Dye pigment
Madder red
Madder root → Madder red
Picture to come.
Red dye from the dried and ground roots of the madder plant, one of the three staple dyes of medieval Europe alongside woad and weld. Cloth was first treated with a mordant, usually alum, so that the colour would hold; different mordants gave pinks, reds and oranges. Much of the alum used in England was imported from the Mediterranean. Expensive reds were also dyed with imported sappanwood.
Caveats (confidence: medium)
Whether madder was grown in 12th-century England or mostly imported was not established.
Sources: blog.metmuseum.org · jennydean.co.uk
Made by
- Dye-bath of madder red
Used to make
- Dye cloth