From: Katrine De Saint Brieuc (Katherine Barich)
Posted to the 12th century Garb List on Saturday, October 12, 2002:
(Message #288)
Updated fabric survey (really long)
“Hello everyone interested!
“I’ve gone through a few more sources and have listed the cross references that have come up. It’s been pretty enlightening as it appears that there is some confusion among scholars about fabrics. I am starting to see some trends, however.
“Each quoted definition is followed by a code for the source with the page number. The books referenced so far:
- Norris1 = Ancient European Costume and Fashion by Herbert Norris
- Norris2 = Medieval Csotume and Fashion by Herbert Norris
- EOT = Encyclopedia of Textiles, by the Editors of American Fabrics Magazine, 1960
- 2000 Years of Silk Weaving, exhibition catalog of the Los Angeles Museum, 1944
- Turner-Wilcox’s Dictionary of Costume
- Falke = Kunstgeschichte der Seidenweberei by Otto von Falke, 1921.
This is the best researched of the bunch so far, with some actual source citations. I am still working on reading it, (takes me much longer in German) and undoubtedly more will emerge. It is a nice catalog of images (extant in 1921 before WWII and its aftermath). I will scan these for us. I highly recommend getting this book on inter library loan, even if you can’t read all the German. It is well enough organized that you will be able to identify source and date of fabric. I will take the time to translate the quotes I’m putting in here too, unless someone else wants to volunteer!
“The format is much easier to read in a spreadsheet. Can anyone advise on how to create a PDF file? (oh, and shamefacedly, I ran a spell check this time)
Regards,
Katrine”
Almeria on the coast of Spain, was renowned as a place for the manufacture of “valuable fine silk, called silk of Almeria.” [Norris2 64]
Almeria Der Mittlepunkt der Seidenweberei war anfaenglich Almeria; nach Edrisi waren im 11 Jahrh. Unter den Almoraviden 800 Webstuehle dort taetig, die vielerlei Seidengewebe, zum Teil mit persischen Namen, lieferten. Seit dem 12 Jahrh. Stellten sich Malaga, Murcia, Sevilla als Weberstaedte Almeria sur Seite und auch spaeterhin, als die arabische Herrschaft auf Granada eingeschraenkt war. Hielt sich das spanische Seidengewerbe auf der Hoehe bis ueber die Renaissance hinaus. [Falke 19]
Baudekyn 1. a material composed of silk interwoven with threads of gold. The web was of gold, and the woof of silk; and it had the effect of a coloured silk shot with gold or silver. Made originally at Baldeck or Baldacus, other names for Baghdad, whence it derives its name. Baudekyn was also made with patterns. These were either worked or woven on the surface in colored silks or gold threads. In either case it resembled a brocade. Known in the East about the ninth or tenth century, but not introduced into England until the thirteenth century. This very expensive material was used to cover furniture, as well as in the making of regal costumes. [Norris1 215]
Baudequin 2. A tissue of silk and gold thread originally from Baghdad and later from Cyprus and Palermo. Brought back by the Crusaders and used by European royalty for throne drapery and robes from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. [Turner 20]
Baldachin, Baudekin, Bodkin, Baldoquin 3. Costly brocades of silk interspersed throughout with gold or silver threads and often further embellished by the use of precious stones. These gorgeous fabrics, many of which are still extant, reached their greatest popularity during the Crusades, the Renaissance, and other days of chivalry. Baldachin has been or is used today for canopies, ceremonial robes, pageants, trappings, armor, etc. [EOT 589]
Blanchet or Blanket A name given to an inferior woolen cloth worn by the lower classes [Norris2 64]
Blanket 2. Received its name from a combination of blanc, the French for white, or undyed, and kett, the Anglo-Saxon word for covering; hence, a white or undyed covering. There is also the legend that the fabric was introduced in England about 600 years ago by Thomas Blanquette, a Flemish textile worker who settle there. The word, however, has come to mean any warm, heavy bed covering. [EOT 252]
Bougram Bouquerant 1. At the beginning of the tenth century a material was introduced which became very general during the succeeding centuries. It was woven in camel or goat hair mixed with silk, and was a very fine and supple fabric. Often threads of gold or silver were woven in the woof forming stripes and sometimes intricate geometrical designs. These fabrics originated at Boukhara…For a cheaper market a material using cotton in place of silk was made, and, in the first instance, woven in India. Afterwards this cotton and hair mixture was manufactured in Europe. [Norris1 214]
Buckram 2. A coarse open weave of linen or cotton sized with glue and used as far back as the sixteenth century for stiffening parts of dress… It was first made as a floor covering under fine rugs in Bukhara, from which derived the term buckram. [Turner 45]
Buckram 3. Cheap low-textured, cotton cloth, heavily sized. [EOT 594]
Byssine silken material similar to Almeria [Norris2 64]
Cloth of Bissos with silk weft pattern bands. Extant cloth description – Egypt 13th – 14th century [2000 5]
Cambric 1. In the ninth century a fine make of gauze-like linen was woven in Eastern Europe. A similar material made a Amorgos is referred to on page 54. It … A hundred pieces of this material formed part of a rich gift from a Greek lady to the Emperor Basil I., and it is described as being so fine that each piece could be enclosed in the joint of a reed. This material at a later date, was introduced into France and manufactured especially at Cambrai, whence it takes its name. [Norris1 273]
Cambric 2. Of linen but also a fine white cotton, made in Cambrai, France, but originally made in Camerike, Flanders. [Turner 54]
Cambric 3. Is a very fine, thin white cloth made of cotton or linen of which it has been stated that the ‘greatest thread was not even the size of the smallest hair.” the old Flemish name for cambric was Kamerik. [EOT 254]
Camocas 1. brocade, with raised design in gold on a background of black, white, blue green, purple, grey mauve, crimson and shaded color. The design usually represented birds. Manufactured in Cyprus. [NorrisI 216]
Camoca, Kamada 2. A rich figured silk of the Middle Ages. Originally from China but later imported from Persia and elsewhere in Asia. [Turner 55]
Cendal 1. a name for a silk of thinner texture and not so expensive as samit, used for men and women’s robes in the twelfth century. It was of all plain colours, the most popular being a scarlet. It was also striped in two or three shades. Often used for lining… [Norris1 215]
Cendal 2. A fabric of the Middle Ages, possibly from China, often mentioned. It was still worn in the seventeenth century. It was made very sheer and also heavy and was used for the dress of nobles and ecclesiastics. It could be painted upon and was used for banners. [Turner 66]
Chainsil, cainsil or camisiles A fine cloth of flax, similar to cambric, and manufactured on the continent. The term ‘cainsil’ is used in writings of the time to denote generally ‘fine linen’. Chainsil of a thicker quality was used for making bedsheets and linings of garments. It was generally white, but later it was also made in colours. A more substantial make was used for hangings, and at a later date for covering the walls of rooms. A species of this linen fabric was woven at Rennes in Brittany, and called Rennes cloth. [Norris2 64]
Creped Silk 1. a very fine silk manufactured in the East, very similar to the crepe de chine of today. It was one of the materials brought from the East into Western Europe during the Crusades of the twelfth century, and was much used for the bliaut worn by noble ladies between the years 1130-1200. [Norris1 217]
Crepe 2. the generic name for a thin, almost semi-transparent fabric with a crinkly surface produced by twisting in reverse the weft and warp of hard-twisted threads. The weaving of crepe in the Orient dates back to antiquity but was not taken up in the West until after the Crusades. The Italians were the first to make crepe, in the thirteenth century. [Turner 98]
Diaper 1. A material of silk, linen, or cotton, woven in a pattern but of one color. [Norris2 64]
Diapered Fabric 2. cloth embroidered all over with small conventional and geometric designs in lozenges, crescents, stars and flowers, the unit of design being repeated and connected in a diamond framework and varied in color. Originally made of costly silk in Damascus and Baghdad, the material has been made in cotton and linen, especially white, since the Renaissance. [Turner 107]
Diaper 3. Fabric of silk, with small square of diamond effects, was originally made in Ypres. The word diasporon from the Greek, means small figured, and present-day diaper fabric, well known in many households, received its name from Cloth d’Ypres, which has been contracted into the English word diaper. [EOT 250]
Éclarate An extra fine quality woolen cloth especially dyed, chiefly scarlet, for which the city of Ghent was famous. It was much used by the nobility of State and full-dress garments. [Norris2 64]
Frise cloth of gold – was considered very precious. Mention is made of it in romances from the twelfth century onwards. It is a corruption of the name “phrygia”. No manufacture of cloth of gold existed in Friesland, a province of the Low Countries, at this date! [Norris1 217]
Fustian 1. (Spanish, fuste = a substance) was a material with a linen warp and a cotton woof, woven with a short looped surface which was sheared and formed a close-set pile. Known since cotton was first introduced into the West in the first century BC This material was much esteemed as seemly though not costly, and was used for making outer garments of all kinds for the laity, and for vestments for the clergy. Dr. Bock thinks that this manufacture may have suggested to the Italians the idea of weaving silk in the same manner, and so producing velvet (see Velvet and Pell) [Norris2 64]
Fustian 2. A stout cotton or flax cloth used by the Normans, especially the clergy. Originally of Oriental origin, it had been woven since the Crusades. Made in solid color, usually gray or brown, tufted or striped and sometimes rich-looking. [Turner 144]
Fustian 3. Was a low quality, coarse cotton cloth first made in the Fustat or Ghetto area outside the city of Cairo. The Egyptians used a double cloth construction to make this goods, which despite the fact that it was regarded as an inferior material, gave long wear. Some better-grade cloths were made from linen. The fustian of today has changed much from the original material and implies, as a generic term, the rather high pick, heavy cottons goods on the order of beaverteen, corduroy, doeskin, moleskin and velveteen. [EOT 252]
Fustian 4. The origin of this cloth is traced to the Egyptians and the Arabs. The walls that protected one of the Roman legions became the nucleus of the city of Cairo, Egypt. It was in the Fustat, or old Arab quarter of the city, that the cloth was supposed to have been first made. Cotton and linen were used in the fabric. [EOT 619]
Gauze 1. is mentioned in 1300, but it is evident, from sculpture and illuminated MSS., that it was used in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. [Norris1 216]
Gauze 2. A sheer transparent fabric first made in Gaza, Palestine. Of silk, cotton or rayon, its used depending upon the yarn of which it is made, whether veilings, dresses, curtains or surgical dressings. [Turner 148]
Gauze 3. First made as a veiling or netting, was given to the world by the city of Gaza. The present-day cloth is of open mesh, loose construction, and plain or doup weaves are resorted to in order to make the goods. [EOT 261]
Gouté a Pois A material woven, stained, or embroidered in spots, either singly and in clusters. [Norris2 64]
Imperial 1. is a name often applied to rich fabrics of silk, in various colours interwoven with gold, and made at the imperial workshops at Constantinople. It was much used for State garments of kings and nobles during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Imperial was the earlier name for Baudekyn. [Norris2 64
Imperial 2. Italian brocade embellished with gold and silver threads worked into the motif. This type of silk fabric was mentioned by Marco Polo in the 13th century [EOT 625]
L’Ecarlate similar stuff to Pourpre, but a little inferior in quality [Norris1 217]
Pailes Latin: “Pallium, ” Purpura” signifying in general any rich cloth; Old Norman: “Pell”; Old English: “Paell”, “Pell”; French: “Paille.” Hence the modern English: “Pall”, a rich cloth. The name give to very rich silken stuff from various countries, e.g., pailes of Byzantium, pailes of Persia, pailes of India, and pailes of Damascus. [NorrisI 216]
Pailes of Damascus This name had no relation to damask as we know it. It refers to silk fabrics of various colours, figured with gold and silver. The price in 1316 was fifty-five crowns per piece. [NorrisI 216]
Pailes roe See Shot Silk [Norris1 217]
Pell a similar material (as velvet) made of cotton and treated in the same manner. It had the appearance of modern cotton plush. In use among the Scandinavians as early as the ninth century. [Norris1 217]
Pers or Perse A cloth of excellent quality of rich blue colour. Manufactured in Provence, which became famed for its production. Much used by nobility for their garments. [Norris2 65]
Pourpre a rich quality silk manufactured at Tyre and Venice in 1248. The colours used were Indian purple, vermilion, indigo, crimson, black and white. [Norris1 217]
Purpurstoff Fuer ihr beruehmtestes Hauptwerk, den fuer Koenig Roger II. 1133 gestickten Mantel, spaeter der Kroenungsmantel im deutschen Kaiserornat, wurde in byzantinischer Purpurstoff verwendet. [Falke 20]
Raye Cloth striped horizontally with different colour and much used during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Rennes Cloth See Chainsil [Norris2 64]
Russet 1. A coarse homespun cloth of a natural hue, often dyed a brown colour by steeping in a solution of bark. Worn by peasants and poor people. Russet clothes are indicative of country men, who were called “Russettings”, “Sheep’s Russet” was spun from undyed wool, and was of a grey colour; it was much used in shepherd’s clothing. [Norris2 64]
Russet 2. A coarse peasant cloth of yellowish-red or grayish-brown used for everyday clothes in past centuries. Russet remains the name for such garments, also for the color. [Turner 296]
Samite 1. A luxurious silk fabric of the Middle Ages interwoven with gold and silver threads was used for the robes of the nobles and ecclesiastics. [Turner 300]
Samite 2. A fabric which became a symbol of textile luxury in ancient times. It is still used in ornamental and ecclesiastical fabrics and is characterized by the use of metallic threads. The body of the fabric is a rich silk. [EOT 650]
Sarsnet 1. thin silk of oriental origin, in all plain colours. Much used in the 13th century. [Norris1 217]
Sarsanet 2. A fine thin silk woven by the Saracens, dating from the thirteenth century, which was especially in favor from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries…Also spelled sarcenet, sarscenet. [Turner 302]
Sarsanet 3. A net or veiling fabric used in the milliner and veiling trades. Originally a silk fabric of Arabic origin. [EOT 651]
Satin 1. (Chinese: “Sou Twan”) or samit was a thick, rich, closely woven silk, invented by the Chinese and much coveted by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and for it they paid fabulous prices. It is mentioned in Classic literature. [Norris1 211]
Satin (de Chine) 2. From the word sztum, satin being originally a Chinese creation called zetin and, lastly, satin. It was known in medieval Europe of the twelfth and thirtieth centuries and in England by the fourteenth century. Because of its exquisite texture, it became a court favorite. There are many different satin weaves in warp and filling and all costly, because silk is used to produce a lustrous and unbroken surface. [Turner 303]
Sericum the Latin name for silk, derived from “Seres”. [Norris1 211]
Shot Silk 1. Sometimes mentioned as pailes roe – a silk in two colours, the woof on one colour and weft of another contrasting colour. It was of Eastern manufacture, and in use in the 12th century. This material was at first considered very wonderful, and all sorts of strange ideas were current as to its origin. The most common story was that is was made in some far-off island inhabited only by women weavers who were directed in their process by fairies. Others related that this material was actually woven by the dwarfs and gnomes of fairyland. Shot silk was much used for women’s clothes during the 112th, 14th and 15th centuries. It was manufactured at Venice and several other Italian towns, and later in Spain and France. [NorrisI 216]
Shot Silk 2. Textile term for changeable colored silk, especially taffeta, produced by the use of warp threads of one color and weft threads of another. [Tuner 321]
Shot Silk 3. Term signifying the use of two differently colored sets of yarn, warp and filling, in order to give a changeable effect in cloth. Silk taffeta is often made in this manner. [EOT 654]
Siglaton a material like samit, but much esteemed during the thirteenth century in the belief that it was of Eastern or Spanish (Moorish) manufacture. [Norris1 217]
Sub-Sericum was a cheaper substitute for pure silk, and therefor in more general use by men and women of Ancient Greece and Rome. The very costly silk was unraveled from the imported material, and interwoven with some cheap filament – either cotton or wool. [Norris1 211]
Tabby or Taffeta 1. a thick silken stuff with a soft nap, mentioned in 1487. It was use at a much earlier date, for part of the robes found in the tomb of William Rufus (1087) were of taffeta. [Norris1 218]
Tabby 2. Any of several silk fabrics of plain, watered or stripe weave made in a quarter of Baghdad named Attab. [Turner 339]
Taffeta 3. is one of the oldest fabrics is known to man; originally made of silk and noted for its smooth surface, even texture, and slight crosswise rib, the Persians called it taftah.The plain weave used to make it is still, in some circles called the tabby weave. Taffeta was becoming made in the 14th century in England and France was making the material prior to this time and called it taffetas. It was used for lining rich, luxurious mantles; later it was produced for dresses and was worn in court circles. The goods are now made from about all of the major textile fibers. [EOT 261]
Tabby 4. Synonym for plain weave. [EOT 659]
Taffeta 5. A fine plain-weave fabric smooth on both sides, usually with a sheen to its surface. Name for Persian fabric taftan….Originally of silk… [EOT 659]
Velvet a silken fabrics, woven with a looped surface which is cut, forming a thick close-set pile. First mentioned in 1277, and made in Lucca and Genoa. Existing specimens of earlier date than the fourteenth century are extremely rare. [Norris1 217]
Velvet 2. Originally made in India and imported by Genoa and Venice. It became a fabric of great luxury. In the sixteenth century, the manufacture of velvet developed in Florence, Milan and Genoa and in Lyon, France and eventually in Germany and Holland. Velours is the French word for velvet…. [Turner]
Velvet 3. Was originally made with a short dense pile woven with silk warp. At present the term is applied to cloths made partly from silk, acetate, or rayon and partly of other materials, as well as to goods made entirely of other yarns. Velveteen is a filling pile fabric and is often confused or mistaken for velvet, a warp-pile effect material. Incidentally corduroy is a filling-pile effect weave cloth. Velvet received its name from velluto, which implies a wooly feel to the touch. The use of silk warp and woolen filling improved the hand of the goods and cloth of this type was made from time to time. [EOT 261]
Velvet upon Velvet made the same way (as velvet K.B.) but with two piles, one (the pattern) higher than the other. [Norris1 217]
Worsted goes back to the day of William the Conqueror. The story goes that, when he came to Britain, he noted that the peasants were manipulating woolen fibers with a type of card or comb to work the fibers into a sliver and slubbing form so that they might be hand-spun into a yarn. William became much interested in the work and, not knowing what to call the task being done, and since he had worsted the people by conquest, he called the area Worsted. In due time, the finished yarn as well was given this name. The village of Worsted where he is supposed to have observed the carding and combing is in Norfolk County. About 1340, fabric of this name was being made in Suffolk County, England. Worsted fabric, as it is known today, did not become a winner in the trade until 1890’s. [EOT 254]