Musée des beaux-arts de Chartres (2002), Tresors de la Cathédrale de Chartres. Chartres: Musée des beaux-arts.
ISBN: 2-902549-31-8.

I've scanned the images of the Royal armour of Charles V and his son Charles VI and you can see those at my web site: http://www.mallet-argent.com/chartres.html

I'm currently getting the text translated and will be putting that up as well. The text below came from a lady on the aotc [age of the coathardie] email list and provides some interesting material. Espically the construction details of the body and sleeves of the cote. Enjoy.

-Chuck
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I've been reading the pages posted by Cad in the files section (files>Chartres Research>p. 6, 7, 8) and thought the group might be interested I what I've found. My French is limited so the following is a paraphrase. Notes in brackets are my personal observations. The page numbers foll those of Cad's file and not the book.

p. 6- An overview of the pourpoint- it is of kermes dyed Italian silk of the second half of the 14th century, linen, and cotton wadding. Pintard says there was originally an oval appliqued patch embroidered with a gold lion's mouth holding a silver gilt buckle on the left breast. Cripps-Day and Pintard mention associated artifacts (now missing) which could have helped date the piece.

p. 7- Technical study- the pourpoint was closely examined during its 2000 restoration. [by Isabelle Bedat] The stitching and padding lines taper evenly from the shoulders to the waist and flare out again (echoing the side seams) with a central vertical axis of the center front and center back. The front has 27 buttons- 1 flat, 11 spherical on the padded part, then 15 flat. The one piece sleeves have a back seam and the stitching is straight rather than following the curved shape of the sleeve. The wrist openings are damaged and the original finish is unknown. The indentations of the wavy hem do not correspond to the lines of the quilting.

The body is made of four pieces- two in the front and two in the back. Each part is constructed of seven thicknesses of textiles in
two layers. The exterior layer is made of four thicknesses- silk, linen, cotton padding, and linen- sewn with running stitch in red
silk. The interior layer is made of three thicknesses (linen-cotton-linen) sewn with running stitch in beige linen thread. The two layers are joined at the shoulder, side and back seams and along the outer edges. [Bedat is irritatingly vague about how this is accomplished.] The quilting of the sleeves is different. They are made of six thicknesses: silk-linen-cotton-linen-cotton-linen. Silk stitching goes through the outer four thicknesses and linen stitching is worked through the inner three thicknesses so that the central layer of linen is stitched with both threads and the whole sleeve is one unit.

The buttons are sewn on the edge of the right front with twisted red silk thread. The buttonholes are stitched with the same silk thread in buttonhole stitch along the left side. An interior flap was added to protect against drafts. The buttonholes are in good shape compared to the buttons. The spherical buttons are abraded and the red dyed wool covering the hard (possibly wood) core can be seen. The flat buttons are dense but don't have a core.

There are some slits on the left side which are considered to be later additions because the stitching is much cruder compared to that of the buttonholes. Remnants of the appliqué stitching (which is original) can be seen.

The red Italian silk lampas is patterned with birds in wreaths and garlands of leafy stems. [A footnote gives technical details of the silk.]

There are a limited number of similar medieval quilted garments which have been published: the sleeve of St. Martin (1160-1270), the pourpoint of Charles of Blois (1370s), and the jupon of the Black Prince (d. 1376). The poor state of preservation and lack of information makes comparisons difficult.

p. 8 The Chartres garment most resembles that worn by Jean de Vaudetar in his presentation to Charles V from 1372.

That this was a luxury garment is evident not just from the fine workmanship but from the use of the precious dye kermes.

p.9 A description of the state of the pourpoint before conservation with notes about the 1960 conservation. Where the silk was damaged it was mounted onto modern silk taffeta dyed to match and slid in place between the linen and the lampas. The spherical buttons were covered with crepeline. The garment was lightly cleaned and mounted on a padded dummy made to fit.

Some notes of interest: The technical study was written by Isabelle Bedat and "S.D." . [Cad, who's S.D.? the name should be in your book.] Bedat notes her conservation study in her bibliography, but it is listed as a manuscript. The sleeve of St Martin was published in 1997 and a footnote observes that it was a sophisticated cut made of six thicknesses reducing to one at the wrist. There's also a 1997 CIETA Bulletin article by Odile Blanc about the Chartres pourpoint. Some of the words Bedat uses to describe the quilting and padding are associated in my old dictionary with the upholstery and mattress making trades rather than quilting in the modern bedcovering sense.

I have a recollection that padded cotes were describe as being of three fingers thickness and many reenactors have been frustrated trying to hand quilt through so many layers. Here are a couple of period solutions: use multiple layers of quilted material or add successive layers one atop the other to the desired thickness. Much easier, eh?

Regards, Clare

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-Chuck Davis