CLOTHING IN 12th CENTURY SCOTLAND
Men's Clothing
Men wore a simple tunic which came down to the knee or lower and could be tied with a belt around the waist. Men also wore hose, which were like stockings without feet. These were either pinned or tied under the tunic. To see pictures and a pattern for a simple man's tunic, visit Matthew Newsome’s page The Liene. For more information about tunics and hose and how to make them, visit the Lothene page Early Medieval Clothes Patterns.Men also covered their heads through this time period with hats and hoods. To see some examples of these, visit the Angevin Treasure's 12th Century Men’s head gear page.
Women's Clothing
In the early medieval period, women's clothing was patterned very much like men's, but with hems that always reached the ground. In the 11 and 12th centuries, women's clothing began to be more elaborate, with fitted waists and long, sweeping sleeves. Sometimes, the elaborate kirtle worn underneath was deliberately revealed by cutting holes in the outer garment or gathering it up at the waist. The chronicle writer Geoffrey de Vigeois described the women of the court Eleanor of Aquitaine when she was queen of France in the 12th century in disapproving tones, saying:"They have clothes fashioned of rich and precious stuffs, in colours to suit their humour. They snip out the cloth in rings and long slashes to show the lining beneath, and the borders of the clothes are cut into little balls and pointed tongues, so that they look like the devils in paintings. They slash their mantles, and their sleeves flow like those of hermits."
From this time on, sleeves became so elaborate that they were often separate articles of clothing that attached into dresses. A lady who wanted to show her favour to a knight in a tournament might give him one of her sleeves to carry. To see pictures of clothing worn by women in the 12th century, visit the Angevin Treasure web site's 12th Century Women’s Clothing page.
Women also wore hose.
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