Landsknecht Guild

Post edited 9:15 pm - May 6, 2010 by julie

There is a lot of interesting information over on the Paternoster Row blog, if you (like Magda) are interested in rosaries.

http://paternosters.blogspot.c…..faire.html

“Judging from jewelry of the time, it's quite possible to find a modern rosary that is a pretty good approximation of a 16th-century rosary of this type. Here are the major things to look for.
(1) Beads were usually not faceted, but round or oval with a smooth surface.
(2) Materials include — more or less in order from lowest to highest status — wood, bone, glass, semiprecious stone such as agate, mother-of-pearl, jet, amber, coral, silver, pearls, or even gold with precious stones. The single beads between decades (called “paters” or “gauds”) were usually material of the same or higher status than the decade beads.
Any modern rosary that meets these criteria and doesn't look like it's plastic, machine-made or excessively modern in style is quite a plausible accessory for a 16th-century Catholic. Pay especially close attention to the cross and medals of any rosary you're considering — this is where modern style shows up most often, and a 1930s Art Deco cross just doesn't make for a believable 16th-century accessory.
I'll write more another day about other types of 16th-century rosaries, but briefly, we also see rosaries that are strung on silk thread rather than being made with metal chain-links like modern ones, circles of five decades with just a cross rather than the whole side-chain, and rosaries that end with a religious medal or plain cross rather than a crucifix (a cross with the figure of Jesus on it). “

http://paternosters.blogspot.c…..round.html
One of a series of posts on how to wear a paternoster. Links to other posts at the bottom of the page to other ways to wear the rosary (at the belt, as a bracelet, tucked in sleeve, around the neck, pinned to the bodice with a brooch)

http://paternosters.blogspot.c…..udier.html

Post with information about rankings of materials used for making paternosters