A while ago, I obtained a Swedish-language translation of a pamphlet about women's dress in the Viking age from Handelsgillet. I purchased it because I understood that the original had been published in Great Britain and hoped that it would contain references to sources that I had not heard of, living as I do in the United States. Unfortunately, I did not succeed in wringing much information from the Swedish edition, and eventually misplaced my copy.
Recently, I saw an English-language edition of the same pamphlet for sale on Etsy by the Dark Ages Charitable Trust. Out of curiosity, I purchased a copy, even though I am aware that the information in it should be supplemented by more recent research.
Having read the bibliography of the pamphlet, I know the origin of at least some of the more thought-provoking statements in the pamphlet (including some statements that I disagree with). However, I have decided to write this post in the hope of finding information about statements whose origins I don't understand and would like to know more about. In particular:
- In discussing Viking Age shifts, the pamphlet states that "[t]he faced keyhole is a style going back even to Ancient Egypt." (I can't give page numbers, because the version of the pamphlet I have doesn't have any.) Now I know that Peter Beatson has suggested, plausibly, that the neckline of the Manazan shirt was finished with a technique that involved a second layer of fabric under the neckline, but I don't know of any Viking Age (or, for that matter, Ancient Egyptian) finds that involve a facing in the modern sense (i.e., a piece of fabric that follows the shape of the neckline, as is depicted here).
- I have written about the "two tea towels" type of reconstructed Viking apron dress here. The pamphlet suggests that this design originated "late in the Viking period and in the Rus-lands to the east." However, the pamphlet pre-dates the Pskov find, and the pamphlet does not list any sources discussing that find in the bibliography. So where does the idea that the tea-towel style was Russian come from? I had thought it was based on a mistranslation of Agnes Geijer's work on the Birka finds.
- The pamphlet also makes this interesting claim: "In at least one grave there were the remains of vertical pleats in the cloth at the back of the dress, overlaid with tablet woven braid. This would shape the frock and put the fullness over and below the hips and back." The accompanying drawing showed four pleats, each covered with tablet-woven trim, extending from the top edge of an apron dress down to hip level. Does anyone know what find might be referred to here? It's not Birka grave 735, because although that find includes a number of rows of tablet-woven trim it does not show evidence of "pleats" so far as I am aware.
EDIT: (2/16/2012) Carolyn--I didn't delete your comment--I don't know why it's not there, but I got e-mail notification of it. Please feel free to repost it (in fact, I'd love to respond!)
"[t]he faced keyhole is a style going back even to Ancient Egypt."
ReplyDeleteAFAIK, the main way to finish edges in Ancient Egypt was rolled hems and whipstitching.
But he might be thinking of the tunic from tomb TT8 (of Kha and Meryt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TT8)
Photos here:
http://xy2.org/lenka/TurinKha.html
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menesje/5162190977/in/set-72157600066084316
But without knowing how the neck was constructed, it's hard to say if it is a true facing, or if the neckline was finished and the bands were appliqued on for decoration instead of seam finishing.
I have written about the "two tea towels" type of reconstructed Viking apron dress here. The pamphlet suggests that this design originated "late in the Viking period and in the Rus-lands to the east."
DeleteCould it (the idea, I mean) come from the zanaveska/zapona tabard-like layer worn by unmarried Rus maidens?
eg. http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Russia/wardrobe.html
I suppose it might, but the "tabard-like layer" worn in Russia was worn without any brooches at all, tortoise or otherwise. The drawing that accompanied the statement showed A-shaped tea towels hanging from loops over the shoulders.
DeleteI just wondered whether there were any theories going the rounds outside the US involving the "tea towel" apron dress.
It's probably more pertinent to ask "what was doing the rounds when the pamphlet was written?", as my impression from looking at Russian-language message boards is that at the moment the open-fronted style fastened together with a 'shawl' brooch is the predominant one.
DeleteIt's probably more pertinent to ask "what was doing the rounds when the pamphlet was written?"
DeleteThat's an excellent question, but one to which I do not know the answer. I don't even know when the pamphlet was first *published.* The version of the pamphlet that I have from the Dark Ages Charitable Trust has no publication date, and I know that it was sold in at least one other format for years before now. I don't think the Swedish language version had a publication date either. All I know is that the most recent sources cited in the bibliography that have dates listed or for which I can locate dates based on ISBN information date to 1993. I have no idea what the current trends were in Viking age reenactment in Great Britain (or anywhere, for that matter) where back then.
Thanks! that's exactly the kind of detail I was hoping to get.
ReplyDeleteSo far as I know, the main way to finish edges in the 8th-12th c CE depended on the function of the edge, but was more like "rolled hems and whipstitching" than anything else, at least for underwear. I'm thinking of the St. Louis shirt in particular.
I just took at better look at the larger photo of the tunic neckline, and it looks to me as though the round edge was folded to the front and the trim sewn to the fold with whipstitching. However, I agree that there's still room for debate on that point, I also think that it would be impossible to resolve the issue conclusively without a look at the inside of the tunic (or commentary from a trustworthy person who has had such a look).
DeleteIf it's the pamphlet I'm thinking of, then I wouldn't trust it an inch. I couldn't find any evidence for most of the designs, and the text on at least one page said "I saw a re-enactor wearing this" as the source.
ReplyDeletePeople I know who tried their Thorsberg trouser pattern a few years ago said it completely didn't work.
It's a shame, because it's nicely produced, but since it seems to be "whatever some re-enactors were wearing in the 1990s" it's not something I'd recommend.
The only vertical pleats I know of are at the *front* of the apron-dress! And no, I don't know of any evidence for the two-towels interpretation. I heard a rumour that it came from a book which made an error in their drawing, but I've never seen that book so it's just a rumour to me.
I am not saying that I trust it at all. I am hoping that checking into some of these statements may lead me to genuine information that I don't have that has been misinterpreted.
DeleteHave you tried asking the company politely if they can provide you with references for those items?
ReplyDeleteIngaborg: The Dark Ages Charitable Trust appears to be based in Australia. The version of the pamphlet I first saw was originally sold in the British Isles. I have no reason to believe that the current seller knows for certain who wrote it, let alone what the provenance of all of the statements in it may be. I believe it used to be sold in England by a gentleman trading as The Petty Chapman, but he didn't have a website, which is why I bought a Swedish-language copy of it originally in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThe tunic of Tutankhamun has a keyhole neck reinforced with applied bands in the shape of an ankh. There's a photo here.
ReplyDeletethreadsofhistory.blogspot.com/2009/08/hunters-and-gatherers.html
But a facing, strictu sensu? Vogelsang-Eastwood doesn't mention any in her _Ancient Pharaonic Clothing_ chapter on the bag tunics. Mostly, she says, neck slits are are rolled and whipped.
I wonder if the writer was thinking about the Viborg shirt?
I made a comment but it seems to have vanished aftef Blogger showed it as "published." Any idea why?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, Carolyn. But yesterday I was experimenting with some software that blocks one's Internet activities from snooping software, and that might have something to do with it.
DeleteAnyway, in the lost comment, you mentioned King Tut's tunic but noted that the neckline is finished with ornamental bands applied to the right side of the shirt, not a "facing" applied to the inside. Pearl provided me with a link to a picture of a different grave find that is finished in much the same way. As you correctly pointed out, that type of garment is not evidence for the use of a "facing" in the modern sense by the ancient Egyptians.
Ah! For some reason, I was thinking of the contrasting facing on the outside of the neck, like you see being worn by re-enactors. (Can't find any photos online, but I've spent the weekend at a camping event and it seems to be a common decoration.) :)
DeleteThe "contrasting" facing style is, I suppose, a type of facing, but it's clear from the illustration in the pamphlet that they mean the kind that's placed inside the garment.
DeleteI personally suspect that the whole "contrasting facing on the outside of the neck" may come from someone's deduction from the Bayeux Tapestry, which appears to show such tunics.
It's not these folks is it? http://www.darkagestrust.org.uk/
ReplyDeleteAll I have is the booklet with the name "Dark Ages Charitable Trust" but it does seem to be them.
ReplyDelete