Looking through recent posts, most of them have been related to the Historical Sew Fortnightly. But there’s lots of stuff happening behind the scenes:

Reading. I’ve often got many books on the go at once. Currently I am reading:

  • Rethinking the Renaissance: Burgundian Arts Across Europe – I’m LOVING this book, it’s thesis is that the Burgundian arts were high status in the 15th century, but we’ve forgotten this because of a couple of Italian Art history books from the 16th century and the traditional art history framework they set up. I’ll be using this text for parts of a research paper I am currently writing (see below)
  • Fashion in the Middle Ages – this had some lovely illuminations in it that I’d not seen before, including a set of images of Alexander the Great with women wearing fantastical turbans, more evidence that these were a specific art motif, rather than an actual item commonly worn
  • Medieval Textiles and Clothing Vol 3
  • Museum of London: Textiles and Clothing c.1150-.1450 – Thought it was time I finally read this text.
  • Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance – looks at the culture of conspicuous consumption in the 1400s and 1500s, a great chapter on the history of book production, but I really loved the chapter on the impact on trade of the Turkish take-over of Constantinople and the cosmopolitan nature of trading in this era. It’s given me a whole new perspective on some of the things I see in pictures from the time.

Learning French via Duolingo, as I’d eventually like to be able to read academic articles in French

Looking at men’s clothing for the same place & time as this blog, also looking at shoes and pattens.

Related: Making warm court garb for my boyfriend, including a long scholar’s gown, and a pair of transition era “hot pants”

Some Calligraphy and Illumination, for the first time in 8 years. Loved the meditative aspects of this

Launched a new A&S challenge series for my Barony, with a new A&S newsletter

Started writing an essay response to HSF#11: Politics of Fashion,as it didn’t fit my project schedule, but is very interesting

Coined a term to situate this work, and its place in similar research/costuming: Post-Burgundian Franco-Flemish transition style. I’ve been trying to find a term I’m happy with for a while, as “Tudor” is too anglo-centric for a blog on the Low Countries, “Transition Era” begs the question: “transition from what to what, or when to when” whereas Post-Burgundian Franco-Flemish talks to the continuity of the transitional nature of the style and that it is seen in both the French and the Flemish courts.

Wrote a page on my Historical Sew Fortnightly posts to date, quite a satisfying list.