Philobiblon

Now online are all 50 volumes of Medieval Archaeology.

Among the items I enjoyed reading was one on (pdf)growing hemp in eastern England.

It started c. 800AD (not the sort of time that you think of as one for agricultural innovation!), and throws new light on names such as Hemel Hempstead,

Traditional processing of the hemp crop to extract the long bast fibres without damaging them involves the process of ‘retting’. Hemp stalk bundles are submerged in water for about 7 to 10 days. During this time, the plant materials begin to decompose and the pectin that binds the fibrous and non-fibrous portion of the stalk is broken down, after which the fibre can be easily separated from the other tissues. …The retting process generates foul decay products, which can easily contaminate local water supplies and must therefore be carried out away from areas of settlement. To rehearse the lines from Tusser’s instructions for proper husbandry in September:
Now pluck up thy hemp, and go beat out the seed,
And afterward water it, as ye see need;
But not in the river, where cattle should drink,
For poisoning them, and the people with stink.

Wonder what they do today, since hemp is generally regarded as a “green” fibre. Anyone know? (Since my wardrobe seems to be including increasing quantities as time goes by – it does seem to add a nice, “linenish” texture.)