Monochrome embroidery is actually considerably older than the 1400s. There are surviving Islamic examples from long before that date. The earliest European reference to it, that I'm aware of, is a brief description in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in which a woman's shift is described as having black embroidery on it, but that reference predates known European fragments by quite a while. Most folks tend to call this type of embroidery "blackwork," out of habit, or from the association of this style with the elaborate, usually black, embroideries popular in certain parts of 16th century Europe. It does, however, show up in a number of other colors--blues, reds, gold, green, pink. A more accurate term for it is "monochrome" embroidery, since it's done with a single color. I look at something like Assisi work as a cousin ;o), and there are other forms of embroidery like German whitework, and some of the embroidery done on German and Italian shirts (over the areas that are gathered or "smocked," especially, that are also related. --Sue in Montana, *quite* definitely a monochrome/counted thread embroidery geek
----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan B. Farmer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Historical Costume" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 5:42 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] Medieval embroidery > To my knowledge -- and blackwork isn't my "thing" -- blackwork is > later than 1400. There are more knowledgeable folks on this list than > I in that respect. _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
