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Library: NESAT (7 & 10)

3/28/2018

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There are certain books that you just need in your collection.  Some of them cover only one topic, such as Birka III (the textiles volume of the Birka finds), often though, the best gems are single articles within a larger book.  The entire series of the NESAT books (North-European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles) is worth looking at if you have a chance.  If you are in the US, most of them are available via ILL, and several are still in print or available as a Kindle edition.  Every single one of them has a valuable article for the Viking Age (or ever several).  I believe some of the articles in the older volumes are starting to show up on sites like Academia.edu for free download, but I still recommend taking the time to look at the books for yourself as even some of the peripheral topics can help you get a good feel for a period or a practice.

I will concentrate on Volume 7 and 10 here, and will cover the other still-in-print volumes (11, 12 and 13) later this week, hopefully.  13 was just released, so I have not yet gotten that one myself, but I will include some information on it as well.  (I will eventually review all of the books, but am starting with these.)


NESAT VII was my introduction to this series.  I was looking for articles by Michael L. Ryder on sheep evolution and stumbled across this book (which was still available in the hardcover edition on Amazon at the time). I bought it for that article, but there are several others that absolutely helped further my knowledge by introducing me to key researchers.  You can still get the Kindle version very inexpensively, or a paperback copy.  My favorites are:

Ryder, M.L.  "The Human Development of Different Fleece-Types in Sheep and Its Association with the Development of Textile Crafts"

Hedeager Krag, Anne. "Denmark - Europe: Dress and Fashion in Denmark's Viking Age"

Andersson, Eva. "Textile Production at Birka: Household Needs or Organised Workshops"

Rædar Knudsen, Lise. "Brocaded Tablet-Woven Bands:  Same Appearance, Different Weaving Technique, Hørning, Hvilehøj and Mammen" (If you are a tablet weaver, you need the chart that accompanies this article.)

NESAT X was the second volume I purchased (before tracking older copies down on ebay or via ILL), and I still refer back to this book frequently as well.  You can still get this one in a paperback copy.

Hedeager Krag, Anne.  "Oriental Influences in the Danish Viking Age Caftan and Belt with Pouch"

Zubkova, Elena S, Olga V. Orfinskaya, and Kirill A. Mikhailov.  "Studies of the Textiles from the 2006 Excavation in Pskov"

I also found a few of the articles on medieval garment construction "Construction and Sewing Technique in Secular Medieval Garments" and "Garments for a Queen" to be very helpful even if they do not relate directly to my Viking studies.  This volume is also provides a great start on my Migration era studies with articles on the finds from Tegle and Helgaland, textile crafting in the period and dye analysis from Iron Age Denmark.

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Library: Iconic Costumes

3/10/2018

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Ulla Mannering, at the National Museum of Denmark, is one of the authors whose work I will go out of my way to track down.  Many of her works focus on the Viking Age, which is how I was introduced it to, but I also am just now starting down the Migration Era and Iron Age trail of research for Scandinavia, and I am attempting to absorb as much of her papers as I can on the topic as well.

I cannot recommend this book enough to people interested in either time period.  It is well-illustrated and covers many forms of iconography for the time (metalwork,  tapestries, etc.).  She analyzes the figures and interprets the costume arrangements in them.  By far of most interest to me, however, is the last portion of the book that discusses the textile evidence of the period.  There are great images of the extant garments as well as pertinent information about them.

I found this book mildly helpful with my Viking research, but it is exceptionally helpful now that I am looking at earlier periods and the transition between the eras.


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Library: Cloth & Clothing in Early Anglo Saxon England

2/13/2018

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Picture
This book is fantastic.  I sadly missed my chance to buy it right before it went out of print (I had to choose between this volume and Heckett's book on the Dublin headcoverings), and I regretted not picking it up.  I did ILL and read the book, but that is not the same as having it in some form.  

If you are interested in Saxon costume, or early period costume, you really must download this book, which is now offered for free here:  http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-281-1/dissemination/pdf/RR145.pdf

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This book covers textiles, textile production, clothing, embellishment, and jewelry.  If you are interested in this time period, this book easily offers enough material to get you started.



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Library: Silk for the Vikings

12/4/2017

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If your interest in in opulent fabrics of the Viking Age, then Marianne Vedeler's Silk for the Vikings is a necessary addition to your library.  This book is fortunately still in print, and is even available in Kindle version.

This book is not large (125 pages) but discusses the silks from Oseberg as well as other graves across the Viking world (the most detailed information is from Oseberg, as it has its own chapter in the book).  Production techniques as well as information on how the silk traveled to Northern Europe are also included.  There are also discussions about the use and regulation of silk in other parts of the world, as this information helps to form a full picture of the value of the textile during the period.

I think one of the one of the most valuable items in the book is the discussion on the types of motifs found in silk textiles of the period.  This can help reenactors determine which patterned silks might be the most appropriate for their reconstructions.

This book is not only worth having as a reference item, but I have found that mining the bibliography in this one to have lead me to several other books and articles that I did not previously have.

If you would like a bit of a taste of this author's work regarding silks, you can checkout an article on silk trade that she wrote here:  ​https://www.academia.edu/10620737/Silk_trade_to_Scandinavia_in_the_Viking_Age._In_Textiles_and_the_Medieval_Economy_Production_Trade_and_Consumption_of_Textiles_8th_16th_Centuries._Angela_Ling_Huang_Editor_Carsten_Jahnke_Editor_._Oxbow_Books_2015

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Library:  Must Haves - Woven into the Earth and Medieval Garments

11/16/2017

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I have so much to say about the Else Østergård's books covering the clothing finds from Greenland, but will try to keep it to the necessities.  I will note first that I feel that, in my library, that these books are regularly pulled off the shelf and put to use.

Woven into the Earth and Medieval Garments Reconstructed are companion volumes.  The former is a very detailed book that first discusses the excavations of the medieval Herjolfsnes churchyard, and then gives excellent information on the process of crating textiles in period.  If you are interested in wool, spinning and weaving, this book is a must-have for your library.  Textile production tools, wool locks, and some extant cloth is well photographed and included.

The next sections cover the construction and decorations of the garments, including some diagrams of stitches.  Following that there is discussion of other extant garments, such as the Moselund kirtle, that are similar to those found at Greenland.  Finally, each existing Herjolfsnes garment is photographed and described.  The book concludes with tables of the textile finds that have information such as weave and thread counts.

Medieval Garments Reconstructed is an elaboration on previous volume and specifically speaks to the individual who wishes to recreate one of these historic garments.  There is even more detail here in terms of things like stitches and seams and gives a breakdown of the sizes for each of the existing items and then offers diagrams that can be blown up for use as patterns for reconstruction.

The above images will allow you to click through to Amazon so that you can add them to your wishlist!
I will note here that the Herjolfsnes finds are dated several hundred years past the Viking Age. However, most of the information on textile production is still highly relevant as the use of dual coated sheep and the warp-weighted loom continued longer in Greenland than it did in many other places.  These books are fantastic for that information alone.  Beyond that, it is also important that Inga Hägg, in her work with the Hedeby textiles and garments, describes the construction of the garments there to be very much like those at Herjolfsnes.  Indeed, Hedeby shows us that the Viking Age Norse had some advanced methods of tailoring such as set-in sleeves, and, with some careful research, the patterns in Medieval Garments can help you to construct items that would fit well into the late Viking Age.  I personally used the books to pattern my first gown which I used for my Beyond the Aprondress class and handout.  ( ​awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/beyond-the-aprondresss ) 

I actually have both of these books in an electronic format, but also own the hard copies as well (and tend to reference those more often than my electronic copies).  They are great reference volumes and I often take Woven Into the Earth to events if I need to illustrate the process of crafting wool in period without taking my own bulky display. 

Because I also like to include some additional resources that fit well with these volumes, I also recommend downloading the two articles below:

Dress, Cloth and the Farmer's Wife by Michele Hayeur Smith:  This article gives additional details on textiles from Greenland, but also provides insightful information into what was being manufactured/used in Iceland at that time.  It can help provide insight into how the Greenland cloth evolved, and this information assist a Viking Age researcher better determine what information in the books above might be unique to Greenland.
www.academia.edu/7441906/Dress_Cloth_and_the_Farmer_s_Wife_Textiles_from_%C3%98_172_Tatsipataa_Greenland_with_Comparative_Data_from_Iceland

The Burgundian Hat from Herjolfsnes Greenland by Michele Hayeur Smith: This study redates one of the hats from Herjolfsnes.  The information given is very fascinated and shows us exactly how precious (and how often reused) cloth was in period.
www.academia.edu/23015256/The_Burgundian_hat_from_Herjolfsnes_Greenland_new_discoveries_new_dates
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    About Me

    I am mother to a billion cats and am on journey to recreate the past via costume, textiles, culture and food.

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    Blogroll of SCA & Costume Bloggers

    Below is a collection of some of my favorite places online to look for SCA and historic costuming information.

    More Amie Sparrow - 16th Century German Costuming


    Gianetta Veronese - SCA and Costuming Blog

    Grazia Morgano - 16th Century A&S

    Mistress Sahra -Dress From Medieval Turku 

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    Loose Threads: Cathy's Costume Blog

    Mistress Mathilde Bourrette - By My Measure: 14th and 15th Century Costuming

    More than Cod: Exploring Medieval Norway

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