2. aprill 2020

A medieval wedding / keskaegsed pulmad


Eesti keeles allpool.




On the 23rd of August 2019 I had the great pleasure and responsibility of helping two of my friends with their medieval wedding. A couple of year earlier, the groom had ordered a medieval jacket from me, but since he was in no hurry with it, working on it had lagged. When I started fittings in the beginning of 2019 he started asking for what time it will be ready and revealed the reason. Since the bride didn’t have any medieval clothes at all, then she also had to be dressed from head to toe. I can say that I managed to dress them, although the clothes had to be sew on them in some part, but luckily it didn’t show.
An even bigger responsibility for me was making the wedding feast – obviously also medieval, based on historical sources and as affordable as possible. In organising the feast I based everything on available sources from the middle ages – everything that was at hand about feasts and weddings – usually it meant a very big number of dishes, which divided into 5-7 courses based on the method of preparation of the ingredients. In the medieval sense a course was also a performance, let’s say, by musicians – on this occasion that role was filled by the group Rondellus. Contrary to a proper medieval feast, the courses were offered almost at the same time – main reason for this is lacking 10 or so servants for the job. There were a lot of additional rules for wedding feasts that didn’t apply to other feasts, for instance – if you offer garlic sauce at a wedding, it cannot be the only sauce, or it will be bad for matrimonial luck.
August of 2019 generally had very good weather, but on the wedding day, there was a great storm, which made some of the tents that were used fly and brake. Although the worst of the weather was just before the ceremony, there had been strong winds all day, that made roasting a bit more difficult than usual. Due to the bad weather some visual aspects of the feast were not fulfilled as wished, but we were helpless against that. The next day was a wonderful sunny weather. There is a saying in Estonia, though, that if it rains during the wedding, it will be a happy marriage.
Due to the bad weather and the fact that I was running around all the time,I don’t have many pictures of the event.
Clothing was based on historical (archaeology and paintings) sources and is completely handsewn, the fabrics do come from the store, not handwoven, but I promise to be better at that also in the future. The clothing sets were as follows:
Groom: reconstruction of pourpoint of Charles de Blois – the original was covered in silk, but the current jacket was covered with fine quality wool, lined with linen and padded with wool. The original was a jacket with a very complex cut, that was probably also worn under armor. Duke of Brittany, Charles de Blois, died in 1364. The groom previously had other clothing objects, such as hosen, which were also made by me. In addition the groom made himself a „princely” belt for the wedding.
Bride: I made her a dress (and shirt, and loaned some of my own items)) fitting to the period of the groom’s pourpoint. The cut of the dress was based on Queen Margareta’s dress and the finds from Herjolfnes in Greenland.

The feast – in organising the feast I followed the descriptions in books like the „Goodman of Paris” -  and „The Medieval kitchen – recipes from France and Italy” -  , but also some other cookbooks and teachings from the middle ages dating to the 14th and 15th centuries.
The menu of the feast shall be next. On some recipies, I have said from which country and which century they are, but some recipies are so common that you can find them in many cookbooks and a few I have put together myself (based on my knowledge of medieval kitchens and food, mainly simpler ones on this menu that you really don’t need a recipe for). As a lover of medieval cooking, I am glad I live in a place like Estonia, where it is still possible to get some so “oldfashioned” things from the store. Therefore a guessing game – which dishes were compiled completely or partially from readymade things?
* Roasted pork (with garlic, onion, mustard etc)
* Roasted lamb (with garlic, lemon, parley, safran etc) that we got from friends who keep sheep (France, end of 14th c)
* A dish of chicken rice and almonds (is found in cooking books from England and France, probably elsewhere also, 14th c)
* Chickpea porridge with eggs and feta cheese ( Italy, 14th c)
* Lentil porridge with nuts and fruits
* Pink garlic sauce (Italy, 15th c)
* Cameline saunce (this specific recipie was taken from a 14th century Italian cookbook, but there is no medieval cookbook that doesn’t include it)
* Summertime Cerulean Blue Sauce (Italy, 15th c)
* Mustard
* Pickeled cucumbers and raddishes
* 3 different cheeses
* Meats in Aspic made of pork, veal, moose, venison and chicken
* Herring
* Black bread (made to be used as bowls)
* Fruits
* Candied ginger
* Kohlrabi with nutmeg and cardamon

You can find more pictures on Alendreia's Workshop's facebook.



23. augustil 2019. aastal oli mul vastutusrikas ülesanne aidata sõpru nende keskaegses stiilis pulmadega. Juba paar aastat varem oli peigmees mult tellinud endale (üpris keerulise) keskaegse kuue, aga kuna tal ei olnud sellega otseselt kiire, siis läks mul selle ette võtmisega aega. Kui 2019. aasta alguses talle lõpuks kuue proove tegin, uuris ta, et mis ajaks ma selle valmis saan ja siis ka avaldas, milles küsimus. Kuna pruudil aga puudusid keskaegsed riided täielikult, oli vaja ka tema pealaest jalatallani riidesse panna. Etteruttavalt võin öelda, et riidesse nad said, aga osaliselt tuli riided selga õmmelda, kuna ikkagi täielikult valmis ma ei suutnud neid saada, aga õnneks see väga välja ei paistnud.

Pulmapeo juures vaat et suuremgi roll minul oli toitlustus – ilmselgelt keskaegne, ajaloolistele allikatele põhinev ja ka võimalikult taskukohane. Pulmade pidusöögi korraldamisel lähtusin ma olemasolevast infost, mis puudutab keskaegseid pidusööke ja pulmi – üldiselt oli väga palju erinevaid roogi, mis jaotusid valmistamismeetodi ja/või pakutavatoidugrupi põhjal 5-7 käiguks, keskaegses mõistes oli vahekäik ka näiteks muusikute esinemine, mille eest antud pulmadel hoolitses Rondellus. Peolauda said toidud toodud siiski väiksemate vahedega kui ajalooline materjal ette näeks, puhtalt umbes 10 teenija puudumise tõttu. Pulmade puhul oli keskajal aga palju lisareegleid, näiteks see, et kui pakutakse mingit küüslaugukastet, siis kindlasti ei tohi see olla ainus kaste laual, sest see toob halba abieluõnne.
Üldiselt on august 2019. aastal väga ilus suvi, aga just pulmapäeval otsustas ilm vingerpussi mängida – paar tundi enne pidulikku üritust hakkas täiesti reaalne torm, mis ka mõned telgid lendama pani ja katki tegi, aga juba enne seda oli väga tugev tuul, mis ka näiteks grillimist mõjutas. Halva ilma tõttu ei saanud täidetud ka kõik visuaaliga seotud soovid, aga nende suhtes olime tormi tõttu suhteliselt võimetud. Järgmisel päeval oli tuulevaikne ja päikseline päev. Öeldakse aga, et kui pulmade ajal sajab, siis on õnnelik abielu.
Tulenevalt kehvast ilmast ja sellest, et ise sai väga palju rabeletud, on mul pilte vähevõitu.
Rõivastus baseerus ajaloolistel (nii arheoloogilised kui ka maalidelt teadaolev) materjalidel ning on täielikult käsitsi õmmeldud – kangad on siiski pärit poest, mitte käsitsi kootud (tulevikus parandan end ka selles aspektis). Järgnevalt rõivastuskomplektide kirjeldus:
Mees: rekonstruktsioon Charles de Blois pourpoint’ist  – originaal oli kaetud siidiga, antud kuub sai pealt villane, linase voodriga ja villase polsterdusega. Väga keerulise lõikega kuub, mida tõenäoliselt kanti ka turvise all. Britannia hertsog Charles de Blois, kelle kuue järgi see valmistatud on, suri 1364 aastal. Mehel olid olemas juba varem minu poolt õmmeldud hosed ning muu juurdekuuluv. Pulmadeks valmistas ta endale lisaks uhke „printsivöö”.
Naine: mehe kuuega samasse aega sobiv kleit ning selle juurde kuuluvad särk ja jalanõud, vöö valmistas peigmees. Kleidi lõige baseerus kuninganna Margareta kleidil ja Gröönimaa Herjolfsnesi leidudel.

Pidusöök – pidusöögi korraldamiseks said eeskujuks erinevad keskaegsete pidusöökide kirjeldused (näiteks „Goodman of Paris” -  ja „The Medieval kitchen – recipes from France and Italy” -  aga ka paljud muud 14.-15. sajandist pärinevad kokaraamatud ja kombeõpetused).
Järgnevalt pidusöögi menüü. Osade retseptide puhul olen märkinud kust riigist ja mis ajast nad pärit on – keda huvitab, võib ka kokaraamatut küsida ;), aga mõned retseptid on on nii levinud, et neid kohtab pea igas keskaegses kokaraamatus, lisaks on ka veel need, mida olen oma teadmiste põhjal ise kokku kombineerinud – üldjuhul on need lihtsamad asjad, mille jaoks retsepti pole vaja – viimastel kahel aega ja kohta pole märgitud. Keskaegse kokanduse austajana on mul üpris hea meel, et elan sellises kohas nagu Eesti – paljusid „vanamoodsaid” asju on jätkuvalt võimalik poest saada. Siit ka menüüga seotud äraarvamismänga – milliste roogade jaoks sain ma kas enamus või kõik vajamineva valmiskujul poest?:
* Röstitud sealiha (küüslaugu, sibula, sinepi jmt marineeritud)
* Röstitud lammas - lammas sai tuttavatelt lambapidajatelt muretsetud ja korralikult maitsestatud (küüslauk, sidrun, petersell, safran jmt), tulemuseks ilus kuldne ribi (Prantsusmaa, 14. saj lõpp)
* Kanaliharoog riisi ja mandliga (14. saj – nii Prantsusmaal kui Inglismaal, ilmselt ka mujal)
* Kikerhernepuder muna ja feta-juustuga (Itaalia, 14. saj)
* Läätsepuder pähklite ja puuviljadega
* Roosa küüslaugukaste (Itaalia, 15. saj)
* Cameline kaste (see konkreetne on Itaalia 14. saj, aga ei ole ühtegi keskaegset kokaraamatut, kus seda ei leiduks)
* Suvine punakas-sinine kaste (Itaalia, 15. saj)
* Sinep
* Hapendatud kurgid ja redised
* 3 erinevat sorti juustu
* Sülti: sea-, vasika-, põdra-, hirve- ja kanaliha
* Heeringas
* Leib (vormitud söögikaussideks)
* Puuviljavaagnad
* Suhkrustatud ingver
* Nuikapsas muskaadi ja kardemoniga

11. juuli 2019

Alendreia Meistrikoda OÜ / Alendreia's Workshop Ltd.

Tegin selle lõpuks ära - nüüd on mu töönurgake ka täitsa ametlik firma - Alendreia Meistrikoda OÜ! Põhiliseks leheks saab olema facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Alendreia/ - kuid pikemaid jutte jään siiasamma kirjutama.

P.S. Käsil on mul üks suurem projekt, mis hõlmab nii kahte komplekti rõivaid kui ka uhket keskaegset pidusöömingut, aga sellest pikemalt augustis!

**********************************************************

I finally did it - my corner is now an official company - Alendreia's Workshop Ltd! Main page of the company shall be its facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Alendreia/ - but longer stories I will still be writing here.

P.S. I am in a middle of a very interesting bigger project which includes clothesmaking and a very fancy medieval feast, but more about that in August!

3. veebruar 2018

Virunuka vol 2

I did it again - my second weaving of the Virunuka belt. It is one of the oldest tablet woven belts found in Estonia. It is dated to the 12th-14th century.
First time I wove it, I wasn't yet at the level of creating my own patterns, so I asked for the help of a friend, who was much better at it - Julia Amor. The pattern can still be found on her home page - http://www.yrmegard.net/ee/tablets/patterns/tw_artefact_pattern_02. 38 tablets are needed for the patter: 4+4 for the edges, which all have yarn in each of the 4 holes, and 30 for the pattern, which have 1 red and 1 black yarn in them.
First time I wove it was in 2007, pictures here - https://alendreia.blogspot.com.ee/2007/08/virunuka-v.html. At that time,  I didn't find yarns with proper thickness, the ones I found were a lot thicker than the original, so the belt I made is almost 2 times wider than the original. I also didn't stick to the original colors, which are red and black, my 2007 version is yellow and blue. This lead me to try it one more time.
This time I found a lot thinner yarn and chose the same colors as the original. To be honest, besides that, the first attempt was better: the first meter of the belt went pretty well, but then the yarn started braking - I used a technique well known to fabric weavers to continue the broken warp yarns. The other problem was, that I didn't make the belt in one continued weaving spree like the first time - this resulted in the width not being as equal as I would like.



Naelbinden scarf / nõelkootud sall

As a christmas present for K I made a naelbinden scarf - 2ply merino wool - it came out really nice and airy, but at the same time warm. I finished the edges with the same kind of braiding as the gloves in the previous post.
Jõulukingiks K'le tegin nõelkootud salli. Materjaliks 2kordne merinovillane lõng - tuli väga mõnus õhuline, aga samal ajal soe. Ääred viimistletud samasugune palmikuga kui eelmises postituses olevad kindad.



28. veebruar 2017

Nalbinden gloves with multicolored braid /mitmevärvilise palmikuga kindad.

A pair of gloves, with the medieval "Spock hello" shape, decorated with a multicolored braid, inspired by Mervi Pasanen - http://hibernaatio.blogspot.com.ee/2011/10/miten-tehdaan-lettikoriste-how-to-make.html. I do understand the problem described in step nr 5, but fortunately I didn't have a dog to "help", + I believe it is easier to avoid it, when there are different color yarns in play.

31. detsember 2016

Nõelkudumine/Nalbinding

Sai lõpuks tõsisemalt ette võetud nõelkudumine, mida küll veidi enne tehtud, aga siiski suhteliselt vähe. / I finally got more seriously into nalbinding - I have done it before, but not very much.

Esiteks sai valmis paar pajalappe, Brodeni pistes. /First a pair of potholders, in Broden stitch.


Teiseks paar sokke, samuti Brodeni pistes. / And then a pair of socks, also in Broden stitch.


15. juuli 2016

Keskaegne uhkem meeste kuub, nr 2 jm / A fancier medieval men's coat, no. 2 etc

Viimane suurem projekt oli Pusa keskaegselt (14. saj päris lõpp, 15.saj algus) riidesse saamine, et saaksime Taani keskaja keskuse 25. juubelile minna. Kuna ta on põhiliselt tegelenud muu ajastuga, siis oli põhimõtteliselt vaja talle kõik nullist teha. Vöö ja nööbid tellisime Lorifactoryst, kõik riided on minu tehtud ning vöökoti ja jalanõud tegi Pusa ise - taolisi asju on temalt ka minu kaudu võimalik tellida. Kuub on ilusast tumesinisest kalevist punase siidsatiinvoodriga.
My last biggest handicraft assignment was getting my boyfriend dressed in high medieval clothes (end of 14th century - beginning of 15th). Since his main focus so far has been on other periods I basically had to make everything from zero. All the clothes he is wearing are made by me, the belt and buttons on the coat were ordered from Lorifactory and the pouch and boots he made himself. He can also make that kind of things on order, contact through me. The coat is made of good quality dark blue wool with a red silk satin lining.

Telk nr. 2 / Tent no. 2

Tuli meelde, et ma vahepeal (2013) õmblesin ka endale lõpuks telgi. Pilt ei ole kõige parem, aga konstruktsiooniliselt on tegemist samagsuguse teliga kui see esimene, millest siin kunagi pildid olid, material lihtsalt teine. Erinevalt kõigest muust minu tehtust on selle juures enamus tehtud 19. sajandist pärineva singerimasinaga, mitte käsitsi - minu ranne lihtsalt ei elaks käsitsi telgiõmblust üle. / I just remembered that I actually made myself a tent 3 years ago. The picture might not be the best, but it is basically the same kind of tent that I have pictures of here already, just different fabric. Unlike everything else on this blog, this has been sew with a machine - a 19th century Singer, but a machine nonetheless. My broken wrist just couldn't handle making a tent by hand.

13. juuli 2016

Projekt: uhkem kleit /Project: fancy dress





























2013 sai ette võetud teha endale korralikum uhkem kleit, mis käiks minu sinnamaani uhkema pruunika kleidi peale. Silma olid hakanud erinevad mustrid kleidiäärtel, mille ümber kleiti üles sai hakatud ehitama. Soovitud ajavahemikku sobituvaid konkreetseid mustreid leidsin vähe ja nii said kaelaaugu, varukaotse ja kleidi alumise ääre tikandid tehtud järgmiste maalide põhjal. / In 2013 I started making a nicer fancier dress. I had seen some patterns on the edge of dresses on a number of medieval paintings and wanted to make something like that - that is where the dress started evolving from.The paintings with that kind of patters from the exact time period I wanted to make were not very plentiful so the embroidery on the edges of the dress was based on the following paintings:
1334 Taddeo Gaddi, Triptühhon
1415-20, Nürnberg,
Meister der Deichsler Altars






















Ja kuna see kleit pidi minema mu nööbitud varukatega kleidi peale, siis pidid nööbid ju näidatavad olema. Muidugi pidi piisavalt ruumi tikandi näitamiseks olema, nii et kleidi lõige sai võetud järgmiste maalide järgi. / And since the dress was supposed to go on a dress with buttoned sleeves, they had to show from under it. Of course there also had to be place for the embroidery to actually show, so the cut of the dress was based on the following paintings.
Christine de Pisan, 1410-14, Paris - Pygmalion and Venus

Christine de Pisan, 1410-14, Paris - Diana and maidens hunting
1395-1400 Gentile da Fabriano, Thronende Maria mit dem Kind

Kokku tuli küll  väike kompott allikatest, aga ise olen tulemusega vähemalt rahul. / It ended up as a mix of sources, but at least I am myself pleased with the result.



11. juuli 2016

Köögikleit / kitchen dress

Lihtne, õhuke villane kleit töötegemiseks, põhiliselt köögis 13.-14.saj, valmistatud 2015. / Simple, thin woollen dress for working, mainly meant for the kitchen. 13th-14th century, made in 2015.