CHAPTER IV.

HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A.D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

A. D. 530.--Introduction of silk-worms into Europe--Mode by which it was effected--The Serinda of Procopius the same with the modern Khotan--The silk-worm never bred in Sir-hind--Silk shawls of Tyre and Berytus--Tyrannical conduct of Justinian--Ruin of the silk manufactures--Oppressive conduct of Peter Barsames--Menander Protector--Surprise of Maniak the Sogdian ambassador--Conduct of Chosroes, king of Persia--Union of the Chinese and Persians against the Turks--The Turks in self-defence seek an alliance with the Romans--Mortification of the Turkish ambassador--Reception of the Byzantine ambassador by Disabul, king of the Sogdiani--Display of silk textures--Paul the Silentiary’s account of silk--Isidorus Hispalensis. Mention of silk by authors in the seventh century--Dorotheus, Archimandrite of Palestine--Introduction of silk-worms into Chubdan, or Khotan--Theophylactus Simocatta--Silk manufactures of Turfan--Silk known in England in this century--First worn by Ethelbert, king of Kent--Use of by the French kings--Aldhelmus’s beautiful description of the silk-worm--Simile between weaving and virtue. Silk in the eighth century--Bede. In the tenth century--Use of silk by the English, Welsh, and Scotch kings. Twelfth century--Theodorus Prodromus--Figured shawls of the Seres--Ingulphus describes vestments of silk interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold--Great value of silk about this time--Silk manufactures of Sicily--Its introduction into Spain. Fourteenth century--Nicholas Tegrini--Extension of the Silk manufacture through Europe, illustrated by etymology--Extraordinary beauty of silk and golden textures used in the decoration of churches in the middle ages--Silk rarely mentioned in the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth centuries.

We now come to the very interesting account of the first introduction of silk-worms into Europe, which is given by Procopius in the following terms. (_De Bello Gothico_, iv. 17.)

“About this time (A. D. 530.) two monks, having arrived from India, and learnt that Justinian was desirous that his subjects should no longer purchase raw silk from the Persians, went to him and offered to contrive means, by which the Romans would no longer be under the necessity of importing this article from their enemies the Persians or any other nation. They said, that they had long resided in the country called Serinda, one of those inhabited by the various Indian nations, and had accurately informed themselves how raw silk might be produced in the country of the Romans. In reply to the repeated and minute inquiries of this Emperor, they stated, that the raw silk is made by worms, which nature instructs and continually prompts to this labor; but that to bring the worms alive to Byzantium would be impossible; that the breeding of them is quite easy; that each parent animal produces numberless eggs, which long after their birth are covered with manure by persons who have the care of them, and being thus warmed a sufficient time, are hatched. The Emperor having promised the monks a handsome reward, if they would put in execution what they had proposed, they returned to India and brought the eggs to Byzantium, where, having hatched them in the manner described, they fed them with the leaves of the _Black Mulberry_, and thus enabled the Romans thenceforth to obtain raw silk in their own country.”

The same narrative, abridged from Procopius, is found in Manuel Glycas (_Annal. l._ iv. _p._ 209.), and Zonares (_Annal. l._ xiv. _p._ 69. _ed. Du Cange._). In the abstract given by Photius (_Biblioth. p._ 80. _ed. Rotham_) of the history of Theophanes Byzantinus, who was a writer of nearly the same age with Procopius, we find a narrative, in which the only variation is, that a Persian brought the eggs to Byzantium in the hollow stem of a plant. The method now practised in transporting the eggs from country to country is to place them in a bottle not more than half full, so that by being tossed about, they may be kept cool and fresh. If too close, they would probably be heated and hatch on the journey[69].

[69] Transactions of the Society for encouraging Arts, Manufactures, &c., vol. xliii. p. 236.

The authors who have hitherto treated of the history of the silk-worm, have supposed the Serinda of Procopius to be the modern Sir-hind, a city of Circar in the North of Hindostan[70]. Notwithstanding the striking similarity of names, we think it more likely that Serinda was adopted by Procopius as another name for Khotan in Little Bucharia. The ancients included Khotan among the Indian nations[71]: and that they were right in so doing is established from the facts, that Sanscrit was the ancient language of the inhabitants of Khotan; that their alphabetical characters, their laws, and their literature resembled those of the Hindoos; and that they had a tradition of being Indian in their origin[72]. Since, therefore, Khotan was also included in the ancient Serica, a term probably of wide and rather indefinite extent[73]; the name _Serinda_ would exactly denote the origin and connexions of the race which occupied Khotan.

[70] In this they have followed D’Anville, Antiquité Géographique de l’Inde, Paris, 1775, p. 63.

[71] In proof of this we refer to Heeren, Ideen, i. l. p. 358-387, on the Indian tribes which constituted one of the Persian Satrapies, and in which the inhabitants of Khotan appear to have been included; and also to Cellarii Antiqui Orbis Notitia, l. iii. c. 23. § 2.

[72] Rémusat, Hist. de la Ville de Khotan, p. 32. Note 1. and p. 37.

[73] De Guignes (Hist. Gen. des Huns, tome i. p. v.) expresses his opinion, that Serica, besides the North of China, included the countries towards the West, which were conquered by the Chinese, viz. Hami, Turfan, and other neighboring territories. Rennell (Mem. of a map of Hindostan) agrees with D’Anville, _that Serica was at the Northwest angle of the present empire of China_. Heeren decides in favor of the same opinion, supposing Serica to be identical with the modern Tongut. Comment. Soc. Reg. Scient. Gottingensis, vol. xi. p. 106. 111. Gottingæ, 1793.

Pausanias observes that the Seres, in order to breed the insects which produced silk, had houses adapted both for summer and winter, which implies that there was a vast difference between the summer and winter temperature of their country. A late oriental traveller says of the climate of Khotan, “In the summer, when melons ripen, it is very hot in these countries; but, during winter, extremely cold.”--Wathen’s Memoir on Chinese Tartary and Khotan, in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, December 1835, p. 659.

On referring to the map, Plate VII., the reader will see the position of Serica indicated at its Eastern extremity. As that map is limited to the _Orbis Veteribus Cognitus_, only a small space on its border is marked as the country of silk indicated by the yellow color. It is, nevertheless, pretty certain that silk may be justly placed next in order to wool.

On the other hand, although Sir-hind is termed “an ancient city” by Major Rennell[74], we cannot find any evidence that the silk-worm was ever bred there. So far is this from being the case, that it appears to be a country very ill adapted for the production of silk[75]. It may indeed be true, as stated by Latreille, that Sir-hind was colonized from Khotan, and it may be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance in confirmation of this supposition, that there is a town called Kotana a little way to the North East of the City of Sir-hind. But, supposing this account to be correct, it is highly probable that the settlement of Sir-hind as a colony of Khotan did not take place till after the year 530, when the breeding of silk-worms was according to Procopius introduced into Europe from “Serinda.” Rather more than 120 years before this time India was visited by the Chinese traveller, Fa Hian, who on his way passed some months with great delight and admiration in Khotan; and the special object of whose journey was to see and describe all the cities of India where Buddhism was professed. The inhabitants of Khotan being wholly devoted to that delusion, the same system must have been established in its colony; and, since this zealous pilgrim crossed India at no great distance from the spot where Sir-hind afterwards stood, we cannot doubt that he would have mentioned it, if it had existed in his age. He says not a word about it; and the time is comparatively so short between his visit to India and the date of the introduction of silk-worms into Europe, that we can scarcely suppose Sir-hind, the colony of Khotan and consequently the seat of Buddhism, to have been in existence either at the former or latter period[76].

[74] Memoir of a Map of Hindostan.

[75] “The S. W. portion of the Circar Sir-hind is extremely barren, being covered with low scrubby wood, and in many places destitute of water. About A. D. 1357 Feroze the Third cut several canals from the Jumna and the Sutlege in order to fertilize this naturally arid country.”--Walter Hamilton’s Description of Hindostan, vol. i. p. 465.

[76]Foĕ Kouĕ Ki, ou Relation des royaumes bouddhiques: Voyage dans la Tartarie, dans l’Afghanistan, et dans l’Inde; traduit du Chinois et commenté par Rémusat, Klaproth, et Landresse. Paris, 1836, 4to.

In another passage of his history (_Bell. Pers._ 1. 20.) Procopius throws some light upon our subject by stating that in consequence of the monopoly of the trade in raw silk by the Persians, Justinian attempted to obtain it through the Æthiopians of Arabia, but found this to be impracticable, as the Persian merchants frequented the ports to which the Indians resorted, and from them purchased all their cargoes.

Procopius further states (_Hist. Arcana, c._ 25.), that _silk shawls_ had long been manufactured in the Phœnician cities Tyre and Berytus (to which all who were concerned in the silk trade, either as merchants or manufacturers, consequently resorted, and from whence goods were carried to every part of the earth); but that in the reign of Justinian the manufacturers in Byzantium and other Greek cities raised the prices of their goods, alleging that the Persians had also advanced theirs, while the imposts were increased among the Romans. Justinian, pretending to be much concerned at the high prices, forbade any one in his dominions to sell silk for more than eight _aurei_ per pound, threatening confiscation of goods against any one who transgressed the law. To comply was impossible, since they were required to sell their goods at a price lower than that for which they bought them. They therefore abandoned the trade, and secretly sold the remnant of their goods for what they could get. The Empress Theodora, on being apprised of this, immediately seized the goods and fined the proprietors a hundred _aurei_ besides. It was then determined, that the silk manufacture should be carried on solely by the Imperial Treasurer. PETER BARSAMES held the office, and conducted himself in relation to this business in the most unjust and oppressive manner, so that the silk-trade was ruined not only in Byzantium but also at Tyre and Berytus, while the Emperor, Empress and their Treasurer amassed great wealth by the monopoly.

MENANDER PROTECTOR, A. D. 560-570.

In an account of an embassy sent to Constantinople by the Avars of Sarmatia, this author states, that the Emperor Justinian endeavored to excite their admiration by a display of splendid couches, gold chains, and garments of silk[77].

[77] Corp. Hist. Byzant. ed. 1729. tom. i. p. 67.

The establishment of the Turkish power in Asia, about the middle of the sixth century, together with subsequent wars, had greatly interrupted the caravan trade between China and Persia. On the return of peace, the Sogdians, an Asiatic people, who had the greatest interest in the revival of the trade, persuaded the Turkish sovereign, whose subjects they were become, to send an embassy to Chosroes, king of Persia, to open a negotiation for this purpose. Maniak, a Sogdian prince, who was ambassador, being instructed to request that the Sogdians might be allowed to supply the Persians with silk; presented himself before the Persian monarch in the double character of merchant and envoy, carrying with him many bales of silken merchandise, for which he hoped to find purchasers among the Persians. But Chosroes, who thought the conveyance by sea to the Persian Gulf more advantageous to his subjects than this proposed traffic, was not disposed to lend a favorable ear to the legation, and rather uncourteously showed his contempt for the Sogdian traders. He bought up all the silk which the ambassador had carried with him, and immediately burned it before them; thus giving the most convincing proof of the little value which it had in his estimation.

After this the Persians and Chinese united against the Turks, who, to strengthen themselves, sought an alliance with the Emperor Justin. Maniak was again appointed ambassador, and sent to negotiate the terms of the alliance; but disappointment, though from a dissimilar cause, attended this his second embassy. The sight of silk-worms, and the establishment for manufacturing their produce, in Constantinople, were to him as unwelcome as unexpected; he however concealed his mortification, and, with perhaps an overstrained civility, acknowledged, that the Romans were already become as expert as the Chinese in both the management of silk-worms and manufacture of their silk[78]; and when in the fourth year of Justin II. (_i. e._ A. D. 569.) they went on the same mission to Byzantium, they found that here also there was no demand, since silk-worms were bred there already. Soon after this we learn· that the Byzantines sent an embassy to Disabul, King of the Sogdiani, who received the ambassadors in tents covered with variously-colored silks.

[78] Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xlii.

PAUL, THE SILENTIARY, A. D. 562,

mentions silk thread, used in adorning the vestments in the church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. (P. ii. l. 368.) The note of the Editor, Du Cange, on the description of the pall, (577.), contains various quotations from ecclesiastical writers, which mention “vela rubea Serica;” “vela alba holoserica rasata;” “vela serica de blattin.” These quotations show, that silk had been introduced into general use for the churches.

ISIDORUS HISPALENSIS, CL., A. D. 575.

The etymological work of Isidore of Seville may be regarded as a kind of encyclopedia, exhibiting the general state of knowledge and art at the time when he wrote. Hence the following descriptive extracts are well deserving of attention.

Bombyx frondium vermis, ex cujus texturâ Bombycinum conficitur. Appellatur autem hoc nomine ab eo quod evacuetur dum fila generat, et aer solus in eo remanet.--_Origin. l._ xii. _c._ 5.

Bombyx, a worm which lives upon the leaves of trees, and from whose web silk is made. It is called Bombyx, because it empties itself in producing threads, and nothing but air remains within it.

The cloth called _Bombycina_, derives its name from the silk-worm (_Bombyx_), which emits very long threads; the web woven from them is called Bombycinum, and is made in the island of Cos.

That called _Serica_ derives its name from silk (_sericum_), or from the circumstance, that is was first obtained from the Seres.

_Holoserica_ is all of silk: for _Holon_ means _all_.

_Tramoserica_ has a warp of linen; and a woof (_trama_) of silk.--L. xix. c. 22.

Touching these extracts we would remark, that the testimony of Isidore must not be considered as proving, that the silk manufacture still existed in Cos. His statement was no doubt merely copied from Varro or Pliny, or founded upon the authority of other writers long anterior to his own age. It is indeed probable that silk-worms had by this time been brought into Greece, but that he was ignorant of the fact.

SEVENTH CENTURY.

DOROTHEUS, ARCHIMANDRITE OF PALESTINE, A. D. 601.

Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐνδεδυμένος ὁλοσήρικον.--_Doctr._ 2, _as quoted in Cod. Theodos. Gothofredi. L. Bat._ 1665.

For as a man wearing a tunic entirely of silk.

THEOPHYLACTUS SIMOCATTA, A. D. 629.

This author, in his Universal History (_l._ vii. c. 9.), informs us that the silk manufacture was carried on at Chubdan, with the greatest skill and activity, which was probably the same as Khotan, or, as it was called in his time, Ku-tan[79].

[79] Itinéraire de Hiuan Thsang, Appendice ii. à Foe Koue Ki, p. 399.

We have, moreover, the following account of the origin of the growth and manufacture of silk in that country (p. 55, 56.).

“The monastery of Lou-che (_occupied by Buddhists_) is to the south-west of the royal city. Formerly the inhabitants of this kingdom had neither mulberries nor silk-worms. They heard of them in the East country, and sent an embassy to ask for them. The King of the East refused the request, and issued the strictest injunctions to prevent either mulberries or silk-worms’ eggs from being conveyed across the border. Then the King of Kiu-sa-tan-na (_i. e._ _Koustana_, or _Khotan_) asked of him a princess in marriage. This having been granted, the king charged the officer of his court who went to escort her, to say, that in his country there were neither mulberry-trees nor cocoons, and that she must introduce them, _or be without silk dresses_. The princess, having received this information, obtained the seed both of mulberries, and silk-worms, which she concealed in her head-dress. On arriving at the frontier, the officers searched every where, but dare not touch the turban of the princess. Having arrived at the spot, where the monastery of Lou-che was afterwards erected, she deposited the seed both of the mulberries and worms. The trees were planted in the spring, and she afterwards went herself to assist in gathering the leaves. At first the worms were fed upon the leaves of other plants, and a law was enacted, that no worms were to be destroyed or sacrificed until their quantity was sufficiently great. The monastery was founded to commemorate so great a benefit, and some trunks of the original mulberry-trees can yet be seen there[80].”

[80] It may be observed, that the folds of the turban are not unfrequently used in the East to convey articles of value. See Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor, by Charles Fellows, London, 1839, p. 216.

In the following passage (_Règne Animal, par Cuvier, tom._ v. _p._ 402.,) Latreille mentions Turfan as an important city as far as it affected the early silk-trade. In other respects his account coincides with that already given.

“La ville de Turfan, dans la petite Bucharie, fut long-temps le rendez-vous des caravanes venant de l’Ouest, et l’entrepôt principal des soieries de la Chine. Elle était la métropole des Sères de l’Asie supérieure, ou de la Sérique de Ptolémée. Expulsés de leurs pays par les Huns, les Sères s’établirent dans la grande Bucharie et dans l’Inde. C’est d’une de leurs colonies, du Ser-hend (_Ser-indi_), que des missionaires Grecs transportèrent, du temps de Justinien, les œufs du ver à soie à Constantinople.”

The City of Turfan in Little Bucharia was for a long time the rendezvous of the caravans coming from the West, and the principal market for Chinese silks. It was the metropolis of the Seres of Upper Asia, or the Serica of Ptolemy. The Seres having been expelled their country by the Huns, established themselves in Great Bucharia and in India. It is from one of their colonies (of Ser-indi), that the Grecian Missionaries, in the time of Justinian, brought the eggs of the silk-worm to Constantinople.

A diploma of ETHELBERT, King of Kent, mentions “Armilausia holoserica,” proving that silk was known in England at the end of the sixth century[81]. The usual dress of the earliest French kings seems to have been a linen shirt and drawers of the same material next to the skin; over these a tunic, probably of fine wool, which had a border of silk, ornamented sometimes with gold or precious stones; and upon this a sagum, which was fastened with a fibula on the right shoulder. Eginhart informs us, that Charlemagne wore a tunic, or vest, with a silken border (_limbo serico_)[82].

[81] Dugdale’s Monasticon, vol. i. p. 24. Adelung’s Glossarium Manuale, v. Armilausia.

[82] Examples of it may be seen, I. in the two figures of Charlemagne, executed in mosaic during his life-time, one of which is preserved in the Penitentiary of St. John Lateran at Rome, and both of these are described by Spon in his Miscellanea Eruditæ Antiquitatus (p. 284.); II. in the figure of Charles the Bald, the grandson of Charlemagne, which is in the splendid copy of the Latin Gospels made for his use, now preserved in the library at Munich, and which may be seen engraved in Sanft’s Dissertation on that MS. (p. 42.); III. in the figure of an early French king engraved from a MS. by Baluzius in his Capitularia Regum Francorum (tom. ii. p. 1308.); and IV. in the first volume of Montfaucon’s Monumens de la Monarchie Française.

ALDHELMUS, CL., A. D. 680.

This author, who died Abbot of Sherburn, was among the most learned men of his age. In his Ænigmas, which are written in tetrastics, we find the following description of the silk-worm. As it is scarcely possible that he could have seen this creature, we have cause to admire both the ingenuity and general accuracy of his lines. The ascending to the tops of thorns or shrubs, such as “genistæ,” to which the animal may attach its cocoon (_globulum_), has not been noticed by any earlier author.

De Bombycibus.

Annua dum redeunt texendi tempora telas, Lurida setigeris replentur viscera filis; Moxque genistarum frondosa cacumina scando, Ut globulus fabricans cum fati sorte quiescam. _Maxima Bibl. Vet. Patrum, tom._ xiii. _p._ 25.

Soon as the year brings round the time to spin, My entrails dark with hairy threads are fill’d: Then to the leafy lops of shrubs I climb, Make my cocoon, and rest by fate’s decree.

In a book written by this author, in praise of virginity, he observes, That chastity alone did not form an amiable and perfect character, but required to be accompanied and adorned by many other virtues; and this observation he further illustrates by the following simile taken from the art of weaving: “As it is not a web of one uniform color and texture, without any variety of figures, that pleaseth the eye and appears beautiful, _but one that is woven by shuttles, filled with threads of purple, and many other colors, flying from side to side, and forming a variety of figures and images_, in different compartments, with admirable art.”--_Bibliotheca Patrum, tom._ xiii.

EIGHTH CENTURY.

BEDE, CL., A. D. 701.

Joseph autem mercatus est sindonem, et deponens eum involvit sindone. (_Marc._ xv. 46.)--Et ex simplici sepultura domini ambitio divitum condemnatur, qui ne in tumulis quidem possunt carere divitiis. Possumus autem juxta intelligentiam spiritalem hoc sentire, quod corpus domini non auro, non gemmis et serico, sed linteamine puro obvolvendum sit, quanquam et hoc significet, quod ille in sindone munda involvat Jesum, qui pura eum mente susceperit. Hinc ecclesiæ mos obtinuit, ut sacrificium altaris non in serico, neque in panno tincto, sed in lino terreno celebretur, sicut corpus est domini in sindone munda sepultum, juxta quod in gestis pontificalibus a beato Papâ Silvestro legimus esse statutum.--_Expos. in Marcum, tom._ v. _p._ 207. _Col. Agrip._ 1688.

But Joseph bought a linen cloth, and, taking him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth. (Mark xv. 46.)--The simple burial of our Lord condemns the ambition of rich men, who cannot be without wealth even in their tombs. That his body is to be wrapped not in gold, not in silk and precious stones, but in pure linen, may be understood by us spiritually. It also intimates, that he incloses Jesus in a clean linen cloth, who receives him with a pure mind. Hence the custom of the church has obtained, to celebrate the sacrifice of the altar, not in silk, nor in dyed cloth, but in earthy flax, as the body of our Lord was buried in a clean linen cloth; for so we read in the pontifical acts, that it was decreed by the blessed Pope Silvester.

The latter portion of this extract, wherein we are informed of the origin of the practice, universally adopted, of covering the Eucharist with a white linen cloth, must be a _later_ addition. Pope Silvester lived, as the reader will perceive, long _after_ the time of Bede.

Bede, in his History of the Abbots of Wearmouth, states that the first abbot and founder of the monastery, Biscop, surnamed Benedict, went a fifth time to Rome for ornaments and books to enrich it, and on this occasion (A. D. 685.) brought two _scarfs_, or palls, of incomparable workmanship, composed entirely of silk, with which he afterwards purchased the land of three families situated at the mouth of the Wear[83]. This shows the high value of silken articles at that period.

[83] Bedæ Hist. Eccles. &c. cura Jo. Smith. Cantab. 1722. p. 297. Mr. Sharon Turner, speaking of Bede, says, “His own remains were inclosed in silk. Mag. Bib. xvi. p. 88. It often adorned the altars of the church; and we read of a present to a West-Saxon bishop of a casula, not entirely of silk, but mixed with goat’s wool.” Ibid. p. 50. He refers to p. 97. of the same volume, as mentioning “pallia holoserica.”--History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. iii. book vii. chap. 4. p. 48, 49.

TENTH CENTURY.

About the year 970 Kenneth, king of Scotland, paid a visit in London to Edgar, king of England. The latter sovereign, to evince at once his friendship and munificence, bestowed upon his illustrious guest silks, rings, and gems, together with one hundred ounces of pure gold[84].

[84] Lingard’s Hist. of England, vol. i. 241. London, 1819, 4to.

Perhaps we may refer to the same date the composition of the “Lady of the Fountain,” a Welsh tale, recently translated by Lady Charlotte Guest[85]. At the opening of this poem King Arthur is represented sitting in his chamber at Caer-leon upon Usk. It is said,

In the centre of the chamber, King Arthur sat upon a seat of green rushes, over which was spread a covering of flame-colored satin, and a cushion covered with the same material was under his elbow.

The mention of silk and satin is frequent in this tale.

[85] The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr Coch o Hergest and other ancient Welsh manuscripts; with an English translation and notes. By Lady Charlotte Guest. Part I. The Lady of the Fountain. Llandovery, 1838.

GERBERT, CL., A. D. 970.

This author, who became Pope Silvester, mentions garments of silk (sericas vestes) in a passage which has been already quoted (see Part II. chap. V.).

TWELFTH CENTURY.

THEODORUS PRODROMUS,

a romance writer in the twelfth century, mentions the _figured shawls_ (πέπλα) manufactured by the Seres.

The breeding of silk-worms in Europe appears to have been confined to Greece from the time of the Emperor Justinian until the middle of the twelfth century. The manufacture of silk was also very rare in other parts of Europe, being probably practised only as a recreation and accomplishment for ladies. But in the year 1148 Roger I., King of Sicily, having taken the cities of Corinth, Thebes, and Athens, thus got into his power a great number of silk-weavers, took them away with the implements and materials necessary for the exercise of their art, and forced them to reside at Palermo[86]. Nicetas Choniates[87], referring to the same event, speaks of these artisans as of both sexes, and remarks that in his time those who went to Sicily might see the sons of Thebans and Corinthians employed in weaving velvet stoles _interwoven with gold_, and serving like the Eretrians of old among the Persians[88].

[86] Otto Frisingen, Hist. Imp. Freder. l. i. c. 33. in Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, tom. vi. p. 668.

[87] In Manuel Comnenus, l. ii. c. 8., tom. xii. of the Scriptores Hist. Byzantinæ, p. 51. ed. Ven.

[88] Hugo Falcandus, who visited this manufactory A. D. 1169, represents it as being then in the most flourishing condition, producing great quantities of silks, both plain and figured, of many different colors, and enriched with gold.

We find in the writings of Ingulphus several curious accounts of vestments of silk, interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold. This author, in his history, mentions that among other gifts made by Witlaf, king of Mercia, to the abbey of Croyland, he presented _a golden curtain, embroidered with the siege of Troy_, to be hung up in the church on his birth-day[89]. At a later period, 1155, a pair of richly worked sandals, and three mitres, the work of Christina, abbess of Markgate, were among the valuable souvenirs presented by Robert, abbot of St. Albans, to Pope Adrian IV.[90].

[89] Ingulphus, p. 487, edit. 1596.

[90] Adrian IV., was the only Englishman that ever sat in St. Peters chair. His name was Nicolas Breakspear: he was born of poor parents at Langley, near St. Albans. Henry II., on his promotion to the papal chair, sent a deputation of an abbot and three bishops to congratulate him on his election; upon which occasion he granted considerable privileges to the abbey of St. Albans. With the exception of the presents named above, he refused all the other valuable ones which were offered him, saying jocosely,--“I will not accept your gifts, because when I wished to take the habit of your monastery you refused me.” To which the abbot pertinently and smartly replied,--“It was not for us to oppose the will of Providence, which had destined you for greater things.”

Without digressing from our subject to question the right of the royal marauder thus tyrannously to sever these unoffending artisans from the ties of country and of kindred, we may yet be allowed to express some satisfaction at the consequences of his cruelty. It is well for the interests of humanity that blessings, although unsought and remote, do sometimes follow in the train of conquest; that wars are not always limited in their results to the exaltation of one individual, the downfall of another, the slaughter of thousands, and misery of millions, but occasionally prove the harbingers of peaceful arts, heralds of science, and in short deliverers from the yoke of slavery or superstition.

In twenty years from this forcible establishment of the manufacture, the silks of Sicily are described as having attained a decided excellence; as being of diversified patterns and colors; some fancifully interwoven with gold tastefully embellished with figures; and others richly adorned with pearls. The industry and ingenuity thus called forth, could not fail to exercise a beneficial influence over the character and condition of the Sicilians.

From Palermo the manufacture of silk extended itself through all parts of Italy and into Spain. We learn from Roger de Hoveden, that the manufacture flourished at Almeria in Grenada about A. D. 1190[91].

[91] “Deinde per nobilem civitatem, quæ dicitur Almaria, ubi fit nobile sericum et delicatum, quod dicitur sericum de Almaria.” Scriptores post Bedam, p. 671.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

According to Nicholas Tegrini[92], the silk manufacture afterwards flourished in Lucca; and the weavers, having been ejected from that city in the earlier part of the fourteenth century, carried their art to Venice, Florence, Milan, Bologna, and even to Germany, France, and Britain.

[92] Vita Castruccii, in Muratori, Rer. Ital. Scriptores, t. xi. p. 1320.

We have seen from different historical testimonies, that silk was known to the inhabitants of France and England as early as the sixth century. The fact of its introduction into all parts of the North of Europe is manifest from the use of words for silk in several northern languages. These words appear, according to the inquiries of the learned orientalists, Klaproth and Abel Rémusat[93], to have been derived from those Asiatic countries, in which silk was originally produced. In the language of Corea silk is called _Sir_; in Chinese _Se_, which may have been produced by the usual omission of the final _r_. In the Mongol language silk is called _Sirkek_, in the Mandchou _Sirghè_. In the Armenian the silk-worm is called _Chèram_. In Arabic, Chaldee, and Syriac, silk was called Seric[94]. From the same source we have in Greek and Latin Σηρικὸν, Sericum.

[93] Journal Asiatique, 1823, tom. ii. p. 246. Julius Klaproth (Tableau Historique de l’Asie, Paris, 1826, p. 57, 58.) says, that in the year 165 B. C. the inhabitants of the country called by us Tangut, who constituted a powerful kingdom, were attacked by the Hioung Nou, and driven to the West, where they fixed themselves in Transoxiana, and that these events led to an uninterrupted communication with Persia and India, especially in regard to the silk trade. Klaproth considers that the Seres of the ancients were the Chinese; but he appears to include under that term all the nations which were brought into subjection to the Chinese.

Professor Karl Ritter (Erdkunde, Asien, Band iv. 2 te Auflage, Berlin, 1835, p. 437.) observes, in allusion to the authority just quoted, that all the names of the silk-worm and its products are to be accounted for on the supposition (which he considers the true one) that they were first known and cultivated in China, and from thence extended through central Asia into Europe.

[94] See Schindler’s Pentaglott, p. 1951, D.

In the more modern European languages we find two sets of terms for silk, the first evidently derived from the oriental Seric, but with the common substitution of _l_ for _r_, the second of an uncertain origin. To the first set belong,

_Chelk_, silk, in Slavonian. _Silke_, ---- in Suio-Gothic and Icelandic[95]. _Silcke_, ---- in Danish. Siolc or Seolc, ---- in Anglo-Saxon. Also Siolcen or Seolcen, silken; Eal, reolcen, _Holosericus_; Seolcpynm, silk-worm[96]. _Silk_, ---- in English[97] _Sirig_, ---- in Welsh[98].

To the second set belong,

_Seda_, silk, in the Latin of the middle ages. _Seta_, ---- in Italian. _Seide_, ---- in German. _Side_, ---- in Anglo-Saxon. Also Sidene, silken, Ælfric as quoted by Lye; Sidpypm, silk-worm, Junius, l. c. _Sidan_, ---- in Welsh. _Satin_, ---- in French and English[99].

[95] _Silki trojo ermalausa_, a silk tunic without sleeves. Knitlynga Saga, p. 114, as quoted by Ihre, Glossar. Suio-Goth. v. Armalausa.

[96] Ælfric’s Glossary (made in the tenth century), p. 68. Appendix to Sumner’s Dictionary.

[97] Nicholas Fuller (Miscellanea, p. 248.) justly observes, Vocabulum Anglicanum Selk non nisi Sericum authorem generis sui agnoscit. Selk enim nuncupatum est quasi Selik pro Serik, literæ r in l facili commutatione factâ.

Minshew and Skinner give the same etymology.

[98] Junius, Etymologicum, v. _Silk_. It appears doubtful, however, whether Junius is here to be depended on.

[99] Ménage, Diction. Etym. de la Langue Française, tom. ii. p. 457, ed. Joult.

According to Abel Rémusat (_Journal Asiat. l. c._) the merchandise of Eastern Asia passed through Slavonia to the North of Europe in the middle ages, even without the mediation of Greece or Italy. This may account for the use of the terms of the first class, while it is possible that those of the second have been derived from the South of Europe, from whence we have seen that silken commodities were also occasionally transported to the North.

To the evidence now produced from _authors_ and _printed documents_ respecting the history of silk from the earliest times to the period of its universal extension throughout Europe, another species of proof may be added, viz. that afforded by Relics preserved in churches, and by other remains of the antiquities of the middle ages. As examples of this method for illustrating the subject, the following articles may be enumerated.

I. The relics of St. Regnobert, Bishop of Bayeux in the seventh century. These consist of a _Casula_, or _Chasuble_, a _Stole_, and a _Maniple_. They are yet preserved in the cathedral of Bayeux, and worn by the Bishop on certain annual festivals. They are of silk _interwoven with gold_, and _adorned with pearls_[100].

[100] See John Spencer Smythe’s Description de la Chasuble de Saint Regnobert, in the Procès Verbal de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, Arts, et Belles Lettres, de la Ville de Caen, Séance d’Avril 14, 1820.

II. Portions of garments of the same description with those of St. Regnobert were discovered A. D. 1827 on opening the tomb of St. Cuthbert in the Cathedral of Durham. They are preserved in the library of that church, and accurately described by the Rev. James Raine, the librarian, in a quarto volume.

III. The scull-cap of St. Simon, said to have been made in the tenth century, and now preserved in the Cathedral of Treves. Its border is _interwoven with gold_.

In regard to these interesting relics, they may with confidence be looked upon as specimens of the manufacture of silk from the _seventh_ to the _twelfth_ century.

IV. In the Cathedral at Hereford is a charter of one of the Popes with the bull (the leaden seal), attached to it by silken threads. Silk was early used for this purpose in the South of Europe[101]. The Danish kings began to use silk to append the waxen seals to their charters about the year 1000[102].

[101] Mabillon, de Re Diplomaticâ, l. ii. cap. 19. § 6.

[102] Diplomatarium Arna-Magnæanum, a Thorkelin, tom. i. p. xliv.

V. Silk, in the form of velvet, may be seen on some of the ancient armor in the Tower of London.

VI. The binding of ancient manuscripts affords specimens of silk. A French translation of Ludolphus Saxo’s Life of Christ in four folio volumes, among Dr. William Hunter’s MSS. at Glasgow, still has its original binding covered with red velvet, which is probably as old as the _fourteenth_ century. A curious source of information on the art of book-binding at that period is the Inventory, or Catalogue of the library collected by that ardent lover of books, Charles V. of France. As this catalogue particularly describes the bindings of about 1200 volumes, many of which were very elaborate and splendid, it enables us to judge of the use made of all the most valuable stuffs and materials which could be employed for this purpose, and under the head of silk we find the following: “soie,” silk; “veluyau,” velvet; “satanin,” satin; “damas,” damask; “taffetas,” taffetas; “camocas;” “cendal;” and “drap d’or,” cloth of gold, having probably a basis or ground of silk[103].

From the few examples of ancient Catholic vestments that have escaped destruction, the generality of persons are but little acquainted with the extreme beauty of the embroidery worked for ecclesiastical purposes during the Middle Ages. The countenances of the images were executed with perfect expression, like miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Every parochial church, previous to the Reformation, was furnished with complete sets of frontals and hangings for the altars. One of the great beauties of the ancient embroidery was its appropriate design; each flower, leaf, and device having a significant meaning with reference to the festival to which the vestment belonged. Such was the extreme beauty of the English vestments in the reign of Henry III., that Innocent IV. forwarded bulls to many English bishops, enjoining them to send a certain quantity of embroidered vestments to Rome, for the use of the clergy[104].

[103] See Inventaire de l’Ancienne Bibliothèque du Louvre, fait en l’année 1373. Paris, 1836, 8vo.

[104] The art of embroidery seems to have attained a higher degree of perfection in France, than any other country in Europe;--it is not, however, so much practised now. Embroiderers formerly composed a great portion of the working population of the largest towns; laws were specially framed for their protection, some of which would astonish the working people of the present day. They were formed into a company as early as 1272, by Etienne Boileau, Prévot de Paris, under their respective names of “Brodeurs, Découpeurs, Egratigneurs, and Chasubliers.”

In the last and preceding centuries, when embroidery, as an article of dress both for men and women, was an object of considerable importance, the Germans, and more particularly those of Vienna, disputed the palm of excellence with the French. At the same period, Milan and Venice were also celebrated for their embroidery; but the prices were so extravagantly high, that according to Lamarre, its use was forbidden by sumptuary laws.