Yarn Along & Medieval Family Life

This week, I'm once again joining the Yarn Along with Ginny and my other fellow knitters!

On the knitting front, I'm excited to report that the third swatch of the Norns Project is totally completed!

This is really the first time it's had a remote resemblance to the blanket it's destined to be...

...and I have to say I'm thoroughly delighted with the results!

Here's a sneak peak of the yarn I'll be using for the next panel - I can't wait to show you part of the completed pattern next week!

As for my reading, I am about to begin a book I've long wanted to read: Frances Guise's Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages. I'm so excited to explore this facet of the Middle Ages!

So often we simply think of the Middle Ages personified as William the Conqueror and King Arthur or (as in my case) Sven Forkbeard and Brian Borúma.

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Even the notable women of this era tend to be political figures or at least extraordinary ones, such as the formidable Eleanor of Acquitane, the "she-wolf" Isabella of France, or the "far-traveler" Gudrid Karlsefni.

photo source

Yet there were also everyday people living everyday lives apart from the ravages of battle and the expeditions of adventurers. And these people were husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, brothers and sisters and children. I'll be back over the weekend or early next week, sharing some thoughts from this deeply important yet often overlooked aspect of Medieval life!

Also, I've been looking through my old files and I happened to stumble across some essays I wrote for an advanced placement Art History class last year. I really enjoyed rereading my papers on Medieval art in particular, and I'll probably be posting a few of those up here over the next few weeks (although enhanced with pictures of the art I'm discussing!).

In the meantime. happy knitting and reading to all of you!!!