"The Ransoming of Earl Brion"
(An embroidered work in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry)

Created by: Lady Alheydis Von Riga

Category: Needlework
Specific Form: Embroidery (Couching and Stem Stitch)

Overview
This is a needlework piece, embroidered (couching and stem stitch) in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry.

For this piece I have drawn stylistic inspiration from the aforementioned tapestry, while drawing the subject matter from the Combat of the Thirty at Pennsic XXXVI.

The Combat of the Thirty, fought each of the last 6 years at Pennsic, was itself inspired by a real historical event, a famous contest between forces aligned with England and France in the midst of the Hundred Years War.
 Subject Matter Inspiration and Artistic Interpretation

Inspiration

The Bayeux Tapestry was created to document the events leading up to and including the Norman conquest of England, while focusing on central figures in the historical conflict. The use of needle work to tell a story and immortalize figures in a key event was inspiring to me and so as I watched the Combat of the Thirty at Pennsic XXXVI, I decided to use the Bayeux style to document what for me was a significant moment in an inspirational event.

The Story

I based the central action of my tapestry on a moment in the deed of arms, which was very vivid for me. I was also lucky in that the moment I wanted to document was captured on film by Galfrid atte grene of Aethelmark. For visual reference that photo is included in the appendix of this documentation.

In my tapestry, from left to right, Lord Eadric Wiglafson and Master Magnus Lucius Castus converge on the defeated and fallen Earl Brion Thornbird ap Rhys. Lord Thaddeus von Orlamunde closes in from the right. The rules of engagement for this battle deviate from typical SCA conventions in that the fighting is to 3 good blows to the head, at which point the struck fighter yields and may be taken ransom. A 14th century vision of chivalry and the rules of combat 'à outrance' encourage a different style of combat in which taking someone to the ground is not out of bounds. In this scene, Earl Brion is being taken for ransom after yielding to his 3 opponents.

Artistic Challenges of the Subject Matter

The subject matter proved an interesting challenge. The original Combat of the Thirty, having taken place in 1351, occurred almost 300 years after the Bayeax tapestry was completed. Armor styles changed drastically during the 3 centuries in between, in particular helmet styles. The ubiquitous spangenhelm of the 11th century (the only helm seen in the original) had been passed over for a new generation of helms, including bascinets and kettlehelms. Stylization of such differently shaped helmets proved challenging. In addition, the stylized warriors of the Bayeux tapestry all appear to be 6 or more feet tall with willowy figures. While Lord Thaddeus closely resembles the figures rendered by the 11th century artists, Earl Brion, Master Magnus, and Lord Eadric all presented 'interesting' interpretive challenges.

Border Details

The borders of the Bayeax tapestry are thick with beasts, birds, and people. I have used the borders as a venue to display more detail on the combatants and event depicted. For instance, the arms and badges of the combatants are stitched in the borders to indicate who each figure represents. Across the top are the arms of Lord Eadric, Master Magnus, Lord Thaddeus and the battle ensign of the Priory of St Colin the Dude, the household to which the three standing warriors belong. The bottom border is occupied with the three dragons which comprise the arms of Earl Brion. Separating each of the designs in the upper and lower borders are slanting lines modeled after those that appear in the original tapestry to separate the occupants of the borders.
Inscription

The Latin inscription, 'Hic Brianus Cassus Est' runs 'Here Brion Fell', where the 'cassus' can be read both 'dead' and 'fallen'. Latin was used throughout the original tapestry, for instance in the scene depicting the death of King Harold an inscription reads ‘Harold Rex Interfectus Est’, translated as Here King Harold was slain.

It is possible the Latin spelling of ‘cassus’ is incorrect, though even that potential mistake would be in keeping with the original tapestry which also includes numerous mistakes in Latin spellings.

Construction and Contrasts with the Original Piece
Base Materials
This tapestry is constructed on unbleached store bought linen, versus the non-machined linen of the original.

Eight different colors were used in the Bayeux Tapestry. The rich reddish orange was achieved with the use of madder. Three different shades of blue (dark blue, blue-green, and true blue) were achieved with woad, combining woad with weld produced a dark green and a light sage green. Two shades of weld (yellow and buff) finished the Bayeux spectrum.

With only two exceptions (the green of the grass hills, and the dark blue of the borders) all of the wool used for the embroidery was produced by Lady Kris Spinster of Stonemarche. This wool is from sheep raised by Lady Kris, who also processes the wool from her sheep through shearing, spinning and dyeing. The slightly irregular diameter of the thread is a result of being homespun on a traditional spinning wheel.

In particular, the woad blue and the madder red are authentic colors rendered in modern dye equivalents. Some irregularity of tone is present in the coloration, but that is also consistent with the original tapestry.

Overall, the handspun thread has produced an interesting texture that can be contrasted with the two uses of conventional thread. Combined use of machined and handspun threads emerged after discovering Lady Kris beautifully produced wools. The softer feel of the hand-made thread was much more pleasing to work with, and added to my feeling of creating something Medieval. Subsequent works will be made exclusively from Lady Kris ’ materials.

In the process of creation, I began to notice details to be included in subsequent works, such as drapery lines on clothing and the use of different thread colors in one garment.

Construction

This tapestry was stitched using a quilters lap frame and chenille needles. This deviates from the medieval method where a larger floor frame was likely used. I also did not have 231 feet of linen to handle so the smaller frame proved practical.

Two stitches were used in construction this piece: stem stitch and couching.
Interestingly, in the original tapestry the horizontals were couched down immediately after being laid. The Pennsic course that instructed me in the art of couching had all the horizontals in a figure laid before the final couching was implemented. In future pieces I will experiment with the more historically accurate method will be used as it seems to conserve a small amount of the precious embroidery wool.

My piece was embroidered with steel needles. The Bayeux Tapestry was likely embroidered with needles made of bronze similar to those excavated at Witby Abbey [citation]. There does exist a small chance the tapestry was executed in steel needles which, at the time of its construction, were just beginning to be imported from Byzantium and the Islamic Near East.

This tapestry was completed in a slightly smaller scale than the original, 14”; following works will be executed in the full 20" format, though probably not as long as the original tapestry.

Appendix

The tapestry:

The photo presented here for visual reference of the storied action was taken by Galfrid atte grene of Aethelmark:

References

Grape, Wolfgang, The Bayeux Tapestry. New York: Prestel, 1994

Musset, Lucien, The Bayeux Tapestry. Paris: Boudell Press, 2005

Seward, Desmond, The Hundred Years War, The English in France 1337-1453. New York: Penguin Books,
1978

Stenton, Sir Frank ed. The Bayeux Tapestry: A Comprehensive Survey. Greenwich: Phaidon, 1965.

 

Documentation as Submitted to King and Queen's Arts and Sciences Competition