The Tristan Quilt, sometimes called the Tristan and Isolde Quilt or the Guicciardini Quilt, is one of the earliest surviving quilts in the world. [1] Depicting scenes from the story of Tristan and Isolde , an influential romance and tragedy, it was made in Sicily during the second half of the 14th century. [2] There are at least two extant sections of the quilt, one of which is displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum's Medieval and Renaissance Galleries, and the other in the Bargello in Florence. [1] [2] A third quilt, also depicting Tristan and Isolde, but not thought to be part of the V&A and Bargello examples, is held in private hands. [3] The Tristan Quilts are the only known surviving intact examples of medieval quilts. [4]
The quilt is made from two layers of linen, stitched together with wadding in between. Backstitch in cream and brown linen thread defines a series of pictures with captions that have been brought into relief by inserting rolls of cotton stuffing to raise sections of the design, a technique known as trapunto. The stuffing could have been introduced during the quilting process, or because the backing layer is looser in weave, its threads could have been parted to introduce the stuffing; some elements are done using cord quilting. [2]
The imagery on the quilt resembles the narrative of chapters 17–19 of a 14th-century novella, La Tavola Rotonda o L'Istoria di Tristano, which describes the oppression of Cornwall by Languis of Ireland and his champion Amoroldo (a variation on "Morholt"), and the battle of Tristan on behalf of King Mark of Cornwall. [2] The foliage on the quilt includes ivy and grape vines, a reference to the plants that grew and intertwined from the tombs of the doomed Tristan and Isolde. [2] The scenes on the V&A quilt are not in their original order, having been re-arranged at some point. [2] Each scene has a caption in the Sicilian language.
There are six scenes in the central section of the V&A quilt, with a border of four-leaf clovers:
There are also eight scenes in the border. Along the lower edge are two scenes:
On the left side, from the top:
On the right side, from the top:
The Bargello quilt has eight scenes and is made from three longitudinal strips joined. [2] Some of the scenes on the Bargello quilt portray Tristan leaving his foster-father's court to go to Mark of Cornwall; the meeting of Tristan with Morholt for combat; and their fight on horseback. [4]
A third quilt in a private collection, thought to be from the same atelier but not actually part of these two quilts, includes a central medallion showing Tristan and Isolde on a field of fleur de lis. [3]
The V&A quilt measures 320 cm (10 ft 6 in) high by 287 cm (9 ft 5 in) wide. These measurements were verified in 2006 when it was prepared for display in the new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries. [2]
The Bargello quilt measures 247 cm (8 ft 1 in) high by 207 cm (6 ft 9 in) wide. [2]
Recent research has suggested that the quilts were made as a pair of wall hangings, and subsequently altered. [2] Some sources state that there was a third quilt, believed to have been made for the royal Capetian House of Anjou. [5] This third fragment, known as the Pianetti or Azzolini quilt, is in private hands and is thought to come from the same source as the V&A and Bargello quilts. [3]
The textile historian Sarah Randles argues that the two quilts were originally one large quilt, measuring a monumental 6 metres high by 4 metres wide, and that significant sections are missing. [4] Randles' plan for the quilt suggests that the scenes would have been arranged clockwise in the border, with the central images paired and reading bottom to top. [4] Ultraviolet light tests on the Bargello quilt revealed traces of calcium on the reverse, which could have come from its use as a wall hanging, [4] though such use may not have been the original intention.
It was long believed that the quilts were made to be given as a wedding gift to Pietro di Luigi Guicciardini and Laodomia Acciaiuli in 1395. [2] [5] although recent research suggests an earlier date. The three hunting horns on Tristan's shield are the coat of arms of the Guicciardini family. [2] The inventories of the Guicciardini family do not include a definitive reference to the quilts, but do mention "three quilted bedcovers". [2]
The V&A quilt, according to its museum number (1391-1904), was acquired in 1904.
The Bargello acquired their quilt in July 1927 from Count Paolo Guicciardini, to whose family it is believed the quilt had always belonged. [2]
Quilting is the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. An array of stitches is passed through all layers of the fabric to create a three-dimensional padded surface. The three layers are typically referred to as the top fabric or quilt top, batting or insulating material, and the backing.
Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered at the Königliches Hoftheater und Nationaltheater in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting. Wagner referred to the work not as an opera, but called it "eine Handlung".
A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, and a woven back combined using the techniques of quilting. This is the process of sewing on the face of the fabric, and not just the edges, to combine the three layers together to reinforce the material. Stitching patterns can be a decorative element. A single piece of fabric can be used for the top of a quilt, but in many cases the top is created from smaller fabric pieces joined, or patchwork. The pattern and color of these pieces creates the design. Quilts may contain valuable historical information about their creators, "visualizing particular segments of history in tangible, textured ways".
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys, is a common heraldic charge in the shape of a lily. Most notably, the fleur-de-lis is depicted on the traditional coat of arms of France that was used from the High Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1792, and then again in brief periods in the 19th century. This design still represents France and the House of Bourbon in the form of marshalling in the arms of Spain, Quebec and Canada, for example.
Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island adjacent to the village of Tintagel (Trevena), North Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British period, as an array of artefacts dating from this period have been found on the peninsula, but as yet no Roman-era structure has been proven to have existed there. It was settled during the early medieval period, when it was probably one of the seasonal residences of the regional king of Dumnonia. A castle was built on the site by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall in the 13th century, during the High Middle Ages. It later fell into disrepair and ruin.
The Knights of the Round Table are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are an order dedicated to ensuring the peace of Arthur's kingdom following an early warring period, entrusted in later years to undergo a mystical quest for the Holy Grail. The Round Table at which they meet is a symbol of the equality of its members, who range from sovereign royals to minor nobles.
White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon (shield). That may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object, building, or other device. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces, and other charges are called meubles.
Curtana, also known as the Sword of Mercy, is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens. One of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, its end is blunt and squared to symbolise mercy.
Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illicit love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult in the days of King Arthur. It depicts Tristan's mission to escort Iseult from Ireland to marry his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. On the journey, Tristan and Iseult ingest a love potion, instigating a forbidden love affair between them.
Fire and Sword is a 1981 romantic drama film directed by Veith von Fürstenberg. It is based on the legend of Tristan and Isolde, played by Christoph Waltz and Antonia Preser. Leigh Lawson and Peter Firth also star. Set during a raging war between Cornwall and Ireland, the film explores themes on conflict between magic and religion, violence, and destruction.
The history of quilting, the stitching together of layers of padding and fabric, may date back as far as 3400 BCE. For much of its history, quilting was primarily a practical technique to provide physical protection and insulation. However, decorative elements were often also present, and many quilts are now primarily art pieces.
Brunor, Breunor, Branor or Brunoro are various forms of a name given to several different characters in the works of the Tristan tradition of Arthurian legend. They include Knight of the Round Table known as Brunor/Breunor le Noir, as well as his father and others, among them another former knight of Uther's old Round Table and the father of Galehaut.
Trapunto, from the Italian for "to quilt", is a method of quilting that is also called "stuffed technique". A puffy, decorative feature, trapunto utilizes at least two layers, the underside of which is slit and padded, producing a raised surface on the quilt.
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The term Provençal quilting, also known as boutis, refers to the wholecloth quilts done using a stuffing technique traditionally made in the South of France from the 17th century onwards. Boutis is a Provençal word meaning 'stuffing', describing how two layers of fabric are quilted together with stuffing sandwiched between sections of the design, creating a raised effect. The three main forms of the Provençal quilt are matelassage, piqûre de Marseilles, and boutis. These terms, along with trapunto are often debated and confused, but they are all forms of stuffed quilting associated with the region.
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