By Valentina S . Grub

(Link)

Abstract

Medieval manuscript studies have been of increasing interest to the academe in recent years, and within the next year a book and an exhibition on opus anglicanum (English embroidery made between c. 1250-1350) are planned. Yet there has been little to no scholarship on how these two ‘minor arts’ intersect and interact. I am currently exploring records showing that there is evidence that some individuals were involved in both. In particular, mention of two nuns who were known as embroiderers and illuminators. I will look at both archival and artistic similarities, focusing on works between c. 1250-1350, when the English embroidery trade was at its height.

By Katalin Szilagyi

(Link)

An examination of the beads recovered from three Hungarian cemeteries in use during the 10th to 12th century resulted in the identification of 61 distinct bead types. Seven of these were found to be significant on the basis of frequency analysis, and represent the beads most used by the local population. The study is enhanced by comparative material from a number of other contemporary archaeological sites in and around the country. The classification system developed for this study is applicable to other geographical areas and time periods, and may be expanded or otherwise modified to suit the needs of other researchers.

Related Items:

The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly Beads from Dorestad On Beads and Boats: Merovingian beads travelling through time and space

https://beadresearch.org/

Related Items:

Market strategies in a late medieval craft: bone bead production in Constance and elsewhere

By Elisabetta Neri, Bernard Gratuze & Nadine Schibille

(Link)

Abstract

The trade of glass beads has long been assumed to have been under Islamic dominance during the early centuries following the Arab conquest of the Middle East, judged by the prevalence of Islamic beads in the archaeological contexts from Viking Scandinavia to medieval Morocco. This paper explores the impact of the Byzantine-Slavic transition on the use and by extension trade of glass beads in the Balkans from the seventh to the ninth century CE. A series of 48 glass beads and 4 vessel fragments from two excavated sites in modern day Albania have been analysed morphologically, technologically and chemically by LA-ICP-MS. The seventh-century beads from Lezha have typological parallels among central European assemblages and are made from recycled natron-type glass. The presence of a high lead-iron-natron variant is of particular interest as it potentially reflects a regional production. The ninth-century beads from Komani are made from soda-rich plant ash glass from the eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia and correspond to an Islamic typology. The chronological and geographical differences are reflected in the distinctive cobalt sources used for the two groups. While the beads from Lezha are coloured with a cobalt not correlated with any particular element, the cobalt source of the Komani samples is associated with zinc, typical of Islamic glass making. It thus appears that the supply of beads during the seventh century when the Balkans were under Slavic occupation relied on regional production and recycled material, and that a long-distance trade with the eastern Mediterranean was revived following the Byzantine re-conquest of the south-eastern Adriatic in the ninth century. Intriguingly, the Albanian finds confirm the Islamic control of the production and trade of glass beads during this period and highlight the mediatory role of the Byzantine Empire.

Related Items:

Analysis of early medieval glass beads – Glass in the transition period Early medieval glass beads: witness to changes in central Europe – the case of Hostivice (Czech Republic) Beads and beadmaking in the early medieval settlement of Oegstgeest On Beads and Boats: Merovingian beads travelling through time and space

By Mette Langbroek

(Link)

Intro

During most campaigns at Dorestad, a significant number of beads were excavated. In contrast to beads from Scandinavian emporia such as Ribe, the beads from Dorestad have never been studied as a complete set. Several small bead assemblages from different excavation locations in Wijk bij Duurstede have been briefly published in excavation reports , but a closer look at these beads was necessary, focusing on their use, deposition and provenance. As the publications of beads found in Scandinavian emporia show , their study can contribute significantly to our understanding of the international networks Dorestad was part of.

Related Items:

Beads and beadmaking in the early medieval settlement of Oegstgeest On Beads and Boats: Merovingian beads travelling through time and space

By Mette Langbroek

(Link)

In the early medieval period, beads were available abundantly: hundreds of thousands of decorative beads have been deposited in mostly female inhumation graves across Europe dating between AD 400-750. Whereas beads are found regularly in Merovingian cemeteries, they have been excavated less often in settlements. During the excavation of the early medieval settlement at Oegstgeest, 113 beads made of glass, amber, rock crystal and faience were found, distributed over 31 features. Seventythree of these beads were found in a grave on the edge of the settlement; the rest of the beads were found in other features scattered across the settlement. Thanks to the extensive sieving campaign that was organised on site, more beads have been found than on a ‘regular’ early medieval settlement excavation. Besides the 113 lost, deposited or discarded beads, the sieving campaign also yielded overwhelming evidence for the production of amber beads. In total 781 pieces of amber bead-making waste were found distributed over 34 features in the settlement.6 This is by far the most amber-working evidence ever excavated on a Merovingian site in the Netherlands: other sites that have produced amber-bead making evidence are Utrecht-Leidsche Rijn (nine pieces of amber-working debris) and Wijnaldum (eleven pieces of amber-working debris). In this chapter, the beads and bead-making evidence found in the early medieval settlement of Oegstgeest, the exchange connections that the beads represent and the meaning of beads in Merovingian society will be discussed

Related Items:

The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly Early medieval glass beads: witness to changes in central Europe – the case of Hostivice (Czech Republic) Beads from Dorestad On Beads and Boats: Merovingian beads travelling through time and space Analysis of early medieval glass beads – Glass in the transition period

By Jonalee A. Crabb known in the SCA as Roxelana Bramante

(Link)

Intro

I have been researching beadwork for years. I have found surviving examples of beadwork in many cultures and at various times throughout history. By examining some of these surviving examples of historical beadwork and the reasons they have survived, we may be able to shed some light on exactly how prevalent beadwork was in past societies.

(link)

Intro:

The German bead industry is still alive, but only just. It is based out of southern Germany, in the Bavarian city of Neu Gablonz, named, of course, after Gablonz, the Bohemian city which was the capital of the Austrian bead industry during the Austrian Empire, and later Czechoslovakia, when the name was changed to Jablonec nad Nisou. The local chamber of commerce dates Jablonec back to 1356 when it was first mentioned in documents, but permanent settlement only occurred in the 16th century when a glass works was established in Mseno, which is now incorporated inside the city limits of Jablonec.

By Katerina Tomkova, Natalie Venclová, Sarka Krizova Jonasova, Nadine Schibille, Veronika Faltusová, Tomáš Vaculovič, David Daněček

(Link) (pdf)

Related Items:

The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly Analysis of early medieval glass beads – Glass in the transition period Beads and beadmaking in the early medieval settlement of Oegstgeest Beads from Dorestad The German-Czech Bead Industry THE BEADS OF TENTH- TO TWELFTH-CENTURY HUNGARY On Beads and Boats: Merovingian beads travelling through time and space

By: Mette Langbroek

(Link)

Intro:

What do beads and boats have in common? In Merovingian Europe, just about everything. Just like boats, Merovingian beads travelled through time and space, across huge distances, into other worlds and back again.

Related Items:

Beads and beadmaking in the early medieval settlement of Oegstgeest Beads from Dorestad

By Žiga Šmit, Timotej Knific, David Jezeršek, Janka Istenič

Published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms

Volume 278, Pages 1-114 (1 May 2012)

(link) (pdf)

Abstract

Related Items:

Early medieval glass beads: witness to changes in central Europe – the case of Hostivice (Czech Republic)