The origin of lace is difficult to locate in both time and place. Some authors assume that the manufacturing of lace started ever since the Ancient Rome, but firm evidence there are only since the 15th century, when Charles V decreed that lace making was to be taught in the schools and convents of the Belgian provinces. Actually the lace was designed to replace embroidery in a manner that could easily transform the dresses, the lace could be unsewn from one material to be replaced on another. In the late 16th century there was a rapid development in the field of lace, used in both fashion and home décor. Flanders maintained an active exchange with Italy, so that it wasn't unnatural that, at the time, laces were known and made in Flanders. Its linen was superior to other countries of Europe, so the Flemish exported great quantity, and finer then any other part of Europe. Spinning flax threads and weaving fine textiles is closely associated with the early commercial history of this region, and when the progress of manufactures was endangered by the religious persecutions of the 16th century, is said that the linen trade have saved the country from ruin.
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