Horn

The Allerley Mackel is an example of the popular kunstbuchlein, or collection of household & artisanal recipes, popular during the 16th century. My transcription was taken from the facsimile of the Allerley Matkel printed in Sidney Edelstein's article of the same name in the Journal of Technology & Culture, Vol V, No. 3, Summer 1964. The recipes are supplemented by my notes.

Descriptions of objects found in archaeological excavations of Fishergate House and Blue Bridge Lane in York; includes pins, combs, a buckle plate, a sledge runner, styli, handles, and beads.

The earliest copy of the Mappae Clavicula was a manuscript in the Benedictine monestary of Reichenau, dated to 821-822, which is no longer in existence. The translation below is based on the Phillipps-Corning Mappae Clavicula manuscript, currently in the Corning Museum of Glass at Corning, NY. This manuscript was translated by Sir Thomas Phillips and printed in the 1847 edition of Archaeologia. This manuscript is primarily concerned with metalworking and making of pigments, but scattered among the recipes are several that deal with creating "dye" liquids (used either to paint or dye fabric) and instructions for dyeing fabric and leather.

This list is for those who are interested in working with Horn, Antler, Bone and other natural materials such as legal ivory, amber, baleen and soapstone. These materials have a long historical presence for everything from purely decorative to purely functional items. Those who are interested in creating replicas as well as modern interpretations are welcome. All you need is a desire to learn and a willingness to share knowledge.

In this article I'll discuss and show how to make a horn cup – that is, a drinking vessel of horn. It can be used as a cup, or depending on the size of the horn you can make a drinking vessel that’s good or well over a pint. Please note that I'm not making a drinking horn, in the Viking sense – rather were looking to make a commonly available, common man's "glass " or ale cup. They were also called beakers.

Directions for making spoons out of cow horn. How to process the horn.

Horn was the plastic of earlier times. Once cured and cleaned, it can be worked endlessly into almost anything. You can make horn cups, spoons, inkwells, combs, salt and spice horns and almost anything else including, of course, hunting and powder horns. It is more or less compressed hair, like toenails and hooves, it requires different treatment and methods than bone, some are close to woodworking others aren't but all the methods are easy to learn.

Source material for medieval combs and how to make them. Includes references on how to work horn and bone materials.