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Pretty blue

A rather nondescript plant – dyers woad traditionally grown in Thuringia – was the source of wealth for Görlitz. The indigo it contained was used during medieval times to dye cloth in an intensive purple-blue. The woad only released its precious dye after a very smelly treatment. The dried plant was soaked in water and urine and the textiles were tub-dyed in this unsavoury fermented mixture. The wet cloth [Ich habe hier nicht von weißem Stoff gesprochen, denn ich habe Färbungen von Garn und Stoffen mit Waid gesehen und sie sind nach meiner Erinnerung nicht weiß, sondern mehr oder weniger intensiv grün, wenn sie aus der Küpe kommen; sobald das Färbegut herausgenommen wird, schlägt die Farbe in das charakteristische Blau um] was spread out in the sun and the exposure to light turned the dye into the characteristic bright shade of blue. The fermentation process and the urine turning stale caused nauseating smells. Every time a dying day came up the dyer’s assistants drank large amounts of ale in order to provide the urine needed for the process. Whether their notorious hangovers are the origin of German expressions like „blau machen“ or „Blauer Montag“, both denoting the unanounced absence of employees from work or students from school is not quite sure – though it sounds plausible.