Medieval Clothing:
Some links, references, and keywords for searching
Online Art Collections
Bayeaux Tapestry - embroidered
c.1080 - various reproductions are online
Maciejowski Bible: commissioned
by King Louis IX (Saint Louis) of
France (1214 - 1270), crafted by Parisian artisans whose identities are unknown,
transported to the Court of Naples, Italy, in about 1300 where
descriptions of each of the scenes were added, later transported
northward to Cracow, Poland.
http://www.medievaltymes.com/courtyard/maciejowski_bible.htm
Manesse Codex (1300-1320):
http://www.manesse.de/manesse_start.shtml
Age of King Charles V
(1338-1380) - Bibiothèque Nationale de
France
http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/aaccueil.htm
The British Library has the Luttrell
Psalter (c. 1345), Lindesfarne
Gospels (c. 700),
and
Sforza Hours (c. 1490-1520) (
you can also find parts of them at other sites) -
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/digitisation6.html
Web Gallery of Art (go to
Search page and you can limit the search by period/country)
http://www.wga.hu/index.html
and I have a few
collections here:
Tenth and Eleventh Century Clothing Images - http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/rhuddlan/images/
15th Century Flemish Women's Clothing - http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/15th/index.html
Later medieval men's and women's work clothing images - http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/work/index.html
Tudor Images - http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/index.html
Clothing terms
Body layer, usually made of linen:
Braies - men's baggy underwear, short or knee length
depending on time/country
Shift, shirt, chemise, camiccia - the name depends
on the time/country
Chausses/hose - secured at waistband for men, tied
just below knee for women
Outer layers: generally men and women would wear a fitted garment and
then another layer over that. For wealthy people, the outer layer could
be quite elaborate. of course, there are many variations and
combinations! Definitions of these terms are changing as we learn more
about medieval clothing. When doing a web search on these terms be
aware that many people use them loosely, without historical basis. Some
terms are:
Cote, cotehardie
Houppelande
Farsetto
Doublet
Camora/gamurra
Kirtle
Surcoat
Tudor gown
Ropa
Print References
Bad sources
Anything that is primarily a redrawing of an artwork. Just about all
costume books in the Reference section (main floor) of the library fall
into this category. Especially:
Norris, Herbert
Peacock, John
Good Sources
Arnold, J. (1973). A Handbook of
Costume. London, Macmillan.
Arnold, J. (1985). Patterns of
fashion: the Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women
c1560-1620. New York, M/Drama Book.
Arnold, J. (1988). Queen Elizabeth's
Wardrobe Unlock'd. Leeds, Eng., Maney.
Birbari, E. (1975). Dress in Italian
Painting, 1460-1500. London, J. Murray.
Burns, E. J. (2004). Medieval
Fabrications: Dress, Textiles, Clothwork, and other Cultural Imaginings.
New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
Crowfoot, E., F. Pritchard, et al. (1992). Textiles and Clothing, c.1150-c.1450.
London, HMSO.
Frick, C. C. (2002). Dressing
Renaissance Florence: Families, Fortunes, and Fine Clothing.
Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hodges, L. F. (2000). Chaucer and
Costume: the Secular Pilgrims in the General Prologue. Suffolk;
Rochester, NY, D.S. Brewer.
Koslin, D. G. and J. E. Snyder (2002). Encountering Medieval Textiles and Dress:
Objects, Texts, Images. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
Newton, S. M. (1980). Fashion in the
Age of the Black Prince: a Study of the Years 1340-1365.
Woodbridge Totowa, N.J., Boydell Press; Rowman & Littlefield.
Newton, S. M. (1988). The Dress of
the Venetians, 1495-1525. Aldershot, England; Brookfield, Vt.,
Scolar Press.
Owen-Crocker, G. R. (2004). Dress in
Anglo-Saxon England. Woodbridge, Suffolk; Rochester, NY, Boydell
Press.
Piponnier, F. and P. Mane (1997). Dress
in the Middle Ages. New Haven Conn., Yale University Press.
Scott, M. (1980). Late Gothic
Europe, 1400-1500. London Atlantic Highlands, N.J., Mills &
Boon;
Humanities Press.
Compiled: Hope Greenberg
Created/Updated: 25 July 2005/3 August 2005