cotton-msg - 1/16/08 Period cotton cloth. NOTE: See also these files: linen-msg, silk-msg, textiles-msg, cotton-art, fabric-ident-msg, velvet-msg, spinning-msg, weaving-msg, fabric-SCA-msg. ************************************************************************ 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 I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: foxd at silver.ucs.indiana.edu (daniel fox) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Period Velvet? Date: 14 Jun 1996 06:11:57 GMT Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington Actually you can tell them the cotton comes from Italy. See: Mazzaoui, Maureen Fennell, _The Italian Cotton Industry in the Later Middle Ages:1100-1600._ Audelindis Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 10:06:34 EST From: <SNSpies at aol.com> To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu, h-needlework at ansteorra.org, h-costume at indra.com Subject: Cotton in a European grave In the recent issue of "Archaeological Textiles Newsletter," (ATN 27, Autumn 1998, 12-14) Penelope Walton Rogers writes about "Cotton in a Merovingian Burial in Germany." She points out that cotton rarely enters the picture for European textile researchers and when it does, it usually can be dismissed as a modern contaminant. However, in this case, the identification of cotton comes from a secure context in a Merovingian burial dated to the end of the 5th century, so it is therefore of rather exceptional interest. The cotton is a Z-spun thread which was used to quilt some sort of garment or cover which was made from a wool diamond twill with a padded backing. This textile was found over the whole length of a woman's body in a coffin burial in the Merovingian cemetery at Lauchheim/Ostalbkreis in Baden-Wuerttemberg. She concludes that the presence of this cotton thread suggests some far- reaching link with the eastern Mediterranean or western Asia. It is at present unknown whether the textile arrived in Germany already quilted with the cotton thread or whether the thread arrived in Germany on its own and was then used to quilt the textile. It is also unknown whether it was unpicked from another textile, but further research should answer these questions. Ingvild/Nancy Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 12:35:23 -0500 From: capriest at cs.vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman) To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Cotton in a European grave Daveed wrote: >Wouldn't such a >thread and/or cloth have been available through Roman trade routes across >the Med with Egypt? Upper Egypt did produce some textiles woven of indigenous cotton. However, if a cotton textile was purchased during that period in Egypt, then it was mostly likely that its cotton fibers themselves originated in India. From a very early date India had a lively trade relationship in both raw fiber and finished cotton goods with the Mediterranean via the Arabian Sea and the eastern coast of Egypt. The Near East, India, and the Arabian peninsula also produced indigenous cotton textiles of many sorts, much more than was produced in Egypt. The intriguing question is, what species of _Gossypium_ (_arboreum_ or _herbaceum_) will the fibers turn out to be? That would give a much clearer signal of where it ultimately originated. Maureen Mazzaoui (in _The Italian Cotton Industry in the Later Middle Ages 1100-1600_) makes the important point that cotton in the late Roman and early Byzantine Empire was a luxury textile limited by its high price to the court and the wealthy landowning classes. The Arabs were the first to adopt cotton as the dress of the normal people. Before that, cotton had been a novelty textile, even in the areas where it grew readily. Accordingly, I'd guess the Merovingian woman had some sort of royal connection. The other Frankish find of cotton in a grave that I know of is dated seventh century. The textile in question was a violet overtunic made from a silk, cotton, and unidentified vegetable fiber blend, perhaps a _mulham_ from Persia. That woman was also sporting Byzantine gold-thread embroidery--a clear sign of high rank. Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth capriest at cs. vassar. edu Frostahlid, Austmork Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 17:04:44 EST From: <SNSpies at aol.com> To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Cotton in a European grave << Wouldn't such a thread and/or cloth have been available through Roman trade routes across the Med with Egypt? >> Let me quote further from the article: "Cotton and cotton-union fabrics circulated within the Roman empire, although they seem to have been regarded as a luxury and are comparatively rare in the European archaeological record. J.P.Wild (1970, "Textile Manufacture in the Northern Roman Provinces") cites the following findings of cotton in Roman Europe: a single S-spun thread from an early 4th-century well near Chew Stoke in Somerset, England (possibly a modern contaminant - Wild, pers.comm.); a cotton-wool union fabric used to wrap a 4th-century mummified woman's body buried near Aquincum-Budapest, Hungary; and a cotton winding sheet from another mummified body in a tomb on the Via Cassia near Rome." There are also a couple of examples of fibre capsules from cotton plants found in 6th-7th century France, but such objects are thought to have been brought back from the Holy Land by pilgrims. Ingvild/Nancy Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 17:21:01 EST From: <SNSpies at aol.com> To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Cotton in a European grave << I have never heard of the "ATN" before. Can you tell me how I may obtain a subscription? >> Subscriptions to "Archaeological Textiles Newsletter" are available by writing to: Dr. J.P. Wild Department of Art History and Archaeology University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 3PL England Payment is 20 pounds for a 2-year subscription (4 issues) and is accepted only in pounds sterling. Payment should be made in the form of a bank check. Ingvild/Nancy Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 19:38:45 -0500 From: capriest at cs.vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman) To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Cotton in a European grave Ingvild asked: ><< I'd guess the Merovingian woman had some sort of royal > connection. The other Frankish find of cotton in a grave that I know of is > dated seventh century. >> > >Thora, could you please post your reference for this? =20 The reference for this is: France-Lanord, Albert. "La fouille en laboratoire: Methodes et resultats." _Dossiers de l'Archeologie_ 32 (January-February 1979), pp. 66- 91. Details of the burial textiles in the so-called Aregond grave, that of a seventh-century Merovingian royal woman. Includes evidence for silk, linen, hemp, wool, and cotton! Frustratingly vague on weave details in some cases. The gist of the article's information on textiles can be found in Chapter 6 of Marieke's and my _Compleat Anachronist_, #59. Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth capriest at cs. vassar. edu Frostahlid, Austmork Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 20:06:06 EST From: <SNSpies at aol.com> To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Cotton in a European grave << Oooh! Are there any pictures, or detailed descriptions, available?? This sounds like something that would be fun to duplicate! >> Sorry. The only picture with the article is a x400 magnification of the cotton fibres. I will see what I can find out. From the article, it appears that the quilted garment is still being analysed, etc. by Johanna Banck- Burgess, she who did the Hochdorf chieftain textiles (so you can believe that the end result of her analysis will be very good indeed). I will pass on anything further that I can find out. Ingvild/Nancy From: nweders at mail.utexas.edu Date: September 21, 2006 11:10:43 AM CDT To: ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org Subject: [Ansteorra] cotton in period I found an article on "The Cotton Industry of Northern Italy in the Late Middle Ages: 1150-1450" by Maureen Fennell Mazzaoui, (The Journal of Economic History, Vol 32, No 1. The Tasks of Economy History. (Mar 1972) pp. 262-286. The author has also written a book, since I found numerous reviews on it as well bt I have not had a chance to find a copy. Anyway, the article talks about the development of the cotton fabric and thread industry in Italy. She states " In the European climate, cotton and linen represented seasonal alternatives to the heavier silk and wool cloths suitable for winter wear. She does say later that cotton was often combined with linen, hemp, wool and silk to produce more diverse fabric types. During this time period, vast amounts of cotton fiber and fabrics was also imported from Egypt and comprised of canvas to fine dress weight fabrics (sorry no description or names of said fabric). however, the use of the fabric as clothing is quite extensive. It is a myth that cotton was not used for clothing or wool was used more than cotton in some countries. During the 12th through 15th centuries, cotton was used in the Mediterranean area for the same reasons why we use it... it is cooler than wool in the summer, it took some dyes better than linen, it allowed more diversity in fashion. I would also note that during the 16th century, a severe dip in the weather caused a change in clothing that made it more important to wear wool and furs rather than cottons. Clare St. John From: mikea <mikea at mikea.ath.cx> Date: September 21, 2006 11:25:34 AM CDT To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] cotton in period On Thu, Sep 21, 2006 at 11:10:43AM -0500, nweders at mail.utexas.edu wrote: > During this time period, vast amounts of cotton fiber and fabrics was also > imported from Egypt and comprised of canvas to fine dress weight fabrics > (sorry no description or names of said fabric). however, the use of > the fabric as clothing is quite extensive. In addition, the Arabs introduced the cotton plant into Sicily, before 1100, according to what I've been able to find. Since all this is pre- cotton-gin, the fiber would have been separated from the seeds by hand, making the cloth more expensive then in terms of labor than it is now. -- Mike Andrews, W5EGO From: Maridonna <maridonna at maridonna.com> Date: September 21, 2006 1:21:18 PM CDT To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] cotton in period mikea wrote: > In addition, the Arabs introduced the cotton plant into Sicily, before > 1100, according to what I've been able to find. Since all this is pre- > cotton-gin, the fiber would have been separated from the seeds by hand, > making the cloth more expensive then in terms of labor than it is now. Yes. :) The Arabs introduced cotton to Sicily (circa 827). A source says that the reasons why cotton spread throughout the western Mediterranean between the 9th-12th centuries is because of the popularity of cotton among Muslims and their advanced knowledge of irrigation techniques. Cotton came to rival flax in Sicily. The source I have says Fustians may have been imported to Sicily up to the 13th century. Fustian production was significant because Sicily did not import the cloths, but there is no mention of what it was made. S. Epstein, "An Island for Itself", pp.182-190. -- Andrea / Maridonna, who moved her persona to Sicily so she could wear cotton. From: Claude Anthony Penny <cpenny at swbell.net> Date: September 21, 2006 2:22:53 PM CDT To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] cotton in period I remember reading that the Arabs had a primitive type of a cotton gin. It was compsed of knots on ropes that was pulled through the cotton bolls. If I remember, a lot of the cotton was used as weft fibers, because spinning strong, tight cotton thread was difficult. I believe that the mixed fabric was used as cheap blanket-type material in Italy. Cairenn who has entirely TOO much info about way TOO many fields <the end> Edited by Mark S. Harris cotton-msg Page 6 of 6