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And in Mediterranean countries, a baby who wasn’t thriving would be laid upon the ground in a flax field and sprinkled with flaxseeds: it was believed that the child would recover as the seeds sprouted. A German bride of old would often put a few flaxseeds in her shoes to protect her fortune, and she might tie a flaxen string around her left leg to make her marriage thrive.Įarly Bohemians believed that a seven-year-old child who danced in a flax field would become beautiful, no matter what the child’s original appearance. German folklore also associated flax with luck. It was believed that no evil witchcraft could be practiced in a flax field, only good magic. The Norse goddess Huldah was known as the Guardian of Flax Fields, no doubt because it was she who taught mortals the arts of spinning and weaving. To the ancient Egyptians, white linen was a symbol of divine light and purity associated with the great mother-goddess Isis. Flax was believed to be a blessed plant–one that could bring good fortune, restore health, and protect against witchcraft. The value of flax to these early cultures is reflected in the rich folklore that surrounds the plant. Bartholomew considered flax the most beneficial of all herbs: “None herbe is so needfull to so many dyurrse uses to mankynde as is the flexe.” The medieval herbalist Bartholomew listed dozens of applications–clothing, sheets, sacks, purses, sails, fish nets, thread, ropes, bowstrings, measuring lines, matches, and even ships’ caulking. European production flourished, and with it, the uses for this versatile plant expanded. The French leader Charlemagne pronounced flax more sanitary than wool (because linen is so much easier to launder than woolen fabrics) and ordered his subjects to cultivate it. Culinary uses for flax were also known at this time: both the Greek historian Thucydides and the Roman Pliny mention the use of flax for food.Īfter the decline of the Roman Empire, flax cultivation dwindled until the eighth century.
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Neither civilization cultivated much flax, but the Roman emperors wore some linen, imported from as far away as Egypt, Babylonia, Germany, and Spain. In contrast to the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans preferred woolen fabrics. Ancient Egyptians grew flax along the Nile and wove linen fabrics for clothing, bed sheets, diapers, sails, even wrappings for mummies. The Book of Exodus mentions the cultivation of flax, as does the Talmud, and both forbid the blending of flax with “impure” wool. From medicine and food to fine linen papers and durable floor coverings, flax has been an essential part of our lives.Īrchaeologists have discovered evidence that ten millennia ago the prehistoric Swiss Lake Dwellers spun and wove flax. Paints, varnishes, and enamels made from flaxseed oil–also known as linseed oil–have decorated and protected homes and furniture for centuries, and strong rope and twine have long been made from flax fiber. For 10,000 years, people have woven flax into linen fabric for clothing. Few plants are as useful to humanity as flax.