Medieval Tin-Glazed Painted Tiles in North-West Europe

ALL OF THE KNOWN medieval tin-glazed tiles from NW. Europe beyond the Mediterranean littoral are discussed. They appear first c. 1290 in the Toulouse region and 14th-century examples are known from scattered sites in southern France, from the lower Loire valley and SE. Brittany, and from Flanders and Holland, with related material in Hamburg and East Anglia. The tiles are generally painted in green and brown and were locally produced. There is extensive documentation for the manufacture of such tiles for the Duke of Burgundy's chateau at Hesdin in French Flanders in the 1390s, and documentary evidence also records two Spanish tilers working for the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Berry at Dijon and Poitiers in the 1380s. Extant fragments from these sites and from Bourges and Mehun-sur-Yièvre include for the first time some with designs painted in blue. There is as yet no evidence for the continuing production of tin-glazed tiles in any of these areas during the 15th century or for locally-produced tin-glazed pottery before the late 15th or 16th century.