wool warp threads could be used, but wool wefts could be used in combination with
different fibers, such as gold and silk threads.
The Livre des métiers (ca. 1263), initiated by the provost of Paris Étienne Boileau,
contains the earliest references to tapestries. In medieval Paris, three groups of textile
workers—tapissiers notrez, tapissiers sarazinois, and tapissiers de la haute lisse (high-
warp weavers)—were documented, the tapissiers sarazinois being most closely
associated with Islamic techniques. An agreement from 1303 allowed high-warp weavers
to practice their technique, and by the end of the 14th century Paris workshops were
firmly established. Later in the 14th century, references to tapestries and carpets became
interchangeable.
To a great extent, patrons controlled the rise and fall of tapestry production. In the late
13th century, Arras was the principal center of production, but soon Paris, then Tournai
in the 14th century, became leading centers due to changes in patronage. From 1350 on,
King John 11 the Good acquired 237 tapis, intended for his own quarters and his sons,
probably supplied by Parisians. In the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th,
workshops in the Loire region benefited from its proximity to the court.
Initially, high-warp tapestries had simple designs, such as geometric patterns and
heraldic devices, followed later by depictions of birds and small animals. Around 1370,
subject matter included religious and secular scenes, figure compositions, landscapes, and
genre scenes. Over the course of the 15th and 16th centuries, the number of secular
themes grew, and portrayal of the narrative became more complex and subtle. Tapestries
depicted the Nine Heroes and Heroines, scenes from the Trojan War, and the Labors of
Hercules. Manuscripts often served as the basis for complicated projects. For the design
of the Apocalypse Tapestry, the duke of Anjou provided one of his illuminated
manuscripts as a model.
A category of tapestries known as millefleurs was produced in the Loire region ca.
- With their delicately depicted flowers and foliage on blue or pink grounds,
millefleurs tapestries helped transform the interior into a world of sensual pleasure and
provided the patron, who could name the vast array of plants, with conversation pieces.
Long after the Middle Ages, the tapestry industry continued to flourish. Many late-
medieval tapestries survive along with a fair amount of documentary information about
artistic activity, patronage, and tapestry merchants.
Stacy L.Boldrick
[See also: APOCALYPSE TAPESTRY; ARRAS; TEXTILES; UNICORN
TAPESTRIES]
Burnham, Dorothy. Warp and Weft: A Dictionary of Textile Terms. New York: Macmillan, 1981.
Chorley, Patrick. “The Cloth Experts of Flanders and Northern Europe During the Thirteenth
Century: A Luxury Trade?” Economic History Review 40(1987):349–87.
Geijer, Agnes. A History of Textiles. London: Sotheby, 1979.
Lepinasse, R.de. Les métiers et corporations de la ville de Paris. 3 vols. Paris, 1879–97.
Weibel, A.C. Two Thousand Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition. London: Wadsworth
Atheneum, 1951.
Weigert, Roger-Armand. French Tapestry, trans. Donald and Monique King. London: Faber and
Faber, 1962.
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1706