18thC knots and ropes

[Foxe]

Hi,

Hoping someone can help here.

I'm trying to compile a list of knots (and other rope working procedures) which can definitely be dated to the first half of the 18th century or earlier. A lot of knots are so simple that they must be ancient (figure of 8 for example), or have such an obvious purpose in a historical context that it is most likely that they date from an early period (a reef knot for example), but I'm looking specifically for knots and the like which can definitely be shown to have been in use in the 16th-18th centuries.

I've looked at various sources such as Smith's Sea Grammar, Butler's Dialogues, Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine etc., as well as extant knots which can be seen such as the turks heads which often adorned sword hilts. So far I've been able to place the following in the period:

Bowline
Wall-knot
Sheepshank
Cringle
Plaited sennet
Short, eye, back and cut splices
Diamond knot
Rose knot
Crown knot
Half-hitch
Clove hitch
Rolling hitch
Seizing
Parcelling and serving
Turk's head
Carrick bend.

Can anyone else add to the list?

Many thanks,

Foxe

[Fairlead]

I think you can quite safely add
Inside Clinch
Outside Clinch
to your list - BUT - I have no proof as my earliest knot document dates from the mid 1800's.

Gordon

[sankwe]

I have been invovled with 18th century reenacting for over a decade and through out that time I have found very little in written material to accurately date knots. I have mainly used anitques and paintings ( wherever I can observe them in museums, auction houses, online ect..) and used those as my references to date knots.
Most of the wall and crown combinations are safe, along with most basic nautical knots. You can also assume timeline accuracy with most braids and sinnets( square and round).
The few refernces I have found were by sometime and never were sailors and usually only a passing reference to knots.
If anyone has found anything better, please let us know

[Foxe]

Any more for any more? Keep 'em coming

[sankwe]

Lokking through some of my source material, found a photo of an 18th century native american slave cord made out of dear hide thong. I was exited to see that it was an 8 strand square sinnet. Still checking more souces

[Lasse_C]

At this moment I can not find the exact reference, but I am fairly certain that I have read somewhere that Da Vinci wrote a paper on Turks Head knots - which should date them fairly well before the time you want.

In C L Day´s "Art of knotting and splicing" he refers to Oribasius of Pergamon, back in the 3:rd century or so, and lists a few knots he documented back then.

I´m also interested in historic knotting , but even earlier than you. I´d like to find documentation from, say 1000 AD to 1500 AD. Don´t forget to give us feedback on what you find!

Lasse C

[sankwe]

Found more references to knots from Pliny the Elder(79 A.D) and Heraklas( 1 A.D.). Found the references in the book "Quipus and Witch Knots"

Give me a little bit and I can give you a list of Heraklas' knots if you don't have this reference

Bill

[KnotMe]

Without giving any particular geographic boundries on your question, you can then add the pan chang (mystic) knot, the two strand matthew walker knot (double connection), the stone chime knot (shape variant of the mystic knot), the cross knot, the sauvastika knot (dragonfly), the cloverleaf...