Page 361 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

354 History and Science of Knots

change gradually over the centuries whereas the drapery of the cloak itself
remains the same. The paintings show the fringes to be of openwork, for parts
of the edgings fold back on themselves and the design is shown through the
overlap; the use of gold paint throughout suggests they are of gold thread or
wire; and the changes in patterning suggest each icon-painter used the designs
most familiar to his eye, an idea confirmed by the decorative styles through
the centuries. The mid-C12th icon of the Annunciation in the Ohrid icon
gallery, Yugoslavia shows a geometric fringe, which by the C15th has become
a stylised pattern of lilies. While it is conceivable that the wealthiest members
of society dressed their womenfolk in pallae with fringes of individually forged
gold pendants, the practical problems of weight, detaching, theft and even
laundry make macrame fringes a more likely solution. That the designs can
be knotted using macrame techniques is self-evident.
Another snippet of evidence confirming the manufacture and use of open-
work macrame patterns is the word itself, which derives form the Arabic word
for fringe. Marco Polo (mid C13th) writes of saddles made in `Kierman-a
kingdom on the eastern confines of Persia'; while from the late C12th on, min-
strels' lays make passing reference to noble destriers with fringed saddle and
trappings, generally as an indication of status. Macrame, then, may be the first
of the lace skills to be recorded. In Italian, macrame is named `punto groppo',
though this name cannot be traced back to the times before the printing press.
In `The Romance of the Rose' (c.1240) Guillaume de Lorris describes
Idleness as wearing sleeves sewn elegantly, and in the continuation by Jean
de Meun the (ideal) woman is described as wearing a cloak decorated with
silver-gilt thread-work and seed pearls. In the mid C14th, we have the tale
of Sir Gawaine and the Green Giant, in which the lady's token is referred to
interchangeably as a girdle and a lace. More precise still, in The Canterbury
Tales Chaucer describes the Knight's shirt as being embroidered like a meadow
filled with flowers, and of the Wife of Bath he says `Her coverchiefs (veils) full
fine were of ground; I dare swear they were worth ten pounds'(each). The
word `ground', here used to describe a particular fabric, would suggest some
kind of lace reseau. (Chaucer worked as an official in Customs and Excise to
earn his living, and wrote for his own amusement.)
By the beginning of the C14th, technical skills were sufficiently advanced
for needles and pins to be available (though very costly-hence the expression
`pin money') for purchase in quantity. According to an inventory of 1347 the
Princess Joanna, daughter of Edward III, was given 12000 pins as part of her
trousseau. While she and her ladies must have needed a considerable number
for holding their wimples in place, it is tempting to think that some of the
pins were used for the making of braids. In the Harley Collection of MS. in the
British Museum is one dated c.1471 which gives instructions for the making of
laces including `an open lace, lace for hattys-' and begins with a decorated