Medieval Illustrations of Spinning
Woman carrying a distaff (under her arm) and drop spindle (hanging from the distaff) while feeding chickens.
Luttrell Psalter, British Library, London
14th c. England
Medieval illustrations frequently show women carrying a spindle while engaged in other tasks. It took several spinners to supply one weaver, so the industrious housewife used every spare moment for spinning. The distaff kept the fibers (wool or flax) organized and clean until they were spun.
Woman spinning flax using a drop spindle and distaff.
MS Fr. 599, f. 40, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
15th c. France
Even after the introduction of the great or walking wheel in the 13th century, the drop spindle continued to be used. The great wheel operated more quickly than a drop spindle, but it produced inferior thread. The drop spindle was not superseded by the spinning wheel until the 16th century, when the design of the spinning wheel was improved by the addition of a treadle and "flyer."
Weaving, spinning, carding wool, and combing flax.
MS Royal 16 Gv, f. 56, British Library, London
15th c. France
Wool was combed or carded to remove dirt and align the fibers (for easier spinning). Cards were wooden paddles set with fine teeth.
Weaving, spinning, and combing flax (?).
MS Fr. 598, f. 70v, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
15th c. France
Combs with iron teeth set at a right angle to the handle were used to comb wool. Used in pairs, the combs were either held one in each hand or one comb was set in a stand (see above) and the other was held in the hand. In England, this type of wool comb has been found in archaeological sites dating to the sixth century.
Woman spinning on the great or walking wheel.
Luttrell Psalter, British Library, London
14th c. England
The great wheel produced thread more quickly than the drop spindle, but the thread was lower quality. It was underspun (not twisted enough) and uneven. The wheel was turned by pushing a stick against the spokes (above) or by turning a crank. Because the spinner had to use one hand to operate the wheel, she was left with only one hand to draft the fibers, resulting in uneven thread.
Woman spinning on a great wheel which is turned by a crank.
MS 17, Musee Dobree, Nantes
16th c. France
The spinner above is drafting the fibers with one hand and turning the crank with the other. The next step in the evolution of the spinning wheel was to attach a foot treadle to the crank. The spinner could then use her foot to turn the wheel, freeing both hands for drafting.
Unwinding thread from the drop spindle and making a skein.
MS Fr. 599, f. 48, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
15th c. France
The spun thread was unwound from the spindle into a skein or ball. At this point, the thread might be ready for weaving, or it might first be dyed or plied (twisted with other thread to create a single heavier thread).
Bibliography

Backhouse, Janet. Medieval Rural Life in the Luttrell Psalter. 2000. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press.

Barber, Elizabeth Wayland. Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years (Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times.) 1994. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Crowfoot, Elisabeth and Frances Pritchard and Kay Staniland. Textiles and Clothing c.1150-1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 4). 2001 (reprint). Woodbridge, Great Britain: The Boydell Press.

Fox, Sally. The Medieval Woman: An Illuminated Book of Days. 1985. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Gies, Frances and Joseph Gies. Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages. 1994. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
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