monastery of St. Florent,
at Saumur in 985, the monks wove tapestries, using floral and animal
forms in their designs. At Poitiers there was quite a flourishing
factory as early as 1025. Tapestry was probably first made in France,
to any considerable extent, then, in the ninth century. The historian
of the monastery of Saumur tells us an interesting incident in
connection with the works there. The Abbot of St. Florent had placed
a magnificent order for "curtains, canopies, hangings, bench covers,
and other ornaments,... and he caused to be, made two pieces of tapestry
of large size and admirable quality, representing elephants." While
these were about to be commenced, the aforesaid abbot was called
away on a journey. The ecclesiastic who remained issued a command
that the tapestries should be made with a woof different from that
which they habitually used. "Well," said they, "in the absence of
the good abbot we will not discontinue our employment; but as you
thwart us, we shall make quite a different kind of fabric." So they
deliberately set to work to make square carpets with silver lions on
a red ground, with a red and white border of various animals! Abbot
William was fortunately pleased with the result, and used lions
interchangeably with elephants thereafter in his decorations.

At the ninth century tapestry manufactory in Poitiers, an amusing
correspondence took place between the Count of Poitou and an Italian
bishop, in 1025. Poitou was at that time noted for its fine breed
of mules. The Italian bishop wrote to ask the count to send him
one mule and one tapestry,--as he expressed it, "both equally
marvellous." The count replied with spirit: "I cannot send you
what you ask, because for a mule to merit the epithet _marvellous_,
he would have to have horns, or three tails, or five legs, and
this I should not be able to find. I shall have to content myself
with sending you the best that I can procure!"

In 992 the Abbey of Croyland, in England, owned "two large foot
cloths woven with lions, to be laid before the high altar on great
festivals, and two shorter ones trailed all over with flowers,
for the feast days of the Apostles."

Under Church auspices in the twelfth century, the tapestry industry
rose to its most splendid perfection. When the secular looms were
started, the original beauty of the work was retained for a considerable
time; in the tenth century German craftsmen worked as individuals,
independently