Woven Story, by Anonymous

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The eye was delighted with the glories of ancient chivalry and the love-scenes of romance elaborately wrought in figures of gold on azure silk. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,* the mighty deeds of Guy of Warwick,* of Alexander,* and Charlemagne,* and sometimes the more alluring scenes from Ovid,* glittering upon the cloth of gold, aroused the imaginations of the guests within the festive hall; while the most striking incidents of Bible history represented on the chamber hanging, appealing to the thought, led many who could not read, and who heeded not the matin-bell,* to become curious about the word of truth.

These representations were rendered still more valuable and instructive from the mottoes, wise sayings, and terse explanatory sentences which accompanied them, and which, from constant repetition, became household words, and gave birth to much of the proverbial wisdom current for ages among our ancestors.*

by Anonymous

From ‘Our English Home’ (1861) by an anonymous author, published (and possibly written) by John Henry Parker (1806-1884). Additional information from ‘Tapestry Weaving in England From the Earliest Times to the End of the XVIIIth Century’ (1914) by William George Thomson (1865-1942), and ‘Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1598-1601’ (1856) published by the Public Record Office, and edited by Mary Anne Everett Green (1818-1895).

* Legendary figures from French romance, set in sub-Roman Britain (i.e. after 410). Arthur was celebrated as one of the Nine Worthies, a list of heroes of chivalry compiled by Jacques de Longuyon in 1312. They included: three pagans, Hector, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar; three Jews, Joshua, David and Judas Maccabeus; and three Christians, King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon.

* A legendary figure from the thirteenth century, though his story is set in Anglo-Saxon times just as the legend of Arthur is set in sub-Roman Britain. Some slipped Guy into the list of Nine Worthies, replacing Godfrey of Bouillon.

* A historical figure this time, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon from 336 BC when he was aged just twenty, to his death in 323 BC. For some stories, see Alexander the Great of Macedon.

* Another historical figure, Charles the Great (or Charlemagne) was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy Roman Emperor from 800 until his death in 814.

* Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC - AD ?18), a Roman poet whose Metamorphoses and Heroides bring to life many wonderful tales from Classical myth. See posts tagged Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid).

* That is, they did not go to morning prayer in their local church.

* The subjects of tapestries recorded in the possession of Henry V at his death in 1422 included rural scenes, hawking and hunting, a lady at her harp, the legendary Sir Bevis of Hampton, St George, St Edward, Biblical scenes, and mottos such as ‘Credo in unum Deum’ and ‘Jeo vous ayme loialment’.

Précis

In private chambers, mediaeval gentlemen preferred Biblical themes for their tapestries, whereas in public areas the subjects were more likely to be scenes from classical mythology, heroes of Arthurian romance, or great warriors of history. Some of the hangings incorporated lettering, including explanatory texts and heraldic mottoes, as well as expressions which over time have become proverbial.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

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