As the a member of the nobility in twelfth century Britain, Marguerite tries to keep up with the fashion trends set in the fashionable courts in France. However, she must temper this desire with frugality as her family, while wealthy in relation to many of her neighbors on the Welsh Marches, does not have the wherewithal to follow the more extravagant trends. The new trend away from the bliaut and toward the plainer more restrained fashion of the upcoming 13th century holds great appeal for a woman of both her age and social standing.
The clothes that Marguerite is wearing to the Golden Swan Celebration being held in the Shire of Appledore are her travelling clothes (she is returning from a pilgrimage to St Winifred’s Well).
The first layer Marguerite wears is the chemise. Being next to the skin this garment is made of the most comfortable cloth a person had, usually a fine linen (silk if you could afford it) perhaps a very fine wool in the cold weather. Both men and women wore chemises, the main difference being one of length. The chemise was made using rectangular construction with a small keyhole neckline (see figure 7.1) frequently closed with a broach, the sleeves were long and tight to the arm (the sleeves on a woman’s chemise frequently were long enough to cover her hands, they were worn pushed back to the wrist) and were tight enough that sometimes they had to be sewn closed, a woman’s chemise was also frequently laced at the sides. The skirts were made fuller by the addition of gores. Marguerite’s chemise is made of fine linen and the skirt has large gores to allow her to ride her horse and maintain her modesty.
Over the chemise went the cote (see figure 7.2) this was a looser version of a chemise made of heavier fabric (usually wool or silk - sometimes linen depending on the season, the social station, and the income of the wearer). The neckline of the cote was larger than the chemise allowing any embroidery or trim of the chemise to be seen. The cut of the neckline could be a keyhole, round or a “V”. The cote didn’t usually lace closed. Like the chemise the sleeves were cut close to the arm and the gown reached the feet. Marguerite’s cote is a deep red wool. I probably will not be wearing this as I made it when I was 30+ pounds heavier and it was a bit big then, it is also of a heavy enough wool that I will be repurposing into a surcote. It will however, be available for inspection.
Around her waist is a leather belt (the buckle is a replica of the buckle in figure 7.4), from which hangs a drawstring pouch. She also wears deerskin gloves when riding and to protect her hands from the cold.
For additional warmth, over all of these layers Marguerite might wear one or more of the following:
1) A surcote, a garment similar to the cote frequently cut shorter (between the knee and the thigh). Marguerite might be wearing a surcote made of dark brown highly felted wool (this cote is entirely hand sewn) cut much shorter with large enough side gores to allow her to ride in comfort
2) A chape, a traveller’s cloak with a full cut, (2/3 to a full circle), frequently lined with either a contrasting color or fur, rarely trimmed. The fabric choice was a practical one, wool. The travelling cloak frequently had an attached hood. Marguerite’s cloak of black wool does not have an attached hood.
3) A chaperon, a hood, either sewn directly to the cloak or wore separately attached to a short cape that covered the shoulders, a chaperon could be lined or not (figure 7.3). Marguerite’s chaperon is made from the same wool as her surcote and lined with fur (rabbit and beaver - actually its lined with rabbit and muskrat - however since muskrat is not native to Europe it has been miraculously transformed into beaver for the Golden Swan) (it is also entirely hand sewn).
Marguerite’s shoes rise to just over her ankle and are made of leather with a soft sole (similar to a moccasin) with two ties to keep them close around her ankle. (Goubitz, van Driel-Murray and Groenman-van Waateringe 91, 142 & 149)
Marguerite normally wears her hair in either one or two braids. She would never go out in polite company without a veil. an oval veil worn with a wimple or a rectangular veil crossed in front of her throat with the ends (possibly) tucked into her cote (or surcote).
Because Marguerite is returning home from a pilgrimage (albeit a pilgrimage of praise and thanksgiving rather than a pilgrimage of penance) she has left all of her finest clothes and jewelry at home. Her veil is either a rectangular mustard colored wool veil crossed in front of her throat or a short simple veil of linen with a linen wimple secured with a silver circlet decorated with a geometric design and a single small stone (see figure 7.5).
Her only other pieces of jewelry are a brooch used to fasten the throat of her chemise and a couple of modest rings.
The seams on her clothing are finished using period methods (see figures 7.6 & 7.7):
Bibliography:
Barber, Richard. Pilgrimages. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1991.
BBC News. Medieval Belt Buckle Discovered. 6 March 2008. 27 August 2010 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7281338.stm>.
Crowfoot, Elizabeth: Pritchard, Frances: Staniland, Kay. Textiles and Clothihng c1150-c1450. Eoodbridge, NY: Museum of London, 2006.
de France, Marie. The Lais of Marie de France. Trans. Robert and Ferrante, Joan Hanning. Durham: The Labyrinth Press, 1978.
Flury-Lemberg, Mechthild. Textile Conservation and Research: A Documentation of the Textile Department on the Occassion of the Twentieth Anniversary of the ABEGG Foundation. Trans. Pamela Leibundgut. Einsiedeln: Benziger AG, 1988.
Gerald of Wales, (Giraldus Cambrensis). A Journey Through Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
—. The Description of Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
Goddard, Eunice Rathbone. Women's Costume in French Texts of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1927.
Goubitz, Olaf, Carol van Driel-Murray and Willy Groenman-van Waateringe. Stepping through Time: Archaeological Footwear from Prehistoric Times until 1800. Zwolle: Foundation for Promoting Archaeology, 2001.
Highley, Sarah L. "Drewsing up the Nuns: The Lingua Ignota and Hildegard of Bingen's Clothing." Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin Netherton and Gale R Owen-Crocker. Vol. 6. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2010. 93-109.
Holmes, Urban Tigner. Daily Living in the Twelfth Century. University of Wisconsin Press, 1966.
Hywel. The Law of Hywell Dda: Texts from Medieval Wales, Trans. D. Jenkins. Gomer Press, 2004.
Jones, Heather Rose. "Archaeological Sewing." 29 February 2004. heatherrosejones.com. 16 July 2010 <http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologicalsewing/index.html>.
Kelly, Amy. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950.
Lightbrown, Ronald W. Mediaeval European Jewelry with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1986.
Lovlid, Dan Halvard. "Nye tanker om Skjoldenhamnfunnet." 2009. Lofotr Viking Museum. 14 June 2011 <http://www.lofotr.no/pdf/Skjoldhamnfunnet/Nye%20tanker%20om%20Skjoldehamnfunnet.pdf>.
MacGreggor, Arthur. Finds from a Roman Sewer System and an Adjacent Building in Church Street. York: Council for British Archaeology, 1976.
Mainman, A.J. and N.S.H. Rogers. Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: The Small Finds from Anglo-Scandinavian York. Ed. P.V. Addyman. York: Council for British Archaeology, 2000.
Mould, Quinta, Ian Carlisle and Esther Cameron. Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York. Ed. R. A. Hall. York: Council for British Archaeology, 2003.
Netherton, Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker, ed. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Vol. VI. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. V. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2009.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. IV. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2008.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. III. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2007.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. II. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. I. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005.
Ohler, Norbert. The Medieval Traveller. Trans. Caroline Hillier. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2010.
Ostergard, Else. Woven into the Earth, Textiles from Norse Greenland. Oxford: Aarhus University Press, 2009.
Ostergard, Else, Lilli Fransen and Anna Norgaard. Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns. Langelandsgade: Aarhus University Press, 2011.
Ottaway, Patrick and Nicola Rogers. Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: Finds from Medieval York. York: Council for British Archaeology, 2002.
Scott, Margaret. Medieval Clothing and Costumes: Displaying Wealth and Class in Medieval Times. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2004.
Shoaf, Judith P. The Lais of Marie de France. 1996. 15 08 2012 <http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jshoaf/Marie/>.
Spies, Nancy. Ecclisiatical Pomp & Aristocratic Circumstance - A Thousand Years of Brocaded Tabletwoven bands. Jarrettsvile: Arelate Studio, 2000.
Tacker, Harold and Sylvia. Band Weaving, the Techniques, Looms and Uses for Woven bands. New York, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.,, 1974.
The clothes that Marguerite is wearing to the Golden Swan Celebration being held in the Shire of Appledore are her travelling clothes (she is returning from a pilgrimage to St Winifred’s Well).
The first layer Marguerite wears is the chemise. Being next to the skin this garment is made of the most comfortable cloth a person had, usually a fine linen (silk if you could afford it) perhaps a very fine wool in the cold weather. Both men and women wore chemises, the main difference being one of length. The chemise was made using rectangular construction with a small keyhole neckline (see figure 7.1) frequently closed with a broach, the sleeves were long and tight to the arm (the sleeves on a woman’s chemise frequently were long enough to cover her hands, they were worn pushed back to the wrist) and were tight enough that sometimes they had to be sewn closed, a woman’s chemise was also frequently laced at the sides. The skirts were made fuller by the addition of gores. Marguerite’s chemise is made of fine linen and the skirt has large gores to allow her to ride her horse and maintain her modesty.
Over the chemise went the cote (see figure 7.2) this was a looser version of a chemise made of heavier fabric (usually wool or silk - sometimes linen depending on the season, the social station, and the income of the wearer). The neckline of the cote was larger than the chemise allowing any embroidery or trim of the chemise to be seen. The cut of the neckline could be a keyhole, round or a “V”. The cote didn’t usually lace closed. Like the chemise the sleeves were cut close to the arm and the gown reached the feet. Marguerite’s cote is a deep red wool. I probably will not be wearing this as I made it when I was 30+ pounds heavier and it was a bit big then, it is also of a heavy enough wool that I will be repurposing into a surcote. It will however, be available for inspection.
Around her waist is a leather belt (the buckle is a replica of the buckle in figure 7.4), from which hangs a drawstring pouch. She also wears deerskin gloves when riding and to protect her hands from the cold.
For additional warmth, over all of these layers Marguerite might wear one or more of the following:
1) A surcote, a garment similar to the cote frequently cut shorter (between the knee and the thigh). Marguerite might be wearing a surcote made of dark brown highly felted wool (this cote is entirely hand sewn) cut much shorter with large enough side gores to allow her to ride in comfort
2) A chape, a traveller’s cloak with a full cut, (2/3 to a full circle), frequently lined with either a contrasting color or fur, rarely trimmed. The fabric choice was a practical one, wool. The travelling cloak frequently had an attached hood. Marguerite’s cloak of black wool does not have an attached hood.
3) A chaperon, a hood, either sewn directly to the cloak or wore separately attached to a short cape that covered the shoulders, a chaperon could be lined or not (figure 7.3). Marguerite’s chaperon is made from the same wool as her surcote and lined with fur (rabbit and beaver - actually its lined with rabbit and muskrat - however since muskrat is not native to Europe it has been miraculously transformed into beaver for the Golden Swan) (it is also entirely hand sewn).
Marguerite’s shoes rise to just over her ankle and are made of leather with a soft sole (similar to a moccasin) with two ties to keep them close around her ankle. (Goubitz, van Driel-Murray and Groenman-van Waateringe 91, 142 & 149)
Marguerite normally wears her hair in either one or two braids. She would never go out in polite company without a veil. an oval veil worn with a wimple or a rectangular veil crossed in front of her throat with the ends (possibly) tucked into her cote (or surcote).
Because Marguerite is returning home from a pilgrimage (albeit a pilgrimage of praise and thanksgiving rather than a pilgrimage of penance) she has left all of her finest clothes and jewelry at home. Her veil is either a rectangular mustard colored wool veil crossed in front of her throat or a short simple veil of linen with a linen wimple secured with a silver circlet decorated with a geometric design and a single small stone (see figure 7.5).
Her only other pieces of jewelry are a brooch used to fasten the throat of her chemise and a couple of modest rings.
The seams on her clothing are finished using period methods (see figures 7.6 & 7.7):
Bibliography:
Barber, Richard. Pilgrimages. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1991.
BBC News. Medieval Belt Buckle Discovered. 6 March 2008. 27 August 2010 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7281338.stm>.
Crowfoot, Elizabeth: Pritchard, Frances: Staniland, Kay. Textiles and Clothihng c1150-c1450. Eoodbridge, NY: Museum of London, 2006.
de France, Marie. The Lais of Marie de France. Trans. Robert and Ferrante, Joan Hanning. Durham: The Labyrinth Press, 1978.
Flury-Lemberg, Mechthild. Textile Conservation and Research: A Documentation of the Textile Department on the Occassion of the Twentieth Anniversary of the ABEGG Foundation. Trans. Pamela Leibundgut. Einsiedeln: Benziger AG, 1988.
Gerald of Wales, (Giraldus Cambrensis). A Journey Through Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
—. The Description of Wales (1188). Trans. L. Thorpe. Penguin Books, 1978.
Goddard, Eunice Rathbone. Women's Costume in French Texts of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1927.
Goubitz, Olaf, Carol van Driel-Murray and Willy Groenman-van Waateringe. Stepping through Time: Archaeological Footwear from Prehistoric Times until 1800. Zwolle: Foundation for Promoting Archaeology, 2001.
Highley, Sarah L. "Drewsing up the Nuns: The Lingua Ignota and Hildegard of Bingen's Clothing." Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin Netherton and Gale R Owen-Crocker. Vol. 6. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2010. 93-109.
Holmes, Urban Tigner. Daily Living in the Twelfth Century. University of Wisconsin Press, 1966.
Hywel. The Law of Hywell Dda: Texts from Medieval Wales, Trans. D. Jenkins. Gomer Press, 2004.
Jones, Heather Rose. "Archaeological Sewing." 29 February 2004. heatherrosejones.com. 16 July 2010 <http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologicalsewing/index.html>.
Kelly, Amy. Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950.
Lightbrown, Ronald W. Mediaeval European Jewelry with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1986.
Lovlid, Dan Halvard. "Nye tanker om Skjoldenhamnfunnet." 2009. Lofotr Viking Museum. 14 June 2011 <http://www.lofotr.no/pdf/Skjoldhamnfunnet/Nye%20tanker%20om%20Skjoldehamnfunnet.pdf>.
MacGreggor, Arthur. Finds from a Roman Sewer System and an Adjacent Building in Church Street. York: Council for British Archaeology, 1976.
Mainman, A.J. and N.S.H. Rogers. Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: The Small Finds from Anglo-Scandinavian York. Ed. P.V. Addyman. York: Council for British Archaeology, 2000.
Mould, Quinta, Ian Carlisle and Esther Cameron. Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York. Ed. R. A. Hall. York: Council for British Archaeology, 2003.
Netherton, Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker, ed. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Vol. VI. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. V. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2009.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. IV. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2008.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. III. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2007.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. II. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006.
—. Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Ed. Robin and Gale R Owen-Crocker Netherton. Vol. I. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005.
Ohler, Norbert. The Medieval Traveller. Trans. Caroline Hillier. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2010.
Ostergard, Else. Woven into the Earth, Textiles from Norse Greenland. Oxford: Aarhus University Press, 2009.
Ostergard, Else, Lilli Fransen and Anna Norgaard. Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns. Langelandsgade: Aarhus University Press, 2011.
Ottaway, Patrick and Nicola Rogers. Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: Finds from Medieval York. York: Council for British Archaeology, 2002.
Scott, Margaret. Medieval Clothing and Costumes: Displaying Wealth and Class in Medieval Times. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2004.
Shoaf, Judith P. The Lais of Marie de France. 1996. 15 08 2012 <http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jshoaf/Marie/>.
Spies, Nancy. Ecclisiatical Pomp & Aristocratic Circumstance - A Thousand Years of Brocaded Tabletwoven bands. Jarrettsvile: Arelate Studio, 2000.
Tacker, Harold and Sylvia. Band Weaving, the Techniques, Looms and Uses for Woven bands. New York, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.,, 1974.