One thing we love about visiting the SCA re-enactments is the opportunity to check out the clothing and jewelry that was popular during that time. We like learning about the textiles, dyes and patterns they used. We've never tried to make any, but we do appreciate it. Maybe because we're girls. My daughters definitely want to have authentic medieval outfits, but the amount of work that goes into them is just maddening. Jewelry is a different story, though. There are some great historical jewelry reproductions. Especially if you're looking for Celtic designs. Celtic jewelry is beautiful and easy to find, too (especially since I just gave you a link to click on!) I absolutely love the Celtic knot patterns and I might even want one in tattoo form eventually.
I had to look up the term "Claddagh ring" and I'm so glad I did. According to Wikipedia:
The Claddagh ring (Irish: fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional Irish ring given as a token of love or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though elements of the design date to the late Roman period.
Isn't that sweet? I love the idea that jewelry can have its own story. You should seriously check out some of the beauitful designs, they have something for everyone, for sure. And learning about traditional and historic clothing and jewelry automatically teaches lessons about materials, livestock and farming practices of the day and helps to get an understanding of the lifestyle in the time period, instead of just memorizing dates and names. I was never interested in war history and when I was a kid, that's all history was; memorizing dates and names of winners of wars. BORING. This is one reason we homeschool, to learn what life was like back then, not about the wars.
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