RESEARCH - Medieval England - Post 16: Fashion

 Fashion

Phew, this could be a massive post. But I shall try to keep it concise.

I once heard it said on a history programme (sorry, I can't remember which), that there is a change of fashion along with a change of monarch. On the whole, this seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb. 

Now, the medieval era, as repeatedly stated, covers a very long time (500-1485). There were seven changes of king between 1422-1485 alone (although some were repeated)! And yes, this is applicable to both men and women.

Can I get the obvious out of the way? The main difference between rich and poor at this time was not in the style, but more the quality of material. 

Let us glimpse at Sumptuary Laws. Edward III, in the 14th century, seems to have been the first English monarch to impose such restrictions on what one was permitted to wear. His statute denied anyone under the rank of knight from wearing fur. And also forbade the import of textiles from outside of the British isle and the export of wool. Some surmise this was to put a cap on the cost of household liveries. 

In 1363, part of the laws determined that knights (and their families) with land worth 400 marks annually may wear whatever they wish, with the exclusion of weasel and ermine furs, or clothing of precious stones (except those worn in ladies' hair).

However, knights (and their families) with land worth 200 marks may not wear fabric over the worth of £4 in total. No cloth of gold, nor a cloak, mantle or gown lined with pure miniver, sleeves of ermine or any material embroidered with precious stones; women may not wear ermine or weasel-fur, or jewels except those worn in their hair.

In 1463, a further Act introduced by Edward IV, placed further clothing restrictions, determined by social class. 

Knights below the rank of lord were prohibited from wearing any cloth of gold, anything wrought with gold or sable fur, and no velvet upon velvet. Their wives and children must follow these rules as well, any person in this category caught with prohibited items will forfeit 20 marks to the King for each and every offense.    

People with an income of less than 40s per annum were not permitted to wear any item prohibited in the higher classes or fustian, bustian, any scarlet cloth (purple or red), nor any fur except black or white lamb. A fine of 40s would be issued to any disobeying this. 

A slightly more amusing section of this one was the legislation against the wearing of long-toed shoes. They had become longer than the entire length of the foot! This just sounds like a trip hazard to me, but they you have it. Those less than a lord were restricted to a 2 inch pike on their shoes or boots.

In 1483, they took this even further still. All persons in England except for the royal family were forbidden to wear gold or purple silk. Persons below the level of duke were not permitted to wear cloth of gold or tissue, and no one below a lord could wear plain cloth of gold. 

Servants of husbandry/peasants were not allowed to wear any material which cost more than 2s for the broad yard.

Eurgh! 

These were all fairly hard to enforce. People will always wear what they want, punishment be damned.

Whilst I'm discussing shoes, these beauties are patten shoes - worn over the top of other shoes so as to better avoid the deep mud and err... excrement in the roads.

From bottom to top...headwear

 

The conical hennin (pictured) is perhaps the most commonly associated with the medieval period, thanks to movie princesses. However, they really only emerged from around 1430, according to some sources.

However, from around 1250-1500, the escoffion was en vogue. A thick, circular woollen/felt/silk band was rolled and worn in a horn shape. Gauze or silk could then be draped over. This is also of the hennin family of headwear. 

Beehive (shorter, squatter) and butterfly hennins (wider, split horns) also had their time.

I rather like the crespine; fine netting worn either side of the head attached to a circlet (like the bottom left of the above image).

Whatever style of headwear a woman chose, whether rich or poor, one should always cover their hair. This was a pious, religious stipulation. In fact, in 1162, prostitutes were forbidden from wearing a veil lest they should be mistaken for someone with virtue!

As the Middle Ages continued, the hairlines grew higher. Ladies were known to pluck their hairline and wear their hats further back. 

From the 13th to 15th centuries, women wore wimples (or gorgets). This should be worn over the chin. Unlike today's nuns who generally wear it under.

The coif was worn by men and women. A simple, linen bonnet/cap, usually tied under the chin. The rich tended to only wear these as nightcaps. The poor would keep it as daywear under other headwear.

Oddly, ladies' gowns/dresses didn't undergo much of a change. It was more their headwear. There was usually a kirtle worn over a chemise. An overgown was then worn over these.

Colours could hold significance though. I may have used this symbology in my book 😉

Blue - fidelity (& represents the Virgin Mary)

Green - love

Grey - sorrow

Red (crimson) - privilege/power/blood of Christ

Yellow - hostility (but also certain saints days)

Men's clothing saw more variations. From short to long houppelanades. And who can ever unsee those hose, boys? With shorter styles, no wonder the codpiece was worn, otherwise one's family jewels would be on display! 

Knickers! Historians are very excited - the above items have been found and dated to around the 15th century. 

And that seems like a delightful note to end this series of research posts on! 😊

I hope you've found all this info useful. 

It's at least a starting point to show what you may want to delve into.

In some ways, the Middle Ages were very different from our modern world. But surprisingly, in many ways, not that much has changed at the same time. I guess humans will always been humans. 

Always in love and light,

TL

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My book, Love in the Roses is available for pre-order (click here).

To protect her family, she must marry the enemy!

The fictitious tale of a knight’s daughter, living life as it very well may have been in 1484.

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RESEARCH - Medieval England - Post 15: Time & Money

Time & Money

Time is money, as they say. So one shall look at both in the same blog post.

 

Time

How did one tell the time in Medieval England? Hmm…it depends which part of the Middle Ages we’re talking about, and to some extent, where.

Now, this can get a bit complicated, so I’ll try to be pretty basic here. After all, you’re probably not going to get too bogged down by hours.

However, for centuries, we followed Canonical Hours – which dictate prayer times. These were:

{  Vigil (eighth hour of night: 2 am)

{  Matins (a later portion of Vigil, from 3 am to dawn)

{  Lauds (dawn; approximately 5 am, but varies seasonally)

{  Prime (early morning, the first hour of daylight, approximately 6 am; added during the 12^th century)

{  Terce (third hour, 9 am)

{  Sext (sixth hour, noon)

{  Nones (ninth hour, 3 pm)

{  Vespers (sunset, approximately 6 pm)

{  Compline (end of the day before retiring, approximately 7 pm)

The three major hours were Matins, Lauds and Vespers.

The minor hours Terce, Sext, None and Compline.

Church bells would be rung to call the (seven or eight) hours. This was strictly regulated; woe betide any who rung bells outside the rules! They were also rung for celebrations, coronations, curfews, festivals, funerals, market openings, Sunday functions and weddings.

The breviary was created; a liturgical book for praying the canonical hours.

 

What did all this mean?

Essentially, people got up at the crack of dawn to pray (eurgh!). After which, the rich folk would have a little (white) bread and (red) wine for breakfast – still not compensation for such an early start in this author’s humble opinion. 

They did not generally have clocks. Although, some towns were starting to get fancy astronomical clocks (oooh!).

i.e. They wouldn’t ask their friends to come round to their place at two o’clock.

NB There were no minutes in the hours for most of the medieval era. The length of hours varied according to the amount of light.

e.g. in 12^th century London, Matins (first light) was rung at: 5am at the equinox, 6.40 am during midwinter but 2.30am at midsummer.

Similarly, vespers (last light), was rung at: 5pm at the equinox, 3pm during midwinter but 7pm at midsummer.

It wasn’t until the 14^th century that clocks, measuring equal hours, started to appear.

There were, of course, sundials. Apparently, some peasants even had them on the bottom of their shoes! They’d take the shoes off, face the sun and see where the shadow of the heel fell; clever! Sundials remained a stalwart of time-telling until watches, really. They are amazingly accurate, after all.

Ergo, one could not actually time cost you money in the Middle Ages (despite my tongie-in-cheek opening paragraph). Merchants were not able to charge fees on unpaid debt as that was akin to charging interest, which was illegal for most of the era. Time belonged to God!

 

Carrying on from ponderings on time, I venture that when entertaining, guests would come to “dinner” at the midday/noon meal. People would have to travel long distances down poor roads without lighting. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume they’d do so when there was daylight.

 

Calendar

When writing of Medieval England, don’t forget they were using the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar clattered into our lives in 1582.

The Julian calendar used the sun (noon) as the starting point. Leap years were 366 days; originally, 6 months of 30 days, 6 months of 31 days.

February was the last month of the year; 29 days in leap years, 28 in others. The 1 day taken from February was added to August.

The specific method applied, created a 1 day shist every 128 years.

 

There is a handy site to find the day of the week for any date: https://www.dayoftheweek.org/

And a dates converter (which I used to calculate Easter for 1484): http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/cal/medcal.shtml

And if you want a Julian date converter, I found: https://www.typecalendar.com/julian-date

 

Money

During my research, I came across this handy currency converter. You can select which year, and it will tell you the equivalent worth of modern currency:  https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter/

Standard coins in use in the 15^th century:

{  Groat (four pence)

{  Half groat

{  Half penny

{  Farthing (one quarter of a penny)

 

Units used in accounting but not actual coins:

{  Pound (two hundred and forty pence/20s)

{  Mark (one hundred and sixty pence/two thirds of a pound/13s 4d)

{  Shilling (twelve pence)

 

l, s, d = pounds, shillings and pence (Latin = liber, solidus and the Roman denarius, hence the abbreviations).

The gold noble; before 1464 was valued at 6s 8d. However, after that, it became the rose-noble or ryal and was valued at 10s.

At the same time, the gold coin the angel was issued, valued at 6s 8d.

Later, Henry VII created a gold coin in 1489; the first sovereign, valued at 20s.

 

A few other coins appeared under different rulers, but I don’t want to over-complicate things.

Coins were hammered, therefore had a rough appearance. Milled/machine-made (smooth) coins didn’t appear until the 17th century.

So, what would all this buy you?

Part of my research looked at the wonderful book, “Medieval Gentlewoman” by Ffiona Swabey. In it, she explores the household accounts of Alice de Byrne (1360-1435). A fairly humble landowner; middle class, if you will.

In alignment with the 1388 Ordinance of Labourers, she paid her staff:

{ Bailiff – 20s (also received a 6s 8d bonus in the form of clothes allowance and faggots, as in bundles of wood)

{ Carter – 10s

{ Oxherd and cowherd – 6s 8d

{ Plough drivers – 7s

{ Swineherds and female labourers – 6s

{ Maidservant – 8s

Generally, a labourer may earn around £2 per year/2 pence per day. Carpenters could earn 4 pence per day. A knight could receive 4 shillings per day (48 pence/£73 per year) – presumably the non-landed kind . Whilst barons raked in £600 per year. 

Livery

Alice gave x24 householders eight yards of green cloth at just under 1s per yard. Lesser servants were given lesser amounts. But the total came to £8 for summer livery. But she once paid £36 for the annual livery.

 General Purchases (a rough guide):

      {  Rent; merchant’s house – L33-66 per year

{  Knight’s armour (complete) – L16 6s 8d

{  Gown (fashionable lady’s) - L10

{  Ready-made armour (probably from Milan) - L8 6s 8d

{  Mail – 100s

{  A book – L1

{  6 silver spoons – 14s

{  Gold brooch – 13s

{  An ox – 13s

{  Saffron – 12s per lb

{  A cow – 10s

{  Gold ring – 7s

{  Rent; cottage – 5s per year

{  Tunic – 5s

{  80 lbs cheese – 3s 4d

{  Spices – 1-3s per lb

{  A sheep – 1s

{  Linen – 1s

{  Wine (good) – 8d per gallon (1 gallon is 8 pints/4.5 litres)

{  Hat (posh) – 10d

{  Pair of gloves – 7d

{  Candles (wax) – 6.5d

{  A goose – 6d

{  Sword (poor) – 6d

{  Shoes (posh) – 4d

{  Candles (tallow) – 1.5d

{  Ale – 1d per gallon

{  A lamb – 1d

{  2 chickens – 1d

{  A dozen eggs – ha’penny

 

Almost half of one’s annual income may have been spent on maintaining the household (food, wages, livery).

Always in love and light,

TL

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My book, Love in the Roses is available for pre-order (click here).

To protect her family, she must marry the enemy!

The fictitious tale of a knight’s daughter, living life as it very well may have been in 1484.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

RESEARCH - Medieval England - Post 14: Feminine Hygiene, Fertility and Childbirth

WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions. It also covers infertility and mortality.

Menstruation

So, I discussed in my previous post about medicine, how ladies used blood (shpagnum) moss to soak up their menstrual blood. This was quite probably stuffed into linen as a rudimentary sanitary towel. The moss was sometimes also used as toilet paper, by the way.

Of course, all sorts of other words were used for their periods, such as courses, menstra, termes and women's sickness. But, whatever they called it, women have always had to cope with their menstrual cycles. 

Due to lack of nutrition, however, they may not have been monthly. They began around twelve years of age, and were an indication a young lady was ready to start producing children, and therefore could be wed. This is why it wasn't uncommon to see girls of fourteen get married (*shudders*). 

Sadly, it was seen as a punishment from God, especially as nuns did not menstruate (allegedly). Again, I point out the lack of nutrition; nuns and very devout ladies would not have eaten much. But, y'know, let's not dwell!

Isabel in my book, Love in the Roses, challenges her husband to have his wicked way with her during her flow, but not to blame her if she then bore a deformed child. Yes, this was a belief! It was also why some children were born with red hair, obviously!? 

Menstruating women may curdle the milk, so were kept away from activities such as cheese making. 

And, as their excretions were so toxic, they were sometimes encouraged to roam around cornfields with their skirts pulled up, so they could act as an insect repellent! Words fail me. 

Despite the common opinion that this bleeding/suffering was served to women from God and they should shut up and put up... there were herbal remedies to aid the pain. Lady's Mantle, parsley, thyme and woodruff were all used - because women help women. 

Birth Control

 

It stands to reason that not every woman wished to become pregnant. Childbirth was incredibly dangerous; over one in three women died in their child bearing years! Plus, prostitutes have existed since the dawn of man, so they probably didn't want to become heavy with child either. And I hear tell some nuns were actually quite naughty - probably a good idea not to get pregnant in their case; the scandal!

But, interfering with the will of God was, of course, sinful.

There was a papal bull against witchcraft which accused them of having, "slain infants yet in the womb" and "hindering men from performing the sexual act and women from conceiving". So, we know it happened. And as it was witches who were targeted, herbs were probably involved. 

Infertility

But what if you had the opposite problem? Unusually, infertility was not always regarded as a woman's problem. 

Naturally, one would be encouraged to pray. After all, you must have displeased God if he isn't allowing you to procreate. St Anne was patron saint for this. Or, one could make pilgrimage to St. Thomas Cantelupe's shrine in Hereford. 

Weight of both parties was taken into consideration, according to the 12th century gynaecological text, The Trotula. If one was overweight, you could try sweating out the fat in a hot bath. 

Of course, looking at urine was part of diagnosis too. Mix each person's wee with some wheat bran in a pot, and whoever's was smelliest and/or most ridden with worms after nine days was the one with the issue - eww! If no worms were present, then the couple should be blessed with a child in God's own time.  

Onions and parsnips were amongst foods encouraged for the man to help produce his seed. 

Talking of seed, the medieval folk believed both men and women produced seed to produce offspring. So, in order to conceive, the lady had to orgasm - hoorah!

I must say, I did cheer hearing that. Until I learned that this was then used against women too - of course it was (*eyeroll, smacks head*)! If a woman was taken against her wishes and became pregnant it was therefore decided she must have enjoyed it so could not be considered rape (*angry screaming*). 

Anyway, again, herbs and foods were recommended for altering the temperature of the woman's body so she could conceive. 

To help protect against miscarriage, The Trotula suggests:

"Take oil, wax, powder of frankincence, and mastic, and mix them, and let the woman be annointed front and back two or three times a week. This very much strengthens the womb and the cotyledons."

Pregnancy

So, how did you know if you were pregnant? 

Well, with irregular periods (usually among the poor), it could be quite tricky to tell. A woman may not know until she began to show or felt the "quickening" of the baby's first moves. 

And, there was also the possibility of morning sickness.

However, wise women knew the secrets of urine - it is such an important bodily fluid! 

Simply pop a needle into your bowl of wee and see if it rusts. 

The medical folk also looked at pee. Pale to white in colour with a cloudy surface indicated pregnancy. 

Want to know if you're expecting a boy? Place a drop of milk from the mother's breast into water; if it sinks, it's a boy. If it floats, it's a girl.

Cravings

Texts by the Ancient Greek physician, Galen were still referred to. He noted that in the first three months of pregnancy, mothers may suffer from the incredibly bad humor, citta.  This caused them to crave sour and bitter things, or even shells and extinguished coals. 

To stem that, he recommended the occasional day of fasting - oh, sweet mercy! Or, many small meals preceded by water (because that was healthy!?) followed by wine (can you imagine?). Food should be dry and astringent. 

Walks and fragrant but not too sweet white wine were recommended. 

Childbirth

Now, if you were poor, you'd work right up to the moment of labour, in all likelihood. So, let us look at the wealthy. 

Ah, the lying in. 

Before confining oneself to the bedchamber, a woman would attend church for a special blessing. 

Only widows owned property, but some women were still permitted to make their last will & testament before the big event. 

So, all household and spiritual matters seen to, the expectant mother would retire to her chamber, four to six weeks before the baby was due. Only women allowed beyond this point! 

The midwife, a woman, would enter the chamber. Mayhap, the good mother had female friends or relatives who would also be in attendance. 

{ The room was darkened; the curtains drawn

{ Tapestries with relaxing scenes depicted were hung

{ Fires were lit - the warmer the better

{ Herbs were set asmoke and wafted around

{ Crucifixes and religious icons would be strewn about

~ in short, the room was set to recreate the dark, warm, quiet womb

The women would then spend time in quiet contemplation and doing everything they could to promote calm. The book of hours would be read frequently and muchly praying would be conducted. 

Food would be controlled. Nothing too salty or containing rue or parsley. Small dishes of chicken, blackbird, mutton or partridge were advisable. 

Wine should be cut with water or balsam.

Daily hot baths were recommended. The hot water should be steeped with mallows, violets, linseed, fenugreek, chamomile and barley. 

The mother's thighs and genitals would be anointed daily with oil of camomile, chicken fat, foam from the top of butter and unguentum dialthaea (an ointment made from marsh mallow roots).  

Walking was seen as beneficial exercise, perhaps up and down the stairs.

Argh, we reach labour itself!

Warm water which dates had been cooked in was seen as an energy fortifying drink. 

Again, with the oil and fat anointing! And/or apply a poultice.

Wearing coral around the neck was supposed to help ease pain. And she could clutch gemstones (such as jasper which would also help afterwards) or a magnet. Eaglestone may be tied to her thigh.

The woman should be encouraged to walk about as labour pains kick in. 

And time to pray extra hard!

In lieu of gas & air, the mother could clutch a holy relic or talisman. 

A birthing girdle may be placed upon her abdomen; a long, parchment (or hart's skin) scroll with saints such as The Virgin Mary, St Margaret or Julitta & Quiricus depicted. 

The birthing stool was a popular aid in childbirth all the way through to around 1800. Funnily enough, men became midwives at that time too (*grumbly noises* Don't know what's best *mumbles*).

Imagine a horseshoe-shaped stool, The woman could squat down upon this and let gravity come to her rescue. 

These stools could be treasured family heirlooms! 

Another woman could sit behind and cradle the poor mother. Isn't that nice?

The use of birthing stools shortens the birth canal and increases pelvic diameter. Doesn't that sound like a good idea? 

If the baby was round the wrong way, the midwife may oil her hands and, y'know, reach in. 

Caesareans were a known thing. However, this was a last resort measure as it was highly likely neither mother or baby would survive the procedure. Basically, the mother was either dead or dying before they'd try.

The midwife was permitted to baptize the baby, incidentally. But only if the baby was sickly - a quick blessing before it died was necessary so its soul could still reach heaven. This blog post is terribly morbid; I do apologise.

However, once the baby is out (hopefully without intervention), then the umbilical cord needed to be dealt with. It could be cut and powdered dragon's blood (plant resin) put on. Or, tie it off with twisted wool. 

After it has dropped off, the umbilical cord was often thrown onto the fire in the room - this was a way of purifying the sinful origins of conception! 

Herbs were lit and wafter under the mother's nose. This would cause her to sneeze, but her nose would be pinched. Therefore, the pressure would be sent downwards so she could expel the afterbirth.

More from The Trotula:

For pain of the vagina after birth, take rue, mugwort, and camphor, grind them well and, having prepared them with musk oil or pennyroyal oil and warmed them in a pot, wrap them in a cloth and insert as a suppository.

A needle and thread could have come in handy too. Oh, this is all making me wince without any anaesthetic! But, there is more medical advice:

For rupture of the lower parts after birth, take root of comfrey, dry it and then pulverise it well, and put with fine powder of cumin and also cinnamon in the vagina, and it will be solidified.

And if that sneeze didn't expel the afterbirth...

For birth of the womb and for bringing out the afterbirth. Take root of parsley, leaves of leek, and borage, and extract the juice, and mix in a little oil, and give to the patient to drink, and put vinegar into the vagina, and she will be freed.

Pennyroyal was also a good herb for such expulsions.

That coral amulet hung about the mother's neck during childbirth? A similar one could now be placed upon the infant for protection. Either that or amber. 

Mother and baby would be bathed. Injuries seen to. The baby encouraged to urinate by squeezing on its bladder. 

Then the baby needed to be swaddled. Their bones were seen as weak and not fully formed, so swaddling helped keep them in shape until the grew stronger. This would be done at least until the child could sit up on its own or it reached the age of one.

The mother may have been given some caudle. This is a dish of egg yolks, ale/wine, sugar and saffron (recipes vary). A basic dish accessible to all and seen as a restorative.

And hopefully, both were healthy and would be able to have a bit of a sleep. I think they'd earned it!

But this was not the end. Oh no. Mother and baby would be kept in confinement for another four to six weeks, whilst both gained their strength and healed. 

Breast Feeding

The mother could put a bit of honey on her breast to encourage the baby to suckle - aww. Baby should be fed three times per day. And the mother would learn when to unswaddle so her child could relieve itself. She'd then wrap it back up, snug as a bug in a rug. 

Wet nurses could be used, but it was deemed best for the mother to perform this duty if she could. The Church deemed that if it was good enough for The Virgin Mary, any mother should do so.

Breast feeding was encouraged until around the age of two. 

Gnawing on roots of liqorice or gladioli could help when teething pains kicked in. 

Baptism was essential for newborns. It could not wait until the mother was out of her confinement. So, the father (or appointed other if he were not present) would take the baby to church, along with the appointed godparents.

At the church door, prayers would be issued, whilst the priest made the sign of the cross three times.

The godparents would then recite Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary and Creed, in Latin.

Then, the baby was taken inside to the font. Holy oil was added to the water therein, and more prayers were recited. The godparents renounced Satan and pledged their faith. 

The baby was anointed with holy oil and then baptised with three immersions in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The baby's forehead was then anointed with sacred chrism (holy oil) and a white chrisom cloth was bound round it as a symbol of the cleansing of its sins, and was kept in place for the following week.  Finally, the child was dressed in a white chrisom robe, which, if the child died within a month, was used as a shroud.  The child was given a blessed, lighted candle, which therefore had the power when lit, to banish the Devil.

Churching

This chrisom cloth was then given to the mother for her Churching. 

Yes, at the end of her confinement, the mum would go to church for her blessing.

Again, she was met at the church door by the priest who carried holy water and candles. 

The mother would have worn a veil and may have held a burning candle. She would issue forth said chrisom and any other offerings.

The priest said a prayer of thanksgiving and asked for eternal life for the mother. Two Psalms were then read. And then the mother may have been sprinkled with holy water before being led into the church with a prayer of access.

A special Mass would then be conducted, with the mother offering thanks for the safe delivery of her child. She would also receive Communion.

She was then able to resume daily activities, cleansed of all that sin of conception! 

At the end of all that, one presumably continued to pray that your child continued strong and healthy. 

Around 30% of children died before the age of five. Yikes!

But if they survived until the age of twenty, they were likely to be OK until around fifty. Hoorah!

At the age of seven, presumably when parents relaxed a little bit, boys may be sent of for training, either ecclesiastical/scholar or as a knight. Girls may well have been sent to another household to learn the ways of management of such. 

And then they'd be married off. And the cycle begins anew! 

OK, that'll do. This is a really long post but I wanted to cover all these aspects in one go. 

Always in love and light,

TL

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My book, Love in the Roses is available for pre-order (click here).

To protect her family, she must marry the enemy!

The fictitious tale of a knight’s daughter, living life as it very well may have been in 1484.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------