them is now in existence, and it is
supposed that they were torn apart in order to fill the coffers of
some vandal who preferred the metal in them to their beauty as
hangings.

Among the sumptuous furnishings belonging to the Tudor period, applied
work held a prominent place. Vast spaces of cold palace walls were
covered by great wall hangings, archways were screened, and every bed
was enclosed with curtains made of stoutly woven material, usually
more or less ornamented. This was before the advent of French
tapestry, which later supplanted the English applique wall draperies.
The Tudor period was also the time when great rivalry in dress
existed. "The esquire endeavoured to outshine the knight, the
knight the baron, the baron the earl, the earl the king himself, in
the richness of his apparel."

[Illustration: FEATHER STAR

Made about 1850. Colours: blue and white]

[Illustration: DRUNKARD'S PATH

A modern quilt after an old pattern. Colours: light blue
and white]

In direct contrast to the long inventories of beautiful and valuable
clothing, bedcovers, and hangings of the rich, are the meagre details
relating to the life and household effects of the landless English
peasant. In all probability he copied as far as he was able some of
the utilities and comforts used by his superiors. If he possessed a
cover for his bed, it was doubtless made of the cheapest woven
material obtainable. No doubt the pieced or patched quilt
contributed materially to his comfort. In "Arts and Crafts in the
Middle Ages," Julia de Wolf Addison describes a child's bed quilt
included in an inventory of furniture at the Priory in Durham in 1446,
"which was embroidered in the four corners with the Evangelistic
symbols." In the "Squier of Lowe Degree," a fifteenth-century romance,
there is allusion to a bed of which the head sheet is described as
embroidered "with diamonds and rubies bright."

It was during the gorgeous reign of Henry VIII that the finest
specimens of combined embroidery and patchwork, now preserved in
various museums, were made. It was really patch upon patch, for before
the motives were applied to the foundation they were elaborately
embroidered in intricate designs; and after being applied, they had
their edges couched with gold and silver cord and ornate embroidery
stitches. Mrs. Lowes relates in "Old Lace and Needlework" that, during
the time of Henry VIII, embroidery, as distinct from garment mak