The only large-scale 15th-century tapestries in existence, the magnificent Devonshire Hunting Tapestries are a priceless resource. They provide a unique insight into medieval life, depicting a lost chivalric world in rich and fascinating detail.

HE FOUR MAGNIFICENT tapestries in the V&A known as the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries are the only great fifteenth-century hunting tapestries to survive the ravages of time. and they depict a lost chivalric world in rich and fascinating detail.

Hunting with hound or falcon was the favourite pursuit of princes and noblemen in medieval and Renaissance Europe - not f-or nothing was it called 'the sport of kings'.

  These tapestries, once owned by the Dukes of Devonshi re. provide a vivid picture of the hunt in all its forms - falconry, hunting for otter, boar, bear and deer, the robbing of a swan's nest for its eggs - and are packed with rich and entertaining human detail.

They also tell us a huge amount about medieval dress: which textiles and patterns were in favour, what style and shape of headdress, of collar, of belt and gown was going in and out of fashion, how clothes were worn and by whom.They are a rich repository of costume and textile history, and Linda Woolley mines them for all thev have to tell us about the fashions and customs of the time.

  All four tapestries are illustrated in full in lavish fold-out pages, and in carefully chosen details: together with an illuminating text they offer us a window onto the vanished world of the Late Middle Ages.

Setting the Scene

The Hunt

Courtly Fashion

Courtly Fashion in Detail

Design, Production and Technique

Conclusion

Glossary

Further Reading

Pull-out Plates-The Tapestries in full