A Bit of Nalbinding, and a Status

I have done nothing relating to costuming this month.  Mostly that's because I've undertaken a temporary job, working for the US Census Bureau.  It has left me with zero time and energy to do anything extra.

But I did find a video that mentions an insole with nalbinding on it.  The video is by the Medeltidmuseet in Stockholm, and as you might expect, it is in Swedish.  However, it gives a look at a leather sole with a bit of nalbinding along one edge.  This find is dated to 1300-1400 CE.  The link can be found on the Nalbound blog, here, which is in English and gives a bit of perspective on the find.  (Kudos to Anne Marie Decker, who writes the Nalbound blog.)

Was this bit of nalbinding part of an insole?  Or is this evidence of a nalbinded sock with a leather sole attached?  The blogger at the Nalbound blog thinks it's an insole because the "row [of nalbinding] appears to follow the edge of the leather sole. That direction under and along the arch does not match the row direction that I see in contemporaneous nalbound socks."  It's an interesting look into a different way that nalbinding might have been used during the medieval period.

Getting Dressed in the 14th Century

This week, I found a fascinating pair of videos on YouTube, meant to illustrate how Europeans from all walks of life would have gotten dressed, and what they would have worn, in the 14th century.  They are fascinating because they show not only the items of clothing that would have been worn, and how they were put on, but also plausible reconstructions of where they would have hung, or been laid, overnight while the wearer was sleeping.  

The video embedded on the left shows Piers the Ploughman.  A second video shows two working women, dressing and helping each other dress, here.  Both are based upon images found in the Luttrell Psalter, a 14th century illuminated book of prayers originally commissioned and owned by  Sir Geoffrey Luttrell; it now resides in the British Library in London.  The channel in question, CrowsEye Productions, has "getting dressed" videos for other eras as well, including World War I and the 18th century.  The Luttrell Psalter is especially useful to show everyday life in the 14th century, because many of the images therein do just that; they show scenes from life on a manor like Sir Geoffrey's manor in Lincolnshire. Another reason why the Luttrell Psalter is an especially appropriate series of images for CrowsEye to bring to life is that CrowsEye Productions is based in Lincolnshire!

CrowsEye has made vidoes showing folk getting dressed in other periods, namely, the 18th century and World War I.  Their Patreon page states that their ultimate plan is to make videos showing people getting dressed from many different periods of English history, from the Viking era to World War II, but they are seeking suggestions as to which period to tackle next.   Anyone who has followed my blog will easily guess that it's Vikings I'd like to see next!

Medieval Treasure Find

Tonight, I found an interesting news article on Yahoo about a find of buried treasure in Austria. About four years ago, a man was digging in his back yard when he unearthed an assortment of "more than 200 rings, brooches, ornate belt buckles, gold-plated silver plates and other pieces or fragments, many encrusted with pearls, fossilized coral and other ornaments." However, he only brought them to the attention of the authorities this week. 

The jewels are estimated to be about 650 years old, i.e., from the fourteenth century or so. The article includes two pictures; one of a flower-shaped brooch, and one of a striking sapphire ring with four garnets. I commend the article to my readers, some of whom may be interested enough in 14th century costume and culture to wish to follow up on the find.

EDIT: I got the details of the announcement wrong.  According to the Yahoo article, it's unclear when the man first told authorities of his find; but the authorities first reported the trove on Friday the 22nd.