Knitting in the Medieval Period

Knitting is something I had long thought of as being fairly modern, like, Elizabethan kind of modern. So I didn’t really pay much attention to learning to knit when I was a member of the local Spinners and Weavers group. I was more interested in spinning on a drop spindle, and weaving things from my hand spun yarn. I tried to get breeds of sheep that were fairly old, nothing like the modern merinos etc, and would try and weave using singles, not plied wool. All the ladies thought I was a bit nuts, but I was fairly young, and I came along, and did crafty stuff. And then we moved to the farm, and got horses, and life just got in the way. I occasionally do some spinning, but I haven’t woven anything for quite some time.

Getting back on track, a couple of days ago I decided I would learn to knit, so I could make some nice super warm winter socks. (Yes, I know, everyone tells me that socks are difficult to knit, but I’ve never been one to start with easy projects). Last night I looked into the history of needle knitting, and was super excited and surprised to see that it is much older than I thought it was.

The first extant knitted pieces are 11th or 12th C Egyptian, and they are stunning…

Then there are some pieces, like this cushion cover, found in the tombs in the Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas, a royal monastery, near Burgos, Spain. It was found in the tomb of Prince Fernando de la Cerda, who died in 1275. To me, this doesn’t look knitted, it looks like it could have been woven…

There is a 13th Century fragment, found in a cemetery in North Eastern Estonia…

And a knitted pouch, dated to the 13th C, in the Sens Cathedral Museum, France…

In the mid 14th Century some paintings begin to appear that show the Madonna knitting, along with a few more extant pieces…

 Lorenzetti of Siena, 1345

 Tommaso da Modena, before 1349

 Vitale degli Equi, circa 1353. This one I’m a little unsure of, It kind of looks like she is holding a piece of cloth, but others have postulated that she is knitting. I would love to see a better detailed image of this particular painting.

 English Bishop’s gloves, circa 1386

 German silk pouch, 14th Century, in the Treasury of the Cathedral in Sion, Switzerland

The Madonna by Bertram of Minden, c 1400

So, lots of knitting examples, now I’m wondering about the banded ladies socks/stockings/hose shown in the Maciejowski Bible, and thinking I might be able to knit them.

Now, I just need to practice 🙂