Sunday, May 5, 2024

Medieval medicine: wine

I thought wine's medicinal value was common knowledge--I mean really, not in a joking way, but the fact that it was the most prescribed treatment in medieval medicine. Which, given its antiseptic qualities, and the lack of other options for treating infections, actually makes sense. 

Wine Therapy, Middle Ages

Of course, there were plenty of warnings about the dangers of over-consumption, and there's more to wine in the medieval understanding than that: https://www.medievalists.net/2012/06/wine-the-physician-and-the-drinker-late-medieval-medical-views-on-wines-uses-pleasures-and-problems/

 But for now--that's more than I needed to know for this one scene. 

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Buttons and 13th century medieval fashion and style...

 So... I wasn't procrastinating writing a scene, but in the middle realized--wait, does it even make sense for all these buttons to be flying around? Something in the back of my fashion history file is buzzing to the tune of "anachronistic"--did they even really use buttons on clothes like that in 13th century France? I know, burning questions...

But...

It turns out they did! The lesson, folks, is that contemporary manuscript illuminations, yet again, are great for figuring out all kinds of details you might not have guessed (even if they are stylized and all, there are some things they wouldn't invent just for the sake of inventing them...

So...

The most useful page I found (and can use for future 13th century French fashion reference!) is:

https://handcraftedhistory.blog/2023/01/31/13th-century-france-the-maciejowski-morgan-bible-look/

With pictures of the blogger's own recreations based on the manuscripts (which are also cited with pictures included)--fascinating!


Though I would be remiss if I didn't also put up the slightly later-focused-blog, that I found first, and may return to when I need 14TH CENTURY fashion research. https://cottesimple.com/about/site-history/


Heaps better than anything wikipedia or any other encyclopedic source offered!