Alas, I don't read German. At least, not much, although I recognize names of dishes and some of the ingredients, and I do recognize a few words---mostly nouns. Modern ones only, I imagine.
I am very appreciative of this information. I've really got to get back to reading the German Ren Costuming list again. Probably it would be a good idea to learn some German, while I'm at it.
That matter of [named commodity] being controlled by sworn officials, whether said commodity were raw materials (in this case flax), prepared materials (spun flax, e.g., thread), or finished product (linen cloth), was an idea I've very recently been trying to get across to someone in a different historical vein.
Somewhere along the line there must have been a market for smaller merchants/purchasers. There's at least one illustration of what is assumed to be a merchant measuring and cutting a length of cloth--not necessarily linen, more likely wool---for a customer, in his shop. I wouldn't think it would be cut into smaller lengths, either, unless necessary, but I can see the necessity of sending shorter lengths to smaller merchants. And now that you've got me thinking about it, I realize I've rather imagined (and I do admit this is imagination, not sure from what I've put this together but I'm reasonably sure it's not Hollywood films!) that the wealthy could and would not only purchase "pieces" of sixty ells or one-hundred ells, but that they would be dealing either directly with the manufacturer (through their own agent, of course) or with no more than one middle man/clearing house---which latter term I'm using as a convenience. I don't *imagine* the wealthy sending their majordomos to the marketplace to haggle at a cloth vendor's stall, but perhaps they did.
H'mmm.....*gears whirring, thinking to self, talking to self*....obviously I need to get some concerted research going....
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-23 07:53 pm (UTC)Alas, I don't read German. At least, not much, although I recognize names of dishes and some of the ingredients, and I do recognize a few words---mostly nouns. Modern ones only, I imagine.
I am very appreciative of this information. I've really got to get back to reading the German Ren Costuming list again. Probably it would be a good idea to learn some German, while I'm at it.
That matter of [named commodity] being controlled by sworn officials, whether said commodity were raw materials (in this case flax), prepared materials (spun flax, e.g., thread), or finished product (linen cloth), was an idea I've very recently been trying to get across to someone in a different historical vein.
Somewhere along the line there must have been a market for smaller merchants/purchasers. There's at least one illustration of what is assumed to be a merchant measuring and cutting a length of cloth--not necessarily linen, more likely wool---for a customer, in his shop.
I wouldn't think it would be cut into smaller lengths, either, unless necessary, but I can see the necessity of sending shorter lengths to smaller merchants.
And now that you've got me thinking about it, I realize I've rather imagined (and I do admit this is imagination, not sure from what I've put this together but I'm reasonably sure it's not Hollywood films!) that the wealthy could and would not only purchase "pieces" of sixty ells or one-hundred ells, but that they would be dealing either directly with the manufacturer (through their own agent, of course) or with no more than one middle man/clearing house---which latter term I'm using as a convenience. I don't *imagine* the wealthy sending their majordomos to the marketplace to haggle at a cloth vendor's stall, but perhaps they did.
H'mmm.....*gears whirring, thinking to self, talking to self*....obviously I need to get some concerted research going....
Again, many thanks!