Tag: Science

PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr’s Acqua de Lavanda

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Under the category of “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet”, Mistress katherine kerr shares her adventures in the arts of the stillroom.

“A lady of worth should smell sweet, so it is a pleasure to use plants from the garden and spices from the kitchen to make a tisane suitable for my hair, my face and my linens.

I like having a nice-smelling spray when I’m ironing my linen garb, but the recipes for Queen of Hungary Water always seem chockful of ingredients. As a starter, I decided to try Acqua de Lavenda, from Gioventura Rosetti’s Notandissimi Secreti de l’Arte Profumatoria , a book of 30 cosmetic recipes published in Venice in 1555.

I poured 2/3C of acqua vitae (in this case plain vodka) over 1/2C of dried lavender flowers from my garden, and let the mix steep in a screw-top jar for three days. (Countdown had jars with my KK sigil on them!)

To the resulting dark brown solution, I then added 1/4C of rosewater, 3 sticks of cinnamon and 6 cloves. Rosetti has the liquid distilled in an alembic, which I didn’t have. So I sealed the jar tightly and placed it in a pot of gently simmering water for around 15 minutes.

The jar’s metal lid showed a pleasingly indented form, indicating it was sealed with a partial vacuum. From there it went into a dark cupboard for four weeks for more steepage.

The mess was strained to remove the soggy lavender and spices, producing a dark honey-coloured tincture. The scent is on the spicey, rather than lavendery side, much to my approval. I look forward to trying it as a hair rinse or ironing spray — probably diluted with water 1:3 or 1:4 times, as seen in the smaller bottle.

I now have a jar of Queen of Hungary Water currently steeping away in the cupboard , but I think the liquid to plant matter ratio may be wrong. I’ll know in a couple of weeks.”

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PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr’s Materia Medica

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This entry, in the category “Throw physic to the dogs; I’ll have none of it”, is by Mistress katherine kerr, who describes it below:

“I keep a small collection of materials to assist in the health of those around me with simples and tisanes and the like. Such knowledge I have from the older folk and a few texts from the ancients recommending treatments, though some of these be more effective than others.

I have long wanted to do a cabinet of curiosities or wunderkammer, and have been collecting items for it (a cowrie shell, some bones and fossils and suchlike). Lacking a highly fancy cabinet or spare room to devote to this, the plan has lain dormant for a number of years until the Baronial Challenge combined with a chance flick through Umberto Eco’s The Infinity of Lists (Maclehose Press, 2009).

Illustrations on page 179 and 235 showed small collections in something akin to a modern shadow box; I had had one of those sitting under a table for many years just waiting for the right project….

So here is a collection primarily of materia medica, to match Challenge 13. It is modelled after the 1470 rendition of the material collection in the Book of Simple Medicines, a manuscript written by Salerno physician Matthaeus Platearius.

The box consists of:

(1) a lapidary shelf containing lynx stones (thought to be petrified urine), otherwise cited as belemnites by Conrad Gessner; white and red corals; a cowrie shell; and a portion of a large snakestone (ammonite)

(2) a shelf of scribal equipment; not exactly medical, but such items as seals and wax were not uncommonly seen on shelves in period portraits

(3) a shelf containing a variety of materials in a variety of containers: spices in a Mary Rose pomander (made by Master Edward Braythwayte) and in cloth bags; pearls and yellow amber beads strung on silk; rose oil in a corked glass jar; and walnuts in a pasteboard container with a skull on top to remind us that Death is always with us

(4) a herbal shelf, holding fenkel seeds; lemon balm; stickadove, more commonly known as lavender; rosemary; and mint unguent

The box is accompanied by writings covering the medical knowledge associated with each material, held together by a leather point, as was common practice.”

A period image of such a item can be viewed here.

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VPC2017: Baroness Agnes’ Medical Chest Contents & Simple Dress

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More entries from Baroness Agnes – the herbal contents of a medieval medical chest for the category For Science! and a simple Renaissance style dress made as a gift for a relative newcomer for Give What You Get.

About the herbs, she says:

The beginnings of the contents of Agnes’s medical chest. Pictured are mint, lemon balm, sage, plantain, rosemary, catmint and cleavers. These were located, identity confirmed, harvested, dried and stored. Eventually they’ll get nicer jars and a chest to live in, but the herbs are the central aspect.

About the dress she says:

A simple renaissance style dress for [a friend] who wanted to come to Faire. Unfortunately she never made it, so there’s no photo of the relative newcomer in the dress, but I still made the dress, and she’ll still wear it one day.

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VPC2017: Mistress katherine k’s Ka-Mal – a latitude stick

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Another entry of a nautical nature by Mistress katherine k – a latitude stick. This entry is for the categories Oh Say Can You Sea?, String Theory and For Science!

She says:

Arabs and the sea-farers of India use these sticks to determine their latitude while upon the waves. da Gama and the Portugeuse have recently brought this knowledge to our seas. The ka-mal is held out at arm’s length matching the horizon at one end and the celestial centre of the sky at the other. Knots in the string are set for the latitudes of desired ports. Hold the port knot in your teeth and the ka-mal will tell you your required course north or south.

In this case, the knots have been set for the latittudes of the important settlements in the Crescent Isles, and will be tested against the sky during my travels.

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VPC 2017: Lady Melissa and Lord Nathanael’s Horary Quadrant

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Lady Melissa and Lord Nathanael are doing a combined challenge: 10 items total, but they are working together on some. This entry is one of the combined projects, and is entered into the categories Show Us Your Arms, One Metre Material Project and For Science!

They will receive the spot prize for hitting the For Science! category first – some replica medieval glassware. 

Lady Melissa writes:
This pentathlon entry is an horary quadrant–a device used to tell time (in equal hours!) It is used to measure the height of the sun, and has a table (raven side) to determine the sun’s maximum height throughout the year. The quadrant is designed after one owned by King George II, made in 1396, which is pictured alongside the one we made. A historical aside: King George owned four brass quadrants, but we chose to replicate this one as it was mysteriously discovered in an old barn in Queensland, Australia in the 1970’s.
The original was made of brass, but we made ours out of marine plywood and linen, with a plumb made from kowhai. It is constructed for 45 degrees from the equator rather than 51 degrees (the original was made for London, England). Nathanael did the wood work and derived and constructed the arcs and adjusted the table. Melissa designed the decorative deer and raven images, did the pyrography, braided the plumb line, and added the linen border.

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