Norman Garb
Moderator: Glen K
Norman Garb
I'm looking for good resources on Norman garb, both male and female. If anyone has any suggestions that would send me in the right direction, they would be greatly appreciated.
-
Egfroth
- Archive Member
- Posts: 4577
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2001 1:01 am
- Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
- Contact:
The first and best source is the Bayeux Tapestry, but be aware of a few points;
1. The clothing looks oversimplified compared to what I would expect to see in the real world. Those differently coloured bands at collar and cuffs would almost certainly be tablet woven braid, or embroidered panels.
2. Mail rings were NOT as big as they seem to be on the Tapestry. In fact, on the first 2 or 3 guys there, the rings are much smaller. They must have just run out of wool/money.
For patterns, have a look at Marc Carlson's page. A goldmine for clothing, shoes, whatever.
Get hold of some art books - particularly "early Middle Ages" or "Romanesque" to show you what the Franks, and therefore the Normans, were wearing at the time, and give you an idea (from borders of pictures etc) of the styles of decoration in use - for your embroidered panels.
A lot depends on your social status, but the common outfit would be tunic (wool, in the colours shown on the Bayeux Tapestry), undertunic (probably linen - either white or unbleached in a sort of pale brownish grey), braccas/braies - long shorts that reach below the knee and are usually tied up rather like the bottoms of sweat pants. To the waistband of your braccas, you tie the laces of your hose - basically tight woolen stockings - with or without feet in them. If no feet, put "stirrups" at the bottom to hold the lower cuffs close to the foot and keep them tight. Your braccas tuck in under your hose.
Leather shoes as shown on Marc Carlson's page, or Peter and Christobel's . Perhaps winningas/wickelbander - garters that go either round and round the leg like puttees, or are used as cross-garters.
You can fnd examples of all these on the Bayeux tapestry, as well as in other sources of the time, which are usually almost identical in their depictions.
Be careful to only rely on pics that are close enough to the date you want to do. This was a period of quite a bit of change.
------------------
Egfroth
"Pig, sit still in the strainer.
Pig, sit still in the strainer!
I must have my pig tea!"
Egfroth
see my webpage at www.geocities.com/egfrothos
1. The clothing looks oversimplified compared to what I would expect to see in the real world. Those differently coloured bands at collar and cuffs would almost certainly be tablet woven braid, or embroidered panels.
2. Mail rings were NOT as big as they seem to be on the Tapestry. In fact, on the first 2 or 3 guys there, the rings are much smaller. They must have just run out of wool/money.
For patterns, have a look at Marc Carlson's page. A goldmine for clothing, shoes, whatever.
Get hold of some art books - particularly "early Middle Ages" or "Romanesque" to show you what the Franks, and therefore the Normans, were wearing at the time, and give you an idea (from borders of pictures etc) of the styles of decoration in use - for your embroidered panels.
A lot depends on your social status, but the common outfit would be tunic (wool, in the colours shown on the Bayeux Tapestry), undertunic (probably linen - either white or unbleached in a sort of pale brownish grey), braccas/braies - long shorts that reach below the knee and are usually tied up rather like the bottoms of sweat pants. To the waistband of your braccas, you tie the laces of your hose - basically tight woolen stockings - with or without feet in them. If no feet, put "stirrups" at the bottom to hold the lower cuffs close to the foot and keep them tight. Your braccas tuck in under your hose.
Leather shoes as shown on Marc Carlson's page, or Peter and Christobel's . Perhaps winningas/wickelbander - garters that go either round and round the leg like puttees, or are used as cross-garters.
You can fnd examples of all these on the Bayeux tapestry, as well as in other sources of the time, which are usually almost identical in their depictions.
Be careful to only rely on pics that are close enough to the date you want to do. This was a period of quite a bit of change.
------------------
Egfroth
"Pig, sit still in the strainer.
Pig, sit still in the strainer!
I must have my pig tea!"
Egfroth
see my webpage at www.geocities.com/egfrothos
Thanks for the help. 
I'm shooting for my persona being of the first generation of Normans born in England. Born illegitimate, kept around the household, but probably not sent back to Normandy for schooling. lol, but now i'm getting complicated. Would there have been a Saxon influence on their fashion at that point?
I'm shooting for my persona being of the first generation of Normans born in England. Born illegitimate, kept around the household, but probably not sent back to Normandy for schooling. lol, but now i'm getting complicated. Would there have been a Saxon influence on their fashion at that point?-
Christophe de Frisselle
- Archive Member
- Posts: 3402
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2002 2:01 am
- Location: Northern Outpost, East, SCA (St. Lawrence Co, NY)
-
Valstarr Hawkwind
- Archive Member
- Posts: 7399
- Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2000 1:01 am
- Location: McAlester Oklahoma USA
-
Matthew Amt
- Archive Member
- Posts: 1137
- Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2000 1:01 am
- Location: Laurel, MD USA
- Contact:
There is also my own humble site, with a few other links here and there,
http://www.larp.com/midgard/mbcs.htm
Good luck!
Matthew/Aelfric/Quintus/etc.
http://www.larp.com/midgard/mbcs.htm
Good luck!
Matthew/Aelfric/Quintus/etc.