The Vasa launched with great fanfare on 10 August 1628. With a ship crowded with crew and visitors it sailed past waterfronts crammed with ordinary people, royals, and visiting dignitaries, gun ports open for a triumphant salvo as it departed Stockholm. And then it fell over and sank.
I’m in Europe! Starting with Sweden! I cut down on flying except for family back in 2018 due to climate change, so I never thought I’d make it to Europe. The original impetus for my visit is not a happy one, but I’m making joy out of tragedy. I’m also making the most out of the long flight across the world, and getting a nice detailed look at four spots in four countries as long as I’m here. First stop: Sweden! The wonderful Elisa of Isis Wardrobe (I learned on this trip that Isis is a childhood nickname because a young relative struggled to pronounce Elisa, and has nothing to do with the Egyptian goddess in her case) offered to host me in Stockholm. I’ve known Elisa through the historical costuming internet for at least 15 years now – back in the days when the community was based on message boards! We really got to know each other when she helped moderate the Historical Sew Fortnightly FB group for a couple of years. I’ve always …
For my first guest writer for the terminology series, I’m very excited to introduce Cathy Raymond, of Loose Threads: Yet Another Costuming Blog. Cathy’s Medieval and earlier focused blog is one of my favourite textile reads because her area of research is well outside my usual scope, meaning that I learn something new with every post. At the same time, her writing is so thoughtful and considered that it makes me continually realise how timeless and universal textiles are, and how relevant the way we think about the scraps of fabric found in Viking burials (for example) is to the way we think about fashion and textile design today. So without further ado, Cathy: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello! I’m Cathy Raymond. The Dreamstress has asked me to contribute a guest post about an item of costume terminology characteristic of my preferred area of costume research, namely, the Migration Period and that part of the early Middle Ages often called the “Viking Age”. Unfortunately, as one delves back into what is known about costume in these periods, it …
