What degree of manual
dexterity is required to make beads? Can just anyone do it, or would you
be required to have relatively good health?
Rose:
The degree of manual dexterity required to make beads is very high. Not only is the bead maker required to be able to move their hands in certain ways, but they have to have high endurance. A bead maker would probably make beads for hours on end, so they would have to be healthy. One of the most difficult hand movements was turning the mandrel at a controlled rate when applying the glass. This was especially important for making spiral beads, because once the glass was applied the spiral shape could not be improved. The most difficult aspect of bead making in terms of health is removing the beads from the mandrels, which Angela described in her reflection piece. If someone had joint pain or arthritis, it would be extremely difficult to produce a significant number of beads and it would be almost impossible for them to remove them from the mandrels. All of our arms got tired as well, and we rested our elbows on either side of our propane torches. Since Vikings would have used small kilns (seen below), they might have not had a place to rest their arms.
Reproduction of a Viking Kiln for Bead Making |
Viking Glass Bead Necklace include Millefiori Glass Beads in the Center |
Therefore, a bead maker would have to have relatively high overall health in order to successfully and continuously manufacture glass beads.
Angela:
As Rose mentioned, manual dexterity is of utmost importance in beadmaking. This is particularly true when it comes to designs. If someone does not have a high degree of control over even the minutest of movements their hands make while creating the design, some kind of flaw will result, and once the molten glass has been applied to the bead, there is no fixing it. Someone with relatively good health, but with a problem as small as shaky hands, would probably not have been able to be a glass beadmaker. The details seen on some Viking beads are so fine and minute, that there really is not any room for mistakes. Here are some examples of highly detailed beads that illustrate the fine detail I am taking about (note: some of these are reproductions of exact Viking beads, and not the originals):
All rights reserved by fireseed |
http://www.regia.org/life/glass.htm |
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/graphics/pagecontent/eyebeads.gif |
Emma:
Having proper posture is an additional requirement
for glass bead production, as a bent back and downward-curved neck creates
bodily strain that would likely eventually result in fewer beads being produced
per session, and likely even a shorter bead-making career as permanent injury
would likely ensue. Careful consideration of one’s physical well-being is
certainly a factor in bead-making, as even asthma in the presence of kiln use
would be detrimental to becoming a master craftsperson due to soot and smoke
being waste products of the process.
An example of proper posture. A straight back allows for more productive
work, as less strain in imposed on the body.
With the above
considerations, in combination with my other group members’ observations,
dexterity and health is of substantial significance to the production of
quality beads. Illness or frailness would likely have been factors limiting
those of the Viking Age to the rolls of assistants and common craftspeople,
rather than masters.
Krista:
I would have to agree with Rose, Angela and Emma. The manual dexterity needed to make beads is very high. It is important for a bead maker to be able to use both hands for possibly hours at a time, constantly turning the mandrel and possibly creating designs, which all require a steady hand. Good health is also an important factor, especially in the hands and arms. Weak muscles, bones and/or joints in the hands/arms, or even hands/arms prone to injury (such as tendinitis), would not be good for a beadmaker. Beadmaking takes a lot out of the upper body, from holding the mandrels and glass rods/stringer to maintaining your posture to prevent a bad neck/back (as Emma pointed out). It is also important to remember that the Vikings would have been using a furnace that they would have had to feed oxygen to with bellows. If they did not have someone else to work the bellows, they would have had to do this as well to constantly keep the oxygen flowing (to maintain the correct temperature). This means they would have to have strong legs!
As we have proven, anyone can attempt beadmaking and be successful at making nice glass beads (if I do say so myself!). But, it would be hard for a professional beadmaker to have low manual dexterity or poor health in the hands/arms and be successful. Would just anyone be able to make glass beads during the Viking Age? Probably, if they had access to a furnace, glass, tools and instruction. But, to be successful one would have to have good overall health, and great manual dexterity.
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