Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2004, Blaðsíða 199

NÁLABINDING í FØROYUM?
197
article actually means nalbinding. She ar-
gues that nalbinding co-existed with true
knitting in the 17th century in the Faroes.
No textile artefacts support her conclusion,
and the evidence in the source is weak, so
we think the passage in Tarnovius must be
treated with much care.
From the viewpoint of a textile historian,
the presence of nalbinding during the Mid-
dle Ages is of great interest in studying the
introduction of knitting in the Faroes. It is
much likely that nalbinding existed in the
Faroes before knitting was introduced in
the 16,h century. Archaeological records
from other Norse settlements in Scandina-
via and the British Isles support our conclu-
sion. When evidences in the written records
fail, the use of recorded folkloristic and
linguistic evidences is, of course, one way
of tracing otherwise forgotten traditional
techniques and knowledge (Svanberg,
1997; 1998b; 200 lc; 2003). Tornehave has
through linguistic arguments suggested the
presence of nalbinding in the Faroes, al-
though her argument is not fully convinc-
ing.
The form of certain tools fulfils very
specific functional requirements. Although
the needles for nalbinding are simple in
their construction, they do have a specific
and recognisable form. The needles in the
collection of Føroya Fornminnissavn from
Kvívfk and Tjørnuvík may confirm such a
conclusion.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to Símun V. Arge, Føroy a Fornminnissavn
(Tórshavn), and Ling Ong, (Darien, Connecticut) for
critical reading of earlier drafts of this manuscript and
for their helpful advice.
References
Manuscript Sources
The Swedish Institute of Language and Folklore
Research, Uppsala University
Folk-life records (ULMA)
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