Knot tying has been around for as long as there have been people to tie knots. It is unclear, however, when people started putting knots together in a decorative way. It is easy to believe that decorative knotting has existed for thousands of years, but knotted cords, like most other organic material, haven’t survived long enough for this to be confirmed.
The earliest existing record of what would come to be called macramé can be found on large Assyrian stone carvings from the 8th. century BCE that adorned the walls of the palace of King Ashurnasirpal II in what is now northern Iraq. These carvings, which are currently housed in The British Museum, depict macramé fringed tunics as well as a fringed horse harness.
Decorative knotting was first brought to Europe with the Moorish invasion of Spain in the 8th. century and from there it spread through France. It became especially popular with nuns who developed it into fine knotted lace. By the 13th. century, crusaders had been introduced to macramé by Arab weavers, who would finish off the warp ends of their weaving with decorative knotted fringe. Macramé traveled home with the crusaders and soon spread throughout all of Europe.
The word macramé is often mistaken as French, however its origins probably lie in the Middle East. Although the exact origin of he term is uncertain, it likely came from the Arabic word ‘migramah,’ which literally means protection, but came to refer to the fringed shawls or head coverings commonly worn by Arabs. A similar word in Turkish ‘makrama’ means a fringed towel or napkin. The common denominator in both of these definitions is fringe. While one of the earliest uses for macramé was fringed trim, the word soon came to signify many different types of decorative knotting.
As with most natural fibers, few extant examples of macramé have been found and much of what remains is only fragments. The examples that have been found, however, show a great variety of different patterns, tied with different materials. Several cloth items have even survived with their decorative macramé trim still intact and attached. There are also a couple pouches from the very end of the 16th. century that are either decorated with or completely constructed using macramé.
It is impossible to know all of the ways in which macramé was used before the year 1600; however, the record is clear that the craft was available to everyone. It showed no class distinction and is not unique to any specific culture or time period. It was just as likely to be used by a nun, who was very skilled in many kinds of needlework, to make an elaborate alter covering as it was to be used by a peasant to tie off the loose strings along the edge of his scarf. Macramé, along with other similar forms of decorative knotting, has been practiced in cultures all over the world throughout the centuries, they continue to be practiced today and will likely be practiced for many years to come.