ST BLAISE - PATRON SAINT OF WOOL COMBERS AND THE WOOL TRADE

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St Blaise, the Patron Saint of Wool Combing* and the Wool trade.

 

This year we shall be taking a tour through the Patron Saints linked to our skills of Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing.  The first of in this series is St Blaise, the Patron Saint of Wool Combers and Workers.

Blaise of Sebaste was a physician, became Bishop of Sebastea, now located in Turkey, in the 3rd-4th century and is known as one of the Christian saints. His feast day in the Western world is 3rd February and became a religious holiday in 1222. He is the patron saint of Wool Combers and is depicted with one or more wool combs (seen in his right hand above) but also, often with crossed candles and sometimes with animals. As a physician, he cured throat diseases and sick, wild animals; he is also the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia.

In 316, the Roman Emperor, Licinius began a renewed round of persecution of Christians and Bishop Blaise was captured and thrown into prison. Before being beheaded, he is said to have been tortured with Wool Combs, which is how one of the emblems of this sainthood is iron Wool Combs (the cause of his suffering before death, or his ‘passion’).

During the Middle Ages, as a reflection of the importance of religion to the population, Guilds had a Saint associated with them and in the case of the Wool Combers, the guardian was St Blaise. In order to celebrate the saint, the Guilds organised pageants and plays, which were constructed around a biblical story and held to reinforce the life of the community.

Moving forward into the 18th century, on the opening of the second Cloth Hall in Halifax, in 1779, the following poem was composed reminding those present of their guardian:

 “When Adam and his Consort Eve

Lived in a garden fair,

They dressed themselves in green fig-leaves

For want of better wear:

 

“But we, their sons, are wiser grown

Than leaves of fig to pull;

We clothe ourselves from head to fort

With ever honour’d wool.

 

“O let us not forget the good,

The worthy Bishop Blaise,

Who came from Jersey here to us

As ancient history says.

 

There is a story associated with Blaise visiting the island of Jersey and of him teaching the locals how to use Wool Combs but this is likely to be a myth. In company with other centres of wool use, it is probable his name solely became connected because of his patron sainthood of Wool Combers. Jersey was a centre for the use of wool, producing and exporting stockings as well as jumpers, which, although worn by fishermen, also became exports.

In 1789, Edmund Cartwright patented a wool combing machine. For this he was dubbed ‘The new Bishop Blaize’. However, this new machine was not very successful, nor was it well received. It became known as Big Ben, a name that came about through a song composed by one of Cartwright’s workers whose words reminded hand-carders that it could work faster than they could:

 

“Come all ye master-combers, and hear of new Big Ben,

He’ll comb more wool in one day than fifty of your men,

With their hand combs and comb-pots and such old-fashion’d ways

There’ll be no more occasion for old Bishop Blaize.”


(https://www.inventiontherapy.com/edmund-cartwright-and-the-wool-combing-machine/)


These machines represented redundancy for many Wool Combers. Despite this particular model’s poor performance, there was no going back, as with other stages for this area of wool preparation, mechanisation was the future.

Celebrations of St Blaise’s association with Wool Combs and the wool trade continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Bradford is an example of where a number of these celebrations were held; the largest and final festival probably being held in 1825. Not forgotten in the interim, though, in 1931, a Bishop Blaize Pageant was held in Bradford and on 3rd February 2019, there was a Bring Back Blaise event at Bradford Museum.

(www.bradfordmuseums.org/blog/bradford-and-st-blaise)

 


 It is possible, perhaps that it might have become an annual event and could be something to watch out for once these events can be held again.

(https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/whats-on/bring-back-blaise-wool-festival-2019-02-03)

 

Additionally, there is a well named after him at the site of the Bishop’s Palace in Bromley, Kent and prior to 1809, a public house called Bishop Blaise in Norwich. There are a number of churches dedicated to St Blaise in Britain, including that in St Blazey in Cornwall. He is recognised in other countries: in Iceland, he was mentioned in one of the Icelandic Sagas, in India, a small chapel is dedicated to him.

St Blaise is quite widely known of and celebrated not only on his Feast Day but on buildings and in stories in many parts of the world.

 

*Wool Combing is a process used to prepare fleece for spinning Worsted yarn. The fleeces used for this kind of spinning have a long staple (long locks) but need combing to refine and separate them. The pair of combs have very long tines and these locks are repeatedly drawn through them until a consistent texture is achieved and the fibres lie parallel to one another. It is then drawn off the comb by means of a Diz, a small, flat or curved piece of equipment with holes in it to form a ‘Top’ ready for spinning.

An example of wool combs.

Worsted yarns have a smooth appearance and are often used for weaving.

 Authored by Anthea Winterburn.

Sources:

  • www.catholic.org
  • www.inventiontherapy.com
  • Bradford Museums