Rope and cordage would have been essential to Anglo-Saxon daily life. The archaeological evidence from Early Medieval sites show that bast rope was used, as well as withies.

Bast rope is made from the inner bark, or bast, of certain tree species, mainly linden or lime (Tilia cordata), oak (Quercus robur & petraea), and willow (Salix caprea). Here, I harvest the bast from linden trees.

To obtain bast, linden trees are harvested in late spring and early summer, when the sap is rising. Long straight trees with clear bark and few branches are chosen for the best bast fibres.

The Saxons maintained some woodlands as coppice, cutting close to the stump and allowing the shoots to regenerate until the next coppice cycle several years later. This is a renewable source of timber material. Trimming the stumps cleanly and at an angle is important to allow rainwater run off.

Managing woodlands in Britain as coppice allows light to the forest floor, which benefits forest flora and fauna and imitates natural cycles of succession, upon which some species depend.

Once the trees are harvested the bark is removed. To remove the bark, a single straight line is scored down the timber. This can then be loosened and worked until the bark pops off. This is only possible when the sap is rising. The bark is tied into a bundle with fresh willow bark ties and placed in a slow moving freshwater pool for four to eight weeks. This process is known as retting, and loosens the inner bast fibre from the outer bark.

When the bark has retted enough it will show bubbles underneath the bast layer. The bast is then carefully peeled away from the outer bark in long, intact strips. The separated bast fibre is rinsed in fresh water and laid out to dry. Once dry, the bast fibre is ready to store until it is twisted into rope.

Bast fibre is not uniform in quality. The inner-most bast layers are fine, smooth and strong. The outer-most bast fibres, found closest to the outer bark, are coarser, weaker and have perforations. The fibres can be sorted according to quality depending on the rope being made.

I will use these bast fibres to make rope and cordage for future projects.

With thanks to:
Herknungr, Musician, playing 'The Wolf Chieftan'.
Carsten Hvid, for advice on processing bast fibres.

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