Scientific analysis of a medieval silk garment preserved at Canterbury Cathedral has revealed that it was once decorated with gold. The discovery could also challenge the long-held belief that the luxury textile was produced in Spain, pointing instead to connections extending much farther across the medieval world.
Researchers made the discovery while examining a surviving fragment of the dalmatic of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1193 until his death in 1205. A dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved ecclesiastical garment, and Walter’s example is among the important medieval textiles preserved in the Canterbury Cathedral Archives.
Today, the metal decoration incorporated into the textile appears dull grey. Scientific examination, however, has confirmed the presence of gold, revealing that the garment would originally have looked considerably more striking. Gold once highlighted the heads and feet of birds woven into the patterned silk.
Medieval silk textile at Canterbury Cathedral. Photo by Amanda Luyster.
The presence of gold is not the only discovery to emerge from the analysis. Researchers are also examining the unusual technique used to apply the metal to the fabric.
According to Canterbury Cathedral, the technique could challenge the traditional identification of the textile as a Spanish product. Researchers now believe there is a strong possibility that the silk originated considerably farther afield, although further investigation will be needed before its place of manufacture can be established.
Such questions are at the centre of the Whose Past? project, which is investigating imported patterned silks that survive from medieval Britain. These luxury fabrics could travel enormous distances before reaching churches, monasteries and other institutions in Britain, connecting them with textile-producing regions in Spain, Byzantium and the Islamic world.
Researchers are combining several methods to investigate the surviving fabrics, including analysis of their iconography and weaving techniques as well as scientific study of dyes and metal threads. Their aim is to establish where and when individual pieces were manufactured and to better understand the networks through which these valuable materials reached medieval Britain.
Hubert Walter’s dalmatic offers an especially intriguing example. Walter was one of the most powerful figures in late twelfth- and early thirteenth-century England. In addition to serving as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was Justiciar of England under Richard I and later Chancellor under King John. Following his death in 1205, Walter was buried at Canterbury Cathedral.
His surviving vestments therefore provide researchers with a rare opportunity to examine the luxury textiles associated with one of medieval England’s leading political and ecclesiastical figures.
Medieval silks at Canterbury
Researchers from the Whose Past? project working at Canterbury Cathedral. Photo by Amanda Luyster.
Walter’s dalmatic was only one of the objects examined during the research team’s visit. The researchers also studied Canterbury Cathedral’s collection of medieval silk seal bags.
These small textile pouches were used to protect wax seals attached to documents. Canterbury preserves what the Cathedral describes as the largest known medieval collection of seal bags in Europe.
Although considerably smaller and less imposing than an archbishop’s ceremonial garment, such objects can provide important evidence about the movement and reuse of valuable textiles. Even relatively small surviving pieces can reveal connections between medieval Britain and distant centres of textile production.
The research forms part of a multi-year collaboration led by the College of the Holy Cross in partnership with The National Archives. The project is examining surviving patterned imported silks from medieval British contexts, including church treasuries, archives and burials. Its findings are expected to contribute to a conference planned for the summer of 2028, followed by a publication.
For researchers, these surviving pieces of silk offer evidence for the international connections that shaped material culture in medieval Britain.
Dr. Amanda Luyster, FSA, Lead Investigator of Whose Past? and Associate Professor at College of the Holy Cross, explained, “The Medieval world was often much more expansive, cosmopolitan, and dynamic than we imagine – and textiles associated with Canterbury, from the Bayeux tapestry to Hubert Walter’s dalmatic to a seal bag only a few inches wide, help us to see these historical realities more clearly.”
Further analysis of the Canterbury textiles could help determine where Walter’s dalmatic was produced and explain the unusual technique used to incorporate its gold decoration. The results may ultimately provide a clearer picture of the long-distance networks through which some of the most luxurious fabrics of the medieval world reached England.
Top Image: The dalmatic of Archbishop Hubert Walter (c. 1160-1205) at Canterbury Cathedral. Photo by Amanda Luyster.
Scientific analysis of a medieval silk garment preserved at Canterbury Cathedral has revealed that it was once decorated with gold. The discovery could also challenge the long-held belief that the luxury textile was produced in Spain, pointing instead to connections extending much farther across the medieval world.
Researchers made the discovery while examining a surviving fragment of the dalmatic of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1193 until his death in 1205. A dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved ecclesiastical garment, and Walter’s example is among the important medieval textiles preserved in the Canterbury Cathedral Archives.
Today, the metal decoration incorporated into the textile appears dull grey. Scientific examination, however, has confirmed the presence of gold, revealing that the garment would originally have looked considerably more striking. Gold once highlighted the heads and feet of birds woven into the patterned silk.
The discovery was made during a five-day investigation at Canterbury Cathedral by an international team of art historians and heritage scientists working on Whose Past? An Exploration of Imported Patterned Silks in Medieval Britain.
Rethinking the origins of the silk
The presence of gold is not the only discovery to emerge from the analysis. Researchers are also examining the unusual technique used to apply the metal to the fabric.
According to Canterbury Cathedral, the technique could challenge the traditional identification of the textile as a Spanish product. Researchers now believe there is a strong possibility that the silk originated considerably farther afield, although further investigation will be needed before its place of manufacture can be established.
Such questions are at the centre of the Whose Past? project, which is investigating imported patterned silks that survive from medieval Britain. These luxury fabrics could travel enormous distances before reaching churches, monasteries and other institutions in Britain, connecting them with textile-producing regions in Spain, Byzantium and the Islamic world.
Researchers are combining several methods to investigate the surviving fabrics, including analysis of their iconography and weaving techniques as well as scientific study of dyes and metal threads. Their aim is to establish where and when individual pieces were manufactured and to better understand the networks through which these valuable materials reached medieval Britain.
Hubert Walter’s dalmatic offers an especially intriguing example. Walter was one of the most powerful figures in late twelfth- and early thirteenth-century England. In addition to serving as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was Justiciar of England under Richard I and later Chancellor under King John. Following his death in 1205, Walter was buried at Canterbury Cathedral.
His surviving vestments therefore provide researchers with a rare opportunity to examine the luxury textiles associated with one of medieval England’s leading political and ecclesiastical figures.
Medieval silks at Canterbury
Walter’s dalmatic was only one of the objects examined during the research team’s visit. The researchers also studied Canterbury Cathedral’s collection of medieval silk seal bags.
These small textile pouches were used to protect wax seals attached to documents. Canterbury preserves what the Cathedral describes as the largest known medieval collection of seal bags in Europe.
Although considerably smaller and less imposing than an archbishop’s ceremonial garment, such objects can provide important evidence about the movement and reuse of valuable textiles. Even relatively small surviving pieces can reveal connections between medieval Britain and distant centres of textile production.
The research forms part of a multi-year collaboration led by the College of the Holy Cross in partnership with The National Archives. The project is examining surviving patterned imported silks from medieval British contexts, including church treasuries, archives and burials. Its findings are expected to contribute to a conference planned for the summer of 2028, followed by a publication.
For researchers, these surviving pieces of silk offer evidence for the international connections that shaped material culture in medieval Britain.
Dr. Amanda Luyster, FSA, Lead Investigator of Whose Past? and Associate Professor at College of the Holy Cross, explained, “The Medieval world was often much more expansive, cosmopolitan, and dynamic than we imagine – and textiles associated with Canterbury, from the Bayeux tapestry to Hubert Walter’s dalmatic to a seal bag only a few inches wide, help us to see these historical realities more clearly.”
Further analysis of the Canterbury textiles could help determine where Walter’s dalmatic was produced and explain the unusual technique used to incorporate its gold decoration. The results may ultimately provide a clearer picture of the long-distance networks through which some of the most luxurious fabrics of the medieval world reached England.
Top Image: The dalmatic of Archbishop Hubert Walter (c. 1160-1205) at Canterbury Cathedral. Photo by Amanda Luyster.
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