Clothing In The Medieval Society

Process of manufacturing clothing

The process of manufacturing clothing in Medieval times was long and tedious. Wool was commonly shorn off sheep and then put through a grueling cleaning process to ensure your clothing was soft and clean. After the wool was shorn is was bathed in urine to remove any leftover oils. Then the wool is spun into a thread before it is woven into a garment. Dye was very easy to source in the medieval times because of the lush plant/forest environment that villages were located in, the dyes came from colorful flower petals that were ground into a pigmented paste. Since dye was a very common thing in medieval times’ it was not just the wealthy royalty that owned colorful clothing, in fact, the majority of the less fortunate clothing was brightly colored. Peasants and slaves would be the people who manufactured all the clothing for the wealthy, more so the women rather than the men in this instance. In the medieval times’ women and men wore thicker, heavier garments in comparison to nowadays, this required a lot more time and effort into weaving them because it was very important the clothing with stranded the harsh conditions they were going to be put through.

Rich and poor

The clothing differed quite a lot from poor to rich due to many circumstances. As I mentioned before dye was very common to find in the medieval times which meant that lots of people had access to it, so the poor had brightly colored clothing as did the rich. Clothing is a necessity but having lots of it is not so naturally the rich could afford a lot more than the poor could, which often meant that the poor people’s clothing would become ripped or would fade over time due to how much it was worn. Since the rich could afford it they would buy clothing from people who had better quality garments which meant they cost more and lasted longer but the poor people would buy clothing that was cheaper and wasn’t the best quality in comparison to the rich. The rich also had extra garments that provide warmth or were additional to dresses, these were viewed as not necessary to the poor because of their price. The poor had the necessities when it came to clothing: a cote, a dress or pants/ shirt, undergarments and blazer or jacket of some description.

Clothing worn by the clergy

What clothing people wore depended on the class that they belonged to. Noblemen and women wore thick woolen tunics that commonly had a belt at the waist to cinch in the dress or tunic, they wore cloaks over the top that were often fastened with a broach. Peasants wore simple clothing that was really plain and not decorated, women wore dresses/ tunics and men wore short woolen pants. Royalty often wore extravagant pieces of clothing that were decorated and embroidered throughout the entire garment. Women wore tighter clothing with lower plunging necklines that extenuated curves, lace and embroidery were common uses of decoration whereas men wore thick clothing with fur lining to provide warmth, there clothing needed to provide protection but it needed to be loose enough so that they can wear it for all the athletic activities that they use to participate in the medieval times. Women’s clothing served less of a purpose than men’s did because the men’s clothing had to provide protection whereas the women’s clothing was for aesthetic purposes.

Factors that impacted what people wore

The factors that contributed to what the people wore in the medieval ages varied greatly. A huge factor was the social hierarchy, peasants wore very simplistic and practical clothing so that they can complete their duties in their clothing but a contrast to that was royalty who had more money to spend on more clothing that wasn’t very practical or a necessity to their duties. Knights wore full body armor to protect them against their job which is to serve their kingdom by fighting off any threats. Another factor that contributed to what people wore in the medieval ages was gender. Women wore long tunic/ dresses and men wore legging-like pants with shirts, both genders wore cloaks as an outer layer that provides warmth. Back in the medieval times’ peasants were poor so their clothing didn’t have decorative embellishments that cost extra like royalty had because royalty had lots of money for lace or embroidery. As I mentioned previously dye was very cheap so even the peasants had very vibrantly colored clothes.