[MR] History Blog: Medieval Tapestry Restored

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Yesterday the History Blog reported on the restoration of a 15th century
tapestry depicting the French knight Jean de Daillon. Perhaps it would be
more correct to say "the fragment of a tapestry", since what remains has
been seriously trimmed over the last 500 or so years.

The tapestry was part of a set created between 1477 and 1479 by master
weaver Guillaume Desremaulx of Tournai. The piece depicting de Daillon is
the only part of the set known to survive. After passing through many
hands, likely uncaring hands wielding scissors, the tapestry was donated by
a collector to the National Trust. It has hung for many years in Montacute
House, also a National Trust property.

The History Blog story is here: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/62736
.

The National Trust issued a press release with more details of the
restoration and a photo showing just how large this "fragment" is:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/press-release/the-oldest-tapestry-in-the-national-trust-returns-to-display-after-conservation
.

And here is my own story about Montacute House. In 2000 Lady Sarah and I
took our first trip to England, under the care of a driver guide. We
arrived at Montacute House early one the afternoon on the last day of the
open season. Much of the house was generally lit only by natural light to
minimize damage to the artefacts. When we arrived it was pouring rain, and
the staff had just made the decision to close early out of safety
considerations. To my embarrassment, our driver got into an argument with a
docent in the ticket booth, pointing out how we had come all the way from
America to see the house. Blah, blah, blah!. Our driver lost the argument,
and we were "directed" to the tea room. While there, I noted the docents at
the other end of the room were toasting the end of the season with Harvey's
Bristol Cream Sherry, one of my favorite adult libations. I reflected that
we, the only remaining guests, might have been offered a taste had our
driver not made a pest of himself (he was actually a really nice fellow).

Here is a Wikipedia page on Montacute House:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montacute_House .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆