The history behind ‘The Summons’

Visitors often stop to look at our magnificent wall hanging in reception, which is entitled ‘The Summons’. This object brings together the work of William Morris, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the ancient legend of the Holy Grail.

Our wall hanging is not as old as it looks. It was made in the 1980s in Belgium by Tapisseries du Lion des Flandres. However, it is a reproduction of an older, and much bigger, original.

In 1890, William Morris’s design company Morris & Co was commissioned to create a series of tapestries for a dining room at Stanmore Hall. Six tapestries were produced, illustrating the story of the quest for the Holy Grail. The origins of the Grail legend are shrouded in mystery but, by the medieval period, many believed that drops of Jesus’ blood had been gathered in a cup at the crucifixion, and that this cup still existed. 

Needless to say, the cup was thought to have profound spiritual significance, and stories grew up around people’s attempts to find it. In 1485, Thomas Malory published Le Morte d’Arthur (The Death of Arthur), which sets out the tale of the Knights of the Round Table and their legendary quest for the Grail. These stories became very popular and still inspire people today. 

Morris and his co-designers, including Edward Burne-Jones, depicted pivotal moments in the Grail quest. Over a decade, Morris & Co produced several versions of the tapestry series. The originals were enormous; ‘The Summons’ was 5.5 metres wide! The tapestry portrays the moment when the Knights of the Round Table are summoned by a ‘strange damsel’ to embark upon the quest for the Grail. 

The subject of the Grail quest gave Morris & Co an ideal opportunity to explore one of the most central design influences behind the Arts and Crafts movement: medieval imagery. The tapestries draw upon motifs common in medieval tapestry, such as botanical imagery and heraldry.

An almost complete set of the tapestries is now held by Birmingham Museums Trust. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who loves Pre-Raphaelite art, also has a set of these wonderful tapestries.