Translating brocaded band from Stavanger cathedral (1)
I was really excited when I got the news that there is a brocaded band among finds recently published by UiS. The band was brocaded with gold and according to researchers it was a part of a bigger piece of clothing. A bishop's cape maybe?
Is it a snake? Is it a bird?
There are two distinct motives the pattern consists of:
- The basket weave pattern, visually similar to well-known band excavated from Viking age settlement in Birka, Sweden. It is commonly known as B22 or ''the Birka strapwork'' within tablet weaving community
- The possibly zoomorphic motive that looks like a two-headed bird or snake.
Obviously, the latter is most exciting. The image of a snake with one head on each end of the body is known from medieval beastiaries. This imaginary beast called amphisbaena was often depicted with bird-like features, like this example from 1200's.
And of course, given the geographical and historical context, there is always a room for speculation whether the motive was not an echo of previously dominating religion. In that case the bird's heads and shapes resembling spread wings could have been inspired by Huginn and Muninn, Odin's ravens as depicted on this panel from Vendel period helmet. It is an interesting idea but I am rather sceptical.
Anyway, there is a whole list of medieval tablet woven bands decorated with zoomorphic motives you can look up for inspiration. For example, Evebø animals (Norway), silk band of st. Balthilde with birds (France), brocaded band with ''Dublin dragons'' (Ireland) or spectacular St. Donat-Arlon tablet weavings with many animal motives (Belgium). Apparently, some of these fantastic beasts had purely decorative function.
Drafting the pattern
A brief examination of the image published by UiS gave me an idea of how to roughly reproduce the zoomorphic part ot the pattern.
First things first - I suck at brocading. Furthermore, my relation to twill, which could be the second-best way how to interpret this pattern, is rather complicated.
That didn't leave me with many options. Still, proportions of the motive seemed perfect for two-hole weaving (aka pebble weaving). So I started drawing some lines on a sheet of drafting paper. Trial and error. Uhm.
At this point I decided that I would better use all 4 holes of tablets to avoid typical specs of foreground colour on the background. Accordingly I started the drafting with help of online pattern designer.
And there comes the question: How to make the pattern pop? Since the technique I ultimately chose has its limitations, my answer is: different yarn sizes! Therefore I started my trial with warp consisting of brown Huldra (8,5/2 wool) and yellow Sandnes Lama (DK weight llama, obviously).
