Recommendations... History Through the Lens of Textiles?

I can't speak to your proposals above but just wanted to contribute that in Tournai there is a lace museum that would meet your interests. Tournai is under-visited, but is definitely behind Bruges and Antwerp in terms of priority.

Lavandula

Hi mbeeker, welcome to the forum.

It was textile that made Flanders wealthy during Medieval times. For most here on the forum your question may sound overly specific, but if you know more it makes certainly sense. Textile made in Flanders was of outstanding quality so there was a huge demand. For the production the wool trade was very important, especially with England and Scotland. The many conflicts Flanders had were about this trade and surely influenced it's history.

Bruges is well known for lace. There is a Lace Centre or Kantcentrum as we say in Dutch, close to the Jerusalem Chapel. There are demonstrations about making lace, they also offer courses and workshops. For asking questions is best to contact the centre at forehand.

https://www.kantcentrum.eu/en/info-contact

Flanders was, especially during Medieval times (and also later periods) also famous for it’s tapestry. Oudenaarde south of Ghent was an important centre. The gothic town hall houses a tapestry museum. You can catch a direct train from Brussels to Oudenaarde and will take around 1 hour.
Hopefully they can give you info about other places with textile, more specifically tapestry.

https://www.oudenaarde.be/en/mou
https://www.oudenaarde.be/en/mou/about-mou/contact

Antwerp has a very interesting maritime history. Till it’s fall in 1585 and so before the rise of Amsterdam it was in the 16th century Europe’s most important harbour and so most important economic powerhouse and with this playing a leading cultural role. During WWII and still (till today) being one of Europes largest harbours Antwerp played a crucial (read logistic) role during the liberation of western Europe. A story lesser known, nevertheless interesting to learn about.

There must be certainly harbour tours there, but have no experience with this. Best is to contact the TI in Antwerp.

https://visit.antwerpen.be/en

Ghent had once (as far as I know) Belgiums most important textile industry. Following the Industrial Revolution in the UK the first industrial spinning machines on the Continent were to find in Ghent. The first, the Mule Jenny is on display in the Industry Museum there.

https://www.industriemuseum.be/en/events/textile-department

For the growth of flax for pruducing linen the river Leie plays a central role. There is a museum in Kortrijk / Courtrai. Some trains from Brussels call at Oudenaarde too, other trains call at Doornik / Tournai Lavandula speaks about.

https://www.texturekortrijk.be/ontdek/museum (website Dutch or French only).

Lavendula, thanks so much for your reply. I've been looking at your posts as I plan our 4 days in Belgium and appreciate your sharing!

Thanks for your welcome Will; that is great information. I'm most interested in the wool trade and wool production, less about lace making (probably because I don't know enough about it.)

Thanks also for such an extensive explanation. I had been an exchange student in Holstein in Germany (West Germany, back then) and learned about the Hanseatic League, so this trip is sort of focused on trade, industry and the rise of free cities/states (after Belgium I'm going to Germany and Poland.) Your suggestions and information about the industry museums are very helpful and I'll likely go the Ghent and to Antwerp on day trips from Brussels.

For other English speakers who are interested in this topic who like historical fiction, you might consider Dorothy Dunnett's "House of Niccolo" historical fiction series. Someone (I think Lavendula) mentioned the book "Bruges, Cradle of Capitalism" which I have on hold at the library along with the RS guidebook. Maybe others have other books to recommend to help understand the history?

Many thanks!

I appreciate the information shared here as well.

I have long been interested in the history of Textiles. The combination of being the first to drive human technology but still being an art form is deeply interesting to me.

Would people say the best museums, displayed old machines, recreation sites are all in the areas being discussed here?

I understand the subject also has a deep history in Britain. If fact that is what I was thinking until all of these comments.

At the moment, I'm trying to figure out how the twisting of a Spinning wheel works. Something about two different wheel sizes and how they interact.

The early tools contained so much of human adjustment, moment to moment, to keep the quality of the finished product up. Hardly anything nowadays takes that moment to moment focus. Which also means we get an overall much better product.

RobertH, Yes, try the links Will shared -- especially the Texture museum in Courtrai and the Industry Museum in Ghent. They appear to display the different technologies and have some that are interactive.

Good luck,
mbeeker

Thank you. Another reason to travel there.

Someone (I think Lavendula) mentioned the book "Bruges, Cradle of Capitalism" which I have on hold at the library along with the RS guidebook

Not me, but thanks for the shout-out :)

Lavandula

I don't know if you are into historical fiction but there is a book by Tracy Chevalier about the weaving of a significant tapestry (the Lady and the Unicorn, book with the same name) set in the 1400s in Paris and Brussels. It's not as good as her first book (Girl with a Pearl Earring) but of course Chevalier invests a lot of work in trying to be historically accurate while providing a good back story (about a family that is weaving the tapestries). Flemish tapestries were important at the time. Maybe this will bring some of your research to life :)

Lavandula

With low expectations, we went to the Texture museum in Kortrijk/Courtrai on the recommendation of some friends. It was actually fascinating! The museum presents an in-depth history lesson about an entire economy based on flax. And there's a lovely cafe with Belgian beer.

Studying Flemish history is far from easy and I have to say that my knowledge is not really complete and comprehensive, nevertheless I know a few things.

So let’s start first with the basics: I think for understanding the trade in this part of Europe in general we have to look at the North European Plain. That are the low plains along the eastside of the North Sea and the southside of the Baltic Sea stretching from Calais in France all the way to Belarus. Parts of Eastern England can also be seen as part of this plain. This is not a 100% accurate discription, but good enough for getting a rough idea.

In general the soil of these plains is very fertile and so mainly farmland. During the Middle Ages the food production was high and consistent enough to make urbanisation possible, certainly in Flanders.
Cities mean a concentration of people and so a concentration of skills, talent, networks and so on.

Rivers play an important role in connecting the cities and those of the North European Plain are deep and wide enough for (commercial) shipping. Above all slow moving and so relativily easy to navigate in both directions, what is crucial for trade. Ofcourse the North Sea and the Baltic Sea connect these rivers and so the cities too. So there was a whole lot of interaction between a large group of people in this part of Europe.

Another important factor you have to keep in mind is that you can divide Europe into two main regions and that is the Mediterranean Sea and Northern Europe. I prefer more describing it as the countries influenced by the first and for the latter everything north of it. The rivers Rhine and Danube form the border between the two regions, dating all the way back to the Roman Empire (Germanic Limes). It's influence is still noticeable till today. In general the Mediterranean culture is materialistic, while that of Northern Europe is more to describe as abstract.

Materialistic means things that are visible like (Greek and Roman) architecture, The Roman Catholic Church with the Pope (so a visible leader) representing God on earth, networks in the form of abbeys, food (things you can see, smell and taste) culture and so on.

Abstract means networks, not centrally organised but based on personal networks, agreement and contracts. The uprise of Protestantism that rules out any form of material ideas about God and based on personal (so abstract) relationship. The abstract ideas about money like stock exchange or the value of it based on agreement so you can use paper instead of gold or silver. Democracy, human rights, abstract approach of science and so on.

So all combined forms to my opinon this the bases for commercial organisations like the Hanseatic League and capitalism too as we know today.

My library is not so extensive, but I can recommend Michel Pye’s book: The Edge of the World. He states the North Sea and the surrounding countries as the cradle of the modern world and with that ofcourse capitalism too.

So Flanders belongs to the Northern European Plain too. Being the most northern outpost of the Mediterranean area and so close to Northern Europe it was well connected with both regions. It was also on the cross road of main trade routes like Cologne and London. Also so close to the Delta Region just north of it, it was well connected with the river Rhine. That explains that Bruges, but also Ghent and Antwerp were (and still are) so well located important trading hubs.

Besides farming textile was the major economic sector in Europe and so in Flanders too. The industry was mainly concentrated in cities and so with the urbanisation I explained before it was huge. It made the cities wealthy, actually it was more the merchants that became rich and gained more political influence too.

But in the Middle Ages nobility and royalty ruled the country. In cities there was more freedom for the citizens than in the countryside. The wealthy cities were not only good for the prestige of the landlords but also good for fundraising to finance their costly military activities. Nevertheless in the cities there was enough room not only for economic but also social and cultural developement. It gave also for many the opportunity to escape form the countryside with it’s limited freedom under feudal rule.

So the woolproduction and trade gave not only wealth but also freedom. Once having freedom you want actually keeping that, but often was not in the interest of the landlords. That gave often clashes and one of the most famous in Flemish history is the Battle of the (Golden) Spurs near Kortrijk / Courtrai. It was not one of the usual feudal wars but a clash between different social classes. In Kortrijk there is a museum about this event.

Actually the biggest clash was with the arrival of the Reformation in the 16th century. Many merchants in Flanders embraced Protestantism and this was ofcourse against the will of the Roman Catholic rulers like Charles V and Philips II. That resulted in the Eighty Year War. The Reformation is to my opinion more to see as a liberation movement of Northern Europe (seen the difference in mentality) to get rid of the Mediterranean influence to follow it’s own way. You can also see it as a clash between the feudal system and citizenry. Anyway it divided Europe deeply.

That Eighty Year War splitted the Low Countries in the Southern Netherlands and the Northern Netherlands. The first remained under the Mediterranean influence, so Roman Catholic and feudal rule. The latter became independent and the first republic in modern history that could embrace capatilism and Protestantism to it’s full extend. And so became typically Northern European. The fall of Antwerp changed the game during this war, resulting that the Republic gained full control over the Western Scheldt estuary and so made trade for Antwerp no more possible as it was before. Amsterdam took over the leading role since then.

With this the Republic captured the south bank of the estuary too, blocking the seaways to Bruges and Ghent. As for trading the Flemish economy was very much dependent on these three cities, it crumbled. And only started to recover after a few centuries. You can say that Flanders ended at the loosing side. As said before Antwerp was the main trading and cultural hub of Europe north of the Alps as we say and still is the second largest harbour in Europe and still too the world’s diamant capital. But it's leading role came to an end.

So at the end of the 16th century Flanders, more specific Antwerp lost it’s dominant economic and cultural position. Very unlucky as with the arrival of the great overseas voyages the economic and cultural centerpoint of gravity shifted rapidly from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea. So more opportunities then ever before for the countries around the latter, however not for Antwerp and Flanders. That developement changing not only Europe’s history for good, but that of the world too.

RobertH – My knowledge of the history of textile is limited, so not complete, so there is more to discover. If interested you can get in contact with the local TI’s and local history societies. Websites of the latter in Dutch only, they certainly will respond in English.

https://www.heemkundebrugsommeland.be/contact
https://ghendtschetydinghen.be/hhkg/
https://www.antwerpen.be/info/54ec9724b2a8a79e2a8b48b0/koninklijke-heemkundige-kring-van-de-antwerpse-polder-vzw

https://www.visitbruges.be/nl
https://visit.gent.be/en
https://visit.antwerpen.be/en

Worth to mention is also Ieper or Ypres with it’s enormous Medieval cloth hall. It’s also worth looking in Nothern France with cities like Lille (Rijssel in Flemish), Arras (Atrecht), Cambrai (Kamerijk) and so on, once part of Flanders. Hence the Flemish names.

Fascinating thread!

Thanks for the question and the responses - I am taking note.

Thank you for the links. I'm more interested in the technology than in the social aspects. The last I paid attention to was the Hanseatic League.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League

Will, thanks so much for taking the time to share that history; it's so helpful in understanding the political structure of the low countries. Now I'm really looking forward to my tour and history books arriving for a deeper dive!

Best,
mbeeker

Hi RobertH,

Thanks for the link. I have here several websites of little companies that still produce or sell traditional wool products. Best is to contact them and think they certainly can help you further with the different techniques. Most companies are Dutch, can't find so many in Belgium. The websites are in Dutch only, so need translation.

https://www.waddenwol.nl/contact
https://kaarderijwollust.nl/?page_id=114
https://www.wolspinnerij.com/
https://www.thedutchcottage.nl/www-thedutchcottage-nl/contact/
https://www.dewolspinnerij.nl/

In Belgium:
https://www.tumulus-fiber-mill.com/contact.html

You can certainly look around in the UK too, they are very carefull with anything that has to do with tradition. So with traditional wool making too. Youtube has videos explaining how spinning wool works. Did you look around there?

mbeeker – Wish you a whole lot of fun with your deeper dive in history, because that’s what it’s all about, isn't it?

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this interesting thread! My European travels are typically based around Flanders because I have close friends there. Your contributions have given me several new books to read and places to check out on my next visit.

Thanks Wil for the links and material.

"Youtube has videos explaining how spinning wool works."

I read faster than I can listen. Much faster. So I look for printed material first. If there's any video link that's especially good I'd like to know.

I suspect with the spinning wheel I'll have to find a place with a working one that I can examine and/or watch people doing it while being able to ask questions. Perhaps that hand spinning technique with the Spindle might enlighten me. Or, more likely, I'm just overthinking it.

Hi RobertH,

Here a few Youtube video's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgXS1tZKQ_o&list=PLlhxZ-9o0mkkSSLw8YdfrsUs_uNJeU6C3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsYr128_fro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtw1TEjXWH0

Thank you Wil, for the links. Will take a look later.

I watched the one from the Scottish Trust(?). I thought the "twist" was from the interaction of two wheels and she had a "knob" on the spinning wheel that, when adjusted, gave more (or less) twist. All she did was show the knob, I'm trying to figure out how it works. I suspect it's in the "Setting up the Spinning Wheel" video she mentioned, hopefully. But there was no link in the screen I saw.

On our RS Holland and Belgium tour, we were given a guided tour of the Museum of Industry in Ghent, which was the textile capitol. But our private guide was arranged by our tour, so not sure how you go about finding a private guide other than contacting the museum. It was very interesting.

"...not sure how you go about finding a private guide"

That's for future-me to figure out. The difficulties preventing that seem to be easing. I'm hopeful I'll be figuring that out in the not-too-distant-future.