[Ansteorra] Fustian (was RE: The period threads...)

[Marc Carlson]

>Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace sirlyonel at hotmail.com
>Yes, cotton fiber in cloth is period for most of Europe in the era you 
>cite, but you say yourself that cotton was "extremely rare and pretty 
>pricey." In light of that rarity and price, isn't it ironic that the most 
>widespread use we see of cotton material in the SCA is for "field" clothing 
>and peasant garb?

Don't look at me, I didn't do it :)

>...fustian appear to be all of the linen/cotton variety. For earlier 
>centuries, I think the best you can say is that fustian in any given place 
>and time *might* have contained cotton.

Fair enough.

>In all, however, I can see no rational argument that any Medieval European 
>clothing was likely to have been made from %100 cotton fabrics...

I agree completely.

However, we still have to deal wth the balance of what is accurate, and what 
people are prepared to spend on fabric.  I certainly want to encourage 
people doing things more accurately, but I'm not going to criticize people 
doing what they are comfortable with.

Marc/Diarmaid