Introduction to Twelfth Century Western European Clothing for Women and Men.pdf

Introduction to Twelfth Century Western European

Clothing for Women and Men

About the class

This is intended to be a beginning-level class, however, I hope that what I am presenting will be of interest to any here

who are experienced in the study of medieval clothing. We will cover geometric cutting and construction theory; have

two in-depth segments on measuring and cutting layouts for both men and women; appropriate fabrics and ornament

styles; and touch on the differences between court dress and everyday clothing. You will come away from the class

today with an accurate cutting diagram for a basic 12th century tunic or gown.

This class will be presented in six segments of approximately 15 minutes each. I have scheduled a little extra time in

case we run over, and you are welcome to stay after and discuss what is presented. The class segments are:

1. Introduction and “show and tell” of both contemporary and reproduction items

2. Geometric construction and the variety of possible styles using this method

3. Court dress; Fabrics, ornament, and accessories

4. Measuring techniques ; Demonstration and practice

5. Layout, cutting , calculating yardage; Demonstration and practice

6. Review and question and answer period; Recap of “show and tell” and open discussion

“Syllabus”

There are a total of nine handouts for this class, including this one. Some are multi-page. The list of handouts is as

follows:

1. Contemporary artwork and archaeological artefact examples (2p)

2. Geometric construction overview (1p)

3. Geometric construction variations and sample cutting diagrams (4p each, men and women. Please

ask if you need both)

4. Court dress overview (1p)

5. Fabrics and ornamentation (1p)

6. Accessories: Shoes, cloaks, jewelry (1p)

7. Measurement worksheet (1p)

8. Graph paper to chart your cutting layout based on your measurements (1p)

Instructor:

This class is taught by Branwyn M. Folsom, known in the SCA as Lady Marguerie de Jauncourt. I've been in the SCA

for eight years. I have been studying and re-creating historic clothing for twice that long. My area of special interest in

the SCA timeframe is 12th Century clothing, and its evolution from earlier forms, as you may have guessed. I have been

tracking the elusive bliaut (French court gown) for six years, and will share a few theories with you today, but all the

while, I've been making and wearing as much or more everyday 12th Century clothing for myself and my family, and

this is the most useful. That everyday clothing will form the core of the information I present today.

Note:

This class is being taught for the first time at Ansteorra's Argent Anniversary. Further copies of the class handouts will

be available in an online format and for download as PDF files from my web site at http://bliautlady.50megs.com after

the event.

Intro to 12th Century Westen European Clothing for Women and Men

Bibliography/Further reading

Web Sites (all sites cited date as of June 20th unless otherwise noted)

Asplund, Randy Chausses and Braies (men's undergarments and hose)

http://www.randyasplund.com/browse/medieval/chausse1.html

Carlson, I. Marc Some Clothing of the Middle Ages (a survey of archaeolgical examples)

http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockhome.html

Carlson, I. Marc Footwear of the Middle Ages (10th thru 13th century styles)

http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/shoe/SHOEHOME.HTM

Doyle, Sarah Clothing of Norman Women in the Late 11th and Early 12th Centuries (Norman English women)

http://freespace.virgin.net/sarah.doyle/KIT.htm

Eustace hight Broom, Emrys Shertes, Trewes & Hosen (parts i, ii, iii, cited as of 6-30-04)

http://www.greydragon.org/library/underwear1.html

http://www.greydragon.org/library/underwear2.html

http://www.greydragon.org/library/underwear3.html

Folsom, Branwyn The Bliaut Files (instructor's website, detailed information on court and women's dress)

http://bliautlady.50megs.com

Payne, Grace The Beautiful Bliaut (construction of separate-skirt type women's court dress in detail)

http://www.chateau-michel.org/belle_bliaut.htm

Spies, Nancy Ecclesiastic Pomp and Aristocratic Circumstance (tabletweaving)

http://weavershand..com/arelatestudio.html

Virtue, Cynthia, ed. Extant Clothing of the Middle Ages (extant examples from museums, 11th-12th C pieces)

http://www.virtue.to/articles/extant.html

Virtue, Cynthia Introduction to Garb: A Seminar (overview of basic everyday clothing)

http://www.virtue.to/articles/in_depth_garb.html

Virtue, Cynthia Practical Worksheet for Tunic Construction (measurement worksheet and construction method)

http://www.virtue.to/articles/tunic_worksheet.html

Vogt, Kelly Making a Keyhole Neckline (detailed instructions for installing this neckline)

http://home.gte.net/kmvogt/kkeyhole.html

Wymarc, Richard A Stitch Out Of Time (10th-12th century examples and Costume for a 12th Century Lady)

http://www.wymarc.com

Book Benton, John F. (Ed) Self and Society in Medieval France: The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert of Nogent University of Toronto Press,

1984

Burnham, Dorothy Cut My Cote Royal Ontario Museum, 1973

Boucher, Francois 20,000 Years of Fashion - the history of costume and personal adornment Harry N. Abrams, no date

Bradfield, Nancy Historical Costumes of England 1066-1968 Costume and Fashion Press, 1997

Carretero, Concha Herrero Museo de Telas Medievales Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas Patrimonio Nacional, 1988

Cunnington, C Willet and Cunnington, Phillis The History of Underlcothes Dover, 1992

Davis, R.H.C. The Normans and their Myth Thames and Hudson, 1976

Dodwell, C.R. The Pictorial Arts of the West 800-1200 Yale University Press, 1993

Egan, Geoff and Pritchard, Frances Medieval Finds from Excavations in London:3 Dress Accessories 1150-1450 HMSO,1991

Grew, Francis and de Neergaard, Margarethe Medieval Finds from Excavations in London:2 Shoes and Pattens HMSO, 1988

Hunnisett, Jean Costume For Stage and Screen Patterns for OWmen's Dress Medieval - 1500 Player's Press, 1996

Kohler, Carl A History of Costume Dover, 1963

Piponnier, Francoise and Mane, Perrine Dress In The Middle Ages Yale University Press, 1997

Stoddard, Whitney S. Sculptors of the West Portraits of Chartres Cathedral: Their Origins in Romanesque and Their Role in

Chartrain Sculpture: Including the West portals Norton, 1987

Tate, Georges

The Crusaders: Warriors of God Harry N. Abrams, 1996

Tilke, Max

Costume Patterns and Designs Rizzoli, 1990

Oriental Costumes, their designs and colors Berlin: E. Wasmuth, 1922 (e-text at

http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/tilke/ )

Time-Life Books (eds.) The Divine Campaigns TimeFrame AD 1100 - 1200 Time-Life, 1988

Waugh, Christina Frieder Well-Cut through the Body: Fitted Clothing in Twelfth-Century Europe Dress: the journal of the

Costume Society of America , vol 26 , 1999

Intro to 12th Century Westen European Clothing for Women and Men

Contemporary artwork and archaeological artefact examples

Marriage Chest in the Louvre (after

photo p 64 in Bogin, Meg _The

Women Troubadours_)

Kragelund Tunic, after Tilke's sketch Pediment lady Chartres LPL 2

Lady and Knight from Chelles

Reliquary (after photo in Pipponier)

Lady and seducer from the lost

_Hortus Deliciarum_ (after 19th C.

Copy)

Philologia from Quedlinbourg

Tapestry (after photo in Dodwell)

Herod and Salome capital

decoration

My poor sketch of the probable

original cut of the Bral of Don

Garcia (after sketch in Waugh)

Nun on the Ladder of Virtue (after

19th C copy of the _Hortus

Deliciarum_)

Ivar the Boneless (after illumination

shown on p3 of Cohat, Yves _The

Vikings, Lords of the Seas_ )

The Emperor Charlemagne

(After sketch by Tilke of unknown

origin in _Costume Patterns and

Designs_)

Manto of Fernando de la Cerda

(after sketch of restored mantle in

_Museo de las Telas Medivales_)

Note: Images in “sources” handout will change. The instructress' scanner is not working this week and I was

unable to scan my sketches of the artworks which I wanted to use. I hope these will be helpful enough for the

purposes of the class.

Of particular note are silhouettes, shoes, ornament and hairstyles.

Intro to 12th Century Westen European Clothing for Women and Men

Basics of Geometric Garment Construction

Main Points:

• Geometric Construction, also called “rectangular construction” applies to any garment cut chiefly from geometric

pieces. For the purposes of this class, however, we are focusing on upper body garments worn in W.Europe.

• Garments made this way can be made with a minimum of scissor cuts, and very little waste.

• Much of the cutting can be done by tearing the cloth along the straight grain, which gives a pure straight edge.

• Shaping and movement ease are provided by gores and gussets inserted into seams rather than shaped or tailored

pieces. Center gores for more even fullness seem to have become more common in the 11th C.

• It is one of the oldest forms of garment construction and possibly the oldest form of constructed garment

construction.

• This method of garment cutting was fairly highly developed by the middle of the 12th century, and was pushed to

its limits in variety of shapes and figure-accentuating designs. At the end of the 12th C, fashion, combined with a

widespread, relative impoverishment of the nobility and wealthy merchant classes (caused by wars and the funding

of the Crusades), brought about a return to simpler, looser garments with less decoration.

Assembling a Basic Geometric Cut Tunic

1: Sew the gussets to the sleeves and finish the seam (1). Fold sleeves in half lengthwise, mark center

point of sleeve. (1a)

2: Fold body of tunic in half, hem edge to hem edge, and mark the center point. Match fold on sleeves

to fold on body (2). Pin and sew. Finish seams. You should end up with a t-shape like the one in the

illustration.

3: Pin side gores to body, starting at hem and matching the bias edge of each gore to the edge of the

body. Make sure you are working on the right side of the tunic. Sew gores in place (if sewing by

machine, sew from hem to point to reduce stretching), and finish seams.

4: Lay center gores out and mark length of slit by the bias edge, marking the slit about 1“ shorter than

you need it. Cut the slit (4)and pin the gores in place, and when you reach the point, clip a little

further if necessary, but end the slit in a “y” shape (4a). Sew gores in place (if sewing by machine, sew

as above) up to points. Sew points by hand and finish seams.

5: Finish neckline (not covered here due to variety of choices), and sew side seams in this order: Hem

to armpit (protruding point of gusset), then armpit to cuff (5). Finish seams.

6: Hem the tunic. You are finished.

This is not meant to be an in-depth set of instructions, but a shorthand overview of the basic steps

involved in constructing a typical geometric-cut tunic of the period we are discussing. For example, if

you want to make earlier styles without center gores, omit step four.

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