The weather is fine and it is time to shear. Much of medieval England's economy was based upon sheep and wool. Sheep are an extremely useful animal. They mature rapidly, can reproduce at around ten months, can have twins and triplets, produce wool, meat, milk, and hides. They can be kept economically over the winter months as compared to cattle and can forage efficiently.
Many breeds of sheep depicted in medieval artwork appear small. Some of this is likely due to the artists interpretation. The sheep above are not much larger than house cats; very impractical. Popular belief is that they therefore were small primitive breeds like the Soay, Icelandic, and Shetland breeds. As there were no recorded breeds of sheep during much of the middle ages, rather "types" of sheep based on their wool quality, artwork and more reliably, the archaeological record are the places to go to determine the size and probable type of sheep breeds that existed.
www.bahs.org.uk/32n1a2.pdf
The modern Romney breed is considered to be a direct descendant of the Medieval Longwool. Bones of this stocky, medium sized sheep have been found in the midsection of England and are believed to have been introduced by the Romans. The Medieval Longwool was of a different type than the native British breeds. The native British breeds are fierce little animals, with dual coats - a more hairy outer coat and a downy soft woolly under coat - and impressive multiple horns.
The Luttrell Psalter depicts some sturdy, mid-sized sheep with very curly fleeces, very similar to a modern Romney. Although there are two animals in the manuscript that sport curling horns and are presumably rams, modern Romneys are polled. Occasionally a ram with "scurs" or wimpy hornlike spurs does crop up, a reversion to their medieval ancestors.
Although recently shorn, the curls are obvious in this Romney's fleece. This Romney has been sheared by the traditional method using a steel, bow-spring hand shears. Medieval illustrations of sheep shears are nearly identical to the modern version of the tool. The medieval versions most commonly have only one bow in the spring handle. The modern version used to shear the sheep in the photo has two bows in the handle. Medieval shears are depicted with both blunt and pointed ends. The blunt ended medieval examples are interesting because sharp, pointed shears are needed to slide into a fleece to facilitate a cut. Perhaps a different method is used when using a blunt sheep shears as opposed to a pointed shears? There is another theory for this.
This woman's shears appear pointed. The shears in the Illustration at the top of the page show blunt ended shears. Although there are depictions of blunt ended shears by different artists, as with the cat-sized sheep, this may be an artists interpretation. Blunt ended shears were used in the wool fulling process. Woolen cloth was washed vigorously after it came off the loom to set and tighten the weave. Then the cloth was laid out and brushed or carded to raise the nap and sheared to make a uniform surface. Shearing cloth with pointy ended shears is inherently disaster ridden as it would be so very easy to pierce the piece of cloth and make a hole - something sure to get you fired. An artist during the middle ages did not necessarily spend his time in agrarian pursuits. He knew shears were used to remove fleeces but the shears he was familiar with may have been a very different kind. A modern seamstress would scoff at a depiction of someone cutting out fabric with a hair cutting scissors - or to use correct terminology - shears.
Both sets of shears clearly show the single bow in the steel of the handle forming the spring. A sheep shears wants to stay open until you squeeze them shut. After the cut they spring open again. A bit of ingenious ancient technology that has not needed to be improved upon over thousands of years.
Romney wool has a long staple, about five to eight inches long. It is of medium grade and is a strong wool. It is well suited to being combed rather than carded. Combed wool is spun into worsted yarn, a smooth, strong yarn that weaves into a tough smooth cloth, excellent for outerwear. It has a moderate amount of lanolin - the "grease" that coats the wool fibers. Shearers were known for their soft hands. Lanolin was extracted for ointments and unguents by boiling a greasy fleece and skimming off the thick, sticky oil after it had cooled. Pieces of greasy fleece are an excellent remedy for "hot spots" on feet generated by ill fitting footwear or other chaffing, as in armor and under horse harness. It is soft and cushiony and the lanolin assists in relieving friction. It is a remedy still used by hikers today to prevent blisters, a dangerous eventuality. You can purchase tubes of pure lanolin at your local pharmacy. It is wonderful stuff. (Caution: Some individuals are allergic to lanolin. Try a small dab before rubbing in generally.)
This photo clearly shows excellent shearing technique. The edge of the shears are angled slightly up toward the shearer and small ridges in the newly shorn wool show the repeated pattern of this method. This ensures the sheep will not be sliced by the razor sharp shears. A sheep's skin is extremely tender and pulling at the wool lifts it where it can be easily caught in the cut. A shearer who slices a sheep the first time remembers the surprise and horror and diligently practices the correct technique!
Sheep shears must be sharp or they do not work. A whet stone is in a shearers hand often. The shears are dangerous and a thrashing sheep causes the shears to be tossed safely away into the grass on more than one occasion. Assistants who help restrain a large, irritable ram need to remind the shearer to mind who they're stabbing and practice good self preservation techniques while keeping the animal from kicking the shearers and leaping up and dragging its half-shorn fleece all over the meadow.
The next installment will go over preparing a fleece to spin.
