Publisher's Synopsis
This book features a wide-ranging set of original essays by leading researchers in the history of textiles, from the disciplines of history, sociology, economics, and archaeology. It begins with an overview of the evolution of linen production and consumption in Europe from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, which sets individual chapters in a wider context. Developing from this panoramic survey, ten essays address aspects of linen production and consumption in Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, and Germany, while two further chapters consider connections between Europe and linen manufacture in north America. The book offers fresh and revisionist interpretations of important historiographical themes such as the significance of technology transfer, the role of the state and other forms of patronage, the gender division of labour, competition with other textiles, and the interaction between traditional practices and exogenous change. The breadth of coverage of these issues is enriched by the diversity of evidence from the subject specialisms, including documentary sources, images, archaeological findings and artefactual evidence from material culture.;The book includes maps, illustrations, tables, a comprehensive glossary of terms, and select bibliography related to historical textile manufacture. It provides an essential understanding of one of Europe's major manufactures and sets the development of the European linen industry in the context of the emergence of western industrialised society.
