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In the Medieval period,
clothing was expensive to buy, and difficult to make, and so few garments survive
from this time. Most of the evidence that we have of such clothing
comes from paintings, and descriptions in books. Though
styles varied from country to country, however, at any one time it is
easy to see that the there were great differences between the clothing worn by the upper
and lower groups in feudal society. Before reading any
further, look at the picture below and try to find some of these
differences. (picture of castle personalities)
All groups in feudal
society wore the same types of clothing. Men wore trousers, a
long-sleeved undergarment, and a tunic (pictured above), while women wore
long gowns and headdresses (pictured above). There were differences,
however, in the fabrics, colors, and style of the clothing. Fabrics: the clothing of the
noble and the rich was made of the best type of fabrics, such as silk, fur,
velvet, gold-cloth, and high-quality wool and linen. Commoner and peasant
clothing was made of lower quality, more coarse wool or linen. Colors: clothing of the upper
classes was brighter, and more varied. The lower classes used duller colors,
and fewer of them in their clothing. Style: the nobility and the
rich wore clothing that was exaggerated, impractical, long, decorated, and
ornamented with jewelry. These groups also wore more layers of clothing than
did the poor. The peasants spun and wove their own fabrics, having little
time or money to spend on extras. Their clothes had to be practical to work
in. Could a peasant work in noble-shoes like these?
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Make a Medieval Clothing Pyramid
The differences in clothing matched the
pyramidal structure of feudal society. The type of clothing you wore
reflected who you were, your job, your station in society, and the amount of
money you made. Look at the words below, and group them
according to fabric, color, and style into the top or bottom of the triangle.
The top part of the triangle will represent the more privelaged groups in
feudal society (kings and queens, other nobility, the rich merchants), while
the bottom part will represent the less privelaged groups (commoners, poor
merchants, the peasants). Don’t forget to label your pyramid with names of
the groups!
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Do Clothes Make the
Person? Think of what you have
learned so far about clothing in the middle ages and look at the 2 pictures
below. After looking, answer the questions below.
__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 2.
Who do you think is a commoner, and who is a noble? Give two reasons
for your decision. Try to think about the elements that distinguish the
clothing, such as fabrics, colors, and style (ornamentation, practicality,
patterns). __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ |
Medieval Clothing Across Time As we have seen, in any country at any
one time, clothing in the Middle Ages varied across classes. Now we will look
at how clothing changed across time. We will look at two influences on
fashion during this period: the Middle-East, and the rise of the city
merchants. Before reading on, look at the clothing on page 7, and try to
think of reasons how these two influences changed fashion. The Middle-East
From
the fall of Rome until the first Crusade, clothing did not change a lot.
Roman, wrap around the body style “toga” clothing was the norm. Where it was
colder, this style stayed in different ways; in 11th century
England, for example, the large tunic, and cloak for men, and the long,
shapeless dress for women reflected loose fitting Roman influence. The poor
wore these styles for centuries long after new styles were adopted by the
rich.
Though the fabrics, colors, and styles of Middle-Eastern clothing had entered Europe before, only the kings and queens could afford to import them. Once the Crusades started, merchants, Crusaders, pilgrims, and scholars all brought back exotic fabrics, dyes, and styles from the Far and Middle East to Europe. Silk came to Europe through the Middle East, and so did the technology to make better clothing. One thick, high-quality cloth from the Middle East adopted by Europeans after the Crusades was called damask, which is from Damascus (a city in Syria). As well, headdresses began to take on a Middle-Eastern, turban style:
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The Rise of the City Merchants Fashions changed at such a rapid pace that
the years 1338-1485 are called the fantastic century of clothing. Plainer
styles became more extravagant, and long, loose fitting clothes became more
form-fitting. The use of color exploded as well, in some cases, either side
of a pair of pants was a different color! Look
at the two men pictured here. They are both nobles, but look very different!
Draw a line to the types of clothing listed. What differences do you see? -
Hose (pants) -
Tunic (overcoat) -
Liripipe (headdress) -
Shoes -
Sleeves One reason for fashion changes was
that tailoring began to flourish. Now tailors could make extravagant or form
fitting styles. A more important reason was the increasing wealth of the city
merchants. Through trade, merchants became rich, and they wanted to look like
nobles; nobles, on the other hand did not wish to look like merchants, and
competition took place between the two groups. Remember the impractical shoes
above? Look at the changes in headdresses that occurred:
One of the results of this competition
was the creation of “Sumptuary Laws”, which are laws regulating who could
wear what. In many countries across Europe, these laws were used to prevent
ordinary citizens from dressing above their position in society, forbidding
all but nobles to wear certain fabrics, colors, or styles of clothing. |
Medieval Fashion Challenge Below are 4 figures. Draw clothing on them based on their rank in feudal society. Remember to think about the fabric, color, and style of clothing when you are creating your fashion statements. You can use page 7 as a guide, or use a book from your classroom. Peasant Queen/King Noble Merchant (rich or poor) |