Serge (fabric)

Serge is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both inner and outer surfaces via a two-up, two-down weave.

[4] The early association of silk serge, Greece, and France is shown by the discovery in Charlemagne's tomb of a piece of silk serge dyed with Byzantine motifs, evidently a gift from the Byzantine Imperial Court in the 8th or 9th century AD.

It also appears to refer to a form of silk twill produced in the early renaissance in or around Florence, used for clerical cassocks.

In the early 16th century it went mainly to a Royal monopoly at Calais (then an English possession) and was woven into cloth in France or the Low Countries.

However, with the French taking possession of the town during the Siege of Calais on 7 January 1558, England began expanding its own weaving industry.