Helena Larsdotter Lindelia – what’s new? A follow-up to Inger Estham’s research from 1974 on the Småland Baroque embroiderer. Helena Larsdotter Lindelia is an uncommon example of a named Swedish female embroiderer from the Baroque period. Swedish churches and museums house a significant collection of historical church textiles. These textiles, including Lindelia’s works, fall under cultural heritage protection laws. My objective in tracing Lindelia’s known works over time was to examine how the perspective on shared cultural heritage and practices related to the conservation of culturally protected textiles have evolved over time. Additionally, I have aimed to determine whether the perception of Lindelia's works has changed since the embroiderer was named in 1974. To achieve this, I conducted a comparative analysis of written source materials, images, and textile objects, supplemented by discourse analysis. To perform the comparative analysis, I first conducted a comprehensive inventory of all preserved works by Lindelia.  I have successfully managed to relocate most of Lindelia’s currently known works. A central concept in my thesis is heritage-making, and I view the relocation of several works from churches to museums in the late 19th century as a step in the heritage-making of older church textiles. Moreover, even the works of Lindelia that remain in churches today are now regarded more as cultural heritage objects than as functional items, being out of use. I have been able to state that after Agnes Geijer from the Pietas textile studio drew attention to the "Småland studio" in the 1940s, a small increase in the conservation of Lindelia’s works became evident. Following Inger Estham's research in the 1970s, there was yet another increase in awareness of the cultural-historical value of Lindelia's textile works. However, it is worth noting that she remains largely unknown outside these circles despite her uniqueness as a named female Baroque embroiderer with nearly 50 preserved works, which is quite remarkable.

The purpose of this thesis is to try and create a proposed method for object-based research, that can identify the presence of secular dress that have been repurposed in church vestments. By applying the basic principles of Material Culture Studies and current research methods for the fields of Textile Studies, a proposed model is developed in accordance with different process development strategies. The result of the study gives not only a new possible format for object-based studies within the research of repurposed textiles in a historical context, but also renders new data about a large quantity of chasubles in the collection of Statens historiska muséer. The results can shed new light on secular dress repurposed for liturgical vestments.

<p>Mitt syfte är att ta reda på om mässhaken har ändrat sitt utseende på något vis. Jag har försökt följa mässhakens utveckling från den allra tidigaste kristendomen till i dag. Vilken form av förändring har skett hos mässhaken? Har reformationen påverkat mässhaken på ett eller annat sätt? Finns det någon politisk eller social påverkan som kan ses i mässhaken? Har den möjligen påverkats av modet? Varifrån kommer mässhaken och hur har den fått sin nuvarande form?</p>

Mitt syfte är att ta reda på om mässhaken har ändrat sitt utseende på något vis. Jag har försökt följa mässhakens utveckling från den allra tidigaste kristendomen till i dag. Vilken form av förändring har skett hos mässhaken? Har reformationen påverkat mässhaken på ett eller annat sätt? Finns det någon politisk eller social påverkan som kan ses i mässhaken? Har den möjligen påverkats av modet? Varifrån kommer mässhaken och hur har den fått sin nuvarande form?