Haberget (halberget, hauberget, halberject) was a kind of cloth described in the
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
of 1215, whose precise nature is not altogether certain; the New
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
defined it only as "a kind of cloth". A 1968 review by the Society for Medieval Archaeology of the UK proposed that it was a woollen cloth known for a broken diamond texture that was produced by early looms.
As one of three kinds of cloth named in the Magna Carta and in a variety of other medieval sources, it is believed to have been a major article of commerce in the 12th and 13th centuries. The cloth could be dyed green, 'peacock', dark brown, or in grain, and was available in coarse, good, or fine qualities, selling from 5.5d. to 4s. a yard. As such it could compete with ''griseng'' for use by the poor, or might be of a grade suitable for royalty.
The texture of the cloth is believed to have superficially resembled a
hauberk
A hauberk or byrnie is a shirt of mail. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. Haubergeon ("little hauberk") generally refers to the quilted undergarment used with a hauberk, but the terms ...
(
chain mail
Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...
) due to the pattern of horizontal rows, known as a 'broken diamond' or 'broken lozenge'
twill
Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under ...
, which has been excavated from
peat bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s dating back to the 4th century AD. Made of
worsted
Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, for ...
yarn, the pattern is not obliterated by heavy pounding. In Iceland, Norway, and Sweden such cloth is referred to as ''hringofann'', meaning "hauberk", a term persisting to the present day.
References
Textiles
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