Bobbins

     Turning Bobbins in the style of those found on the Mary Rose

The Bobbins and related artifacts.

       The Mary Rose presents an amazing snapshot of life at the time it sank. The quantity of well preserved artifacts provides us with examples  of  items which we can recreate.
Having recently acquired a lathe I decided that I would like to make a series of small objects, mostly because I get immense enjoyment  from wood, but also with an eye to sell some if they are  up to scratch.
   The collection of thread Bobbins from the Mary rose are ideal subjects for this, being relatively small and quite simple.

The Bobbins:

Four bobbins: Material         Length (mm)  Diameter (mm)
                     Ash                   128                    28
                    Willow                115               25 (stem)   40 (Collar)
                     Alder                 37                       12  (this is an incomplete fragment)
                     Scots pine         95                       17    This one is the conical one in the picture.

                      Measurements taken from

They have three collars, one at either end, plus one in the center, allowing for two colours or type of thread to be shown/ stored.
In addition the core has been hollowed and stoppered creating a space to store needles. at least one of the bobbins was still stoppered and contained needles.


My first attempt

More care is needed in drilling the needle compartment

This was just a freehand attempt to make something in the approximate style from spare bits of Poplar.

Overall I'm quite happy with this Bobbin as a quick experiment.

 

The hole made by drilling at an angle rather than vertically.

Carved wooden Bowls: in search of a style

I want to carve some relatively simple wooden bowls, and since my "audience" is the SCA I really need to find an appropriate style from before 1600 a..d

This is not the only reason of course, or even the main one. Trying and learning different styles will be fun and teach me more about the craft.  This will of course remain a work in progress.

The Oseberg Ship Grave wooden household artifacts ( C 834  a.d)

"kitchen utensils include four wooden trays, two whole and two fragmentary, two large cauldrons

with chains and an iron tripod to put over the fire, three barrels for storage of food and liquid, a frying pan, a set of variously sized troughs for flour and bread production, five wooden ladles, two bowls.."

 From the Viking Age Queen, an article by Kirsten Ruffoni.

The images below are from Pinterest, I had trouble finding the original sites. The lack of scale is also an issue, however I will be able to copy proportions. Some of the other wooden objects look like they could be fun too

 

casket with lid

 The Bowl is 4 to 4.5 units wide and 9 units in length,
with an outside height of 1.5 units.   What is a unit? well basically I measured the images at a certain size on the screen and while those measurements are in centimeters, I can use them to scale up or down the size of the bowl. This has no reflection on the real size of the bowls, sadly this is unknown to me.

References

• Kirsten Ruffoni  Viking Age Queens The example of Oseberg Master’s thesis MPhil Nordic Viking and Medieval Culture 2009-2011University of Oslo
   https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/26632/Ruffoni_Master.pdf?sequence=2
   

The Beets go on

A Profile of the Beets

 

Modern scientific: Beta vulgaris

Family CHENOPODIACEAE

Common names: Silver beet, Beetroot, Beet, chard, Swiss chard, spinach.

Origins

To most Auatralians the term beet, or at least beet root conjures up images of think red slices lurking in tins.  But far from being a recent introduction to our tables the Beet, it's root and its leaves have formed an important part of the human diet. Beets have their origin in the wild sea beet Beta vulgaris subspecies maritima a native of the European coast from Norway down to the eastern Mediterranean (Facciola 1998). From their seaside roots beets have been selected into two broad forms:

-Leaf Beets Beta vulgaris Cicla group, known as, Swiss chard, Chard, spinach beet, and probably even more names (Facciola 1998). These "spinaches" were in use long before true spinach arrived in britain.

-Root Beets Beta vulgaris Crassa group, containing Beetroot, sugar beets and a variety of beets called Mangel wurzels which are generally used for stockfeed (Facciola 1998).

  



A Woman collecting the leaves of beets. The illustrations are from late 14th Century northern Italian manuscripts published in The Medieval Health Handbook: tacuinum sanitatis (NY: George Braziller, 1976).  Image sourced from http://www.buttery.org/marian/14th_c_ital_baskets_2.html

Uses

Originally use may have been limited to medicinal uses, especially in the case of the root, however by the 3^rd Century AD this had apparently changed and beetroot is mentioned as a wholesome food by Apicius (Hedrick 1919).

A recipe from Apicius .

Aliter betas elixas (Beets another way)

Cook the beets with mustard seed and serve them well pickled in a little oil and vinegar.

In Le Managier de Paris  we find Black beets served  with: "Beef pies and rissoles, black beet, lampreys in cold sage soup, a German meat soup, a white sauce of fish, and the coarse meat of beef and mutton."
In addition there are several mentions of white beets and of dishes containing the leaves of beets.:

"BEET SOUPS. There are three kinds of beet-leaf soups according to cooks who speak of them, white, green, and black."

The Archaeological record.

 In the British Archaeological record beet seeds are relatively common and while differentiating root and leaf beets from the seeds is not readily done, the presence of seeds away from the coast immediately indicates that they are cultivates as the wild sea beet is only found naturally on the coast (Greig 1995).

Beta vulgaris sub-species appear frequently in archaeological finds in Britainfrom the 15^th to 16^th centuries, Alexander Neckham and several other literary sources dating from around the 13^th and 14^thcenturies also mention beets (Greig 1995).

 

A slection of sources which mention varieties of Beta Vulgaris.

 

 

 

The Varieties,
Black, red and white Beets are metioned. I would suggest that we can use this as an indicator of these colourations being available as beet leaves, if only by virtue of the leaves from root beets also being edible. I cannot say that other colours were not know but feel that I need to look into this further .
I am having trouble finding references to identifiable varieties (beyond colour) further than the 18th century. So far we have "Early blood turnip beet" known in America in 1774 a close relative of the variety "Bulls blood" which I have seen for sale as seed.

References

·         Facciola 1998 Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants, Kampong Publications ISBN-10: 0962808725

·         Greig J 1995 “Archaeobotanical and historical records compared- a new look at the taphonomy of edible and other useful plants from the 11^th to the 18^th centuries A.D.” Circaea, the Journal of the Association for Environmental Archaeology 12 (2) pp211-247

• http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Beta-vulgaris.htm
   

·         Oyen, L.P.A., 2004. Beta vulgaris L. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Resources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 8 January 2009.

 ·         Hedrick, U.P. editor. 1919. Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants. Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1919 II. Albany, J.B Lyon Company, State Printers. [References Available]FOOD RESOURCE
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

• http://food.oregonstate.edu
• http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/heirloom-beet-varieties-chard-zewz1303zsch.aspx#axzz2fJjiVZMH

Raising Capital

 Kick-starting

 Bowls and stools. I want to do a couple of things to earn a bit of extra cash. More importantly I want to improve my skills and practice techniques. To do this I need Some new tools. I have been largely unsuccessful in making these myself.  I have managed to create tools which work to some degree, but have been unable to fine tune them enough that they work consistantly. Essentially I now  understand the theory and application of these tools and would eventually like to make my own. Right now though I'm not achieving this and without the tools I require I am not happy with the safety and quality of the items I am creating.

So I need to purchase three items.  I could potentially buy only

this $47 Scorp and this Reamer for $50 . But it would make sense to buy this set of Tenon Taperers for $35 .
 Currently I do not have the money to spare. I was wondering about a Kick starter style capital raising experiment to see if people were interested in helping me out! This is an odd feeling, it's not really like begging or is it? However it may just make this possible.

Options could range from a short term no interest loan, or an advance payment for a bowl.
  These are just ideas of course!

Pre 1600's plant history Part 2 Fennel

A profile of Fennel and it's uses prior to 1600

The modern scientific name for fennel is Foeniculum vulgare Which refers to common Fennel commonly found as a weed of roadsides and untended ground both in Australia and abroad. The second type commonly called sweet or Florence fennel is classified as Foeniculum vulgare Azoricum group, these fennels have a more developed “bulb” of fleshy stems at the base and  somewhat sweeter flavour (Facciola 1998).

Common fennel growing wild.

Its relatives :

Fennel is a perennial plant belonging to the same family as parsley dill and carrots, the APIACEAE family. The distinguishing feature of this is the upside down umbrella arrangement of flower stalks. Fennel flowers share this shape and have yellow flowers clustered at the end of each flower stalk making a perfect landing platform for pollinating insects.

 

 Its uses:

All parts of this herb can be used from the fleshy stem bases or bulb to the anise flavoured seeds. Modern usage is as broad as it’s historical use which shall be discussed shortly.

Archaeological evidence:

Fennel seed is a hard seed able to pass through the human digestive tract without being destroyed to the point of being unidentifiable.  Given this fact and the ability of archaeologists to locate cesspits and sewers it is possible to find locations where fennel seed is part of the archaeological record and is most likely there due to the human digestive system.

Table 1 a list of combined culinary/horticultural texts and archaeological evidence for the presence of Fennel at specific times and in specific regions

The cuilnary use of fennel

 

How was fennel used across a wide raange of locations and cultures? 

  

Table 2 A selection of  Texts with culinary information indicating the types of dish fennel has being used for.

Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook: 13th Century spain (Andalusia)

This perhaps provides a most distinctive use of fennel, partnered with citron leaves (Citrus media) in 11 dishes, also with coriander, onion, rue, saffron

Stalks are the most common part indicated, leaves are mentioned once and chopping of stalks mentioned twice. The most common method of preparation mentioned for fennel is in the parboiling of foods which are then baked or simmered in the coals.

18 dishes Used cooked, used as a garnish but only with one mention

o   9 poultry dishes, 7 Chicken, one Goose and one Crane

o   1 vegetable dish (Eggplant)

o   3 unspecified meat

o   2 Lamb

o   1 large fish

o   2 Rabbit

Le Menagier de Paris  : 1390    France  

Fennel is only mentioned in a few recipes in this text.

• An omelette, egg dish, along with celery, tansy, mint lovage, sage, sweet majoram, parsley, silver beet, violet leaves, spinach, as the majority of the ingredients are generally used as fresh leaves I would suggest that in this case the leaves be used.
• Used in a preserve, possibly two one which could is a recipe for mixed vegetable/herb root compote and contains green walnuts the second which is a recipe for pickled walnuts. The description of how to prepare roots may indicate that the root/lower bulbous stem of fennel is the part intended for use, although in the later part of the recipe fennel seeds would be as appropriate.
• o   Pork sausages. The fennel called for is ground, which makes fennel seeds more likely particularly as they are then mixed with powdered spices.

Wel ende edelike spijse:  Late 15th Century Dutch

Two recipes contain Fennel

o   Vegetable stew, which uses fennel seed in addition to several spices in a dish of cabbage, figs and parsley roots.

• Sturgeon with fennel. The name says it all, catch and cook your sturgeon, and sprinkle it with fennel, fresh leaves or seeds are not specified.

So it becomes clear that fennel was a widespread and most likely universally known condiment, ingredient and medicine throughout Europe and across diverse cultures prior to the 17th century.

References

·    Marta Bandini Mazzanti · Giovanna Bosi , Anna Maria Mercuri , Carla Alberta Accorsi ,  Chiara Guarnieri : (2005)  “Plant use in a city in Northern Italy during the late Mediaeval and Renaissance periods: results of the archaeobotanical investigation of “The Mirror Pit” (14th–15th century a.d.) in Ferrara”  June 2005, Vegetation  History Archaeobotany 14:442–452

·     Pegge, Samuel, 1704-1796  The Forme of Cury, not the original manuscript but a  copy made at this time.

A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, about A.D. 1390 Produced by Tobin Richard, Charles Franks, Greg Lindahl, Cindy Renfrow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8102 

·    Le Menagier de Paris translated from the French edition of Jerome Pichon published in 1846. Footnotes marked JP are by him; those marked JH are by Janet Hinson, the translator; those marked DDF and EGC are by David Friedman and Elizabeth Cook, respectively. (c) Janet Hinson http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier.html

·    ms UB Gent 1035 "Good and noble food" Wel ende edelike spijse" http://www.coquinaria.nl/kooktekst/Edelikespijse0.htm

·    An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century Translated by Charles Perry. http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian1.htm

·      Sylvia Landsberg, The Medieval Garden, British Museum Press, Thames and Hudson, Italy. ISBN 0714120804

·    The Saint Gall Monastery Plan http://www.stgallplan.org/

·    . Strabo, Walafrid. Hortulus. Translated by Raef Payne. Commentary by Wilfrid Blunt. (Pittsburgh: Hunt Botanical Library, 1966)

Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia: A Source Book of Edible Plants. 1990. 677 pp. Paperback. (LC 90-92097, ISBN 0-9628087-0-9). Kampong Publications,

·    A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND. by The Hon. Alicia. Amherst ... A History Of Gardening In England. by Hon. Mrs. Evelyn. Cecil (Hardcover - 1 Jan 1896 reprint 1969