My interest in decorated veils was just cursory and fleeting at first. In my early years in the SCA, the beaded veils I saw at events were few and usually worn by someone, well, "of importance." Then, at a Silent Auction fundraiser at a holiday party for my SCA Household, House Ironwolf, I fell in love. Mistress Jervisa Wainwright had made and donated to the auction a linen veil beaded in glass and silver. It had that je-ne-sais-quoi. Unfortunately, I lost the bid. Shortly after the holidays I learned I was to have the honor of serving as the Baroness of North Woods, a Barony of the Middle Kingdom (Mid-Michigan). I contacted Mistress Jervisa and asked if I could commission her to make such a veil for me using Baronial colors. I was deeply moved when she gifted that veil to me for my Installation as Baroness. Thus began my trip down the rabbit hole of decorated veils. It is not just the bling, but the added weight creates a look, a movement, and feel that I absolutely adore.

You may busy yourselves with your veils, 

you twitch them thither; 

you gild them here and there with gold thread, 

and spend thereon all your time and trouble.

You will spend a good six-months work on a single veil which is sinful 

great travail - and all that men may praise thy dress.

In fact, there is a great deal of documentary and iconographic evidence that women in the Middle Ages regularly covered their heads. Muzzarelli, in her article, The Paradoxical Story of the Veil in the Middle Ages, notes, "Sumptuary laws testify to a woman’s obligation to cover her head, preachers dedicated entire sermons to the same subject and iconographical sources confirm it for females of all social conditions."

Sumptuary Laws may provide proof of the wearing of veils. An investigation of sumptuary laws regarding veils reveals restriction about who can wear them, what they can be made of, and how much they can cost depending on what country and when. For example, the 1363 English Sumptuary Law states that the wives and daughters of grooms and servants were not to wear veils above twelve pence in value and the wives and daughters of craftsmen and yeomen were not to wear silk veils.(Silverman /  Tindall)

The history of Oya is somewhat difficult both to research and to document for the following reasons:

1 - Natural fibers degrade over time;

2 - It is a history of women; taught by one generation of women to the next;

3 - It is primarily from an area of the world where women have been historically insignificant while conquest, suppression, and destruction went hand in hand with history, especially the Armenian Genocide of 1915 during WWI; and

4 - It is not just one thing, in one form, specific to one time and one place.

Oya, also known as Turkish lace or needle lace has a complex history. Oya, is the Turkish term for a decorative edging or embellishment for garments and other cloth articles that has been made since antiquity (Wetzel) created by working a thread or threads, usually of silk for special items or cotton for every-day items, into a pattern of knots to create a “lace.” 

There are four major types of oya: 

1 - Needle made oya (Turkish: ığne oyası)

2 - Crochet oya (T: tıg oyası)

3 - Tatting  oya (T: mekik oyası)

4 - Hairpin oya.

These various techniques are often combined and additional items, such as beads, sequins and paillettes are used to create different effects. (TRC Leiden) The ığne oyası is the historically traditional method.

Textile crafts originally were created to fulfill the most basic of needs: protecting from the natural elements, covering the body, storing produce and goods, decorating homes, and the  embellishing of these goods, to beautify.(Ergen)

Throughout its history, in addition to edgings on head scarves, undergarments, and household items, the art of oya has been used to created doilies and other larger textiles. In all cases, the lace is worked with needle and thread, developing row upon row of knots into intricate designs.

It is often stated by researchers and artisans alike that “lace and embroidery were first introduced into Europe from Asia Minor;” however, there is no evidence to identify a specific time or place.  

In her book "Armenian Needlelace and Embroidery," Alice Odian Kasparian says “the knowledge of lacemaking was probably carried to Europe by the returning Crusaders [c. 1097-1270]. (p. 27)

Head scarves with decorated edges can be traced back to ancient celebrations of Pagan deities. In  "Armenian Needlelace and Embroidery," Alice Odian Kasparian describes the activities of Vartaavar which became associated with Ascension Day after the acceptance of Christianity in the 4th century CE. Young maidens would participate wearing silk head scarves edged with lace flowers and birds they created for themselves. These veils are called aklorik because “the aklor (rooster) was the symbol of happiness and health” was a favored motif.(p. 24)

The importance of the headdress for Turkish women is expressed in a proverb as “first head, then meal and then work, after waking up.” (Nas)  Headdresses and scarves, prayer and funeral head coverings, undergarments, outer garments, the edges of towels and napkins and as a decorative element in many other places were decorated with various kinds of oya. In the Aegean region even men’s headdresses were decked with layers of oya. Silk was most often reserved for items for special occasions and cotton yarns were used to make oya for daily wear.(TCF) 

Head coverings were not the only articles of clothing decorated by oya. 

"Needlework virtually festooned female court costumes of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922): Garments were made from handwoven silk brocades bearing patterns of small flowers and leaves. Leather slippers, trouser hems, and jacket fronts displayed lavish floral embroidery. In addition, intricate needle-lace flowers known as oya (from ancient Greek words for hem and edging) decorated blouse necklines and cuffs as well as the edges of head coverings. Small needle-lace motifs sometimes formed a tiara or coronet topping a scarf or fez. Horsehair (later, wire) stiffened the tiny flowers, some of which were accented with pearls." (Krager)

Although some scholars do not support the idea of symbolic meaning to oya motifs, Taciser Onuk’s extensive study of oya as a Professor of Art History, Ankara, Turkey, does indeed supports the idea of needle lace as a means of communication. “A new bride might signal her happiness by making and wearing green oya, her unhappiness by making and wearing yellow. Burdock shapes would tell her mother-in-law, ‘Do not stick to me like a thorn.’ ”(Wilson)

A few basic design elements are common throughout Mediterranean region; each culture has embraced them into its own tradition and patterns. Designs that represent aspects of the natural world, such as Mount Ararat, sunrise, carnations, honeysuckles, tulips (Anatolia is the source of the original tulips bred by the Dutch into modern tulip varieties), almonds, and chili peppers are classic examples. 

“Chili peppers have a special place in the Turkish language of flowers: Because a newly married woman was not allowed to speak without permission in her husband’s presence, she communicated the state of her marital relationship by the oya on her headscarf; chili peppers indicated the heat of anger toward her husband.”(Wetzel) Or passion? (Ergen)

De historia stirpium commentarii insignes (Notable commentaries on the history of plants), by Leonhart Fuchs and first published in 1542, describes new and exotic plants as well as plants that were purely medicinal. The inclusion of the chilli pepper, one of the New World plants which were unknown in Europe and Asia until the early 1500s is evidence to support the use of this motif during the Middle Ages, as the chili pepper became quite popular and well known in various regional cuisines. According to Michael Krondl, in The Taste of Conquest, it is likely Spanish Jews took chilies to the Eastern Mediterranean when they fled the Inquisition. 

"The ornamented headdress provides a way of expressing social status, economic power, and the level of craft skill of its wearer. Styles of headdress may also reflect the emotions of the wearer through the choice of fabric and colour."(Nas)

In an interview several years ago for the New Jersey Arts Council, Master Oya maker, Ylvia Asal, from Giresun, Turkey, told how “the women who hand-stitch it reveal how they are feeling with the embellishment of a particular flower or the edging of a distinctive ornamental pattern.”(Nerbak) The women would create their own language in the motifs of their lace indicating “I'm hoping to get married,” “I'm unhappy with my husband,” or “I'm still mourning my loss.” Her state of mind regarding familial life would be communicated creatively through the art of Oya.(Nerbak and Nishida)

“Within the textile crafts of Turkey, it sits in equal place alongside kilims, carpets, knitting, and embroidery. It is admired, collected, used, and made, reflecting the skills of the women who have continued this three-dimensional embroidery art for many centuries, passing down designs from mother to daughter through demonstration rather than documentation.”(Ergen)

After almost five years of research on this topic I have to agree with Marina Scott from “Making,” who says, 

I have begun to notice a pattern. Almost all articles mention these crafts have non-European origins. That they most likely or almost certainly developed in Arabian, African or Asian countries. This fact is almost always stated in 1 or 2 sentences, and then there is an immediate shift to all things European. Once the shift has happened, there are more detailed dates, names, and places. Frequently credit is given to Europeans for making these things popular, ignoring the fact that many of these skills were developed, refined, and used for hundreds if not thousands of years before they were "discovered" by Europeans. It is very difficult to find information in detail outside of Europe on these topics. I wonder what has been lost, taken, or hidden away from the people who are the true developers of these crafts. I wonder how much more rich the story would be if it was told in full.

This sentiment was stated also by Patricia Hickman in her Master’s Thesis where she states, “'Lace as an art form is strangely enough purely European; the successful efforts of other countries are few,' according to Christa Mayer from the Art Institute of Chicago. When considering the wonder of lace outside of her boundaries, that comment seems singularly and peculiarly Western."

As stated at the start, the history of Oya has not been easy to research or document because it was made of cotton or silk, both of which are natural fibers that rapidly degrade over time; it is a verbal and hands-on history of women from an area of the world women are not well-respected or represented; and is not just one thing, in one form, specific to one time and one place.

Hickman tells of a rather interesting endeavor from the 1940s.

One Turkish woman says to the other, “So you crochet, right?”

The friend replies, “O, ya!” 

As mentioned earlier, there are several methods for creating oya. One of them, Tig Oyasi, is a crochet method. It has been a long-held belief that crochet was not a skill or method used during the middle ages. I present the following for consideration.

Most sources for the history of crochet place its origins in or around the 18th or 19th century. However, there is evidence of similar fiber arts techniques that are much older. Marina Scott, in her article The History of Crochet outlines three such theories about the origins of crochet: 

1. Arabia - carried along trade routes to the rest of the world, mainly from Anatolia and the art known as Oya.

2. South America - crochet-type adornments used in puberty rite ceremonies believed to date back to the 1500s.

3. China - crocheted dolls have been found believed to be from the 1500s.

It appears that crochet has a much longer history, than commonly thought. It's development is convoluted with many of its attributes being attributed to other fiber arts techniques such as tapestry embroidery and nalbinding (which has been extensively researched and documented). Crochet uses a "slip stitch" which is an obvious progression from nalbinding; however, nalbinding uses a needle with a wide base and relatively short lengths of fiber.

A form of tapestry embroidery from Iran that uses a slip stitch made through felt with a "crochet hook" has been documented at least back to the 16th and 17th centuries, but may be as old as the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC). This crocheting is done by the use of a type of special hook that makes colorful patterns with silk yarns on Mahut fabric, which is a kind of wool worsted fabric. 

During the middle ages, Iranian textiles were exported to all over the world. These products were so popular in Europe that the cover of tombstones of the European kings and elders were mostly chosen from Iranian textiles and carpets. 

Like many other fiber arts, older extant pieces are hard to find, even though the crafters were men, but the complexity of the art bears witness to a long history of development. Extant pieces decorated with crochet work are held by the Hermitage Museum of London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum (not from the middle ages). 

Another technique from which crochet is thought to originate is Tambour, although this supports a later era development as it is also thought that Tambour evolved somewhen between the 1600s to the 1800s, with no clear origin. Tambour is a kind of lace worked using very fine threads of silk hooked in and out of a background mesh in a chain stitch. The background mesh would be stretched over a circular frame, a non-musical tambourine (“tambour” is French for drum). It may actually have existed much earlier in China, Persia, and India before it gained popularity in England.(Scott)

Another piece of evidence to support Tambour as a precursor art to crochet is described in the WEFT (West of England Festival of Textiles) article, The History of Crochet.

Bells or beads were often added to ward off evil spirits and to warn of difficult people in your midst.