Medieval Crafts You Can Do Yourself

When I was finishing my music degree, we had several sections of history that had to be completed, and from the first, I was hooked on the Middle Ages! Although I enjoy crafts, I have never been the "crafty" kind of person, but when I was researching the Middle Ages and it turned out to be so much fun, I thought I would try my hand at a number of medieval crafts to see if I could make a go of it. After all, I had modern equipment, so surely it would be easier than a medieval person trying to do the same thing!

I chose a number of medieval crafts to try and here are the results of the ones where I finally could produce a reasonable product. With some time, effort and perseverance, you too can learn how people in medieval times lived, and feel a connection to them, or perhaps just knowing the place these crafts had in history will help you appreciate medieval crafts more!

Books were a staple of the Middle Ages, and a number of crafts were involved in their manufacture. From making the paper for the book, to sewing the signatures of the book, to marbling the endpapers, to binding the book, and the calligraphy and illumination involved in the actual words on the page, books are perhaps the ultimate amalgamation of crafts, and the reason why books are still so loved today. By making a book from start to finish, you can experience the pleasure of learning to master the crafts involved in books, and show off your finished product with pride!

Paper in the Middle Ages was rare and expensive--usually made from bark, and because of its fragility, intended only for temporary use. Although thousands of manuscripts existed before the secret of papermaking was discovered, the manuscripts were inked onto prepared animal hides, and preparing animal hides to turn into material suitable for manuscripts was a long, tedious process in scraping the hair off the hide, smoothing the hide, then immersing it in chemicals, stretching it, drying it, and so on, before a hide would be ready to use. When Marco Polo returned from Asia with the secret of papermaking, Europe went wild for paper. Paper was extremely valuable and although at the time it required heavy machinery driven by water to pound linen and cotton rags into pulp, today making paper at home is an easy medieval craft and can be done as a lucrative hobby (handmade paper sheets often are sold for $4 each, and it takes about an afternoon to make 50 sheets).

Papermaking is easy--there's a little skill development in "couching" the paper--but it has all the pleasure of playing in mud, with none of the mess. And the best thing is, you can make this medieval craft out of recycled paper--junk mail, old records--or any plant material such as fallen leaves, onion skins, yard waste, whatever you find on your walks. You can even make the mould and deckle, drying racks, and the paper press at home from old stuff lying around. Whether you use it for stationery, as wallpaper, to cover boxes, or make gift bags, cards, or tags, you'll find that handmade paper is an affordable luxury!

When I first went to live in France, I visited the famous paper mill at Fontaines-de-Vaucluse, where I saw for myself the medieval-era paper mill (Fontaines-de-Vaucluse is also notable for being the residence of the famous poet Petrarch, and nearby is Baux, where Petrarch's friend Dante received the inspiration for his famous poem Inferno). The paper mill is an enormous structure, with wooden hammers weighing tons pounding down onto wet cotton and linen rags. The paper sold there is often made mixed with flower petals, in honour of Petrarch.

Closely allied to the crafts of papermaking and bookbinding was marbling paper, seen nowadays on fine endpapers in books. The medieval craft of marbling paper consists of floating paints, often oil paints, on top of water, often mixed with gall to make the oils a little more pliable, and making patterns through the paints with a comb, then transferring the pattern on to a sheet of paper by gently placing the paper on top of the water so that the paint sticks to it, then lifting the paper up and drying it. Depending on the comb technique, you can make peacock or fan patterns, or simpler wavy patterns, or even more elaborate patterns. You can use either a regular hair comb, an "Afro" comb, or you can make a comb by driving finishing nails into a stick. In any case, by dragging the comb through the paints floating on the water, you will create interesting patterns. When you get a pattern you like, you are done! The secret to good marbling is not to mix the paints too much, but to be satisfied with a little development--otherwise you will end up with a muddy-looking mess and have to throw out the tray.

Although marbling paper takes a bit of practice to learn, once the skill is acquired, marbling paper can be fairly fast and easy to do. The real skill in marbling paper is in turning out nearly-identical patterned sheets of paper over and over again (the patterns will not be exactly identical, since each tray of paint will vary slightly in the way it is combed and the pattern as it lays on the water).

Once you learn how to marble paper, the skill can easily be transferred to fabric, or any other surface that will accept paint (glass, leather, etc.). I've even seen marbled sneakers and hair accessories! 

Bookmaking is the medieval craft of folding paper into pages and sewing it into signatures, and then sewing the signatures together to form the finished book. Even sizes of paper, up until the nineteenth century, were so named because of how many pages the paper could be folded into--thus the quarto (four pages) and octavo (eight pages) sizes that we read about in literature. If you have ever bought a book with uncut paper edges, that book has been made with the old art of bookmaking.

Bookbinding is the art of adding board covers to the signatures, and covering the boards with material. In high-quality books this medieval craft used leather, ceramic, or metals, gems, stone, and even gold and silver. Often the papers between the boards and the signatures are marbled (see the section above for what marbling is, along with recommended resources).

Both these skills are easily learned, but they involve sharp knives, and bookmaking involves needles, so do not let children attempt these medieval crafts unsupervised until they have acquired a great deal of skill. The skills are worth learning, because there is nothing like the feeling of looking at a beautifully-bound book that you have done yourself. For renaissance faire enthusiasts, having your own hand-bound book is an accessory to show off to everyone!

No-one really knows when lacemaking began. However, lacemaking was practiced by women in the Middle Ages throughout Europe. Lacemaking was a highly-prized medieval craft and a good lacemaker could easily support a large family in comfort. Lacemaking was a slow process, and could be done only in the daytime, because lacemaking needs a lot of light, so that a talented lacemaker might turn out a half-metre of lace per month. But because it was so labour-intensive, the lace itself was a luxury item and very expensive. Both needle and bobbin laces were available in the Middle Ages, so whichever type of lacemaking you prefer will still be a medieval craft.

Lacemakers were commonly trained in the lacemakng tradition of the region in which they lived, and many of the laces sold today still bear the names of those regions.

Printing was not just for books, although that was a major industry in the Middle Ages. However, the real money was in the medieval craft of printing cotton. Printed cotton was originally developed in India, and many printed cottons, such as calico, bear the name of the region of India in which they were developed. Printed cotton, called in French "indienne," was so wildly popular that in many countries, such as France, this medieval craft was made illegal. However, the tiny prinicipality of Avignon, surrounded by France, was the private property of the Pope, and printed cottons were worn there, to the shock and dismay of French and English inhabitants. Even today, in the south of France, many of the traditional printed fabric designs from medieval times are still being printed and sold--and then there is the famous Souleiado factory in Tarascon, which houses a number of different fabrics showing this medieval craft.

Dyeing is a medieval craft messy but fun, and a great way to sharpen your scientific observation skills. Numerous mineral, animal and vegetable dyes were common in the medieval era; everything from roots, to crushed-up insects, to lapis lazuli was used to produce dyes for fabrics. If you want to try dyeing fabric, I suggest you begin by dyeing natural fabrics with tea to get used to the process. However, many plants make beautiful and inexpensive dyes for cotton, linen and wool.

Dyeing takes a colorant, a mordant (to help the dye "bite" onto the fabric), water, and a natural fabric like cotton, linen, or wool. And, of course, a container that you don't mind getting stained! Also don't dye anything just before you have a meeting or a party, as it will stain your hands and probably your clothing.

Some of you may remember the Friends episode where Chandler was complaining about his name. In fact, Joey was not far wrong in saying it was like chandelier--chandler is the medieval term for someone who makes candles!

Candles in the Middle Ages were typically made from either tallow or beeswax. Because I had access to beeswax, I chose to learn how to make beeswax candles. There are two ways to make beeswax candles--either in a mold, or by dipping. Molds are faster, but I find it more difficult to get the wicks prepared properly. Dipped candles take more time, but there's a great amount of satisfaction in getting a beautiful-looking beeswax candle--and all you need for heating is a crock pot or hot plate and a tall pyrex container.

In addition, tallow candles sputter, whereas beeswax not only burns cleanly, but gives off a beautiful honey smell that perfumes the whole house. I've completely quit buying candles, because the beeswax is just so satisfying. This medieval craft can be a real moneymaker if you have cheap sources of beeswax.

Although the typical medieval craft bead is often made of metal or glass, glassblowing requires a lot of equipment and skill, as does metalworking. However, there are four easy media for making beads. The first is clay, which is cheap, can be fired in an oven, and glazed or painted and then taken to a kiln for final firing--or you can build a clay firing oven yourself in your yard.

The second medium, while not used in the Middle Ages, but that requires a medieval skill, is paper. Paper can be fashioned into a lovely bead, either from pressing pulp together and molding it (papier-maché) or from taking damp sheets and folding or rolling them into a bead and letting them dry.

The third medium that is excellent for trying medieval beadmaking is rose petals. These petals, which would otherwise go to waste once the flowers die, can be turned into lovely jewelry and preserved for decades. I've made both clay and rose petal beads, and I much prefer working with rose beads, although it takes much longer. However, you will have the extra benefit of the house smelling like roses for a week or more after making them! Rose beads were the original beads used in Roman Catholic rosaries and date from the early Middle Ages. This medieval craft is also a great way to preserve your wedding bouquet!

The final easy medium for trying medieval beadmaking is wood. A simple lathe can help you make gorgeous wooden beads, and with a wood carving kit and a wood burning kit (or a handy soldering iron) you can make exquisite and useful beads from wood (even using branches you pick up off the ground).

If you are going to try medieval glass beadmaking, I recommend lampwork. Blowing glass is an extremely dangerous trade and best learned under an apprenticeship. Lampwork requires much lower heat and is less dangerous than blown glass.

I am a member of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and these prayer ropes are a part of our tradition. Many of the faithful make them themselves, but in my case, I am afraid I will end up on the floor, tied up in twenty yards of cord, and so as much as I would like to learn this medieval craft, it will take some hands-on teaching for me to be able to do it. However, you may be interested in learning this medieval craft!