“It was of linen, ornamented with numerous figures of animals, worked in gold and cotton. Each thread of the corselet was worthy of admiration, for though very fine, every one was composed of three hundred and sixty other threads, all distinct.” So said Herodutus describing a linen corselet presented by Amasis, King of Egypt, to the Ancient Greeks.

History abounds with references to linen, from the exquisite cloth that graced the wedding table of King Solomon and Queen Sheba to the curtains found hanging in King Tutankhamun’s tomb. In fact, history itself has been inscribed in linen as it has been employed to produce paper for thousands of years and still serves the purpose.

Linen appears to be one of the earliest fabrics known to civilisation. It is the fibre derived from flax, a reed-like shrub which thrives throughout the Mediterranean region and Central Asia. The plant has long fibres that are ideal for spinning into string and it is probably the first vegetable to be woven into fabric. Interestingly, while part of the fibre production process has been mechanised, a significant amount of processing is still done by hand as it was done in ancient times, to retain the integrity of the fibre’s texture.

Linen, the ancient word for flax in many languages, has contributed numerous other derivative terms to English including lingerie, line (as linen thread was used to determine a straight line) and lining, since heavy garments were often lined with linen.

This gorgeous fabric was once considered fit only for royalty and religious dignitaries but as weaving processes developed it came into common use and the Egyptians started using it extensively for tunics, gowns and also as a form of currency. Egyptian linen was renowned the world over. Egyptian sail cloths, festooned with embroidered motifs were greatly sought after, especially by Tyrians. The ship that carried Anthony and Cleopatra to the combat of Actium stood out from the rest of the armada by virtue of its purple linen sails, which by royal tradition was the exclusive preserve of the admiral’s armada.

Grecians were also among the major patrons of Egyptian linen. Grecian women are thought to be the founders of the tradition of employing a petite square of this fine fabric as a pocket bandanna, while some legends record that during a melee, Alexander the Great employed his linen turban to bandage Lysimachus’s wounds as it was believed that the cloth had healing properties. Some believe that the Etruscans devised body armour called linothorax made of densely woven, coarse linen fibres drenched in linseed oil and toughened by oxidation.

It is believed that the Ancient Roman emperors paid fabulous sums for the exquisite linen supplied by their colonial subjects and set up workshops to nurture the art of linen weaving. Embroidered with gold and silver thread, their robes and mantles were so opulent that, according to Plutarch, Cato regarded them as too expensive for an austere citizen’s use and sold his robes moments after inheritance.

Paper made of linen is extremely durable; some countries, including the United States, still make their currency from paper composed of 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent linen.

Over time, swelling trade routes introduced linen and flax farming to Europe, the Americas and the Near East. The Phonecians with their merchant fleet, established colonies in Carthage and Spain and from there they introduced linen cultivation in Ireland, along with the loom and spindle, probably around 900BC.

The Irish instantly fell in love with the new fabric, and bogs throughout Ireland provide proof of curing flax dating back around 2,000 years. The writings of early Christian times frequently refer to linen garb and vestments while the antediluvian Irish Brehon Laws comprehensively discuss manufacturing of linen. Over the centuries, linen became one of Ireland’s main industries; by the 16th century, according to Henry VIII, Irish linen was a chief export item. So extravagant were the Irish in their use of linen that in 1537 Henry VII enforced a disciplinary law which decreed that no subject should use in their attire, more than five ells of linen (approximately 90 inches).

In 1685, an expert weaver from Cambrai, France, Louis Crommelin, settled in Lisburn a few miles from Belfast. He came to Lisburn along with a number of fellow countrymen skilled in the manufacture of linen. Although the Irish linen industry was already booming, Crommelin discovered some space for improvement in the techniques of manufacture and his efforts built the fame and reputation of Irish linen.

Linen remained an exceptionally valuable textile in the New World but with the inception of the machine age, industrialists abandoned linen in favour of cotton which was easier to process and weave. In 1787, 20 years after the invention of spinning jenny for cotton, John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse of Darlington, England, were the first to start spinning flax on machines. Their efforts resulted in the development of a machine that could spin linen without robbing it of its unique attributes. The first mechanised linen spinning mill was established in Low Mill on River Skerne at Darlington.

However, this revival of the linen industry was short-lived and it received another blow in the beginning of the 20th century with the introduction of synthetic fibres. With cheaper alternatives available, there was a reduction in demand for medium-quality linen and only high quality linen retained a niche luxury market.

Recently, however, this magnificent fabric seems to be coming back to its former glory. In the 1970s barely seven per cent of the linen produced was employed for apparel whereas, in the year 2000, about 75 per cent of the linen produced was employed in the fashion industry. Owing to its fine texture, drape and elegant appearance, linen is once again playing a significant role in the fashion scene.