Giata’s Late 15th Century Gamurra Introduction My post on early renaissance fashion covers the technical terms for the dresses of the 14th and 15th centuries here. Now, I want to talk more ab…
Whether you’re having your medieval clothes made, or buying fabric to make them yourself, the first question new re-enactors ask is “What colour should my clothes be?” The correct, but unhelpful, answer is “It depends”. It depends on the precise period of history, the place, the socio-economic status, the profession etc of the person you’re portraying.
Medieval manuscript bindings are often overlooked and rarely preserved, but they could be spectacularly elaborate works of art in themselves.
The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University houses a very mysterious manuscript known as The Voynich Manuscript. Why so strange? Because it is written in a language and script unlike any other. It has been studied my historians, linguists and cryptologists but none can come up with a theory to explain the contents of the 246 page manuscript. The vellum on which it is written has been carbon dated to the early 15th century. Wilfrid Voynich (thus the name of the manuscript) claims to have discovered it in 1912 at a Jesuit college in Frascati, south east Rome. At the time it was thought that it may have been attributed to Roger Baker a 13th century English philosopher. Other suggestions have been the likes of the English occultist mathematician John Dee or his medium Edward Kelley. The enigma remains, as to who created this illustrated 246 page manuscript written in an unknown script / language? What are the strange plants and creatures and why the naked women featured on the pages?
The zodiac sign of VIRGO is associated with the month of August. In the medieval iconographic compositions it is often represented by a single woman. She is usually presented standing in a landscape, although in some cases she is shown seated or indoors. Usually she holds either a palm or a sheaf and therefore associated to agriculture. In some representations she has flowers in her hand. In the modern horoscope the zodiac sign of VIRGO covers the period from about 23 August until 22 September. Link to "Zodiac sign of VIRGO" set. Link to the "Zodiac signs" collection. Manuscript title: Codex Schürstab Origin: Nünberg (Germany) Period: 15th century Image source: Zürich, Zentralbibliothek, Ms. C 54, p. 21r – Codex Schürstab (www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/zbz/C0054/21r)
There are those who merely exist in life, simply going through the motions and completing the average tasks required for another day. Then there are those
The Gdansk Crane, built in the mid-15th century. Capable of lifting loads upto 2000 kg, it was the largest crane in Medieval Europe. [Długie Pobrzeże, Główne Miasto (Main Town), Gdansk]
Today we would like to show you some sources and techniques for doing laundry in the 14th and 15th century.
Explore [email protected]'s 96 photos on Flickr!
A decorative initial “S” taken from a late 15th century alphabet . You could use it as a drop capital, an avatar, or something to colour in. If you use it, let me know what you did! A B
There are many looks on headwear during the late 15th century. Everything from maiden hair hanging loose with soft waves, to several layers of linen veils wrapped around the head, with wimples or j…
