[Ansteorra] cotton in period

[mikea]

On Thu, Sep 21, 2006 at 11:10:43AM -0500, nweders at mail.utexas.edu wrote:
> I found an article on "The Cotton Industry of Northern Italy in the Late 
> Middle Ages: 1150-1450" by Maureen Fennell Mazzaoui, (The Journal of 
> Economic History, Vol 32, No 1. The Tasks of Economy History. (Mar 1972) 
> pp. 262-286.  The author has also written a book, since I found numerous 
> reviews on it as well bt I have not had a chance to find a copy.
> 
> Anyway, the article talks about the development of the cotton fabric and 
> thread industry in Italy.  She states " In the European climate, cotton and 
> linen represented seasonal alternatives  to the heavier silk and wool 
> cloths suitable for winter wear.  She does say later that cotton was often 
> combined with linen, hemp, wool and silk to produce more diverse fabric 
> types.
> 
> During this time period, vast amounts of cotton fiber and fabrics was also 
> imported from Egypt and comprised of canvas to fine dress weight fabrics 
> (sorry no description or names of said fabric). however, the use of the 
> fabric as clothing is quite extensive.
> 
> It is a myth that cotton was not used for clothing or wool was used more 
> than cotton in some countries.  During the 12th through 15th centuries, 
> cotton was used in the Mediterranean area for the same reasons why we use 
> it... it is cooler than wool in the summer, it took some dyes better than 
> linen, it allowed more diversity in fashion.  I would also note that during 
> the 16th century, a severe dip in the weather caused a change in clothing 
> that made it more important to wear wool and furs rather than cottons.

In addition, the Arabs introduced the cotton plant into Sicily, before
1100, according to what I've been able to find. Since all this is pre-
cotton-gin, the fiber would have been separated from the seeds by hand,
making the cloth more expensive then in terms of labor than it is now.

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin