The use of Baleen for Arms, Armour and Heraldic Crests in Medieval Britain

Moffat, Ralph; Spriggs, James A.; O'Connor, Sonia

doi:10.1017/s0003581500001402

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Calcification stiffens baleen into the hardest alpha keratin tissue (Pautard, 1963;Szewciw et al, 2010); it is much more pliable when hydrated (Werth et al, 2016a). As a tough yet flexible tissue that does not degrade, baleen has long been used by indigenous cultures for artwork, baskets, implements, armor, and weapons (Moffat et al, 2008;Dubner, 2023). During the era of industrial whaling baleen became a highly valuable commodity, peaking in 1853 with over 5.6 million pounds, mostly from right whales, sold in U.S. ports for almost $2,000,000 (Stevenson, 1907).…”

Section: Baleen's Biomechanical Properties Vary By Location and Condi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic filtration in baleen whales: recent discoveries and emerging trends

Werth,

Potvin

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Recent findings have greatly improved our understanding of mysticete oral filtration, and have upended the traditional view of baleen filtration as a simple process. Flow tank experiments, telemetric tag deployment on whales, and other lab and field methods continue to yield new data and ideas. These suggest that several mechanisms arose from ecological, morphological, and biomechanical adaptations facilitating the evolution of extreme body size in Mysticeti. Multiple lines of evidence strongly support a characterization of baleen filtration as a conceptually dynamic process, varying according to diverse intraoral locations and times of the filtration process, and to other prevailing conditions. We review and highlight these lines of evidence as follows. First, baleen appears to work as a complex metafilter comprising multiple components with differing properties. These include major and minor plates and eroded fringes (AKA bristles or hairs), as well as whole baleen racks. Second, it is clear that different whale species rely on varied ecological filtration modes ranging from slow skimming to high-speed lunging, with other possibilities in between. Third, baleen filtration appears to be a highly dynamic and flow-dependent process, with baleen porosity not only varying across sites within a single rack, but also by flow direction, speed, and volume. Fourth, findings indicate that baleen (particularly of balaenid whales and possibly other species) generally functions not as a simple throughput sieve, but instead likely uses cross-flow or other tangential filtration, as in many biological systems. Fifth, evidence reveals that the time course of baleen filtration, including rate of filter filling and clearing, appears to be more complex than formerly envisioned. Flow direction, and possibly plate and fringe orientation, appears to change during different stages of ram filtration and water expulsion. Sixth, baleen’s flexibility and related biomechanical properties varies by location within the whole filter (=rack), leading to varying filtration conditions and outcomes. Seventh, the means of clearing/cleaning the baleen filter, whether by hydraulic, hydrodynamic, or mechanical methods, appears to vary by species and feeding type, notably intermittent lunging versus continuous skimming. Together, these and other findings of the past two decades have greatly elucidated processes of baleen filtration, and heightened the need for further research. Many aspects of baleen filtration may pertain to other biological filters; designers can apply several aspects to artificial filtration, both to better understand natural systems and to design and manufacture more effective synthetic filters. Understanding common versus unique features of varied filtration phenomena, both biological and artificial, will continue to aid scientific and technical understanding, enable fruitful interdisciplinary partnerships, and yield new filter designs.

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Section: Baleen's Biomechanical Properties Vary By Location and Condi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic filtration in baleen whales: recent discoveries and emerging trends

Werth,

Potvin

2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Native artists who fashion baleen into baskets or decorations begin by rehydrating baleen to make it pliable (Lee, 1998). Once among the world's most valuable commodities (Stevenson, 1907), the durable strength and supple flexibility of 'whalebone' made it commercially useful for such products as corset stays, umbrellas, brushes, whips and even armor (Moffat et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do baleen whales stow their filter? A comparative biomechanical analysis of baleen bending

Werth

Rita

Rosario

et al. 2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Bowhead and right whale (balaenid) baleen filtering plates, longer in vertical dimension (≥3-4 m) than the closed mouth, presumably bend during gape closure. This has not been observed in live whales, even with scrutiny of video-recorded feeding sequences. To determine what happens to the baleen during gape closure, we conducted an integrative, multifactorial study including materials testing, functional (flow tank and kinematic) testing and histological examination. We measured baleen bending properties along the dorsoventral length of plates and anteroposterior location within a rack of plates via mechanical (axial bending, composite flexure, compression and tension) tests of hydrated and air-dried tissue samples from balaenid and other whale baleen. Balaenid baleen is remarkably strong yet pliable, with ductile fringes, and low stiffness and high elasticity when wet; it likely bends in the closed mouth when not used for filtration. Calculation of flexural modulus from stress/strain experiments shows that the balaenid baleen is slightly more flexible where it emerges from the gums and at its ventral terminus, but kinematic analysis indicates plates bend evenly along their whole length. Fin and humpback whale baleen has similar material properties but less flexibility, with no dorsoventral variation. The internal horn tubes have greater external and hollow luminal diameter but lower density in the lateral relative to medial baleen of bowhead and fin whales, suggesting a greater capacity for lateral bending. Baleen bending has major consequences not only for feeding morphology and energetics but also for conservation given that entanglement in fishing gear is a leading cause of whale mortality.

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“…Whaling on a commercial scale was undertaken by the Basques as early as the twelfth century (Aguilar, 1986), and as whaling developed so did the demand for baleen. From the late thirteenth century, it was used in the construction of crossbow staves, for armour and tourney equipment (Credland, 1981;Moffat et al, 2008). Strips of baleen were used for shaping and supporting items of dress, such as the farthingale, stomachers, and stay busks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By the eighteenth century, baleen was a notable import into the UK from the Dutch whalers (Beck, 1882) but was most widely available at the height of the nineteenth-century whaling industry when additionally it was used in the production of brushes, cricket bat handles, umbrella stays, furniture inlays (Stevenson, 1907;West & Credland, 1995;Wilkinson, 2003), and almost any application where sheets, strips, or rods of a tough but flexible material was required. Only two archaeological finds of baleen are known to the authors from the whole of the UK, one from Perth (Moffat et al, 2008) and one from Westward Ho (O'Connor & O'Connor, in preparation). The picture is similar in the Netherlands where just three finds of baleen have been published (Bartels, 2005;Rijkelijkhuizen, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in identifying archaeological traces of horn and other keratinous hard tissues

O'Connor

Solazzo²,

Collins

2014

Studies in Conservation

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Despite being widely utilized in the production of cultural objects, keratinous hard tissues, such as horn, baleen, and tortoiseshell, rarely survive in archaeological contexts unless factors combine to inhibit biodeterioration. Even when these materials do survive, working, use, and diagenetic changes combine to make identification difficult. This paper reviews the chemistry and deterioration of keratin and past approaches to the identification of keratinous archaeological remains. It describes the formation of horn, hoof, baleen, and tortoiseshell and demonstrates how identification can be achieved by combining visual observation under low-power magnification with an understanding of the structure and characteristic deterioration of these materials. It also demonstrates how peptide mass fingerprinting of the keratin can be used to identify keratinous tissues, often to species, even when recognizable structural information has not survived.

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The use of Baleen for Arms, Armour and Heraldic Crests in Medieval Britain

Abstract: The recent identification of whale baleen from a medieval archaeological context in Perth raises the issue of what uses were made of baleen in the medieval period. This note investigates the military uses to which this unusual material was put.

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

Dynamic filtration in baleen whales: recent discoveries and emerging trends

Dynamic filtration in baleen whales: recent discoveries and emerging trends

How do baleen whales stow their filter? A comparative biomechanical analysis of baleen bending

Advances in identifying archaeological traces of horn and other keratinous hard tissues

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