Sunday, December 14, 2014

Research Dump: No. 5

This may be the last of the posts on this blog...or not.  I haven't decided.  Anyways, I'm giving a shift to WordPress a try.  My plan is to publish on both for a time, and see which I prefer.  If you have a preference as a reader, please, let me know.
The shift will be to http://matsukazeworkshops.wordpress.com.



7th Century Frankish. 10 9/16ths inches long. The Morgan Scramasax.
The studs are interesting...made of a copper alloy, I would assume that they were part of the sheath
http://metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/465692?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=%2A&when=A.D.+500-1000&what=Copper%7CArms&pos=8


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A Bibliography of Pattern Books in the 16th Century
Exactly that, including free PDFs of period embroidery pattern books.
http://home.comcast.net/~mathilde/embroidery/bibpatbk.htm

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Feasting and Drinking: Proverbs in Early Sixteenth-Century Woodcut Illustrations

Interesting...but ewww.

Proverbs and proverbial expressions addressing peasant festivals are sprinkled throughout German printed books and pamphlets of the early sixteenth century within the context of peasant festivals. Johannes Agricola, for example, described the frequency and popularity of kermis/Kirchweih in his book of proverbs from 1530: 'There is novillage so small that it does not have a kermis once a year' ("Es ist kain dorH1ein so klain/es wirdt des jars einmal kirchweyhe darjnnen"), and 'Germans go together to church festivals four, five villages at a time, [and] as it [sic] happens only once a year,
it is praiseworthy and honorable, because people are created for that purpose, to live friendly and honorably together.'
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=artfacpub&sei

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Was Steenstrup Right? A New Interpretation of the 16th Century
Sea Monk of the Øresund
How very bizarre! A paper discussing the possible identities of a strange creature--dubbed "The Sea Monk"--which washed up on a beach in 1550.
...
http://www.zmuc.dk/…/JOURN…/PDF/Vol29-1/Paxton%26Holland.pdf

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DEGRADATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS
A book discussing the above--the effect of the environment and soil on various types of remains.
https://www.academia.edu/1971368/Degradation_of_archaeological_remains


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Early medieval textile remains from settlements in the Netherlands. An evaluation of textile production.

 Many fragments of archaeological textiles have been found in the Netherlands during the last century. This article focuses on the way these textiles were made and used. How and where were textiles and clothes made and by ...
whom? Was cloth production already a practice of specialists, acting in an extensive trade network, or was it a craft that mainly took place at the household level? To answer these questions 440 fragments of 265 different textiles, from 31 sites have been examined. Without exception these textiles were discovered in settlement context, mostly in the north of the country. The analysis of the remnants has resulted in the distinction of the different steps in the production process and insight in the way the textile products were used. The results show that many textiles are likely to have been produced at a household level. Only in a few cases were they made using special skills and tools or did the production process require much time. Some products, such as the finer fabrics, the fine needlework on several hats, fabrics with a raised nap, piled weaves and a veil-like garment, may be considered as the work of textile specialists. In this article it is argued that these specialists were either working for a patron or in an independent workshop.http://www.jalc.nl/cgi/t/text/get-pdffb8f.pdf?c=jalc%3Bidno%3D0201a02
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FABRICS IN MEDIEVAL DRESS IN POMERANIA

In Pomerania, there is a large number of archaeological sites of medieval provenance where textiles were found among other kinds of manmade objects. The material has been identified and thoroughly exa...mined from the technological point of view and the finds have been presented in numerous publications. The boundaries of the region referred to as Pomerania need to be precisely established here. Because of the relatively broad chronological range of the present paper, including the entire medieval period, the territory marked by natural boundaries seems to be the most adequate point of reference. Thus the region lies on the south shore of the Baltic Sea and stretches out as far as the line of swamps and marshes of the Warta and Noteć rivers. The eastern limits of the region are marked by the Vistula River and it borders on the Oder River in the west.http://www.rcin.org.pl/iae/Content/22988/WA308_35561_PIII348_FABRICS-IN-MEDIEVAL_I.pdf

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MEDIEVAL NOVGOROD LEATHER

A selection of images of leather goods found from medieval Novgorod.

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/novgorodleatherp.html

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Staraya (Old) Russa: archaeological investigations of the medieval town.

A paper discussing the history of the excavation, and offering a number of photographs of pieces from the finds. 
http://www.novsu.ru/file/995376

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FROM FLAX TO LINEN IN THE MEDIEVAL RUS LANDS

https://www.academia.edu/859238/From_Flax_to_Linen_in_the_Medieval_Rus_Lands

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 Warp Weighted Looms: Then and Now: Anglo-Saxon and Viking Archaeological Evidence and Modern Practitioners

https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:229035&datastreamId=FULL-TEXT.PDF

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Fabulous beasts—leather, silk and gold: recent research on and conservation of 12th century footwear from the episcopal tombs in Trèves Cathedral.

http://www.viks.sk/chk/14tmh_90.doc


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GUIDE TO VIKING TURNSHOES
A run through of the basic process of creating your own pair of turnshoes.  It does not really cover patterns, but rather, how to measure and make your pattern, then construct the shoes.

http://www.aidan-campbell.co.uk/PDFs/Guide%20to%20Viking%20turnshoes.pdf   

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MEDIEVAL LEATHER DYING
An article quoting a late period treatise that included dying leather.

http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/leather/ld.html 

Monday, December 1, 2014

14th Century Women's Hood: Documentation

Finished Hood.

Garment Description:
This piece is a 14th Century woman’s open hood, in a style appropriate for the early to mid 1300s.  This style of hood—rather than pulling on over the head as earlier and men’s versions do—buttons up the front, allowing it to be worn open in warmer weather, often folded back.  It is a fairly standard liripipe hood design—fairly fitted and having a short mantle, with a tail (the liripipe) running from the back of the hood.
 

The find and sources:
I decided to not duplicate a period piece for this project.  However, much of my inspiration came from the London Hood, which I patterned the construction off of[i].  In addition, some of the dimensions (most notably the circumference of the hem) and construction is from the Greenland find.  While mid century examples tend to be shorter and tighter than earlier ones, I also took the colder climate into consideration—upon discussing this project with another apprentice--, I tried to design the hood so that the mantle would cover the neckline of the recipient’s dresses in cold weather.
 
 
Pieces of the Garment:
The construction is fairly simple, being only four pieces (times two, if you count the flat-lining).  These consist of: the main body, which is roughly rectangular, with pieces missing for shaping (removed from under the chin, and rounding in at the back of the head); two gores which are set above each shoulder; and a liripipe.  Looking at period examples[ii] you can see that the liripipe is usually cut as a separate piece from the main hood.