Audiovisual posts

Every so often YT suspends entire channels because of copyright violations. I will not delete the relevant post because channel owners often re-upload on new channels. In the meantime—provided I've noticed the loss—the post title will appear in small print.

Videos:

Playlists:
Warfare, Religion, Thought, Sex:
Inside the Medieval Mind – Power .
Inside the Medieval Mind – Belief .
Inside the Medieval Mind – Knowledge .
Inside the Medieval Mind – Sex .

Hunter-Gatherers.
Playlist Wild Food.

Medicine: Plague .



History of Britain - Dynasty .
History of Britain - Nations .
History of Britain - King Death .

Adventures in English - Birth of a Language: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, (5 omitted), 6, (7, 8 omitted)



Technology:
posted by mediea
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Wood use - Bark

Although oak bark was used extensively for tanning in Britain, other plant materials were substituted: fir, white willow (Salix alba), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa), oak galls, birch, alder, hemlock, heather, and the rhizomes of some ferns.

Oak bark contains both types of tannin: catechols and pyrogallols.

Catechols: more astringent, act more quickly than pyrogallols, producing leathers of pink, red or dark brown hues: birch, hemlock, alder, and fir bark.

Pyrogallols improve leather's wearing properties and resistance to water, so they are favored for sole leather, bookbinding, and upholstery. They produce pale leather varying from creamy or yellowish to light brown: sweet chestnut, oak galls, and oak-wood.
Alder (Alnus glutinosa) has astringent bark and is used for tanning and dyeing.

Birches
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)

Ground birch bark, fermented in sea water, is used for seasoning the woolen, hemp or linen sails and hemp rope of traditional Norwegian boats. The bark will burn very well even when wet because of the oils it contains.


The bark of Bird Cherry (Prunus padus), placed at the door, was supposed to ward off plague.


. Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .
posted by mediea

Wood use - Coppice

Coppicing is a traditional technique of woodland management that relies upon the ability of trees to regenerate as shoots after being severed close to the ground.

In southern Britain, coppiced trees were traditionally hazel, hornbeam, beech, ash, or oak, grown amongst oak or sometimes ash or beech standards; alder and willows were coppiced in wet areas. Coppice with standards is variation in which scattered individual stems are allowed to grow on through several coppice cycles. The technique provides greater flexibility in the range of materials produced by a given area of woodland.

In north-west England, coppice-with-standards has been the norm, the standards often of oak with relatively little simple coppice.


Alder (Alnus glutinosa) thrives in moist soils, so it is important as coppice-wood on marshy ground.






Under construction
posted by mediea
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Wood use - Charcoal

Charcoal results from the carbonization of wood in low oxygen conditions.






. Bark . Charcoal . Coppice . Dye . Fine-grain . Firewood . Flavoring . Fodder . Fruit . Hardwood . Hedgerows . Indoor use only . Marshy or moist soil . Medicinal . Moisture resistance . Paper . Piles . Seeds and Nuts . Softwood . Special Uses . Superstition .

. Wood and Trees - external links .

. Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .
posted by mediea

Wood use - Dye

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) has astringent bark and is used for tanning and dyeing.

A green dye can be prepared from the Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) plant.



posted by mediea

Wood use - Fine-grain

European Beech, Common Beech:

The European Beech has a fine and short grain, making it easy to work, soak, dye (except its heartwood), varnish, and glue. It is used in the manufacture of numerous objects and implements. It has an excellent finish and is resistant to compression and splitting. Milling is sometimes difficult due to cracking and it is stiff when flexed.

It is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, particularly furniture. From chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases. Its hardness renders it ideal for making wooden mallets and workbench tops. However, the European Beech is not sufficiently strong to provide heavy structural support, and it should not be left outdoors. The wood of the European Beech rots easily if it is not protected by a tar based on a distillate of its own bark (as used in railway sleepers).

Box (Buxus sempervirens; southern England only)

Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for fine wood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available.


Under construction
posted by mediea

Wood use - Firewood

Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) makes excellent firewood.

Common beech is an excellent firewood, easily split and burning for many hours with bright but calm flames. It is considered one of the best fire woods for fireplaces.

Birches
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)

Birch is used as firewood due to its high calorific value per unit weight and unit volume. It burns well, without popping, even when frozen and freshly hewn. The bark will burn very well even when wet because of the oils it contains.

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is a good fire wood that burns with a good heat and little smoke.
posted by mediea

Wood use - Flavoring


Under construction
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Wood use - Fodder


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Wood use - Fruits and Berries

Apples:
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)

(domesticated apples are descendents of Malus sieversii, a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, eastern Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Northern Afghanistan and Xinjiang, China.)

posted by mediea

Wood use - Hardwood

Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is hard, dense, tough and very strong but elastic.

Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) has hard, reddish-brown wood (cherry wood), and is valued as a hardwood for woodturning, and making cabinets and musical instruments.


posted by mediea

Wood use - Hedgerows

An interesting article on Hooper's Law and the history of English hedgerows can be found here.

The Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) shrub, with its savage thorns, is traditional in Northern Europe and Britain in making a hedge proof against cattle. A "sloe-thorn worm" used as fishing bait is mentioned in the 15th century work, The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle, by Juliana Berners.


. Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .

Under construction

posted by mediea

Wood use - Indoor use only


Under construction
posted by mediea

Wood use - Marshy or moist soil

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) thrives in moist soils, so it is important as coppice-wood on marshy ground.


Under construction
posted by mediea

Wood use - Medicinal

A word of caution—medical care during the Middle Ages was primitive at best, dangerous at worst. For example, physicians based their treatments on the mythical 'Four Humors' and it was widely believed that “God” had provided remedies coded by appearance. With regard to herbal medicines, ‘natural’ is not necessarily preferable. After all, Atropa belladonna—Deadly Nightshade—is natural, as is Amanita muscaria.
The Bird Cherry (Prunus padus) was used medicinally during the Middle Ages.

posted by mediea

Wood use - Moisture resistance

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is very durable underwater, and it is therefore used for piles.

Resistance to rot:

a) wood contains chemicals that deter agents of decomposition: cedars, redwood, cypress
b) wood contains tyloses that fill the wood’s pores and provide a physical barrier to rot: white oak, black locust; black cherry, black walnut.

Tropical woods: teak, mahogany; balau, eucalyptus, ipe, iroko, jarra , kempas


Under construction

posted by mediea

Wood use - Oil

Birches
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)

Extracts of birch are used for flavoring or leather oil, and in cosmetics such as soap or shampoo. Birch tar or Russian Oil extracted from birch bark is thermoplastic and waterproof; it was used as a glue on, for example, arrows, and also for medicinal purposes.

. Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .
posted by mediea

Wood use - Paper

Under construction

posted by mediea

Wood use - Piles

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is very durable underwater, and it is therefore used for piles.


Under construction

posted by mediea

Wood use – Seeds and Nuts

Under construction

posted by mediea

Wood use - Softwood

Under construction

posted by mediea

Wood use - Special Uses

Baseball bats:
Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is hard, dense, tough, and very strong but elastic.

Bows:
Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is hard, dense, tough, and very strong but elastic.

Cabinets:
Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) has hard, reddish-brown wood (cherry wood), and is valued as a hardwood for woodturning, and making cabinets and musical instruments.

Chairs:
European Beech, Common Beech: is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, from chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases.

Clogs:
Alder (Alnus glutinosa).

Cricket bats:
Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is hard, dense, tough, and very strong but elastic.

Fishing bait:
Use of thorns of the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) as fishing bait are mentioned as "sloe-thorn worms", in the 15th century work, The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle, by Juliana Berners.

Furniture:
Alder (Alnus glutinosa).

European Beech, Common Beech: is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, particularly furniture. From chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases.

Gunpowder :
Alder (Alnus glutinosa)supplies excellent charcoal for gunpowder.

The Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) shrub, with its savage thorns, is traditional in Northern Europe and Britain in making a hedge proof against cattle.

Hurleys:
Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is hard, dense, tough, and very strong but elastic.

Mallets:
European Beech, Common Beech: Its hardness renders it ideal for making wooden mallets and workbench tops.

Musical instruments:
Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) has hard, reddish-brown wood (cherry wood), and is valued as a hardwood for woodturning, and making cabinets and musical instruments.

Piles:
Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is very durable underwater, and it is therefore used for piles.

Staircases:
European Beech, Common Beech: is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, including staircases.

Tool handles:
Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is hard, dense, tough, and very strong but elastic.

Waterproofing/Seasoning:
Birches
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)

Ground birch bark, fermented in sea water, is used for seasoning the woolen, hemp or linen sails and hemp rope of traditional Norwegian boats.

Worktop benches:
European Beech, Common Beech: Its hardness renders it ideal for making wooden mallets and workbench tops.


. Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .
posted by mediea
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