The Armour Archive

Agincourt era split hose

Hello, I’ve been poking around at having a more accurate kit for an Agincourt English archer. As near as I can tell in 1415 full joined hosen aren’t in fashion yet for the lower class but the separate chauses style with single point attachment have gone out of fashion. Or at least I think they have based on the height of the doublet. I *THINK* that this leaves the transitional split hose that are more akin to unzipping a set of joined hose through the entire crotch seam around to the back, possibly including a triangular overlap on the posterior and I have no idea what if anything replaces the cod piece.

Can someone offer a clear answer about what style hose are A) Appropriate at Agincourt for an English archer and B) where I can get detailed enough pictures so I can work on replicating them?

Thanks in advance,
Sean Powell

Sean,

I think that by 1415, joined hosen have been in use by the fashionable folk for a couple of decades or more. On the other hand, a soldier might well still be wearing separate hosen.

Here's my rule of thumb....

--If your outer garment covers your crotch reliably, you may wear separate hosen.
--If your outer garment just barely covers you crotch, you should probably wear joined hosen.
--If your outer garment fails to cover your crotch, you must wear joined hosen.

Under normal conditions, no one should see your underwear. When your hosen are trussed up, no one should see any exposed thigh.

Note that this is all predicated on what the outer garment looks like. If you have stripped that off to engage in vigorous activity, then all bets are off.

Mac