History of Decorated Fabric continued 
I was still looking for a link between European designs and Early Colonial North American 
designs. Queen Elizabeth (1553-1603) established a successsful North American colony, so I began 
there. Two questions needed answers. Did England invent the designs? If they didn't, then how did 
they arrive in England?
 
I had read that in medieval England and Europe the most famous embroideries were called 
‘Opus Anglicanum.' This was the embroidery of England and possibly France, and it was 
often seen on the copes and mitres used in the Catholic masses.
 
In an Opus Anglicanum embroidery ‘The Kiss of Judas' c. 1320, the British Museum, 
there is a architectural column on the left side of that embroidery that has a border 
of palmated Acanthus leaves around it and Roma under a bead. After seeing this I realized 
the Catholic priests carried these Oriental patterns into England. 
The column in the 'Kiss of Judas' the palmated Acanthus leaves are pointing to each other above 'ROMA'.
   
It is not common knowledge that as the Germanic armies invaded Rome, the
priests from the Middle East fled to one of the safe places in Europe, Ireland. 
These Oriental priests brought their books and stories and the Irish priest copied the 
books and stories, they saved much that would have been lost during the Dark Ages 
from 500 to 1000 A.D. 
 
That should have ended the search for me, except these English samplers started 
appearing at the end of the sixteenth century that did not look anything like religious
designs. The Acanthus motif began appearing in European pattern books in the sixteenth 
century such as A Schole-House for the Needle. 
Row of Acanthus Leaves
 
A medieval French artist, Jacques Androuet du Cerceau drew patterns of Acanthus leaves 
that are so similar to the ones found in ancient Persia you could believe they were 
copies taken from the original masonry. As can be seen in the photos below. 
 
Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, 16th Century
This is from a Carved Stone at Ghazna from the 14th Century, Persia
18th Century Italian alter cloth
embroidered with gold threads and sequins on silk ground
Next Chapter ©2000 Linda Fontenot, you may not copy this article in any from other than a personal copy for the 
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