Introduction
Fingerloop
braiding was one of my very first art forms in the SCA. I learned the
technique from Mistress Annora verch Llwyd Bryneirian during an Arts
and Sciences meeting in 2004 in the Canton of Bard's Keep, Barony of
Western Seas, Caid. Since then, I have obtained the Compleat
Anachronist issue on Fingerloop braiding (issue #108) and attended
various classes to learn specific patterns.
However,
I wanted to continue to learn and grow in this art form. To do this,
I decided I need to better understand how each strand in any given
pattern moves. I decided to begin with my favorite pattern from the
Compleat Anachronist, “A grene dorge of vj bowes.” When followed
exactly, this pattern produces a flat cord with one color running
down each side and two additional colors alternating down the center.
My
first two examples simply eliminate one of the three colors from the
pattern, leaving a single color down the middle bordered by a second
color on each side. From there, I have rearranged which colors are
placed on which fingers to start the weave, which has yielded some
interesting—and beautiful—results.
These
cords are all made from cotton crochet thread. In period, silk thread
was heavily favored for fingerloop lacings. It is suspected that they
were also made of linen to be used as ties for linen undergarments,
but no known extant samples have been discovered. I have opted for
cotton because it is readily available in a variety of colors and
fairly inexpensive to acquire. I chose blue and white because these
are the Baronial colors for the Barony of Lochmere, and I intend
these cords to be a gift of largesse to Their Excellencies after this
display.
Cord variations from a single pattern. |
How It Was Done
The
original instructions for this pattern are set in a manuscript now
housed at the British Library, referred to as Harley Maunscript 2320.
This manuscript is believed to be from circa 1450. The original text
in English as transcribed by E.G. Stanley reads:
A
grene dorge of v[j] bowes: Set 4 bowes of o colouur on B, C ry[3]t
and B, C
lyft,
and o bowe of anoþer colouur on D ry[3]t, and o bowe of anoþer
colouur
on
A lyft. Þen take wt A ri[3]t þorow B, C ry[3]t þe bowe of C lyft
reuerced. þen
lowe
þy bowe of B lift vnto C. Þen schal B lyft take þorow C lyft þe
bowe C
ry[3]t
reuerced. Þen lowe þy ry[3]t bowes. Þen schal A lyft change wt D
ry[3]t,
&cra.
The
redaction of the instructions by Lois Zwales as presented in the
Compleat Anachronist issue reads as follows:
A
green dorge of 6 bowes: Set 4 bowes of one color on B, C right and B,
C left,
and
one bowe of another color on D right, and one bowe of another color
on A
left.
Then take with A right through B, C right the bowe of C left
reversed. Then
low
thy bowe of B left onto C. Then shall B left take through C left the
bowe C
right
reversed. Then low thy right bowes. Then shall A left change with D
right,
etc.
This
diagram of the pattern, which I have modified from the one on
www.fingerloop.org, shows
the original pattern. To read the moves, consider that A is your
pointer finger, B your middle finger, C your ring finger, and D your
pinky. R is right, and L is left. Therefore, AR is your pointer
finger on your right hand, and so forth. This version of the diagram
is shown with no colors specified; it shows only the movements each
bowe and finger makes.
Now,
to create the cord with blue running down the center bordered by
white, I set the bowes up as follows:
AL and DR: Blue
BCL and BCR: White
AL and DR: Blue
BCL and BCR: White
Visually,
that looks like this:
To
create the cord with a white center bordered by blue, I reversed the
color setup.
We
can see that the bowes on AL and DR are the only two that make up the
center stripe of the cord. The other four, then, create the borders.
But how, exactly, do they weave together to make those borders?
I
began setting the colors up in random starting arrangements, to see
what might emerge.
Variation One
This
cord is set up as follows:
ABCL
Blue
BCDR
White
After
move three, the colors have not returned to their “home positions”
as they did in the previous cord. Also, because AL and DR are not the
same color, we do not find a solid stripe running down the center of
the cord.
Variation Two
This cord is
set up as follows:
ABL and DR: White
CL and BCR: Blue
ABL and DR: White
CL and BCR: Blue
Once again the colors are not back at
home at the end of the first round of moves, but AL and DR are the
same color and so we do see the central stripe emerge along the
length of the cord.
Variation Three
This cord is
set up as follows:
ABL and CDR: White
CL and BR: Blue
Variation Four
This cord is
set up as follows:
AL: Blue
AL: Blue
BCL and BCDR: White
For this pattern, the lone blue bowe
stays in position until Move Three, when it goes to DL. In the
following round, it moves back to AL. This creates the alternating
white and blue stripe down the middle of the cord, which when
bordered by white as well comes out looking like a row of tiny blue
hearts. I think, of all the experimental cords from this pattern,
this is my favorite variation.
Conclusion
and Where to Go Next
By altering not the pattern of the
weave itself but rather simply the starting positions of the colors,
we can create a variety of beautiful cords. Was this done in Period?
Maybe. I'd venture to say probably, because it's practical—one
would only have to learn a single set of movements to be able to
create several different cords.
To truly understand where each bowe
goes at each step of the weave, I think I need to do one more
experiment—one in which each bowe is a different color. While I'm
sure the final cord of such a setup will not be visually pleasing in
the least, it will allow me to see exactly where the bowe from BL is
in the second, third, fourth, and future rounds through the three
moves.
After that experiment, I will begin
the process all over again with another pattern!
Works
Cited
Primary Source:
Manuscript
Harley 2320, circa 1450. In the British Library, with scans on the
web at
http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=harley_ms_2320_f052r.
Secondary Sources:
Swales, Lois, and Zoe Kuhn Williams.
"Fingerloop Braids." Compleat Anachronist, no. 108
(July 2000).
Swales, Lois, and Zoe Kuhn Williams.
"Fingerloop Braids." Fingerloop Braids. Accessed February
04, 2016. http://www.fingerloop.org/.
verch
Llwyd Bryneirian, Annora. "Beginner
Fingerloop Braiding." Lecture, A&S Day, Canton of Bard's
Keep, 2004.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Entered in:
Kingdom A&S Festival, Atlantia--Lochmere Baronial Display
Kingdom A&S Festival, Atlantia--Lochmere Baronial Display
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