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TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

KILKENNY ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

FOR THE YEAR

1852.

"If any there be which are desirous to be strangers in their owne soile, and forrainers in their owne
citie, they may so continue, and therein flatter themselves. For such like I have not written these
lines, nor taken these paines."

VOL. II.-PART I.

DUBLIN:

PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY, BY

JOHN O'DALY, 9, ANGLESEA-STREET,

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CAMDEN.

Br11210.11

H

DEC IC 1910

LIPAR7

Duplicate money

The Committee wish it to be distinctly understood, that they do not hold themselves responsible for the statements and opinions contained in the Papers read at the meetings of the Society, and here printed, except so far as the 9th and 10th Amended General Rules extend.

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

KILKENNY ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

FOR THE YEAR 1852.

ANCIENT TAPESTRY OF KILKENNY CASTLE.

BY THE REV. JAMES GRAVES.

AMONGST the minor paths of history, few lead to more inviting fields of research than those which introduce us to the vie privee of the people who lived in by-gone ages. When we can form to ourselves clear notions of how they dressed, and what they eat, of the mansions they lived in, and the furniture which formed the necessaries or luxuries of high and low, history ceases to present us with mere abstractions of man and woman, we feel that we know the actors on the then stage of life, and take a proportionate interest in their doings and ultimate fates. It may by some be thought beneath the dignity of the Historic Muse to stoop to such apparent trifles-though I am far from being persuaded of the cogency of the arguments used in support of what is called the philosophic school of history: none, however, can deny that the legitimate province of such a Society as ours, embraces everything which can throw light on the past, or aid the historian in dashing off a true and vigorous picture of the age he may have selected as the subject of his pen.

It is very much to be feared that comfort, in the modern acceptation of the term, had no place in the vocabulary of the people who lived in what are called "the good old times." Carpetted floors, and papered walls, air-tight window-sashes, and close-fitting doors they knew and recked not of. The chamber of the prince and the hut of the peasant were alike strewn with rushes; but, whilst the latter was obliged to brook the mud-built walls of his cabin, the former hid the rugged masonry of his castle hall with temporary hangings, which were, in general, carried from place to place in his train; the expensive nature of the material preventing those-except,

perhaps, Royalty itself who boasted of more than one house, from providing each residence with furniture of this nature. A letter, which will be quoted in the course of this short memoir, proves that in the families of the first nobles of the realm this custom prevailed even so late as the termination of the 17th century; whilst many an old mansion exhibits, even at the present day, the storied tapestry which had adorned the more ancient residences of the family, in times long gone by. Many persons can well remember the Tapestry Chamber" which existed in the Castle of Kilkenny, previously to the late remodelling of that building. Some of the present generation, however, have never seen the hangings of this room, which were taken down about twenty-eight years ago on the dismantling of the old edifice, and since that period have not been accessible to the public. The entire suit consists of six pieces, thirteen feet deep, and varying from fourteen to twenty-two feet in length. The "action" of the pictorial drama is, in some instances, rather obscure; but it is evident that it was meant to represent what the ancient Inventories still extant in the Ormonde Evidence Chamber, term "the story of Decius." The sequence of the pieces is probably as follows:

war.

It will be recollected that P. Decius Mus, and T. Manlius Torquatus were consuls in the year before Christ 340, when the great Latin war called forth all the energies of the Roman Republic. The consuls, who conjointly led the Roman army against the Latins, are represented in the first of the large pieces as receiving from the pontifex maximus, or high priest, a statue of Mars holding in his hand a winged Victory, prophetic and emblematic of the event of the In the meantime it was revealed to Decius, in a night vision, that the army of one nation, and the general of the other, were devoted to the infernal deities, and to mother earth. He then held a conference with his brother consul, and it was agreed between them, that, if in the approaching battle either of them perceived his division wavering, he should devote himself to death for the safety of the army, and to secure victory to the side of the Romans: this forms the second subject. Decius, perceiving his wing yielding before the fierce onset of the Latin forces, immediately proceeded to devote himself, and, accordingly, in another piece he is represented as performing that ceremony before his brother consul; a fourth department represents him in the custody of the lictors, apparently about to suffer the flagellation usual before the sacrificial act. Next comes the battle scene, an admirable composition, in which Decius is represented as combating single-handed against crowds of opponents. This composition is a most admirable example of bold fore-shortening and spirited· action. One must admire the grey horse rearing under his slain rider, and the rigid muscles of the dead warrior stretched in the fore-ground. The devoted Latins (for Decius by his act devoted them along with himself) are represented in the back ground as routed and flying. A sixth piece of tapestry represents the funeral pile of the dead hero,

with the trophy, and chained Latin captives indicative of victory." I do not hesitate to say that the entire series exhibits talent of the highest order, both in the original design, and subsequent execution by the difficult process of the .loom; and I am persuaded that the artist who designed the subjects must have been eminent in his time. It is worthy of remark that the pillars which divide the compartments are similar to those which occur in Raphael's cartoon of the "Healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple," which it may be remembered was also intended to be worked in tapestry.

As it is desirable that whatever is known of the history of these fine examples of ancient art should be placed on record, I have briefly thrown together a few notes from unpublished sources, derived by the noble owner's permission from the Ormonde Manuscripts, and which I beg to submit to the members of the Society.

We are informed by Sir James Ware, in his "Annals of Ireland," and by Carte, in his Introduction to the "Life of James, Duke of Ormond," that Piers, earl of Ormonde, and his lady, Margaret Fitzgerald, established at Kilkenny the manufacture of tapestry, Turkey carpets, diapers, &c., for which purpose he introduced workmen. from Flanders. The manuscript Inventories still remaining in Kilkenny Castle, show that Thomas, the tenth earl, Peter's successor, was possessed of many suits of tapestry hangings, and richly wrought carpets, which probably may have come from the Kilkenny looms. It is well known that on the death of earl Thomas, James I. unjustly aided his favourite, Preston, afterwards created viscount Dingwall and earl of Desmond-to whom he gave in marriage Elizabeth, only daughter, and heir-general of earl Thomas-in seizing the property of earl Walter, the heir-male, and decreed to the former Kilkenny Castle, and the greater part of the Ormonde property. There is preserved in the Evidence Chamber an Inventory of the goods of the earl of Desmond, which had originally, no doubt, been the property of earl Thomas. From this Inventory, dated 20th December, 1630, I have made the following extracts :

In the Castle of Kilkenny, In my Lo: of Tullye's chamber, 5 peece of tapestry, praised at 6li. str. Sold to Mr. David Roth.

In the staire head chamber, peeces of Tapestry praised 10li. 10. Sold to Philipp Piercevall, Esquire, for 16.

In the white tower chamber, 4 peeces of Tapestry praised at 84. str. Sold to Mr. Henry Masterson for 8li.

In the chamber neere the gallery 18 peeces of Tapestry praised att 50li. the Earl of Corke for 1034i.

Sold to

In "A Note of such stuffe, as are to be bought for the earl of Ormond and Ossory" occurs "Item three pieces of Tapestry, suitable

1 Many persons suppose that this suit of tapestry comprises the events of the two Latin Wars, and that what is supposed above to represent the scourging of the

self-devoted Decius, really represents the order for the execution of the disobedient but brave son of Torquatus. This conjecture is not improbable.

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