I was interested in how the medieval men and women dressed during the crusades. Unsurprisingly, the clothes were highly depended in the class of the people. The clothes of the peasants were pretty simple but the of the nobles were distinguishable by their sleeves. Knights wore sleeveless "surcoats" covered with a coat of arms. The rich even managed to import turbans and silks from the East. However, at the end of the 13th century, styles changed and tunics became tighter and undershirts and briefs were worn underneath sleeveless jacket and an additional tunic. In addition, men's medieval clothing also consisted of cloaks “with a round opening that was slipped over the man's head.” Early medieval women wore "kirtles", which were tunics worn to their ankles and over a shirt. Married women wore tight-fitting caps and nets over their hair.
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The upper class had clothes made for them by tailors out of expensive and exotic fabrics, while the majority of the population made there own clothes from cheap, plain-colored fabrics.
ReplyDeleteIts actually really interesting to trace the evolution of style from the middle ages into the early renaissance period. Gaurav mentioned that women wore kirtles, an ankle-length skirt worn to the ankles over a shirt. By the sixteenth century, the shirt had turned into a type of chemise (resembling a nightgown), worn as the first layer underneath the rest of an outfit. Also, women's skirts became much more complicated: for the nobility, a series of petticoats (and later a farthingale--hoop skirt) would be worn underneath the kirtle. Over it (the kirtle) would be the overskirt, usually containing a triangular shaped slit at its front to reveal the contrasting pattern of the kirtle. Having dressed myself in a slightly less complicated version of this, I can certainly appreciate why women needed help dressing!
ReplyDelete~C. Erba