What fabrics did the Merovingians use in the 5th and 6th centuries?

[@paulinemegson8519]

Ok so obviously my range of interests completely befuddles the great algorithm because mostly I get the same stuff in my feed over and over…..and over, and over…. But, every now and then a gem like this pops up. The last one was a wonderful video on recreating Minoan clothing……yes!! This was great. I love learning about ancient textiles, their creation and the roles of women in the development of textile production.

[@marlenaamalfitano2727]

This is so interesting. Much later, my several greats grandparents were weavers on the post revolutionary out posts of what became New York. State in the US. Later, in the early 20th century, my. Husband's grandparents fro Italy were silk weavers. I have some materials from both, as well as linen they wove

[@maureengauvin1768]

Wow - how fortunate you are to have those heirlooms in your possession! A real bridge to the past. 🧡🙏🏻

[@censusgary]

I’ve noticed that in medieval stories, wealth is sometimes indicated by gold, ivory, and jewels, but more often by luxurious fabrics. Much like us, I suppose, our ancestors dreamed of having high-status clothes and house furnishings.

[@maureengauvin1768]

Most definitely; all textile making was labor intensive period. Just to hand drop spin - on a whorl - enough ‘yarn’ to weave into cloth to even clothe the typical family of BASIC peasant clothing used up every available hour in the day by the females (predominately, though children & some men did help out) in the household. And next comes the actual weaving & clothing construction sewing. This of course in addition to field work, gardening, cooking & cleaning. So, naturally, only the wealthy could afford the luxury of silk & an entire team of slaves etc to prep, spin, dye & weave the fiber into garments, trim, furnishings.

[@censusgary]

@@maureengauvin1768Relative to people’s incomes and general wealth, both the cost of materials (wool, linen, silk, etc.) and the amount of labor required were much greater than they are now. In our lifetime, clothing is the cheapest, adjusted for inflation and so forth, that it has ever been in human history. I’m a fairly poor person, yet if I wanted to, I could buy new clothes (although the cheapest available), wear them once, and throw them away when they get dirty or torn (instead of cleaning or mending them). That was unthinkable even in my parents’ generation, for all but the richest people. Until the last few centuries, most people didn’t have more than one set of clothes, or two at the most, which they wore every day of the year. So even wearing different outfits for different occasions was a display of wealth. Even in the 18th century, the religious leader John Wesley defined being wealthy as owning two coats instead of one.

[@DragonriderEpona]

This video is a blessing of the KZbin algorithm. I'm a history student myself and do study medieval clothing in my spare time. (Also interested in the Alamanni, so same time periode). I really appreciate the added pictues and video clips that one does not always find in papers. It adds a lot to the obtained knowledge. And it makes it more approachable. And I'm really thankful for adding a literature list and including the links. (So much more ti read now ~✨️) I hope more peole will find this video, as it is very well researched and presented. And I also really appreciate that you mentioned that the middle ages were very colourful. One of my professors always needs to say in his lectures for the first semster students that they must forget the image of "the dark ages" because so many people still believe that 😅

[@elainelear4982]

Very interesting. Thank you for all the information.

[@angharadllewellyn2192]

As a spinner, dyer & weaver, I really enjoyed your video. Please make one on Scandinavian Medieval fabrics.

[@maureengauvin1768]

Loved this info! Wish I ‘d done a couple of years of Graduate study drilling down into Textiles of the Medieval Period. Thanks for adding to my ‘continuing’ education. I am now a 70 year old Fiberholic and in retirement still exploring all things fiber & textile. 🧡🙏🏻

[@kathleenstoin671]

In Exodus 28:39 in the Bible, there is a description of the fabric used in the priest's garments. Many translations use the term "checker work, or checkered," for the fine linen used in the fabric, which seems to indicate that in ancient times, people were using different weaving techniques. This was a very interesting video. Thank you for producing it!

[@ladyjusticesusan]

Your knowledge is commendable and I appreciate you very much for sharing it. I’ve traced my genealogy back to 1280 Belgium (well, more properly Ghent, and a few other nearby areas, Flanders), so I merely make the guess that some of my ancestors lived in this area during your time frame too. The greatest thing I found was in 1360 an ancestor is documented as a cloth merchant in Ghent. So I take that to mean that my lifetime (50+ years) of sewing and love of fabrics must be genetic. Or at least to explain my fabric stash that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. So far my garb has been based on various personas from 1300 to 1480s but now I feel comfortable creating something much earlier, thanks to you doing the research for me and showing wonderful examples and explanations in your videos, which I truly appreciate. Thank you for what you do. I’m so happy to have found your videos and can’t wait to see what you do next. Thank you.

[@AshleyMartin-f3x]

Belgium was ghent

[@LynnaeaEmber]

Very interesting. I would like to see more videos about fabric and dress from history. I was introduced to weaving when I was at university working on my fine arts degree in painting. We had to take a number of classes in other arts, so I chose fibers for one of them. Weaving was something I didn't become good at but I developed a respect towards hand weavers down through the ages. Please keep these videos coming. Maybe they will inspire me to try weaving again.

[@MistressQueenBee]

Wow. Just wow. Had no idea how much work went into all these types of fabrics.

[@1aliveandwell]

Recall reading about energized yarns, singles woven to cause it to gather into pleats depending on how it was spin and woven (In Handwoven and Spin-Off magazines).

[@3elvenrings]

Exactly the kind of information I love to find as I begin my deep dive into all things Merovingian (NOT including The Matrix). Thank you!

[@conitorres9774]

I am a beginner sewer and use primarily, natural fabrics so this was very interesting.

[@janetchennault4385]

I have found that I can often get a nice green dye by using a normal 'yellow' dye plant source, but mordanting with copper instead of alum.

[@katrussell6819]

I want to play with more plant dyes. Copper mordant, too.

[@dianasmith8166]

This was a very enjoyable subject! Loved every minute.

[@suviasletters]

Thank you!

[@leisongivangomo4478]

Excellent video! 👏 Love the broken diamond twill! The colour was also exquisite 😃

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

Medieval women’s clothing, especially in the earlier period, looks so warm and comfortable. One of these days I’m going to make myself a few similar ankle-length, long-sleeved, loose/straightish cut, wool dresses and silk shifts to wear under them at home on cold winter days. Now I wear ready-made wool or cashmere knit dresses, the longest I can find, with silk long johns for this purpose, I’ve never found a silk shift for sale. A long-sleeve silk knit dress would also do very well for this, but they’re hard to find. I can only wear natural fibers and prefer dresses over trousers, all year round. I don’t want to use a lot of energy, people will need it more in the future, so I only use heat if it’s under 60F indoors (except to shower), and it gets chilly.❤

[@jochildress5003]

What a refreshing subject for KZbin! Love it. New subscriber.

[@hkeeler8813]

Allot of content. So strange i have not heard of The Merovingian people before. I'm 57 I have spent most of my life knitting and sewing of various techniques. Also quite a collection of books,magazines and patterns. Much of it from my mum. Even at school these people were not mentioned. Thankyou for this interesting video. We never stop learning. Off to find out more. X

[@flickslandan8262]

They are not a people, it's a time period of the Franks ( modern France, Germany and BeNeLux).

[@Neenerella333]

​@flickslandan8262 Yes. More like a dynasty. The way the Chinese era of the Ming family of emperors designate a time period.

[@antoniescargo1529]

The Merovingen were a dynasty of Frankisch kings. They spoke the ancestor of my own language. Scholars discovered a sentence in a manuscript :'Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan hinase ik ande thu. All birds started making nests except you and me. You can look it up. The second dynasty was the Karolingen (Charlemagne, Karel Martel etc.)

[@DorotheaEggers]

Just found your channel. Not my usual century of interest, but great info, thank you :-) If you're still looking for wool musselin, there's a German online shop called "Tuch und Stoff" who offer it. They cater to reenactors, so maybe you'll find what you're looking for.

[@hazeluzzell]

I have the most fabulous book on the textiles found in the Merovingian Royal graves. I visited an exhibition near Paris.

[@suviasletters]

oh, which one? (She says hoping there is book shopping in her near future)

[@hazeluzzell]

@@suviasletters ‘Les Trésors Mérovingiens de la Basilique de Saint Denis’ Michel Fleury and Albert France-Lanord Editeur Gerard Klopp. It is beautifully illustrated, with English as well as French text. It is a very large book, weighing 10 kilogrammes. Well worth the effort if you can get your hands on it.

[@MomShots]

This video is amazing!!! I want all the info! 😂 I am reading a book called Women’s Work by Elizabeth Wayland Barber that touched on this time period and location. It’s all incredibly fascinating. Thanks for putting the effort into making this video.

[@suviasletters]

I love that book. Thank you for the kind words.

[@juliarabbitts1595]

@@suviaslettersI’ve just finished this book and was driving friends nuts by telling them loads of the fascinating things I learnt; so many things now made sense.

[@DebbieGring]

Great video! Very interesting and informative! Nice to hear your voice again too!!

[@Saraseeksthompson0211]

this is really lovely to watch and learn from.

[@craz4mom]

Thank you for this video - fabulously interesting - plz give us more - I will share this with my guild page on fb. Thank you!

[@suviasletters]

Thank you! Will do!

[@Adl259]

Thank you so much for the highly informative video. Such a gift!

[@MijnWolden]

Really interesting and concise!

[@c-kcountry-kiwi5294]

An interesting topic and very well presented. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@suviasletters]

Thank you!

[@linr8260]

This was fascinating, thank you so much!

[@suviasletters]

You’re welcome!

[@strangeplanet8313]

Awesome work. Thank you.

[@suviasletters]

Glad you liked it!

[@catmintable]

Agreed, very interesting. I am also interested to find out what weaves came out of Africa with baskets, shawls/fabrics when humans migrated over the many years. I guess that would apply to fabric sources (animal and plant) and dyes as well. Thanks for doing this video.

[@suviasletters]

I don’t know much about African textiles but maybe I can find an expert and have chat in a video.

[@VeretenoVids]

Very interesting! I'm just getting into weaving and I'm taking a deep dive into historical fabrics. Also equally interesting to this language nerd is your pronunciation of "textile." I assume it's a regional pronunciation that' I've simply not heard and I'm curious to learn because language is also fascinating.

[@suviasletters]

You can do it!

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

So glad I got this video in my stream, subscribed! My two interests are history, especially Bronze Age to Late Medieval European history, and fashion/clothing these days, now that I’m retired from working as a geologist, my first love. You do say textiles funny, though - as textels, not textiles.

[@suviasletters]

Accents and linguistics are fun. :)

[@phaleen]

Thank you so much, this is so interesting and informative.

[@suviasletters]

Glad it was helpful!

[@a.nonymous1858]

Amazing! Thank you for this!

[@suviasletters]

My pleasure!

[@lilianabeatriz4551]

¡Excelente! Felicitaciones. 🥀

[@katrussell6819]

Great information. Thank you.

[@michaelthomas2804]

This was really intersting!

[@jeannegreeneyes1319]

Wonderful video, thank you! Happy to subscribe 😊

[@michellecranford9238]

A very enjoyable and educational video..thank you..😉

[@vulcanswork]

How interesting. I learned something new, about silk, already been known at that time.

[@MindYourBusinesses]

😊Informative, helpful, and useful.

[@anieth]

I'm glad to see this channel is getting more views. Did you close the other one?

[@suviasletters]

I still have my historybounding channel @AltheaRizzo :)

[@irisuhde7635]

It is very interessting,and your englisch ist easy to understand for a german.Thanks. 😊

[@Ikiada]

An amazing video ❤❤❤ I am watching it for the 3rd time now.

[@EsmereldaPea]

"There was no online drunken late night fabric shopping." ARE YOU SPYING ON ME??

[@Suebee1988]

Hi there! Just wondering where you are from. I have never heard "textile" pronounced "tex-tl" - only ever "tex-tile." Thanks!

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

What is “stell urine”? I would love it if you could expand upon the topics of textile bleaching, prior to modern chemicals, and the history of fabric ironing/pressing. I haven’t been able to find out much on these. It seems to me from Egyptian art that the linen garments for the elite were subject to some kind of pressing process to get those sharp pleats we see in them. Perhaps they were just dampened, folded and pressed in a machine similar to a grape or olive press? I know Archimedes invented the screw, but I don’t know when it was first used in fruit presses. Thanks for any information you can provide.

[@suviasletters]

I am not near my sources so this is just from memory. To bleach using urine, you get everyone to either pee in the same pot or collect the pee from folx. You let it sit until it changes into ammonia. Ammonia can be used as a bleach. Linen was often polished with a smooth stone. Pressing boards have been found with glass smoothers in Norse graves.

[@basementdwellers5688]

Delighted to see your references! The longer I live, the more I value accessing - and using - primary sources. This includes politics … 🧐

[@TreeBee-cx3je]

Thank you!🤗

[@elizabethford7263]

How did I JUST find your channel??????

[@tzz615]

Very interesting!

[@999Giustina]

Would like to see a list of references and credits. Not being able to look at what you are using as references leads me to wonder.

[@suviasletters]

Thanks for the reminder to add this information to the description. Will post this week.

[@bassdivamtm]

Thank you

[@debrarodgersblackmon6860]

Granny Weatherwax? Is that you? I mean, uhm, Althea? ❤

[@DebbieGring]

I wonder the same thing!

[@spark5012]

The soundtrack is messed up.

[@suviasletters]

Yes, my technical skills don't match my ambition. I am working to get better.

[@dawsie]

I have no understanding as to the issue of the sound as I have just listen to this and found nothing wrong, I have noticed in the past when I have had an issue with both sound or viewing it was down to the wi-fi speed causing all of the problems, when this happens I tag the file to my private folder of KZbin for to be played back at a later when it’s a different time slot a few days latter, in most cases it could be the number of people who are watching the video and thus this can cause a play back issue. I hope this helps if and when you have a similar issue in the future 🤗

[@OOSPassie]

Why do you say text-ill? In place if text-ail? Is this regional?

[@suviasletters]

lol. It must be. You aren't the first to note it.

[@RED-cy7ig]

People forget that we have cold machines making fabrics instead of warm blooded artists who created practical but beautiful textiles.

[@colleenuchiyama4916]

In this day and age, very few of us would be able to afford completely hand grown, harvested, cleaned, spun, and woven fabrics. It’s simply not feasible.

[@maureengauvin1768]

Perhaps in a new earth age, at some point in the future, the many benefits of the natural cycle of fiber ‘from land - to body’ fiber production will once again be realized & made commonplace. One can dream… 🧡🙏🏻

[@sierrasukalski2133]

​@@colleenuchiyama4916Right now, something like 40% of the jobs in the 'Western Developed World' are self reportedly useless. On a personal level, they exist so people can have a wage. On a larger, more real level, these positions exist to prop up the psychology of the power structure we live in which is hierarchical, and culty. (Philosophy Tube made a great video about this topic, which I highly recommend.) Furthermore, the goods we consume for hardly anything are often luxuries, if only we had to take the real cost in labor, resources, and ecological destruction, into account, but we don't, because far from being an oversight, we live in a world engineered so that most people live in an abject, precarious state, that makes them easy to take advantage of, in a kind of I speak, therefore I do, kind of rapid way. Far from leaving the strife of the past, what we have done is simply sublimated it, so that the cost is only blatantly obvious to those loosing. However, they will loose, and loose again, and it will be their lives, but told to us as a game involving barely understood chits to be traded for anything we need in our lives. Money, what we can afford -this is a false thing that only describes the flow of power, the deals that have been made, and the ones that can be made out of the world after these deals... As if we didn't live in the world as anything but dolls to be posed. What a statement like we can't afford it really says is that we have been efficiently divided from the ability to make from what is near us, or to organize with those who are not. What is describes is how well we are farmed for the predators among us. I live in a place where my food comes from elsewhere, and the goods I rely upon come from people, in lands I will never meet. Those people ought to be my sworn kin, my dear ones, my community, but the ones who contribute the most to my life, I will never know the name of. Were I to quest for those names, I would not find any definite answers. That luxury items I could never make myself, on the strength of my own resources, come to me, and I will never know the artists and crafts people who produced it, not one, in my whole life, unless I find them in their country, and buy what they make, right then and there, is the simple reality I share with nations full of people. Isn't that madness? Isn't that a horror? And should I wish to own the basis for my own clothes, from the land up, if I first successfully sold myself, it would take my lifetime, maybe a generation away from me, to make that happen, but this ignores the first glaring block: I don't have the chits to start, and I would need to sell myself in a way I have never successfully managed, to make that happen. How am I, a serf, without land or Property, the material overlord of people slaving away for me, with their great skill and effort? Sorry if this is a bit much. The fashion industry doesn't even run on getting paid for the garments they make. Enormous amounts go straight to landfill. It just couldn't be clearer that what we are dealing with is a heart of darkness situation. Clothing from scratch, from the field, is an enormous endeavor, to be sure, but a lot, I think comes down to the ability to both connect to people, and resources, and to slow down, and get intentional. Even if you love fashion and textiles, how many clothes should you make, or feel like you have to make? And then there's the technology piece. Time and again, inventors increased what humans could do, hoping people would make ethical innovations, helping to give people less onerous work, and instead, what they made created mass suffering, and made a few hoarders richer. Or, the inventors were rather unscrupulous, and made something to make money, and feel important, leaving the walking horror shows to figure out what to do with their inventions. Maybe if we weren't so wed to the status quo we could do something about that. More than anything, what we need is to flip the process, to make Production before Capital, instead of making Capital precede Production. (Yanis Yaroufakis has a great talk that goes into what the Industrial Revolution really was, that goes into this piece of it all. I borrow terminology from him, but the movement around the Enclosure Act in England, couldn't be clearer.) To this end, commons, and public utilities are rather crucial. Ta!

[@sheilam4964]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@harryshafta]

cool

[@annepoitrineau5650]

It looks to me like no other weaving "way" has been invented in the last 1800 years, at least, maybe much longer.

[@roxie6519]

Late night drunken fabric shopping....I feel so called out right now.

[@sphinxtheeminx]

Why can't you correctly pronounce 'textile'?

[@deemetzger5779]

Common era is Christian era right?

[@suviasletters]

Yes, that's right.

[@catrinblack8097]

That is a nice and clear presentation. I just want to add that the fabrics that you say the elite had were not for the elite but those who cared for nature, the woods and the animals, water etc. The idea or assumption or explanation that society is ordered in a hierarchical way with an elit class that wore the best is very dum. That idea -elite has the best- changed society from a custodian caring mother nurturing world, to the bastard selfish frightening version we are forced to live in today.

[@maureengauvin1768]

“Sometimes it is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.” - Abraham Lincoln

[@deforrest5611]

a very dry lecture. boring,boring