Med-Lighting-lnks – 4/2/04
A set of web links to information on medieval lighting by Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon.
NOTE: See also the files: glass-bib, glass-lnks, lighting-msg, flt-wick-lmps-art, lamps-msg, candles-msg, candlesticks-msg, firestarting-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
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Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: Lis <liontamr at ptd.net>
Date: Mon Feb 23, 2004 7:29:31 PM US/Central
To: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
Subject: LINKS: Medieval Lighting
Greetings everyone!
This week's Links List is about Medieval Lighting. It's another one of those
searches on the 'net that produces a lot of junk! This week's search
comprised about 5 hours of wading through advertisements for electric and
wrought iron lamps in a "medieval" style. I won't tell you how many hits I
found for retailers that claimed to stock medieval lamps which were, in
fact, little dragon lamps which spout flame out their mouths via a wick and
lamp oil. I lost count after the first hour. Not that I have anything
against dragons, per se, but someone needs to get the word out that dragons
were not...brace yourself...real :), at least in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance! Sadly, I found no evidence that flame-shooting dragon oil lamps
were the rage anywhere in history throughout our period of study.
Below you will find a number of links on the subject of lighting in the REAL
Middle Ages and Renaissance, as opposed to the fairy-tale version. Feel
free to pass this list along wherever it will find a ready and interested
audience. This Links list is dedicated to my apprentice, Julianna de
Roselaire, who was looking for an indication of size so she could reproduce
a ceramic oil lamp accurately.
Cheers
Aoife
Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon
Riverouge
Aethelmearc
Medieval and Renaissance Lighting: Candlesticks, Candelabras, and
Chandeliers
http://www.geocities.com/karen_larsdatter/candleholders.htm
Site is comprised of a list of links that cover the subject, especially
extant examples.
Let There Be Light! Or, How do You See in the Dark Ages (By: Keith R. Doms,
Garth of Wessex as posted in the Winter '99 Plague)
http://www.markland.org/lettherebelight.php
(Site excerpt) There are six types of lighting devices that I will discuss
here. They are; candles, torches, splinters and rush lights, lamps,
lanterns, and fire baskets. Candles were made most commonly with tallow and
less commonly with beeswax. Torches were made from one or more pieces of
resinous woods or treated lengths of rope. Splinters, narrow splits of wood,
were commonly made of Boxwood, Birch, and Pine. Rushlights were stripped and
treated pieces of soft rush. Lamps were made of glass, ceramic, metal, or
stone. Lamps commonly burned a variety of oils but could also house candles.
Sea birds such as the Great Awk and Stormy Petrel were used around the
Shetlands and Hebrides, contain much fat and were used like a lamp by simply
inserting a wick of dried moss down the throat of dead specimen and lit.
Medieval Lighting
A set of guides by Master Bedwyr Danwyn
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~tif/lighting/lightingindex.html
A great page, though not yet finished. Contains a list of links of an
informative nature, such as:
Where Was Such Lighting Used?
When Were Such Lights Used?
How Were Oil Lamps Used?
How Were Candles Used?
How Were Wicks Made?
What About Candlesticks?
Lighting Bibliography
working with natural oils
working with tallow
working with beeswax
See also: Working with rushlights
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~tif/lighting/rushlights.html
A History of Light and Lighting
http://www.mts.net/~william5/history/hol.htm
Though this site contains a lot of information, you'll have to wade through
some non-pertinent stuff as well.
Medieval Lamp (AD 1300, Prag, Czech Republic)
http://www.northerner.com/products/scg136.html
(Site Excerpt) Manufactured mainly in Bohemia (todays Czeck Republic) in the
14th century. This is a Replica of a oil lamp that was found in a garbage
well in Prag, Czeck Republic. The medieval glasslamps was originally used as
oil lamps, which was filled with oil, hanging from the ceiling.
Museum Surplus
http://www.museumsurplus.com/MedievalAntiquitiesPAGE1.htm
Three examples of historic oil lamps are pictured, beginning halfway down
The page.
Candle History Copyright © 1997 - 2003 Bob Sherman
http://www.craftcave.com/candle/history.shtml
(Site Excerpt) Necessity is the mother of invention and early candles
sometimes took rather bizarre forms to utilize available resources. The use
of, and improvements to candles has paralleled mans ascent from the stone
age. There is no historical record of the first candles used by man, however
clay candle holders dating from the fourth century B.C. have been found in
Egypt. Early Chinese and Japanese candles were made with wax derived from
insects and seeds molded in paper tubes. Wax skimmed from boiling cinnamon
was the basis of tapers for temple use in India.
Illuminous Times (Text copyright the National Candle Association)
http://www.illuminous-times.com/candle-history.php
(Site Excerpt) Like the early Egyptians, the Romans relied on tallow,
gathered from cattle or sheep suet, as the principal ingredient of candles.
It was not until the Middle Ages when beeswax, a substance secreted by honey
bees to make their honeycombs, was introduced. Beeswax candles were a marked
improvement over those made with tallow, for they did not produce a smoky
flame, or emit an acrid odor when burned. Instead, beeswax candles burned
pure and clean. However, they were expensive, and, therefore, only the
wealthy could afford them.
Recommended Library for Lighting Enthusiasts
http://www.rushlight.org/library.html
(Site Excerpt) The following books offer a good start for your lighting
research. Some of the books may be out of print. However, the list includes
books for many interests...General Reference, Candle, Whale
Oil/Kerosene/BurningFluid ,Railroad, Miners, Miniatures, Gas, Electric,
Matchsafes, Miscellaneous
The Evolution of Oil Lamps
http://www.ancientlamp.com/evol.html
(Site Excerpt--brief info.) The true spout is thought to have first appeared
in Greece in the 5th century BC. The earliest examples have a true closed
spout, but still have an open bowl-like body. By this time Greece had
superseded Palestine as a major producer of oil lamps, and with the spread
of Hellenistic influence, methods of lamp production rapidly changed.
Oil Lamp from the Iron Age Period
Picture and brief caption
Ancient Oil Lamps
http://www.bible-history.com/ancient_oil_lamps/index.html
(Site Excerpt--info mostly pre-period) The King James Version of the Bible
translates the word for lamp "candlesticks," but that is not an accurate
translation because in ancient world they did not use candles. Even the
seven branches on the menorah within the Tabernacle and the Temple were
actually lamps that held olive oil and wicks. Ancient lamps were oval
shaped, and flat on top. They actually had small bowls on one end, with the
other end pinched real tight which formed a groove to hold the cotton or
flax wick. One end of the wick would even float in the olive oil. Some of
the lamps had a lid over the bowl. They were usually made of clay, but the
more expensive lamps were made of bronze and sometimes even of gold. Some of
these were very beautiful and would contain very elaborate decorations, many
Roman lamps had images of their gods
HISTORY OF LIGHTING TRACED BY SCIENCE Smithsonian Institute copyright July
9, 1927 By Marjorie MacDill
http://americanhistory.si.edu/scienceservice/025066.htm
(Site Excerpt) "The link in the chain of lamps from the Roman period to the
period of enlightened invention is the Italian lucerna , the most beautiful
and graceful lamp ever designed." says Dr. Hough. "The lucerna is made of
bronze, brass, or terra cotta, and consists of a reservoir with from two to
four spouts and an upright stem with a base on which the perforated
reservoir can be raised or lowered. When the reservoir is full there is a
slight cavity head on the oil, not conclusively intentional, but which might
suggest an improvement to an observing mind.
Life in a Medieval Castle
http://www.castlewales.com/life.html
(Site Excerpt--briefly touches on the subject) Lighting was by rushlights or
candles, of wax or tallow (melted animal fat), impaled on vertical spikes or
an iron candlestick with a tripod base...
Books on Early Lighting
http://www.msinfobooks.com/hwxlamp.html
A large selection, some do not cover the Medieval/Renaissance period of
study.
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