Page 344 - J. C. Turner "History and Science of Knots"

The History of Macrame' 337
the help of visiting sisters, nuns made fine Church decorations and vestments;
and again, because macram6 was so typical of the Church scene, it featured
in many paintings of the day. Two notable pictures from the period which
include knotting work are 'The Last Supper' by Sebastian Ricci (1659-1734))
and an earlier one by Paul Veronese (1528-1588), entitled 'The Repast of
Simon the Canaanite', which shows the supper being taken at a table covered
by a macramBfringed tablecloth.
As has been the case all through its history, the craft has known no class
distinctions in its practitioners. Nuns, often expert needlewomen, would make
fine articles for the Church; women from all walks of life would trim their
clothing with knotted designs. In Rome, peasants made head-scarves with
knotted borders, much in the manner of the Arab's course-wool style.

From the 17th to the 19th Century

The craft travelled North from Italy, and it may have been adopted from
them by the Flemish lace-makers. The next time we hear of the art is when
it is introduced into England. Tradition says that macram6 was taken into
England by Queen Mary, wife of William of Orange who took the Throne in
1689. Apparently she was addicted to lace, and to the making of it. Court
records show that her lace bill for the year 1694 was 1918 pounds sterling.
Being unused to an 'industrious' Queen, her homely habits were ridiculed by
the Court wits; for example, Sir Charles Sedley, a notorious Court satirist and
poet, wrote a derisive verse, a portion of which reads [I]: '... but here's a Queen
when she rides abroad is always knotting threads.' Her biographer, Gilbert
Burnett, wrote of her hobby: 'It is a strange thing to see a Queen at work so
many hours a day.' The King, too, had a passion for lace, though there's no
suggestion that he ever made it. He was very extravagent in his use of knotted
materials, as records of his annual expenditure upon them show. One year
his bill for lace, with which to trim 'assorted cravats, handkerchieves, combing
and barbing clothes', totalled 2459 pounds sterling-a huge sum indeed.
From this introduction into England, macramk's popularity waxed and
waned in the ensuing years; but it never died out completely. There are many
examples still in existence from its use in the seventeenth century. For example,
in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, there is a beautiful sampler
with 75 tiny macram6 panels; and a pair of kid gloves, with macram6 panels
let into the gauntlets, which are dated 1749.
Macram6 knotting again became a royal pastime in the late Georgian
period. Queen Charlotte, wife of George I11 (1760-1820), was reputed to be
an enthusiastic ltnotter; and since royalty are always trend-setters, knotting
became a fashionable pastime in the candle-lit drawing rooms of Georgian
England. When the light was too poor for the fine needlework that the ladies