a collection of instructions on medieval arts and sciences
A Lace Fletched
| This is one of a
set of four braids that I developed in honor of
Mistress Rhiannon y Bwa's elevation to the Order of the Pelican. The
instructions for the braids (written in Middle English) along with
samples of the braids were included in a hand-bound booklet
that was the award scroll. The
braids are meant to evoke various aspects of the emblem of the Order of
the Pelican, a pelican “in its piety,” that is, seated
in a nest, surrounded by her young, piercing her own breast with her
beak in order to nourish her offspring with droplets of her blood. In
keeping with the naming conventions of the 15th-century braid recipes,
I used heraldic terms to name my four new braid variations. The Lace Fletched is an eight-loop braid based on the Broad Lace Chevron, found in both Harley and Tollemache. The Broad Lace Chevron is an 8-loop braid with alternating V-shaped stripes (chevrons). The Lace Fletched reduces this pattern to a six-loop braid, alternating a double-pass white chevron with a single-pass black chevron. Down the center, a black stripe is worked with the two remaining loops, using a set of steps borrowed from the Grene Dorge braid. Fletched, refers to the fletching, or flight feathers, on arrows Instructions The instructions include the Middle English text as it appeared in the Pelican scroll (with abbreviations expanded in italics) and the modernized steps, following the format used in Elizabeth Benns and Gina Barrett’s Take V Bowes Departed.(SoperLane, 2006). The diagrams are adapted from those in Benns & Barrett. Scroll Text A lace fletched of viij bowes: set iiij bowes of whyte on B, C lyft and A, B ry3t, & iiij bowes sable on A, D lyft and C, D ry3t. þen schal A ry3t take þoro3 D, C lyft þe bowe of B lyft vnreuerced. þen hye þy lyft bowys, and set þe same bowe on D lyft þat was taken of B lyft. þenne schal A lyft take þorow C, B ry3t þe bowe of A ry3t vnreuerced. þen hye þy B and C ry3t bowes, and set þe self bowe on C þt was taken of A. þen schal D lyft change hys bowe wt C ry3t. þen reuerce þy B, C, D lyft and A, B, C ry3t bowes. þen change A lyft wt D ry3t and begyn a3en. Note: a subscript number 3 has been used to represent the Middle English letter "yogh." Modern instructions A. Put a loop of white onto A & B right and B & C left. B. Put a loop of black onto C & D right and A & D left. 1. A right goes through D & C left to take B left UNREVERSED. 2. Raise C & D left (C to B and D to C). 3. D left takes the inner loop of A right UNREVERSED. 4. A left goes through C & B right to take A right UNREVERSED. 5. Raise B & C right (B to A and C to B). 6. C right takes the inner loop of A left UNREVERSED. 7. C right exchanges with D left. 8. Reverse A, B & C right and B, C & D left. 9. A left exchanges with D right. Begin again.  Back to Alheydis's main Fingerloop Braiding Page |
 A pelican in its piety  Arrows with fletching  A close-up of the LaceFletched |
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THLady Alheydis von Körckhingen
(c) 2005-7 Kimberly Frodelius
may be freely distributed at no cost with this notice included
THLady Alheydis von Körckhingen
(c) 2005-7 Kimberly Frodelius
may be freely distributed at no cost with this notice included