The pale, fine, soft fleece of the Merino sheep.
- First documented
- Middle Ages
- Origin
- Castile, Spain
- Fiber
- merino wool
- Weave
- fine woven or knitted, from Merino wool
- Family
- twills
Plate No. 112 · fabric
Merino
Merino is the fine, soft wool of the Merino sheep, the breed that sets the global benchmark for wool fineness. Its fibers are far thinner than ordinary wool, so the cloth is soft against the skin, warm for its weight, and free of the prickle of coarser fleece. Medieval Spain held a near-monopoly on the breed and made exporting a live Merino a crime punishable by death, which kept the trade and its wealth Spanish for centuries. Only in the 1700s did flocks reach Saxony, France, and eventually Australia, which is now the great Merino producer.
Named for
The name's origin is disputed: perhaps from a Spanish royal official who oversaw sheep pastures, or from the Banu Marin, a Berber dynasty whose sheep may have improved the Spanish flocks.