16th Century Womens Knitted Gloves

Ginevra Visconti Introduction

I was looking for a period way to keep my hands warm in winter at events. Leather gloves, which can be seen in many portraits of the time, werent warm enough for me without being so thick that I had difficulty using my hands, and I didnt want a muff for the same reason. I thought that it was possible that since knitting was relatively commonplace by the 16th Century, it was possible that people had knitted gloves especially amongst the middle classes, where the more ornate leather ones might be too expensive and impractical for everyday use. Because of this theory, I thought it unlikely that there would be many depictions in portraits, and started looking instead for extant artefacts; and references in texts and guild records, to gloves being knitted. I found several examples (See Appendix A) of ecclesiastical knitted gloves, usually in fine silk and gold, and a picture of and reference to the Sture glove, also of silk. These were all far more elaborate then I was thinking of producing though, and I was hoping for evidence of wool gloves, as wool would be easier for me to obtain than knitting silk. I found a childs mitten in wool in the Museum of London, which gave me hope, and then I found a record of gloves discovered in 2002 by the Luneburg Urban Archaeology Association. As I take a size 7.5 glove, theyre even my size! The report dates these to the early 17th Century because of the presence of the Purl Stitch, but as this stitch is found on the stockings of Eleanor of Toledo, the Childs mitten and some stockings belonging to a German Duke, I think this is a flawed conclusion, and the gloves could have been made earlier. I used Babelfish, Google Translate, a lot of common sense and reference to Mary Thomas Knitting Book and Richard Rutts History of Hand Knitting to translate the section of the magazine that theyve put online about the gloves. I also translated the section about generic knitting. Ive attached printouts of the original pages in Appendix B. My translations (or at least, the relevant bits) are below.

Relevant information translated from the Magazine

The gloves were found in 1998, in a sewer, along with some socks and other knitted artifacts. The gloves are a definite pair, designed one for each hand. They were knit in the round, and majority of the gloves are plain, with the only decoration being on the cuff. The cuff pattern is as follows: 2 rounds knit then 2 rounds purl, repeated 3 times. Then 10 rows of basket weave, with two stitches and two rows in each square. Then the 2 rows knit, two rows purl pattern again. The fingertips are star points, and there are needlelace loops added afterwards around the cuff band.

My Gloves
While my gloves are primarily based on the Luneburg ones, I have made a few changes. Most noticeable is colour choice. Excluding the ecclesiastical ones, I had found that Sture gloves was in a combination of many colours, the childs mitten was originally mainly white, while the currently black bits were purple. The Luneburg gloves need to undergo analysis to ascertain the original colour, theyre currently dark brown. Mine are black. I wanted to use wool, for the reasons I have stated above, and being unable to spin or dye when I started this project meant Id need to buy it. I had calculated that to get a sensible gauge (about the same as the Luneburg gloves, or the childs mitten), Id need a 3 or 4 ply wool. It proved far more difficult then I thought to get 100% wool at

that gauge in a sensible colour. I dont know that black dyed wool for knitting was available in period, but it was for clothes, so I thought it possible, and better then the other options I had available. If you look closely, youll notice that the Luneburg gloves also have an afterthought or peasant thumb (a style of thumb which is formed by cutting a stitch, working the ends out about 6 stitches each and anchoring them, picking up the stitches thus revealed, and knitting the thumb on these stitches. The resulting thumb is in line with the palm of the hand.) I find this style of thumb uncomfortable to work in, studied the pictures again, and found evidence of thumb shaping in the childs mitten and Bishop Shimers gloves (easiest to see on the childs mitten) so used that style of thumb instead. I think I overdid the thumb shaping in the end, and will bear this in mind for the next pair. To try and decipher how increases were done during the 16th Century I studied as many pictures I could find of relevant artefacts. Unfortunately these are very hard to find, decreases being far more common in the areas that are easier to photograph. I practiced a lot of different techniques, and decided that knitting into the stitch below the working stitch looked most like the ones I could see on the childs mitten. Later, in reading instructions for a style of Flat cap based on those found with the Gagiana wreck, I discovered that the author recommended using that type of increase as well. The links are posted to the cap pattern, and information about the it and the Gagiana are posted below 15th and 16th century gloves also frequently (I read somewhere always but cant remember where) have decreases at intervals along the length of the fingers. (Easiest to see in the Sture glove). I chose to not do this, as it made the gloves uncomfortable for me to wear. I kept the star point finishes at the end of the fingers though. References I referred to many websites that Ive since lost the URLs for, and books Ive returned to the library, but because I never intended to document this project, I didnt write down the details. These are some of the ones I found most useful. Allen Pamela. Progressive Gloves, Interweave Knits, Winter 200. This is an excellent article! It gave instructions to help avoid problems and adjust everything to fit my hand. Arnold, Janet, Queen Elizabeths Wardrobe Unlocked. Leeds: Maney, 1988. Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting, 1987, Batsford London. Thomas, Mary. Mary Thomas Knitting Book, 1938, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, London http://www.curiousfrau.com/diaries/50/94 http://www.curiousfrau.com/patterns/knitting-patterns/93-recreating-the-gagiana-barett http://glovecollectioncatalogue.org/ - Many, many pictures of period gloves http://sites.google.com/site/grenewode/ - This site had a pattern, now taken down, for gloves based on the Gunnister ones, and the ecclesiastical ones with Gauntlets. It was a good place to start.

Appendix A: Extant Gloves from the 16th Century Citations where known.
Ecclesiastical Gloves

Above Right: Gloves of Archbishop William Warham -1532

Above Bishop Nicholas Shimer 1510

The Sture Glove Picture Enlarged from one in Queen Elizabeths Wardrobe, Unlockd

Childs Mitten from Museum of London (2 Views) Pictures from Museum of London

German Gloves Luneburg Urban Archaeology Association Website (http://www.stadtarchaeologie-lueneburg.de/mag/tx-handsch.htm):

Appendix B Original Text from the Magazine, and my Translation

Original Text
Ein Paar Frauenhandschuhe FO: Baumstrae / Im Wendischen Dorfe Gestricke L.: ca. 21 cm, U.: ca. 20 cm 1.Hlfte 17. Jahrhundert In den letzten Jahren wurden bei Ausgrabungen recht zahlreiche Textilfunde geborgen. Dabei reichte das Fundmaterial von Leinen- und Wollgeweben ber geknpfte Netze bis zu Strick- und Wirkwaren. Im Sommer 1998 fhrte die Stadtarchologie Lneburg eine Flchengrabung auf drei aneinander grenzenden Parzellen im Lneburger Wasserviertel durch. Bei der Ausgrabung "Baumstrae" wurden in der Kloake 1, 3 - 3,5 m unter der Oberflche, mehrere Gestricke geborgen. Aufgrund der mitgefundenen Keramik - Portugiesische Fayence aus der 1.Hlfte des 17. Jahrhunderts - drften die Gestricke auch in dieser Zeit in die Kloake gelangt sein. Neben einem kompletten gestrickten Kniestrumpf und mehreren Strumpffragmenten trat dieses gestrickte Paar Handschuhe zu Tage. Es ist wohl ein zusammenhngendes Paar, denn beide Teile sind spiegelbildlich gearbeitet, d.h. je ein rechter und ein linker Handschuh. Obwohl die beiden Mittelhandflchen mehr oder weniger groe Lcher aufweisen, sind die Handschuhe fast komplett erhalten. An den Rndern der Lcher sind aufgrund der Verfrbungen und Verklebungen mglicherweise Brandspuren erkennbar. Die textiltechnischen Analysen, d.h. die Untersuchung des Rohstoffes, der Garndrehung und der Farbe mssen noch durchgefhrt werden. Handschuhe aus Wolle Bei einer ersten Reinigung in entmineralisiertem Wasser lsten sich fast alle Verschmutzungen, so dass bisher keine weitere Reinigung vorgenommen wurde. Auf Glasplatten wurden die Handschuhe zum Trocknen ausgelegt. Diese inzwischen recht sprden Gestricke, die aufgrund der Jahrhunderte langen Lagerung in der Kloake ihre Elastizitt verloren haben, mssen mit geeigneten Trnkungsmitteln behandelt werden. Die wahrscheinlich aus Wolle gestrickten Frauenhandschuhe weisen von der Spitze des Mittelfingers bis zu dem Beginn der Handschuhstulpen am Handgelenk eine Lnge von 21 cm auf. Der Daumen und der Zeigefinger sind 6 cm lang, der Mittelfinger 7 cm, der Ringfinger 6,5 cm und der kleine Finger 5,5 cm. Der Umfang um die Mittelhand betrgt ca. 20 cm; somit entsprechen diese Handschuhe nach heutigem Ma der Gre 7 bis 7 . Beim Ausmessen der Reihen bzw. Runden und des Umfangs kann man den unterschiedlichen Schrumpfungsprozess deutlich erkennen, die trotzdem recht gut zhlbaren Maschen und Runden lassen ein genaues "Manehmen" der Handschuhe zu. Dieses erfolgt bei den textiltechnischen Untersuchungen. Seit dem Hochmittelalter ist das Stricken bekannt und es wurde auch hierzulande ausgebt. Unter Stricken versteht man die Herstellung von textilen Flchen durch das Verschlingen eines endlosen Fadens zu Maschen. Gestrickt wird entweder mit Stricknadeln, Strickbrettern oder Strickmaschinen. Mehrere nebeneinander angeordnete Maschen bilden eine Maschenreihe - beim Rundstricken spricht man auch von Runden - und mehrere bereinander angeordnete Maschen bilden Maschenstbchen. Der Ursprung des Strickens lsst sich allerdings kaum feststellen. Die ltesten Funde von Maschenwaren fand man bei Ausgrabungen in Vorderasien und gypten aus dem 2. und 3. Jahrhundert. Maschenwaren aus koptischen Grbern - Socken, Beutel und Mtzen - knnen in das 4. bis 6. Jahrhundert datiert werden. In norddeutschen Stdten barg man bei Ausgrabungen Reste von Gestricken aus dem 12./13. Jahrhundert. Die Bezeichnung "Stricknadel" taucht erstmals im 15. Jahrhundert auf und die lteste Darstellung des Strickens stammt aus der Zeit um 1400. Auf dem Buxtehuder Altar des Meisters Bertram ist Maria zu sehen, wie sie mit vier Nadeln an einem Hemd strickt. Bisher durchgefhrte Untersuchungen deuten darauf hin, dass bis in das frhe 17. Jahrhundert nur glatte Rechts-Links-Waren gefertigt wurden. Hierbei zeigt die eine Strickseite rechte und die andere Seite linke Maschen.

Die einfarbigen, gestrickten Handschuhe, die von dunkelbrauner Farbe sind, zeigen offene Maschen und das typische Warenbild von rechten und linken Maschen. Diese geschlossene Strickart wurde mit vier oder fnf Nadeln rund gestrickt. Whrend die Mittelhand und die Finger nur aus rechten Maschen bestehen, weisen die Stulpen verschiedene Muster auf. Zu Beginn wechseln je zwei Runden mit rechten und dann mit linken Maschen. Diese Musterung wiederholt sich dreimal. Danach folgen 10 Runden in sogenannter Rechts-RechtsWare, d.h. zwei rechte Maschen folgen zwei linken Maschen, wobei die linken Maschen jeweils nur zwei Runden gestrickt wurden und dann zwei Runden nur rechte Maschen folgen. Nun wiederholt sich die Musterung wie zu Beginn, d.h. mit einer dreimaligen Wiederholung wurden 2 Runden mit linken Maschen und zwei Runden mit rechten Maschen gestrickt. Die jetzt weiter nur mit rechten Maschen gestrickten Handschuhe haben an den Daumen keine Zwickel und die Fingerspitzen sind als sogenannte Sternspitzen ausgefhrt. Als zustzlicher Schmuck umrahmen gehkelte Luftmaschenbgen die Stulpen der Handschuhe. Autorin: Rotraut Kahle; in: Denkmalpflege in Lneburg 2002, 59-61.

Literatur: Jordan, Eva u. Klaus Tidow: Alte Spitzen, Gestricke und Stickereien. Verffentlichungen des Frdervereins Textilmuseum Neumnster e.V., Heft 7 (Neumnster 1983). Jordan-Fahrbach, Eva, Christine Sthrenberg u. Klaus Tidow: Mittelalterliche Gewebefunde aus Einbeck. Einbecker Jahrbuch 47, 2000, 137-160. Tidow, Klaus: Textiltechnische Untersuchungen an Gestricken und Filzen aus der Kloake der Fronerei auf dem Schrangen in Lbeck. Lbecker Schriften zur Archologie und Kulturgeschichte, 12, 1986, 183 -189. Tidow, Klaus: Die sptmittelalterlichen und frhneuzeitlichen Wollgewebe und andere Textilfunde aus Lbeck. Lbecker Schriften zur Archologie und Kulturgeschichte 22, 1992, 237-271.

My Translation
A Pair of Womens Gloves Found: Tree Street, in Wendish Village Knit Length: about 21 cm, Width: 20 cm 1st half 17th Century In recent years, excavations have lead to a number of textile finds being recovered. There have been finds of linen, wool and knitwear. In the summer of 1998, the Urban Archaeology Luneburg conducted a surface excavation of 3 contiguous parcels in the Luneburg Water District. During the excavation of Tree Street, in the sewer 1.3-3.5m below the surface, several knit items were recovered. Besides a complete knitted sock and several fragments, this pair of gloves came to light. It is indeed a coherent pair, because they mirror each other i.e. there is one left and one right glove. Although there are large holes in the palms of the hands, the gloves have been preserved more or less completely. The edges of the holes are discoloured, and adhesions and scorch marks are visible. The textile technical analysis, i.e. the investigation of the raw material, yarn twist and colour are still underway. A cleaning in demineralised water removed almost all the dirt, so no further cleaning has been done. The Gloves were left to dry on glass plates. The fabric is now quite brittle and inelastic and must be treated with care due to the centuries of storage in the sewer. The gloves measure 21 cm from the top of the middle finger to the start of the wrist. The thumb and index finger are 6 cm long, 7 cm for the middle finger, 6.5cm for the ring finger and 5.5 for the little finger. The palm area is about 20cm, thus the gloves would be a 7.5 or 7.75 in todays sizing. When measuring the rows or rounds, one can clearly see the different levels of shrinkage, but there are clear, countable stitches which will help yield more precise information about gauge. This will be done by the technical textile investigators. Since the High Middle Ages, knitting has been known and practised in this country. Knitting is the manufacture of textile surfaces by turning an endless thread into a net. It can be made produced by knitting needles, knitting boards, or knitting machines. Several adjacent stitches form a row, or a round in circular knitting. The origins of knitting can be difficult to determine. The oldest finds of knitted goods were found during excavations in the Near East and Egypt from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Knit items socks, bags, and hats have been dated from the 4th to 6th Century in Coptic graves. In Northern German cities, excavations have found knitting from the 12th and 13th Centuries. The term knitting needle appears in the 15th Century, and the oldest representation of knitting dates from around 1400. The Buxtehude Altar of the Master Bertram, Mary shows how to knit a shirt on four needles. Previous studies indicate that up to the early 17th Century only stocking stitch fabric was produced. This has V shaped stitches on one side of the fabric, and the stitch wales on the other. The plain knitted gloves, which are dark brown in colour, are in uncrossed stocking stitch. They were knitted in the round on 4 or 5 needles, while the middle of the hand and fingers are plain, the cuffs are patterned. At the start there are 2 rows of knit stitch, followed by 2 rows of purl, repeated 3 times. This is followed by 10 rounds with 2 knit stiches, followed by 2 purl stitches, after two rounds of this, the knit stitches are purled and the purls knitted for 2 rows. The beginning pattern of 2 rows of knit stitch, followed by 2 rows of purl, repeated 3 times. The gloves are then knit plain, in knit stitch only. There is no thumb crotch and the fingertips are star points. In addition, ornamental needlelace stitches form arches around the cuffs of the gloves.