Anne here.
When they hear the word ‘silk’ most people immediately think of luxurious clothing, gorgeous hangings, delicate embroideries and rich furnishings. Less often they might think of parachutes which were originally made from silk, or silk thread used to embroider or suture wounds, or those extraordinary maps printed on silk for the use of prisoners, pilots and undercover agents in WW2 Europe.
Rich, elegant ladies might wear silk underclothes, but who would imagine they had this in common with violent bloodthirsty warriors? But it’s true.
The 13th century soldier warriors of Ghengis Khan wore silk underclothes — but not for prestige or elegance or luxury. It was part of their armour.
His soldiers—all males older than fourteen who were neither doctors nor priests—were provided with armor designed to keep them light enough to stay agile and yet strong enough to minimize casualties — their own.
The outer armour (breastplates and backplates) was made of leather sewn together like scales, and worn with a leather-covered shield and helmet. But underneath that armour these violent ruthless men wore undershirts made of silk.
At that time, European cavalry soldiers were weighted down with chain mail armour weighing about 50k kilos (around 110 pounds). Underneath they wore quilted shirts stuffed with wool or horse-hair.
You might think silk would be too fine and sheer to be of any protective use —although the shirts might have been layered — but in fact silk has almost miraculous properties. If the leather armour was pierced, the fine silk of the undergarment would wind tightly around the heads or points of sharp missiles that might otherwise have pushed deeper into limbs or through them.
Even arrows often failed to break through the silk undershirts. Removing an arrow, particularly one that was barbed, inevitably caused a larger wound and extensive bleeding. But when an arrow had embedded itself first in silk, the tightly woven threads around the wound would be pulled instead, turning the arrowhead, gently teasing the weapon out and minimizing further damage.Even if the skin was pierced, there are proteins embedded in the structure of silk that helped the healing process.
Ghengis Khan learned about this use of silk from the Chinese, who had used it in Chinese warcraft. Neolithic China’s farmers had domesticated the silk worm and the Chinese had been spinning silk threads to suture wounds for around two thousand years by the time the Mongol campaigns began; the silk also served as dressings whose threads could stimulate the cells that repair and rebuild to convene and proliferate in the wound bed.
Silk manufacturing in China had been a closely guarded secret for thousands of years until two monks smuggled the seeds of the white mulberry tree and some silkworm eggs from China to Byzantium in 522. And from there it spread further. But first and foremost, silk was valued for its gorgeous fabrics.
Since those earliest discoveries, doctors and scientists have experimented with raw and processed silk to discover its healing properties and uses, apart from the creation of gorgeous and luxurious fabrics.
In the 19th century American mid-west, George Emory Goodfellow, a doctor in the town of Tombstone, observed that silk could be impenetrable to bullets. Tombstone being a town famous for its gunfights, he had plenty of opportunity to observe and treat gunshot wounds. He recounted two cases in which a gunshot victim’s silk handkerchief was found to be resistant to bullets, so much so that the bullet had driven the (largely undamaged) handkerchief into the victim’s body, making it look as though it had been purposely stuffed into the wound to stop the bleeding.
That eventually led to the invention of the silk bulletproof vest. I won’t go into detail on that, but if you’d like to read more, you can read this article — or google “invention of the bulletproof vest”. Much of the other information in this blog is from Literary Hub, with an except from SILK – a world history by Araathi Prasad
Over to you, readers: Do you have any silk items? Have you ever kept silkworms?
I don’t believe I own anything made of silk and I certainly have never kept silkworms. But my, what an interesting piece. Silk underwear as protective warfare gear. I never would have guessed.
Thanks, Mary — yes it’s a surprise, isn’t it? I mentioned keeping silkworms because several times in my primary (elementary) school we had a class project growing silk worms on mulberry leaves.
I have quite a few silk items of clothing. My favorite is my silk long underwear. No silkworms around the house as far as I can tell.
Silk long underwear sounds amazing, Jeanne. I gather they’re quite warm.
Fascinating information, Anne! I do have some silk scarves – and I used to have silk blouses but gave them up because they were too warm. Now I can guess why – the tightly woven silk would keep air from getting in!
Constance, I also had some silk blouses long ago. I loved the feel and the look of them. I particularly loved a little cream silk blouse that had been my mother’s. I think I wore it to death when I was a student, because I have no idea what happened to it.
That is so fascinating about silk undershirts for protection in battles and how the arrow heads, etc had a hard time penetrating the skin. Also, very interesting that using silk thread had such beneficial properties in healing wounds. I love the information y’all find and put in these blogs.
I’ll have to tell my husband his silk long underwear is good for more than keeping him warm while skiing. Grin. Though hopefully nothing stabs him on his ski trips this year.
As for me, I’ve owned silk long underwear, silk cami’s to wear when it was extra cold as a layer next to the skin and I believe I have owned a silk blouse or two. They do have a gorgeous look and feel (the blouses). Unfortunately I wore them out and have never replaced them.
Thanks, Vicki. I’m learning stuff here, too — I’ve never heard of silk long johns until various people here mentioned them. I guess my climate isn’t cold enough.
What a fascinating post, Anne! I had no previous knowledge of the military and medicinal advantages of silk, so thank you for enlightening me.
I do own/have owned several silk garments, and I’ve also bought some silk items for my husband and daughter. (Much of my shopping is at thrift stores so that actually speaks well to the longevity of silk clothing.)
I have a vague recollection of my daughter having a school project with mulberry leaves, so we may well have had silk worms in the house.
Thanks, Kareni — yes it was at school that I saw silk worms. We fed them on mulberry leaves from somebody’s tree.
Amazing, Anne! I had no idea about the protective and healing properties of silk. I’ve some silk scarves, but I suspect that the long underwear I bought for cold climates is probably polyester. No silk worms have ever come my way, either!
Thanks, Mary Jo, yes I have some silk scarves too, nd just bought a silk shawl for a friend’s birthday. I used to have a number of silk blouses, but where they went, I have no idea. I might go shopping again for some. I do have a lovely light silk blouse that I wear a bit like a jacket. It’s a favorite.
Fascinating! I used to own a washable silk blouse, but it had to be ironed, and I hate to iron. And I couldn’t afford to have it dry cleaned. So, it eventually got donated.
I’m afraid I’m not a silk person. I like clothes that can be washed and thrown in the dryer and don’t need to be ironed.
Susan I’m with you on disliking ironing. In fact I often say I do all my ironing in hotels — meaning that’s the only time I wear something that needs ironing. It’s usually a writers’ conference. *g*
I have a silk blouse from an old company called Royal Silk. They were purchased by another clothing company.
Thanks, Patricia. I have several silk blouses. They used to be everywhere, but these days they’;re not so easy to find.
I have silk pillowcases, which are smooth and also, reportedly, less likely to cause tangles in long hair. They are machine washable and I dry them in the dryer. (I live in the U.S. The dryer drum is large and the pillowcases come out without needing ironing.)
Some Georgian and Regency novels I have read talk about silk sheets — sometimes colored silk sheets. I have not done thorough research, but I also don’t remember seeing historical references to silk sheets in England in those eras — just cotton or linen, presumably white, and, I suspect, seamed together from two or three lengths of fabric. The cotton or linen sheets could be boiled, too, likely an advantage in an age with bedbugs, fleas, and lice in some quarters.
A lot of silk yard goods are woven in relatively narrow widths even today, rather than in the 45-inch to circa 60-inch widths of cottons and synthetics. I dislike lumps and bumps in my bedding, and having several lengthwise seams in my sheets does not appeal. Whenever looms were built to weave wide sheets in one piece, it was a signal year in the history of comfort.
That’s an excellent point, Barbara. I confess, I’m also a doubter when I read about Regency people in silk sheets, but I never thought about the width of the loom. My grandmother, who was a thrifty soul, used to get the last possible wear out of her sheets, and did a “sides-to-middle” sewing operation on them when the middles were wearing thin. It gave us a seam down the middle of the sheet.
I have long hair, and have at several times in my life, but I’ve never tried a silk pillowcase.
I have one silk item. A scarf my daughter bought me when she was in Italy, many years ago. I can’t bear anything up around my neck. Woolen scarves and high neck jumpers are out but I can tolerate this! It’s fascinating what I learn from this blog!
Thanks, Teresa. I’m not keen on things around my neck either, and though I have dozens of scarves and shawls, I rarely wear them. And when I do, they have a tendency to slip off me, as I don’t tie or wind them tight around my neck. But the feeling of silk against the skin is lovely.
Wow, that’s fascinating, Anne! I had no idea silk could be used that way. I’ve always loved the beautiful shiny fabrics made of silk and own several (well more than that actually) silk kimonos bought second hand in Japan. Also the belts that go with them – obi – all in gorgeous colours. When I was younger and visited Bangkok I also took the opportunity to have a dress made of Thai silk. Not as smooth but the lustre was wonderful!
Thanks, Christina. Silk kimonos are beautiful — even the really plain ones. A shop near me used to bring in loads of second-hand kimonos from Japan, and I couldn’t resist them. And yes, Thai silk has a different texture, doesn’t it? But the colours are brilliant.
I have at least one of my silk blouses left. I wore silk blouses because of the way they felt. I had no idea that if I got in a gun fight I would be safe. I used to be a fan of ironing. It was a task that made me feel accomplished. When I finished, there was clear evidence that things were better. At times in my life, that alone was a wonderful feeling.
Isn’t it interesting that many of the things that are wonderful in life are from long ago times? So, we have progress?
As always, your blog has informed and entertained. And I don’t believe I have ever seen a silk worm, in my home or out. But, with my luck, someone in my family would stick the little darling on a hook and my hope of a silk empire would disappear.
Thank you for what you do for me.
LOL Anette, I’m so glad you didn’t get into a gunfight while wearing your silk blouse. (phew!) And while I don’t do a lot of ironing these days, I do recall a time when I’d sit down with a mound of clean laundry, put on a movie or a TV series, and iron the afternoon away. It does give a sense of satisfaction, but it’s also a sensory experience, with the heat of the iron and steam reacting with the fabric and making the whole room smell clean and fresh.
In several classrooms of my childhood (we moved a lot) we had projects where we raised a few silkworms on fresh mulberry leaves. I have no idea where they got the silkworms, or what happened to them afterward. I don’t think we boiled them and unwound the silk. But I never forgot the fascination.
Hi Anne , you never fail to fascinate me with your topics
Here in STH Aust we certainly don’t need silk long johns tho you might occasionally in Victoria
I spun and crocheted a silk shawl years ago when my wheel was rinning hot
Now my daughter in law who is a fabulous craft person spins lots of beautiful coloured hanks into fine threads for weaving
She will love your article
Cheers from Pt Elliot
Merrilyn