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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 19 |
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
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Source: January 1981 Volume 19 Number 1, Pages 8–12 True Lover's Knot Love has been a constant strand in the threadwork of man's life style. Loved ones have always presented one another with love tokens in some form or another. St. Valentine's Day is the holiday that is closely tied to love. The customs surrounding this holiday underwent some change in America around 1760. It became the custom to give prettily written and decorated letters to one's sweetheart, instead of an expensive present. The earliest of these valentines were always handmade. The recipient of the love token always had to decipher the message or verse that was minutely written. Even though these love tokens started primarily as valentines, as time progressed, the love knots were given to sweethearts at any time of the year. It is necessary to understand the way of life during the time period that the love knots were popular. Prior to the American Revolution, the youth in America had ample free time to create exquisite handmade love letters. The young people were not distracted by the twentieth century diversions of movies, radio, television, automobiles, etc. They literally had more time for love. The villages were closely knit, with some families spending their entire life in their community. The postal system at this time was usually so expensive that only the very rich could afford to mail a letter. This meant that the majority of the love knots were delivered by hand. They were usually deposited on the sweetheart's doorstep or at the local inn. There were no envelopes as we know them today; for the most part the valentines were just folded and sealed with a dab of wax (usually red wax). If they did have to go by stagecoach, they were then wrapped in another paper and sealed with wax. The earliest love letters were simple ones. They presented an excellent taste in design. The suitor spent his free time designing and painting endless knots of love. The verses were usually composed by the young suitor; however, there were booklets (or Valentine Writers) available as early as 1723 from England) that devoted their selves to verses adaptable to the handmade valentine. By the 1840's the manufactured or printed valentine had gradually replaced the handmade ones. The true date of origin of the True Lover's Knot in America cannot be pinpointed. They were most likely brought over from Germany by the immigrants from the Rhineland and the Low Countries. It was the custom in Germany at this time to send love letters to one's sweetheart on normal sized sheets of peper that were colorfully illustrated. The love letter was called FREUNDSCHAFTSKARTEN in German speaking areas. Colorfully illuminated marriage and baptismal certificates were also utilized by the Germans. This form of illuminated manuscript, with Gothic style lettering, has become known as FRACTUR. Even though the Germans were a closely knit group, the popularity of this style of ornamentation spread throughout the colonies. The increase in popularity led to its being translated into English for mpre versatility. Many of these manuscripts that have been saved by museums originated in the Philadelphia area. The Free Library of Philadelphia has several outstanding examples of these true lover's knots. The design for the True Lover's Knot or Endless Knot of Love is a very popular one. It required that the suitor use careful, minute handwriting, scrollwork decoration, watercolor illumination, and endless messages of love, twisting around every loop of a labyrinth. The intricately drawn pen and ink love knots are brightly colored with red, blue, green, and yellow. The color of red usually predominates throughout. The decorations usually include birds, hearts, tulips, and angels, as well as minutely written messages of love. The format shows an intricate interlacing of scrollwork and stripwork, colorfully decorated in a style similar to medieval manuscripts. These love knots were primarily an expression of love; however, they were also used as proposals of marriage. The suitor would deliver the love knot to his sweetheart's doorstep. If she accepted his proposal of marriage, she kept the love knot. If, per chance, she rejected him, she returned the love knot to him. below is shown a lover's knot that was also a proposal.. It was originally designed and drawn by George Washington Lewis, of Tredyffrin township. While my reproduction of it is in black and white, the original was on parchment and hand illuminated, using the colors of red, blue, green, and yellow.
It reads: True Lover's Knot
This knot of love, which I do send In some cases, the knot was designed so that it doen!t matter where the reader starts — because the loving, tender thought meanders around and around, never ending. Here is an example: "Never ending turning round about And as thou see'st the links.and crosses here So hast thy beauty been to me a snare By the influence of true love I Find I am bereav'd both of heart and of mind So fairest creature look with pity down and do not on thy faithful servant frown But pardon him who doth thy love desire, and doth delight thy beauty to admire On no other then let thy goodness shine in beams of comfort from a face devine So that my raptured soul rais'd by thy smiles may pass to bliss forgeting all its foils This boon I ask o grant it fair one do Deny me not so now I'll bid adieu. This true loves knot to thee my dear I send Am emblem of my love without end Crossing turning winding in an out Never ending ..." etc. etc. It was a way in which the romantic suitor (or the bashful suitor, as the case may be) could say what was in his heart. The True Lover's Knot is truly a labor of love. The suitor could use his ingenuity and loving care to painstakingly create a manuscript that would be carefully read by his sweetheart. With plenty of time on hand, the youth of America in the late 1700's and early 1800's literally put his heart in his work. TopFor further reading: Chitwood, Oliver Perry, A History of Colonial America. Now York: Harper and Row, c. 1948 Earle, Alice Morse, Home Life in Colonial Days. New York: Macmillan, 1926 Hatch, Jane M., The American Book of Days. New York: Wilson, 1978 Langdon, William Chauncy, Everyday Things in American Life, 1776-1876. New York: Scribner, 1941 Lee, Ruth Webb, A History of Valentines. New York: Crowell, 1952 Staff, Frank, The Valentine and Its Origin. Washington: Praeger, 1969 Tunis, Edwin, The Tavern at the Ferry. New York: Crowell, 1973. Wright, Louis B., Everyday Life in Colonial America. New York: Putnam, 1965
Hand-illuminated prints of the true lover's knot shown on page 10 can be purchased from the author. |
