Baldachin

"Baldachin" was originally a luxurious type of cloth from Baghdad, from which name the word is ultimately derived, appearing in English as "baudekin" and other spellings.

Matthew Paris records that Henry III of England wore a robe "de preciosissimo baldekino" at a ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 1247.

[5] In a 15th-century manuscript illumination the sovereign Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in Rhodes sits in state to receive a presentation copy of the author's book.

Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII in her portrait by an anonymous artist, c. 1500 prays under a canopy of estate; one can see the dosser against the gilded leather wall-covering and the tester above her head (the Tudor rose at its centre) supported on cords from the ceiling.

In the summer of 1520, a meeting was staged between Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England, where the ostentatious display of wealth and power earned the meeting-place the name of The Field of Cloth of Gold.

When Mary, Queen of Scots, was a prisoner in England at Tutbury Castle in 1585 she protested to her keepers Amias Paulet and John Somers about the removal of her cloth of estate from a dining room, which seemed to be a slight against her royal status.

Louis XIV developed the rituals of receptions in his state bedchamber, the petit lever to which only a handful of his court élite might expect to be invited.

The other monarchs of Europe soon imitated his practice; even his staunchest enemy, William III of England, had his "grooms of the bedchamber", a signal honour.

The queens of France spent a great deal of time in their chambre, where they received the ladies of the court at the morning lever and granted private audiences.

[14] Such canopies might be made of anything from muslin to heavy brocade, or even constructed of less flexible materials, and are supported by poles, whether affixed to a carriage, or carried by people walking on each side.

In Spanish Holy Week processions the sculptures of Virgin Mary, shown as Queen of Sorrow, use to go on their floats under canopies with embroideries Madr with gold or silver yarn The surname Baldacchino comes from the artisans who used to make the Baldachin.