#silkwoman

[fideidefenswhore]

Can you tell me about the antipathy Anne Boleyn's household had for men? Thank you.

Ah, you know, I sort of jumbled up a descriptive word in my memory-- I'm going to fix it, it was more like an irreverent attitude towards men. They were part of the fun but they could take or leave them, was the impression left by Edward Baynton (the line was "a strong antipathy towards what he saw as feminine indepedence in the Queen's household", cited from the following) in his letter to George Boleyn (reflected in, 'undesired service/ require no hire')

Still, I don't think this narrative about Anne really holds water. James Taffe's new book about the households of Tudor Queens with Jane Boleyn as a case study is bound to prove, has proved, very unpopular in some circles (I'm somewhat surprised a takedown by Olga Hughes has not landed on her blog yet...is she on hiatus? She certainly went all-in on her AB 2021 review); but one thing going for it is the depth of detail. Anne was a protector and promoter of other women's interests in her household, it went deeper than mere courtly gloss. Why did she loan Elizabeth Somerset £100? Why did Somerset not want her husband to know about this? Why did Anne keep her secret? Why did Somerset ultimately betray her trust by giving evidence against her? Was that secret being used against her by someone else (Cromwell, etc)?

How is it argued that Anne didn't have friendships with women when at least one was reported to have endured even when it would have been safer to jettison the allegiance? Again we find Baynton, reporting that there has been "great friendship" between Margery Horsman and the Queen, and "reluctance to implicate Anne" demonstrating how "the arrest of their mistress had [caused] a rift between [vice-chamberlain and maid], reflecting then the divergence of their allegiances and interests."

[meret118]

A new exhibition at the British Library tells some of these long-overlooked tales through a selection of more than 140 documents and artifacts spanning roughly 1100 to 1500. Co-curated by Jackson and Julian Harrison, “Medieval Women: In Their Own Words” spotlights queens, nuns, authors, warriors, physicians and artisans alike. As the name suggests, the show emphasizes women’s personal testimony, “telling their stories as much as possible through their own words,” whether preserved in their writings or dictated to scribes, as was the case with Kempe, Jackson says.

The individuals featured in the exhibition run the gamut from famous figures like Joan of Arc and Italian French writer Christine de Pizan to the lesser known, including Estellina Conat, the first recorded female printer of Hebrew texts; Shajar al-Durr, the first female sultan of Egypt and Syria; and Alice Claver, a silkwoman who crafted ornate clothing for England’s Edward IV. By highlighting such a diverse group, lead curator Jackson and co-curator Harrison hope to move past widely held conceptions of medieval women’s existences being centered around domesticity and oppression by men. “Their lives were a lot more vibrant than people expect,” Jackson says, “and [visitors] will be surprised by the sheer variety of roles” that they occupied in the fields of politics, religion and the arts.

. . .

To complement these historic artifacts, the British Library asked scent designer Tasha Marks to create four fragrance installations that “evoke different scents and experiences from medieval life,” including a hair perfume and a breath freshener, according to a statement. Staff also recruited actresses to record readings of several of the written sources, “so that as visitors come through, they feel as though they’re actually encountering these [medieval] women in person,” Jackson says.

-----

Fascinating article!

[thepastisalreadywritten]

By Meilan Solly

24 October 2024

During an impromptu game of table tennis in September 1934, a player accidentally stepped on the ball.

The host’s father decided to look for a replacement in a cupboard at their English country house.

Instead of table tennis balls, the family patriarch stumbled onto an “entirely undisciplined clutter of smallish leather books,” including one whose cover “had been eaten away, presumably by a mouse,” as his son later recalled.

That unassuming manuscript turned out to be the only surviving copy of The Book of Margery Kempe, a medieval text chronicling the adventures of a female Christian mystic.

Previously known only through 16th-century excerpts that painted Kempe as an anchoress who walled herself up in a cell to devote her life to private prayer and reflection, the manuscript reframed its namesake as a colorful figure who’d traveled abroad on religious pilgrimages, claimed she’d experienced visions of herself participating in such biblical events as the birth and crucifixion of Jesus, and endured multiple arrests on charges of heresy.

“You lose all sense of her story and her personality when only reading the excerpts," says Eleanor Jackson, a curator at the British Library in London.

“She’s a very larger-than-life character … who was not an anchoress but [rather] incredibly mobile. She’s been to the Holy Land, she’s been to Rome, she’s been to Santiago de Compostela.”

The chance discovery of Kempe’s autobiography speaks to the rich trove of writing about medieval women that survives to this day, as well as the countless works that have been lost over the centuries, Jackson says.

“Women in the Middle Ages were seen as less important than men, and they were excluded from a lot of areas of power,” the curator adds.

“Their stories were less often recorded, and because women often weren’t given the same level of education as men, [many] couldn’t write themselves.

Women’s histories are much harder to find, but they are there when you look for them.”

A new exhibition at the British Library tells some of these long-overlooked tales through a selection of more than 140 documents and artifacts spanning roughly 1100 to 1500.

Co-curated by Jackson and Julian Harrison, “Medieval Women: In Their Own Words” spotlights queens, nuns, authors, warriors, physicians, and artisans alike.

As the name suggests, the show emphasizes women’s personal testimony, “telling their stories as much as possible through their own words, whether preserved in their writings or dictated to scribes, as was the case with Kempe," Jackson says.

The individuals featured in the exhibition run the gamut from famous figures like Joan of Arc and Italian French writer Christine de Pizan to the lesser known, including Estellina Conat, the first recorded female printer of Hebrew texts; Shajar al-Durr, the first female sultan of Egypt and Syria; and Alice Claver, a silkwoman who crafted ornate clothing for England’s Edward IV.

By highlighting such a diverse group, lead curator Jackson and co-curator Harrison hope to move past widely held conceptions of medieval women’s existences being centered around domesticity and oppression by men.

“Their lives were a lot more vibrant than people expect,” Jackson says, “and [visitors] will be surprised by the sheer variety of roles that they occupied in the fields of politics, religion and the arts."

—

“Medieval Women: In Their Own Words” is on view at the British Library in London from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025.

[cowperviolet]

Also, there was this small-town silkwoman in the 1550s, Mistress Sheale, about whom we know in the first place because her husband was a minstrel who wrote a wholeass song just about her and her occupation and the wares she sells at the market

Imagine your OTP

[tenth-sentence]

Ellen Landwith was so successful as a silkwoman that she was invited to join both her first husband's guild, the Cutler's Company, and her second husband's guild, the Tailor's Company.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[ravencromwell]

Damn it's nice when you:

get told by your English prof that your musings on "Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" aren't one he's seen before--a discussion of how Prufrock, at its core, is about the dangers of male temptation--for both flesh-and-blood beautiful women and their more metaphorical siren counterparts--as well as for the growing centers of urban vice within Eliot's day, but that it was exquisite and he adored it.

(Look, if Eliot's gonna be a conservative prude, I'm gonna lean into it to say something more interesting than this is about self-pitying middle-age tech bro of his era).

your history professor send back your grade on the wildly vague assignment in which you got to combine the French poetess Christine De Pizan, John Ball, and a Silkwoman of London named Mary Langton because he pretty much said research historical figures between x and x years make it make sense have fun! and his comments are just congratulations with several heart eye emojis.

I decided, so the essay would have a basic thematic throughline, to talk about medieval inequality, breaking it down into class and (Ball) and gender (De Pizan) with Langton as the intersectional axis (both female and middle-class) Exact words: Far above what I expected from this assignment.

Fuck, it's nice to be on a roll.

[remedy-robotics-rp]

"He’s a 10, but he's awfully cheeky. Picking.up a lady on first meeting."

He's blushing furiously! Blue coolant rushing to his cheeks!! "I-I am terribly sorry about that. I had misunderstood the intention of the phrase—" Nervous claw tappies, "I do not think I shall be living this down, will I Miss Silk?"

Poor guy, he's so embarrassed. He has a feeling his brother phrased it the way he did since Scor does tend to take some things quite literally...

[renegaderobotics]

Silk smooches Ginkgo right on the cheek with an extra loud 'MWAH'!

Ginkgo shuts his eyes tight and braces himself to not lean away or topple back. "Ah-hah, thank you miss Silk." He say's to be polite. There's a lipstick mark left on his mouth plate.

[florauna-robotics]

↕ Silk Woman - 5' 8"

Compare muse’s height to mine (still accepting!)

((I chose Luna! She’ll almost always be the shortest person in a social group LOL))

[renegaderobotics]

Ginkgos leaves on the sides of his face fold in tighter as he leans his head away from the torch. His shoulders hike up to shrink away. "A-are we sure your younger sister, your child AI coded sister, is capable of doing this without burning us in the process?"

"Hey! We're still here too!" Horn reminds them that he, at least, still has his hands free despite referring to himself and Silk. Taking his directive and occupation into consideration, Ginkgo doesn't know if that's better or worse. Horn isn't make for finer detail work. He's really sweating bullets now.

renegaderobotics​:

“Is that a welding torch?” Ginkgo asks to confirm his suspicions. Is that a good idea? If his hands weren’t stuck he could have cut them loose himself. Hindsight is 20/20.

“That very much is a welding torch. Fire is the best way to get rid of Silk’s webbing since the heat breaks it down faster than anything else can.” Triage explained will still eying the torch that was in her eager little sister’s tiny hands.  “I can do it!” Parrot pleaded while holding it up higher as if that was something that would help her case. 

[annacswenson]

*

* 

A mother’s summer offerings

[fideidefenswhore]

She 'kept her maids ... so occupied in sewing and working of shirts and smocks for the poor, that [never] was there any leisure to follow such pastimes as are seen nowadays to reign in princes' courts.' That was how her silkwoman remembered the court of Anne Boleyn. The picture hardly fits with A.F. Pollard's view that Anne appealed only 'to the less refined part' of Henry's nature. But then everything about her challenges stereotypes.

The Reign of Henry VIII, David Starkey

[mediumaevum]

Golden girls - These four women exploited the opportunities presented when the plague struck

Agnes Ramsey: Mason

Agnes, who never used her husband’s name, was the daughter of the famous architect and mason William Ramsey, who was killed by the Black Death in 1349. Though married to another mason, Robert Hubard, Agnes continued to run her father’s business, entering into a contract with the dowager Queen Isabella, widow of Edward II, to build her fine tomb at the enormous cost of £100.

Alice Holford: Bailiff

Alice took over the post of bailiff of London Bridge on the death of her husband, Nicholas, in 1433, and continued in office for over 20 years. The bailiff collected the tolls due from boats passing through the bridge, and from carts that crossed it into London. The task was a complicated one – charges varied according to the goods and the person transporting them – and Alice must have had some literacy skills.

Johanna Hill: Bell-founder

On the death of her husband in 1440, Johanna took full charge of their bell-founding business till her own death in 1441. Seven of her bells still exist as far away as Ipswich, Sussex and Devon. Johanna continued to use her husband’s mark – a cross and circle within a shield – but surmounted with a lozenge to indicate that the workshop was now under her authority.

Ellen Langwith: Silkwoman

Ellen, who died in 1481, was a London silkwoman. When her first husband, cutler Philip Waltham, died she was left to train their three female apprentices. She later married a tailor, John Langwith, but continued with her own craft. She was recorded as buying gold thread and raw silk direct from Venetian merchants, and in 1465 supplied saddle decorations and silk banners for the coronation of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV. She was courted by both the Cutlers’ and Taylors’ companies.

Read more about women after the Black Death

[milesakashadow-archive01]

Tagged by: @sockettoem​ (Senpai why)

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 20 blogs you would like to get to know better.

Nickname(s): Miles, Shade, Yoru.

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Height: 5'2.

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Last Thing Googled: Berserk.

Favorite Music Artists: Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Starset, RED.

Song Stuck in Your Head: The great divide - Breaking Benjamin.

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What I’m Wearing Right Now: Black wife beater tank top and underwear.

Blog Creation Date: July 2009.

What Kind of Stuff I Post: Rp threads, Art work, various content, but mostly Megaman related.

Do I Have Any Other Blogs?: No.

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Why Did I Choose My URL?: Because it was the first thing my mind thought of.

Hogwarts House: None. (Not a big harry potter fan anymore.)

Pokemon Team: In Pokemon go, I’m Valor. My go to team is Empoleon, Staraptor, Luxray, Arcanine, Glaceon, Lucario. However, I also use Gengar, Golurk, and Zoroark, and Crobat. I’m not competitive but I know the ins and outs of it well enough.

Favorite Color(s): Black, White, Red, Blue, Purple. Pastels also.

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Favorite Character(s): I have listed already my more older but still very much favored canon characters but, if fan characters count. Mysteryman, Musicwoman, Techwoman, Presto.EXE, Plasmaman and Dr. Willaims from @thehwns and Parrotwoman, Triagewoman, Silkwoman, and Minstrel  from @bionicparrot are favorites. Sandman from bionicparrot also counts but he’s a little shit.

How Many Blankets Do I Sleep With?: 1 fleece blanket.

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Following: 77

Tagged: -Drags T&S and Lin in- You two gotta do this sometime, I’m a curious mun.

[silkgiftmilan]

[remedy-robotics-rp]

💎 scor to silk!

"Silk... Well, I would think the answer would come easily enough. I have not been fortunate enough to encounter her more, but I would very much like to... She's lively and in the glimpses I have had of her personality, she seems fun. Frankly, the doctors say that I should try to have more fun with my life."

He blinks, his tail curling behind himself almost self-consciously, not quite able to hold eye contact with anyone in the proximity as the coolant rushes to his face, "I would call her a 9 on appearance alone... But my hopes are high that she could elevate to a 10 the longer we get to know each other. She bears a beauty that is as rare as it is mesmerizing, as if life itself bends around her like sun beams against spider silk."