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Medieval Clothing
by Llyr Alarch

I'm sure many of you have come across an item of clothing in Aellen's boutique, or in the tent of a visiting merchant, which has struck you as strange or even downright confusing. In the hope of piquing interest in a wider variety of garments than the standard bodice, skirt, pants, or cloak, I have compiled a short survey of medieval costume, along with a few illustrations to help you better visualize these items. Although by no means all-inclusive, it examines some of the more important styles of the time. This overview covers the Carolingian and Romanesque periods through the thirteenth century, comprising most of what is generally known as the Middle Ages.

A wonderful source for clothing of the eleventh century is the Bayeux tapestry, seventy-five yards of embroidered linen which tells the tale of the Norman Conquest. All classes are represented, from kings to commoners. Men of this time usually wore basic tunics; rather long ones for the wealthy, and knee or above-knee length ones for those less well-off. Poorer folks also tended to wear darker colors and coarser materials. This tunic was called a gonelle, which later became the English word gown.

An overtunic called a bliaud came into fashion during this century, and was worn by both men and women. The word comes from the German blialt, meaning cloth. The bliaud was usually shorter than the chainse, the undertunic worn with it, and had wider sleeves. The chainse was made of white or light-colored linen, and was long (to the ground for women, shorter for men), with long, fitted sleeves. The bliaud was decorated with trim, embroidery, and cloth insets of different colors. It was made of wool, linen, and sometimes silk, with a belt (called a girdle) wrapped around the waist then brought around the hips and tied in front. This girdle was usually of leather, with a great deal of ornamentation in the form of metal and jewels. The sides of the bliaud were sometimes slit, and the slit decorated with more trim or embroidery.

Under the bliaud, men wore breeches, which were also called braies, bracco, or breeks. These were long, loose trousers which went up to the waist, and were usually colored. Covering the breeches were chausses, hose made of shaped and seamed cloth and reaching to just above the knee. These too were colored, and sometimes striped. They did not always fit well, and are sometimes seen wrapped or gartered. Women may have worn something like chausses, but they would not have been seen.

Shoes were made of leather or cloth, and were often of ankle-length, though some did reach to mid-calf. They may have been laced around the lower leg, ankle or instep, or fastened by a buckle. These various low boots were called brodequins. Women's footwear was much the same, only more delicate and with greater decoration.

Men and women wore cloaks, or mantles (which usually refered to the elaborate cloaks worn by the wealthy), over their tunics. These could be rectangular, circular, or semi-circular in shape. They were pinned in the front or at the right shoulder with a brooch or clasp, sometimes called an agraffe. The cloaks could be lined in fur, an important feature in cold, drafty stone buildings. Women's mantles are often seen secured by cords in the front, which had to be held away from the throat to prevent the great weight from shifting back too far.

Clothing stayed pretty much the same in the twelfth century, with only minor changes. For men, long tunics were now reserved for formal occasions. Women's garments became much more fitted, and were often laced at the back or up both sides. The fabrics used were thinner, and often very finely pleated. Girdles became even more ornate. Footwear began to gain a slight point to the toes.

By the end of the twelfth century, and into the thirteenth, several new garments came into existence. Men wore different styles of supertunics, all of which could be fur-lined. The term pelisson, or pelicon, generally indicates an overgarment lined in fur. The surcote (also surcoat), or cyclas, was essentially a tabard. It was rectangular, shoulder width, and came down to the calves, with a hole in the center for the head. The sides were either left open or laced together from the waist down, and it could either be belted or left loose. It was most often worn over armor, and could be slit front and back for ease of riding. The surcote could be particolored or emblazoned with heraldic figures.

The ganache (or garnache) had very wide shoulders, which formed cape-like elbow-length sleeves, much like a poncho. Like the surcote, it could be open or closed at the sides. The neck opening was slit and then turned back to form elongated lapels. The ganache was alos fuller than the surcote. The third major form of supertunic was the garde-corps. This was very full, and hung in folds to the calf or ankle. The sleeves were very long, pleated tubes with slits at about elbow-level for the arm to emerge. As a result of all these overgarments, cloaks and mantles were seen less frequently in the thirteenth century, reserved more for travelling.

For women, a new form of tunic called a kirtle emerged. This was shaped more to the body, but was not as tight as the bliaud had become. The kirtle was very long, exceeding floor-length in front and having a train in the back. Over the kirtle women could wear the cyclas (just like that worn by men, only longer) or a looser tunic. The girdle, if worn, was at an angle, sloping down toward the front with a long trailing end.

The coif (also known as a coiffe or cale) was a small, tight-fitting cap which tied under the chin and was worn by men of all classes, both indoors and out. It was also worn under the various hoods and cowls. Hoods could be tight or loose, and might come down just to the base of the neck, or drape over the shoulders and upper chest. The point of the hood became longer as the century went on, extending as much as six feet. That tail was called a liripipe.

Women wore their hair caught up in a net called a crespinette, crispine or caul, surmounted by a pillbox-shaped band secured by a chinstrap, or barbette. Alternately, women might wear a veil draped over the head and secured by a narrow band called a fillet. The neck was covered by a drape called a wimple orwimpole, or gorget if it was smaller.

Shoes tended to fit the foot better, and could be laced, buttoned, or buckled. The top was often rolled down. Footwear could be made of leather, silk, or velvet, and was often highly embroidered and jewelled. Expensive slippers were protected when walking outdoors by wearing galoshes or pattens, which were basically platforms strapped to the foot which elevated the wearer out of puddles and muck. A type of short, lightweight boot called estivaux was also very popular. Many people, however, simply wore soled hose instead of shoes or boots.

A Tale of the Strings
By Alturiak Saine

It is the author's sincere hope that this will be the first in a series of articles that discuss the origins and appearance of the musical instruments known in Elanthia. Hopefully, this will dispell some of the mystery surrounding several of the instruments, and put them into a context which all players can understand, as well as give the players an idea of what it is, exactly, that they are playing.

As with Galyden's articles concerning weapons, it is important to note that the history and background of the instruments presented here are taken directly from real world history. The details are not intended as a discourse on the Elanthian development of the instruments.

The Lute

The ancestor of the European lute is the North African and Middle Eastern musical instrument, the ud, (also spelled oud). The ud resembles the European lute and has four pairs of strings that are played with a plectrum. Obvious visual differences are the ud's curved pegbox and the presence of more than one rose. In Arabic 'al ud' means 'the wood' and the words 'al ud' have given our language the word 'lute'. The ud has existed for over a thousand years and is still played today.

Several caves in France bear paintings on their walls, dated circa 15,000 BC and 8500 BC. One painting depicts a man with what appears to be a simple one-stringed instrument, being played with a bow. The painting reveals the first stringed instrument produced by human hands. They were played by plucking the string with the fingers, and later by tapping the string with a stick. An increase in volume was first gained by holding the bow in the mouth. Eventually, gourds were attached to the bow to act as resonators.

Lute-like chordophones appeared as early as 2000 BC in Mesopotamia. These early instruments were fretless. Pressing the strings down onto the neck of the instrument made changes in pitch. The strings were sometimes plucked by using hard objects or plectrums, rather than the fingers. The plectrums or picks produced a louder, sharper, sound than the fingers.

By the Seventh Century AD a folk lute called the oud was in use. The oud remains in use today, virtually unchanged, in the music of the Near East, particularly in Armenia and Egypt. 'Oud' is the Arabic name for wood, and the oud is a wooden lute. The oud found its way to Spain during the Moorish conquest of that country in the years 711-1492 AD. It also made its way to Italy via coastal trade through Venice, and to the rest of Europe in the hands of returning Crusaders, circa 1099 AD.

Whether due to invasion or commerce, the ud was known in Europe before 1000 AD. Paintings from the 15th century show instruments, which are definitely lutes, with five courses (a course is a pair of strings played together, or a single string) being played with a plectrum, which would later evolve into the modern pick used to play guitars and other stringed instruments. In Europe, the size, shape, stringing, and tuning of the lute would continue to evolve as the musical styles changed and as new technology became available.

During the middle of the Renaissance (1500-1580) the lute evolved more fully, constructed with six courses, the top string often being a single string. The use of a plectrum facilitated the playing of single highly ornamented lines of melody. During this time lute music evinced a trend to have more than one line of music played at a time, a technique known as polyphony. This technique was not easily accommodated with the plectrum, thus the technique of plucking with fingers evolved.

As better bass strings became available, lute makers began to produce lutes with seven courses. The first mention of a seven-course lute is in 1511 and the first published music for the instrument began to appear around 1580. These new strings, known as catlines, likely used rope technology to twist the gut to increase flexibility and thus their ability to play lower notes. It is possible that the strings were also treated chemically to increase their density. The seven-course lute was slow to appear in England.

During the late Renaissance (1580-1620 AD) the lute became established as an instrument of the court and was studied by many prosperous citizens. Affluence was necessary to allow students to afford the cost of not only the instrument itself, but the music, replacement strings, and tuition. Its main uses were as a solo instrument or to accompany voice, but it was also used in ensembles, known as consorts.

The outline of the lute body in the late Renaissance was not elongated, as were the earlier lutes, but more rounded. The number of ribs used to make the body increased, at first to thirteen or fifteen, then twenty-five and later to more than thirty, and occasionally to over fifty. Quite a few instruments of this period survive and some are exquisitely crafted. Most of the surviving multi-rib lutes are made of yew. This may have been the result of improvements in metal technology as stronger metals allowed gunpowder to be used in guns and cannon. These developments caused the longbow to become obsolete as a weapon of war. Stocks of the wood held for military use may have become available to musical instrument makers.

The Mandolin

The mandolin can be described as a small, short-necked lute with eight strings. As a descendent of the lute, the mandolin can be included as one of the earliest musical instruments. The mandolin shares a common history with the lute, both instruments having evolved from the same primitive instruments mentioned above.

The miniature lute was probably contrived to fill out the scale of 16th century lute ensembles. The Assyrians called this new instrument a Pandura, which described its shape. The Arabs called it Dambura, the Latins Mandora, and the Italians dubbed it Mandola. Italians labeled the smaller version of the traditional mandola mandolina.

The mandolin was in vogue in the 1850s, when it shared the parlor with zithers, mandolas, ukuleles, and other novelties, designed to amuse the increasingly leisured middle class. A marked increase in Italian immigration in the 1880s sparked a fad for the bowl-backed Neapolitan instrument that spread across the United States.

By the turn of the century, mandolin ensembles were touring the vaudeville circuit, and mandolin orchestras were forming in schools and colleges. In 1900, a company called Lyon & Healy boasted, "At any time you can find in our factory upwards of 10,000 mandolins in various stages of construction." Thanks to their availability through the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs, mandolins proliferated across the South. The Gibson company also sent field reps across America to encourage sales of mandolins and to establish mandolin orchestras.

The popularity of mandolin orchestras began to wane and it fell out of favor as a parlor instrument. This turn of events caused the mandolin to take a back seat to other instruments. In old-time country music, the mandolin was often present, but generally only as an accompanying instrument, playing along with the ensemble.

Today the mandolin continues to be a popular and vital instrument. In the early 80's, the syrupy strings and layered vocals of country music gave way to a powerful neo-traditionalist movement that re-introduced the mandolin to country audiences. In rock music, the mandolin has been present consistently since the late 60's. English folk-rock, the acoustic-tinged albums of Rod Stewart, and the heady acoustic ballads of Led Zepplin all made the mandolin a familiar sound to rock audiences. Bluegrass music, popular in the southern states of the US, primarily, also uses the mandolin extensively.

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