In period, russet referred to natural brown wool. By the Elizabethan era (the one I'm most familiar with), russet cloth had come to imply/symbolize the honest and sturdy countryman who would wear fabric made from English wools instead of the foreign silks worn by courtiers.
Karen Seamstrix On Sun, 5 Feb 2006 09:08:22 -0800 (PST) Kahlara <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > In my translation anyway it says... > > Clause 35. Let there be one measure......, and one width of cloth > whether dyed, russet or halberjet, namely two ells within the > selvedges. > > Dyed I understand. > > Russet? Somehow I don't think this refers to red cloth. > > And does anyone know what halberjet is? > > These are the only definitions I got when I googled. > > Russet- a coarse, home-spun cloth much used by the peasantry. > Halberjet- probably a superior type of cloth. > Ell- a standard measure of length said to have been based on the > length of the right arm of king Henry 1. > > Annette M > > > --------------------------------- > Relax. Yahoo! Mail virus scanning helps detect nasty viruses! > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
