A glimpse at what linen brings to the musical stage. If you’ve ever been to a Renaissance festival, you’ve probably seen plenty of folks wearing linen as they play their festive Celtic music. But linen isn’t confined to being worn by musicians playing music of old. It has made its way on plenty of other…
Linen and Music
Ahhh, linen. It is beautiful, versatile, durable and luxurious. It is no wonder that the Ancient Egyptians, rich and poor alike, prized it above all other fabrics. The hot climate of Egypt made lightweight clothing mandatory and linen offered the perfect solution. The flax could be woven into a fine weave that kept the wearer…
Balance, symmetry, and longevity: three traits shared by an artist and his linen canvases. A work 12 years in process, Marek Tobolewski’s ongoing Continuum series is a dizzying array of lines drawn, erased, redrawn, removed a second time, and finally settled upon. While the British native has a thing for correcting and re-correcting, the final…
If you want to complete your period outfit from the French and Indian War era, chances are you’ve been saving up for the Fort Frederick Market Fair in Western Maryland on April 22-25. “œThe Market Fair is the most prestigious 18th-century market fair in the entire country,” says Neal Redmond. He and his wife, Margie,…
The benefits of eating flax oil have been becoming more known recently, and using it to prepare foods has been gaining in popularity. Less well known are the benefits of actually wearing linen clothing. Imagine that you could wear clothing that looked great and felt comfortable – and was actually healthy for you! You would…
The Ozarks of Arkansas may not be the first setting that comes to mind when thinking of Spring Renaissance festivals. But at the University of Arkansas Community College in Batesville (UACCB) each April, a unique Renaissance celebration occurs with a unique focus: helping Arkansas high school students learn and appreciate Renaissance history and culture. Batesville…
Why Linen? Like many historical reenactors, when I started in this hobby, the clothing I wore was just the means to an end. We have to wear correct historical clothing in order to participate in our hobby. It’s our uniform, just like footballers wear shoulder pads and helmets and baseball players wear cleats and caps….
The use of linen goes back to the earliest of times. Its use had been so widespread, that it cannot be determined where it was invented for use as clothing and medicine. In the Bible, the word ‘linen’ occurs 104 times in 90 verses, and the word ‘flax’ occurs 11 times in 10 verses. Flax…
A truism often overlooked, Raghavendra Rathore knows it, protects it, loves it. Through the ages, many wise men and women have decided a person’s fate with a quick turn of the phrase: “œYou are what you eat,” “œAll work and no play make Jack a dull boy,” “œGod helps those who help themselves.” But none…
It is possible to glimpse life in a medieval linen drapers shop thanks to an illuminated manuscript the Tacuinum of Vienna. Tacuinum Sanitatis were medieval medical books devoted to health and sanitation. Five unique copies of these manuscripts survive in different cities from which they take their names.. They were written in Latin which had…
It all started with an announcement: Russian fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin was bringing linen to the catwalk. Even bigger news was that he was considering building a new textile industry and fashion center, with linen as its centerpiece. For a designer known for flamboyant dresses and suits capped off with odd hairpieces, gaudy jewelry, accessories,…
I hear the bagpipes long before the town comes into view. A short drive from Denver into the Colorado Rockies, the small town of Estes Park has been playing host to the Longs Peak Highland Festival for 32 years. Now over 75,000 visitors descend upon this town of 6,000 for four days every September. Started…
Margaret Scott was the daughter of Scottish gentleman and Lord of Session (law lord), Sir Alexander Hope of Rankeillor .She married Patrick Scott in 1693 and went to live with him at his family seat of Rossie and Craig near Montrose, Angus. Some years later, in 1739, Margaret, by then a widow, undertook an inventory…
Sarah’s eyes twinkle as she twirls around, showing off her outfit. She is quite fetching in her full blue skirt and black bodice. “œI’m an Irish wench,” she says with a wink. She places a garland made of flowers on her head. “œMaybe someday I’ll become a lady-in-waiting, but for now being a wench is…
In the late 1600s a fontange was high fashion for ladies hair. This was a tall head-dress consisting of a wire frame (or ‘commode’) adorned with lace or linen frills. It was worn at a slight forwards angle and attached to a linen cap. In appearance it resembled a half-opened fan and it could reach…
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15 Nov 2019 @ 2:49 am by Vicki Lang
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