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One of the century's most spectacular archaeological finds occurred in 1921 - a year before Howard Carter stumbled upon Tutankhamun's tomb - when Poul Norlund recovered dozens of garments from a graveyard in the Norse settlement of Herjolfsnaes, Greenland. Preserved intact for centuries by the permafrost, these mediaeval garments display remarkable similarities to western European costumes of the time. Previously, such costumes were known only from contemporary illustrations, and the Greenland finds provided the world with a close look at how ordinary Europeans dressed in the Middle Ages. Fortunately for Norlund's team, wood has always been extremely scarce in Greenland, and instead of caskets, many of the bodies were found swaddled in multiple layers of cast-off clothing. Eighty years of technical advances and subsequent excavations have greatly added to our understanding of the Herjolfsnaes discoveries. In "Woven into the Earth", Else Ostergard recounts the dramatic story of Norlund's excavation in the context of other Norse textile finds in Greenland. She describes what the finds tell us about the materials and methods used in making the clothes. The weaving and sewing techniques detailed here are surprisingly sophisticated, and one can only admire the talent of the women who employed them, especially considering the harsh conditions they worked under. While "Woven into the Earth" will be invaluable to students of medieval archaeology, Norse society and textile history, both lay readers and scholars are sure to find the book's dig narratives and glimpses of life among "the last Vikings" fascinating.
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They came to a country that was green. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
They came to a country that was green. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this book incredibly interesting: it's priceless for anybody who ever researched how people dressed in the middle ages. Even more fascinating are the details about daily life and the rigours of survival in the cold north.
Format:Hardcover
First, the obvious: this book is only going to appeal to those who are rather obsessed about medieval costumes. If that is you, this is a great book.
This is a wonderfully detailed account of the largest surviving collection of medieval clothing that archaeology has given us. There are masses of photographs, useful diagrams and lots of detailed break-down of the garments. Lots and lots of fascinating fine detail. My only complaints are that 1) most of the photos have no scale bars on them, so you have to find the textual description of the item and calculate sizes from there, and 2) it's sometimes a little difficult to determine exactly what is being described in figure legends (mostly because the time in the ground has left the textiles a near-uniform brown so picking out the difference between, say, stitches and fabric is often difficult to impossible if you don't know what you're looking for).
My only other point (and, really, this is not a comment against the book itself) is that this is not necessarily a great reference for high fashion on the European mainland. So, if you're looking for references for that, this might not be the best source. (See 'Medieval Textiles and Clothing' vol. 4 for the argument against conflating the Greenland construction techniques with the techniques used to produce high fashion European mainland gowns of the same era).
This is a wonderfully detailed account of the largest surviving collection of medieval clothing that archaeology has given us. There are masses of photographs, useful diagrams and lots of detailed break-down of the garments. Lots and lots of fascinating fine detail. My only complaints are that 1) most of the photos have no scale bars on them, so you have to find the textual description of the item and calculate sizes from there, and 2) it's sometimes a little difficult to determine exactly what is being described in figure legends (mostly because the time in the ground has left the textiles a near-uniform brown so picking out the difference between, say, stitches and fabric is often difficult to impossible if you don't know what you're looking for).
My only other point (and, really, this is not a comment against the book itself) is that this is not necessarily a great reference for high fashion on the European mainland. So, if you're looking for references for that, this might not be the best source. (See 'Medieval Textiles and Clothing' vol. 4 for the argument against conflating the Greenland construction techniques with the techniques used to produce high fashion European mainland gowns of the same era).
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Delicious addition to fiber history
28 Feb 2005
Format:Hardcover
superb. The binding is good, the paper is good, the editing appears to be good, the content is way coool. The pictures (printed on a very fine semi-matte paper) are very clear; there are diagrams of almost every weave discussed, and clear discussions of all the weaving tools found in Greenland and some other Norse sites, as well as the material, dyes and finishing methods. Two garments are diagrammed on graph paper (a hood and a dress). The writing is clear and interesting and accessible, and the writers clearly care about the people who were behind the artifacts they are examining.
My only additional desire would be for a summary of the recent research on the history and demise of the Greenland colony (and maybe an explanation of the two-page statement in Inukitut (?)).
If you are a costumer or a scholar or a fan of weaving in different circumstances from the ones we enjoy now, this is a rewarding and fascinating book.
My only additional desire would be for a summary of the recent research on the history and demise of the Greenland colony (and maybe an explanation of the two-page statement in Inukitut (?)).
If you are a costumer or a scholar or a fan of weaving in different circumstances from the ones we enjoy now, this is a rewarding and fascinating book.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Instant Classic
12 April 2005
Format:Hardcover
It is rare that more than a few shreds of fiber survive from an archaeological site. Thanks to the unique climate and soil conditions in Greenland, we have a number of whole garments that have survived from about a 200-year span during the middle of the medieval period. Until now, most of that information was known in detail only to specialists. Ms. Ostergard's book collects the information she and her colleagues have derived from the Greenland finds and presents it clearly and succinctly, with full color photographs and line illustrations describing the weave, cut, pattern and techniques used to sew the items in meticulous detail. This book is a permanent asset to the study of medieval costume, an instant classic and, thanks to its clarity of writing and layout, useful even for the costumer.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Historical textiles from Greenland
12 Aug 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This hard-cover book, translated from Danish, is a fascinating look at an obscure treasure. Clothing found in the ancient settlements of Greenland (1000 A.D.) is discussed, color photos and drawings explaining construction details of the garments are included. It is a beautiful book and anyone interested in clothing or textiles of the middle ages will consider it a must-have.
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