The History of Linen

1. Flax seems to be the oldest of textile fibres. We know linen cloth to have been discovered in the late dwellings of the unknown inhabitants of Europe, where no traces of wool can be found. It is certainly the most lasting of fibers for considerable quantities of it are actually preserved for us in Egyptian tombs, some of which are acknowledged to be fifty centuries old.

2. All things considered, we may suppose linen to be the oldest textile fibre. At any rate, flax is known to have been cultivated in Egypt 5000 years ago, and for centuries it was the only textile fibre in the land.

3. The cultivation of the flax and spinning and weaving of the linen were illustrated on the walls of Egyptian palaces, temples and tombs. The Egyptians are known to have been dressed almost entirely in linen. For many hundreds of years Egypt was the greatest linen producing country in the world.

4. In later years the use of linen spread to Greece, and to Rome, where it is supposed to have been used not only for women s clothing and handkerchiefs, but also for ship sails, though not for outer garments. The Romans thought linen to be a great luxury.

5. Then every country in Europe began to cultivate flax, and until the second part of the eighteenth century when a number of inventions made cotton fabrics cheap, linen was the most generally used textile. Though only a little over a hundred years ago flax was the most important textile fibre, today it is supposed to rank fourth. Cotton, wool and chemical fibres are used by larger amounts.