Hedeby hood
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Hedeby hood

Ткацкая мастерская OldCraft · 07 August 2024 at 14:47

Historical note

All photos of the finished hood are an example of our work.

A large part of a hood made of dark wool twill 2/2 was found in Hedeby. The fabric thickness is about 0.3-0.4 mm, and the hood’s size is approximately 55x20 cm. The preserved parts are the hood’s tip and the section that covered the vertex and partially one of the shoulders. The tip consists of a tubular folded fabric, which is sewn tightly together lengthwise and one end of which is connected to the hood by a second seam. The tip narrows itself towards the end in the completely preserved part; it reaches the largest width, about 14 cm (about 28 cm in an unfurled state), at the top of the hood. The preserved length of the tip is 15 cm. The original length can no longer be determined.

Pic. 1. Die Textilfunde aus der Siedlung und aus den Gräbern von Haithabu: Beschreibung und Gliederung 1991, K. Wachholtz

The remaining fabric parts are severely damaged. A short series of stitches must have belonged to a fringe from above the forehead, however the fragment is torn off and frayed all around. At one end, the remainder of a gore is preserved: it is narrow, with a maximum preserved width of about 8 cm, and is inserted between two seams. A further row of stitches can be connected with this gore - or with an additional fabric part no longer exists.

Pic. 2. Die Textilfunde aus der Siedlung und aus den Gräbern von Haithabu: Beschreibung und Gliederung 1991, K. Wachholtz

On the basis of the individual structural elements that are still preserved, the sewing pattern of fragment S 3 found in Hedeby can be reconstructed as a hood. Its basic shape is a rather narrow, folded fabric sheet, with the fold-over point above the vertex, and with widened ends hanging over the shoulders. From the top to the bottom, the fabric is about 45-50 cm long. At the back, below the tip, the edges of the fabric must have been sewn together. By using gores, it was achieved that the hood became wider over the shoulders. The hood is currently the only verifiable example of this piece of clothing in Haithabu.

Since no further fragments are available for comparison, the reconstruction cannot be completed in detail. The well-known late medieval hoods, for example from Greenland, may already have differences in sewing patterns. The hood is not an independent garment, but belongs either to a cloak, to a jacket or to a shoulder cape. it can also be connected to a face mask. Among the textiles found in the port there were several remnants of such a protective or mask clothing.

The material of this article may be supplemented in the future

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