Archives for July, 2009
Well now that’s a mouthful – been a while since I took Latin! This is a very cool book available online at the Smithsonian Institution Library, entitled Theatrum Instrumentorum Et Machinarum. By Jacques Besson, it is a 1578 text and drawings of some very incredible Medieval machines, including some lathes (of course), a hand-powered saw mill, horse-drawn carriages, cargo cranes and much much more. Very interesting – but of course, the text is in Latin.
Hand-Cranked Hammer
In my previous post, I mentioned that Charles Oakley had a plan for a Medieval German Wheelbarrow, but that the links in my previous source did not work. Well . . . stubborn person that I am, found the link for Mr. Oakley’s wheelbarrow! Titled “A 16th Century German Wheelbarrow“, his article is complete with descriptions, photos, and construction plans.
I’ve had several people ask me about Medieval Wheelbarrows. I’ve not made one myself, but the folks from Blood and Sawdust show some very nice pictures of their 16th Century wheelbarrow, including documentation for the design. Their discussion includes the box barrow, hand barrows, the fenced barrow, and basket barrows. Research apparently was done by Karen Lardsdatter of Medieval Material Culture fame – I’ve come across her work several times before. Her research on the wheelbarrow is found here.
Charles Oakley is supposed to have a webpage showing his plans for a 16th Century German wheelbarrow, but it seems the link no longer works. If someone has a current link for his work, please let me know and I will post it here.
While I am pleased with the references listed about, I am very disappointed that there isn’t more available on the web – something we woodworkers will have to work on!!!
Till next time!
Visit my website! Medieval-Living.com
Well actually, part 3 . . . I had a short entry earlier about woodturning. Anyway – I was interested in learning more about early lathes and came upon a couple of good articles on how to make one. The first article is from Howard Ruttan, a self-proclaimed woodworking zealot. The article on his site, In the Woodshop, is from some earlier publication and is entitiled “How to Build a Boy’s Lathe”. Don’t let the title fool you – it’s a wonderful design for a treadle lathe, with some very interesting ideas on construction – a good, solid, turn-of-the 19th century discussion. But the design is very applicable to Medieval and Renaissance era designs.
The other article provides a more contemporary pattern and design, although still a treadle-based machine. From VintageProjects.com, is an article called “Build a Treadle Wood Lathe from Scratch.” While much of the mechanization is mid 20th century, the basic concept is still 16th or 17th century. (Some may say that the ideas were found earlier . . . as in Da Vinci’s spinning wheel . . . just haven’t seen any primary source evidence that they were used prior to the 16th century.) One of the ideas I really liked about this plan was the forming of a concrete flywheel instead of the traditional wooden one. I don’t know why that would be a problem for the Medieval enthusiast. I would think a stone wheel would be very appropriate and viable for 16th century wood workers.
At any rate, I thought both articles were full of great ideas . . . and they were free as well! Of course, many folks would be more interested in bow lathes and spring pole lathes . . . maybe when I return to the keyboard next Monday I will see what I can discover. But I think my next project in the woodshop will be a treadle lathe – something based on both designs, plus a few innovations of my own. Things such as an outboard drive for turning very large diameter bowls, plates and whatever, and also adding a grinding wheel to the treadle so that I can sharpen my tools. Not new ideas . . . I have seen the later one already in someone’s design (don’t remember where) . . . but the outboard drive is my own idea for a treadle lathe – I’ve seen this done in contemporary lathes, of course, but not in the hand/foot operated ones. We will see . . . if and when I complete such a project, I will be sure to include many photos!
Happy turning!
As I’ve said before, one of my many hobbies is woodturning. A friend of mine is a professional turner, and so . . . well, I now have a mini-lathe set up in the garage, along with other woodworking tools, i.e. tablesaw, bandsaw, planer, drill press, and so on. Of all the tools I have, the lathe is by far my favorite – there are so many cool things one can do with a lathe and the proper scrapers and such. While looking for an article on Medieval woodturning, I came upon a very interesting site – my French is rather rusty but I can get the gyst of what is being said. . . but the picture are absolutely incredible.
Jean-Paul Rossi and his Tree Lathe
Welcome back! Oh wait – I was the one who was gone. Sorry for the length of time since my last post, but I had to visit family while I had the opportunity. I wish I could have timed the visit differently . . . like maybe in mid-august. Two reasons for that: my family holds a reunion during the third weekend in August, so I would have been home for that; and that is also the time when SCAdians gather in western Pennsylvania for some little event known as Pensic. Little . . . maybe 10,000 people or so . . . hmmm not sure what the numbers have been lately, but I know that it is no small event!
I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on Pensic – I was a non-SCAdian and happened to be living in Butler, PA, which is very near to the Pensic site. “What are all those crazy people doing? And where do they get all of those medieval tents???” Well, a few years later and, sadly, long after I had moved back to New Mexico, I got my answer! Now I am one of those crazy people!!! And I have made one pavillion and two yurts ( gers, for those Mongolian purists).
Where does one find plans for such things? Well one of the most wonderful resources I ever came upon was an SCAdian-run site called Medieval Pavillion Resources. It contains links to numerous sites that show how to construct pavillions, yurts, roman tents, viking tents, middle-eastern tents, and bell wedges, just to name a few. Lots of great information!!!
So . . . if you’ve ever wondered yourself how to build a Medieval-ish tent, here you go!!!
I will be visiting family in my home state of Ohio for the next week or so . . . so there won’t be any more posts to medieval-livng.com – but when I get back, I will jump back into it with both feet!!!
Almost anywhere you go in the world, you will find all sorts of gardens. This was likely very true in Medieval days as well. Typically, gardens were of two main groups – utilitarian and pleasure. A wonderful article from Gallow Glass describes in great detail all of the “ins” and “outs” of Medieval gardening. This article, aptly titled Medieval and Renaissance Gardens, is complete with vocabulary discussion, quotes from Medieval period gardeners, and a very nice bibliography and list of references. I thought it was very interesting that the Medieval gardener was aware of solar heating techniques for improving the growing season of fruit trees! I think we often fail to give the Medieval peoples enough credit for all of their advancements in technology.
The authers of this article also include discussions on different elements of gardens: raised and sunken beds, enclosures, walkways, seats, water features and more. When I was visiting England during the late 80′s, I was always impressed with the wonderful gardens at various castles and cathedrals and such. I do wish I had spent more time examining the construction of the gardens in addition to enjoying their beauty and detail. Perhaps I will get back there again some day soon. Until then, I will enjoy such articles as the one noted above.
Cheers!
Ah, romance and love . . . what wonderful things . . . um anyway. In Medieval times, the marriage of two people was really alot like it is today. Why? Well largely because many of the wedding customs we have today have their roots in Medieval times. As early as 1076, a priest was required to bless a couple – somewhere in the 16th century, it became mandatory for a priest to officiate the ceremony. Much of the meaning to gemstones came to us from Medieval times, as brides were often adorned with a variety of jewels. Of course there is alot more to it, and if your interested, you might want to visit Medieval-Weddings.net With the popularity of Medieval-style weddings these days, this is a topic of much interest.
One of my myriad hobbies is woodworking. A few years ago I received a lathe for a birthday present – what a marvelous tool!! I also have the good fortune of having a professional turner as a friend and neighbor. With my association with the SCA, it was only natural that I work on some “Medieval” pieces. I’ve acquired several nice books (some I need to return to my friend – Bill, remind me to do that). There are also some interesting sources online. One of those is Blood and Sawdust – a very nicely done website that discusses Medieval lathes among other things. This isn’t just a site where someone “talks” about Medieval woodworking . . . these people are seriously involved in it.
Medieval Woodturner
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Scott Berry is a high school history teacher. He is also an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), where he participates in light weapons (rapier) and archery. He was a historian for the United States Air Force from 1981 to 1993.
