Colours of the Medieval Mediterranean (Historical process of production and use of dyestuffs)

The medieval Mediterranean brings us colourful weavings, dresses and carpets, in short, textiles used in every stage of life. This study aims to explain the process by which the textiles of the Middle Ages acquired eye-catching and varied shades of colour. In this direction, first of all, the dyeing centres of the Medieval Mediterranean were tried to be identified by using historical sources and archaeological data. The profession of dyeing in the Middle Ages is explained by analysing the professional associations of dyers, their working principles, the rules they had to follow and their professional inspections, and the limited data contained in laws, canons and guild statutes. The regions where the vegetable and animal dyestuffs used by dyers to create colours and alum used as a mordant were found, produced and traded were identified by making use of botanical, geographical, travel and trade treatises. By including selected textile samples and dyestuff analyses that have survived to the present day, the study has been supported with both visual and scientific data. In line with the data obtained during the study, important dye houses in the Mediterranean, the dyeing profession and both domestic and imported plant-animal dyestuffs used in the dye houses were identified and the process of colouring textile products in the medieval Mediterranean was tried to be explained.