A few years later, we read thus of the
young Squire, in Chaucer's " Canterbury
Tales'
" Embrouded was he, as it were a meede
Al ful of fresshe floures whyte and reede."
In the following century, during the reign
of Henry VI., and again in later reigns, the
importation of foreign embroideries was for-
bidden by statute.
The sixteenth century was undoubtedly
the great time for embroidered costume. King
Henry VIII. loved such magnificence, and
the monarch appears on the canvases of Hol-
bein resplendent with gold-embroidered robes.
An oil painting at Hampton Court * gives
an excellent idea of the style and use of
embroidery in this reign. The king is seated,
with his queen Katharine Parr on his left ;
next to the queen stands the Princess Eliza-
beth, and on the other side are Prince
Edward and Princess Mary.
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