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Ancient Embroidery (or the lack thereof)

3/2/2020

8 Comments

 
I have talked at length about the relative lack of embroidery in Viking Age finds, but I am going to summarize those earlier discussions here as a preface to some new thoughts.

Embroidery as a whole in the Viking Age is exceptionally rare, compared to the thousands of textile finds that we have.  Figurative embroidery (rather than just a line of stem stitches, such as that that covers a hem seam at Birka) is even more rare.  Of the few samples we do have, some can possibly be attributed to other cultures (such as some of the glorious work from Oseberg being possibly Saxon, Mammen has also been considered as such by some authors, the metal thread embroidery from Valsgarde is thought to either be Byzantine or Slavic, or a copy of the work of those cultures).  Even if all of these were native work, the number of these items is minuscule compared to the over all body of textile finds from the period.

It also is smaller than the number of woven patterns in period.  (I have started a collection of this evidence here:  http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/patterned-weaves-preliminary-data ).  Tablet weaving itself is rare compared to prior periods, but that too is a type of woven patterning that exceeds the number of embroidery finds.

I have often wondered why this was the case.  To a modern person, embroidery is an easier art to adopt (and certainly needs less in the way of space or equipment), but in period weaving was dominant way to decorate textiles.  I have seen it argued that this was not a culture of linear art (they were not taught to draw from a young age as we were), and that makes sense.  I also wonder if there was something symbolic in it (we know that many ancient cultures have textile arts playing a prominent role in their mythology), or perhaps ritual.

As I read more about other cultures, times and areas, I see that this lack of embroidery in Northern Europe is reflected elsewhere as well.  Johanna Banck-Burgess notes the same phenomena in Central Europe in early Celtic works as well (this shows up in both her work on the Hochdorf burial and in the article "Prehistoric textile patterns: transfer with obstruction").  There we have various types of patterned weaving that are a result of manipulation of the web on the loom (whether it be by the turn of cards in tablet weaving, or supplemental threads used in soumak-like techniques or insertion of metal rings into the the weave of the cloth).  Embroidery is completely absent in some areas in early Celtic cultures, and very rare in others.

And you know what?  It does not stop there.  In the article, "Unravelling the Tangled Threads of Ancient Embroidery" by Kerstin Droß-Krüpe and Annette Paetz, the idea that mistranslation might play a role in perceptions of profuse embroidery in the ancient world.  I found this rather riveting to read because it very much parallels the conclusions I have come to about later textiles as well, that the number of embroidered items are very low compared to textiles that are either undecorated or decorated by means of weaving.

And of course, now I want to know the why of this even more.

8 Comments
Catherine Raymond link
3/3/2020 06:17:32 pm

Thanks for posting this essay. I knew that examples of embroidery among the Vikings were extremely sparse. But I did not know (though I might have deduced it from what I do know if I'd thought about it) that this is true of other northern European cultures as well.

*Except* for the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons were supposedly renowned for their needle-painting style of embroidery during this period.

Why was that? Did they have better access to tools and materials? More women with leisure to learn such an art?

I was going to ask "Why wasn't embroidery done by the French?" But arguably it was--consider the Bayeux Tapestry. Though the Bayeux Tapestry and opus anglicanum are as different in style and effect as chalk is from cheese.

Worth thinking about.

Reply
Catherine Raymond link
3/3/2020 06:25:48 pm

And thanks for the link to the "Tangled Threads" article! I am reading it now. In addition to what it says, having its collection of sources about early embroidery is priceless.

Reply
Alfrun
3/3/2020 06:37:49 pm

I have thought that interesting about the Saxons as well, but maybe it just developed as a cultural art at some point? It is also interesting in that some of the Viking embroidery is thought to be possibly of Saxon origin. I also believe much of the Saxon embroidery was Church related, and I have read about nuns working on embroidery, so could it have reached its peak in that (post-pagan) environment?

Of course, I have the current book on the topic but misplaced it before I could finish reading it... (The Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World - https://amzn.to/2TkeBJn )

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Catherine Raymond link
3/3/2020 07:32:22 pm

Well, the AS could well have developed embroidery as a "cultural art", but I think that may beg the question, because why did they do so when other wealthy northern European cultures didn't.

The Church angle may explain the amount of wealth poured into AS embroidery (the best-known examples of opus anglicanum are Church-related textiles). But why do we see the work in AS territory and not France? Why no opus fransicanum (or whatever the correct word would be--I don't know much Latin)?

Reply
Alfrun
3/6/2020 08:46:22 am

I finally had a chance to look back at Coatsworth's article on Anglo-Saxon embroidery. She lists out embroidery from other countries and there are several Merovingian items from France among them. The article covers a large geographic region and has sections broken down by date and it is pretty informative.

Reply
Catherine Raymond link
3/6/2020 08:48:37 am

Sadly, I don't have a copy of the Coatsworth article. I would love to see what that embroidery looks like. Thanks for letting me know about it.

Reply
Anne berg-nilssen link
8/11/2020 09:49:49 am

I think it is a cultural reason - the intricat weaving is much more difficult than embroidery, and I think they were proud of their ability to make perfect patterns and motifs in this way.
It is probably a craft taught and performed by upper class women as a special kind of wallhangings in big halls to honour something.
Weaving is necessary to make clothes and other textiles - to do it in difficult and beatiful ways would be the next step in knowledge and dexterity.
Embroidery is actually easier and possibly not as high standard.
It is also a matter of cultural fashion - it seems they did not even consider stitching decoratively on garments..

Reply
Amanda
10/19/2020 06:04:35 pm

If I were to guess, from my own experience, I think it's because embroidery is pretty delicate. Compared to decoration woven in, you can't be super rough with it, and it will eventually start to unravel. So for Vikings, who lived such harsh lives and cared so much more about farming and sailing, I imagine it was a practical choice that became cultural, to expend energy elsewhere and import embroidered goods if they wanted them.

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