An introduction to early medieval embroidery in England
Lecturer: Dr. Alexandra Makin
Live Lecture Date: Saturday November 9, 2024 1PM Eastern
Live Lecture Registration: October 21 – November 7, 2024 1PM Eastern
Format: Live Lecture and Recording
Recording: Available through May 9, 2025
Click here to Register to see the Recording.
In this 50-minute talk we will be introduced to the exciting world of early medieval embroidery in England. We will learn about the fibres used to make the thread and where they came from and the stitches used to create motifs, why they we used and their deeper, hidden meanings. We will see the kinds of things embroideries were turned into and their place in early medieval society. Finally, we will briefly meet the people who made them and how their skills and ways of working evolved during this 6-century era (450 – 1100 CE) we now call the early medieval period.
Dr Alexandra Makin is a professional embroidery, trained on the Royal School of Needlework’s three-year apprenticeship, and a textile archaeologist (PhD), specialising in embroidery and textiles from early medieval Britain. At present she is working on the AHC funded Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard where she was the Post-Doctoral Research Associate for textiles. Alexandra also pursues her independent academic research, experimental archaeology work, and is consultant and textile analyst for archaeological units. Her book, The Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World: the sacred and secular power of embroidery, was published in 2019 and her co-edited volume, Textiles of the Viking North Atlantic: Analysis, Interpretation, Re-creation, will be out soon. She has published book chapters and journal articles and spoken on radio and TV about many aspects of early medieval embroidery, including the Bayeux Tapestry. Alexandra also owns and runs Early Medieval Embroidery where she designs and sells embroidery kits using ‘authentic’ early medieval materials and teaches embroidery workshops. Through the Early Medieval (mostly) Textiles blog and her YouTube channel, Early Medieval Embroidery, she keeps people up to date with her research.
