Linen, derived from flax, is one of the oldest textiles used by man. Its known history begins at about 8000 b.c. in Anatolia (Turkey). Remnants found in Egypt dating to 6000 b.c. indicate that its chief uses there were for clothing and mummification. The Phoenicians carried the fiber to Greece and Rome. Its production and use eventually spread over the entire Mediterranean and temperate climatic zones of Europe and Asia, from Japan to Ireland and from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.

In Gaul, linen was cultivated long before the Roman invasions, although Charlemagne (742?-814) was the first to promote this material there. In France, linen was in use in large quantities by the eleventh century, when it was discovered that garments made of this material promoted the healing of certain skin diseases. Priests also took to wearing it as a symbol of purity. In the thirteenth century...