Medieval images of carding, spinning, and weaving

This miniature or painting comes from a French translation of a text written by the fourteenth century Italian author, Boccaccio. The text is entitled Concerning Famous Women, and this specific copy of the text was made for Philip the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy. The manuscript now in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris (Fr. 12420) [...]

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When Adam delved and Eve Span – early medieval spinning image

Painting on the wall over the south door at the church at Bledlow, England. Eve’s distaff is still very clear. Adam is delving(digging), both figures working in accordance with Genesis.

Bledloe, Buckinghamshire, Oxford, c. 1300
The same scene is painted on the south wall of the nave of the church at

Broughton, Cambridgeshire, England. The old rhyme, “When [...]

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Medieval Images of Weaving and Spinning

 
Weaving, spinning, carding wool, and combing flax.
MS Royal 16 Gv, f. 56, British Library, London 15th c. France
Wool was combed or carded to remove dirt and align the fibers (for easier spinning). Cards were wooden paddles set with fine teeth.

Weaving, spinning, and combing flax.
MS Fr. 598, f. 70v, Bibliotheque Nationale, [...]

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Medieval Images of Spinning

Woman carrying a distaff (under her arm) and drop spindle (hanging from the distaff) while feeding chickens. Luttrell Psalter, British Library, London. Medieval illustrations frequently show women carrying a spindle while engaged in other tasks. It took several spinners to supply one weaver, so the industrious housewife used every spare moment for spinning. [...]

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