Textiles and Clothing, C.1150-C.1450 : Finds from Medieval Excavations in London

by Crowfoot, Elisabeth; Pritchard, Frances; Staniland, Kay

• ISBN13: 9780851158402
• ISBN10: 0851158404
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc

Summary

Among the most evocative items to be discovered by archaeologists are the scraps of silk and wool and other fabrics that signal so eloquently their owner's status and concerns. Such clothing and textile finds have figured prominently in excavations of medieval sites in London in the past two decades; they have included knitting, tapestries, silk hair-nets and elaborately patterned oriental, Islamic and Italian fabrics, which reveal for the first time the wide range of cloths available to medieval Londoners; there are beautifully made buttons, and buttonholes and edgings which display superb craftsmanship and a high level of needlework skills; the way that clothes were cut and sewn can be studied in detail. This highly readable account will be of wide general interest; dress historians and archaeologists will also find a wealth of new insights into the fashions, clothing and textile industries of medieval England and Europe.First published in 1992Contents include: The Excavations, Techniques used in Textile Production, Wool Textiles, Goathair Textiles, Linen Textiles, Silk Textiles, Mixed Cloths, Narrow Wares, Sewing Techniques and Tailoring, Dyes.THE AUTHORS Past and present staff of the Museum of London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Conventions	x
Introduction	1	(8)
sources---preservation of the textiles---circumstances of deposition---chapter content
The excavations	9	(6)
Alan Vince
Techniques used in textile production	15	(11)
wool---hair---linen---silk---dyes---looms
Wool textiles	26	(51)
state of preservation---the weaves of the cloths---three-shed twills---four-shed twills---six-shed twills---tabby weaves---tabby weaves with weft-faced bands---selected catalogue I---tapestry---selected catalogue II---knitting---felt
Goathair textiles	77	(3)
processing goathair---use of goathair textiles
Linen textiles	80	(2)
self-patterned weaves---finishing
Silk textiles	82	(45)
silk in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England---sources of supply in the 12th to 14th centuries---tabby-woven cloths---tabby-woven cloths with self-patterned bands---selected catalogue III---tabby-woven cloth with band in 1.3 twill---selected catalogue IV---weft-patterned tabby---selected catalogue V---3.1 twill damask---selected catalogue VI---1.2 weft-faced compound twills---selected catalogue VII---1.3 weft-faced compound twill---selected catalogue VIII---lampas weaves---selected catalogue IX---satin---selected catalogue X---satin damask---selected catalogue XI
Mixed cloths	127	(3)
half-silk velvets---linen and wool union cloths
Narrow wares	130	(20)
tablet-woven braids---selected catalogue XII---fingerloop braids---plaited braids---tabby-woven braids---garters---selected catalogue XIII---hairnets---selected catalogue XIV
Sewing techniques and tailoring	150	(49)
sewing threads---sewing techniques---bindings and facings---fastening methods---decora-tive features---construction---dagges
Appendix: the dyes	199	(3)
Penelope Walton
method of extraction and identification---results
Concordance	202	(10)
Glossary	212	(3)
Bibliography	215