Comments by "Iain Mc" (@iainmc9859) on "This 600 Year Old Fabric Is WATER RESISTANT" video.

  1. I'm surprised the sources you used didn't pick up on the most common waterproofing, lanolin. As a by-product of woolmaking the raw wool is boiled and the lanolin floats to the top, scoop it off (eeerrr gross) and re-apply it to foul weather fabrics. Most medievalists would have picked this up. Sheep were plentiful, farming bees was more specialist, often done by religious communities (the economic history of religious communities is fascinating). Beeswax was expensive and only for the rich, which is why common people used rushlights instead of candles. Conversely, Lanolin is now a 'luxury' product but beeswax furniture polish is dirt cheap ..... and you can use it on fabric. Lanolin was replaced by whale fat by-products in the 18th century and as another commentator mentioned it burns like ...... well an oil lamp ! Happily modern oilcloth coatings are pretty fire retardant, unlike plastics (nasty melty stuff !). P.S. on the matter of polishing shoe leather, secret ingredient - castor oil, softens and shines better than any polish.
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