooms. These included six pieces of the Passion, six pieces of the History of Ladies, and seven pieces of Hercules; the latter two subjects are found in the earlier Scottish inventories.
An inventory of Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
made in 1584 records a set of five tapestries hanging in the king's audience chamber, and seven in the bedchamber of the Palace. Some of the tapestries were at Dunfermline Palace
Dunfermline Palace
Dunfermline Palace is a former Scottish royal palace in Dunfermline, Fife. It is currently a ruin under the care of Historic Scotland and an important tourist attraction in Dunfermline....
in 1616, where Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. He was Lord President of the Court of Session from 1598 to 1604 and Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1604 to 1622....
, had looked after the infant Prince Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. Among the remaining contents of the Royal Wardrobe at Holyroodhouse in 1617, three pieces of green velvet embroidered with gold holly leaves and the Longueville
Duc de Longueville
Duc de Longueville was a French title of nobility, though not a peerage.It was created in 1505 by King Louis XII of France for his first cousin once removed François d'Orléans, comte de Dunois, son of François d'Orléans, comte de Dunois, son of Jean d'Orléans, comte de Dunois , who was an...
arms, which had belonged to Mary of Guise (Duchess of Longueville by her first marriage), were sent for repair. In 1635, Charles I wrote to John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair was a Scottish statesman, the son of John Stewart, the younger, of Traquair in Peeblesshire, of a branch, originally illegitimate, of the house of Buchan, and was created Baron Stewart of Traquair in 1628 and earl of Traquair in 1633.He was appointed...
, treasurer of Scotland, insisting on the payment of the wardrobe servants, so that hangings, cloths-of-estate, and beds could be aired. The remaining tapestries at Holyrood would have been seized by Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
troops in 1650. In April 1656, soldiers retrieved and sent to Whitehall four pieces of the Labours of Hercules, perhaps the latest mention of tapestry from the Scottish royal collection.
Bought in Paris
The six pieces of the Triumphant Dames or City of Dames were bought in Paris in 1537 or 1538 for 883 francs 10 sous during James V’s trip to marry Madeleine of Valois. The pieces varied slightly in size with a total area of 147 square ellsEll
An ell , is a unit of measurement, approximating the length of a man's arm.Several national forms existed, with different lengths, includingthe Scottish ell ,the Flemish ell ,the French ell...
, each square ell costed at six francs. These were sent to Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
by boat and then to Newhaven
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
in France for shipping, along with another set called the Old and New Stories. A set with a similar name, the New Law and the Old, was listed among Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
's effects in February 1536. The Scottish suite was probably the ten-piece Old Testament listed in the inventory of 1539. Only one piece was noted in 1542, and none was heard of again in Scotland. James V's servant George Steill was sent to Flanders from Paris on 3 February 1537 to acquire more tapestries. At the same time James V hired a new French tapestry-man, William, and gave him 20 crowns to bring his wife and children to Scotland.
Years later, when Mary, Queen of Scots, was a prisoner at Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building...
, six pieces of series called the History of Ladies were sent from the Tower of London. This was probably one of three sets of the City of Ladies that had belonged to Henry VIII, listed in the inventory of 1547
Inventory of Henry VIII of England
The Inventory of Henry VIII of England compiled in 1547 is a list of the possessions of the crown, now in the British Library as Harley Ms. 1419....
, which were identical in size piece by piece to the Scottish tapestries. These had decorated the childhood homes of Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and Prince Edward
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
The subject derives from Christine de Pizan
Christine de Pizan
Christine de Pizan was a Venetian-born late medieval author who challenged misogyny and stereotypes prevalent in the male-dominated medieval culture. As a poet, she was well known and highly regarded in her own day; she completed 41 works during her 30 year career , and can be regarded as...
's The Book of the City of Ladies
The Book of the City of Ladies
thumb|400px|right|Picture from The Book of the City of LadiesThe Book of the City of Ladies , or Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, is perhaps Christine de Pizan's most famous literary work, and it is her second work of lengthy prose. Pizan uses the vernacular French language to compose the book, but...
. Other sets of the subject belonged to Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hungary, Anne of Brittany
Anne of Brittany
Anne, Duchess of Brittany , also known as Anna of Brittany , was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of...
and Francis I.
The other tapestry bought in Paris and packed for shipping to Rouen was the Creation of World, of which nine pieces were at Holyroodhouse in 1561, and in Edinburgh Castle in 1578. In 1616, Alexander Seton had some 'auld and worne' pieces described as the Storie of Mankynd at Dunfermline Palace. The set could possibly have been The World series, depicting various moral allegories and including a globe. A list of wedding gifts from Francis I adds four suites of rich arras hangings, and eight suites of coarser arras, all 'ret verey good.' These gifts would have been included among the tapestries named in the Scottish inventories mentioned below. In October 1546, an Antwerp merchant, Eustatius de Coqueil, wrote to Mary of Guise offering her histories and other tapestries, but it seems unlikely that any were bought during this brief period of peace in the war of the Rough Wooing.
Tobias and the Angel and the Tint Barne
The Tint Barne, the History of the Lost Child, might appear to be the same subject as the History of Tobias. However the five-piece Tobias was listed in 1539 and also in 1542, along with the seven-piece Tint Barne. The subject of the tinte barne was probably the Prodigal Son, a subject listed many times in the inventory of Henry VIII, and Cardinal Wolsey had seven pieces.Chamber of the Antique History
These were delivered by a William Schaw in 1539, costing 2466 crowns of the sun (French - ecu d'or au soleil). It was a group of five (or six) sets of seven pieces, and included seven Sundry pieces histories of Chambers in fine stuff listed in 1539. Additions for this Chamber of Antique History were bought by a servant of John Moffet, conservator of Flanders in April 1541. The word 'chamber' referred to the suite of tapestry rather than any actual room in the palaces. Subjects supplied by William Schaw listed in 1539 include; seven pieces of Poesy; seven pieces of Jason and Golden Fleece; and seven pieces of VenusVenus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, Pallas
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
, Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, Bacchus
Bacchus
Bacchus is the Roman name for Dionysus, the god of wine and intoxication.Bacchus can also refer to:* Temple of Bacchus, a Roman temple at a large classical antiquity complex in Baalbek, Lebanon...
, and Gaia
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
(Mother of the Earth), with the Biblical History of Solomon. Only six pieces of the Jason were listed in 1542. Four pieces of the Solomon were listed in September 1561, and noted circa 1568 to be at Stirling. The others are not heard of again. The Little Solomon was also noted in September 1561, another set, or perhaps three of the seven scenes pieces bought by William Schaw.
The seven-piece History of Perseus was presumably of this group, though not linked in the inventories of 1539 and 1540 to William Schaw’s purchase. James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
had bought one piece of a History of Hercules, and nine were listed in 1542. This was a suite separate to the Hercules in the ancient god series of the Chambers.
Similarly a three piece History of Romulus was listed in 1542. The Old History of Troy of eight or nine pieces listed in 1539 and 1542 was perhaps a Stewart inheritance, old and already described as worn out, so distinguished from the Aeneas. The family of Mary of Guise's first husband, Louis II d'Orléans, Duc de Longueville
Duc de Longueville
Duc de Longueville was a French title of nobility, though not a peerage.It was created in 1505 by King Louis XII of France for his first cousin once removed François d'Orléans, comte de Dunois, son of François d'Orléans, comte de Dunois, son of Jean d'Orléans, comte de Dunois , who was an...
, had Troy tapestries at their Château de Châteaudun
Château de Châteaudun
The Château de Châteaudun is a castle located in the town of Châteaudun in the French département of Eure-et-Loir.- History :The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries....
as early as 1468.
The 13 pieces of the History of Aeneas were carried from Edinburgh Castle to St. Andrews in May 1539, and are listed in the inventory of 1539. Eight pieces described as the Sailing of Aeneas are listed in November 1561 at Holyroodhouse, with a note, presumably of c.1568, locating them at Stirling Castle. In 1578 there were eight Sailing pieces and four others at Edinburgh Castle. The extra tapestry may have been a piece from the Old History of Troy, or possibly the Sailing of Aeneas set, first listed in November 1561, was newly brought from France by Queen Mary and not part of James’s Aeneas. Alexander Seton had some of the Aeneas and Troy at Dunfermline among his 10 old pieces in 1616. An area of the garden of Holyroodhouse was called the Sege of Troy, and there may have been a connection, perhaps only that the tapestries were aired there.
The Meleager
A separate subject from the Jason, listed in 1539 as the History of Maliasor, this six-piece tapestry of MeleagerMeleager
In Greek mythology, Meleager was a hero venerated in his temenos at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer....
was at Fotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle was in the village of Fotheringhay 3½ miles to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire .King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary, Queen of Scots, was tried and executed in 1587....
in 1587 as Mary's own possession. At Fotheringay, Mary, Queen of Scots, also had the six pieces of the History of Count Foix and the Battle of Ravenna, from the Scottish collection, but as this set was only previously listed in November 1561 it might not have belonged to her parents. Amias Paulet
Amias Paulet
Sir Amias Paulet was an English diplomat, Governor of Jersey, and the gaoler for a period of Mary, Queen of Scots.-Life:...
her gaoler spent £113-10s in English money on lining, packing, and hanging eight pieces of her tapestry duing her move from Chartley
Chartley Castle
Chartley Castle lies in ruins to the north of the village of Stowe-by-Chartley in Staffordshire, between Stafford and Uttoxeter . It is a Grade II* listed building...
to Fotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle
Fotheringhay Castle was in the village of Fotheringhay 3½ miles to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire .King Richard III was born here in 1452 and it was also where Mary, Queen of Scots, was tried and executed in 1587....
. Mary wished the Meleager and Ravenna to be sold after her death, with cloths-of-estate, to fund the return journeys of her physician and Mr Melville.
Like the Meleager, the biblical Roboam which appears in most inventories also dates from 1539.
Triumph and Assault of a Town
This may have been a copy of the famous tapestry commissioned by François IerFrancis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
from designs by Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
, the Gestes of Scipion, the story of Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
, which includes the scene Siege of Carthagena. However, like the Battle of Ravenna, the five pieces are first listed in November 1561 and so this too might not have belonged to James and Mary of Guise, unless they were among the unspecified tapestries bought by William Schaw in 1539. However, there are other tapestries with the subject Siege of a Town in late medieval style which answer the description. Another possibility is that these were scenes of the Siege of Troy, a subject found in Henry VIII's collection. Possibly, this tapestry was in mind when Mary of Guise, according to John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
, remarked that the aftermath of the failed assault on Leith
Siege of Leith
The Siege of Leith ended a twelve year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after the English arrived to assist in removing them from Scotland...
of 7 May 1560 was the fairest tapestry she had ever seen.
Unicorns, apes, beasts and others
James V’s other named tapestries include the seven Apes and Beasts and the six Great and eight Little UnicornUnicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
. The Great Unicorn set has been identified as another version of the famous tapestries, the Hunt of the Unicorn
The Hunt of the Unicorn
The Hunt of the Unicorn, often referred to as the Unicorn Tapestries, is a series of seven tapestries dating from 1495–1505. The tapestries show a group of noblemen and hunters in pursuit of a unicorn. It is believed the tapestries were made in the Southern Netherlands.-Production:The...
, now in the Cloisters
The Cloisters
The Cloisters is a museum located in Fort Tryon Park, New York City. The building, which is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was reconstructed in the 1930s from the architectural elements of several European medieval abbeys...
Museum of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York. Faithful copies using the original technique are being made for display in the Palace of Stirling Castle. These unicorn tapestries had belonged to his father, James IV, but the subject was still popular in 1540, when Pierre de Clanquemeulle, companion tapestry maker, was hired by Léon Brocart, master weaver in Paris, to complete two pieces of an Histoire de la Chasse à la licorne.
Listed in the September 1561 inventory, 10 pieces of History of Hunting and Hawking may have been a separate item originally belonging to James V, and perhaps distinct from the six-piece set of the Hunting of the Sanglier (wild boar), and seven-piece Coningars (the rabbit hunt), listed in later inventories. A tapestry, named as l’histoire des Chaffeur de Cogny, lost at Linlithgow
Linlithgow Palace
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are situated in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the...
during the 1566 baptism of James VI at Stirling, was probably a scene of the rabbit hunt. The Burrell Collection
Burrell Collection
The Burrell Collection is an art collection in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated in Pollok Country Park on the south side of the city.-History:...
in Glasgow has an example of a tapestry of this subject, dated from c. 1475.
James IV bought one scene of Marcus Coriolanus, which may be the Mathiolus in later inventories, and a Solomon, which may be Judgement of Solomon noted in September 1561, of worsett with gold. Susan Groag Bell wonders if the Mathiolus was the first scene of the City of Ladies, featuring the author Matheolus
Mathieu of Boulogne
Mathieu of Boulogne, or Matheolus, was a 13th century French poet. He is the author of the Liber lamentationum Matheoluli ....
as a protagonist.
The subject of the History of the Shepherds of seven pieces and the History of Calveris and Moris of four pieces noted in 1561 may be obscure. The eight-piece Triumph of Verity also noted in November 1561 may have come to Scotland with Mary in 1561, unless perhaps this was yet another name for the City of Dames.
The tapestry men
When James V moved around Scotland the tapissiers or 'tapestry men' packed up the tapestries and set them up at his destination, and carried out running repairs. George Steill bound up twelve scenes of the History of Aeneas with cords and carried them from Edinburgh to St Andrews in May 1539 for the marriage of Joanna Gresmore to the Laird of Creich. Eight pieces of tapestry were specially repaired for the coronation of Mary of Guise in January 1540, and others were often relined with new canvas. Jacques Habet, William Edbe and George Steill lined the rough or newly plastered walls of the castle at CrawfordjohnCrawfordjohn
Crawfordjohn is a small village and civil parish located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.It is west of Abington and north east of Leadhills, near junction 13 of the M74. It lies to the north of the Duneaton Water, a tributary of the River Clyde. It is known for the manufacture of curling stones....
to save wear on tapestries in July 1541. Apart from this work, the men also made up and embroidered state beds with luxury imported silks and taffetas with hanks of gold thread, finished with passementerie
Passementerie
Passementerie or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings....
and ostrich feather trimmings. Guillaume, hired in France in 1538, Habet, and the embroiderer Robinet, were doubtless Frenchmen, but William Edbe was Scottish. Habet may have been the "Jacques Hebert" later hired by the Parisian master weaver Girard Laurens in 1564.
There was extra work when the tapestry was taken out of the castles and used on other occasions. In May 1544, when an English army burnt Edinburgh
Burning of Edinburgh (1544)
The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and...
, the tapestries were carried up the Royal Mile
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...
from Holyroodhouse to the Castle for safety and watched by Reget Arran's wardrobe servant Malcolm Gourlay. Regent Arran borrowed the royal tapestry for his daughter Barbara's wedding in 1549, and after it had been cleaned by six apprentices it was brought out for the visit of Mary of Guise's brother, the Marquis de Maine
Claude, Duke of Aumale
Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Aumale was the third son of Claude, Duke of Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon. He was a prince of Lorraine by birth....
. In April 1569, tapestry was hung in Glasgow for the French ambassador, and in September 1572, William Murray, the varlet
Valet de chambre
Valet de chambre , or varlet de chambre, was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal Households had many persons appointed at any time...
of James VI's bedchamber hung the tollbooth of Stirling with tapestry. George Strathauchin, embroiderer, was James's "tapiser" with annual salary of £40 and lodging; on 7 October 1584, the Master of Gray
Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray
Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray , known most of his life as Patrick, Master of Gray, was a Scottish nobleman and politician during the reigns of James VI of Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots.-Early life:...
was made Keeper of the Wardrobe, including the tapestry, with all officers of the household commanded to reverence, acknowledge and obey him.
Sources
- Leland, John, De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea, .., ed., Hearne, Thomas, vol. 4, (1770), pp. 280-300
- Thomas, Andrea, Princelie Majestie, the court of James V of Scotland, John Donald (2005) ISBN 10 0 85976 611 X
- Thomson, Thomas, , Edinburgh (1815)
- Robertson Joseph, , Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh (1863)
External links
- Harrison, John G., Kirkdale Archaeology / Historic Scotland (2008)