Lethbridge Medieval Club

Baskets have been around almost as long as humans, and the medieval times are no exception. Materials for baskets can be willow and other flexible woody plants, bulrush, cat tail, grape vines, long grasses, etc. The purpose of the basket informs the kind of material and what weave are used- a basket for hauling supplies or vegetables would be sturdier than one for berries or sewing supplies. A basket for taking poulty to market would be a looser weave to show off the birds while keeping them contained, and a berry basket shouldnt have any holes or you won't have any berries! We experimented with using dried then dampened bulrush, and made small baskets at our camp event. It was a great success!

Our members have been busy! A couple members hosted a workshop for learning to process wool so it's ready to spin, dye, or otherwise use. The medieval ages had a mini ice age as far as average temperature so warm, cozy, and water resistant fabric was needed- wool was perfect, and pretty much everyone wore it in varying qualities. Wool is clipped or sheared off a sheep yearly for the animals health and comfort and for human use. Sheep don't routinely get baths, so the wool is... greasy, sweaty, and full of dirt and vegetable matter such as hay. We give the wool a gentle soak in warm soapy water to clean it. It's important to be gentle so you don't felt it by accident. If it's as clean as you need it, you can then dry it and start to use it, or you give it another round of warm water and soap. Look at the difference in color from start to finish! See more

Had a great time at camp!! We thought of you, Brooks Medieval Faire, but we had a lovely weekend by ourselves. We built a new fire pit, dug in a fire safely 'well' that still needs its facade finished, enjoyed medieval snacks with delightful company, played in the river, wove baskets, practiced archery, enjoyed noodling on the lyres, and tried not to let the lethbridge wind blow us away!

Summer is the time for linen, a nice lightweight durable fabric, used by most people in the middle ages for undergarments, and some pieces of outerwear. Linen grows all summer- as the plant called flax. Its harvested in the fall once the seeds are ripe, then processed to remove the seeds, loosen the fibers from the plant material, and soften them to spin. One of our members has been tending to their flax all summer and is in the first stages of processing it!!

A couple of our members were being awesome and enjoying some armored horse back riding! Many but not all knights would have had war horses and often general riding horses so that their battle animals were fresh for the fight. Knights could mount and dismount fairly easily, no clumsy craines or lifts for them, and most used smaller more agile mounts than the draft horses they're often depicted riding. There's a lot of stereotypes regarding mounted combat, which ones have you heard about?

One of our members is working on medieval rings. The pieces hes working to replicate are an early viking piece, and two late 1300s to early 1400s pieces. We have limited sources on how a lot of jewelery was made, but surviving pieces and manuscript images of jewelers work spaces gives us clues on the tools and methods at their disposal. One earlier method was wrapping wire to create various patterns and images, the norse people used this method to create beautifully complex p...ieces. One method for more solid jewelry was casting in sand- creating a two piece mold with packed powdered sand that could be opened to remove the piece then pouring metal in the space. Another method was creating a wax ring and covering it in clay, letting the clay harden and cook by the fire and melting out the wax, then pouring metal in the space left. Afterwards, the molds are opened and the work begins sanding, filing, and setting the pieces with stones. Can't wait to see how they turn out!