Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles

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Subject: History
Edited by: Gale Owen-Crocker, Elizabeth Coatsworth & Maria Hayward
The single volume Encyclopaedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles c. 450-1450 is a unique work that intends to bring together in 582 signed articles the latest research from across the range of disciplines which contribute to our knowledge of medieval dress and textiles.
Subscriptions: See Brill.com
The single volume Encyclopaedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles c. 450-1450 is a unique work that intends to bring together in 582 signed articles the latest research from across the range of disciplines which contribute to our knowledge of medieval dress and textiles.
Subscriptions: See Brill.com
Kendal
(111 words)
A kind of woollen cloth woven, or originally woven, in Kendal, a town in Westmorland (now Cumbria); therefore called
Kendal
cloth, cloth
kendalles; as an adjective it meant made of Kendal cloth. The earliest references to the cloth date from legislation of 1390, and imply cloth of the poorest quality (see cloth: dimensions and weights). Gowns and hoods of Kendal are mentioned from
c. 1443, from earlier Proceedings in Chancery recorded in the reign of Elizabeth 1. See also the naming of cloth. Elizabeth Coatsworth Bibliography Kurath, H., Kuhn, S. M., Reidy, J. and Lewis, R. E., ed.,
The Midd…
Kermes
(786 words)
Kermes is the European term derived from the medieval Arabic
kirmiz, meaning a 'worm'; and in this context it is close to the late Roman Latin term
vermiculus ('little worm'), used in the Vulgate bible for 'scarlet', from which is derived the English term
vermilion (a bright red shade), and the equivalent French term
vermeil. By Carolingian times the word
vermiculatus was being used to describe scarlet-coloured garments, displacing the old Roman word for such garments,
coccina, derived from the dyestuff term
coccus, itself derived from the much older Greek term
κοκκος, which meant 'a …
Kersey
(173 words)
Probably named from Kersey, a town in Suffolk, this cloth is first mentioned in 1262. Most references refer to legislation governing wool cloth (see cloth: dimensions and weights); no garments made of this material are mentioned before 1450, and there seem to be no literary references. A modern definition, however, says it is now used of a compact, lustrous woollen fabric, diagonally ribbed or twilled, which has been heavily fulled and finished with a short nap. Possibly it has changed its meani…