Some pouches and purses of the St Thomasguild part I

The kind of medieval pouches shown in a previous blogpost, as well as those described in the catalogue of medieval textiles from the treasury of the St. Servatius church in Maastricht, the Netherlands (see photo below) did inspire Anne to make some pouches as well.

A 14th century pouch made from four pieces of Italian lampas silk (red/green/white with gold threads) with red pompoms. The pouch was made from four downward tapered segments, of which two were cut out from the same repeated pattern (birds and other animals). The leather lining is connected to the outer fabric with the seam covered with a green braid. The attachment and closing cord of the bag is also made of a green braid. The pompoms are attached to the side and bottom of the pouch. 16 cm height, 18 cm width. Image from the book Mittelalterlichen Textilien von St. Servatius in Maastricht by A. Stauffer.

Annes version of this pouch is smaller (7 cm height, 8 cm wide) and made of embroidered silk. Blue silken pompoms are attached at the four corners, as well as at the drawstrings. The inside is made of a cream-coloured silk. We would like to place some remains of St. Thomas (or fragments of his clothes) inside the pouch, like that of the reliquary pouch from Maaseik (Belgium), but have not found some yet. Early next year, Anne will visit India and perhaps she can locate a something of him (for instance, a brick from the palace that St. Thomas built or a tooth from the dog who brought the hand of the cup-bearer that offended St. Thomas at the wedding feast).

Different views of Annes pompom pouch.

 

Six textile fragments and a small leather purse: the contents of a reliquary pouch from the shrine of Johannes Nepomucenus from the St. Catharina church in Maaseik, Belgium. The pouch (right) and fragments (left) are dated between 1200 and 1400. The pouch itself is made of silk and measures 11 cm (height) by 9 cm (width). At the sides are small metal beads or pearls. Photos from KIK IRPA, Brussels, Belgium.

Another small purse (also 7 cm height by 8 cm wide) that Anne made of some leftover red silk with a cream-coloured pattern. The inside is the same cream silk as the pompom pouch. The drawstring consists of two colours of silken embroidery thread, and made as medieval rope (but using a cordless power drill to speed up the process).

Annes second pouch. you can clearly see the holes at the top of the pouch through which the drawstring goes.  

The pouch closes by pulling the string simultaneously at the opposite sides.

The Maastricht brickstitch pouch with silk stitching on linen ground. Yarn colours are red (now beige), bright blue and gold-plated silver. Inside of the pouch is red taftsilk. Height 9 cm, width 14 cm. Image from the book Mittelalterlichen Textilien von St. Servatius in Maastricht by A. Stauffer.

 

The following green and red pouch is based on the brickstitch pattern that is found on a reliquary pouch (dated around 1300) in the Maastricht treasury. A handout of this pattern (used to embroider the pouch) can be found at the excellent Medieval Silkwork blog. This pouch has been Annes first attempt at brickstitch embroidery. The pouch measures 10 by 13 cm, while the actual brickstitch area is (twice) 10 by 10 cm. The inside and the border are made of red silk. The pouch closes with a two-coloured drawstring, made the same way as described above. The pouch now holds a collection of embroidery yarn and utensils. An interesting post on medieval embroidery yarn and the modern equivalents is also found at the Medieval Silkwork blog.

Annes version of the Maastricht brickstitch pattern pouch. Both sides are embroidered with the brickstitch pattern.

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St Thomas in India glass window versus tapestry

When I looked up the painted glass window of the joiners guild in Chartres cathedral (France) on internet, I accidentally stumbled upon another stained glass window depicting the same legend of St. Thomas in India that is on the Thomas tapestry in Wienhausen, Germany. This glass window is in one of the bays of the aisles of Chartres cathedral (see the red arrow on the cathedral map). The window was made between 1205 and 1235. It has a lancet form and is roughly 8.1 m long and 2.2 m wide. In comparison, the Thomas tapestry dates from the late 14th century and measures roughly 4 by 2 m.

 

              














It is interesting to compare both legends of St. Thomas and note the similarities and differences. The photos of the windows were made by Dr. Stuart Whatling and taken from his website on medieval glass windows, which is well worth checking out. The legend of St. Thomas starts at the bottom of the window and moves more or less zigzag to the top. The specific details of the reading order are found on this web-page. The detailed images of the Thomas tapestry make use a scanned photo from a book. The original tapestry hangs in Kloster Wienhausen.

The incredulity of the unbelieving St. Thomas. This scene was later in the 13th century added to the window

 Christ sends St. Thomas on a mission to evangelise India (Ga int lant India).

 St. Thomas is given to Abbanes, an envoy of an Indian king, who seeks an architect.

 St. Thomas and Abbanes travel by boat to India and disembark on the shore.

St. Thomas is welcomed to a marriage feast.

  At the wedding feast Thomas refuses to eat, and is struck by the cupbearer.

The cupbearer is killed by a lion or bear, and a dog brings back the hand that had struck St. Thomas (see previous images).

Abbanes presents St. Thomas to King Gundophorus as his new architect.

 King Gundophorus provides St. Thomas with gold to build his new palace.

  King Gundophorus leaves for a long journey.

 Thomas erects churches instead of building a palace.

 The remainder of the money is divided among the poor.

 The King returns and throws St. Thomas into prison in order to be executed.

The kings brother, Gad, becomes very ill.

     

 Gad dies and is welcomed into heaven.

 

Gad is shown the palace in heaven that St. Thomas has build for his brother.

 

 Gad is resurrected and reconciles his brother with St. Thomas. Thomas baptises King Gundophorus and his people.

(St. Thomas moves on to the realm of King Mydeus. He converts his wife and children.) 

St. Thomas is captured and thrown into an oven, but survives.

 St. Thomas is commanded by King Mygdeus to worship an heathen idol.

Thomas orders the demon inside the idol to destroy its own temple.

The angry high priest of the temple slays St. Thomas with a sword.

Followers of St. Thomas bury his body.

Pilgrims go to the shrine of St. Thomas.

Pilgrims succumb to sleep at the shrine. St. Thomas returns from the grave to give his blessing to the pilgrims. The last part is only found in the tapestry and not part of the official lives of the Saint.

Angels watch from above.

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