Conceived | Spring 2022 |
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Last updated | Summer 2024 |
Consisting of |
Gugel Basket face-piece Tunic |
Materials |
Natural-coloured 100% linen fabric ~2.5x1.5m Straw woven basket ~21cm Ø |
Method | hand-sewn |
Pattern | Self-drafted; taken from online sources |
Primary Inspiration | Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Beekeepers, circa 1568 |
Here are all depictions of medieval and renaissance beekeepers I could find that wear a uniform with any sort of face covering.
For medieval reenactors that seek to depict an accurate beekeeper, these pose a certain challenge: only the beekeepers in Bruegel’s pen drawing distinctly wear a woven basket as face piece. All the others could be wearing one made of wire, a kind of sieve, or simply fabric draped over their face; which would, if we follow the basic etiquette/rules of reenacting, make the beekeeper with a basket face Renaissance, and not Medieval.
In the sphere of historical reenactment, it is important to back up depicitons with sufficient sources, be it in art or actual findings of surviving garments (which is obviously very difficult in this case), and one has to acknowledge that for the beekeeper, there simply isn’t enough material to make the claim that basket-faced professionals existed before the 1500s. It is reasonably possible, since baskets did exist then, and were most likely cheaper and more widely available than wire mesh, but we can’t say for sure.
This is, of course, mostly important to those who wish to be historically accurate, for example those who are part of a reenactment group that specializes in a specific time frame. For hobbyists, let this simply be an interesting tidbit I thought worth mentioning.
Die Bienenzüchter. Das Blatt zeigt vermutlich einen Handlungsablauf. Federzeichnung etwa 1568. Pieter Bruegel der Ältere (1526/1530–1569) |
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GERING ACKERBAU WEN IN REÜSSEN. Early illustration of a beekeeper. Showing two bee baskets and a beekeeper. From the German edition of Sebastian Münster's Cosmography, titled Cosmographey oder beschreibung aller Länder, published 1574 by Heinrich Petri in Basel. First published in 1544. |
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Georgics. Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. G. 98. fol. 049v: Italy, Milan: 15th century, middle Beekeepers, beehives, extraction of honey; in initial, Virgil writing. Two beekeepers in uniform tend to beehives, smoking them, while two more, dressed in normal clothes, seem to be extracting the honey. |
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VERGILIUS, Bucolica, Georgica, Aeneis. France, Lyon, Bibliothèque de la Part-Dieu - P.A. 27, 248 f. 15e s. (ca. 1411) ; 15e s. (milieu) ; 15e s. (fin) Depicting a beekeeper tanging a swarm of bees. |
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Neu vollkommen Kräuter-buch : Darinnen über 3000. Kräuter. Theodorus, Iacobus; Date Original 1613. According to Forster: Die Biene: appeared in publications in 1588 and in the 15th century. Also depicting a beekeeper tanging a swarm of bees. |
All the photographs on this page are (c) blamensir or the courtesy of affiliated parties. Unauthorized use is forbidden! For inquiries, please contact me at blankmanger(at)gmail(dot)com