Some purses from the St. Thomasguild Part II

This post continues with two more purses in use by us. Both purses are of the frame-purse type (as described by Olaf Goubitz in the book 'Purses in Pieces' (ISBN 9789089320148). This book gives an excellent presentation of all the purses and pouches in use in medieval times, with reconstructions based on actual (Dutch) finds. His focus is on leather purses, but the given purse types apply to fabric purses as well. Some of the intriguing purses in this book have two sacks instead of one. He divides the different purses into four kinds:

• Double ring purses, where both bags hang side by side.
• Secondary ring purses, where the second - smaller bag - hides within the larger bag.
• Hinged-ring purses, where the second 'half' ring swivels on the first ring. Depending on the place of the half ring (up or down), either the smaller bag or the larger is open.
• And finally double harp-framed purses, which are basically the same as the other double purses, but with their ring frames shaped like a D.

Drawing of a double ring purse from the Leather museum in Offenbach, Germany. 

Drawing from O. Goubitz Purses in Pieces.

Above. Drawing by O. Goubitz of a secondary ring purse. Right. Drawing by O. Goubitz of a leather find in Dordrecht, the Netherlands of a secondary ring purse. 

Drawing of a hinged type purse by O. Goubitz, showing that the small bag is open when the hinge is down, and the large bag is open when the hinge is up.

Left: A double ring frame for a purse from Italy, 1450. MAK, Koln, Germany. Right: A D-shaped hinged ring frame made from latten inlaid with niello. Late 15th century, British. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.

Two iron double ring frames with a suspension swivel. Amsterdam Historic Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The left purse frame measures 12 by 9 cm and has small holes in the ring to attach the bag part of the purse. The holes are such that the two rings support two bags hanging next to each other. The lobes of the right purse frame point such that the second bag hangs within the first. Images from O. Goubitz's book Purses in pieces.

A 16th century iron hinged-ring frame from the museum Booijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It measures 17 x 13.5 x 1.5 cm. Image from the museum website, drawing from O. Goubitz.

Interestingly, Racaire (of the marvellous Racaire Embroidery and Needlework blog) has made photos of such a (very posh) double ring purse from south Germany of 1550 on display in the Hof Jagd und Rustkammer in Vienna, Austria. Only two images of this purse are shown below, the others you can see at her Flickr photo stream. 

The double purse from the Hof Jagd und Rustkammer, Vienna, Austria. 

The tassels of the drawstring are made up of three different colours. Photo copyright by Racaire.

Side view of the two ring frames with purses hanging from one purse bar. Photo copyright by Racaire.

I find these double purses fascinating, and it is no wonder that my daily purse in use as guild-master of the St. Thomasguild is such a double purse. We did use a brass purse bar with a single harp frame from Medieval Design (an Italian firm providing re-enactment stuff) and added an extra brass harp frame to it - luckily there was just enough space for it. The outer layer of the pouch is made from black velvet, the inside is of red silk. The silk drawstrings end with either two rubies or two gold beads. The front flap of the pouch is embroidered with the heraldic shield of our guild. The ends of the bags each have a double black tassel of 6 cm long. The sizes of each purse are: top width 12 cm, bottom width 29 cm, diagonal edge length 19 cm, flap length 10 cm.

My purse laid flat, showing both trapezium shaped bags.

Left: The gold and ruby beads at the end of the drawstring. Middle: The red silk inside of the pouch. Right: The heraldic shield of the St. Thomasguild with compass, plane and axe, together with the spear of St. Thomas.

The double purse with both bags standing side by side.

The second pouch is one that Anne uses for special occasions (feasts and castles). This pouch is a trapezium-shaped single harp-frames purse. Several of these ring/harp-framed purses have survived from medieval times, most of them are religious treasures now, such as the late 13th - early 14th century ring-framed purse from the Our Beloved Lady of Nativity (O.L. Vrouwe van de Geboorte) church in Tongeren, Belgium. This purse likely once belonged to John (Jan) II of Brabant and Limburg (or his wife), as his coat of arms and that of his wife Margaret (Marghareta) of England are embroidered on the purse, and bequeathed to the church after his/her death.

 

The front of the purse of Jan II van Brabant. The purse is quite large: 30 cm height by 43 cm width. 

Photo from the KIK-IRPA database, Belgium.

Left: Detail from the embroidered front of the Jan II van Brabant purse. It is made from wool fabric with embroidery in silk and gold thread (long stitch). Right: On the back, plain twill damask (China, end of 13th-early 14th century). Photo from the KIK-IRPA database, Belgium.

Two photos showing the ring of the purse of Jan II van Brabant as well as the holes for the drawstring. Photos from the KIK-IRPA database, Belgium.

Anne's pouch is made of ivory coloured silk with a woven flower pattern. The inside of the pouch is plain silk. The edges of the pouch are decorated with two rows of 8 pearls, with a 7 cm long gold thread tassel at each end. The green-ivory drawstring end with two gold beads. The purse measures 12 cm at the top and 27 cm at the bottom with a diagonal edge length of 17 cm. The length of the closing flap is 11 cm.

The front of Anne's pouch with the flap closed.

Here you can see the double gold beads at the end of the drawstring, and the pearls around the edge.

Left: The front of the pouch with the flap opened. Right: The back of the pouch. 

You can see that the purse hangs on the harp ring, not on the purse bar.

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.

Anne's 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 Anne's 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).

Anne's 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 Anne's 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.

Anne's version of the Maastricht brickstitch pattern pouch. Both sides are embroidered with the brickstitch pattern.

Aumonieres and purses from Germany

Aumonieres (pouches used for carrying money or alms for the poor) and reliquary pouches (pouches containing relics from saints, like pieces of bone or cloth) were often made from expensive materials and could be beautifully embroidered. Still, surviving examples from medieval times are a rare find. We did encounter several of those pouches in museums in Germany and luckily we were able to take some photos of them. The first aumoniere shown here is from the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Arts and Crafts Museum) in Hamburg. The museum has a small part dedicated to medieval reliquary items, such as the Osterteppich, some aquamaniles and also an embroidered aumoniere.

The aumoniere in the museum dates from 1340 and is a typical example of the type made in the mid-14th century in Paris, France. The aumoniere is made of linen and are embroidered with silk and gold yarn using the stem stitch. Many tassels decorate the edges of the purse, as well as the ends of the drawstring. The image on the aumoniere is that of two lovers in a garden. The backside of the aumoniere is embroidered with a different image, but of the same theme.

 The tassels of the aumoniere are differently coloured.

Left: The other side of the aumoniere, also with two lovers in a garden, is shown in the book 'Embroiderers' by K. Staniland (British Museum Press, 1991). Right: A side view of the aumoniere.

 

Two views of the edges of the aumoniere.

The Stadtmuseum of Koln also has a collection of pouches which are ascribed to Hermann von Goch, a wealthy and powerful citizen who was accused of treason in 1398 and whose belongings were confiscated by the city counsel. These items and the accompanying documents of his household were kept for safekeeping in the archive of the town hall and nowadays on display at the museum. The descriptions of the purses are based on the museum catalogue 'Mittelalter im Koln, eine auswahl aus den bestanden des kolnischen stadtmuseums' by W. Schafke and M.Trier (ISBN 978-3-89705-654-1).

Money purse with a dog. Nowadays the gold yarn is almost faded away, 
and it is difficult to see the image of the dog on the purse.

This money purse with a picture of a dog has been dated to the 15th century based on the method of manufacture. The origin of the embroidery and the metal yarn used for the decoration likely comes from the Netherlands, although the fine details of the decorations are more typical of the neighbourhood of Cologne. The purse is made of two parts, which are stitched together with two crossed rows of pearls. On both sides is a gold embroidered image of a dog, with a text-band with the words 'ich geren' (the exact meaning is unclear to me). The actual purse is covered by a green-red coloured netted cap which can be pushed up and down along the cord that was used to attach the purse to a belt. Probably the netted cap  served as a protection against thieves. At four points of the purse are brass bells attached. Purse: height 7.3 cm, width 11.3 cm, depth 5 cm; Netted cap: height 4cm, width 9 cm, depth 5.5 cm.

Left: A drawing of how the purse would have looked like in the early 15th century. Top left is one of the other money purses. Right: a photo of the purse and the netted cap. Both images are scanned from the museum catalogue.

Three (money) purses in the museum were are attached to each other with their belt cords. The first purse is half-round and made from four pieces of green damask silk. The top edge is lined with a red string with directly below a green cord that was used as a drawstring. It has two green tassels at the end. The inside of the purse is lined with white leather. This type of damask cloth was not made in Europe (Italy) before the 15th century; therefore this purse is dated later than the death of Hermann von Goch in 1398. Height 4.4 cm, width 4 cm, depth 3 cm.
The second purse is made from four pieces of white leather. The purse is closed with a drawstring with small leather buttons at the end. The darker parts of the purse contain a high amount of iron particles, likely of metal decorations. This type of purse with metal decorations was common in the 14th and 15th century. Height 4.5 cm, width 5 cm, depth 3 cm
The third purse is made of red and green silk with silver and gold yarn woven in samit style (weft faced compound twill). The style of this purse is typical for Cologne from the 13th to the 15th century. The drawstring is made of blue silk yarn. Both the purse and drawstring are decorated with leather buttons. Height 4.3 cm, width 6 cm, depth 2.2 cm.

Also a reliquary purse from red silk with a green silk drawstring is shown on the next photo. The inside of the purse is lined with yellow silk. Height 3.5 cm, width 3.9 cm and depth approx. 1 cm.

 Three small money purses attached to each other. On top right a reliquary purse in red silk is shown.

A silk cap for a money purse made from four silk triangles with woven heraldic signs (an eagle and a wild animal). This type of silk cloth was likely imported from Italy in the 15th century. The edges of the cap are connected with a cord with gold-plated silver yarn ending in a crocheted button. Height 8.8 cm, width 8.4 cm, depth approx. 7 cm.

 The silk cap for a money purse showing a heraldic eagle.

 Left: the other side showing a heraldic wild animal. Right: detail from the gold metal yarn. 

Both images are scanned from the museum catalogue.

The next photos are of a leather money purse with three attached smaller leather purses and a leather drawstring with coloured cloth buttons. The top edge of the purse is decorated with red silk. Height 18 cm, width 16 cm.

 The buttons on the edge of the drawstring are red-white-green coloured.

 The red silk cord around the edge of the leather pouches can easily be seen.

The following leather pouch from the Kolnischen Stadtmuseum does not belong to the 'Hermann von Goch' collection. This medieval pouch contained official coin weights - the weight that the coins minted by the Archbishop of Cologne should have - and carry the seal of the bishop as well as that of the city. They clearly did not trust each other. The weights were kept in safety by the city council.

One of the three coin weight pouches on display at the museum having both the seal of the city and the archbishop.

This last medieval pouch was in the same display box as the Hermann von Goch collection, but is not found in the museum catalogue. The pouch is made of white leather and has a loop for attachment to a belt. Two smaller pouches are stitched to the main pouch. The pouch is decorated with leather buttons at the edges and the flaps. All the pouches close with a thong.

The belt loop of the pouch has a buckle.