6
Woman's Work In the Middle Ages.
"Kin Arthur's sword, ExcaHbnr,
'Wrought br tho lonely maiden ottlie Lake,
Wine ears she wrought it, mttln In tbo deep
Vl on tha bidden baoi ol the luili."
Sir bedivere's heart misgave him twice ere ho
oold obey the dying commands of King
Arthur, and fling away so precious a relic. The
lonely maiden's industry has been equalled, by
many ot her mortal sisters, sitting, not indeed
upon tho hidden banes of the hills," but in all
tha varied human habitations built above them
. since the days ol King Arthur.
The richness, beauty, and skill displayed In
the needle-work of tho Middle Ages demonstrate
. the perfection that art had attained; whilo
hurch inventories, wills, and costumes repre
sented In tho miniatures ol illuminated manu
scripts and elsewhere, amaze us by the quantity
as well the quality of this department of
woman's work. Though regal robes and heavy
eburch vestments wi re sometimes wrought by
monks, yet to woman's tasto and skill tho
greater share of the result must b attributed,
- the profe-sional handi being those of nuns and
their pupils in convents.
The ine of woman m tho-ie days was extremely
uonotonous. For tho mass of the people, there
hardly existed any menus of locomotion, tho
swampy state ot the land in England and on the
Continent allowing lew roads to bo made, ex
eept such as were traversed by pack-horses.
Ludiea of rank who wished to Journey were
borne on litters carried upou men's shoulders,
and, until ttie lourtcenth and tilteenth centuries,
lew representations ol carriages appear. Much
a conveyance is depicted in an illustration of
the Romance of the Bote, where Venus, attired
in the fashionable costume of the tilteenth con
tury, is seated iu a chare, by courtesy a chariot,
but in fact a clumsy covered wagon without
springs. Six doves are perched upou the shafts,
and fastened by medieval harness. The god
dess ol course possessed superhuman powers lor
guiding this extraordinary equipage, but to
mere mortals it must have been a slow coach,
and a horribly uncomloriablo conveyance even
when horses were substituted for doves. Au
ordinance ol Philip le Bel, in 1294, forbids any
wheel curriases to be used by the wives of citi
zen, as too great a luxury. As the date of tho
coach which Veuus guides is two hundred years
later, it is dillieuit to imagine what style of
equipage belonged to those ladies over whom
I'hilip le Bel tyrannized.
With so little means of going about, our
siBters of the Middle Ages were perforce do
mestic; no wonder they excelled in needle-work.
To women ol any culture it was almost the only
tangible form of creative art they could com
mand, and the love ot the beautiiul implanted
in their souls must find some expression. Tho
great pattern-book ol nature, tilled with grace
lal forms, iu ever-varied arrangement, ami
illuminated by delicate tints or gorgeous hus,
suggested the beauty thev endeavored to repre
sent. Whether religious devotion, human
affection, or a taste for dress prompted them,
the needle was the instrument to eilect their
purpose. The monogram of the blessed Mary's
jnaioc, intertwined with pure white lilies on the
deep blue ground, was designed and embroidei ed
with holy reverence, and laid on the altar of
the Lad.y-eliapel by the trembling hand of one
whoso borrows had there found solace, or by
another in token of gratitudo for joys which
were heightened by a conviction of celes
tial sympathy. The pennon of the knitrht
a silken streamer athxed to the top of the
lance boro his crest, or an emblematic allu
sion to some event in his career, embroidered,
ii was supposed, by the hand of his lady-love.
A yet more sacred gilt was the scarf worn
across the shoulder, an indispensable append
age to a knight fully equipped. The emotions
of the human soul send au electric current
through the ages, and women who, during lour
years ot war, toiled to aid our soldiers in the
irreat struggle of the nineteenth century, felt
iheir hearts beat in unison with hers" who
gave, with tears and prayers, pennon and scarf
to the knightly and beloved hero seven hundred
jcars ago.
Not only were the appointments of the war
riors adorned by needle-work, but the ladies
must have found ample scope lor industry and
taste in their own toilets. The Anglo-axnn wo
men as far back as the eighth century excelled
in needle-work, although, Judging 'from the
representations which have come down to us,
their dress was much less ornamented than that
of the gentlemen. During the eighth, ninth,
and tenth centuries there were lew changes in
Jashion. A purple gown or robe, with long
yellow sleeves, and coverchief wrapped round
the head and neck, frequently appeals, the
edges ot the long gown and sleeves being slightly
ornamented by the needle. How the ladies
dressed their hair in those days is more difficult
to decide, as the coverchief conceals it. Crisp-ing-oeedles,
to curl and plait the hair, and
golden haircauls, are mentioned in Saxon wri
tings, and give us reason to suppose that tho
locks of the lair damsels were not neglected. In
the eleventh century the embroidery upon tho
long gowns becomes more elaborate, and other
changes of the mode appear.
From the report of an ancient Spanish ballad,
the art of needle-work and taste in dress must
Lave attained great perfection in that country
while our Anglo-Saxon sisters were wearing
their plain long gowns. The fair Sybilla is
described as changing her dress seven times iu
one evening, on the arrival of that successful
and victorious knight, Prince Baldwin. First,
he dazzles him in blue and silver, with a rich
turban; then appears in purple satin, fringed
and looped with gold, with while feathers m
her hair; next, in green silk and emeralds;
anon, in pale straw-color, witn a tuftf flowers;
next, in pink and silver, with varied plumes,
white, carnation, and blue; then in brown,
with a splendid crescent. As the fortunate
Trineo beholds each transformation bo is be
wilderedas well ho may be to choose which
array becomes hei bebt; but when
"Lastly In white she comas, and loosely
Down in ringlets floats her nuir;
'Oh,' exoiauni the Prince, 'what beauty!
Ne'er was Princess half so fair.' "
Simplicity and natural erace carried the day
after all, as they generally do with men of true
taste. "Woman is line for her own satisfaction
alone," says that nice observer of human nature,
Jane Austen. "Man only knows man's insensi
bility to a new gown." We hope, however, that
the dressmakers and tirewomen of the fair
Sybilla, who had expended so much time and
invention, were handsomely rewarded by tho
Prince, since they must have been most accom
plished needle-women and handmaids to have
got tip their young lady in so many costumes
and in such raoid succession.
A veiy odd fashion appears in the thirteonth
and fourteenth centuries, of embroidering
heraldic devices on the long gowns of the ladies
of rank. In one of the illuminations of a famous
psalter, executed by Sir Geotlery Louterell, who
died in 1345. that nobleman is reoro-ented
armed r.t all points receiving from the ladles of
nis lamuy his tilting helmet, (shield, and pavon
His coat-ol-arms is repealed ou every part of nis
own uress, aim is emoroidercd on iiiaiof his
wile, who wears also the cret of hernwn tutmltr
Marie de llainault. witfe of thn trt linkn
of Bourbon, 1J54, appears in a corsage and
tram of ermine, with a very Herce-looking
lion rampant embroidered twice on her
longgowu. Her jewels are magnificent. Anne,
Daupbine dAutrgne, wito ot Louis, second
Duke of Bourbon, uiarri(i in 1371, displays au
heraMio dolnlim of verv nmlnter Manor! u nun
one sioe of her corsage, and on the skirt of
tier long gown, wnicu, divided in the centre,
seems bo be composed of two iiiflerent stutls
that opposite to the dolphlu bei
with fleur de lis. Her circlet of jewels is very
elegant, and is worn Just above hr brow,
while the hair 1s braided close to the. fe.
An attendant lady wears neither train nor
jewels, but her dress is likewise formed of differ
ent material, divided like that of the Daunhinn.
Hix;iittle parrots aie emblazoned on the right
side, one on her sleeve, two on her corsage, and
three on her skirt. The fashion of embroider
ing armorial bearings on ladies' dresses must
have given needie-women a vast deal of work.
Jt died out IP, the fliteenth century.
It was the enstom in fetiHal times for knightly
familus to send their daughters to the castles of
their suzerain lords, to be trained to weave and
embroider. The Voung ladies on their return
home instructed the more intelligent of their
If male servants in these arts. Ladies of rank
in all countries prided themselves upon the
number of these attendants, and were in the
habit of passing the morning surrounded by
their workwomen, singing the chansons a tone,
as ballads composed for these hours were cUei.
F.Rtienne Jodelle, a French poet. lt7:, ad
dressed a fair lady whose cuuninc fingers plied
the needle in words thus translated:
I naw ihoe wnavo a web with caro,
Where at thy touch lrcsh roses grew,
And mnvolled they were lormod o lair,
And that ttiy heart mesh nature knew.
Alas! how id o mv surprise,
Mil oo naujiht so plain can be:
Tliy cluck their richest hue Bupr llcs,
And in thv breaih their periumo lies;
Theirgracc and beaut.) all are drawn fromthco."
If needle-work had its poetry, it had also its
rrckdnu gs. Old account-books bear tnauy en
tries of heavy payments for working materials
used by industrious queens and ladies
of rank. Good authorities btale that, before tho
sixth century, all silk materials were brought
to Europe by the Seres, ancestors of the ancient
Bokharianu, whence it derived its name of
Senca. In 651, silk-worms were introduced by
two monks into Constantinople, but the Greeks
monopolized tho manufacture until 1BI0, when
Roger, King ot Sicily, returning Irom a crusade,
collected borne Greek manufacturers, and estab-lu-hed
them at Palermo, whence the trade was
disseminated over Italy.
In the thirteenth century, Bruges was tho
great mart for silk. Die stutls then known
were velvet, satin (called samite), ami tatleta
all of which were stitched with gold or silver
thread. The expense ol working materials was
therelore very great, and royal ladies con
descended to superintend sewing-schools.
Kditrta, con.ortoi Edward the Oouiessor, was
a biyhlv accomplished lady, who sometimes
intercepted ilie master oi Westminster scnooi
and his scholars in their walks, questioning
them iu Latin. She was also skilled in all lemi
nme works, embroidering tho robes oi her royal
husbaud with her own hands.
Of all the lair ones, however, who have
wrought tor the service of a Kiug, since the
manufacture of Excallbur, let the name of
Matilda ot Flanders, wile of Willi'im the Con
queror, stand at the Lead ot the record, in spa?
ot histonaus' doubts. Matilda, born about the
year Wol. was carefully educated. She hud
beauty, learning, mdubtry; aud the Bayeux
tapestry connected wi'h her name still exists, a
monument of her achievements in the art of
needle-work. It is, as everybody knows, a pic
tuied chronicle of the conquest oi England a
wne'8 triDute to tno gicry ol her mistmud.
As a specimen bi ancient stiluherv aud
lemmine industry, this work is extremely
curious. The tapestry is two hundred and twen
ty-two leet m length and twenty in width. It is
worKea in aitieient-coiorca worsteds on white
cloth, low brown wUh ago. The attempts to
lepitsent the human tiguie are very rude,
and it is merely given iu outline. Matilda
evideutly had very lew colois at her disposal,
as the hordes are depicted of any hue blue,
green, or yellow; the arabesque patterns in
troduced are rich and varied.
During the French Revolution this tanestrv
was demanded by tho insurgents to cover their
guns; but a priest succeeded in concealing it
until the Bionu had passed. Bonaparte knew
its value. He caused it to be brought to Paris
and displayed, alter which ho restored the pre
cious reuc to isayeux.
We have many records of roval ladies who
practised and patronized needle-work. Anne of
Brittany, lirst wife of Louis XII of France,
caused three hundred girls, daughters of the
nobility, to be instructed in that art under her
personal supervision. Her dans bier Claude
pursued the same laudable plan. Jeanne tl'Al-
Dret, yueen ot Aavarre, and mother ot Henry
IV of France, a woman of vitrorous mind, was
skilled also iu the haudicratt of the needle, and
wrougnt a set oi naneings cauca "ihe i'rison
Opened," meaning that she had broken the
DOEds ot the rope.
The nractice of teach in 2 needle-work con
tinued Iouk at the French couit, and it was
there that Mary of Scotland learned the art in
which sue so mucn excelled, vv lien cart into
prison, she beguiled the time, and soothed the
repentant anxieiies of her mind with the com
panionship of her needle. The specimens ol her
work yet existing arc principally bed-trim miugs,
hu winners, and coverlets, composed of dark
satin, upon which flowers, separately embroi
dered, are transierred.
The romances and lays of chivalry contain
many dercriptions of the ornamental needle
work of those early days. In one of the ancient
ballads, a knight, after describing a fair .damsel
w hom he had rescued and carried to his castle,
adds that she "knew how to sewe and make all
manner of silken worke," and no doubt he
made her repair many of his mantles and scarfs
frayed and torn bv time and tourney.
The beautiful Elaine covered the shield ot
Sir Launcelot with a case of silk, upon which
devices were braided by her fair hands, aud
added, from her own design,
" A border fantasy of branch and flower,
And yellow-throated nestling In the nest."
When he went to the tourney she gave him a
red fcleeve "broidered with great pearls," which
he bound upon his helmet. Jt is recorded that,
in a tournament at the court of Burgundy in
1445, one of the knights received from his lady
a sleeve ot delicate dove color, which he fas
tened on bis left arm.
These sleeves were made of a diflerent mate
rial from the dress, and generally of a richer
fabric elaborately ornamented; so they were
considered valuable enough to lorm a separate
legacy in wills or those centuries. luauuaiena
Donl, in ber portrait, painted by Raphael, which
hanes in tho Pitti Palace at I loreuce, wears a
pair of these rich, heavy sleeves, fastened
slightly at the shoulder, and worn over a shorter
sleeve belonging to her dress. Thus we see how
it was that a lady could disengage ner sleeve at
the right moment, and give it to the fortunate
knight.
The art of adorning linen was practised from
the earliest dates. Threads were drawn aud
fashioned with tho needle, or the end of the
cloth unravelled and plaited into geometrical
patlf rns. bt. Cuthbert's curious grave-clothes,
as described by an eye-witness to his disinter
ment in tbo twelfth century, were ornamented
with eut-work, which was used principally for
ecclesiastical purposes, and was looked upon in
uimiand till the dissolution oi me monasteries
as a church secret. The open-work embroidery,
which went under the general name of cut
work, is the origin, of lace.
The history of lace by Mrs. Bury Palliser,
recently published in Loudon, is worthy of
the exquisite fabric of which it treats.
The author has woven valuable facts, histori
cal associations, and curious auecdote9 into the
web ot her narrative, with an industry and 8k ill
rivalling the work of her mediaeval sisters. The
illustrations ol tins beautiful volume are taken
from rare specimens of aurient and modern
lace, so perfectly executed as quite to deceive
the eye, and almost the touch.
Italy and Flanders dispute the invention ot
point or nccdle-made lace. The Italians proba
bly derived the art of needle-work irom the
Greeks who took refuge in Italy during tho
troubles of the Lower Empire. Its origin was
undoubtedly Byzantine, as the places which were
inconstant intercourse with the Greek Empire
were the cities where point-lace was earliest
made.
The traditions of the Low Countries also
ascribe it to an Eastern origin, assigning tho
mtioduction of lace-making to the Crusaders
on their return Irom tho Holy ljitnd. A modern
writer, Fruncis North, asserts that the Italians
learned embroidery Irom the Saraceus, as
Spaniards learned the same art from tho Moors,
and, In pioot of his theory, states that tho
word erMroiaer is umveu irom tne Aramc,
and does not belong to any European lan
guage. In the opinion of some authorities, tht
English word (ace comes Irom the Latin
word Ucina, signifying the hem or frinue ot
a garment; others suppose it derived from the
word luces, which appears in Ansrlo-Norman
statutes, meaning braids which were used to
unite different parts of the dress. In England
the earliest lace was culled passament, from
the fact that the threads were passed over each
other In Its formation; and it is not until tho,
reUn of It. chard III that the word lace aopeaw
in royal accounts. The Frencn term df.ntclie is
also of modern date, and was not used until
fashion caused paitammt to be made with a
toothed edge, when the designation passament
dentele appears.
But whatever the origin of the name, lace
making and embroidery havo employed many
tingers, and worn out many eves, and even
created revolutions. in Emzlaud, until
the time of Henry VIII, ohirts, handker
chiefs, sheets, arid pillow-cases wero embroi
dered in silks of d liferent colors, until tho
fashion gave wav to cut-work and lace. Italy
produced lace fabrics early in the fifteenth cen
tury; and the Florentine poet, Fireuztiolu, who
flourished about 1.V20, composed an eh-gv upon
a collar of raised poiut lace made by tho hand
of his mistress. Portraits of Venetian ladies
dated a3 early as l.VJO reveal white lace trim
mines; but at that period bice was, professedly,
only made by nuns for the service of iheChureh;
and the term "ntius' work" has been the designa
tion of lace in many places to a verv modern
date. Venice was famed for point, Genoa for
pillow laces. English Parliamentary records
have statutes on the subject of Venice laces; at
the coronation of Richard III, fringes of Venice
and mantle laces of gold and white silK appear.
"To know tho aye and pcdlrcos
Ot points ol Flanders aud Veuise,"
depends much upon the anciout pattern book3
jctin existence. Puichmeut patterns, drawn
and pricked for pillow lace, bearing the date
ol 1577. were lately found covering old law books,
in Albisola, a town near Savona, which wasa
place celebrated for its laces, as we infer from the
tact that it was long the custom of the daugh
ters of the nobles to telcct these laces for their
wedding shawls and veils. Thee is a pretty
tradition at Venice, handed down among the
inhabitants of the Lagoonj, whh'h savs that a
sador brought home to his betrothed a brunch
ot the delicate coralliuo knowa as "mermaids'
lace." The girl, a worker in points, attracted
by the grace of the coral, imitated it with her
needle, and after much toil produced the exciui-
site labnc w hich, as Venice point, soon became
me moue in an Europe, iace-making in Italy
formed the occupation of many women of the
higher classes, who wished to add to their in
comes. Each lady had a number of workers to
whom she supplied patterns, pricked by herself,
pacing her workwomen at the end of every
week, each day being notched on a tally.
In the convent of Gesu Bambino, at Rome,
curious specimens of old Spanish conventual
work parchment patterns with lace in pro
gresshave been found. They belonged to
Spanish nuns, who long &sr taught the art of
lace-making to novices. Like all point lace,
this appors to be executed in separate pieces,
given out by the nuns, and then joined together
by a skilful hand. We see tho pattern traced,
the work part ly finished, and thelvery thread left
as when "Sister Felice Vittona ' laid down her
work centuries aco. Mrs. Palliser rceived from
Rome photographs of these valuable relics, en
gravings from which she has inserted in her
history of lace. Aloe-thread was then used lor
lace-making, as it is now in Florence for sew
ing straw-plait. Spanish point has been as
celebrated as that of Flanders or Italy. Some
traditions aver that Spain taught the art to
Flanders. Spain had no cause to import laces;
they were extensively made at home, and were
less known than the manufacture of other
countries, because very little was exported.
The numberless images of the Madonna and
patron saints dressed and undressed daily,
together with the albs of the priests and
decorations ot the altars, caused an im
mense consumption lor ecclesiastical uses.
Thread lace was manufactured in Spain
in 14!)2. and in the Cathedral of Granada
is a lace alb presented to the Church
by Ferdinand and Isabella one of the few relics
of ecclesiastical erandeur preserved in the
country. Cardinal Wiseman, in u letter to Mrs.
Palliser, states that ho bad himself officiated in
this vestment, w hich was valued at ton thou
sand crowns. Tho boe church lace of Spain
was little known in Europe until the revolution
of 1830, when splendid specimens were suddenly
thiowninto the market not merely the heavy
lace known as Spanish point, but pieces of tho
most exquisite description, which could only
Iibto Wu mnie, Mrs. Piilliscr, by those
whose time was not monsy.
Among the Saxon Hartz Mountains is the old
town ol Annaburg, and beneath a lime-tree iu
its ancient burial-ground stands a simple monu
ment with this inscription:
"Here lies Barbara Uttman, died on the 14th
of January, 157G, whose invention of lace in the
year 1561 made her the benefactress of the Hartz
Mountains.
'An active mind, a skilful hand,
Brings blessings down on Fatuarland.' "
Barbara was born in 1514. Her parents, bur
ghers ol Nuremberg, removed to the Hartz
Mountains lor tho purpose of working a mine
in that neighborhood. It is said that Bar
bara learned the art of lace-making from a
native of Brabant, a Protestant, whom . the
cruellies of the Duke ot Alva had driven from
her country. Barbara, observing the mountain
girls making nets lor the miners to wear over
i heir hair, took great interest in the improve
ment of their work, and succeeded in teaching
them a fine knitted tricot, and afterwards a
lace eround. In 1561, having procured aid
from Flanders, she set up a workshop in Anna
burg lor lace-making. This branch of industry
spread beyond Bavaria, giving employment to
thirty thousand persons, and producing a reve
nue of one million thalers.
Italy and Flanders dispute the invention of
lace, but it was probably introduced inio both
countries about the same time. The Emperor
Charles V commanded lace-making to bo taught
iu Echools and convents. A specimen ot the
manufacture ot his duy may be seen in his cap,
now preserved In the museum at Hotel Cluny,
Paris. It is of fine linen, with the Emperor's
arms embroidered in relief, with designs in lace,
of exquisite workmanship. The old Flemish
laces aie of great beauty and world-wide fume.
Mauy passages in the history of lace show bow
severely the manufacture of this beautiful fabric
has strained the nerves of eye and brain. The
fishermen's wives on ihe Scottish coast apostro
phize the fish they sell, alter their husbands'
perilous voyages, and sing,
"Call them lives o' men,"
Not more fatal to life are the blasts
from ocean winds than the tasks of laborious
luce-makers; aud this thought cannot but mingle
with our admiration for the skill displayed in
this branch of woman's endless toil and endea
vor to supply her own wants aud aid those who
are dear to her, in the present as well as in tho
past centuries.
In the British Museum there is a curious
manuscript of the fourteenth century, af.er
wards translated "inlo our maternal! englisshe
by mo William Caxton and cmprvmed at Weat
miiittre the last day of Jauuer, the hist yere of
the regno of King Richard the thyrd," called
"the booke which the Knight of iho To wero
miido lor the enscygnemeut and techiug of his
donchfres."
Iho Knight of the Tower was ' Geoirory
Landry, suruamed De hi Tour, of a noble family
oi Anion. In tho mouth of April, 1371, he was
one day rellectiug beneath the shade of some
trees on various passages iu his lite, and upon
the memory of his wile, whose early death had
caused him sorrow, when his three daughters
walked into the garden. The sight of those
motherless girls naturally turned his thoughts
to the condition ot woman in society, and he
resolved to write a treatise, enforced by exam
ples ot both good and evil, lor their instruction.
The siate of bociety which the "evil" examples
portray might well cause a father's heart to
tremble.
The education of young ladies, as we havo
belote stated, was in that age usually aBdgned
to convents or to families oi higher rank. It
consisted ot instruction in no oiowork, confec
tionery, surgery, and the rudiments of church
music Men were strongly opposed to any high
degree of mental culture lor women; and
although the Knight of the Tower thiuks it
good lor women to be taught to read their
Bibles, yet the pen is too dangerous an instru
ment to trust to then hands. The art of
writing he disapproves, "Better worceu can
naught of it." Religious observances he strictly
recommends; hut we ehuddvr at some of the
stoties which even this well meaning father
relates as illustrations of the ellicacy of reli
gions austerities. Extravagance in drcsa pre
vailed at that time among men and women to
such a dcrrec tuat Parliament was appealed to
on tho subject in lncn. From the Knight's ex
hoitatlon on the subject, thl9 nmu'a seems to
nave ni.ected tne women alarmingly, and the
examples given of the passion lor dress appear
to surpass what Is acknowledged m ourday. Yet
the vast increase of materials, as well as tho
extended interests and objects opeuei to woman
now. renders the extravagance ot dress in tho
Middlo Apes lar less reprehensible.
The record of woman's work in tho Middlo
Apes includes far more than the account of
what her needle accomplished. The position of
the mistress of a family in those centuries was
no sinecure. When wo look up at castles
perched on rock, or walk through the echoing
apartments of baronial halls, we know that
woman must have worked there with brain and
fingers. The househoM and lti dependencies,
in such mansiong, eon-isted of more than a
KCorc of persons, and provisions must bo laid
in dining tho autumn for many months. As
we glauce at the enormous Ore-places and
ovens in the kitchens of those castles
nd halls, and remember the weight of
tho armor men wore, we can readily imagine
that no trifling supply of brawn and beef was
needed lor their meals; and tho sight ol a hus
band irowning out of one of those old helmets
because the dinner was scanty, must havo been
a tearful trial to feminine nerves. The title of
"Lad" means the "Giver of bread'' iu Sanon,
ami the lady of the castle, dispensed lood to
many beyond her own hoehold.
The task of preparing the raimonl of tho family
devolved upon the women; tor there were no
tiavelling dealers except lor the richest and mor.t
expensie articles. Wool, tho produce of
the nock, was carded and spun; tlax was
grown, and woven into coarse linen; and
both mutt rials wero prepared and fash
ioned iut3 garments at home. Glimpses
of domestic life come down to us through early
legends and records, some ot which' modern
genius has melodized. Authentic history and
ion, antic storv olten show ub that women 'of all
ranks were little better, in tact, than household
drudees to these splendid knights and courtly
old baions. The lair Fnid sang a charming song
as she tinned her wheel; but when Geriaut ar
rived, she not only assisted her mother to re
ceive him, but, by her father's order, lea the
knight's charger to the stall, aud gavo him
corn. If she also relieved the noble animal of
his heavy saddle and horse furniture, gave him
water as well as corn, and shook down the dry
turze lor his bed, she must have had thecourago
ann skill ot a leminine Karey; and we fear
her dress of faded silk came out of the stable in
a very dilapidated condition. Alter the horse
was cared lor, Enid put her wii9 and hands to
work to prepare the evening meal, and spread
it before her lather and his guest. Tho knight,
indeed, condescended to think her "sweet aud
serviceable !" ,
The women ol those days are often described
only ns they appeared at lestivals and tourna
mentsladies ot beauty, to whom knights low
ered their lances, of whom troubadours sang.
They had their amusements and their triumphs,
doubtless; but they aloo had their work, domes
tic, industrial, and sanitary. They knew how
to bind up w ounds and care lor the sick, and we
read many recoids ot their knowledge in this
department. Elaine, when she found Sir Laun
celot terribly wounded in the cave, so skiltully
aidei him that, wuen the old hermit came who
was learned in all the simples aud science of the
times, he told tho knight that "her tine care
had saved his life" a pleasing assurance that
there were medical men in those days, as well
as in our own, who expressed no unwiliingress
to allow a woman credit lor success in their
own profession.
Illuminated books sometimes show us pictures
ot womeu of the humbler ranks of lite at their
work. On the border of a line manuscript of
the time of Edward IV there is the figure of a
woman employed with her distatf, her head
and neck enveloped in a coverchief. The figure
rises out of a flower. In a manuscript of 1316,
a countrywoman is engaged in churning, dressed
in a comfortable gown and apron, the gown
tidily pinned up, and her head and neck in a
cove'rchiei. Tho churn is ot considerable height
and of very clumsy construction. A blind bufwjAr
approiiches her, led by his dog, who holds appa
rently a cup in his mouth to receive donations.
In another part of the same volume is a beauti
iul damsel with her hair spread over her bhoul
ders. while her maid arranges her tresses with a
comb of ivoTy set in gold. The young lady holds
a small mirror, probably of polished steel, in her
hand. Specimens of these curious combs and
mirrors yet exist in collections. A century later
we tee a pretty laundress, holding in her hands
a number ot delicately woven napkins, which
lock as if they might have come out of the
elaborately carved napkin pre&s ot the same
period in the collection of Sir Samuel Myrick ct
Goodrich Court.
Although the Knight of the Tower disapproved
of young ladies being taught to write, there were
women whose employment writing seems to
have been; but these were nuns safely shut
up from the risk of billets-doux. In Dr.
Maitland's "Essays on the Dark Ages," he
quotes from the biography of Diomudis,
a devout nun of the eleventh century, a list of
the volumes which she prepared with her own
band, written in beautiful and legible characters,
to the praise of God, and of the holy Apostles
Peter aud Paul, the patrons of the monastery,
which was that of Wessobrunn in Bavaria. The
list comprises thirty-one works, many of them
In three or four volumes; and although Diomu
dis is not supposed to have been an authoress,
she i9 certainly worthy of having her name
handed down through eight centuries in witness
ol woman's indelatigablework in the scriptorium.
One missal prepared by Dieniudis was given
to the Bishop of Treves, another to the
Bishop of Augsburg, and one Bible in two vol
umes is mentioned, which was exchanged by
the monastery lor an estate.
We can picture to ourselves Dieniudis in her
conventual dress, seated in the scriptorium,
with her materials for ehirography. The sun,
as it streams through the window, throws a
gclden light over the vellum page, suggesting
tho rich nue of the gilded nimbus, while in the
convent garden she sees the white lily or the
modest violet, which, typical of the Madonna,
sbe trauslers to her illuminated borders.
Thus has God ever interwoven truth and
love with their correspondence of beauty
and development in the natural world, which
weie open to the eyes of Diomudis eight hun
dred years ago, perhaps as clearly as to our own
in their latter days. That women of even an
earlier century than that of Diomudis were per
mitted to react, if not to write, is proved by the
deseiiptiou of a private library, given In tho
letters of O. S. Sidonius Apollinaiis, and quoted
in Fdwards' "History of Libraries' This booK
collection was the property of a gent:eman of
the fitth century, residing at his castle of
Prusiana. It was divided into three depart
ments, the lirst of whioh was expressly in
tended for the ladies of the family, and
contained books of piety and devotion.
Tho fecond department was for men,
and is rather uiiealliiutly stated to have
been of a higher order; yet as tho third depart
ment was intended lor the whole family, and
contained such works as Augustine, Origen,
Vurre, Priidentlus, aud Horace, tho literary
tastes ol tho ladies should have ben satisfied.
We are also told that It was tho eiB-tom at the
castle of Prusiana to difcuss at dinner the books
read in the morning which would tend ton
belief that conversation at tho dinner-tables of
the filth century might bo as edifying as at tuose
ot the nineteenth. ...
A few leminine names connected with the
literature of the Middle Ages have come down
to us. The lays of Marie de France are among
the manuscripts in the British Museum. Marie's
peisonal history, as well as tho period when sho
flourished, is uncertain. Her stylo is extromuly
obscure; but in her Preface she seems aware of
this defect, yet defends it by the example of the
ancients. She considers it the duty of all per
sons to employ their talents; and as her gilts
were intellectual, she cast her thoughts in va
rious directions ere she determined upon her
peculiar mission. Sho had intended trans
fating from the l atin a good hintory, but some
one else unluckily anticipated her; and she
finally nettled herself, down to poetry, ana t
the trantdatlon of numerous lays she had trea
sured in her memory, as these would bo new
to roany ol her readers. Like other literary
ladies, she complained of envv and persecution,
but he perteveres through ail difhcultics, and
dedicates her book "to tno King."
Mario was born in France. Sorao authorities
suppcec she wrote in England during tho reign
ol Henry 111, and that the patron she names
was William Langue-espec, who died in 1226;
others, that this plvs raimfpntron was Wil
liam, Count of Flauders, who aucoinpnnied St.
Lotus on his first crusade in 121m, and was killed
at a tournament in 1261. A later sur
mise H that the book was dedicated to
(Stephen, French being his native lan
guage. Amcng the manuscripts ot tne
Bibliotheque Royalo at Paris is Marie's transla
tion ol th ; tables which Henry Beauelerc trans
lated irom Latin Into Euglish, and whicu Mario
renders into French. A proof that Marie's
poimsnro extremely anciout is deduced Irom
the names in one ol these tables applied to the
woli and the lox. the uses other names than
those ot isengrln and ReiiaM, which were
introduced as early as the reicn of Corur do
Lion, and it, would seem that she could
not have failed to notice these remark
able names, hail thev existed in her time.
A complete collection of the works of
Marie de Fiance was published in
Paris in 1820, by M. do Roquefort, who speaks
of her In the following terms: "Sho possessed
that penettation which distinguishes at first
sight the diflerent passions ot mankind, winch
seizes upon the dilleroit forms they assume,
and. remarking tho objects of their notice,
ditcovers at tne same time the moans by which
they are attained." It this be a true statement,
the acuteness of feminine observation has
pained but little in th progresof the centuries,
and her literary sisters of th" present era can
hardly hope to eclipse the penetration of Mario
de France.
The Countesses do Die, supposed to be mother
and daughter, were both poetesses. The elder
lady wa: beloved by Rabaud d'Orange, who
d'cd in 117;), and the younger is celebrated by
William Adhcn.ar, a oistingnished troubadour.
He was visited on bis death-bed by both these
ladies, who afterwards erected a monument to
his memory. The younger countess retired to
a convent, and died soon after Adhcmar.
In the Harleian Collection is a lino manu
script containing tho writings of Christiuc de
Pisan, a distinguished woman of tho lourtcenth
century. Her lather, Thomas de Pinun, a cele
brated savant of Bologna, had married a daugh
ter of a member ol the Grand c!ouueil of
Venice. So renowned was Thomas de Pisan
that the kings of Hungary and Franco deter
mined to win him away from Bologna. Charles
V of Fiance, suruamed the Wise, was
successful, and Thomas do Pisan weut to Paris
in 1S(J8, his transfer to the French court
making a great sensation among learned and
scientific circles of that day. Charles loaded
bun with wealth and honors, and chose him
Astrologer Royal. According to the history, as
told b.v Louisa Stuart Costello, in her "Speci
mens of the Early Poetry of France," Christine
was but live years old when sho accompanied
her parents to Paris, where she received every
advantage of education, and, inheriting her
lather's literary tastes, early became lcarued in
languages and science. Her personal charms,
together w ith her lather's high favor at Court,
attracted many admirers. Sbo married Stephen
Castel, a young gentleman ot Picardy, to whom
she was tenderly attached, and whose chaiacter
she has drawn in most lavorable colors. A
lew years passed happily, but, alas 1 changes
came. The king died, the pension and ollices
bestowed upon ' Thomas do Pisan wero sus
pended, and the Astrologer Royal soon fol
lowed his patron beyond tho stars. Castel
was also deprived of his preferments; and
though he maintained his wile and family for a
time, he was cut oil' by death at thuty-four
yea is of age.
Chrittino had need of all her energies to meet
such a succession ot calamities, following close
on so brilliant a career. De voting herself anew
to study, 6he determined to improve her talents
for composition, and to make her literary at
tainments a means of support lor hpr children.
The illustrations in the manuscript volume of
her works picture to us several scenes in Chris
tine's lite. In one, tho artist has sliced oil toe
euie of a house to allow us to see Christine in
her study, giving us also the exterior, roof and
dormer-windows, with points finished by
gilt balls. The room is very small,
with a crimson and white tapes
try bauging. Christine wears what
may be called tho regulation color for
literary ladies blue, with tho extraordinary
two-peaked head-dress of the period, put on in
a decidedly strong-minded manner. At her feet
sits a white dog, small, but wise-looking, with a
cellar of gold bells round his neck. Before
Christine stands a plain table, covered with
green cloth; her book, bound in crimson and
gold, in which she is writing, lies belore her.
Christine's style of holding the implements-
one in each hand aud the case ot materials lor
her work which lie beside her, are according
to representations ot the minialori cali-
arafl at their labors; and, as the art of
cahgrapby was well known at Bologna,
so learned a man as Thomas do Pinan must have
been acquainted with it, and would have caused
his talented daughter to be instructed in so
rare an accomplishment. It is not therefore
unreasonable to believe that, in iho beauti
iul volume now in tho British Museum, the
work of Christine's hand, as well as the result
ot her genius, is preserved. The next picture
shows us Christine presenting her book to
Chailes VII of France, who 13 dressed in a
black robe edged with ermine; he wears a
golden belt, order, and crown. The king Is
seated Deneatn a canopy, oiue, powdered
with flews de lis. Four courtiers stand
beside him. dressed in robes of ditlerent
colore one in pink, and wear ng a laree white
hat of Quaker-like iasmon. Christine has put
on a wmte roue over ner Diue aress, perhaps as
a sign ot mourning bhe Doing then a widow,
A white veil depends from the peaks of her
bead-dress. (She Kneels oeioro the king, and
presents ner pook.
Another and more elaborate picture repre
sents the repetition of the same ceremony bei'ore
Isabelle of Bavaria, queen ol Charles VI. We
are here admitted into the private royal apart
ments of the lourteenth century. Tho hang
ings of the apartment consist of strips, upon
which are alternately emblazoned the armorial
devices ot France and Bavaria. A couch orbjd,
with a square canopy covered with red and blue,
having tho roj al anus embroidered in the centre,
stands on one side of tho room. Tho queen is
seated upon a lounge of modern shape, covered
to correspond with the couch. She is dressed
in a t-pltndid robe ot purple and gold, with long
sleeves sweeping the ground, lined with ermine;
upon her head arises a structuie of stuffed rolls,
heavy in material, and covered with jowels.
which shoots up into two high peaks above her
forehead. Six ladies are in waiting, two In
black and gold, with the same enormous
lieadgefcrs. They sit on the edge of
her Malestv's sofa, while tour ladies of
Interior rank and plainer garments are
contented with low benches. Christine roup
pears iu her blue dres-. aud white-veiled, peaked
cap. She kneels belore the qjcen, on a square
carpet with a geometrical-patterned border,
and presents her book. A white Itulinn houud
lies at t?ie loot of the couch, while beside Isu
belle sits a small white dog, resembling the one
we saw in Christine's study. As wo can hardly
suppose Christine would bring her pet on so
solemn an occasion far less ullow him to Jump
up beside the queen and as this Utile animal
wears no gold bells, we are led to suppoao that
little white dogs were in fashion in the four
teenth century.
We canuot say that the portrait of Isabelle
gives us any idea ot her splendid beauty; but
"handsome is that handsome does," and as
Isabella's work was a very bad one in tho Mid
dle Ages, we will say no more about her.
Christine was but twenty-five years ot age
when she became a widow, and her personal
charms captivated tho heart of no less a person
age than the Eurl of Salisbury, who came am
bassador from England to demand the band of
the very youthful princess, Isabellej tor his
master.
They exchanged verses; and although Salis
bury spoke by no means mysteriously, the
sage Chriktiue affected to view his declara
tions only in the light of complimentary
speeches from a gallant knleht. ihe Earl
considered himself as rejected, bade adieu to
love, and renounced marriugo. To Christine
he made a very siugulsr propo-al for a rejected
lover that of taking with him to Kngland her
eldc-i eon, promising to devote himself to his
education and preferment. The oiler was too
valuable to be declined b.v a poor widow, whose
pen was her only mesne ot supporting her
family. That such a proof of devotion argued a
tenderer leeling than that ot knightly gallantry
must have been apparent to Chr.stme; but for
reasons best understood by herself nnd shall i
wo not believe with a heart" yet true to her hus
band's memory ? sho merely acknowledged the
kindness shown to her sou; and the Earl and
his adopted boy left France tosether. When
Richaid II was deposed, Henry Bulingbroke
struck oil the head of the Karl of Malisbury.
Among the panel's of the murdered man th
lays of Christine were found by King Henry,
who Wiis so much struck with their purity and
beauty, that he wrote to Iho fair authoress of
her sou's safety, under his protection, and in
vited her to his court.
This Invitation was at once a compliment and
au insult, lor tbo hand that sent it was stained
with the blood other friend. Christine, how
ever, had worldly wisdom enough to send a-.re-spectful
though firm refusal to a crowned head.
a suoec'stiil soldier, and one, moreover, who
held her son in his power. Feminine tact must
have guided her pen, lor Henry was not
oiieuoed, and twice despatched a herald ti renew
tho invitation io his court, bhe steadily de
clined to leave Frat.ee, but managed the affair
60 admirably that she at last obtained tho re
turn ot her son lioni England.
Like her lather, Thomas da Pisan, Christine
seems to have been sought as an ornament ot
their courts by several rulers. Henry Holing
broke could not gain her for England, and the
Dukeot Milan in vaiu urged her to revdo in that
city. Seldom has a literaiy lady in any age
received such tempting invitations; yet
Christine refused to leave Franco, although
her own toituues were an thing but certain.
The Duke of Burgundy took her son uuder
his protection, aud urged Chriftine to write tho
history ot her patron, ChuilesV of France.
This was a work grateful to her ieelings, and
she had commenced tho memoir when the death
of the Duke deprived her of his patronage, and
threw her sou again upon her care, involving
her tp many anxieties. But Christine bore her
self through all ber trials with firmness and pru
dence, and her latter days were more tranquil.
She took a deep interest iu the ati'turs ot her
adopted country, and welcomed in her writings
the appearance of the Mai 1 of Orleans. We
believe, however, that sho was spared the pain
of witnessing tho last act in that drama of his
tory, where an innocent victim was given up by
French perfidy to Engliea cruelty.
The deeds of Joan of Arc need no recital here.
A daughter of France in the nineteenth century
bad a soul pure euougn to retiect the image of
the Maid ot Orleans, and with a skiltul hand
she embodied the vision in marble. The statue
of Joun ot Arc, modelled by the Princess
Marie, adorns or rather sauctiiles the hulls of
Versailles.
Of woman's work as an artist in the early
ceuturies we have a curious illustration in a
manuscript belonging to the Bibliotheque
Roy ale at Pans, which exhibits a female figure
paiutmg the (statue of the Madonna. The artist
holds in her Iclt hand a palette, which is the
earliest notice of the uso ot thn implement with
which antiquarians are acquainted. The fashion
of painting figures cut iu wood was onco much
practised, and we see here the representation of
a lemale artist of very ancient date. Painting,
music, and dancing come under the designation
of pccomplishneuts; yet to obtun distinction
in any ol these branches implies a vast amount
of work. Au illustration of Lygate's "Pil
grim" shows us a young lady playing
upon a species of organ with one hand;
in the other she holds to her lips a
mellow horn, through which she pours her
breaih, if not her soul; lying beside her is a
stringed instrument called a sawtry. Such
varied musical acquirements certainly argue
both industry and devohou to art. Charle
magne's daughters wero diaiinguishod for their
skill in dancing; and wo read ot many instances
in the Jliddle Ages of women excelling in these
tine arts.
The period of lime generally denominated
the Middle Ages commences with tho filth
century and ends with the fifteenth. We
have in several instances ventured to extend
the limits as far as a part of trio sixteenth
century, and therefore include among fe
male artists the name of Sofonisba An
guisciola, who was born about 1640. Sho was
a noble lady of Cremona, whoso fame spread
early throughout Italy. In 155!), Philip II of
Spain invited her to his court at Madrid, where
on her arrival she was treated with groat dis
tinction. Her chief study was portraitures, and
her pictures became objects ot great value to
kings and popes.
Her royal patrons of Spain married their
artist to a loble Sicilian, giving her a dory of
twelve thousand ducats, and a pension of one
thousand ducats, beside rich presents in tapes
tries and jewels. She weut with her husbaud to
Palermo, where they resided several years. On
the death of her husband the King aud Queen
of Spain urged her to return to their court ; but
she execused herself on account of her wish to
visit Cremona. Embarking on board a galley
for this purpose, bound to Genoa, she was en
tertained with such gallantry by the captain,
Orazio Lomellini, one of the merchant princes
of that city, that the heart ot the distinguished
artist was won, und she gave hi in her hand on
their arrival at Genoa.
History does not tell as whether sho ever
revisited Cremoaa, but she dwelt in Genoa
during the remainder of her loLe life, pursuing
her art with great success, On her second mar
riage, her laithtul irieuds in the royal family of
Spain added lour hundred crowns to her pension.
The Empress of Germany visited Sofonisba on
the way to Spain, and accepted from her hand
a little picture. Sofoni9ba became blind in her
old age, but lost no other faculty. Vandyck
was her guest when at Genoa, and said that he
had learned more of his art from one blind old
woman than from any other teacher. A medal
was struck in her honor at Bologna. The
Academy of Fine Arts at Fdinburgh contains a
noble picture by Vandyck, painted in his Italian
manner. It represents individuals of the
Lomellini family, and was probably in progress
when he visited this illustrious woman, who
had become a n.ember of that house.
Stirlinr , in his "Artists ot ipain," states that
lew ot Sofonisba's pictures are now known to
exist, and that the beautiful portrait of herself,
probably the one mentioned by Vasart in the
w ardrooc of the Cardiral di Monte at Rome, or
that noticed by Soprani in the palace ot Gio
vauni at Genoa, is now in the possession of Earl
Spencer at Altborp. Tho engraving from this
picture, in Dibdiu's yfdes Attiorpiaiias, lies
before us. We think the better of kings and
queens who prized a woman with eyes so clear,
and an expression of such honesty and truth.
The original is said to be masterly in
its drawing and execution. Solouisba is
represented in a simple blacK dross, and wears
no jewels. She touches the keys of a harpsi
chord with her beautiful hands; a duenna-like
figure ot an old woman stands behind the in
strument, apparently listening to the melody.
Whatever of skill or lame women have
acquired through aees in other departments,
thc'nuisery has ever been an undisputed sphere
lor women's work. Nor have we reason to.
think that, in the ceuturies wo have been con
fKleiitig, she was not faithful to this, her espe
cial province Tho cradlo of Henry V, yet in
existence. Is one ot the best specimens ot
nursery, furniture m the lourteenth century
which have come clown to us. Beautifully
curved loliage oils up the 3pace between tho up
riahts aud stays and st ind of tho cracilo, which
is not upon rockers, but apparently swings like
the modern crib. Ou each of these uprights is
perched a dove, carefully carved, wuoo quiet
influences had not much, etrect on the infant
dreams of Prince Hal.
Henry was born at Monmouth, 1388, and sent
to Courtfield, about seven miles distant, where
the air was considered more salubrious. There
he was nursed under the superintendence of
Ladv Montacute. and in that trface this
cradle was preservod lor many years. It
was sold dj a steward or tne uonta-.