Iron Stoves in the Middle Ages?

While doing research for my book on world explorer Jacques Cartier, I was quite surprised to learn that there were iron stoves aboard ship. When they built the fort along the Saint Charles River, they brought the stoves on land to put in Cartier's hut and other highly ranked officers' quarters.

I searched high and low and couldn't find a single illustration or picture of an iron stove in the 16th century. But my research did prove that there were indeed iron stoves in the 1500s. And it makes sense, that if Cartier had a ship with iron cannons as he did on the Grande Hermine, then why wouldn't he have iron stoves?

Perhaps they looked similar to the one pictured below, date unknown.

http://www.willishenry.com/auctions/04/shaker04/images/193%20stove.jpg

This is intriguing because this is a very different stove compared to the ornate wood stove King Francis I had in his castle (see below). King Francis I is the king who sent Cartier to explore the new world for a Northwest Passage to Cathay (China).

http://www.guyotbrothers.com/fun/wood-burning-stove.htm

Middle Ages Crucifix

http://www.crescentcityauctiongallery.com/5.12.12BIG.asp?item=729

When Cartier met with the Natives of Hochelaga, he was so moved by their hunger for healing, he shared Christ with them. He knew this because they brought all their sick to him for him to lay hands on them. How did they know to do this? I wish I knew.

He took off the crucifix around his neck and gave it to the first native he met on the trail to the village. Why did he do that? I wish I knew that, too, because that wasn't something one did as a practice. Perhaps the native showed a keen interest in it. Cartier wanted to spread the gospel--was this one way he chose to do so?

What did the crucifix look like? I wonder. Maybe it was similar to some of those pictured above.

Hatchets in the Middle Ages

Who knew there was so much to know about hatchets?

In doing my research for my book about Jacques Cartier, I came across this picture of a French hatchet dated to the Middle Ages.

I love the contours of the blade. It sparks my imagination for some reason.

This is the type of hatchet that Cartier would have traded with the natives of Newfoundland and along the banks of the St. Lawrence river in the area of Quebec between 1534-1541.

Source

Le Grande Hermine

The ship that Cartier sailed on during his second voyage to find the Northwest Passage in Canada, thereby exploring the St. Lawrence River. Le Grande Hermine. Pictured below is a replica of the ship exhibited at 1967 World Expo in Montreal.

A drawing of the ship at sea. The second voyage was fraught with storms:

Pattens again!

I am fascinated almost to the point of obsession regarding pattens. I wrote about them here and here. And below is another pair!

 

From the website where I found these:

"Pattens were worn to lift the shoe out of the dirt and damp. Being somewhat heavy and clumsy, they were mainly used by working-class or country women.
These pattens, however, have pointed toes to fit a fashionable woman's shoe and a depression at the back where a small heel could sit. The shoe would have been fastened into the patten by means of ribbon-laced latchets. All this, and the fact that the latchets are covered in velvet, suggests that the patterns were worn by someone of considerable wealth."

UPDATE:
PATTENS ARE BACK!

They probably never went out of style. But when this came scrolling across my dash I was happier than a puppy with two tails. Not that I'd ever wear these, but it seems that everything old is new again. As it says in Ecclesiastes 1:9:

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Iris Van Herpen Ready To Wear Spring Summer 2016 Paris / NOWFASHION.com

Thom Browne Ready To Wear Spring Summer 2016 New York / NOWFASHION.com

Pattens -- Fancy ones this time!

Remember when I wrote about pattens? Today we wear overshoes or boots, but in the middle ages and forward, people wore pattens to keep their feet dry or out of the mud. Look at these 18th century beauties! 

 

Aren't these just delicious? I'm not sure how well they kept one's shoes tidy in deep mud, but the thought of a dainty lady wearing these to protect her new shoes is fascinating, isn't it? The pattens are as pretty as the shoe!

Artifacts from the Mary Rose

In my last post, I wrote about Carracks--the type of ships that Jacques Cartier sailed in when exploring what is now the area of Newfoundland.

I also mentioned the ship, the Mary Rose, which sank on July 15, 1545 and was discovered and resurrected from the depths in 1982.

This post highlights some of the artifacts from this ship. Its discovery gives modern historians the clearest revelations of day to day Medieval life ever studied. From shoes, to musical instruments, many things can be learned from this incredible find. I am using these artifacts to help me in my research of my book on Jacques Cartier.

A collection of daggers. It's amazing how preserved the hilts are.

 

 Lantern (above) and candle holder (below lantern). When you realize how much the Tudors relied on fire to see at night it's amazing that more fires didn't occur aboard rocking ships.

 

A comb and its leather pouch. If you look really close at the right hand side of the fine toothed comb in the first pic above you'll see a 500 year old nit!

 

Leather bucket.

 Wooden bucket.

Wooden tankard. Sailors were rationed a gallon of beer a day. 

Carpentry tools. Imagine trying to build a ship or home with tools like these.

Rigging blocks and their pulleys. Even some of the rope is preserved. Amazing.

 This is part of an anchor rope. Check out this video to see how huge it is. For those who are landlocked (like me here in Indiana) it's hard to visualize these things in real life. This video was a revelation!

It's been amazing fun researching this book. Now I'm back in the cave putting all the pieces together on paper! When you read the book, you just might see some of the interesting artifacts mentioned here.