Middle Ages is quite a humble era, but in my speech I will talk about European costume from 1000th to 1500th century, so the start of Renaissance is also included.
The materials of medieval costume varied. Wool, linen, leather, fur, even silk and velvet were materials of costumes. Goldfabrics were woven, and especially in Byzantium jewels and enamel were essential part of the costume - not only detached jewelry. But there was a great deal of work till the fabric was ready to be sewn.
If the costume was meant to be woollen, sheep had to be sheared, the wool washed, spinned and the spinned thread woven to fabric. And if linen was needed, flax had to be raised. The flax grew in the summer, and after it was harvested, it had to be soaked. Soaking time varied, depending on the weather and the water where it was soaked. After soaking the linen fibers were washed, brushed several times and finally spinned. Spinning took time, and women spinned almost all the time, when there was nothing else for the hands to do. After linen or wool was spinned to threads, it was woven and dyed. Dying could be done before or after weaving - if before, threads and warps could be different colour.
Fur and leather needed a lot of work also. The fat and other remains had to be removed, and the pelt tanned. Pelts were an important trade object. Furs and pelts were also product with which one could pay taxes. For instance, Finland or "Eastland" as it was called by Swedish rulers, was a remarkable producer of pelts. One valuable furbearing animal, sable, even became extinct during the Middle Ages in Finland. So the noble ladies needed not to tan every single piece of fur they needed to their clothing.
Silk was a fabric used only by the aristocracy. It has been known very long time, but Chinese kept making of it as a secret for centuries. And when the knowledge of making silk became known in Europe, it landed to Byzantium. Byzantians kept the secret as well as the Chinese before. In Byzantium there were manufactures for making silk. Silk was used by royal family and the nobility in the Byzantium, but also sold to the aristocracy over Europe.
Velvet become known in Europe during the 1500th century. In Orient it had been common, and from orient it came. Velvet was very valuable, but also very popular especially among the nobility of Italy and Spain.
In the first centuries of Middle Ages fabrics were very valuable; also the linen and woollen fabrics had their value. The patterns of costumes were often square, so the fabric could be woven ready to the shape that pattern of the costume needed. And if the fabric had to be cut, every single piece of fabric was saved, made to a little purse or handkerchief. Later, when feudal system developed, the nobility developed as well. In the first centuries of Middle Ages the gap between the peerage and the common people was not as deep as it was to be later. The aristocracy became rich, it could buy fabrics and threads, or take them as taxes, and the noble women needed not to concentrate saving every little thread. Their costumes became luxurious, were often fully embroidered or applied when the nobilities few centuries before had to be content with a single trimming of braid in the hem of the dyed tunic - which was still more than the grey or brown costumes of the common people.
But let's start wondering different styles of costume in Middle Ages.
Both men and women wore also cloak, often square shaped, but sometimes also circle or semicircle. Cloaks were often woollen, but sometimes also of fur. They were fastened with a clasp to right shoulder. Tunics were ornamented by braids in the hem and the neck. Tunics were also girdled. Women did not wore panties or such, but men supposedly had some kind of "panties."
The hose, socklike pantylegs, were not sewn to panties, but hose were laced to legs and maybe to panties. Both sexes wore shoes or slippers of leather. If a woman was married she wore a veil, if not, she had her hair loose. Both sexes wore also hoods. The clothing of nobilities and peasants didn't differ very much - nobilities maybe had more ornamented and more colourful clothing.
The Costume of the 1100's
A picture of the costume in the 1100's
The ancient tunics and chemises remained still in use, but new
styles were born. Women's overgarment was no longer clearly
a tunic. It became closefitted and was often laced. But the
strongest diffrence was in sleeves: they became very long,
pendent sleeves that even reached the ground. These sleeves
are sometimes called "romanesque sleeves" due to the Romanesque
Age that was around the turn of the first millennium. These
overgarment also had trains. As we can understand, these sleeves
were not made for working. So the peasants still used tunics
when the noble ladies had their long sleeves.
Men still had their tunics and hoses, but especially noblemen started to wear longer tunics. These long tunics were not for riding and fighting, but to be used in the courts. Especially in England the type was popular.
Also men's clothing improved a lot. Until this the hose had been separate, but till now they were joined at the top, and so they made real trousers. These trousers were often closefitting, and for the material was not elastic, strong movements could tear these trousers. Also men's tunic developed. It was no longer a tunic but more like a jacket. The upper part of it was closefitting, but under the hips the jacket loosened. This kind of jacket was invented in France, but during the century it spread through the courts of Europe. From France become also the fashion of hood with a long hem. Especially men had these hoods on their shoulders, though the hood was not on the head. Robin Hood wore just this kind of hood, and as he were the hero of 1200's we can call him a man of fashion. Both sexes wore also small caps. Women usually had hairnets under them.
In the second half of 1300's womens garment divided to bodice and skirt. The bodice was very closefitting and the collar was low, leaving the breast almost bare - and in some occasions, definitely bare. The collar was often trimmed with fur. The waist was high. The skirt was loose, and had a train. With this costume some kind of corset was worn. But the most remarkable feature of women's clothing was the henin, the high, towerlike hat with veil, which still seems to be the symbol of medieval lady for mundanes. During the next period, the 1400's the henin grew very high, it might had two horns and several meters of silk or linen veil over it.
The clothing of men developed as well. In France the jacket of past period got big puffed sleeves and a new name pourpoint. This jacket let its sleeves grow during the next period. Also houppelande, loose long jacket was French invention, although it became popular through the Europe. Men still wore trousers, but with advance: the trousers were made of woollen fabric, that was woven to be more elastic than in the past century. They also had little decoration in front, where penis is situated - a little puff was made there also.
The Costume of the 1400's
Many styles of clothing in past centuries remained to the 1400's,
and burst to bloom. One of these were the pendant sleeves.
They reached diffrent styles and forms throughout Europe. In
Germany they were very popular. They were long and made part
of the train of the garment. They could be divided to several
strips, or just be long piece of fur. Both sexes wore these
pendant sleeves that developed to false sleeves in some
occasions. The sleeve could have a hole in the middle, from
where the hand came out. The actual sleevehole could be closed
and used as a bag for coins, handkerchiefs or candies.
The loose French houppelande developed to closefitting robe that became popular especially in Italy. Women wore kind of robe too, but its waist was higher than in the robe of men. The skirt was very loose with train, when bodice was closefitting. The robe was in fashion in France and England, when in Germany women wore much looser overgarment, with low collar. The garment needed a brooch that collected the cloth in front, without it the garment was just an amount of fabric.
The influence of Moors in the southern Europe let the tourban become fashion also in northern Europe. In Germany both sexes wore tourbanlike headwear. In Germany men also wore a short cloak, and a French-style jacket under it.
In the end of the century the bodices of the garments of females became closefitting and needed a corset. The skirts were still loose having trains. The collars were very low, and women often hide their hair. These kind of costumes continued to be in fashion in different types during the Renaissance.
The religious organizations are quite inflexible and maintain old traditions, but also national costumes preserve traditions. For instance the Samish native costume bears medieval features. Although pattern of the overgarment of Sami people has developed from reindeerpelt, it still has a strong analogy to medieval tunic. Under the tunic both men and women can wear "säpikkäät", kind of hose, which are wore with leather pants, also called "persaukset". Also the "luhkka" is almost similar as the hood invented in 13th century in France. One can also mention the top of the "nutukkaat", which is curve, as was the medieval leather slipper. Anyway, the curve in the top of the "nutukas" is made for ski, not for decoration, like the top curves of the fashionable court shoes. I don't claim that Samish costume has developed straight from medieval costume of peasants, but that it has similar features to it. Of course it is possible, that these features developed independent but not likely. However, all over the Europe old features have just remained in national costumes.
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