The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1946, Blaðsíða 11

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
9
with plagues, famine and disease adding
to the general distress.
Arts and crafts do not appear to have
suffered as did other cultural pursuits,
for many beautiful examples of carving
and metal work of this period are to be
found in museums and art collections.
Among them is a chalice from the church
at Grund. Beautifully proportioned and
exquisitely designed, it is thought to be
early 13th century work. It is now in the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London,
England.
Existing examples of textile art con-
sist of a few church hangings, altar
cloths and frontals, the oldest of which
date back to the 15th and 16th centuries.
All are embroidered with biblical scenes,
figures of saints and sacred inscriptions.
They are similar in style and feeling to
contemporary European work.
While these examples are very valu-
able to the student of crafts, they show
only one phase of the work that was
done, here again, poetry comes to the
rescue, and that, so thoroughly that a
whole volume on the subject could not
be more enlightening. This very in-
formative poem is written to a young
girl in the 17th century, and proves that
a great deal was expected of young
ladies in the way of home arts.
A literal translation without any at
tempt at rhyme will serve to give an
idea of what these arts were.
“I ask that you learn the finest home
arts that a young lady should know. Sit
on a cushion with a needle bright as
silver held in nimble fingers sewing-
fine seams,
Hemming snowy linens, fashioning gar-
ments and fancy collars, setting up pat-
terns in looms, weaving saddlecloths,
cushions and coverlets, ribbons and
cardwoven bands.
Outwork outlined in Irish embroidery,
drawn work and decorative hems. Long
drapes and panels in palest colors orna-
mented in wondrous and varied hues.
Crossstitch and needlepoint, eyestitch
and gobelin, cloister and satin stitch too.
The preparing of wool and the art of
knitting.
The tinting of snowy fleeces with art-
fully blended dyes.”
According to this poem, young ladies
were expected to learn practically all
the embroidery stitches, and in addition
dressmaking, setting up a loom, plain
and fancy weaving, card and braid
weaving, dyeing, carding and spinning
as well as knitting.
The poet could hardly have enumer-
ated all these home arts unless he had
been acquainted with them and seen
them practiced. The little rhyme is there-
fore an invaluable source of information
concerning crafts of Iceland during the
Middle Ages.
While these fine arts were very desir-
able accomplishments for young ladies
of leisure, they were not essential. The
majority of women had to devote every
moment that could be spared from
household duties, to the wool industry.
AS koma mjolk i mat og ull i fat, (to pro-
duce meals from milk and wearables
from wool), were the essential accom-
plishments, and in a country struggling
with poverty and a lack of all necessities
this is not surprising. A matron had to
be able to supervise the work of her
household to instruct and train inex-
perienced help, and — to do any needed
task herself when the occasion demand-
ed it.
The population at this time averaged
less than fifty thousand. Yet it has been
estimated that in the farm homes of
Iceland, raw wool amounting to over a
million pounds, was converted into cloth-
ing and other necessities annually, and
all spinning had to be done with a
spindle and the weaving was done on
the vertical warp-weighted loom. No
wonder they worked early and late for
over seven months of the year!
Not until the latter part of the 18th
century did the spinning wheel and the
horizontal loom come into general use in
Iceland. And not until the 19th century
were knitting machines and sewing