Title: torches-msg
Subject: Medieval torches.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, torch, lighting, rush, pitch, tiki

torches-msg - 8/9/09

Medieval torches.

NOTE: See also the files: Rushlights-art, candles-msg, candlesticks-msg, firestarting-msg, flt-wick-lmps-art, lamps-msg, lighting-msg, Med-Lighting-lnks, Med-Lighting-art.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: bear at thebox (Walt Wilson)
Date: 5 Apr 91 21:12:33 GMT

00mjstum at bsu-ucs.uucp (Matthew J. Stum) writes:

> Portable outdoor lighting is the subject...
> 
> What was the "medieval" equivelent to a flashlight?  Were torches used?
> If so, does anyone have any good "recipes" for making long-lasting
> (dripless) torches?
> -- 
>    .                  /                | Matt Stum
>   . .                /                 | 00MJSTUM at BSUVAX1.BITNET
> |/-\/-\ |/-\ |/-\   /    |/-\ |/-\/-\  | 00MJSTUM at bsu-ucs.bsu.edu
> |  /  / |  / |  /   \__/ |  / |  /  /  |
>         |    |           |             | Ball State University, Muncie IN USA
>         |    |           |/\/          | VAX Systems Programmer

A spanking good pitch torch, I would imagine, or if inside, a large-wick 
candle in a polished semi-protective holder.  The torch might make you very 
unpopular and the candle has a nasty habit of dribbling hot wax.  This is 
one of the places where anachronism can be invoked for safety.  Use the 
flashlight or (with a grin) place a LUME STICK in your candle holder.

Bjorn

Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 17:46:23 -0400
From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com>
Subject: Re: SC - illusion food - cattails

Well, since we've been all around cattails (these are New World, right?),
I thought I would post a piece from a discusison from the Tavern Yard.
Not food, but, interesting information.
Christianna

I make a cattail candle that I use for a tiki torch. Leave the stem a
little long, and drive a pipe in the ground (paint the pipe and decorate
it the way you want).  Light the cattail, drop it in the pipe.  When it
burns down to the pipe, the fire goes out and the stem drops down the
pipe (easy clean up).  No messy oil to spill, just add another lighted
cat tail to the pipe, they will burn a long time according to how you
make them. Also, they can be a bug repellent depending on how you make
them.

First, you have to find some cattails.  You want to harvest them just
before they go to seed, if you cut them before then they are to dense to
absorb wax. (Make sure to cut the stem at least a foot long).
In a large pot, melt your paraffin (I like using a paraffin and bees
wax). Once the paraffin is melted you can add your citronella if you
want.  Put the cat tail in the pot of wax until you see it stop bubbling.

Then remove it and put it on newspaper head down.  I like to press a
short wick on the head at this time to help in the lighting or they are a
little hard to light. At this time I will also roll them in sage, or a
pennyroyal mix, or a rosemary mix.  Any of these will make a bug
repellent but be careful with the pennyroyal.  Once they are cool, just
keep dipping till you get them as thick as you want them.  The thicker
the wax, the longer they will burn, (you will need to pull the wick up
and out of the wax- I use a long nail).  When you get them where you want
them, roll them in the sage or rosemary again.  Let cool and put them up
for the next event.  You can get a tube of brass or aluminum.  Cut the
end at a 45 degree angle.  This is the end you put in the ground.  The
flat end is where you slide the stem when you want to light one.  When
the cat tail burns down the stem will fall down the tube and go out, the
wax burns up along with the cattail.

No muss no fuss.

BLOODSONG

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 18:01:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: H B <nn3_shay at yahoo.com>
To: Aethelmearc list <sca-aethelmearc at andrew.cmu.edu>,
        sca-arts list <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Nifty Torches at Sam's Club

I was just up at our local Sam's Club, and on display right as you walk
in was a pair (!) of Antique-Copper-Finish (on brass) oil-burning
torches, one 52" high, one 62" high, torch sort of a hemispherical
resevoir with a very shallow conical top to hold wick; shaft was
twisted square stock; base was a flat weighted circle, not a spike, so
suitable for floor or patio, didn't look to see if it could be
converted to a spike for outdoors.  Price was $69.98 (I think).  Not
like anything I've seen elsewhere, and immediately thought some of you
would be as interested as I was (and maybe some of you can afford
them!).  I hope I remembered all this correctly.  And sorry if you
think this is too far off topic, but I really liked them, and would be
interested if anyone else who has seen them would know if they are
anywhere near period in design, or just sort of medieval-ish-looking.
And would copper have been used in period for something like this?  I
would have perferred a brass or oxidized finish, myself.

-- Harriet

From: "Red Dog" <reddog at bluemoon.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period torches
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 09:31:50 -0400

Try this link. there are some plans for various period lighting
fixtures. You'll need "Acrobat Reader" to use the plans.

http://www.teleport.com/~tguptill/toc.htm

Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 12:53:15 -0400
From: dwilson at nbnet.nb.ca (dwilson)
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Taper`s

http://members.xoom.com/wendysweb/cattail.jpg
  This is a cattail swamp out back.  Are these the same plants that in
Europe they made tapers out of?  A taper being plant materal (In side
pith? ) soaked in cooking grease.  Dryed then put in a taper holder.  Lite
like a candle?
Sheepstealer

Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 11:29:29 -0600
From: Sue.Rogers at fritolay.com
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Taper`s

One of the plants that was used sometimes to make tapers was mullein (Verbascum
thapsus), which was sometimes known as "hags tapers" (also sometimes known as
"rabbit tobacco" in Arkansas).  Mullein grows in dry, sometimes rocky, areas
(Ozark mountains in Arkansas for one example).  It has large, fuzzy leaves
growing in a basal rosette (low to the ground in a circle, kind of like
dandelion grows).  It is a biennial, which means it flowers in the second year
of growth, then dies.  The bloom stalk is several feet tall (3 - 5) and about 1
- 2 inches in diameter.  The stalk is sturdy and fiberous, and may have small
leaves growing close to the stem, as well as small yellow flowers growing up the
stem.  Apparently this can be soaked in grease of some kind, and lighted for a
torch or taper.  Your description of the process sounds about right, except I
was not sure if it was dried after soaking in the grease, or if it was used
while greasy (i.e., the stalk acts like the wick to a tallow lamp, more or
less).  My understanding is that it is very smoky, and not too bright, and does
not last a long time, but I have not tried it to see.  (I find mullein more
valuable for coughs, so that is what I use it for.)

I do not have internet access, so can't see your picture of cattails, but
cattails are pretty distinctive, so you should be able to identify them easily.
I think the European cattail is similar to the American one, but I have not
looked it up.  Since cattails have similar properties to the mullein stalk
described above (large diameter, sturdy, fiberous), I would think they would
work the same way.  Are you going to try some and see how they work?  If you do,
please let us know how they work.  I think they work better before the stalks go
to fuzz, so it may be kind of late in the year to collect them right now,
depending on the climate where you are.

Suzanna, the herbalist, Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra (Dallas, TX
USA)

Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 17:13:47 -0000
From: "Melanie Wilson" <MelanieWilson at globalnomad.co.uk>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: rush lights

>Rushes,  juncus effusus

Soft Rushes, and yet well into the 19th C this was used to make rush lights
. Peel and soak in fat, then burn.

Here is how to prepare them from Revd Gilbert White

' The rushes are in best condition in the height of summer; but they may be
gathered, so as to serve the purpose well, quite on to auterm. It would be
needless to add that the largest and longest are best. Decayed labourers,
women and children, make it their business to procure and prepare them. As
soon as they are cut they must be flung into water, and kept there, for
otherwise they will dry and shrink, and the peel will not run.. At first a
person would find it no easy matter to divest a rush of its peel or rind,
so as to leave one regular, even rib from top to bottom thay may support the
pitch: but this, like other feats, soon becomes familiar even to children;
and we have seen an old woman, stone blind, performing this buisiness with
great dispatch, and seldom failing to strip them with nicest regularity.
When the junci are thus prepared they must lie out on the grass to be
bleched, and take the dew for some nights, and afterwards be dried in the
sun.

Some address is required in dipping these rushes in the scalding fat or
grease; but this knack also is to be attained by practice. The careful wife
of an industrious Hampshire labourer obtains all her fat for nothing; for
she saves the scummings of her bacon pot for this use and if the grease
abounds with salt, she causes the salt to precipitate to the bottom, by
setting the scrummings in a warm oven.....A pound of common grease may be
procured for 4 pence; and about 6 pounds of grease will dip a pound of
rushes....

If men that keep bees will mix a little wax with the grease, it will give it
a consistancy, and render it more cleanly, and make the rushes burn longer:
mutton suet would have the same effect. A good rush, which measured in
length 2 feet 4 inches and a half, being minuted, burnt only 3 minutes short
of an hour; and a rush still of greater length has been known to burn one
hour and a quarter. These rushes give good clear light...."

They are safer than tallow candles, have a clear smokeless(almost) flame.

Mel

Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 23:00:01 -0000
From: "Melanie Wilson" <MelanieWilson at globalnomad.co.uk>
To: "LIST Sca Arts" <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: rush lights

>A cat tail in the fall looks like a 6 inch black turd on a 4 ft high tan
>stick.  :-)

No this is more like Reedmace I think(often called bulrush due to a
Victorian artists error) . Soft rush is up to 3ft high, thin,
glossy green stems, yellowish flowers.

Does this black turd expolde into white stuff (used to be used to stuff
matresses)? and when black is it very velvety ?

Reedmace is also called cat's tail (Typha latifolia) so I think this must be
it ?

Real bulrush (not reedmace) was used for the floors.

Mel

From: "celia" <c_a_blay at hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: 27 Jun 2006 13:22:11 -0700

lopemanc at swbell.net wrote:
> Sorry if this is a little out of place, but this group appeared to be
> more on target than any other.  I have already found old posts in this
> group concerning the construction of medieval torches that have helped.
>  But I have a couple of questions left.
>
> For the most part construction of a torch as describe appears to be a
> branch or binding of twigs.  Often with a specially treated tip or
> material that is treated and tied to the tip.
>
> I did not see anything specific about the age of the wood.  If the
> shaft of the torch was just dried pine, I would expect the flame to
> burn down the shaft relatively quickly.  Is the shaft a green wood?  Or
> is it treated in some other what to keep it from catching fire?  Or is
> there a different answer?
>
> Also, How long could one of these Pine Resin torches burn for?
>
Dried Great Mullien dipped in tallow.
 I think I mentioned it in the Anglo Saxon Plant Name Survey
in this group a couple of months back.
There might be more information there.

 Celia

From: "bill" <billkilpatrick at virgilio.it>
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: 28 Jun 2006 03:13:38 -0700

wasn't pitch also used?

here in italy one can still see iron baskets in some towns - perched on
the corners of some buildings.  i have no idea what was put in them or
how long they were expected to illuminate the street below.

- bill

celia ha scritto:

> lopemanc at swbell.net wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Sorry if this is a little out of place, but this group appeared to be
> > more on target than any other.  I have already found old posts in this
> > group concerning the construction of medieval torches that have helped.
> >  But I have a couple of questions left.
> >
> > For the most part construction of a torch as describe appears to be a
> > branch or binding of twigs.  Often with a specially treated tip or
> > material that is treated and tied to the tip.
> >
> > I did not see anything specific about the age of the wood.  If the
> > shaft of the torch was just dried pine, I would expect the flame to
> > burn down the shaft relatively quickly.  Is the shaft a green wood?  Or
> > is it treated in some other what to keep it from catching fire?  Or is
> > there a different answer?
> >
> > Also, How long could one of these Pine Resin torches burn for?
> >
> Dried Great Mullien dipped in tallow.
>  I think I mentioned it in the Anglo Saxon Plant Name Survey
> in this group a couple of months back.
> There might be more information there.
> 
>  Celia

From: "celia" <c_a_blay at hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: 28 Jun 2006 04:35:26 -0700

bill wrote:
> wasn't pitch also used?
>
> here in italy one can still see iron baskets in some towns - perched on
> the corners of some buildings.  i have no idea what was put in them or
> how long they were expected to illuminate the street below.
>
> - bill

I suspect that pitch is what was meant by 'resin'
William is right though, resin is a very useful commodity.

 Celia

From: "William Black" <william.black at hotmail.co.uk>
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 19:26:08 +0100

<lopemanc at swbell.net> wrote:
> While this is good information and quite interesting, I believe my
> questions still remain unanswered.  Unless Dried Great Mullein simply
> does not burn.
>
> What keeps the shaft from burning down to the carrier's hand?

One assumes a metal cup of some sort.

The type usually reproduced in castles in the UK have a sort of miniature
metal cage on the end for the flammable material.  I assume someone has
actually lit these and made them work as English Heritage have a reputation
for getting this sort of thing right..

Most re-enactment societies use a length of wood as a handle,  fasten an old
baked bean tin on the end,  insert a toilet roll and soak that with white
spirit.

This will burn for two or three hours...
-- 
William Black

From: jacklinthicum at earthlink.net
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: 29 Jun 2006 11:50:48 -0700

William Black wrote:
> One assumes a metal cup of some sort.
>
> The type usually reproduced in castles in the UK have a sort of miniature
> metal cage on the end for the flammable material.  I assume someone has
> actually lit these and made them work as English Heritage have a reputation
> for getting this sort of thing right..
>
> Most re-enactment societies use a length of wood as a handle,  fasten an old
> baked bean tin on the end,  insert a toilet roll and soak that with white
> spirit.
>
> This will burn for two or three hours...
>
> --
> William Black

http://www.markland.org/lettherebelight.php

In the popular mind, the torch is the preferred form of lighting during
the Middle Ages. Unfortunately this is probably far from the truth. One
of the biggest problems in describing a medieval torch is that none
have appeared to have survived. The few descriptions of torches that
Robins discusses are either early Creek or from the 18th and early 19th
century. But given the conservative nature of folk technology, these
examples probably give a rather good example of what was possible in
the Middle Ages. Creek torches were bundles of sticks, indubitably of a
highly resinous wood. In one account from a medieval English
churchwarden's account describes "A torch of rosin weighing 11 lbs.".
Torches of this period are thought to be twisted wax or a course candle
made of mixture of resin and wax. The earliest depiction I have found
of a torch comes from a bas-relief on the tomb of Pierre de Gougis
(1440) in Paris. Identical torches are drawn in King Rene of Anjou's
Livre des Tournois, 1460-65. This depiction appears to be of several
long candles grouped around a central wooden shaft (Fig. 2).
[Illustration shows the body of the torch as long as the man carrying
it] A similar depiction occurs in a Flemish book from 1515. Every day
torches are thought to been made of resinous wood. In Italy until this
century, torches were fabricated from saplings that were beaten into
fibrous state and then impregnated with fat. In the 18th century
Scotland, men would stand behind seated guests and hold a burning
splinter of bog pine that naturally has a high concentration of
turpentine. An English recipe for a torch from 1935 consists of rope
treated with Stockholm tar, though resin, tal low, and beeswax, alone
or mixed could also be used. It is quite apparent that torches could be
made in a variety of ways by using what was locally available. In
England and Northern France, there was little in the way of resinous
woods that were available in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and the
Mediterranean. Bass fiber rope would have been used in Europe until the
introduction of hemp rope during the 13th century. I believe that a
torch could easily been made by tying some complex knot like a turks
head on top of a wood handle and then impregnate it tallow, resin, or
wax.

Two of the earliest, most common, and longest used forms of lighting
devices in Europe were the splinter and rush light. Used into the early
part of this century in rural areas, these contrivances were the common
man's candle. The splinter was a thin piece of resinous wood, that
could be coated with tallow, that was held between two rocks, wedged
into a crux of a stick or metal spines, or held in a simple metal clamp
(Fig. 3a & b) so that the burning end pointed down at an angle. A metal
plate was often placed under the splinter so as to reduce the chance of
fire. Splinters were in common use in Eastern Europe, Scotland,
Scandinavia, and the Mediterranean. England, lacking resinous trees,
developed the rushlight. Here a common soft rush is cut, soaked,
stripped, dried, and then dipped in fat or grease and then dried again.
As with splinters, the rush light was usually held in a small clamp or
split device (Fig. 3c & d ) but unlike splinters the rushlight was held
at an upward angle and lit at the top end. Some rushlight holders are
multipurpose having a candleholder attached to the arm of the clamp, To
give an example of the rushlight's capability a rush two and a quarter
long would burn for fifty-seven minutes. The splinter and rushlight
were easy to produce which indubitably led to wide spread use among the
common folk of Europe.

From: "bill" <billkilpatrick at virgilio.it>
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: 29 Jun 2006 09:55:30 -0700

chris - you might have already seen this but i think this will explain
all:

http://www.markland.org/lettherebelight.php

in the same way that wicks burn slowly while the oil they contain burns
fast, a stick or bundle of sticks, impregnated with a combustible
substance will not be consumed as quickly as the substance on or in it.

sounds like an excellent opportunity for some CAREFUL! experimentation
...
regards - bill

From: "Uwe M¸ller" <uwemueller at go4more.de>
Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval
Subject: Re: Medieval Torch Questions
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:37:40 +0200

"celia" <c_a_blay at hotmail.com> schrieb:
> Thanks, that's useful.
> The information in the thread 'Peasant Craftsmen in the
> Medieval Forest' about charcoal burning and the suitability
> of various woods for fine metal working came mainly
> from my brother who worked as a charcoal burner for
> several years.
>
>  Celia

Back to the original question. By chance I found something on Germanic torches.
In germanic cremation burials (pre migration age, off topic?) little pieces
of what was called resin were found. Analysis showed them to be made of
birch tar and wax and many pieces included pieces or impressions of rough
cloth.

These pieces are interpreted as pieces of torches made by wrapping a stick
or branch with strips of cloth saturated with this tar/wax mixture. The
torches would have been used while sorting bones and bits out of the ashes
of the funeral pyre or while putting the urn in the ground.

Uwe Mueller

Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 14:56:45 -0400
From: "Sharon Gordon" <gordonse at one.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Viking Dining Light
To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

As a series of facts in a book about Vikings the author notes that Vikings
lit their homes with torches of  bundles of marsh grass called lyssiv (light
straw).  It has a central core of wicklike white pith. 

Does anyone know if this was from an edible grain such as barley or flax?
I'd also be interested in whether the pith was used like a wick in oil or
fat or whether it was used to soak up oil in a more sponge like way and then
lit if anyone is familiar with this.

Sharon

Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:01:55 -0400
From: Gretchen Beck <grm at andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Viking Dining Light
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

--On Wednesday, April 01, 2009 2:56 PM -0400 Sharon Gordon
<gordonse at one.net> wrote:
<< Does anyone know if this was from an edible grain such as barley or flax?
I'd also be interested in whether the pith was used like a wick in oil or
fat or whether it was used to soak up oil in a more sponge like way and
then lit if anyone is familiar with this. >>

According to www.rolv.no/urtemedisin/medisinplanter/junc_eff.htm, the plant
modernly known as lyssiv is a species of reed or rush. The translation of
the page notes:

LYSSIV  
Juncus effusus Juncus effusus  

ANDRE NORSKE NAVN NORSKE OTHER NAME  
Rundsev, rundstorr, veikjegras, ljossev. Rundsev, around major, veikjegras,
ljossev.  

VITENSKAPELIG NAVN / SYNONYMER VITENSKAPENS NAME / SYNONYMS  
Juncus effusus L. Juncus effusus L.  

NAVN P? ANDRE SPR?K NAME OF OTHER LANGUAGES  
SVENSK: Veket?g. SWEDISH: Veket?g.  
DANSK : Lyse-Siv. DANISH: Lyse-Siv.  
ISLANDSK: ICELANDIC:  
FINSK: Finnish:   R?yhyvihvil?. R?yhyvihvil?.  
ENGELSK : Soft rush, Rush, Bog rush , Common rush, Rush pith, Juncus.
ENGLISH: Soft rush, Rush, Bog rush, common rush, Rush pith, Juncus.  
TYSK : Flatterige Binse, Flatter-Binse, Lockebl?tige Binse. GERMAN:
Flatterige bins, flat-bins, Lockebl?tige bins.  
FRANSK: Jonc ? lier, Jonc ?pars. FRENCH: jonc ? lier, jonc EPAR.  
SPANSK: Junco de esteras, junquera. SPANISH: Junco de ester, junquera.  
KINESISK: Deng Xin Cao. CHINESE: Deng Xin Cao.  

FAMILIE FAMILY  
Sivfamilien (Juncaceae). Sivfamilien (Juncaceae).  

Foto ?: Rolv Hjelmstad Photo ?: Rolv Hjelmstad  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOTANISK BESKRIVELSE BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION  
Et fler?rig siv med 40-120 cm h?ye, friskt gr?nne str? som sitter i
store, tette tuer. Slirene m?rkebrune eller svartr?de. A perennial reed
with 40-120 cm high, fresh green straw that is in large, dense hikes.
Sheath dark brown or black red. Str?ene er glatte, med 40-70 langsg?ende
striper. Str?ene is smooth, with 40-70 longitudinal stripes.
Blomsterstanden er oftest et ?pent knippe med blekt brune blomster, 1?
? 3 mm lange. Flowers stand is usually an open knippe with pale brown
flowers, 1 ? - 3 mm long. Vokser p? fuktig beitemark, i eng og gr?fter.
Grows in damp pastures, in eng and ditches. Planten er ikke kalkkrevende.
The plant is not lime-consuming.  

and

REVIEWS  
Bruk av lyssiv i Norge Use of lyssiv in Norway 

I Norge finnes det en annen sivart, knappsiv ( Juncus conglomeratus ), som
er temmelig lik lyssiv, og folk flest har neppe skilt mellom disse to
artene. In Norway, there is another sivart, knappsiv (Juncus
conglomeratus), which is fairly similar lyssiv, and most people have hardly
separated between these two species. Det sikreste kjennetegnet for ?
skille lyssiv og knappsiv er str?ets farge, som hos lyssiv er friskt
gr?nt, mens knappsiv er mer matt gr?gr?nt. The safest characterized to
distinguish lyssiv and knappsiv is straw color, which at lyssiv is fresh
green, while knappsiv is more matt gr?gr?nt. Knappsivstr?ene er dessuten
mer ru enn str?ene til lyssiv. Knappsivstr?ene is also more than ru
str?ene to lyssiv. Inne i det runde str?et hos begge artene finnes et
svampaktig vev som kan frigj?res og anvendes. Inside the round straw of
both species is a sponge-like tissue that can be released and applied. Man
?pner str?et nederst med naglen og skyver margen ut. Monday open straw
bottom of the nail and push the margin out. Den hvite, svampaktige
"tr?den" man da f?r ut ble i eldre tider brukt som veke i tranlamper. The
white, sponge-like "thread" but then get out was in older times used as a
wick in transnational lamps. Det het seg at man m?tte ta ut denne margen
p? voksende m?ne, da var den fastere og tykkere enn ellers. The het up
that you had to take out the margin on the growing moon, when was the
firmer and thicker than elsewhere. 

toodles, margaret

Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 14:32:17 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Pixel, Goddess and Queen" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Viking Dining Light
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

On Wed, 1 Apr 2009, Sharon Gordon wrote:
<<< As a series of facts in a book about Vikings the author notes that Vikings
lit their homes with torches of  bundles of marsh grass called lyssiv (light
straw).  It has a central core of wicklike white pith.

Does anyone know if this was from an edible grain such as barley or flax?
I'd also be interested in whether the pith was used like a wick in oil or
fat or whether it was used to soak up oil in a more sponge like way and then
lit if anyone is familiar with this.

Sharon >>>

It would have been used for fats that are less solid than say, beeswax, or 
liquid oils. Look up "rushlight" for an idea of what they're talking 
about, and also "cresset" which is an oil lamp made of soapstone or other 
material.

Rushlights are also period for much of Europe--there's a wrought-iron 
rushlight holder in the Medieval Household book from the Museum of London 
that looks for all the world like the rushlight holders that were used in 
colonial times in the US.

Margaret FitzWilliam

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