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Nic Kipar

@eldergoth

Medieval dress historian 1200-1500. Creative practice researcher: re-creating historic (medieval) dress as academic practice. She or they.

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Latest posts by Nic Kipar @eldergoth

A black standing desk for a laptop is in a sunny Scottish conservatory. Yes, sunny and Scottish isn’t always an oxymoron. An open laptop is in the top shelf, an open print edition of a thesis is on the shelf below. There is no chance to actually work on typing changes into the Word document, because a white cat with a black back of his head is sitting smack bang on the thesis. His head is turned to look at the laptop screen.

A black standing desk for a laptop is in a sunny Scottish conservatory. Yes, sunny and Scottish isn’t always an oxymoron. An open laptop is in the top shelf, an open print edition of a thesis is on the shelf below. There is no chance to actually work on typing changes into the Word document, because a white cat with a black back of his head is sitting smack bang on the thesis. His head is turned to look at the laptop screen.

Happy Caturday. Still working in the corrections (or trying to, Tristan is “helping”). That’s what I get for veering into several disciplines. 😸

07.03.2026 11:46 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

people in the environment can be good for the environment

I was trying to explain this a few weeks ago to someone, but British culture is so estranged and alienated from its own industrial countryside, and Victorian/colonial gamekeeper lenses of conservation, all soaked in Malthusian fear

06.03.2026 08:45 👍 12 🔁 5 💬 2 📌 0

I know, right? How come I’ve never encountered the term before? It amazes me, again and again, that one can spend decades in a field and still be intrigued.

04.03.2026 14:35 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Can anyone recommend literature on paradata in archaeology, arts, heritage? I hadn't come across the term until today and something's tickling my brain i.e. wanting to make connections. #MedievalSky

04.03.2026 14:11 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Photo of one of my sketchbooks showing coloured pencil and pencil drawings of gem stones and settings from the 12th century, and embroidery designs

Photo of one of my sketchbooks showing coloured pencil and pencil drawings of gem stones and settings from the 12th century, and embroidery designs

I tried drawing tablets with pens before iPad and Apple pen, but you know what? I prefer paper and pencils. I am not artist, but one does not need to be an artist to enjoy drawing or painting.
Bunch of extant object studies for one of the artefacts I have been creating.

15.01.2025 19:47 👍 9 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Once I’ve moved to Germany, I’ll join the village choir. I was reassured that it doesn’t matter that I can’t actually sing. 🫣

03.03.2026 16:57 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Fashion and Clothing in Late Medieval Europe / Mode und Kleidung im Europa des späten Mittelalters - Abegg-Stiftung Das Buch präsentiert die Beiträge einer interdisziplinären Tagung, die 2006 vom Historischen Institut der Universität Bern und der Abegg-Stiftung organisiert wurde. Drei Themenkreise stehen im Mittelp...

Getting around restrictions: Schlotheuber, E. (2010) 'Best Clothes and Everyday Attire of Late Medieval Nuns', in Schwinges, R.C., Schorta, R. & Oschema, K. (eds.) Fashion and clothing in late Medieval Europe. Riggesberg; Basel: Abegg-Stiftung, pp. 139-154. abegg-stiftung.ch/publikation/...

19.01.2025 08:43 👍 8 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
Child's dress in a glass display case in the museum. It is simply cut, as all clothing of the period, because why cut something in silly fancy ways when there is a straightforward way of clothing the body. Long sleeves, scoop nec, and a wide gore set into the skirt at the front, to turn the narrow width into a skirt.

Child's dress in a glass display case in the museum. It is simply cut, as all clothing of the period, because why cut something in silly fancy ways when there is a straightforward way of clothing the body. Long sleeves, scoop nec, and a wide gore set into the skirt at the front, to turn the narrow width into a skirt.

Herjolfsnes in the Southern tip of Greenland was inhabited from start of Norse settlement to its end. Excavated byDanish archaeologist in 1921, very well preserved clothing was found in the cemetery. Now in the National Museum in Copenhagen 📷Amica Sundström & Maria Neijman historicaltextiles.org 2/

26.01.2025 06:07 👍 24 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
Reconciling the Privilege of a Few with the Common Good: Sumptuary Laws in Medieval and Early Modern Europe | Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies | Duke University Press

I'm going to post medieval sumptuary laws recs for the next few days. Muzzarelli, M. G. (2009) 'Reconciling the Privilege of a Few with the Common Good: Sumptuary Laws in Medieval and Early Modern Europe', Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 39(3), pp. 597-617. doi.org/10.1215/1082...

02.01.2025 08:59 👍 27 🔁 7 💬 2 📌 4
Book cover of "madder red" in a very bright, not unexpectedly, red. In the middle is a drawing of madder plants in blue on white.

Book cover of "madder red" in a very bright, not unexpectedly, red. In the middle is a drawing of madder plants in blue on white.

Chenciner, R. (2000) Madder red: a history of luxury and trade: plant dyes and pigments in world commerce and art. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon.
"The secret and devilishly complex Oriental dyeing process to obtain the lustrous colour known as Turkey Red was avidly sought by Europeans"

06.02.2025 05:57 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

If you see this, post a knight.
(1250-75 BnF Français 2186 Li Romanz de la poire)

01.03.2026 07:24 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I need to check my parents’ guest flat for the bowl. Not sure they still have it. I remember many a dessert in those apple bowls in my childhood.

28.02.2026 19:01 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

So fancy! My parents only have the transparent version. You’re a right old fancy-pants with your amber ones.

28.02.2026 18:34 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Still true.

28.02.2026 14:35 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Photo of a thick, printed thesis on my lap. The lap isn't visible. On a small square, deep pink table are a Belvoir lime and yuzu bottle, a soda stream water bottle  and a tall filled glass. The late afternoon sun is streaming in, illuminating glass candle lantern  and cat fois containers on the windowsill.

Photo of a thick, printed thesis on my lap. The lap isn't visible. On a small square, deep pink table are a Belvoir lime and yuzu bottle, a soda stream water bottle and a tall filled glass. The late afternoon sun is streaming in, illuminating glass candle lantern and cat fois containers on the windowsill.

My wild Friday evening commenceth. Proofreading the final thesis version with Virgin Mojito and cats (out of sight) in the (rarely) sunny conservatory.

27.02.2026 16:56 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Here are the Top 5 Dogs of the week!

27.02.2026 15:36 👍 4161 🔁 732 💬 79 📌 71

🧪🦣🏺 I'm quoted here, and much of what I spoke about with Carl echoes April's comments.
Extra thoughts:
1. nice new piece for extending complexity in how we think about #Neanderthal interactions, though as authors note, multiple mechanisms (not just mate choice) possibly active in X chromo patterns

27.02.2026 09:19 👍 70 🔁 23 💬 3 📌 3

I can make clothes - I hope someone will hunt for food for me, and I'll make togs in return. Thanks to reenactment, I do know how to make fires at least.

27.02.2026 10:35 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

So weird.
So early 80s.
So weirdly good.

27.02.2026 06:07 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Of course

26.02.2026 21:07 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Thank you! And dooooo ittt. If you’d like any literature etc recs, let me know. Happy to have a Zoom chat

26.02.2026 20:37 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Wide shot of a living room with black floor and white, glass-doored bookshelves. In the centre is a mannequin with a c.1200 CE red silk floor length dress, standing in front of a grey backdrop. To the right and the left are diffuser lamps, and in the centre front the camera is visible on a tripod, Inception-like.

Wide shot of a living room with black floor and white, glass-doored bookshelves. In the centre is a mannequin with a c.1200 CE red silk floor length dress, standing in front of a grey backdrop. To the right and the left are diffuser lamps, and in the centre front the camera is visible on a tripod, Inception-like.

I turned my living room into a photo studio last night. Photographing red fabric is hard! One red silk, one red velvet. While not perfect, the final shots are better than any I tried before without the setup. Completed outfits are part of my creative practice PhD #HistoricDress #MedievalDress

26.02.2026 20:18 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
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Textiles from Hallstatt. Weaving Culture in Bronze and Iron Age Salt Mines. Textilien aus Hallstatt. Gewebte Kultur aus dem bronze- und eisenzeitlichen Salzbergwerk (Karina Grömer, Anton Kern, Hans Re... The salt mine of Hallstatt is home to more that 700 individual textile fragments, which makes it the the largest corpus of prehistoric textile finds in Europe (next to the textiles from the Dürrnberg ...

Hoffmann-de Keijzer et al. (2013) 'The colours and dyeing techniques of prehistoric textiles from the salt mines of Hallstatt', in Grömer et al. (eds.) Textiles from Hallstatt: weaving culture in Bronze Age and Iron Age salt mines: Vol. 29 Archaeolingua. Budapest, pp. 135-162. tinyurl.com/3enan36r

07.02.2025 06:23 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
image from the article which shows many samples of wool with different colours throughout the woad dyeing process

image from the article which shows many samples of wool with different colours throughout the woad dyeing process

Hartl, A., Proaño Gaibor, A. N., van Bommel, M. R. and Hoffmann-de Keijzer, R. (2015) 'Searching for blue: Experiments with woad fermentation vats and an explanation of the colours through dye analysis', Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2, pp. 9-39. doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...

04.02.2025 06:30 👍 10 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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Crimson, Scarlet, Murrey and Carnation: Red at the Court of Henry VIII Red, in all its various shades, was a colour with many associations at the court of Henry VIII. This article presents a thematic analysis of the key circumstances when red clothing was worn at Henr...

Hopping a few thousand years into the future from yestereday's rec: Hayward, M. (2007) 'Crimson, Scarlet, Murrey and Carnation: Red at the Court of Henry VIII', Textile History, 38(2), pp. 135-150. doi.org/10.1179/0040... #EarlyModern #DressHistory

08.02.2025 07:01 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0

⏱️ Just one week left to apply ⏱️

24.02.2026 14:07 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Our Titles > the Colourful Past

Aimed at conservators, the book is about most used dyestuffs for textiles. Hofenk de Graaff, J. H., Roelofs, W. G. T. and Bommel, M. R. v. (2004) The colourful past: origins, chemistry and identification of natural dyestuffs. Riggisberg, Switzerland: Abegg-Stiftung. tinyurl.com/3r4hnvud

10.02.2025 07:48 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.

FYI, Academia.edu has changed its terms of service to give an irrevocable worldwide license for anything uploaded to its site to be used for generative AI. I do not consent to this and have pulled all my papers.

21.02.2026 16:52 👍 602 🔁 490 💬 14 📌 77
White cat with black spots twisted and halfway lying on his back with legs every which way. He is on a soft pad on top of a white desk, beside a keyboard. He is looking at the camera.

White cat with black spots twisted and halfway lying on his back with legs every which way. He is on a soft pad on top of a white desk, beside a keyboard. He is looking at the camera.

Happy Caturday from Tristan

21.02.2026 09:19 👍 12 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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The natural constituents of historical textile dyes The sources and structures of dyes used to colour Western historical textiles are described in this tutorial review. Most blue and purple colours were derived from indigo—obtained either from woad or ...

Collaboration between University of Edinburgh's School of Chemistry and National Museum of Scotland:
Ferreira, E. S. B., Hulme, A. N., McNab, H. and Quye, A. (2004) 'The natural constituents of historical textile dyes', CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS, 33(6), pp. 329-336. doi.org/10.1039/b305...

03.02.2025 06:43 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0