The Bounty of Information You Can Learn from Period Letters

Love, business, plague – parts of the every day lives of the middle ages experienced by both commoner and king. And captured in the letters they sent. Reading medieval letters unveils so much incredible information about day-to-day lives and the people who wrote them. This article samples quotes from a variety of topics to show you how rich these letters are in sharing information about the people of the Middle Ages.

Laurel

THE MOST INSANE THING THAT I HAVE EVER MADE…yet: a study of my 12th Night Houppelande)

Welcome to my world of houppelandes! I love Houps! I could sped my entire SCA career just focused on outwear of the 15th century. In fact, I do!!! Please join me in a study of the origin, construction, and research I embarked on two and half years ago (it feels like six months – Yay, COVID!!!) in creating my 12th night mi-parti fleur de lis Houppelande

Sonnets

Is it Possible to understand someone and continue their works as if they were doing it? In writing, this is called duplicating one’s Ideolect. In thought process, and even criminal behavior, this is called “Profiling”, in the Arts, it is either called “Forgery” or, if signed by the actual creator, “Replication” 😉

Mobilier Medieval: Domestic and Vernacular Furniture

Why domestic furniture? As we learn about the people of the Middle Ages, we inevitably seek to discover how they engaged with their domestic environment. How did they physically approach their work? How did they sit and sleep? Did use of furniture reflect place in family, community, or society? What can materials and styles tell us about trade and the exchange of knowledge?

A woman wearing a yellow, blue, and red mantle and white veil. Background is orange fabric with yellow brocade stripes.

12th Century Adventures in Silk Taffeta

I didn’t make any medieval clothing for most of 2020 since there were no in-person events to wear it to. But that all changed in February 2021, when I spotted an orange silk taffeta with gold brocade stripes in one of my favourite online fabric stores. Herein I tell the tale of the mantle and bliaut that I made from some very colorful silk taffeta.

Photo of Opus Anglicanum piece. Five biblical scenes under five arches.

Exploring Architectural Elements in Opus Anglicanum

Is there iconographic significance in the architectural elements of the splendid embroidery work known as Opus Anglicanum?

This question intrigued me and led me down a path that included studying Opus Anglicanum images and learning about the iconography of medieval architecture.

While I didn’t find the answer I was looking for (yay science!), I found a treasure trove of potential paths for my research – especially around three Opus Anglicanum pieces featuring unique architectural elements.

Rag Dolls: A Small History and Recreation

This project is dolls, specifically “rag” dolls throughout the medieval ages. I was motivated to do this project because I often see children at events playing with modern toys, so I wanted to research the use of toys for medieval children. In this research I recreate a roman rag doll and dress them according to later period portraits.

Scandinavian Cuisine During the Vendel and Early Viking Age

In 2013 I decided to do a year of Viking food for events to match my persona. A short time later, after digging into research I realized this was not going to be a short term project. There are very few primary sources, arguably there are none. Everything that we have is secondary or tertiary and undoubtedly wrong. This presentation is my evolving work at becoming steadily less wrong.

Image of medieval beekeepers

No Bees in My Business

As a beekeeper, I have been thinking about making a period bee suit for quite a while. This page describes the start of this journey, beginning with (and inspired by) a surprisingly atypical illustration of beekeepers, and how I began looking into the details of that image, through the current point of creating two appropriate undergarments – a (man’s) camicia and a (woman’s) pair of calzoni femminili.

Mobilier Medieval: From Tree to Chest

As my interest in vernacular furniture has grown, so has my curiosity about the processes which went into making household items. What tools were used to shape and join them? What were the materials and how were those materials prepared? What methods of production did cabinetmakers practice? Inspired by the late Jennie Alexander, author of “Make a Chair from a Tree”, and the continuation of her work done in partnership with famed joiner Peter Follansbee, I have been exploring the entire furniture-making process from harvesting trees through the finished piece.