What does this tell us about the crusades?
The silk was woven in the eastern Mediterranean, but the miter was constructed in Germany or Austria. The silk used for the miter may have traveled along trade routes or diplomatic channels established during the crusades. At the same time, the miter itself could have been worn during a monastic event to call support for the crusades. It is interesting that even during the thirteenth century, when the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Crusades were fought, Christian monasteries still highly valued silk made in Byzantine and Islamic lands. All of the liturgical textiles that were found in the Benedictine Church in Salzburg seem to use silk materials of Middle Eastern origin. Chertsey Abbey, where the Chertsey tiles were laid, was also Benedictine and could also have owned miters and other vestments made of Islamic or Byzantine silk.
