Author Archives: Ruth

Tablet weaving

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Ruth

There was another kind of weaving that was generally done as a home craft. It didn’t produce swathes or bolts of fabric, but its importance can’t be downplayed. In tablet weaving, also called card weaving, the weaver’s quick hands produced … Continue reading →

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Weaving with wool

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Ruth

Home and commercial weavers in medieval Europe were mostly working with linen and wool. Cotton and silk weren’t woven in Europe until the late Middle Ages, so we’ll talk about them later. When linen was woven, it was pretty much … Continue reading →

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Medieval weaving

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Ruth

In the early Middle Ages, most weaving was done at home for the family’s own use. By the late period, most weaving was commercial, carried out as a full-time craft by professionals. The key shift was in equipment cost, and … Continue reading →

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Medieval cloth: linen

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Ruth

Linen was Europe’s native plant fiber. FLax grew in every region; it’s a field grass with little blue flowers. Flax seeds are edible and very nutritious, but Europe’s chief interest was in the fibers running along the inside of each … Continue reading →

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The rude garb of barbarians

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Ruth

On the other extreme from the urbane Mediterranean Byzantines were the tribes drifting in from the Central Asian plain. Asia birthed several waves of people who took turns pushing each other into Europe: first the Germans (Goths, Franks, Burgundians, Vandals, … Continue reading →

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More about Byzantium

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Ruth

Constantinople, or Byzantium, was a city unlike any other in the medieval world. Modern equivalents don’t spring to mind, though perhaps readers will spot one. The city was walled and inbred to a high degree. Geography shaped its character. Surrounded … Continue reading →

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Byzantine clothing fashion

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Ruth

We know the culture of Constantinople mainly through its own art, especially wall and floor mosaics that lasted through time. We don’t seem to have many images, certainly not as many as from later medieval Europe, but what we have … Continue reading →

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The Fall of Roman clothing

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Ruth

The “Middle Ages” period is defined as the time after Roman hegemony centered in Rome itself. After Rome was overrun by Goths and ceased to control its empire, Constantinople was called the New Rome or Eastern Rome. Its cultural domination … Continue reading →

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Modern European cooking begins

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Ruth

1400: firewood is scarcer than ever, with just one iron forge using up to 100 oak trees per year. Wild game animals are hoarded by aristocrats on their shrinking forest estates (parks). But beer is flowing, with a surplus of … Continue reading →

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Side note: Jews and the Black Death

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Ruth

Why did Jews get targeted during the plague? Here’s what happened (copied from FB comments string on “The Great Mortality” post): By this time, England and northern France had expelled their Jewish populations. Jews lived in Spain, southern France (Marseille … Continue reading →

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