Serge
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225348205
2008-07-13T05:49:32Z
201.17.36.246
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'''Serge''' is a type of [[twill]] [[textile|fabric]] that has diagonal lines or ridges on both sides, made with a two-up, two-down [[weave]]. The [[worsted]] variety is used in making [[military uniforms]], [[suit (clothes)|suit]]s, great and [[trench coat]]s. Its counterpart, [[silk]] serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety. The word is also used for a high quality [[wool]]en [[woven]].
== Etymology and history ==
The name is derived from [[Old French]] ''serge'', itself from [[Latin]] ''serica'', from [[Greek language|Greek]] σηρικος (''serikos''), meaning "silken" <ref name=etymonline>http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=serge</ref>. The early association of silk serge, Greece, and France is shown by the discovery in [[Charlemagne]]'s tomb of a piece of silk serge dyed with [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] motifs, evidently a gift from the Byzantine Imperial Court in the [[8th century|8th]] or [[9th century]] AD.
From early Saxon times, most English wool ("staples") was exported. In the early [[sixteenth century]] it went mainly to a Royal [[monopoly]] at [[Calais]] (then an English possession) and was woven into cloth in France or the [[Low Countries]]. However, with the capture of Calais by the French on [[7 January]] [[1558]], England began expanding its own weaving industry. This was greatly enhanced by the European Wars of Religion ([[Eighty Years' War]], [[French Wars of Religion]]); in [[1567]] [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] refugees from the Low Countries included many skilled serge weavers, while [[Huguenot]] refugees in the early [[eighteenth century]] included many silk and linen weavers.
[[Denim]] is a [[cotton]] fabric with a similar weave; its name is believed to be derived from "serge de Nîmes" after [[Nîmes]] in France.
== See also ==
* [[Tweed (cloth)|Tweed]]
* [[Red Serge]]
==References==
<references />
* [http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ebyzantine/ Images from World History: Early Byzantine history (7 - 11th c. A.D.)]
* [http://www.localhistories.org/southampton.html A Brief History of Southampton]
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[[Category:Woven fabrics]]
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[[fr:Serge (tissu)]]
[[ru:Саржа]]