dbag. It is possible that
patchwork was used more extensively than the museum's display would
indicate, but since large pieces are very rarely found, patchwork was
evidently not held in the same esteem as embroidery and painting.

CHAPTER III

PATCHWORK AND QUILTING IN OLD ENGLAND

In searching for the beginning of needlework in England, the first
authentic date revealed relating directly to this subject is 709, when
the Bishop of Sherborne writes of the skill Englishwomen had attained
at that time in the use of the needle. Preserved in various museums are
some examples of Anglo-Saxon embroidery of uncertain date, that are
known to have been made before the Bishop of Sherborne's time. Mention
should also be made of the wonderful Bayeux Tapestry. This ancient
piece is 227 feet long and twenty inches wide, and is of great
historical interest, in that it illustrates events of English history
from the accession of Edward the Confessor to the English defeat at
Hastings by the Normans in 1066. There is some doubt as to whether this
tapestry, which has the characteristic of typical applique--namely, the
absence of shading--is actually of English workmanship, but it is
unquestionably of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was first hung in Bayeux
Cathedral in 1476.

[Illustration: PUSS-IN-THE-CORNER

A beautifully quilted design made about 1855. Colours: a
dull green calico having small red flowers and white]

[Illustration: TEA LEAVES

A quaint old design combining a pieced block with an
applied leaf stem. Colours: green and white]

It is a generally accepted fact that applique and embroidery are
closely related and of about equal age, although relatively few
examples of the former are preserved in collections of needlework. One
of the oldest authentic bits of applique is at Stonyhurst College. It
represents a knight clad in full armour, mounted on a spirited
galloping horse. The horse is covered with an elaborately wrought
blanket and has an imposing ornament on his head. The knight wears a
headdress of design similar to that of the horse and, with arm
uplifted and sword drawn, appears about to attack a foe. This work is
well done, and the pose of both man and horse shows spirit. It is said
to have been made during the thirteenth century. Preserved to us from
this same period is the tattered fragment of a coat worn by Edward,
the Black Prince, and which now hangs over his tomb in Canterbury
Cathe