Category: Wool

NOW: Dublin fragment E190:7430

Today’s Nalbound Object of the Week is the Dublin fragment E190:7430. It is a purple nalbound fragment that is not large enough to give any indication of its original size, form, or function. It was found outside a house dated to the 10th century in the excavations of Viking Age Dublin carried out by the National Museum of Ireland from 1962 to 1981. Frances Pritchard had the opportunity to examine the textiles found and published an article in 1992 entitled “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” which includes most of what is known about this fragment (including the only published photograph). 1

Image of a portion of the Dublin fragment with one row of stitches highlighted in a rainbow progression by Anne Marie Decker. Base photo provided by Frances Pritchard is a slightly tighter image than that published in her article “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” taken by Jon Bailey, Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England.

Object: Dublin fragment

Description: Original size unknown. Current size unknown, but the photo published in Frances Pritchard’s article is scaled 2:1.2 That published photo does not show the complete fragment, so the complete dimensions cannot be calculated. It is the only nalbound example found amongst the hundreds of wool textiles and a good number of silk textiles found during the excavations.3

Color: Dye analysis by Penelope Walton indicates it was dyed with lichen purple4

Dated to: The excavations date to Viking Age Dublin, c. 917 to 1169 CE.

Find location: Dublin, Ireland. It was recovered from outside a house dated to the 10th century5 during the excavations of the Wood Quay, Fishamble street (in the mid 1970’s). See section 15.7 of https://web.archive.org/web/20220701165436/https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/unpublished_excavations/section15.html 6

Material: Two-ply Z/S-ply7 wool yarn.8 Diameter calculates to approximately 1-1.5 mm based on the photograph and scale.

Gauge: Row height calculates to roughly 0.75 cm and there are approximately 3.5-4 stitches to the cm based on the photograph and scale. It’s a fairly open worked binding.

Stitch(es) used: The stitch used has not been formally determined by examination as the fragment is currently inaccessible.9 My examination of the photo available leads me to believe that it is the stitch colloquially referred to as half-York, but could better be called Dublin stitch: F2 U/OO.

Further research is indicated. At the time of Frances Pritchard’s article, it was thought that nalbinding was only usual in Scandinavian and Baltic countries of the time and thus probable it was made by a Scandinavian settler, much like the Coppergate Sock found in York.10 Of the other known Viking Era finds in Scandinavia, none use York family style intralacing. The York family style intralacing is found in similar stitches in Egypt, France, Spain, and Greece so far. Thus the nalbound artifacts in the Isles may have more in common with the nalbinding of Southern Europe/North Africa than of Scandinavia.

Inventory number: E190:7430

Current location: National Museum of Ireland, current location in their collections is unknown.11

Link to museum catalog or other data: The National Museum of Ireland does not have online catalog information for this artifact.

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Pritchard, Frances. “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” in Archaeological Textiles in Northern Europe Report from the 4th NESAT Symposium 1. – 5. May 1990 Copenhagen, edited by Lise Bender Jorgensen & Elisabeth Munksgaard, Tidens Tand, Nr. 5, 1992, pages 93-104. Copenhagen: Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, 1992. ISBN 87-89730-04-6.

Wallace, Patrick F. Viking Dublin: The Wood Quay Excavations. Irish Academic Press, 2016. ISBN 978-07165-3314-6. (A brief mention of the fragment is found on page 263.)

Photographs: There are no photos in the National Museum of Ireland’s Image Library for this reference or reg number.12 The only known image is the partial one published in Frances Pritchard’s article.

Documenting attempts to determine the stitch variant used:

In 2016, Katherine Walsh, posted to the Nalbinding Facebook group asking if anyone knew which stitch was used to make this fragment.13 Her initial thought was maybe Oslo, but she wasn’t sure. At the time, I suggested Loop & Twist with a carried thread and connecting around the post instead of in between stitches as the fragment shows a very distinctly vertical wale, not the diagonal more commonly found in Loop & Twist. Not long after this, I realized that it was not Loop & Twist, but U/OO F2 instead.

Katherine provided several samples testing out the theory which she later appears to have developed into a small handout entitled “Nalbinding in Fishamble Street.”14

In April 2019, Kathrine posted in the Léine Medieval Crafters Facebook Group showing some further experimentation including the back side of her theoretical construction which clearly shows the “purl” effect of the F2B connection.15 This type of connection to the previous row is sometimes referred to as encircled.16

The Loop & Twist theory unfortunately does not seem to have quite the correct angles to match the image of the Dublin fragment.

Further experimentation led me to believe that the Dublin fragment is most likely U/OO F2. It’s the F2 connection that causes the vertical stacking on the intraconnections. If it is U/OO F2, that is actually quite interesting as it is very similar to the York17 stitch (UU/OOO F2), only off by one loop, which is, in and of itself, and as a family style of intralacing, unusual in the Scandinavian corpus.

Debbie Bradley Lauf seems to have independently come to a similar conclusion. She has noted that a scarf she finished looks similar to the structure of the Dublin fragment. I think the resemblance would be greatly enhanced by working with a two-ply yarn and working in the round instead of flat, but you can see her scarf here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/permalink/3444789742238522/ Sept. 1, 2020.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. Page 102 of Frances Pritchard’s “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” in Archaeological Textiles in Northern Europe Report from the 4th NESAT Symposium 1. – 5. May 1990 Copenhagen, edited by Lise Bender Jorgensen & Elisabeth Munksgaard, Tidens Tand, Nr. 5, 1992, pages 93-104. Copenhagen: Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, 1992. ISBN 87-89730-04-6 contains the photo attributed to Jon Bailey, Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England. ↩︎
  2. Pritchard “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” Pg. 102 ↩︎
  3. Frances Pritchard in personal correspondence in September of 2020. ↩︎
  4. Pritchard “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” Pg. 102 ↩︎
  5. Frances Pritchard in personal correspondence in September of 2020. ↩︎
  6. See also: https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/significant-unpublished-irish-excavations-1930-1997 and https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/unpublished_excavations_republic_ireland_1930_1997_2mb.pdf ↩︎
  7. Pritchard “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” Pg. 102 ↩︎
  8. Pritchard “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” Pg. 93 ↩︎
  9. Frances Pritchard in personal correspondence in September of 2020. ↩︎
  10. Pritchard “Aspects of the Wool Textiles from Viking Age Dublin” Pg. 102 ↩︎
  11. In August of 2019, Emma Boast commented, on another Facebook post inquiring about the Dublin fragment, that she had reached out to the National Museum of Ireland and was “was told they don’t currently know where it is within the collections.” [Emma Boast writing as Bruni Bear at the time, in the comments of: https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/posts/2583805478336957/]. Confirmed with Frances Pritchard in personal correspondence in September of 2020. ↩︎
  12. Personal correspondence with the Image Library Officer dated 18 March 2024. ↩︎
  13. The Nalbinding Facebook group is Private. You will need to join the group in order to view the post. https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/?post_id=1214342911949894 ↩︎
  14. Snapshots of portions of her handout appear on Facebook as early as:
    a. April 11, 2019 https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/?post_id=2345924742125033 or https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/?post_id=2345924742125033&cft[0]=AZVpoDGde8Fs6dr1F2nqBI6ZvilTVkdNPUsiUfzIii2dv4n5fQwhO9xkNS4mQ6JvCZoqUgzzxsewcTfqrDZff0_OXq8lwT5XNRzkSFl6_yZLgvnwS5LIypeq2WRhClrBnvDDim-X5JnW_vr54Tptf7hGXoR3iYBLEmfUmyWManoRqTerRbsFg_j1stdMM_LG0xU&tn=%2CO%2CP-R
    b. April 14, 2019 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1415884025355290/?post_id=2394166970860319
    c. Aug 29, 2019 https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/?post_id=2583805478336957 or https://www.facebook.com/groups/644499622267562/?post_id=2583805478336957&cft[0]=AZVwou8VAPwlNdeuVuyFDmahQm1Z2RszGVjm3boRL2-k1aknYYaew9L8xy9BZ3TSUcKqvKhe8Ds7CDY6xn3hFwNSxBlshob1ukSZQp9zDvmxSr2Gt6Q2Ogh7G7Ikum-RJY2zxuq1rBJ-mXfrxzxq8gPZ0aXFidbxokNYNd5eM98SkWVQHP69wt4kzplYGn5cX4U&tn=%2CO%2CP-R. See also Emma Boast’s post on Nidavellnir https://www.facebook.com/nidavellnir/posts/2869934593036566 ↩︎
  15. In April 2019, Kathrine Walsh posted in the Léine Medieval Crafters Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1415884025355290/posts/2394166970860319/ ↩︎
  16. Primarily demonstrated with Cross-knit Looping, see Looping: 9. Encircled Looping on pages 17 & 18 of Seiler-Baldinger, Annemarie. Textiles A Classification of Techniques. Washington: Smithsonian Inst, 1994. ISBN 1-56098-509-7, Encircled isn’t a stitch per se, but a method of connection to the adjacent row. ↩︎
  17. The York stitch is also known as the Coppergate stitch or the Jorvik stitch. See my prior post on the Coppergate sock at https://nalbound.com/2024/01/30/now-coppergate-york-jorvik-sock-small-find-13517-patreon-sponsored/ ↩︎

NOW: Nidaros Stocking N11979

Having had an excuse to go to Norway, I had to go to Trondheim to see our next Nalbound Object of the Week. Found in a pre-1300 CE context, the Nidaros stocking is one of the earliest knee length nalbound stockings found.

The stocking is laid out horizontally with the upper portion of the foot to the left of the photograph, toe up. The leg still has folds, but likely reached the knee. A high resolution photo is available via the link in the online catalog. Photo: Ole-Aleksander Ulvik, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet CC BY-SA 4.0

Object: Nidaros Stocking

Description: A nearly complete full stocking from toes to the knee. The sock shows heavy fulling, though if that was intentional or from wear or find circumstances is unknown. There are 4 holes that show evidence of compression near them. The areas away from the holes are a significantly darker color, have a layer of fibers obscuring the nalbinding, and are noticeably stiffer and not flexible.

Dated to: medieval,1 pre-13002

Find location: Field S of the Søndre Gate 4 dig in medieval Nidaros, modernly Trondheim, Norway. More specifically it was found under the floorboards of a pre-1300 house in the wealthy blocks of the city.3

Material: wool4

Stitch(es) used: Further examination is necessary given the condition of the textile. However, the surface texture most closely resembles the stitch known as Dalby, F1 UOU/OUOO.

Inventory number: N11979

Current location: NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/c72c7d23-f49f-4c0b-9bf8-dd67f4fb111e

Some sources in which more information can be found:

In 2020, there was a Facebook post by the Nidaros Archaeological Archive (NIDARK) project with a photograph of the stocking and some information regarding its excavation. I’d share it with you, but within this last year, that post has since disappeared along with all of the rest of the NIDARK Facebook page posts. Nonetheless, that project and its posts led me to this fabulous artifact.

Photographs:

Detail of the cuff of the Nidaros Stocking showing one of the holes.
Photo: Anne Marie Decker 2024
Examination day is always so exciting!
Photo: Anne Marie Decker 2024
The Nidaros Stocking was found in excavations under this street.
Photo: Anne Marie Decker 2024

Acknowledgements: My sincerest thanks to the NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet and especially to Torkel Johansen, Curator, and Frances Lucas Lukezic, Conservator for their assistance during my study visit.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. The museum catalog states Medieval, Modern Era https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/c72c7d23-f49f-4c0b-9bf8-dd67f4fb111e Accessed 30 March 2024. ↩︎
  2. Per discussions with Torkel Johansen, curator at the Institutt for arkeologi og kulturhistorie, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet during my study visit on 16 April 2024. ↩︎
  3. Per discussions with Torkel Johansen, curator at the Institutt for arkeologi og kulturhistorie, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet during my study visit on 16 April 2024. ↩︎
  4. Gjenstandsbeskrivelse https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/c72c7d23-f49f-4c0b-9bf8-dd67f4fb111e Accessed 6 May 2024. ↩︎

NOW: Oslo mitten C28155

Last week I had the distinct pleasure to go visit a well known mitten that rather recently has been placed on display again in the NOREGR – Medieval Stories exhibition at the Historical Museum in Oslo. And thus, the Oslo mitten joins the Nalbound Object of the Week series.

Anne Marie Decker pointing to the Oslo mitten on display in the Historical Museum in Oslo. Photo Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024

Object: Oslo Mitten

Description: An adult sized mitten made of wool with damage at the base of the thumb and palm areas.

Dated to: 11th century,1 medieval. Ca. 1025-1125 CE2

The exhibition label for the Oslo mitten in the NOREGR – Medieval Stories exhibition at the Historical Museum in Oslo. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024.

Find location: The mitten was found during the 1926 excavation of the old town of Oslo on a layer of wood chips under the wooden flooring of a narrow passage between houses. This part of town was built in the 11th century.3

Material: wool4

Stitch(es) used: Nordland published the stitch used as 412 in his classification system5 which most likely translates to the stitch commonly known as Oslo and classified in Hansen’s notation as UO/UOO F1. However, further examination is warranted as the surface texture does not match. The surface texture more closely resembles the Mammen stitch, F2 UOO/UUOO.

Inventory number: C28155

Current location: Historical Museum

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/fbbd3006-2407-498e-a527-a18f62fadb2a

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Claßen-Büttner, Ulrike. Nadelbinden – Was ist denn das? Geschichte und Technik einer fast vergessenen Handarbeit. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH, 2012. ISBN 978-3-8482-0124-2.

Claßen-Büttner, Ulrike. Nalbinding – What in the World Is That? History and Technique of an Almost Forgotten Handicraft. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2015. ISBN 978-3-7347-7905-3.

Nordland, Odd. Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. Studia Norvegica no. 10. Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1961. No ISBN listed in Book.

Photographs:

The museum catalog has 3 very nice zoomable photos. The two color photos are of one side and the black and white of the other.

Oslo Mitten. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024
Detail of the thumb of the Oslo Mitten. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024
The display case in which the Oslo mitten is currently located in the NOREGR – Medieval Stories exhibition. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024
Detail of the cuff of the Oslo Mitten. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024

Photo taken during previous exhibition: https://images.app.goo.gl/jji31ErrTx8A1o739

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. Nordland 1961, pg 43. ↩︎
  2. Dating listed on the item description for the mitten as on display in the NOREGR exhibition in the Historical Museum. ↩︎
  3. Nordland 1961, pg 43 and https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/fbbd3006-2407-498e-a527-a18f62fadb2a Accessed 29 April 2024. ↩︎
  4. Nordland 1961, pg. 43. ↩︎
  5. Nordland 1961, pgs 42 & 43. ↩︎

NOW: Saqqâra sock T 564

For this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week we get to get to see what is thought to be the earliest archaeological artifact to have its stitch analyzed, a sock from Egypt. Photos of nalbinding from the late 1800’s are rather rare. In this case, we also have the opportunity to see a more recent photo in the online catalog of the MAK in Vienna.

Fig. 28 from Antike Handarbeiten published in 1895.

Object: Sock from Saqqâra, Egypt

Description: A white wool sock with a black/dark brown toe and over the arch worked in a finer black/dark brown wool and a row of red wool at the cuff. The sock has a single wedge style heel and stops at the ankle. Current photos show that it has taken some damage since 1895 as the dark toe is nearly entirely missing and several rows near the cuff also show damage. Otherwise, it is in apparently the same position as it was when the first photograph was taken.

Dated to: 6th century

Find location: Saqqâra, Egypt

Earliest diagrams of nalbinding as analyzed from an artifact. Figs. 30-32 from Antike Handarbeiten published in 1895. Highlights by Anne Marie Decker

Material: Wool

Stitch(es) used: Mammen, F2 UOO/UUOO. Luise Schinnerer diagrammed the stitch found in this sock, but did so in a manner that while it produces the correct final structure, is opposite the direction in which we work this stitch today.

Inventory number: T 564

Current location: Museum für angewandte Kunst MAK (Museum of Applied Arts)

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-107622

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Schinnerer, Luise. Antike Handarbeiten. Mit einer histor. Einleitung von Alois Riegl. Wien: Waldheim, 1895. [No ISBN]

Collin, Maria; ‘Sydda vantar’ in Fataburen; 1917; pgs. 71-78.

Noever, Peter ed. Verletzliche Beute: spätantike und frühislamische Textilien aus Ägypten = Fragile remnants : Egyptian textiles of late antiquity and early Islam. on the occasion of the “Verletzliche Beute/Fragile remnants exhibition” MAK Vienna, 07.12.2005-05.06.2006 Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz, 2005. ISBN 3-7757-1699-8.

Gagneux-Granade, Marguerite, and Anastasia Ozoline. “Quelques objets surprenants en textile non tissé dans les réserves du musée Bénaki” in ΜΟΥΣΕΙΟ ΜΠΕΝΑΚΗ 9, 2009 (Athens 2010): 99-111. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/benaki.13

Photographs: You can see a much more recent photo of the sock in the MAK’s online catalog: https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-107622

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

NOW: Kransen sock fragments 34821

The famous sock from Uppsala is not the only nalbinding found in Uppsala. This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week are the fragments of what is believed to be another sock. This one found in the Kransen quarter of Uppsala. I was graciously allowed access to examine these fragments at the Statens Historiska Museet in May of 2023. Some of what you see in the box is moss.

Image of the fragments of 34821, cropped to remove excess background.
Upphov: Rosengren, Helena, Historiska museet/SHM (CC BY 4.0)

Object: Kransen sock fragments

Description: Nine fragments of what is believed to be a sock.1

Dated to: end of the 1300’s2 (late 14th century)

Find location: Kransen quarter, Uppsala, in the block between Svartbacksgatan, St Persgatan, Dragarbrunnsgatan, and Vaksalagatan3 https://www.uppsala.se/contentassets/97d6ed912b5047a0aed22a7ceea06de0/plankarta.pdf (Thank you Ingela Andersson Lindberg for finding the plans)

Material: Wool4

Stitch(es) used: unknown

Inventory number: 34821

Current location: Historiska Museet, Stockholm

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://samlingar.shm.se/object/7216C35F-20E1-45BC-89FC-392CD84EBB34

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Gustafsson, Jan Helmer, and Ola Ehn. Kransen: ett medeltida kvarter i Uppsala. Uppsala: Upplands fornminnesfören, 1984. ISBN 91-85618-21-7.

Photographs (if permissions allow):

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. https://samlingar.shm.se/object/7216C35F-20E1-45BC-89FC-392CD84EBB34 ↩︎
  2. Gustafsson, Jan Helmer, and Ola Ehn. Kransen: ett medeltida kvarter i Uppsala. Uppsala: Upplands fornminnesfören, 1984. Pg. 76. ISBN 91-85618-21-7. ↩︎
  3. Gustafsson, Jan Helmer, and Ola Ehn. Kransen: ett medeltida kvarter i Uppsala. Uppsala: Upplands fornminnesfören, 1984. Pg. 8. ISBN 91-85618-21-7. ↩︎
  4. https://samlingar.shm.se/object/7216C35F-20E1-45BC-89FC-392CD84EBB34 ↩︎

NOW: Setesdal Mittens NF.1913-0863AB

The Nalbound Object of the Week features a pair of mittens from Valle, Setesdal, Norway, dated pre-1913, and currently located in the Norsk Folkemuseum. The mittens are decorated in the typical Valle style and are made of wool. They are recognizable from their use as the cover illustration on Nordland’s Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. For more information, visit the museum’s catalog.

Today’s Nalbound Object of the Week comes from Valle in Setesdal, Norway. This pair of mittens was apparently accessioned into the Norsk Folkemuseum’s inventory in 1913. They are more broadly recognized in the nalbinding community because one of them appears on the cover of Odd Nordland’s book “Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting”1 which is the source of the second specific attempt at a classification system for nalbound structures.

NF.1913-0863AB mittens from Valle in Setesdal in Norway.
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA

Object: Pair of mittens decorated with a nalbound strip and embroidery in the style typical of Valle in Setesdal, Norway.

Description: White mittens with red, and possibly light green based on related mittens, embroidery on the cuffs and thumb.2 The decoration also includes a separate chain of nalbinding that is attached with embroidery in a wavy pattern. The mittens are 27.5 cm long and 16 cm wide3 (10 21/64 inches by 6 19/64 inches.

Dated to: pre-19134

Find location: Valle5 in the Setesdal valley in Norway

Material: Wool6

Stitch(es) used: 632 in Nordland’s classification system.7 More recognizably F1 UOOO/UUUOO in modified Hansen’s classification.8

Inventory number: NF.1913-0863AB9

Current location: Norsk Folkemuseum

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Nordland, Odd. Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. Studia Norvegica no. 10. Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1961. No ISBN listed in Book.

Photographs:

NF.1913-0863A mitten from Valle in Setesdal in Norway. This is most likely the specific mitten used for the image on the from of Nordland’s “Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting.”
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA

Related mittens from Valle in Setesdal:
NF.1911-0928AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023136087/vott
NF.1950-0696AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023181433/vott
NF.1992-1720AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223523/vott
NBF2012-1018 https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024089933/vott

NF.1911-0928AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023136087/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
NF.1911-0928AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023136087/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
NF.1950-0696AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023181433/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA

NF.1992-1720AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223523/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
NF.1992-1720AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223523/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
Several other nalbound mittens from Valle in Setesdal Norway.
NF.1911-0665AB
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC-BY-SA https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023135826/vott
Annlaug K. Haugen sitting with her nalbinding in 1939. Identifier: NF.13609-020
Photo: Grostøl, Anna / Norsk Folkemuseum Public Domain https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013438128/valle-setesdal-aust-agder-1939-portrett-av-annlaug-k-haugen-som-sitter
Nalbinding by Annlaug K. Haugen taken in 1939. Identifier: NF.13609-036
Photo: Grostøl, Anna / Norsk Folkemuseum Public Domain https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013438154/valle-setesdal-aust-agder-1939-nalebinding-annlaug-k-haugen
Many thanks to Ingela Andersson Lindberg for finding these additional Valle mitten images. It looks like there’s an interesting unpublished study in Anna Grostøl’s notes to be investigated and another reference to track down: Fossnes, Heidi: Håndplagg til bunader og folkedrakter. Oslo 2003. ISBN 82-496-0187-4. s. 17.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. Knotless Netting is an older term used to describe nalbound structures prior to the borrowing of the term Nalbinding into English. It was used to differentiate nalbound structures from netted structures. However, it did not apparently recognize that nalbound structures are also types of knots; just loose knots compared to the hard knots used in netting. ↩︎
  2. Color based on data and color pictures of related objects as neither Nordland nor the museum’s online record specify the colors of this particular pair of mittens. ↩︎
  3. Dimensions Value: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 ↩︎
  4. No dating was provided, but the inventory number implies accession in 1913. ↩︎
  5. Bruk: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 and Nordland 1961, Pgs. 70 & 71. ↩︎
  6. Material: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 ↩︎
  7. Nordland 1961, Pgs. 70 & 71. ↩︎
  8. Larry Schmitt initially used a modified Hansen’s classification moving the connection stitch to the front to recognize that the connection to the previous row occurs prior to the intralacing of most stitches. I have continued this practice in my translations between classification systems. Technically Nordland’s 632 could be either F1 UOOO/UUUOO or F1 OUUU/OOOUU as it only describes the number of loops before a change in intralacement, not the order of intralacement, but the first is more likely given the predominant intralacing patterns. ↩︎
  9. Identifier: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Pair of Red Socks from Oxryhyncus 2085&A-1900

Our next Nalbound Object of the Week can be found on display in the V&A Museum in London. A rare example of a complete pair of Late Roman Era1 (formerly dated to the Coptic Era2) nalbound socks from the burial grounds of the Greek colony of Oxryhyncus in Egypt. By the 5th century, Oxryhyncus was a notable monastic center.3

The socks after being placed on conservation mounts to support the fabric. (Conservation mounts are not intended to be the equivalent shape as the feet upon which they were intended to be worn as that would strain the fabric.) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London use of Content is permitted up to 5 years from first day of publication as per V&A Websites Terms & Conditions.

Object: Pair of Red socks from Oxryhyncus

Pre-conservation showing standard proportions. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London use of Content is permitted up to 5 years from first day of publication as per V&A Websites Terms & Conditions.

Description: A complete pair of red socks on red conservation mounts. The socks have split toes to accommodate wearing with thonged sandals. The ankles have an overlapping slit and the remains of attached ties for closure.

The conservation mounts and foreshortening of photographs tend to cause these socks to look much thinner and longer than they actually are. The conservation mounts are rounder than a foot which narrows the profile. They are intended to be supportive of the fabric more than providing a foot shape that would stress the fabric. As can be seen in the photographs prior to conservation, the proportions are well within the average ratios for this type of sock and would have fit a normal human foot quite nicely.

Dated to: 250-420 CE4 Cal. years (95.4%)5

Find location: Oxryhyncus (modern Behneseh), Egypt6

Material: S3Z 3-ply Wool7

Nalbinding Stitch(es) used: S-crossed8 Cross-knit Looping, F1B1 U (specific determination confirmed by Anne Marie Decker)

A pair of madder red socks confirming a theory regarding a particular construction detail on the Oxryhyncus socks. Completed by Anne Maire Decker on 17 August 2020. Not to gauge.

Inventory number: Accession number 2085&A-19009

Current location: V&A South Kensington, UK

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Burnham, Dorothy K. “Coptic Knitting: An Ancient Technique” in Textile History, Vol. 3 December 1972. edited by K. G. Ponting and Dr S. D. Chapman. The Pasold Research Fund LTD, England, 1972; pgs. 116-124. No ISBN/ISSN provided. DOI: 10.1179/004049672793692237

De Moor, Antoine, Cäcilia Fluck, M. Van Strydonck, and M. Boudin. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” In Textiles, tools and techniques of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries. Proceedings of the 8th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley,’ Antwerp, 4-6 October 2013, ed. Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid, p. 131-136. Tielt: Lannoo Publishers, 2015. ISBN 9789401432405.

Kendrick, A. F. Catalogue of Textiles From Burying-Grounds in Egypt: Vol. II. Period of Transition and of Christian Emblems. Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles. London: Publ. under the Authority of His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1921. No ISBN.

Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing: Textiles of the first millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries. Proceedings of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’, Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015. ed. by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 9789401443999.

Köstner, Barbara. “Wearing socks in sandals: The height of Roman fashion?” in Small Finds & Ancient Social Practices in the Northwest Provinces of the Roman Empire edited by Stefanie Hoss and Alissa Whitmore. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2016. Pages 16-27. ISBN 978-1-78570-256-3.

Levey, S. M. “Illustrations of the History of Knitting Selected from the Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum” in Textile History, Vol. I No. 2 (December 1969): pgs. 183-205. ed. by K. G. Ponting. Great Britain: David & Charles Ltd., 1969. Also available in the combined Vol 1. Nos 1-3 set published in 1971 as ISBN 0-7153-5166-4.

Turnau, Irena. History of Knitting Before Mass Production. Translated by and Agnieszka Szonert. Warsaw: Institute of the Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, 1991. ISBN 83-900213-2-3.

Photographs:

The socks on display in the V&A. Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 15 October 2019
A view of the toes and slits. Also note how the angle at which the photos are taken affects the perception of length. Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 15 October 2019.
A side view showing better proportions. Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 15 October 2019.
Anne Marie Decker taking photographs of the pair of red socks. Photo credit: Ruth Decker 15 October 2019.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. De Moor et. al. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” 2015. Pg. 136 ↩︎
  2. The dating to Coptic Era was based on older art historical dating methods. It generally referred to what are now defined as Late Roman Egypt (3rd−4th centuries) and Byzantine Egypt (4th−7th centuries), but differed in exact dating by author. While still used colloquially, the term has lost favor in academia in large part due to its imprecision. ↩︎
  3. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎
  4. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎
  5. De Moor et. al. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” 2015. Pg. 134. ↩︎
  6. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎
  7. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024 specifies 3-ply wool. Barbara Köstner lists S3Z in “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” 2017, pg. 192. ↩︎
  8. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. The museum record only states “Nålbindning (sewing stitches)” “sometimes called knotless netting or single needle knitting.” It does not specify the specific stitch variant used. Barbara Köstner does specify S crossed in “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” 2017, pg. 193. ↩︎
  9. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎

NOW: Singlad Ball – NM.0010083

From 1872 CE we get this week’s Nalbound Object sewn by P. Nilsson’s daughter in Äspö in Skåne Sweden:1 the remains of a beautifully colored singlad ball.

Photo: Nordiska museet – License Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)

Object: Multi-colored Singlad Ball from 1872

Description: Not much of the nalbound exterior remains, but what does remain shows colorwork in multiple patterns involving two colors being used in the same row in several places. The ball is 6.5 cm in diameter2; divided into 8 sections, each worked from the edges into the center. The center is presumed to be cork, wrapped with possibly flax cord.3 It was then covered in course cloth, partitioned into eights and then the Simple Looping outer layer was applied.

Dated to: 1872 CE4

Find location:

Material: The nalbinding was worked in multiple colors of wool.5

Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O (determination from photo by Anne Marie Decker) called “langettstygn”6 [langett stitch] in Swedish

Singlade balls are very similar in concept and style to Temari balls from Japan. However, Temari balls primarily use wrapped patterns, while Singlade balls are worked in the Simple Looping structure that can be considered a variant of Nalbinding when creating a fabric, but embroidery when worked into the ball base as seen in some of the more complicated modern designs.

Inventory number: Identifier – NM.0010083

Current location: Nordiska museet

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll

Some sources in which more information can be found:

The Nordiska museet has multiple other examples of singlade balls ranging in date from the 19th century through the 20th century:

From the 1800’s (accessioned in 1909), three balls. 2 wool and 1 silk. Only two are pictured as one apparently is missing: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023589117/boll

A solid dark red ball from the 1880’s: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023784557/boll

A beautiful, but unfinished (with needle still in the work) ball from the early 1880s (accessioned in 1884): https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023409730/boll

Another silk one in tiny stitches from around 1907: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023576833/boll

Two balls split in eights from the early 1900’s (accessioned in 1908): https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023582265/boll

This one was made in 1964 by a woman that had been making singlad balls since she was 7 (in 1892): https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023772563/boll

Six balls, and two unfinished, from the 1970’s:
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023812642/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023811401/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023811402/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023785506/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023812643/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023785507/boll

One accessioned in 1889 into the Russian collection of Vänersborgs museum https://digitaltmuseum.se/011025086402/boll

In 1932 Mina Lundberg of Gävle, Uppland, Sweden gave this ball she used in her childhood in the 2nd half of the 19th century to the Upplandsmuseet. It is made with a center made of a broken celluloid ball with peas in it. It otherwise made in the same way as the old catalogue records that peas would be put in a goose’s throat, one end stuck in the other, that was then wrapped in yarn and the singlade cover worked over it in buttonhole stitches. https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023861906/boll

One in Kalmar läns museum: https://digitaltmuseum.se/021028363860/boll

Some of the wide variety of patterns that can be worked in Simple Looping on Singlade balls. Photo from a class that was taught at Brodericaféet på Regionmuseet i Skåne in 2018.
Additional videos on Singlade balls: https://www.youtube.com/c/SingladeBalls/about

Instructions with pictures for making a ball in the style of this Nalbound Object of the Week: https://www.instructables.com/Singlade-Balls-From-Yarn-Scraps/

There is a Facebook group dedicated to Singlade Bollar: https://www.facebook.com/groups/277741892435866/

Photographs:

A pair of Singlad boll by Zadig Art purchased in the Kulturen gift shop while I was in Lund in 2023 to examine the mitten. I was so excited to find traditional nalbinding available. I had heard of the Skånsk tradition of singlad balls, but hadn’t seen them in person. The yellow and brown one on the left rattles. Photo: Anne Marie Decker

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  2. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  3. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  4. About & Production: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  5. About & Materials: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  6. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Coppergate/York/Jorvik Sock – Small Find 13517 (Patreon sponsored)

With my sincerest thanks to my Patrons, this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is the Coppergate Sock. On display at the Jorvik Viking Centre, this sock goes by many names; all related to its find location. Coppergate Sock, York Sock, or Jorvik Sock, but they are all the same artifact.

Photo: York Archaeology CC BY-NC 4.0
Photo: York Archaeology CC BY-NC 4.0

Object: Coppergate Sock, also known as the York Sock or the Jorvik Sock

Description: A fine wool sock that ends just below the ankle. The last row at the ankle is worked in a dyed yarn, unlike the rest of the sock, which either was meant to act as a decorative edge or could indicate a longer stocking leg in red is missing.1 However, we don’t have evidence of nalbound stockings going much past the ankle until a few centuries after this sock and even then they are not common in finds. Additionally, we do have evidence of Egyptian socks that have a single row of color at the ankle. Much of the heel is missing as well as holes near the toes and a damaged slit along the vamp. All pieces were connected, none loose. The pieces were drawn together during conservation in order to better show the original shape.2 There is evidence of patching having been sewn on the sock based on the outline of wool stitching. After conservation, the sock is 10 1/4 in. (260mm) long toe to heel (pre-conservation c. 9 1/2 in. / 0.23m). Circumference at ankle 12 7/8 in. (325mm) and at broadest part of foot 10 5/8 in. (270mm).3 Before conservation measurements are in Jean M. Glover’s, Senior Textile Conservation Officer at the North West Museum and Art Gallery Service, conservation report “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/5. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1989. Pg. 430-431. ISBN 0 906780 79 9.

Dated to: Period 4B is dated to 930-975 CE,3 10th century4

Find location: The sock was found in the backyard of one of the wattle buildings of Period 4B5 in the excavations of 16-22 Coppergate, York, England, UK. It was found in context with several other Scandinavian style textiles which may imply that they were imported on a Scandinavian visitor/invader or that they could be simplified copies made by the local Anglians.6

Current location: On display at the Jorvik Viking Centre

Material: Stable isotope analysis of the Coppergate sock indicates that the wool came from somewhere in the Ireland-to-south Scandinavia band. It is consistent with an origin of the British Isles, but Ireland and Denmark also give similar results.8  It is a smooth and even S2Z plied wool.9 (Two S spun singles plied together with a Z twist.) The missing patch (possibly flax or other vegetable fiber that has since decayed away) was sew on with Z2S plied wool10 1.5 mm in diameter.11 Based on the pictures, this repair yarn appears thicker in diameter than the yarn used for the nalbound fabric.

Color: Dark brown (potentially related to the many years of being buried).14 The last row of the sock at the ankle is worked in a smooth dark yarn that was dyed with madder. Test results were negative for dyes on the rest of the sock.15

The original diagram of the stitch used in the Coppergate sock. There is an issue with this diagram in that the needle shows the correct connection to the previous rows of F2, but the rest of the diagram shows an F3 connection. Image was originally published in the 1980’s and has been used repeatedly in multiple publications since.

Stitch(es) used: Based on analysis of the upper edge of the sock: York, UU/OOO F2.10 The foot portion could not be analyzed due to “heavy wear and felting on the inside.”11 Further analysis is obscured by the conservation tulle covering the sock.

Construction details: Examination of the pre-conservation drawings and the photographs available of the sock show a clear round start to the toe with quite a few stitches in it. According to Penelope Walton’s analysis, there is a single loop of yarn at the toe around which a circular row of loops is worked.12 The F2 connection combined with York stitch UU/OOO means that each subsequent row overlaps the previous row by half. Penelope Walton reported a gauge of approximately 36 rounds per 100mm.13 That’s about 36.6 rows per 4 inches or just barely over 9 rows to the inch.

Also shown are three areas of shorter row wedges in the heel. The first 7 rows deep coming off the mid-foot. The second, 3 or 4 rows are still remaining. The ankle has apparently 4 rows going around the entire ankle, cut only by the slit on the vamp. In the back of the heel are quite a few rows going parallel to the rows around the ankle. There was difficulty in this area for the conservators as they tried to draw the damaged areas together, because the rows were not as obvious in their orientation in this region.18 This is where the confusion regarding type of heel comes in, because if those were a third wedge in the style of the Egyptian or Swiss socks/stockings (which tended to have two at most), then one would expect longer rows followed by shorter rows with the ankle rows covering the ends. It is possible that the third wedge is worked in reverse, short to longer rows, to cup the back of the heel and give a more upright angle to the ankle opening (wedge heels tending towards a 45 degree rather than 90 degree angle between foot and leg). Figure 142a on page 344 of Textiles, Cordage and Raw Fibre from 16-22 Coppergate shows a drawing of how Penelope Walton thought the heel might have been reconstructed. It is important to note that she suggests the construction may be closer to the double wedges of one of the slightly later Swiss socks from Délémont/Delsberg than the spiral construction of the Uppsala heel or the rectangular heel flap and cup combination of the earlier Roman Egyptian socks. She does not appear to have known of the compound nalbound socks out of Egypt (only the cross-knit looping variety) that almost all have wedge heels, a few with two wedges, (the only exception being one that has a heel flap and cup style like the Cross-knit Looping style socks).

Inventory number: Small Find 13517. Catalogue Number 1309.

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.collections.yorkarchaeologicaltrust.co.uk/s/collections/item/124898#lg=1&slide=0

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Glover, Jean M., Senior Textile Conservation Officer at the North West Museum and Art Gallery Service, Blackburn. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/5. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1989. Pg. 430-431. ISBN 0 906780 79 9.

von Holstein, Isabella Christina Charlottie. “A light stable isotope (C, N, H, O) approach to identifying movement of medieval textiles in North West Europe.” PhD Thesis, University of York, 2012. Pgs. 268–70.

von Holstein, Isabella C. C. & Walton Rogers, Penelope & Craig, Oliver & Penkman, Kirsty & Newton, Jason & Collins, Matthew. Provenancing Archaeological Wool Textiles from Medieval Northern Europe by Light Stable Isotope Analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H). PLOS ONE: 2016 11. 10.1371/journal.pone.0162330.

Walton, Penelope. ‘Needlework from Jorvik’ Embroidery 36/4 (Winter 1985), pp 130-131.

Walton, Penelope. “Production at Coppergate, York: Anglo-Saxon or Viking?” in Textiles in Northern Archaeology, Textile Symposium in York, North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles Monograph 3, NESAT III, ed. by Penelope Walton and John Peter Wild. London: Archetype Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-873132-05-0.

Walton, Penelope. Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/5. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1989. Pgs. 341-345. ISBN 0 906780 79 9.

Walton Rogers, Penelope. “Chapter 5. Textile networks in Viking-Age towns of Britain and Ireland” in Crafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns ed. by STEVEN P. ASHBY and SØREN M. SINDBÆK. Oxbow Books, 2019. Paperback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-160-9. Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78925-161-6 (ePub) https://www.academia.edu/99573338/Chapter_5_Textile_networks_in_Viking_Age_towns_of_Britain_and_Ireland

Walton Rogers, Penelope. Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/11 ed. by P.V. Addymann. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1997. ISBN 1 872414 76 1.

Photographs:

Regia Anglorum was the first place to publish anything online regarding nalbinding that I can remember and they included Penelope Walton’s diagram and drawing of the Coppergate sock: https://regia.org/research/life/naalbind.htm

Astrid Bryde shared photos of the Coppergate sock from her visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre in 2018. The photo taken of the back of the heel is particularly interesting as it shows angled rows as if from a wedge style heel.

The article “York’s Viking Sock Becomes Part of ‘A History of the North in 100 Objects’” by the Jorvik Viking Center published August 6, 2018 has a close enough view you can see the conservation tulle.
Read more at https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/press/yorks-viking-sock-becomes-part-history-north-100-objects/#6aq4FWa8UDvMoPYH.99

The Coppergate sock made BBC’s A History of the World: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/fvO4ZPlnTKyGE0dWyuOdBQ

The Coopergate sock is included as one of the artifacts in the Jorvik Artefact Gallery. Scroll to right several times to see a nice photo that you can click on to enlarge. https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/about/jorvik-artefact-gallery/

On May 7, 2019, Hacking Civilization published the following embedded YouTube video showing the Coppergate sock as it is currently displayed.

I recently ran across this video published by The JORVIK Group on Jun 6, 2016 also showing the Coppergate/York sock.

And more recently they’ve also posted:

This Facebook group, Nålbinding, is a closed group. If you join it and search for the Coppergate sock, you will find several interesting posts by a variety of people of photos taken of the sock on display.

Hilde Thunem’s article, Viking Clothing: hose and socks, includes several additional photos of the Coppergate sock on display. It also puts the sock in perspective noting that while there are multiple finds of socks/hose from the period and region, only the one is nalbound. Most are of cut and sewn woven cloth.

Acknowledgements: This extended Nalbound Object of the Week is brought to you by the generosity of my Patrons on Patreon. Your continued support helps to fund more detailed research and articles as well as longer blog posts.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 343. ↩︎
  2. Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 431. ↩︎
  3. Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. ↩︎
  4. Walton, Penelope. Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 418. ↩︎
  5. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 341. ↩︎
  6. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 341. ↩︎
  7. Walton, Penelope. Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 418. ↩︎
  8. von Holstein, Isabella Christina Charlottie. “A light stable isotope (C, N, H, O) approach to identifying movement of medieval textiles in North West Europe.” PhD Thesis, University of York, 2012. Pgs. 268–70. Also cited by Walton Rogers, Penelope. “Chapter 5. Textile networks in Viking-Age towns of Britain and Ireland” in Crafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns. Pg. 105. and von Holstein, Isabella C. C. & Walton Rogers, Penelope & Craig, Oliver & Penkman, Kirsty & Newton, Jason & Collins, Matthew. Provenancing Archaeological Wool Textiles from Medieval Northern Europe by Light Stable Isotope Analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H). PLOS ONE: 2016 11. 10.1371/journal.pone.0162330. Pg. 20. ↩︎
  9. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. and Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. ↩︎
  10. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 341. ↩︎
  11. Walton, Penelope. “Catalogue” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 435. ↩︎
  12. Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. ↩︎
  13. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. and Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. ↩︎
  14. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. Diagram on page 343. ↩︎
  15. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. and Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. ↩︎
  16. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. ↩︎
  17. Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. ↩︎
  18. Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nålebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 431. ↩︎
Exit mobile version
%%footer%%