Posted on 09/28/2003 4:36:12 PM PDT by blam
Boudicca's warpaint puts farmer on the woad to recovery
By Sarah Lonsdale
(Filed: 28/09/2003)
Woad, the plant whose deep blue pigment was used as a warpaint by the ancient Britons to frighten their enemies, is to be farmed commercially in Britain for the first time in 500 years.
Large-scale production of woad, which was most famously used by the warrior queen Boudicca, finally died out in the 16th century when cheaper dyes imported from India made it uneconomic.
Now, however, farming of the spinach-like plant, which produces colours ranging from pale blue to indigo, is to be resumed by a Norfolk farmer, who intends to sell woad pigment to clothes manufacturers.
Ian Howard, who will begin planting next year, has conducted a successful trial at his farm near Dereham, Norfolk. He intends to market the natural pigment as an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic indigo, which is made using aniline, a by-product of oil, formaldehyde and potassium cyanide.
Some small clothes designers, including the British firm Boudicca, which exhibited at London Fashion Week last week, have already used Mr Howard's woad-based indigo for their blue colours.
Mr Howard also hopes to persuade jeans manufacturers to use woad to dye denim.
"Woad is easy to grow, seems to like the soil and climate, and is environmentally friendly," he said. "I love the wonderful rich blue colour it produces and the fact that I am doing something unique."
Mr Howard, whose forearms are almost permanently blue from his dyeing experiments, decided to turn to woad production after his farm income from growing wheat, sugar beet and potatoes dropped in the late 1990s.
"I was snowed under with bureaucracy, and Blair's apparent indifference to the countryside took the fun and buzz out of farming," he said. "I was very disillusioned with farming, but now it has become fun again."
Mr Howard's decision to grow woad is particularly appropriate. His farm is on land which once belonged to the Iceni, the tribe led by Boudicca that rebelled against the Roman conquest and sacked Colchester and London in ad60.
Pliny, the Roman historian, described how the ancient Britons' "blue aspect made them look more fearsome" - their appearance created either by applying woad body paint, or tattoos etched in woad.
In the 1995 film Braveheart, William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, wears woad in the battle scenes to dramatic effect, but this is probably an anachronism, as the dye was no longer in use.
The blue threads in the Bayeux Tapestry were dyed using woad and the blue in the tapestry is the only colour not to have faded in more than 900 years. Woad was also used as a natural insecticide.
When woad leaves are harvested, in July and September, they are washed and heated in hot water for several minutes. The blueish water is then mixed with chalk and left to settle. A blue paste is left after the water is poured off and this, when dry, can be ground into a fine powder to be used in paints, dyes and ink-making.
Clothes dyed with woad indigo at first appear yellow, but as they dry they turn green, then turquoise then finally deep blue.
Mr Howard's experiments show that in good growing conditions with plenty of sun, almost 10 tons of woad leaves per acre can be produced twice a year. Each ton of leaf produces about 2lb of indigo pigment, worth about £200.
His trial received financial backing from Spindigo, a research partnership which also involves Reading University and the University of Bristol's biological sciences department, aimed at showing farmers how they can use alternative crops to boost their falling incomes.
Kerry Gilbert, a researcher in biological sciences at Bristol University, said: "We are delighted that Mr Howard has decided to go ahead and farm woad commercially."
Although woad has not been grown commercially since the 16th century, it was produced in Lincolnshire during the 1920s and 1930s to provide dye for Royal Air Force uniforms, before the adoption of synthetic colourings. It has also been grown occasionally by artisan weavers and spinners for their own use.
The term "tartan" is indeed the correct term for the weaving of alternating colors in the warp and weft to form square patterns.
However, "kilt" also has a very specific meaning - the modern Scottish male garment. The kilt was invented by a tailor in Lochaber (a district of Scotland) in the early 19th century. The tartan fabric is sewed into permanent pleats with a waistband and lining, laps over in the front and is fastened with three leather straps and sometimes snaps. The kilt pin at the bottom of the 'apron' is ornamental only and never fastens the layers of cloth together.
Before that time, there was a long period when wearing tartan was banned by the government (post-1745 rebellion). Prior to 1745, tartan was worn as a "belted plaid" -- essentially a huge unmodified rectangular piece of tartan cloth approximately 1 1/2 yards wide and anywhere up to 10 yards long. When ol' Lachlan Dubh got up in the morning, he would shake out his plaid (it was also used as a sleeping bag) and lay it out on the ground. He pleated the whole mess by hand to reduce the length to manageable proportions, then slipped his belt under the cloth. He'd then lie down so that his knees were about level with the bottom selvage, flip the two ends across in front, buckle his belt, and stand up (panting slightly). At this point the plaid is kilted around his waist, and the surplus cloth is hanging down behind like a tail. He could leave it hanging there or pin it to his shoulder, or if it was raining turn it over his head.
Obviously this was a heck of a lot of trouble for the modern Scot to fuss with, hence the invention of the kilt. When the kilt was invented, the upper half that was cut off became a separate garment known as a "plaid". You can wear that over your shoulder, but about the only place you'll see it now is on pipers in the Army, in full and absolutely correct day wear (in which case it's very small and just worn folded in a rectangle over the left shoulder), or in ultra-formal evening dress with the "Prince Charlie coatee" instead of black or white tie.
You'll still see the belted plaid worn by the re-enactment types and some historical sticklers at Highland games. It's hard to find cloth woven wide enough for men of modern height, though - 60 inches is about the widest you can find, and that is going to be a bit skimpy either above or below. :-D
Some of this debate is like that of the development of ribbing in boats. Some propose that in the old days they built the hull first then added the ribs. It would have been very difficult for the Gaels to do that with the leather boat hulls they ordinarily used. So, which is it, ribs first or hulls first?
cinematic woad
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Note: this topic is from 9-28-2003. Thanks blam. |
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Interesting article about his progress:
http://www.farmersguardian.com/harnessing-woad%E2%80%99s-powerful-promise/24518.article
Thanks Eepsy!
It grows wild here and is considered a bad pest. It is called Marlahan mustard after Mr. Marlahan who brought “dyers woad” to the valley to dye wool.
Fascinating! Thanks for taking the time to type it out. I love FReepers! :)
I understand it was rather the endeavor to put on the old Roman toga as well.
The tartan kilt, Roman toga, and the Indian sari all sound similar in function: a very large bolt of cloth, with decorated weave or edges, elaborately pleated and/or draped in such a way as to be fashioned into a garment.
Surprised that no one suggested using the indigo plant to produce indigo as in colonial South Carolina. Of course it can’t grow in Northern Europe.
:’)
Thank you for the historical lesson of the kilt. (married to a man of Scots descent)
The Bayeux Tapestry is just gorgeous. I get short of breath and teary every time a see a picture of it.
The woad to wecovery?
An Elmer Fudd thread??
;-)
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