Cloth and Clothing in Early anglo-Saxon England, ad 450-700

This book is dedicated to the memory of my friend and mentor Elisabeth Grace Crowfoot 19142005

Cloth and Clothing in Early anglo-Saxon England, ad 450-700

Penelope Walton Rogers

CBa research report 145 Council for British archaeology 2007

Published in 2007 by the Council for British archaeology St Marys house, 66 Bootham,york,yo30 7BZ Copyright 2007 author, English heritage and Council for British archaeology British library cataloguing in Publication data a catalogue record for this book is available from the British library iSBn 978 1 902771 540 Cover designed by BP design,york typeset by archetype it ltd, www.archetype-it.com Printed and bound in the UK by the alden Press the publisher acknowledges with gratitude a grant from English heritage towards the cost of publication

Cover: the amber beads and replica brooch were provided by Sandra garside-neville and the woad-dyed diamond twill cloth by the author.the paintings on the back cover are by graham Sumner (see Chapter 5)

Contents

List of figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii List of tables.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiv Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Summary xvii 1 Setting the scene 1 Previous.studies .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The.historical.framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 A.note.on.chronology.and.colour-coding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 2 Textile production in the villages 9 Sheep.and.wool.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Flax.and.hemp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Wool.preparation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Flax.processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Spinning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Winding.and.warping .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Weaving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Band-weaving,.braiding.and.cord-making. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Bleaching.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Dyeing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Finishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Laundering .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Cutting.and.stitching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Textiles.and.the.village.economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 3 The textiles from the cemeteries 49 The.database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Bias.and.preservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Fibres.and.their.identification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Dyes.and.dye.identification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Weave.structures.and.spin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The.main.fabric.types .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Patterning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Specialist.textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Imported.silks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Borders.and.other.structural.details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Tablet.weaves .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Braids.and.cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
contents 

Needlework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Animal.skins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Regional.distribution.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 4 Costume accessories 111 Dating.Anglo-Saxon.graves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Anglo-Saxon.metalwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Brooches.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Sleeve-clasps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Buckles.and.other.belt.fittings.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Beads,.pendants.and.other.necklace.accessories .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 127 Bangles,.finger.rings.and.ear-rings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Aglets.and.other.metal.tags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Bags,.chatelaines.and.other.suspended.items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Artefacts.in.mens.graves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Knives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 5 Reconstructing clothing from the Anglo-Saxon burial 139 The.costume.survey.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Paired.shoulder.brooches.and.the.peplos.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Single.brooches.at.the.shoulder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 The.sleeved.inner.gown .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 The.veil.and.other.coverings.for.the.head.and.neck.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Cloaks,.shawls.and.capes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 The.history.of.cloaks,.mantles,.capes.and.hoods.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Costume.ensembles.in.the.Migration.period .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 177 Graves.without.brooches.or.pins.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Women.after.the.peplos:.the.Later.Phase .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 180 The.women.of.east.Kent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Fashions.in.bead.strings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Atypical.graves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Mens.tunics.and.trousers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Mens.cloaks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Mens.headwear.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Fighting.gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 The.warrior.jacket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Clothing.children .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Hair.styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Shoes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Leg.and.foot.coverings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Pouches.and.purses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Soft-furnishings.and.beds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Textiles.with.weapons,.knives.and.tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Carrying.the.knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Textile.wrappers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
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6 Cloth, clothing and Anglo-Saxon society The.early.immigrants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Romano-British.survival. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regional.variety.in.the.Migration.period. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The.transfer.of.textile.technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Status.and.textiles .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imported.textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Textiles.in.7th-century.royal.burials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Between.men.and.women.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age.matters.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Women.and.marriage .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing.costume.in.a.changing.society.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interpreting.costume.in.the.burial.ritual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The.long.view. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notes.for.archaeologists .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Costume.and.textile.crafts.in.a.new.archaeology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

229 229 230 232 234 235 236 238 240 241 242 244 245 247 248 250

Bibliography .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Index .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

contents ii

list of figures

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

Spinning and weaving depicted on a hallstatt period vessel from Sopron, hungary the iron-age inheritance: a checked twill from Falkirk, probably mid-3rd century ad a veteran of the Sixth legion and his family wearing gallic coats in a carved relief from york, 2nd or 3rd century ad the two-beam vertical loom in a wall-painting in the hypogeum of the aurelii at rome Sheep in a pen, with women milking and carrying milk from the luttrell Psalter, c 1340 Men pulling flax in Flanders in the 20th century natural fleece colours naturally dyed wool Using a roman woolcomb in a wall-painting at Pompeii a pair of 7th-century woolcombs from Wicken Bonhunt, Essex a woman combing wool with a pair of two-row, short-toothed woolcombs of the anglo-Saxon type, Chartres Cathedral, c 1200 Processing the flax plant removing retted flax from a lint hole in northern ireland in the early 20th century Wooden flax-processing tools Processing flax: pounding, scutching and heckling a woman heckling flax with a foot heckle, Chartres Cathedral Cross-sections through the flax stem Flax at different stages of preparation Spinning with short hand-distaff and suspended spindle distaffs and spindles the short hand-distaff and spindle, ivory carving of the Carolingian Court School, early 9th century the development of spindle whorls from the iron age to the 7th century yarn-winding equipment from the 9th-century ship burial at oseberg, norway Preparing the warp on a warping frame Weaving on the warp-weighted loom Circular clay loomweights two rows of clay loomweights at grimstone End, Pakenham, Suffolk, in 1953 loomweights in situ in a timber building at Upton, northamptonshire, and in the remains of a hut at West Stow Bone and antler tools used in weaving: double-ended pin-beaters, a single-ended pinbeater and a toothed weft-beater iron weaving battens of sword-shaped and spear-shaped form

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26

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2.27 a roman funerary sculpture from Baugy, France, showing the weaver, genetiva, holding a single-ended pin-beater 2.28 tablet weaving: a tablet and the band-weaving shuttle from Chalton, hampshire 2.29 dyeplants: woad, Isatis tinctoria l., and weld, Reseda luteola l. 2.30 a woman doing her laundry by a river with a laundering bat, in the holkham Bible Picture Book, 132735 2.31 a selection of shears of the 5th to the 7th centuries 2.32 needles, needle-cases and cylindrical boxes 2.33 Plan of the settlement at West Stow, showing the distribution of textile equipment 2.34 Scutching flax in Ponte de lima, Portugal 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 the sites from which textile records have been collected textiles preserved in association with metal garment-fasteners the preservation of textiles does not follow the preservation of bone: complete skeletons at Berinsfield; a sand body, where most of the bone has dissolved, at Snape Fibres viewed with an optical (transmitted-light) microscope and fibres viewed by Scanning Electron Microscope Weave structures of anglo-Saxon textiles tying in the heddles for plain 2/2 twill, 2/1 twill and 2/2 diamond twill yarns and cords: spin, ply and cable a plain ZZ tabby weave from West heslerton textiles woven in twill Pattern effects: (a) checked, (b) striped, and (c) warp-weft contrast the thread-counts of Early anglo-Saxon spin-patterned textiles Some pattern repeats in Early anglo-Saxon diamond twills the thread-counts of Early anglo-Saxon 2/2 diamond twills with a 20 18 pattern repeat (a) rosette twill from Finglesham and (b) the diamond-patterned, possibly composite, twill from howletts anglo-Saxon coverlet weaves tapestry weave from West heslerton and Coptic tapestry from Cologne Cathedral Soumak tapestry from taplow, Sutton hoo Mound 1 and Birka, and counted-thread stem-stitch in an embroidery from llan-gors crannog (a) a piled textile from Broomfield; (b) the looped-pile weave technique; (c) the inserted-yarn technique of Banstead down Borders on anglo-Saxon whole cloths (a) Plain selvedges on tabby-weave tape; (b) looped border on twill from Southampton St Marys a weaving gore from Snape cremation C67 tablet weaves with simple corded effects tablet-woven warp-patterned tabby weaves tablet-woven double-faced repp-effect weave tablet-woven (a) 2/1 twill on 2-hole tablets from West heslerton, and (b) twill-like ridges from Morning thorpe also on 2-hole tablets tablet-woven double-faced 3/1 twill tablet weaves with probable weft-float patterns
listoffigures ix

3.28 tablet weaves ornamented with soumak and weft-wrapping in horse hair 3.29 a tablet weave from Sutton hoo Mound 14, with soumak ornament, and similar bands from St Cuthberts tomb at durham 3.30 gold-brocading, divorced from its ground weave 3.31 Braids 3.32 needlework 3.33 Embroidery 3.34 Embroidery representing pendant necklaces and pectoral cross on the tabard-style tunic of St Bathilde, Chelles 3.35 Early anglo-Saxon textiles, grouped by weave and spin 3.36 the three main textile types arranged according to date and by relationship to smalllong and annular brooches 3.37 regional boundaries derived from two trend surface maps 3.38 the three main textile types divided by region the three main categories of saucer-shaped brooches two typical disc brooches Kentish disc brooches the three main categories of annular brooch Penannular brooch and openwork brooch Cruciform brooches the detached knob from a cruciform brooch from Scorton has been tied in place with plied cords 4.8 a selection of small-long brooches 4.9 Square-headed brooches 4.10 Supporting-arm brooch and a small equal-armed brooch 4.11 Continental bow brooches from Kent 4.12 a selection of small Continental brooches, or Kleinfibeln, from anglo-Saxon cemeteries 4.13 Safety-pin brooch 4.14 Sleeve-clasps 4.15 a range of metal buckles 4.16 a selection of strap-ends 4.17 (a) Migration period garment pins; (b) shorter pins of the later Phase; (c) linked pins of the later Phase; (d) an iron cutlery pin or knife pin; and (e) a set of toilet implements including two pin-like objects 4.18 Beads from Early anglo-Saxon graves 4.19 (a) a mid-7th-century necklace from harford Farm; (b) a 7th-century gold necklace from desborough, northamptonshire 4:20 Metal pendants, two bucket beads, a beaver-tooth pendant and two slip-ring necklaces 4.21 (a) a neck-ring or lunula, (b) a wire bangle, (c) a spiral bangle, (d) a selection of finger rings 4.22 Metal aglets of the later Phase and small metal hooked tags, probably purse fasteners 4.23 Men with typical anglo-Saxon weaponry on the carved whalebone lid of the Franks Casket 4.24 Male accessories from norton-on-tees 4.25 Sword from dover Buckland i
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4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 5.32 5.33 5.34

Similar suites of costume accessories in graves with differing preservation of the body the sites included in the costume survey garment-fasteners in two womens graves graves with paired shoulder brooches, representing peplos fasteners Methods of clasping the peplos Knotted ends of a girdle, made from a tubular plait (sinnet) from West heslerton germanic women wearing the peplos on the 2nd-century column of Marcus aurelius the tubular garment from huldremose, denmark, worn as a peplos with the top folded down Menimane wearing three garments fastened with brooches a hand-made reconstruction of the costume of a woman in an early 11th-century grave from south-west Finland reconstruction of the different ways of wearing the anglo-Saxon peplos, based on archaeological evidence and Continental sources the peplos clasped on the left shoulder in mortuary reliefs at (a) Palmyra, Syria, and (b) Mainz, germany a probable girdled mantle-dress in an early 6th-century mosaic in the basilica of Sant apollinare nuovo, ravenna reconstruction of the garments worn with single and non-matching shoulder brooches tablet-woven cuff and sleeve-clasps from Mildenhall a woman from roman Pannonia in a long-sleeved dress, and peplos with the hem hitched up, from a tombstone in Klagenfurt Museum, austria remains of a head-veil on a womans skull from West heslerton a hip-length veil picked out in gold thread, in the burial of a man, woman and child, Mill hill textiles on an annular brooch from Cleatham, viewed from the front tight pleats running down an iron key at the left waist in harford Farm Pairs of metal rings and staples from either side of the head in womens burials the position of the pin in womens graves Short veils from other periods Pleated womens garments in an ivory panel from a book cover, from St Martins, genoels-Elderen, Belgium headbands across the forehead a reconstruction of the cuffie, coif, binde, headband, and rift, veil, based on surviving Viking-age caps and headbands, and the traditional nuns habit Byzantine veils and coifs the velamen of St harlindis, in early documents referred to as a palliolum reconstruction of short Migration period veils reconstruction of the long later Phase veils graves with a single large cloak-fastener graves with paired downward-pointing cloak-fasteners reconstruction of anglo-Saxon women of the Migration period wearing cloaks, capes, shawls and head-veils germanic cloaks and capes
listoffigures xi

5.35 the Empress theodora and women of her court in a mosaic of 54648 in the basilica at San Vitale, ravenna 5.36 Women wearing mantles over the head and cloaks in images from the Stuttgart Psalter, c 800 5.37 reconstruction of the female costume at Scorton 5.38 reconstruction of the female costume at alton 5.39 reconstruction of the female costume at Snape 5.40 two graves with cloak-fasteners but no peplos brooches 5.41 a reconstruction of the textile evidence from Sutton hoo Mound 14 5.42 the arnegunde burial in the Cathedral at Saint-denis, near Paris 5.43 Womens graves and unsexed graves with female accessories dated to the 7th century 5.44 reconstruction of the four-brooch dress 5.45 the position of brooches in Kentish dress Style iV in the dover Buckland ii cemetery 5.46 textiles on the back of some of the brooches from Fig 5.45, showing the vertical tabletwoven borders of the front-opening garments 5.47 reconstruction of the fastening of a front-opening garment in grave 105 at Waging am See, lkr traunstein, oberbayern, germany 5.48 a 7th-century impressed gold foil from helg, Eker, Uppland, Sweden 5.49 Fashions in bead strings in Early anglo-Saxon graves 5.50 the garment accessories on an elderly woman at holywell row 5.51 a man with female garment accessories at andover Portway 5.52 Mens graves have fewer garment accessories than womens 5.53 Mens tunics and trousers 5.54 (a) the thigh-length tunic from thorsberg, dated no later than the 3rd century; (b) the knee-length tunic from Bernuthsfeld, germany, dated to the later 7th century 5.55 the trousers with belt loops from thorsberg and a bare-chested germanic warrior in trousers with a rolled-over waistband on the 2nd-century column of Marcus aurelius 5.56 anglo-Saxon mens clothing reconstructed 5.57 (a) Maltese Vandals wear capes of piled weave or animal skin over V-neck tunics and footless trousers in a 5th-century ivory diptych; (b) John the Baptist wears a piled cloak with broad collar in a mid-6th-century carving from ravenna; (c) men on the early 8th-century Franks Casket wear a variety of cloaks 5.58 the Pannonian cap 5.59 an iron boars-crest helmet from the male burial at Wollaston 5.60 the warrior jacket 5.61 a sketch of the taplow grave made during the excavation of 1882 5.62 garments with a front opening worn by men of the Sasanian empire 5.63 reconstruction of the male costume at Morning thorpe 5.64 how the man buried at taplow might have dressed 5.65 hair styles 5.66 reconstructed belts from dover Buckland i 5.67 Shoes made from a single piece and tentatively reconstructed turnshoes 5.68 reconstructed bags and purses 5.69 the construction of a pillow from a 10th-century princes burial at Mammen (Bjerringhj), denmark 5.70 graves with the knife parallel to the forearm
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6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6

the distribution of 2/1 twills, tubular selvedges and soft-finished textiles in Migration period graves regional map of Early anglo-Saxon England and the regions of the textile and costume study the distribution of fine spin-patterned tabby and the wics the madder plant, Rubia tinctorum l. the tablet-woven bands attaching this seal to a 12th/13th-century document have been made in the same patterning technique as seen in dover Buckland ii in the 6th century detail from the 11th-century Bayeux tapestry, really an embroidery, worked in dyed wool on linen

listoffigures xiii

list of tables

2.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 5.1 5.2

Fleece types of the roman and Early anglo-Saxon period list of sites from which textile records have been collected the preservation of wool and linen with iron and copper-alloy artefacts net-like wool tabby weaves (veil weaves) from anglo-Saxon graves Colour-patterning in wool textiles of the 5th to 7th/8th centuries the sites included in the costume survey garment accessories and age in womens graves of the Migration period, region 3

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acknowledgements

unding for this research was provided by English heritage and the author would like to thank Chris Scull and the staff at the archaeology Commissions office, English heritage, for their support throughout the project. She is also indebted to the publishers, the Council for British archaeology, and especially to Frances Mee for her patience and diligence during the editing of the manuscript and to Jane thorniley-Walker who oversaw the early stages. Bryan alvey, Cultural heritage information Consultants, is to be thanked for the skill with which he recast the authors private database into a format suitable for use by others, and Bruce lamden and tom Srahan also gave assistance in it. Clerical and administrative support was provided by staff at the anglo-Saxon laboratory, namely, lynda Barraclough, Elizabeth Cox, gillian Fox, deborah gurden and nicola Walton. the text has benefited greatly from the contribution of the major illustrators, anthony Barton, rob oldfield and graham Sumner, and from additional material provided by glenys Boyles and tom Srahan. the images taken from other publications are acknowledged in the text, but i am especially grateful to the following for help in tracking down sources and copyright permission: Professor lise Bender Jrgensen, norwegian University of Science and technology (trondheim), dr dominique Cardon, Centre national de la recherche Scientifique, dr regina hofmann, University of applied arts (Vienna), dr Michael Klein, Mainz landesmuseum, Patricia Mclean, Ulster Museum Picture library, dr gale owen-Crocker, University of Manchester, Jaana riikonen, nordic graduate School in archaeology (Finland), Sue ross, Shire Books, and Else stergrd, national Museum of denmark (Copenhagen). the following have kindly read sections of the text and provided feedback: Professor lise Bender Jrgensen, dr Carole Biggam, University of glasgow, dr Birte Brugmann, University of oxford, dr tania dickinson, University of york, dr allan r hall, University of york, Professor John hines, University of Cardiff, Frances Pritchard, the Whitworth art gallery, and dr John Peter Wild, University of Manchester. any errors that remain are undoubtedly my own. others generously gave access to unpublished work: dr Birte Brugmann, the late Elisabeth Crowfoot, dr tania dickinson, the late glynis Edwards, Christine haughton, Susan hirst, Kenneth Penn, dominic Powlesland, ian riddler and Chris Scull. the text has also benefited from conversations with angela Evans, dr Kevin leahy, dr Sonja Marzinzik, ian riddler and Chris Scull, and a special thank-you goes to dr Peter addyman for access to his private library. Finally, i should like to thank all those clients who put up with delays in schedules while i was writing the book, and last, but not least, tom Srahan, for always being
ac k nowle dg e m e nt s x

there to flap a towel in my corner, and gill Fox, Bruce lamden, Ken Pickering, Sara Stancliffe, Caroline thompson and alan Wilkinson, for their constant good humour and late-night friendship during the long haul.

x i c lo t h an d c lo t h i n g i n ear ly an g lo - saxo n e n g lan d

Summary

his volume reviews the archaeological evidence for clothing and its manufacture in the early anglo-Saxon period. it draws on material excavated from settlements and cemeteries, and places it within the context of current studies concerning women, immigration, economy and the meaning of costume within anglo-Saxon society. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the study and a review of the historical background. Chapter 2 describes the processes of production, from raw material to finished cloth. Cloth making was made up of a series of crafts, mostly organised by the women of the community and managed alongside other agricultural and domestic duties. the work began outside in the summer and moved indoors into the pit-huts or sunkenfeatured buildings in the winter and spring. Chapter 3 surveys the main cloth types, based on 3,800 records from 162 sites, collected in a database, accessible via the adS website.they are mostly standard forms of twill and tabby, in wool and linen, although the ratios of one type to another change with time. tablet weaves and needlework, including embroideries, are described, as well a small number of specialist weaves. Chapter 4 reviews costume accessories, including brooches, pins, buckles and necklaces, most of which come from womens graves. Chapter 5 presents a detailed study of costume styles, based on the evidence from the cemeteries. the findings from the graves are compared with the representation of germanic men and women in roman art and with later historical evidence. accessories such as belts, bags and shoes are described, along with bedding and other soft furnishings. Chapter 6 considers the evidence under thematic headings.the anglo-Saxon textile culture arrived in two or more waves from the Continent, but the survival of native British skills can be seen in certain regional pockets. Costumes show regional and chronological variation, and age and social status also play a part: markers for age and marriage have been tentatively identified. Specialist textiles follow affluent or highstatus people, and in the 7th century these shift from mostly female to exclusively male graves. the role of textiles in the funerary ritual is considered and notes are provided on ways in which the archaeologist can improve the study of costume in the future.

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rsum

e volume fait un compte-rendu des indices archologiques concernant les vtements et leur fabrication au dbut de la priode anglo-saxonne. il utilise le matriel dcouvert lors des fouilles de peuplements et de cimetires, et il situe ce matriel dans le contexte des tudes courantes concernant les femmes, limmigration, lconomie, et la signification du costume au sein de la socit anglo-saxonne. le chapitre 1 introduit cette tude et fournit aussi un compte-rendu du contexte historique. le chapitre 2 dcrit les procds de production, des matires premires au tissu fini. la fabrication du tissu tait le produit dune srie dartisanats, organiss pour la plupart par les femmes de la communaut, et gre cte cte avec dautres activits agricoles et mnagres. le travail commenait lextrieur en t et continuait lintrieur, dans les cabanes mi-souterraines ou les btiments structures enfouies en hiver et au printemps. le chapitre 3 examine les principaux types de tissu, sur la base de 3 800 notations tires de 162 sites, runies dans une base de donnes, laquelle est accessible par le biais du site internet adS. Ces tissus sont pour la plupart des formes normales de serg et de armure toile, en laine et en lin, bien que les proportions entre un type de tissu et un autre changent dans le temps. les armures aux cartons et les travaux daiguille, y compris les broderies, y sont dcrits, ainsi quun petit nombre de tissus spcialiss. le chapitre 4 examine les accessoires du costume, y compris les broches, les pingles, les boucles, et les colliers, dont la plupart proviennent de spultures de femmes. le chapitre 5 prsente une tude dtaille des styles de costumes, sur la base des indices retrouvs dans les cimetires. les dcouvertes extraites des spultures sont compares avec la manire dont sont reprsents les hommes et les femmes germaniques dans lart romain et avec les indices historiques ultrieurs. les accessoires comme les ceintures, les sacs et les chaussures sont dcrits, ainsi que la literie et autres tissus de maison. le chapitre 6 examine les indices sous des rubriques thmatiques. la culture textile anglo-saxonne arriva du continent europen en deux vagues ou plus, mais la survie des techniques autochtones britanniques peut se voir dans certaines petites zones rgionales. les costumes tmoignent des variations rgionales et chronologiques, et lge et le standing social ont galement un rle jouer: des marqueurs pour lge et le mariage ont t provisoirement identifis. les textiles spcialiss accompagnent les personnes riches ou de grand standing social et, au 7me sicle, ils passent de spultures principalement fminines des spultures exclusivement masculines. le rle des textiles dans les rites funraires est pris en considration et des notes sont fournies sur les manires dont les archologues pourront amliorer ltude du costume lavenir.

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bersicht

ieser Band prsentiert eine bersicht ber archologische Funde von gewndern und deren herstellung in der frhen angelschsischen Zeit von ad 450700. Fr diese Studie wird ausgrabungsmaterial aus Siedlungen und Friedhfen hinzugezogen und anschlieend mit Studien integriert, die sich mit der rolle von Frauen, immigration, Wirtschaftsstruktur und der Bedeutung von trachten in der angelschsischen gesellschaft beschftigen. das 1. Kapitel besteht aus einer Einleitung und vermittelt eine bersicht ber den historischen hintergrund. Kapitel 2 beschreibt den herstellungsprozess, vom rohmaterial bis zum gefertigten Stoff. die Stoffherstellung bestand aus einer reihe von handwerklichen Vorgngen, die hauptschlich von Frauen durchgefhrt wurden und mit anderen arbeiten in der landwirtschaft und im haus verbunden wurden. die arbeit begann im Sommer im Freien und wurde im Winter und Frhling in grubenhusern weitergefhrt. Kapitel 3 enthlt eine inventur der wichtigsten Stoffarten, dessen Kenntnis auf 3800 aufzeichnungen aus 162 ausgrabungssttten beruht. diese information ist in einer datenbank zusammengetragen die ber die Webseite des adS zugnglich ist. Sie am meisten verbreitetsten Stoffarten bestehen aus Kper und tuchbindungen aus Wolle und leinen, welche arten vorherrschen ist zeitlichen nderungen unterworfen. Brettchenwebereien und nadelarbeiten, wie zum Beispiel Stickereien werden beschrieben, sowie eine kleine anwahl von auergewhnlichen Webearbeiten. das 4. Kapitel beschftigt sich mit trachtenschmuck, wie zum Beispiel Broschen, nadeln, Schnallen und halsschmuck, die meist aus Frauengrbern stammen. im 5. Kapitel wird eine detaillierte Studie von gewndern beschrieben, die aus grabfunden bestehen. die grabfunde werden mit den darstellungen von germanen aus rmischer Kunst und spteren historischen Quellen verglichen. accessoires wie grtel, taschen und Schuhe werden beschrieben, sowie auch Bettzeug und andere textilaustattungen. im 8. Kapitel werden die Befunde unter verschiedenen thematischen Kategorien diskutiert. die angelschsische textilkultur kam durch zwei Einwanderungswellen vom Europischen Festland, in bestimmten gebieten berlebten vereinzelt auch einheimische handarbeiten. trachten unterliegen regionalen und zeitlichen abweichungen und das alter und die soziale Stellung der trger spielen auch eine rolle: bestimmte Kennzeichen, die hinweise auf alter oder heiraten geben, wurden provisorisch identifiziert. Spezielle textilien geben hinweise auf Wohlstand und hohen Status und ab dem 7. Jahrhundert werden solche textilien ausschlielich in grbern von Mnnern gefunden. die rolle von textilien bei Begrbnisritualen wird diskutiert und es werden Vorschlge gemacht, wie die Methoden der textilarchologie fr zuknftige Studien verbessert werden knnen.
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there are three slender things that best support the world: the slender stream of milk from the cows teat into the pail; the slender blade of green corn upon the ground; and the slender thread across the hand of a skilled woman. The Triads of Ireland (9th century)

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