The Armour Archive

Karen Larsdatter

Have you picked up a copy of The Tudor Tailor yet? It's got some good illustrations of 16th century (mostly English) peasant clothing, and how it changes.

Karen Larsdatter

IIRC they did a painted hanging for the Goldsmith's house restoration at York, Dominic Tweedle was showing pictures of it at the Medieval Technology conference at Penn State about 15 years ago. Since they were hand weaving the table linens and actually did a horn window having to import horn from S...

Karen Larsdatter

http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Cennini/10M.htm
http://www.geocities.com/mot@swbell.net/banner.html
http://home.wi.rr.com/anneka/Library/clothpainting.html

Karen Larsdatter

FWIW, there are a couple of extant garments showing a slanted shoulder seam, like the Gown of St. Elizabeth and the RÃƒÂ¸nbjerg Mose kirtle . Much agreed with Marcele on the fabric making a difference on the drape of the straight seam (or seamlessness) at the shoulder; sometimes modifying the point ...

Karen Larsdatter

Much agreed with the recommendation for appliquÃƒÂ© for a simple figure like that. (You might also want to see these links relating to heraldic garments and heraldic embroidery .) If you feel more comfortable painting on the fabric, then that, too, is an option. (Dharma Trading Company recommends th...

Karen Larsdatter

Jehan de Pelham wrote:Because I will not let the actual silver drinking vessels thing go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3APIC&rd=1

Isn't that the same item as the goblets in the link on the top post?

Some silver julep cups that resemble medieval silver beakers:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7410120574 (which may be the same kind of beaker that we use, come to think of it)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 8800480187

Karen Larsdatter

Aha -- figured out how to get to the "Corridor de Valence" at the Louvre! Go to http://cartelen.louvre.fr On the top bar, click on By department From the menu at left, select Objets d'art From the menu at right, select Moyen-Age The "room" you will want is room 5/11 (use the "next room" buttons to g...

Karen Larsdatter

I am already Queen of All the Intarnets, doncha know. I am sharing the wealth of the many domains within my realm.

Karen Larsdatter

Thought I'd putter around online and come up with some examples of 16th century Spanish ceramics, since it appears that there are distinct regional styles which differ from the Italian styles. (If you cannot find something "close enough" from the stock of one of the retailers linked above, consider ...

Karen Larsdatter

Flaming Gargoyle Pottery
Hudson Claypotter
Majenta Nicholls Pottery Studio
Mary's Maiolica Arts
Matilda Hanscombe (no website, her contact info's here)
Medieval Design
Trinity Court Potteries
White Swan Illuminations (no website, her contact info's here)

Karen Larsdatter

Some links at http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=352 -- but other than Scottish Women's Clothing and References to Garments in the works of Robert Henryson, there's not much there of use for a 15th century lowland Scotswoman.

For general resources on 15th century clothing, see http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=286

Karen Larsdatter

Really tiny? Have you shown her this crested armet or this Coppergate helmet?

(Although they might be a little large for her, if she looks like a Q-tip as you'd noted ...)

Karen Larsdatter

how many beakers do you see for sale on the market, of any material? I'd picked our silverplate goblets at an 18th Century Market Fair ; the Dry Goods shop carried them in several sizes. I remember seeing a similar beaker at the local Michael's, in the wedding aisle, probably meant to hold small bo...

Karen Larsdatter

While these seem to be used more frequently for household goods than books, there's also 15th & 16th century wall-mounted shelves in these paintings & illustrations: Kitchen scene from the Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves , 15th century Evagationes Spiritus , 1430s Prophet Jeremiah , 1443-45 Ann...

Karen Larsdatter

http://cgi.ebay.com/Portuguese-French-Large-Sterling-Silver-Beaker-No-Res_W0QQitemZ7409263471QQcategoryZ37993QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I know that beakers of conical shape are in use at least from the 14th C forward. Curious as to the design, how it strikes you. Reminds me of the banded silver beakers, ...

Karen Larsdatter

Young Knight wrote:Also, any recomendations of translations of Christine de Pisan and Boaccaccio?

I quite liked Famous Women (Virginia Brown's translation of Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris).

Karen Larsdatter

I wonder how far down on the social chain it was reasonable for silver to be used in table settings. I imagine that for the gentry, silver was. Check out the Pastons' inventories; they were gentry. I'm just doing a quick looky-loos through the letters and stuff. Pewter items include basins and salt...

Karen Larsdatter

In case it's helpful -- I've collected some links to larger chests as well as smaller caskets, coffrets, and boxes , both extant examples and iconographies, etc. I wasn't sure on the scale of the Indian piece above, but for some related examples, I thought of the caskets carried by St. Anne (1507) a...

Karen Larsdatter

There are several on the Portable Antiquities Scheme's Finds Database . There's a posting from Magnus which includes some interesting sources for more information -- I think "Glasspiegel im Mittelalter, Fakten, Funde, und fragen" by Ingeborg Krueger (in Bonner Jahrbucher 190) would probably be the m...

Karen Larsdatter

Is there evidence of early (12th cen or earlier) hoods with buttoned fronts? The earliest iconograhic evidence for a button-front hood I've been able to find is from the 13th century, Manoah from the Psalter of St. Louis (BNF Lat. 10525, fol. 55v). Have any of you run into multiple colors used in a...

Karen Larsdatter

http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=651

Karen Larsdatter

David Blackmane wrote:Most of those Atlantain liks are dead.

Nice thing about the Atlantian links: you can report the dead ones, and they'll get fixed ...

Karen Larsdatter

B. Black & Sons also has a white 60"-wide wool flannel.

Karen Larsdatter

links on Viking garb: http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=129
links on Viking armor: http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=817

Karen Larsdatter

Jehan de Pelham wrote:Question: Dyeing wool. Problematic, or not?

Not a problem, but you should get the right dyes. Dharma recommends these for wool: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3 ... =dyes.html

(Gee, at that price, you could buy five yards of 60"-wide wool coating at B. Black and Sons for every one yard of 80"-wide at NearSea Naturals ...)

Karen Larsdatter

Okay. Probably not a print, but a busy weave pattern. I didn't say it was a medieval practise. It just helps to hide stains. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Yah, it's a white tablecloth with a diamond twill weave. Bunch of other examples of that style of tablecloth (frequently with th...

Karen Larsdatter

Unladen, about 11 m/sec. Here's the math. Next?

Karen Larsdatter

Aw, shucks, guys.

I wouldn't mind answering questions on an "Ask Karen" thread, Leo ... it'd mean I'd spend less time looking around for questions I can answer, more time answering questions, huh? :lol:

Karen Larsdatter

Platters are brought out to the table where prickers or knives bring the food to the trencher, if the peices are large enough. Alternately, you can grab from the plate (with your left hand, which you keep clean!), and bring it to your trencher. The server should bring the platter to the table, and ...

Karen Larsdatter

http://geocities.com/karen_larsdatter/combs.htm
http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=537

Karen Larsdatter

There's also what it's called i can't remember, but basically , think of it as a very sharp metal chopstick (singular) used to stab the meat you intended to carve off with your knife and transfer it to your trencher. It was only used for stabbing meat etc not for actually eating. We'd had a discuss...

Karen Larsdatter

Check out 14th Century Spain, the Outline of Clothing in Christian Spain - Fourteenth/Fifteenth Centuries, and the Bibliograhpy of Spanish Costume at Jessamyn's Closet.

The Medieval_Spain Mailing List would be another good resource for additional advice & suggestions.

Karen Larsdatter

Hew wrote:Napkins? Nah. That's what the edge of the tablecloth is for.
Of course it helps if the cloth has a busy print on it, to camouflage the stains until it gets washed.

Umm ... you got an example of a medieval tablecloth with a "busy print," there, Hew?

Karen Larsdatter

What I'm trying to say is, can one count on the cooks to present the food/meat in portions that wouldn't require cutting? Nope. That's the carver's job. (Or the pantler's, if we're talking about bread, rather than meat.) Whole manuals were written on the subject of carving and serving meat at the t...

Karen Larsdatter

If folks didn't eat with a fork how would one cut their meat? Umm ... with a knife? We attempt "forkless" feasting at some SCA events. We used napkins to wipe our fingers when they got dirty -- but generally, the portions could be cut small enough from the serving-platter (there are forks used for ...

Re: 15th c. clothing and 16th c. peasant clothing: relations

Re: Painted Wall hangings

Re: Making a Surcoat

Re: 16th century Spanish lusterware, maiolica, & ceramic

16th century Spanish lusterware, maiolica, & ceramics

Re: Finding proper majolica

Re: Looking for Scottish Clothing Resources Online

Re: Silver Vessels, What Do You Think? (Karen to the Rescue

Re: Socio-Economics of the Later Middle Ages (and culture)

Re: Use of Silver Table Settings for Gentry Portrayals

Re: Mirror cases

Re: Fixing a 12th century style hood

Re: Medieval sandals

Re: Viking combs

Re: 1350ish Spain

Re: Meat Portion Sizes at Feast

Re: Eating without a fork