Editing Mitten (section)

== History ==
Humans have likely used mittens for millennia, but wool and other materials used to construct clothing [[biodegradable|biodegrade]] quickly, which limits the amount of extant relics. From [[Ancient Egypt]] several depictions of mittens survive,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hallmann |first=Aleksandra |date=23 June 2017 |title=Clothing (non-royal), Pharaonic Egypt |journal=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30017|isbn=9781444338386 }}</ref> and some gloves found at Egyptian pyramids have been described as resembling mittens, with the collection of [[egyptologist]] [[Robert Hay (Egyptologist)|Robert Hay]] supposedly having contained a "linen sleeve and mitten in one piece."<ref name="London1873">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8JYAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA18 |title=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London |publisher=Society of Antiquaries |year=1873 |series=Second Series |volume=V |location=London}}</ref>{{rp|18}}

Some of the earliest clearly identifiable mittens date to around 1000 A.D. in [[Latvia]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2006 |title=NATO Summit 2006 |url=http://www.rigasummit.lv/en/id/cats/nid/697/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221033328/http://www.rigasummit.lv/en/id/cats/nid/697/ |archive-date=21 December 2009 |publisher=Rigasummit.lv}}</ref> and mittens continue to be part of Latvian [[national costume]] today.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 December 2015 |title=The Latvian Folk Dress |url=https://www.latvia.eu/traditions-culture/latvian-folk-dress |access-date=29 January 2021 |website=Latvia.eu |publisher=Latvian Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: National Costume |url=http://www.am.gov.lv/en/latvia/about/symbols/Costume/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121021352/http://www.mfa.gov.lv:80/en/latvia/about/symbols/Costume/ |archive-date=21 November 2010 |publisher=Am.gov.lv}}</ref> Another example is a specimen found during the excavations of the [[early medieval]] trading town of [[Dorestad]] in the Netherlands: In the harbour area a mitten of wool was discovered dating from the 8th or early 9th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brandenburgh |first=Chrystel |date=January 2010 |title=Textile Production and Trade in Dorestad |journal=Dorestad in an International Framework: New Research on Centres of Trade and Coinage in Carolingian Times |pages=83–88 |doi=10.1484/M.STMH-EB.3.2453|isbn=978-2-503-53401-5 }}</ref> Two left-handed leather mittens found on the [[Mary Rose]] are believed to have been used for [[falconry]], whereas in modern times [[Falconry training and technique#Gauntlets|gloves or gauntlets]] are used for this purpose.<ref>{{Cite web |website=The Mary Rose |publisher=The Mary Rose Trust |title=Falconry Mitten |url=http://www.maryrose.org/discover-our-collection/story-of-the-ship/image-galleries/nggallery/image/falconry-mitten |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016193245/http://www.maryrose.org:80/discover-our-collection/story-of-the-ship/image-galleries/nggallery/image/falconry-mitten |archive-date=16 October 2016 |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref> From [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] times, [[embroidery|embroidered]] "gauntlet mittens" survive which were made from crimson silk [[velvet]], [[satin]] and  [[sequin]]s, with the [[embroidery thread|thread and floss]] dyed in twelve different colours.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pair of Elizabethan gauntlet mittens at Dunham Massey, NT 934939 |url=http://www.nationaltrustimages.org.uk/image/73040 |access-date=31 January 2021 |publisher=[[National Trust]]}}</ref>

When knitting became more popular in England in the 16th century, mittens were produced at home from wool. One of the earliest known mittens for children survives from this period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mitten |url=http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Permanent/medieval/objects/record.htm?type=object&id=90608 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090311220635/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Permanent/medieval/objects/record.htm?type=object&id=90608 |archive-date=11 March 2009 |publisher=[[Museum of London]]}}</ref> The is a form of [[circular knitting]], and modern knitters often use a circular needle.

Many people around the [[Arctic Circle]] have used mittens, including other [[Balts|Baltic peoples]], [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Native Americans]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Native American Mittens & Gloves |url=http://www.nativetech.org/clothing/mittens/ |access-date=16 March 2010 |publisher=NativeTech}}</ref> and [[Viking]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking Garment Construction |url=http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikgarment.html |access-date=16 March 2010 |publisher=Cs.vassar.edu}}</ref>