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Weaving Throughout Germanic History

Avery E. Claus

Sandy Spring Friends School

Weaving & Fiber Arts II

Heidi Brown

28 April 2023
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Weaving Throughout Germanic History

History of Weaving

Weaving began sometime around 3400 B.C.E. in ancient Egypt, although spinning had

been used for many years prior. Ancient Egyptians used a weaving loom to create many items,

such as tapestries and cloth. A few centuries later, around 2600 B.C.E. China started weaving

silk and Roman’s started weaving wool and linen. There is evidence of weaving without fibers,

using leaves and sticks, dating back to the Neolithic period. Despite having little to no contact

between societies around the world, many developed their own method of spinning and weaving

fibers into workable cloth.

Weaving in Europe

Medieval Europe had also discovered weaving using warp weighted looms. In the 10th

and 11th centuries Europe was introduced to horizontal looms by way of trade with other

weaving societies. Weaving soon became an established craft in Europe and due to the amount of

weavers trading their goods, guilds were formed to regulate trade. Originally these guilds started

out as plain merchant guilds but later they evolved into separate trade guilds for each skill. The

Industrial Revolution saw the rise of mass produced textiles, with many textile factories popping

up around Europe. Oftentimes the textile factories would be placed near an urban settlement and

the women would work in the factories for hours with minimal pay.

Clothing

Day to day clothing is a very obvious but often overlooked aspect of textile work. Due to

trade Europe had a variety of fibers to choose from, but not all of them were commonplace. In

Germanic cultures wool was the fiber that was most often used due to its durability and its ability

to withstand the cold of the winter. Sheep were methodically bred to be able to produce more
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wool in a shorter time period and weaving was a common job among village women. On special

occasions, such as a coming of age ceremony or a festival, people might have worn clothing

made of silk imported from China. Germanic cultures also had access to many different dyes due

to trade, but the most common colors among clothing were greens, blues, and light browns, all

colors easily able to be made with plants native to the area. Pinks, yellows, and reds were also

quite common, although they were used more for color accents than for the bulk of the clothing,

and the dyes for them would have come from India or China.

Tapestries and Blankets

Blankets were typically also made of wool although there has also been some evidence

for linen being used as well. Blankets back then were usually colored with browns or pale colors,

unlike clothing which oftentimes had some sort of vibrant color accents. Tapestries were a

common sight in many noble and royal households, as well as smaller versions appearing in

many working class houses. Tapestries could depict a wide variety of images and were most

often made with high quality durable wool and linen. Royal tapestries were sometimes made of

silk made by skilled spinners in China and bought for a hefty price by the royal weavers.

Who was farming and Status of Textile farmers

Textile farms, specifically sheep farms, were also a common sight when traveling in

Europe. Most of the time the land was owned by the ‘man of the house’ (typically referring to

the oldest male in the family) and the farms were managed by him. The whole family would

work on the farms, although this changed when the Industrial Revolution made textile farming

more streamlined. Typically this was a common job that required a decent amount of physical

labor and was generally respected in the peasant community. If the farm was doing well the

people would have a higher status than if the farm was doing poorly, and despite the job being
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necessary it was often looked down upon by nobles who thought that the work a sign of being

lower class.

Who was weaving and Status of weavers

Spinning and weaving was exclusively done by women and girls, sometimes the younger

boys would help out, but generally it was seen as a women’s job. The job itself was well

respected but since women’s rights were not very well devolved at the time many looked down

on weaving for being a ‘women’s craft’. Women in the lower and working classes would get paid

very little for their hard work even if they were the only weaver in their community. Weavers

that made fabric for royal garments usually got paid better but not by much.

Trade

Europe is not very famous for its textile trade, although they had a steady outflow of

many different items used in weaving for centuries. Europe was the leading manufacturer of

wool based textiles and often sold to China, India, and the Americas. There was not really an

established trade of spun textiles although woven fabric was in high demand by the American

colonies. Europe also has a multitude of plants that produce green dye, one of the hardest dyes to

find naturally, and made a good profit from selling them to places like China and the Americas

that could not find green dye easily. Nowadays the textile industry in Europe is not very well

known but it is thriving, although there are a lot more achined involved than there used to be.
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References

Ecoist. “The History of Weaving and Women.” ECOIST,

ecoist.world/blogs/eco-bliss/the-history-of-weaving-and-women Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

germanculture. “Traditional German Clothing – Dirndl and Lederhosen.” German Culture, 6 July

2018, germanculture.com.ua/daily/traditional-german-clothing-dirndl-and-lederhosen/

s4stclf. “European Textile Industry.” Skills4Smart TCLF Industries 2030,

s4tclfblueprint.eu/project/tclf-sectors/european-textile-industry/ Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

Watt, Melinda. “Nineteenth-Century European Textile Production.” Metmuseum.org, 2004,

www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/txtn/hd_txtn.htm

---. “Textile Production in Europe: Silk, 1600–1800.” Metmuseum.org, 2020,

www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/txt_s/hd_txt_s.htm

“Weavers’ Revolt | Encyclopedia.com.” Www.encyclopedia.com,

www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/weavers-r

evolt Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

“Weaving Europe, Weaving Balkans | Exhibition during BoWB 2018.” Biennale of Western

Balkans, bowb.org/exhibitions/weaving-europe/ Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

“Weaving History.” Weavedesign, www.weavedesign.eu/weaving-history/

Wikipedia Contributors. “Silesian Weavers’ Uprising.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

16 Apr. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesian_weavers%27_uprising. Accessed 21 Apr.

2023.

---. “Weaving.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Oct. 2019,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaving