Quoting Marie Stewart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
There are many, many theories about bliauts. I have a few myself.
However just to stick with the question... is there docs on the
horizontal lines on the bliaut ever being a separate piece from the
garment?
Some say yes. Some say no. I used to be in the "probably no, but it
is vaguely possible" camp... until Nancy's photos showed me something
new.
look at the photo called PDRM0061in the Chartres collection. Look at
the belt knot, then look just above the belt knot. There you will see
a repeating decorative pattern, that resembles trim, either woven or
embroidered. Now... notice that the "trim" appears to lie flat and
follow the curve of the body, lines above it run in the horizontal
direction, lines below it run vertically.
You can also see this line of trip just above the belt on some statues
from St. Loup de Naud. This is a large scan (ca. 1 MB in size) so that
you can see the details quite nicely.
http://epee.goldsword.com/sfarmer/SCA/Paintings/stLoupDeNaud_LeftPortal-detai2l.jpg
or
http://tinyurl.com/6qse5
The other thing that is telling to me is the "knife-pleats." Look at
how they disappear behind the neckline trim ... look at how they
"reappear" out from under the wide trim above the belt. IMO, this is
the source of the garments that we see in later symbolic art where the
woman has on a hip-length "vest" or "corsage" or whatever you want to
call it.
To me this is really starting to suggest a separate layer. Could be.
Can I be positive, not yet, but I am intrigued.
Could this be the "corsetum" mentioned in the English inventories of
the early 1300s, which was fashionably "behind the times" - or an
ancestor of that garment? Are the two even linked at all?
Well, wasn't France leading the Fashion World (tm) at that time? I
don't have a problem with the English lagging behind.
Some folks might postulate that the trim is a product or a decoration
to highlight construction of the garment. Covering the joining of a
bodice to a skirt... Personally I find that theory to be too
speculative for me, and not in keeping with examples of garment
shaping of the day. But some people do advocate that style of
construction.
Yeah, I think that's a little too sketchy for me too.
Susan
-----
Susan Farmer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
University of Tennessee
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/
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