Pictures from the British Library

I've restricted my attention to those from medieval and Renaissance Europe. There are lots of other tent pictures from the Orient; try searching the British Library's Images Online database yourself. I've copied the titles, ms. numbers, origin and date from the British Library's site.

After I put this page up, the British Library reorganized its web site and moved the pictures to a different server; I've fixed the links as of 12/26/2005, but for copyright reasons I haven't copied the pictures to my own server, and it's possible that the Library will reorganize things again.

Subject	Book title	Manuscript	Origin	Date	Comments
An army pitches camp	Chanson d'Aspremont (a version of the Legend of Roland)	BL Lansdowne 782 f. 34v	France	c. 1240-1250	A pyramidal tent with center pole, small apple-core-shaped finial, and a bunch of J-shaped stakes holding the walls down. Three men are pitching the tent: one holding the center pole, one holding a guy rope that goes to the finial, and one driving stacks with a mallet. Colors dubious, but possibly white with green stripes.
Judith and Holofernes	Li livre des ansienes estoires	BL Add. 15268 f. 181	France	c. 1285	Round tent with red roof, blue walls decorated with speckles of gold and white, red checkerboard wall lining, animal finial. No visible means of support; there's one white thing that might be a perimeter pole, but there's only one, and it's not clear whether it goes all the way to the ground.
Mordred Hears of Arthur's Return	La Mort le Roi Artus	BL Add. 10294 f. 87	France	c. 1316	Several single- and double-peaked pavilions with no visible means of support; one has narrow linear decorations, and the rest are striped with bands of color. All have ball-shaped finials.
Preparations for a tournament	Roman du Roy Meliadus de Leonnoys	BL Add. 12228 f. 150	Italy (Naples)	1352-1362	One rectangular and six round pavilions in various pastel colors, most with acorn-shaped finials on short banner-poles. Two pavilions have rectangular doorways and contain horses. All pavilions have dagged valence-edges and no visible means of support.
Israelites with Moabite Women	Paduan Bible Picture Book	BL Addl. 15277 f. 51	Italy (Padua)	1350-1399	Several round tents, two showing center poles; no visible means of shoulder support. Some tent pegs visible; all have round finials, wider than they are high. Also one pup-tent/geteld partly visible, including ridge-pole and decoration on side. Picture also includes some pretty striped and fringed blankets, a coif and pink hat, a bench with legs coming through the board, and some beds.
The Capture of Don Pedro	Life of Bertrand du Guesclin	BL Yates Thompson 35 f. 246	France	c. 1400	Several single- and double-peaked pavilions with no visible means of support, but nice lacy decorations.
Alexander's camp	Le Tresor des Histoires	BL Cotton Augustus V, f. 124	France	15th century	Several single-peaked pavilions, one double-peaked; no visible means of support; most are solid-colored, with tracery decoration in gold. All have ball-shaped finials with short banner-poles.
The death of Mark Antony	Vita Antonii	BL Add. 22318, f. 44v	Italy	c. 1450	A battle scene with about eight circular tents with ball-shaped finials and dagged valences.
Ajax and Ulysses with Agamemnon	Troy Book	BL Royal 17 (or is it Royal 18?) D. II f. 128	England (London?)	c. 1455-1462	Foreground: white rectangular tent with semee of small, colored decorations, nearly-flat roof, narrow gold fringe, gold ball-shaped finials. Background: some round and some rectangular/oval tents, all white, valences with narrow gold fringe, either red or gold ball-shaped finials.
Agamemnon at council	Troy Book of John Lydgate	BL Royal 18 D. II f. 95	England (London?)	1455-1462	Foreground: King and his knights sitting under an unusual hexagonal canopy with a flat roof; white with red speckled decorations, white fringe. Background: One rectangular and 13 circular tents, all white with white fringe, red or gold spherical finials, and 3-way crow's feet at top of valence. One has visible red wall linings (and bedclothes).
A joust at St. Inglivère	Froissart's Chronicles (Vol. IV, part 1)	BL Harley 4379 f. 23v	S. Netherlands (Bruges)	1470-1475	(Parts of) three large pavilions, light red with castle-shaped rooves, blue valences with gold curlicues, white and gold(?) fringe, no visible means of support.
King of Hungary holds council	Froissart's Chronicles (Vol. IV, part 2)	BL Harley 4380 f. 84	S. Netherlands (Bruges)	1470-1475	Foreground: large rectangular tent with spike-and-ball finials, red roof with gold arch-shaped decoration, blue valence with gold leafy decoration, red-white-and-green fringe, red walls, white wall lining, millefiore hangings, no visible means of support. Background: three circular tents with ball-shaped finials and no visible means of support; one tent is red with gold curlicues, one white with green cap and valence, and one blue with red valence, gold decorations on roof, valence, and walls.
Richard II meets his child bride, Isabel of France	Froissart's Chronicles (Vol. IV, part 2)	BL Harley 4380 f. 89	S. Netherlands (Bruges)	1470-1475	Two round tents with no visible means of support: one red with green lining, valence decorated azure, fleur-de-lis Or, red-white-and-green fringe, roof and walls decorated with gold arch-shapes; one green with red lining, valence decorated gules, lions Or, red-white-and-blue fringe, roof decorated with gold arch-shapes.
Nature appears in author's dream	Chemin de Vaillance	BL Royal 14 E. II f. 1	S. Netherlands (Bruges)	c. 1473-1483	Solid red single-peaked pavilion, tracery decorations in gold, lined with blue, also decorated in gold. Narrow valence, also red with gold decorations. Allegorical figure.
Discovery of body of Holofernes	Bible Historiale of Edward IV	BL Royal 15 D. I, f. 76v	S. Netherlands (Bruges)	c. 1479	Several single- and double-peaked tents, solid pastel colors, some with narrow decorations. Valences either solid colors or gold-decorated; walls staked to ground; no visible guy lines; sharp peaks, some with ball-shaped finials.
Design for a royal pavilion		BL Cotton Augustus III, f. 11	S. Netherlands	before 1520	An enormous tent with sixteen single- and double-peaked bodies connected by passages, held in place by dozens of guy-lines. Solid dark blue, with lacy decoration in gold, ridges and finials in gold, valences or fringes alternating Tudor green and white. Said to be for Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.
Another design for a royal pavilion		BL Cotton Augustus III, f. 18	S. Netherlands	before 1520	An enormous tent with four rectangular sections connected by galleries, with ten circular chambers on the sides, held in place by dozens of guy-lines. Red with gold decorations, gold ridge decorations, various royal beasts as finials, light-colored valences or fringes. Said to be for Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.
A third design for a royal pavilion		BL Cotton Augustus III, f. 19	S. Netherlands	before 1520	An enormous tent with two large oval sections connected by several galleries and oval cross-pieces, held in place by dozens of guy-lines. Green and white striped, with ridges and finials in gold, valences or fringes alternating green and red. Said to be for Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.