SILK WORM

18th of December 2023

Photo Credits: Gyro, Katoosha, Wirestock (Getty Images) via CANVA

The truth is, I am only old in judgement and understanding. And he that will caper with me for a thousand marks, let him lend me money, and have at him. For the box of the ear that the prince gave you, he gave it like a rude prince, and you took it like a sensible lord. I have checked him for it, and the young lion repents. Marry, not in ashes and sackcloth, but in new silk and old sack.

FALSTAFF: Henry IV, Part 2, Act 1, Scene 2

SILK WORM (Bombyx mori)

Silk was a luxury import in Shakespeare’s world, highly sought after and at least, in theory, regulated by sumptuary laws. Silk comes from the cocoon of the Silk Moth (Bombyx mori) and has been cultivated for thousands of years, initially in China and Eastern Asia but later adopted in other countries. Silks and related fabrics such as taffeta and velvet also appear in Shakespeare’s works.

The Silk Moth is a domesticated insect and relies on humans for feeding, mainly Mulberry leaves. Italy developed silk industries from the 13th century and France from the 15th century. Read the Moruslondinium website for more details on Mulberries (the main food plant of the Silk Moth) cultivation in England including James VI and I, failed attempt to develop an English silk industry in the early 17th century.

More Information

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): Bombyx mori

Moruslondinium: Visit Site

Museum of Wales: Thomas Moffat (Theatre of Insects)

Moffat Theatre of Insects (part of Topsell’s Four Footed Beasts 1607): accessed via Archive.org