Category: Blog Post

PGC2019: Baronessa Isabel Maria’s Manto

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Isabel Maria shares her black linen voile manto, in the category “with scarfs and fans and double change of bravery With amber bracelets bead and all this knavery” as an example of an accessory her persona would have owned and used.

A photo of shiny black linen voile folded artistically, with narrow scalloped lace sewn along one edge.

“Both versions of Juan de Alcega’s Libro de Geometria, Pratica, y Traca (1580 and 1589) contain several cutting diagrams for a garment called a manto.  Alcega suggests that such a garment be made of anascote, seda or clarisea.  He also states that the appropriate length is from top of the head to the ankle.  This would appear to suggest it is some kind of all-encompassing veil or modesty wrap.  At this point I asked “how and when was this garment worn in period?”.

Marcelin Defourneaux, in Daily Life in Spain in the Golden Age, describes the wearing of the tapados (or veils) as “cloaks which completely covered them and which were pulled down over their faces, allowing only one eye to peep out.”  He later quotes the Council of Castille saying (during the reign of Philip II) “The custom of women to o veiled has become so excessive that it is now prejudicial to the best interest of the state, for, because of this fashion a father no longer recognises his daughter, not a husband  his wife…” and states that Philip II forbade its use, but without success.  Similarly, he quotes a contemporary writer railing against the practice of folding, and refolding the veil to hide all but the left eye describing it as “a lacivious thing”.

This sounds exactly like the kind of garment any fashionable lady simply must have in her wardrobe.

Pattern

Alcega has numerous cutting diagrams showing the most efficient way to cut this garment out of different types and widths of fabric, for example:

A pattern for a manto from Alcega's pattern book

Construction

Rather than piecing the garment as shown in Alcega, I was able to cut it out of one length, as my linen voile was sufficiently wide, unlike period fabrics.  I hand stitched a narrow rolled hem around the whole piece and then added a narrow black lace to the hem based on a 1590 image found on Indumentaria y Costumbres en Espana.  While the edging adds interest to the garment, it also makes it easier to control the fabric, as it is a simple matter to tell if you are gripping the edge you want, or something else.

Sadly, I haven’t been able to get a picture of me wearing the manto, but here is an image of the finished item.

A half circle manto of black linen voile, edged with narrow scalloped lace, folded into a cone shape

Verdict

This is a pretty and thoroughly inconvenient garment to wear, but perhaps that will change with practice?

Resources

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PGC2019: Meisterin Christian Baier’s Genovese Tart

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Category: An item of food or drink your persona may have grown, prepared, consumed, or known of.  “Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?”

Persona period inspiration and use:

This recipe comes from Sabina Welserin’s cookbook, Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin (1553). The Welser were international mercantile bankers and venture capitalists, members, with the Fugger and the Hochstetter families, of the mercantile patriciate of Augsburg.  These recipes, compiled for a rich urban German household, seem suitable for a noble Saxon women like Christian, although she probably would not have baked them herself. The recipe collection was not originally intended for publication or circulation; it may have been possibly written by the Sabina herself, but was more probably written by her kitchen professionals on her behalf.

I made these pies to take for a picnic lunch at an event; they are ideal for this purpose as they taste good hot or cold, and (as the pies have a top crust) they travel well.  For picnics I tend to make small finger-food-sized pies for convenience, but when cooking a feast these pies work equally well as individual or ‘family’ sized pies.  They are a good protein dish for vegetarians, and also a useful pie for those who don’t eat eggs.



Design, Materials and Construction: 

  • Recipe 30: To make Genovese tart.  Take eighteen ounces of chard or spinach, three ounces of grated cheese, two and one half ounces of olive oil and the fresh cheese from six ounces of curdled milk. And blanch the herbs and chop them small and stir it all together and make a good covered tart with it.
  • The Kochbuch has a number of recipes for pastry, or you could substitute your own recipe.  I tend to use less olive oil than the original recipe, to make a less-wet filling, which makes the pie more robust for travel and I prefer the taste.  The flavours of this tart will vary with the greens, or the types of cheeses, you choose (see Bach for a discussion of German cheeses). You can make fresh cheese yourself, or use any type of fresh cheese you prefer.   
  • I forgot to take a photograph on the day, so please forgive the tatty-looking leftover pie that made it into my lunch box several days later.


Reference:

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PGC2019: Meisterin Christian Baier’s Apple and Raisin Pies

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Category: An item of food or drink your persona may have grown, prepared, consumed, or known of.  Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?

Persona period inspiration and use:

  • The Kochbuch of Sabina Welserin contains many recipes for fruit pies, and this seemed a good choice for sweet treat for a picnic lunch at an event.  I decided on an apple pie as it was too early in the season for most of the other fruits.  The book includes numerous apple pie recipes, and, looking for something a little different, I came across a description (but not recipe) for an apple and raisin pie from Philippine Welser that appealed.
  • Philippine Welser, wife of Archduke Ferdinand II of Further Austria, and a member of the same family as Sabina, edited and published her own recipe collection, De re coquinaria, in 1545.  This has not been published in English, but some recipes are included or described in Bach.



Design, Materials and Construction: 

Recipe: Sabina Welser has a recipe (number 14) in which apples are sliced, “floated” in fat until brown, layered in a pie with spices and raisins, and baked with a crust on top.  For the convenience of the picnic, I was making small individual pies, which made layering fiddly, so I choose a simpler recipe described by Bach as “chopped apples, precooked in fat with raisins, sugar, fat, and cinnamon”.  I chopped some apples and, along with some raisins, sautéed these gently in butter (my preferred choice of fat for a vegetarian friendly pie), and mixed in sugar and cinnamon to taste.  This was baked in a pie with a double (top and bottom) crust.

I completely forgot to take a photograph of these pies (although they did look just like the Genovese Tarts).  They were delicious.

Reference:

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PGC2019: Baronessa Isabel Maria’s Spanish Hairstyle

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Category: To refine gold to paint the lily To throw a perfume on the violet.   At your toilette: hairstyling, make up, beauty products, skincare, ointments, unguents, perfumes, etc


Purpose

Where choosing jewellery is the final touch to completing an ensemble, selecting the hairstyle is often the first decision I make after choosing my wardrobe for an event.  I like to take my time and use good tools to ensure a secure, period-plausible hairstyle.  It gives me a moment to get used to the clothing, and let things settle before adding the accessories and jewellery.

As I am also partial to experimenting with different tools, jewels, headwear and hairstyles, this is a long-term and ongoing pet project.  New hairsticks, combs, pomades, needles, and threads are regularly acquired and tested (sometimes to destruction) to recreate something I have seen in a period source.

Tools

  • Combs of varying coarseness (for detangling and cleaning hair as well as smoothing hairstyles)
  • Brush (for smoothing hairstyles)
  • Needles & threads & snips (for tying off plaits, sewing hair into place, and getting it loose again)
  • Pomade (for holding ends together, and flyaways in place)
  • Mirror
  • Gravoir (for cleanly parting hair and holding sections out of the way)
  • Hairsticks (for holding and enhancing hairdos)
  • Ribbons and jewels (for enhancing hairstyles)
  • Lambs wool (for adding volume without much additional mass)
  • Bump clips (for adding volume, in place of wool, or hair rats)

The above is a selection of my most commonly used hair related items.  As the box has limited space, the kit is contains is normally carefully curated to reflect the wardrobe packed for an event such as Canterbury Faire.

Methods

Please watch this YouTube video from the Known World Colegio de Iberia to see how the various tools above are used, and my new favourite Spanish hairstyle is constructed: https://youtu.be/qlCoVQYTZQU

Verdict

Using the tools is great for getting into the mindset before an event, or for preparing for the day while camping. (However, I really must sharpen snips for getting out of hairstyles more expediently.)

This hairstyle is secure and comfortable.  As the majority of the mass is centered over my neck, my head is not continuously pulled backwards, resulting in less fatigue and fewer headaches that my usual large, coiled plait.

Additional Resources

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PGC2019: Lady Eyja Gunnarsdottir’s Games Box

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Lady Eyja shares a box of period games, created as a gift of Largess.  She describes it in her own words:

“I have created a Games box featuring the game of Tablut. This is a version of the Tafl games played throughout the Norse world. On the other side of the lid is nine mens Morris, which was also known to be played in the same era.
This was created as a Largess gift, as I wanted to create something fun and useful for a Norse persona. The recipient’s heraldry is yellow and red, and is reflected in the board and playing pieces. The box and playing pieces were purchased then hand painted.

I created a small linen bag for the playing pieces which has a fingerloop braided drawstring and the owners device embroidered onto it.

There is plenty of space in the box for more games to be added over time.
Something a bit different to what I usually do, but now I am keen to make my own games collection in the future.”

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PGC2019: Lady Melisande de Massard’s Mittens & Socks

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Lady Melisande enters a cozy pair of mittens and a snugly pair of socks in the category “With silken coats, and caps, and golden rings, with ruffs, and cuffs, and farthingales and things“. 

“When camping I find it most convenient to clothe myself in Norse garb – comfortable, easy to work in and easily laundered!

Some of the members of the Heorot household were planning a household event where we would spend the weekend camping in a living history style. Originally planned for an Easter weekend I thought to myself ‘this could be a little chilly – what I need are some mittens and socks!!’. 

I purchased some pre-spun, natural wool, and with a wooden needle and the kind assistance of Lady Katherine (who showed me the Coptic stitch and how to get started), I first tried my hand at a pair of mittens. The first mitten is a little mis-shapen but I was a lot happier with the second which is much more evenly shaped. I was surprised at how quickly they made up and, encouraged by how the mittens turned, out I purchased more wool and got started on a pair of socks.

Looking at images of extant finds, and reproductions (and again with help from Lady Katherine when it came to the heel!) I gave it a go. Sir Callum had given me the gift of a beautiful new needle made of antler – such a different experience using that over the wooden one! I love it! I would like to have used a contrasting coloured wool for the last few rows around the ankle (as per some of the extant finds) but not having any suitable wool at the time I shall leave that for another pair. The socks are so comfortable and the mittens lovely and warm. 

We had to postpone the camping weekend but I’ll be ready to go when we set another date – I just hope it’s not in mid-summer!”

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PGC2019 Baronessa Isabel Maria’s Practical Hairdressing Class

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When I am forgotten as I shall be and sleep in dull cold marble … Say I taught thee.  Baronessa Isabel Maria recounts a class she taught earlier this year:

“At Canterbury Faire I reprised a class on practical period hairdressing for women, that Meisterin Christian and I had previously taught at the 2016 Southron Gaard Collegium.

With a view to making period hairstyling more accessible to people, the class touches on different styles seen in period, along with the techniques and tools to recreate them.  Plausibly period techniques are explored and compared to modern methods for suitability, ease of use, and security of the hairstyle.  The class culminates with a demonstration of hair sewing, on a volunteer.

Meistern Christian and I maintain the class notes on the Hous Amberherthe webpage, in addition to a pinterest board devoted to pre-1600 hair maintenance.”

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PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr’s collection of documents

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Mistress katherine kerr submits the following for the recently added category:

“Sweet are the uses of adversity“, for research in or practice of an art, craft or past-time that your persona might have undertaken whilst whiling away a siege (or plague)…

…or a long sea voyage and incarceration, being a collection of documents covering the fateful Voyage of the Baskin-Kerrs in an Alternative Timeline.

http://webcentre.co.nz/kk/RatLettersVoyage.htm

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PGC2019: THL Joana de Bairros’ Moorish Chicken

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Joana de Bairros enters a delicious chicken dish in the category Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?

“There is one Portuguese cookbook from period called Um tratado da cozinha portuguesa do século XV or Livro de cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal which can be found, with an English translation at http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/tratado.html. This collection of recipes was written in the late 15th century and then taken to Italy with Maria, the grand daughter of Manuel I of Portugal, when she married Alessandro Farnese. It ended up in Naples. (See reference to this in At the First Table:Food and Social Identity in Early Modern Spain by Jodi Campbell).

I was having a friend of over for dinner so decided to cook the Moorish Chicken recipe from this book as I have tried it before and it is delicious.

Outra receita de galinha mourisca
Façam em pedaçosuma galinha bem gorda, e levem-na ao fogo brando, com duas colheres de sopa degordura, algumas fatias de toucinho, bastante coentro, um punhadinho de salsa,umas folhinhas de hortelã, sal e uma cebola bem grande. Abafem-na e deixem-na dourar, mexendo-a devez em quando. Em seguida cubram essagalinha com água, e assim que levante fervura acabem de temperá-la com sal,vinagre, cravo-da-índia, açafrão, pimenta-do-reino e gengibre. Logo que agalinha esteja cozida, derramem dentro 4 gemas batidas. Tomem uma travessa funda, forrada com fatiasde pão e derramem por cima a galinha.

Another recipe for moorish chicken – literal translation
Cut a very fat chicken into pieces, and cook it over low heat, with two soup spoons of fat, a few slices of bacon, lots of cilantro, a bit of parsley, a few mint leaves, salt and a very large onion. Cover it (abafar means smother) and let it brown, stirring once in a while. Next cover that chicken in water, and as soon as it reaches a boil finish seasoning it with salt, vinegar, cloves, saffron, black pepper and ginger. When the chicken is cooked, add 4 beaten egg yolks. Take a deep serving tray, lined with bread slices and put the chicken over top.

My redaction to feed 4   

500gm chicken breast
1T olive oil
100gm bacon
¼ cup of coriander
2T parsley
1T mint
Pinch of salt
2 cups of chicken stock
1T white wine vinegar
1 t salt
1t each of cloves, pepper and ginger
A pinch of saffron
4 egg yolks
1 loaf of bread.

  1. Cut chicken and bacon in to chunks (I used chicken breasts as I wanted it to cook quickly) ‘
  2. Roughly cut the herbs and dice the onion. (I didn’t add coriander the first time as my guest did not like it so included more parsley. I did up it in in a later attempt at this recipe and it added a nice flavor)
  3. Heat up the oil in a thick based casserole dish on the stove top
  4. Brown chicken and bacon
  5. Add in herbs, salt and onion
  6. Put the lid on the casserole dish and cook at medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to stop the chicken from sticking.
  7. Add in the stock (I used stock rather than just water as I was using breast meat which doesn’t have the flavor of chicken drums)
  8. When the stock boils add in the vinegar, salt and spices. Leave to cook for 5 minutes
  9. Separate the egg yolks and whisk together
  10. Pour the egg yolks into the casserole and mix up the sauce thoroughly. If you do not the egg will cook in lumps rather than being spread through sauce.
  11. Slice a loaf of good bread up. Either serve the chicken in a deep dish with bread underneath or serve the chicken to the table in a pot with a loaf of bread so guests can assemble their own. The bread is very delicious when soaked in the sauce!”
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PGC2019: Lady Eyja Gunnarsdottir’s Nalbound Mitts

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Lady Eyja submits the first entry in the new ‘Sweet are the uses of adversity‘ category.  She writes the following to describe her fingerless gloves:


“I decided to use my ‘plague time’ to learn the Nalebinding Oslo stitch. This may have been a skill my persona learnt around the fire as a young girl, and taken up again when time rich but resource poor as it only requires wool.

I have used a bone needle, 100% wool, and a youtube video – https://youtu.be/UEJywXIluhk 

Initially I found it tricky to get a nice tension without tearing the wool, but it was relatively easygoing once that was sorted. The fingerless gloves were made in the round, not following any specific pattern other than trying it on as I went.

The result is soft, warm, and stretchy with a neat pattern. The wool itself felts well at the joints but is rather fragile, so in future I would use something sturdier for a hard wearing piece such as mittens.

In service,
Eyja Gunnarsdottir.”

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