Editing Linen (section)

== History ==
[[File:A bag of white linen, unopened. Contains rolls of linen only. Foundation deposit, Heb Sed Chapel at Lahun, Fayum, Egypt. 12th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|A bag of white linen, unopened. Contains rolls of linen. [[Foundation deposit]], [[Heb Sed]] Chapel at [[El Lahun|Lahun]], [[Faiyum]], Egypt. [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|12th Dynasty]]. The [[Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology]], London.]]

People in various parts of the world began weaving linen at least several thousand years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beckert |first1=Sven |title=Empire of Cotton |date=2014 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-0375414145 |page=5 |ref=Beckert}}</ref> It was also recovered from [[Qumran Caves|Qumran Cave 1]] near the Dead Sea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sukenik |first1=Naama |last2=Shamir |first2=Orit |date=2011 |title=Qumran Textiles and the Garments of Qumran's Inhabitants |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156851711x570427 |journal=Dead Sea Discoveries |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=206–225 |doi=10.1163/156851711x570427 |issn=0929-0761}}</ref>

=== Early history ===
The discovery of dyed flax fibers in a cave in [[Southern Caucasus]], [[West Asia]] (modern day country, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]) dated to 36,000 years ago suggests that ancient people used wild flax fibers to create linen-like fabrics from an early date.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Balter |first=M. |date=2009 |title=Clothes Make the (Hu) Man |journal=Science |volume=325 |issue=5946 |page=1329 |doi=10.1126/science.325_1329a |pmid=19745126 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kvavadze |first1=E. |last2=Bar-Yosef |first2=O. |last3=Belfer-Cohen |first3=A. |last4=Boaretto |first4=E. |last5=Jakeli |first5=N. |last6=Matskevich |first6=Z. |last7=Meshveliani |first7=T. |date=2009 |title=30,000-Year-Old Wild Flax Fibers |url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4270521 |journal=Science |volume=325 |issue=5946 |page=1359 |doi=10.1126/science.1175404 |pmid=19745144 |bibcode=2009Sci...325.1359K |s2cid=206520793 }}</ref>

Fragments of straw, seeds, fibers, yarns, and various types of fabrics, including linen samples, dating to about 8,000 BC have been found in Swiss lake dwellings.<ref name="Akin">{{cite journal |last=Akin |first=Danny E. |date=30 December 2012 |title=Linen Most Useful: Perspectives on Structure, Chemistry, and Enzymes for Retting Flax |journal=ISRN Biotechnology |volume=2013 |page=186534 |doi=10.5402/2013/186534 |pmid=25969769 |pmc=4403609 |ref=Akin |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Woven flax textile fragments have been "found between infant and child" in a burial at [[Çatalhöyük]], a large settlement dating to around 7,000 BC.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Çatalhöyük 2013 Archive Report |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/206552281/Archive-Report-2013 |website=Scribd.com }}</ref> To the southeast, in ancient [[Mesopotamia]], flax was domesticated and linen was produced.<ref>{{cite book |last=Potts |first=Daniel T. |title=Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations |date=1997 |publisher=The Athlone Press |isbn=0-485-93001-3 |page=119 }}</ref> It was used mainly by the wealthier class of the society, including priests.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Peter |title=HSC Ancient History |publisher=Pascal Press |year=2006 |isbn=9781741251784 |page=63 }}</ref> The [[Sumerian art|Sumerian]] poem of the courtship of [[Inanna]] mentions flax and linen.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kramer |first=Samuel Noah |date=20 December 1963 |title=Cuneiform Studies and the History of Literature: The Sumerian Sacred Marriage Texts |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=107 |issue=6 |jstor=986108 |pages=504–505 }}</ref>

In [[ancient Egypt]], linen was used for mummification and for burial shrouds. It was also [[Clothing in ancient Egypt|worn as clothing]] on a daily basis; white linen was worn because of the extreme heat.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} For example, the [[Tarkhan dress]], considered to be among the oldest woven garments in the world and dated to between 3482 and 3102 BC, is made of linen.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lobell |first=Jarretta |date=2016 |title=Dressing for the Ages |journal=Archeology |volume=69 |issue=3 |issn=0003-8113 |page=9 }}</ref> [[Plutarch]] wrote that the priests of [[Isis]] also wore linen because of its purity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Plutarch |s2cid=4092286 |editor1-last=Babbitt |editor1-first=Frank Cole |title=Isis and Osiris |journal=Nature |year=1940 |volume=146 |issue=3695 |page=262 |doi=10.1038/146262e0 |bibcode=1940Natur.146U.262. |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/A.html |access-date=3 June 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Warden |first=Alex. J. |title=The linen trade, ancient and modern |date=1867 |publisher=Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green |page=214 |hdl=2027/hvd.32044019641166 |edition=2nd }}</ref> Linen was sometimes used as a form of currency in ancient Egypt.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Egyptian [[Mummy|mummies]] were wrapped in linen as a symbol of light and purity, and as a display of wealth. Some of these fabrics, woven from hand-spun yarns, were very fine for their day, but are coarse compared with modern linen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Thaddeus Mason |title=The natural history of the Bible; or, A description of all the quadrupeds, birds, fishes [&c.] mentioned in the Sacred scriptures |url=https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00harriala |access-date=23 October 2012 |date=1824 |page=[https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00harriala/page/135 135] }}</ref> When the tomb of the Pharaoh [[Ramses II]], who died in 1213 BC, was discovered in 1881, the linen wrappings were in a state of perfect preservation after more than 3000 years.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} In the [[Ulster Museum]], [[Belfast]] there is the mummy of '[[Takabuti]]' the daughter of a priest of [[Amun]], who died 2,500 years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nmni.com/our-museums/ulster-museum/Things-to-see/Takabuti-the-ancient-Egyptian-mummy.aspx |title=Takabuti the ancient Egyptian mummy |website=NMNI.com |publisher=Ulster Museum, Egyptian Gallery }}</ref> The linen on this mummy is also in a perfect state of preservation.

[[File:Prices edict grades.jpg|thumb|[[Diocletian]]'s 4th century maximum prices edict showing prices for 3 grades of linen across the [[Roman Empire]]]]

The earliest written documentation of a linen industry comes from the [[Linear B]] tablets of [[Pylos]], [[Greece]], where linen is depicted as an [[ideogram]] and also written as "li-no" ([[Greek language|Greek]]: λίνον, ''linon''), and the female linen workers are cataloged as "li-ne-ya" (λίνεια, ''lineia'').<ref>[http://www3.lu.se/klass/textiles/throughsociety.html#rouge Flax and Linen Textiles in the Mycenaean palatial economy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411124925/http://www3.lu.se/klass/textiles/throughsociety.html |date=2008-04-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Robkin |first=A.L.H. |date=1 January 1979 |jstor=504148 |title=The Agricultural Year, the Commodity SA and the Linen Industry of Mycenaean Pylos |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=469–474 |doi=10.2307/504148 }}</ref>

[[File:Ancient Coptic material.jpg|thumb|upright|Ancient [[Copts|Coptic]] material]]

=== Middle Ages ===
By the [[Middle Ages]], there was a thriving trade in German flax and linen. The trade spread throughout [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]] by the 9th century and spread to [[Flanders]] and [[Pagus of Brabant|Brabant]] by the 11th century. The [[Lower Rhine region|Lower Rhine]] was a center of linen making in the Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keller |first1=Kenneth W. |title=From the Rhineland to the Virginia Frontier: Flax Production as a Commercial Enterprise |journal=The Virginia Backcountry |date=1990 |volume=98 |issue=3 |page=488 |jstor=4249165 }}</ref> Flax was cultivated and linen used for clothing in Ireland by the 11th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flax to Fabric: The Story of Irish Linen |url=https://www.lisburnmuseum.com/2016/02/history-of-irish-linen-flax/ |website=Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum |access-date=5 June 2020 }}</ref> Evidence suggests that flax may have been grown and sold in Southern England in the 12th and 13th centuries.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Collins |first=Brenda |title=Linen in Europe Conference 16–19 April 1998 Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum |journal=Irish Economic and Social History |date=1998 |volume=25 |pages=96–99 |doi=10.1177/033248939802500109 |jstor=24341023 |s2cid=164245290 }}</ref> Textiles, primarily linen and wool, were produced in decentralized home weaving mills.<ref name="Textiltechnikum">{{cite web |title=The Development of Textile Technology: Inside the TextilTechnikum (Textile Technology Center) in Monforts Quartier, Mönchengladbach |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-development-of-textile-technology-textiltechnikum/JQJCktufFk01IQ?hl=en |website=Google Arts & Culture |publisher=Textiltechnikum |access-date=4 June 2020 }}</ref>

=== Modern history ===
Linen continued to be valued for garments in the 16th century<ref name="Pollen 1914">{{cite journal |last=Pollen |first=John Hungerford |date=1914 |title=Ancient Linen Garments |journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs |volume=25 |issue=136 |jstor=859719 |pages=231–237 }}</ref> and beyond. Specimens of linen garments worn by historical figures have survived. For example, a linen cap worn by [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles V]] was carefully preserved after his death in 1558.<ref name="Pollen 1914" />

There is a long history of the production of linen in Ireland. When the [[Edict of Nantes]] was revoked in 1685, many of the [[Huguenots]] who fled France settled in the British Isles and elsewhere. They brought improved methods for linen production with them, contributing to the growth of the linen industry in [[Ireland]] in particular.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lutton |first=S.C. |title=Background history of Linen from the flax in the field to finished linen cloth |journal=Journal of Craigavon Historical Society |volume=8 |issue=1 |url=http://www.craigavonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/rev/luttonhistoryoflinen.html |access-date=5 June 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512024057/http://www.craigavonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/rev/luttonhistoryoflinen.html |archive-date=12 May 2021 }}</ref> Among them was [[Louis Crommelin]], a leader who was appointed overseer of the royal linen manufacture of Ireland. He settled in the town of [[Lisburn]] near [[Belfast]], which is itself perhaps the most famous linen producing center throughout history; during the Victorian era the majority of the world's linen was produced in the city, which gained it the name [[Linenopolis]].<ref name="Prance">{{cite book |last=Prance |first=Sir Ghillean |title=The Cultural History of Plants |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135958114 |page=295 }}</ref> Although the linen industry was already established in Ulster, Louis Crommelin found scope for improvement in weaving, and his efforts were so successful that he was appointed by the Government to develop the industry over a much wider range than the small confines of Lisburn and its surroundings. The direct result of his good work was the establishment, under statute, of the Board of Trustees of the Linen Manufacturers of Ireland in the year 1711. Several grades were produced including coarse [[lockram]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} The [[Living Linen]] Project was set up in 1995 as an oral archive of the knowledge of the [[Irish linen]] industry, which was at that time still available within a nucleus of people who formerly worked in the industry in [[Ulster]].

The linen industry was increasingly critical in the economies of Europe<ref>{{cite journal |last=Takei |first=Akihiro |title=The First Irish Linen Mills, 1800–1824 |journal=Irish Economic and Social History |date=1994 |volume=21 |pages=28–38 |doi=10.1177/033248939402100102 |jstor=24341383 |s2cid=199275871 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Belfanti |first=Marco |s2cid=108825085 |title=Reviewed Work: The European Linen Industry in Historical Perspective by Brenda Collins, Philip Ollerenshaw |journal=Technology and Culture |date=2006 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=193–195 |doi=10.1353/tech.2006.0056 |jstor=40061028 }}</ref> in the 18th and 19th centuries. In England and then in Germany, industrialization and machine production replaced manual work and production moved from the home to new factories.<ref name="Textiltechnikum" />

Linen was also an important product in the American colonies, where it was brought over with the first settlers and became the most commonly used fabric and a valuable asset for colonial households.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Keegan |first=Tracy A. |title=Flaxen fantasy: the history of linen |journal=Colonial Homes |date=1996 |volume=22 |issue=4 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A18599708/ITOF?u=dclib_main&sid=ITOF&xid=aa5e6d55 |page=62+ |access-date=4 June 2020 }}</ref> The [[homespun movement]] encouraged the use of flax to make home spun textiles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2017 |title=Spinning in Colonial America |url=https://hudsonvalley.org/article/spinning-patriotic-sentiment-in-colonial-america/ |website=Historic Hudson Valley |access-date=September 8, 2020 }}</ref> Through the 1830s, most farmers in the northern United States continued to grow flax for linen to be used for the family's clothing.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wyatt |first=Steve M. |title=Flax and Linen: An Uncertain Oregon Industry |journal=Oregon Historical Quarterly |date=1994 |volume=95 |issue=2 |pages=150–175 |jstor=20614577 }}</ref>

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, linen was very significant to Russia and its economy. At one time it was the country's greatest export item and Russia produced about 80% of the world's fiber flax crop.<ref name="Akin" />

In December 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 to be the [[International Year of Natural Fibres]] in order to raise people's awareness of linen and other [[natural fiber]]s.<ref name="UN 2009">{{cite web |title=Profiles of 15 of the world's major plant and animal fibres |url=http://www.fao.org/natural-fibres-2009/about/15-natural-fibres/en/ |website=International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=15 May 2020 }}</ref>

One study suggests that the functional properties of linen fabric can be improved by incorporating chitosan-citric acid and phytic acid thiourea. The effects of this process include improved levels of antibacterial activity, increased wrinkle resistance, flame retardancy, UV protection, and antioxidant properties. Additionally, the linen fabric was able to retain durability for about 20 washes.<ref>{{citation |title=Multifunctional modification of linen fabrics using chitosan-based formulations 2018 }}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Religion===
There are many references to linen throughout the [[Bible]], reflecting the textile's entrenched presence in human cultures.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Linen? Everything You Need to Know About Using and Caring for Linen |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-linen-everything-you-need-to-know-about-using-and-caring-for-linen |publisher=MasterClass |access-date=4 June 2020 }}</ref> Linen is mentioned in Proverbs 31, a passage describing a noble wife. {{bibleverse|Proverbs|31:22}} says, "She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple." Fine white linen is also worn by angels in the New Testament.<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|15:6}}</ref> In the [[Book of Joshua]], [[Rahab]], a prostitute in [[Jericho]], hides two Israelite spies under bundles of flax.

In [[Judaism]], the only law concerning which fabrics may be interwoven together in clothing concerns the mixture of linen and [[wool]], called ''[[shaatnez]]''; it is restricted in {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|22:11|HE}} "Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together" and {{bibleverse||Leviticus|19:19|HE}}, "...neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together." There is no explanation for this in the [[Torah]] itself and it is categorized as a type of law known as ''chukim'', a statute beyond man's ability to comprehend.<ref name="religion">The Jewish Primer, by Shmuel Himelstein. New York, NY: Facts On File, 1990.</ref> First-century Romano-Jewish historian [[Josephus]] suggested that the reason for the prohibition was to keep the laity from wearing the official garb of the priests,<ref>Etz Hayim p. 1118</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=January 2017}}<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-4.htm|title=Antiquities of the Jews|last=Josephus|translator-last=Whiston|chapter=8.11}}</ref> while medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides]] thought that the reason was that heathen priests wore such mixed garments.<ref>Guide for the Perplexed 3:37</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=January 2017}} Others explain that it is because God often forbids mixtures of disparate kinds, not designed by God to be compatible in a certain way, with mixing animal and vegetable fibers being similar to having two different types of plowing animals yoked together; also, such commands serve both a practical as well as allegorical purpose, perhaps here preventing a priestly garment that would cause discomfort (or excessive sweat) in a hot climate.<ref>Jamieson, Fausset, Brown commentary, Lv. 19:19</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=January 2017}}