It has been a long while since I wrote
anything for my blog. I have been spinning yarn like mad, weaving a little,
doing some living history, teaching SCA classes, and writing 3 courses for
Pennsic 45.
I taught a class on natural dyeing at Hrim
Schola, in March 2016, which was a lot of fun. I will write a post about that
later, particularly because I will be doing a lot more natural dyeing for a
line of yarn I will be selling at farmers markets this summer.
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| Samples for my natural dyeing class at Hrim Schola, 2016 |
For Pennsic 45 I am teaching 3 courses:
e Constructive
Feedback: How to Give it and How to Take It (Aug 8th, A&S Tent 5 @ 2pm)
e Textiles of
Elizabeth de Burgh's Household (Aug. 11th, A&S Tent 3 @ 12pm)
e Motley, Checks,
and Rays: Non-Monochrome Cloth (Aug 11th, A&S Tent 3 @ 2 pm)
The last two classes are based on the
textiles found in the published household account books of Elizabeth de Burgh,
Lady of Clare[1],
the archaeological record from the same period in Europe and England, and other
visual & written records of the time. The class Textiles of Elizabeth de Burgh's Household covers what textiles were used within her
household, from cloth-of-paris, to textiles for the livery of her household, textiles
for her personal use, ecclesiastical textiles, tapestries & bedding. The class Motley,
Checks and Rays: Non-Monochrome Cloth covers how to use the household
account books and other sources in your SCA experience, from shopping to
dressing a entire household in a more period manner. This class will primarily focus on wools for
clothing which were far from the monochrome cloth we see in the SCA.
The
sources for these classes present problems for researchers. The archaeological record is literally fragmentary. We can learn about weave structure, fiber
content, and sometimes color from the small fragments that are found in
England's digs. However we cannot find the full width of the cloth, its
intended purpose, nor anything about maker or purchaser. Here the written
record and visual can fill in. In the
household account books, listings sometimes included the weaver or drapers
name, for whom the fabric was purchases, its intended use, and even the length
and width of fabric. However it often
lacks the details such as fiber content because that was simply understood by the accountants of the
time. The visual record does not give
fiber content, no weave structure, but it can show how fabrics were used.
When these sources are viewed as a
whole, we can create a reasonably complete picture of the fabrics of the large
and prosperous household of Elizabeth de Burgh.
While it is not a perfect record, short of time travel, we will never
truly have a complete picture.
What follows but one example of what we
can learn from the household account books of Elizabeth de Burgh:
"This roll contains the measure of
cloth for the livery of Lade de Burgh, 18 Edward III (1344). For the knights, 1
green cloth which measures 24 ells in length and 5.5 quarter ells in breadth
[61.875 inches]; another, striped, which measures 23 ells in length and 1 ell
in breadth....."[2]
This continues for 8 knights not listed by name.
In the year 1344, cloth was commissioned
or doled out for the livery of Elizabeth's household. I say commissioned
because the total length of fabric given out in the full 1344 listing is 2144.75
ells[3]
(2680 yards) for a very large contingent of knights, esquires, yeoman, grooms
men. clerks and ladies, pages, middle clerks and ladies, serjeants, and little
clerks. It is very likely to be impossible to simply walk into the largest
markets in London and order this much yardage in the colors and patterns listed
in the account books. Nor are prices
listed with particular listing. In other places the textiles are listed, along
with intended purpose, with purchase price including fulling. So where applicable costs are listed but not
in this case.
The other possibility is this is cloth
they had in stock, had order by commission previously. This is a very real possibility
because previous entries do list the same types of cloth with prices and
fulling costs. Additionally the end of this listing for the knights says
"Sum of cloths 8. And they contain in length 189.25 ells. And there remain
20 ells."
We can make an educated guess that this
was also wool, rather than linen, cotton, or silk. The archaeological records
support wool, wool was grown on Elizabeth de Burgh's estates in large quantities,
and most convincing, a previous entry tells us "Purchase and making of cloth
for livery.....Making 8 cloths for knights at £1 15 s each with 4 s for
shearing, £14 4s....."[4]
Although this listing is from November 1339 it lists 8 cloths for the knights
with shearing. Shearing and fulling would only be done on wool.
Further, we get this tantalizing detail
from the same November 1339 listing "Silk bought for Robert de Glemisford
for making stripes in the said cloths 9s."[5]
(Does this then mean that Robert de
Glemisford was her weaver?) The silk mentioned was used to highlight
stripes/rays of the period according to the contemporary English archaeological record. Bands made of silk and wool survive
in 12 extant examples. 5 date from the 2nd quarter of the 14th century, 7 are
from the late 14th century.[6]
The archaeological record can tell us
details about warp and weft, fiber content, weave structure, and color but can
only give us a general picture of what the textiles of Elizabeth de Burgh's
household were like because the fragments found do not directly correspond to
the textiles the written record. However
they are worth considering.....
This is but a taste of these two classes.
Come and find out more.
Handouts for all my classes will be available
online via email after Pennsic 45.
[1] Ward, Jennifer (editor and
translator), Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare (1295-1360) Household and
Other Records, Boydell Press, @2014, ISBN# 978-1-84383-891-3
[2] Ward, Jennifer (editor and
translator), Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare (1295-1360) Household and
Other Records, Boydell Press, @2014, ISBN# 978-1-84383-891-3, page 72
[3] ells are 45 inches long
[4] Ward, Jennifer (editor and
translator), Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare (1295-1360) Household and
Other Records, Boydell Press, @2014, ISBN# 978-1-84383-891-3,page 39-40
[5] Ward, Jennifer (editor and
translator), Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare (1295-1360) Household and
Other Records, Boydell Press, @2014, ISBN# 978-1-84383-891-3, page 40
[6] Crowfoot, Elizabeth Frances
Pritchard & Kay Staniland, Textiles and Clothing 1150-1450, The Boydell Press and the Museum of London,
Rochester NY, Copyright 2001, ISBN# 0-85115-840-4, page 55
