Linen History

          Linen can be traced back to 10.000 years A.D. and then in Egypt where its fiber was used for the spinning of fine linen cloths, sails for navigating, ropes and nets for fishing. Egyptians believed that the Goddess Isis was the inventor of the flax plant, In New York and Paris, museums display mummies from 5000 B. C wrapped in pure linen strips. To the priestly rank it was wore to symbolize purity and fidelity, and linen was always used to dress mummies.

    Ancient historians tell us that linen cloths of 360 fine strands in each thread were spun and dedicated to the Goddess Athena or Rhodes, while mythology tells us that Hilda, goddess of the earth, taught man how to cultivate and weave linen.

    It is even believed that the voyage of the Argonauts from Greece to Cochis was in fact inspired by the desire to learn the secret of making beautiful linen that was then of great value and equal to any Egyptian cloth.

    Great navigators of antiquity, the Phoenicians bought linen in Egypt and  introduced it to the Greeks and the Romans, after passing by Ireland, England and Brittany. They also mastered the art of dying materials.

    Many times the words referring to linen are found in Homer, Pliny, Herodotus to mention a few, becoming a historical record of when the plant was cultivated.                                                                                             Phoenicians

Aristophanes (left) tell us that Romans found cultivating flax very tiring, but because luxury items became very popular during the empire era, linen was in demand. Pamphile the firs designer loved to dress women in this “weaved breeze”, so light.

 In Gaul linen was cultivated well before the Roman invade the country, but it is Charlemagne who really helped develop its use. He encouraged servants to weave in
the homes. Unfortunately a certain chaos to Europe over and during those difficult years, the use of linen was almost abandoned, giving way to the wear of wool and leather.

When towns and cities developed and life was a little easier for everyone, commerce helped linen reclaim its place of honor. It was believed to have therapeutic properties such as helping certain skin diseases.

 Linen  was even used for embroidery. A perfect example is the Bayeux tapestry (left),  by Mathilde wife of Guillaume Duke of Normandy

Until the 16^th century, flax seeds were produced locally. Because the plant does better in colder  climate, it would degenerate after two to three years in milder weather. To help the struggling farmers, Roscoff seamen had the great idea to bring back with them from the Baltic Sea region linen seed that were no as demanding or delicate as the ones cultivated in central Europe. The result was great. Rich soil was not even a must anymore and the plant would give out flowers that were three times taller.

In France Colbert invited weaver from Flanders to help create finer linen cloths and successfully opened lace factories.

   Without this solution the linen production would not have developed the way it did in the 17^th century.

  In the 18^th century, almost everything is made with linen: laces, handkerchiefs, fine materials, sails, ropes. Almost 745.000 acres were cultivated by 4 million workers.

  Two acres would produce 5000lbs of straws and 1300 lbs of fibers. They required 1000 day of cultivating, 3000 days for spinning and 1500 days for weaving. During that time all the work was done on the farm, from the sowing to the weaving stage.

  In 1840, Napoleon 1^st (right) declared that a million francs would be given to the inventor of the best linen weaving machine. This decree opened the doors to the textile industry.

  Mr. Marie Joseph Jacquard invented the first machine to comb linen. One worker was now able to weave mechanically material with intricate designs with the help of a perforated board where an original design had been reproduced tot a larger scale.

  He also invented a linen spinning machine that would be perfected towards the end of the 20^th century. Industrialization replaced most of the work done on the farm or at home.

  Linen will now become primarily a fiber used in the clothing industry. But unfortunately, most small farmers could not keep up with the industries demand and flax farming declined in certain areas of Europe.

  In the late 19 and early 20^th century, Russia became the leading producer and exporter of flax and linen..

  The arrival of cotton brought linen’s popularity to a stop until the beginning of the 20^th century. But linen is a living fiber and its history continues.

 The linen industry is now very knowledgeable and uses all aspects of the new technology to maintain the farming of disease fighting flax seeds to premium quality linen products.