Louisa Reports on Medieval Clothes

What Did People Wear In Medieval Days?

People in Medieval days lived almost one thousand years ago. They wore different clothes made out of different textiles. I am going to tell you about the different outfits that Medieval people wore.

Textiles: What were clothes made of?

Most people wore clothes made of linen and wool. Peasants would spin and weave the thread and wool and make colourful designs. They used sheepskin to make warm cloaks. They used leather to make shoes. But textiles of the wealthy people were different. They had clothes made of velvet, fur, brocade, silk, in bright colours. The king even had cloth of gold for his clothes.  The wealthy got their textiles from exotic places of the far East, Spain and Italy.

Knight’s Armour

Knights in the High Middle Ages wore chain mail over there whole body. Chain mail is called “hauberk” and is made out of iron rings linked together. On the top of the chain mail they wore a tunic called a “surcoat.” This was to keep the sun off the metal which got hot. On the surcoat they put on their flag, colours or coat-of-arms.

In the late Middle Ages knights started to where plate armour. Steel plates covered the knight’s body. The plates had joints so the knights could move around. They started to where helmet’s with visors.
Sometimes, a knight’s horse wore armour too. They wore metal plates and wore a linen surcoat.

The textile, metal, used by the knights was good because it gave protection. But it was very hot and very heavy and so hard to move.

Serfs Clothing

The serfs, or the common peasants, wore simple, sensible clothes. They wore a tunic with long narrow sleeves. They wore a hood with a “linipipe” which was used as a scarf. Even though their clothes were simple, they liked wearing colourful clothes. The men wore big, baggy underwear called “braies.” Women wore petticoats called “kirtles.” Women also wore a head covering called a “wimple.”

Clothes of the King and Nobility

The wealthy Lords and Ladies wore expensive clothes. They made clothes with bright and fancy textiles from far away places. The ladies wore long trailing dresses with wide sleeves.  Men also wore wide long sleeves and long tunics. They wore long, pointy shoes. Ladies wore different types of headdresses: padded roll, templers (coils of hair on the ears), horned headdresses with a veil and steeples (tall cone hats with streamers).

 

If I was to wear Medieval clothes, I would actually choose to wear a Jester’s outfit. They wore bright funny clothes to make people laugh! What would you wear?