Tattoos in Europe 500bc-1900ad
The history of tattoos in Europe took a very different direction then most of the other world. Many historic figures, such as Plato and Herodotus wrote that decorative tattoos were barbaric. In ancient Greece and Rome, tattoos were only forced on people, such as slaves, criminals, and mercenaries, so if they escaped or deserted, they could be easily found. A common formula for the pigment was written as such: Egyptian pine wood, corroded bronze, gall, vitriol, combine with vinegar to make a powder, then mix that with water and leek juice. The tattoo process was written as pricking the design with a needle enough to draw blood, then rub ink over the open skin to make a design, a traditional process called ink-rubbing, used today, commonly by amateurs, trying to give themselves a tattoo without proper equipment.
Due to the fact that all tattoos were forced on, tattoo removal was also a common occurrence and the process was simple; causing a chemical burn by rubbing lime onto the tattoo to burn the skin away. This all changed around 325ad when Christianity became the main religion throughout Europe, ending the practice of forced tattoos entirely. |
Other, less developed groups in Europe were recorded to have decorative tattoos starting around 200ad. Tribes, including the Scots, Britons, Iberians, Gauls, Goths, Teutons, and Picts, adorned their skin with pictures of animals. Their process for tattooing was to simply prick the skin with iron needles with the pigment on the tip. Their pigment was also simple: juice extract from grass, that would leave a very subtle color in the skin. |
The more Christianity spread throughout Europe, the more tattooing was lost as a practice. Tattooing did not see a return until around 1800ad as European explorers would go to other places around the world, such as Polynesia and later Japan. These explorers, amazed by the tattoos, would get tattoos from the tattoo artist there, then when they traveled back to Europe, the art caught on due to its pure brilliance, and slowly brought back tattooing to Europe. The most famous case of this is Duke of Clarence later King George V, and Czarevich of Russia later Czar Nicholas II, who both received a traditional Japanese tattoo from Japanese master tattoo artists.