-Hi all---
>Forgive me, but if "brazilwood" was from Brazil, it was an export from the
>Portugese colony in South America and was not available until the early
>1500's, Jim
Not according to my sources (the HMSO book I quoted earlier).
"A third red dye which might be expected in any large group of medieval
textiles is brazilwood, obtained from the heartwood of trees of the
_Caesalpinia_ family. This dye seems to have been imported into Europe from
at least the late 12th century (Brunello 1973, 130-31, 137)." Goes on to
say that it is hard to detect in textiles which have been buried, but has
been positively identified in textiles surviving from aboveground.
Brunello is Brunello, F. _The Art of Dyeing in the History of Mankind_,
published in Italy in 1973.
Cheers--
Susan Carroll-Clark
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