Bibliography: Sources
Calligraphy & Design
Bain, George. The Methods of Construction of Celtic Art. New York: Dover Publications, 1973.
This is a standard introduction to the construction of Celtic patterns.
The Book of Kells: Reproductions from the Manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.
An edition with good-sized plates showing lots of detail, this is great for both needlework and calligraphic design.
Hutchinson, James. Letters. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1983.
This is marvelously put together as a history and exemplar of styles (but not a calligraphy manual).
Nordenfalk, Carl. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting: Book Illumination in the British Isles 600-800. New York: George Braziller, 1977.
This has a nice selection of styles from a variety of sources..
Norris, Herbert. Costume and Fashion. London: I. M. Dent & Sons, 1931.
Though this is a classic for general reference, it is not trustworthy for exact historical costuming.
Stoner, Charles, and Henry Frankenfield, eds. Speedball Textbook, 20th Edition. Philadelphia: Hunt Manufacturing Co., 1972.
It used to be generally available where calligraphy supplies were sold; I don’t know if there is a more current edition. It is a great basic introduction to calligraphy.
Heraldry
Brook-Little, J. P. Boutell’s Heraldry. London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1970.
This is strongly British, a heraldry book written by the Richmond Herald.
Neubecker, Ottfried. Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1976.
A great coffee-table book that’s well-researched, it has a wonderful range of places, periods, and pictures. It is excellent at showing the uses of heraldry throughout history, and can be overwhelming as a source of designs.
Needlework
Digby, George Wingfield. Elizabethan Embroidery. London: Faber and Faber, 1963.
This has good plates (mostly black and white) and excellent text on this period of history.
Guðjónsson, Elsa E. Traditional Icelandic Embroidery. Reykjavík: Iceland Review, 1985.
Luckily the book is in English, since both text and color plates are wonderful; includes some graphed patterns.
King, Donald. Samplers. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1960.
This is a good companion to Sebba with less text and good plates, mostly black and white.
King, Donald, and Santina Levey. The Victoria & Albert Museum’s Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750. New York: Canopy Books, 1993.
Everyone I know agrees that this is an essential buy. It has large color plates with excellent detail and good variety of pieces; not much text but good descriptions.
Rome, Carol Cheney, and Georgia French Devlin. A New Look at Needlepoint. New York: Crown Publishers, 1972.
This is a basic needlepoint instruction book with some discussion of history; includes stitches not always associated with canvas work, such as chain and outline.
Sebba, Anne. Samplers: Five Centuries of a Gentle Craft. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1979.
This is another strongly recommended book with an excellent in-depth history of this particular form of embroidery and good plates.
Swain, Margaret. The Needlework of Mary Queen of Scots. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1973.
Though it may seem like a very narrow subject, the text is generally useful for the period, and the background details of the particular embroidery pieces are fascinating. It has many plates, but mostly black and white.
Wardle, Patricia. Guide to English Embroidery. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1970.
This has mostly black and white plates with little text.
Bibliography: Resources
History and Design
Geddes, Elisabeth, and Moyra McNeill. Blackwork Embroidery. New York: Dover Publications, 1976. Republication of 1965 work.
This has a good historical discussion of the style, but is strictly modern in its design and embroidery instructions.
Hald, Margrethe. Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials: A Comparative Study of Costume and Iron Age Textiles. Copenhagen: The National Museum of Denmark, 1980. (Publications of the National Museum, Archaeological-Historical Series, Vol. XXI)
This is an English text edition based on an earlier Danish work. It has excellent text and illustrations; an extremely scholarly work on materials, costumes, and stitches.
Krupp, Christina, and Carolyn A. Priest-Dorman. Women’s Garb in Northern Europe, 450-1000 C.E.: Frisians, Angles, Franks, Balts, Vikings, and Finns. Milpitas, CA: Society for Creative Anachronism, 1992. (The Complete Anachronist #59)
The authors have created a well-researched overview and comparative costume guide for some usually overlooked cultures; includes discussion of materials and embroidery.
Zwanzig, Elizabeth (as Airmid Godwin). “A Catalog of Medieval Embroidery Stitches,” in The Known World Handbook: Twentieth Year Edition. Milpitas, CA: Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., 1985. Available from the SCA Stock Clerk, Box 360743, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Gives sources and dates of the earliest examples of embroidery stitches as found by the author in her extensive needlework research.
Pattern Books
Brody, Kim (as Ianthé d’Averoigne). Blackwork. Boston: Black Rose Press, 1978.
Brody, Kim (as Ianthé d’Averoigne). Counted Thread Patterns from Before 1600. Boston: Black Rose Press, 1986.
Brody, Kim (as Ianthé d’Averoigne). The New Carolingian Modelbook: Counted Embroidery Patterns from Before 1600. Albuquerque, NM: The Outlaw Press, 1995.
This recent work includes many of the patterns from her previous two works. It is an excellent compilation of patterns from period pattern books, and includes some original designs.
Cain, Elizabeth (as Elspeth of Morven), and Carol Mitch (now C. Kathryn Newell, as Kathryn Goodwyn). Flowers of the Needle. Boston: privately published, 1985.
This is a translated, photocopied compilation of seven 16th c. Italian pattern books.
Foris, Andreas, and Maria Foris. Charted Folk Designs for Cross Stitch Embroidery. New York: Dover Publications, 1975.
The book contains a wide selection of patterns, most of which are direct descendants of period designs, but there is little documentation of sources.
Guðjónsson, Elsa E. “Sjónabók frá Skaftafelli: An Icelandic Eighteenth Century Manuscript Pattern Book.” Reykjavík: [n.p.], 1984.
This pamphlet contains the author’s contribution to a book on the history of the Skaftafell farm, specifically an examination of a pattern book created by one artisan and farmer in the later 1700’s; includes patterns from the original.
Kiewe, Heinz Edgar, ed. Charted Peasant Designs from Saxon Transylvania. New York: Dover Publications, 1964.
This has the same strengths and weaknesses as the Forises’ book.
Robinson, Debby. Medieval Needlepoint. London: Collins & Brown, 1992.
The book has beautifully charted color patterns based on medieval illuminations, but no reference to period embroidery styles or patterns.
Siebmacher, Johan. Baroque Charted Designs for Needlework. New York: Dover Publications, 1975. Reprint of an 1880 reprint of a 1604 reissue of a 1601 work which included designs from a 1597 work.
This is a modern edition of a period pattern book.
Spinhoven, Co. Celtic Charted Designs. New York: Dover Publications, 1987.
All the various forms of Celtic patterns (including biomorphic designs of plants, animals, and people) are charted here; no specifics of dates or sources.
Vefnaðar og Útsaumsgerðir. Reykjavík: Íslenzkur Heimilisiðnaður, 1976.
This Icelandic pattern book is published by the Icelandic Handicrafts Society; little text, but the patterns seem to have been taken from actual embroidery pieces.
Vinciolo, Federico. Renaissance Patterns for Lace, Embroidery, and Needlepoint. New York: Dover Publications, 1971. Reprint of a 1606 edition of a 1597 work.
This is another modern edition of a period pattern book.
Zwanzig, Elizabeth (as Airmid Godwin). “Notes on the History of Counted Thread Work, c. 1300-1650.” Pottstown, PA: privately published, c. 1986.
This is a small collection of notes and patterns by a needlework historian.
Appendix: Heraldic Patterns for the SCA
The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., is an international non-profit organization for the re-creation of the Middle Ages (from Vikings to Elizabethans). Its membership varies from those who enjoy “dressing up” in medieval costumes and socializing, to those who enjoy putting their scholarly research into practice. For the variety of activities covered by the SCA, one has only to examine The Known World Handbook, a collection of almost 100 “how-to” articles. One aspect of the SCA is the heraldic display of devices by individuals, groups, and orders of merit; many of the heraldic designs in this book were chosen for that purpose.
Order of the Laurel (SCA-wide award for achievement in the arts):
“or, a laurel wreath vert”
useroundel from Plate 42-C
laurel wreath from Plate 44-B
Order of the Pelican (SCA-wide award for achievement in service):
“vert, a pelican vulning itself, proper”
useroundel from Plate 42-C
pelican from Plate 48-C
“vert, a pelican in her piety, proper”
useroundel from Plate 42-C
pelican, chicks, and nest from Plate 37-A
Arms of the Kingdom of the East:
There are 13 “kingdoms” or major groups as of 1996. The Kingdom of the East contains the northeastern parts of the United States and Canada.
“purpure, within a laurel wreath vert fimbriated or, an eastern crown of three grand points tipped with pearls and two lesser points, all or”
useshield from Plate 41-A
crown from Plate 47-B with added tips
laurel wreath fimbriated from Plate 44-A
Badge of the East Kingdom (may be used by any subject of the kingdom):
“a tyger passant azure”
usetyger from Plate 48-G
Order of the Maunche (East Kingdom award for achievement in the arts):
“per pale or and purpure, a maunche counter-changed”
useroundel from Plate 42-C
maunche from Plate 44-E
Order of the Silver Crescent (East Kingdom award for achievement in service):
“or, an eastern crown surmounted by a crescent inverted argent”
useroundel from Plate 42-B
crescent from Plate 43-A
crown from Plate 47-A
Order of the Tygers Combatant (East Kingdom award for achievement in martial arts):
“per pale or and azure, two tygers combatant counter-changed”
useroundel from Plate 42-C
tygers from Plate 48-F (one reversed)
Seneschals (the administrative officials in charge of SCA groups):
“gules, a key fesswise or”
useshield from Plate 41-B
key from Plate 43-V
Heralds (officials in charge of registering devices and promoting heraldic use):
“vert, two straight trumpets in saltire, bells in chief, or”
useshield from Plate 41-B
trumpets from Plate 41-J
Marshals (officials in charge of regulating and promoting martial arts):
“sable, two swords in saltire, or”
useshield from Plate 41-B
swords from Plate 41-C
Ministers of Arts (officials in charge of promoting the arts):
“purpure, an Irish harp or”
useshield from Plate 41-B
harp from Plate 41-I
Ministers of Sciences (officials in charge of promoting the sciences):
“per pale or and argent, a pair of calipers sable”
useshield from Plate 41-B
calipers from Plate 43-R