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Bringing the Holy Land Home: The Crusades, Chertsey Abbey, and the Reconstruction of a Medieval Masterpiece

hero and lion silk hi q

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Man Subduing Lion/"Hero and Lion" Silk (DO BZ.1934.1) By Christopher Smith '22

The well-known strength of lions signifies that this man – who dominates lions – must be even stronger. He is dressed in a classical short toga and sandals. His long hair and action of tearing open the lion's jaws suggest that he represents Samson, a religious hero from the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament). People from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions appreciated Samson, since the text that Christians call the Old Testament is foundational for all three religions. The weft-faced technique (weaving crosswise threads) reached the eastern Mediterranean from China via the silk roads. This textile could have served as a curtain or hanging in a home of a wealthy person or in a church, or as part of a garment worn at ceremonies. The English king Henry III, the probable patron of the Chertsey tiles, owned a textile showing an image of Samson similar to this one.
How was this made?
By Christopher Smith '22

Weft-faced means that it was made by crosswise threads rather than lengthwise yarns. Here is a video of how a weft-faced textile like this was made:

In the video, the threads are pulled taut. Then the vertical threads that are to be behind the horizontal threads are pulled back and separated. Then the horizontal thread is passed through the gap. This process is then repeated.

Repetition is common in textiles because of the technology used. The repeating unit for this textile contains a mirrored image of the man subduing a lion.

Polychrome means many colors. This effect was obtained by using coloring agents on silk threads. For example, copper was used for green and cobalt for blue. Polychrome silks may have originated in China in the 1st to 4th centuries during the Han and Jin dynasties. In the Chinese five-color scheme, the five colors are red, black, blue, yellow, and white. However, what we see in this textile is the Jin silk variation of the five-color scheme, which colors are red, dark blue, dark green, dark yellow, and tan.
Where was this produced? By Christopher Smith '22

The textile was probably made between the 7th and 9th centuries in Constantinople, Egypt, or Syria. These regions were controlled by different powers during the time period in question: see timeline below.
These three places are thought to be where the textile is from because this textile is high-end and complicated, so the maker must have had access to complicated technology. This technology could have been found at these three locations where the largest textile industries flourished at the time.
What is this? By Christopher Smith '22

The image in the textile is a man fighting and subduing a lion while forcefully opening the lion’s resisting jaws. Lions are symbols of strength, courage, and bravery, as they are fearsome predators in the animal kingdom. This image suggests that the man is stronger than the lion, which is not a typical human capability. The man must be special and have some sort of divine power. Well-known stories of men subduing lions are those of the Old Testament Samson, to whom God gave strength, and the Greco-Roman divine hero Hercules. Regardless of the man’s identity, he represents sheer physical strength and the domination of enemies. The person who displayed this textile in the medieval world would have wanted to convey these themes to the world, possibly suggesting that he or she also manifested these same qualities.

Samson is in the Book of Judges in the Old Testament. He was the last of the judges who ruled over Israel before the time of the kings. God gifted Samson with incredible strength. He performed superhuman feats, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and massacring an entire army of Philistines. If his long hair was cut, he would lose his strength. The woman he loved, Delilah, betrayed him and had his hair cut while he was sleeping, so that he would lose his strength and be enslaved by the Philistines. At the end of his life, God gave Samson strength one last time, and he used that strength to break the pillars of a temple, killing himself and thousands of Philistines.

Hercules is a Greco-Roman divine hero who is the son of the king of the gods, Zeus (also known as Jupiter). Hercules had incredible strength and had to carry out 12 Labors to achieve immortality. The first of these labors was to kill the Nemean Lion, who was impervious to weapons. Hercules strangled the Nemean lion and wore his hide as a cloak for the rest of his life.

The action portrayed has a biblical meaning. In the first Epistle of Peter, in the New Testament, Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” In this text, the devil is represented as a lion. Also in the New Testament, Jesus forced open the Gates of Hell, which are also known as Hellmouth, a metaphoric image often represented as the gaping mouth of a monster. In this textile, we see the man forcefully opening the lion’s resisting jaws, like Jesus opened the mouth of Hell.
Why was this made, and how was it used?

By Christopher Smith '22

This silk is weft-faced, which is a complicated technique that would have needed sophisticated technology. This makes the textile expensive and implies that only a rich patron could afford it. This textile could have been used as a curtain in a rich home or building (like a church), or as a garment, worn on special occasions. Curtains are large in size, which will catch the attention of a viewer, and if placed in front of a window, a natural light source, will capture the attention of a viewer even further. Wearing the textile as a garment would also be an effective way to show off a decorative piece like this. If worn during a ceremony, it would attract attention to the individual wearing it. We know that in England in the 13th century, King Henry III owned a textile with Samson in combat with a lion on it. Henry III later gifted his Samson textile to St. Paul's cathedral.
When was this made? By Christopher Smith '22

The textile is thought to have been made between the 7th and 9th centuries. We have a distinct indicator for the beginning of the time range, which is that it is a weft-faced textile. This pattern for weaves was introduced to Central Asia from China via the Silk Road in the early 7th century. In locating the end of the time range, we try to link this textile to other textual records, such as to industries, and comparisons with other textiles.

The textile, being made of silk (from silkworms), is organic material, so it can be carbon dated. This silk has not been carbon dated yet, but if it had been, we would have a more accurate time interval. For instance, by using the half-life of the carbon-14 isotope and measuring its quantity in a strand of the textile, we can get a confidence interval of ~95% for a range of ~100 years, and a lesser ~60% confidence interval for a range of ~30 years for example.
Where did this go? By Christopher Smith '22

This textile originated in the eastern Mediterranean region in the 7th-9th century. It is possible that the textile was transported around the Mediterranean during the time of the Crusades, from the late 11th century to the late 13th century. As the textile may have represented Samson, an Old Testament figure, it could have been kept in holy places like churches, temples, or mosques, or in the homes, castles, or palaces of the wealthy. A similar textile showing Samson was in the collection of the English king Henry III, who then donated it to St. Paul's cathedral in London.

Most recently, Holy Cross (in Worcester, Massachusetts) borrowed this silk from Dumbarton Oaks, a museum in Washington D.C. Dumbarton Oaks acquired it in 1940 as a gift from Robert Woods and Mildred Barnes Bliss, who purchased it from Giorgio Sangiorgi, an art collector from Rome, who acquired it from the Cathedral of Chur in Switzerland between 1924 and 1927.
What does this tell us about the Crusades? By Christopher Smith '22

Since Samson is an Old Testament figure, people from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths could have appreciated this religious hero and strong man, making this textile a valuable item and highly sought after during the Crusades.

Regardless of the man's identity, he represents sheer physical strength and the domination of enemies. These themes resonate with Crusaders, who would have wanted to have this textile displayed so that others would recognize them as strong, courageous, dominant, and triumphant, just like the man in the textile.
Who made this? By Christopher Smith '22

Textiles could be woven by individuals, but by this time, much of the industry relied on centralized production at a small number of sites. This silk was probably made by professionals in an urban workshop where many skilled people, who knew different techniques for weaving and dyeing, worked to make textiles.