Crop
Hemp
Hemp → Hemp fibre
Picture to come.
A tall crop grown for its strong stem fibre and its oily seed. Hemp was grown in England from at least about 800, and was mainly used for rope, cord, nets and coarse cloth such as sacking and sailcloth. Like flax, it was retted in water to loosen the fibres, a smelly business that fouled water and was kept away from houses.
Caveats (confidence: medium)
Excavated evidence for retting in eastern England is mostly 14th-17th century; 12th-century scale is unknown.
Sources: haxeywalkers.co.uk
Made by
- Harvest a field crop
Used to make
- Ret hemp