Clothing
From Medieval Wiki
By Alexandra Heller and Zoe Hernandez
It's always the badly dressed people who are the most interesting. ~Jean Paul Gaultier
Contents |
Medieval Apparel
Long ago in the Dark ages, roads that were created were in a bad state, bridges were scarce, and robbers attacked every road. Because of this populations were small and bound to the land surrounding the Nobles' castle. Many only moved about when there were certain festivals in other towns or kingdoms. This was the only occasion on which people would be able to buy or browse different goods and have an opporitunity to sell their own food or garments and goods made for sale. Fear was what controlled the people’s lives and persuaded them to request protection from knights or their king, who had created well-defended castles. Times were rough, and people thought little of clothing. Only the nobles had enough time and money to wear lavish and soft things.
Clothes were usually made at home unless you were a noble or a tailor, and were often scratchy and shapeless. Pants, tunics and shawls were what kept away the cold. Shawls were often made of wool or kersey, and if you were rich enough,lined with fur and draped over the shoulders. Shoes were just leather wrapped tightly around the foot. You would feel everything you stepped on, whether or was a rock or hay. Colors were very dull; they were often only shades of gray, brown, dark blue and red. Though the people did not give much thought to what they were wearing, if it was uncomfortable or too big, they would make adjustments so it would not interfere with their work.
Peasants
More than 80% of the kingdom was made of of peasants. There were very few nobles, and since there were so many peasants, they could easily overthrow the nobles if they wanted too. Since the Nobles had such wonderful clothing and the peasants didn't, if they wanted to have clothes like the nobles, it wasn't impossible. Clothing of peasants were simple. It was made of rough wool or linen. Peasant women would sit at a loom all day and spin clothes for their family. Most peasant families had only one or two outfits per person. They never washed their outer garments, so the wood smoke from a fire would act as their kind of deodorant. Women wore coarse wool and linen so they would wear a thin undergarment under the dress to keep the dress from scratching them. The Peasant men would wear stockings and tunics, while the women wore while sleeveless tunics and wimples to cover their hair." And in the winter, when it was cold, "sheepskin cloaks, woolen hats and mittens along with a doubled over leather strap on their feet for 'shoes'.
The outer apparel was practically never washed and the smell of wood smoke that stained the clothing acted as a deodorant. The peasants would mostly do their work and make new clothes when needed. They rarely had time to clean their clothes because drying clothes took a long time, and most fabrics and stitching would fall to pieces just being submerged underwater. For their legs, women wore woven tights or socks, but women never wore pants. Men rarely wore pants too, they would wear tunics and leggings most of the time, unless it was a holiday or special festival. They also wouldn't work on any Festivals And Holidays. Then they would enjoy themselves at the castle. At some of the holidays, the nobles would host banquets where there would be lots of Food and Drink.
Royal Clothing
Upper scale medieval clothing was as much about showing off wealth as it was comfort. In fact, much medieval clothing of the royal variety was most likely very uncomfortable. Intended more as a display of wealth, royal medieval clothing was about showing off the latest styles and fashions. Womens medieval clothing, for example, often featured long trains and elaborate jewelry. The mens medieval clothing was often equally elaborate, featuring complex designs of fabric and colors. Kings and Queens often had their clothes made by tailors that lived in their castles. Their clothes consisted of silk and other smooth materials.
Only nobles had their clothes made for them. Everybody else had to make their own clothes. Ladies of the court would wear long white sleeveless dresses lined with silk ribbons and had a jewel studded belt made from some sort of precious metal. When winter came,everybody would have warmer clothes made, or their current clothes adjusted to suit the weather. Fur was used to line the clothes of the rich. It was mostly used to keep you warm, but it would aslo prove your wealth to others below your class. Even wear more layers would prove your wealth.And ALL women wore at least one tunic down to their ankles. Many, if they could afford it, wore a thin linen under-tunic and often a wool cloak over that if it was cold outside.
Jewelry was rare and lavish. Gem cutting was not invented until the fifteenth century, so most stones were not very lustrous. When someone was mining and accidentally dropped an ordinary looking stone, breaking it and revealing the gems inside, a big fuss would be made. Gems were so rare that ever getting to see one was a reward itself. A lucky peasant with a keen eye might spot ruby earings on a noble, or a miniscule saphire ring on the hand of lady. The women would wear their dresses to the ground.Even Monks wore their tunics down to the ground, as well as kings and noblemen, for parties and special festivals.
The End for Medieval Clothing
Its amazing how much we know today about clothing back then. Medieval clothing would be torn a apart by the air and become threadbare. This is the reason not much medieval clothing survives today. They used such earthly material, it rotted when buried underground, and when clothing became threadbare, the people would use the old clothing for rags.
Glossary
In the Middle Ages, only the for the wealthy, clothes were sewn by tailors. Here are some of the colors and fabrics tailors used:
Burnet: any of the plants belonging to the Sanguisorba and Poterium family, having pinnate leaves and dense heads of small flowersperse handy for weaving or decorating lincoln scarlet: A red dyed fabric similar to cotton worn by Robin hood and his merry men, but their clothing was dyed lincoln green
damask: a reversible fabric of linen, silk, cotton, or wool, woven with detailed patterns.
kersey: a heavy overcoating of wool or cotton, similar to beaver and melton, coarse and twilled with cotton warp used mostly for work clothes
kirtle a tunic worn to their ankles.
russet: a coarse reddish-brown homespun cloth
wimple: A cloth a tightly woven cloth wound around the head, framing the face, and drawn into folds beneath the chin.
Bibliography (articles and books)
"What life was like in the age of chivalry"
"dress." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 5 Dec. 2008
"stage design." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 5 Dec. 2008
Go to these sites for more information on Medieval clothing:
All Different Clothing for All Different people
External links
this is a game that i randomly selected off the internet. it is fun yay!
Any man may be in good spirits and good temper when he's well dressed. There ain't much credit in that. ~Charles Dickens
