Doublets and aketons in 1343/4

[Sean M]

In appendix V of Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince, Stella Mary Newton englishes some lists of materials for upper garments in the Great Wardrobe Accounts of Edward III for 1343/4.

Doublet for the king:
Sindon, 1 ell
Green longcloth, 2.5 ells (but same figure is given for two doublets)
Linen of rheims, 6 ells
Linen of Paris, 6 ells
Silk ribbon, 3 pieces (but same figure is given for two doublets)
Silk thread, 1/8 lb
Cotton wool, 1.5 lbs

Aketon covered with striped fustian and enclosing mail or plates:
Fustian, 2.5 ells
Bolt cloth, 3.2 pieces
Short linen of Rheims, 1 ell
Short linen of Paris, 6.4 ells
Sindon afforcat', 0.11 piece + 0.5 ell (she glosses afforcatus as „strengthened“)
Silk thread, 0.08 lbs
Cotton wool, 2.3 lbs
Linen thread, 0.5 lb
Deerskin, ½ (figure for nine aketons suggests 1/9)
Wide gold ribbon, 1/9 piece
Aiguilettes, 24

Aketon for the king:
Camocas, 4 ells
Linen of Rheims, 4.5 ells
Linen of Paris, 4.5 ells
Cotton wool, 3 lbs
Silk thread, 1/4 lb
Sindon, 1 ell

Your mission, if you chose to accept it, is to explain how, as a master pourpontier in 1343, you would use all those ingredients (and possibly a few other small things at your own expense or left over from earlier projects) to create a fashionable upper garment. For example, that is rather a lot of thread ... and between 3 to 7 complete layers of cloth aside from any interlining to stiffen particular parts. And I don't see a lot of deerskin or "reinforced sindon" in modern reconstructions.

[Henrik Granlid]

If 1-1.25 ells are needed for a doublet, then 12 ells of linen would be 8-10 layers of linen.
You then have the longcloth for lining and outer shell. Or possibly a double outer shell, of longcloth and a lining of Sindon.
The silk thread would be for quilting and the cotton wool for either stuffing or for a soft layer to make the padding luxurious.

[Ernst]

I suspect 1-1.25 ells is far too little for a doublet. 2-2.5 ells is probably about the norm, considering a modern shirt's needs. Consider Tasha's analysis of the Charles VI pourpoint, where there are four layers involved: A flat piece with cotton laid on top, and the covering shaped over the fill, and a second assembly made in the same manner, and attached flat to flat.

Tasha fig.4.jpg (18.63 KiB) Viewed 961 times

Doublet for the king:
Sindon, 1 ell
Green longcloth, 2.5 ells (but same figure is given for two doublets)
Linen of rheims, 6 ells
Linen of Paris, 6 ells
Silk ribbon, 3 pieces (but same figure is given for two doublets)
Silk thread, 1/8 lb
Cotton wool, 1.5 lbs

It's possible, if the green longcloth is split between two doublets, that the garment is covered parti- between the longcloth and sindon. If the linen of Rheims and linen of Paris are used for the shells covering the cotton, it will take a bit more than double the 2.25-2.5 ells, due to the curvature over the cotton. The silk ribbon might have been used for points, and the thread to sew it all together.

Aketon covered with striped fustian and enclosing mail or plates:
Fustian, 2.5 ells
Bolt cloth, 3.2 pieces
Short linen of Rheims, 1 ell
Short linen of Paris, 6.4 ells
Sindon afforcat', 0.11 piece + 0.5 ell (she glosses afforcatus as „strengthened“)
Silk thread, 0.08 lbs
Cotton wool, 2.3 lbs
Linen thread, 0.5 lb
Deerskin, ½ (figure for nine aketons suggests 1/9)
Wide gold ribbon, 1/9 piece
Aiguilettes, 24

Al least we know the 2.5 ells of striped fustian is used for the cover! This is the toughest one to allocate. Since fustian isn't the richest of fabrics for a cover, might it might be that they are using the bolt cloth, Rheims linen, and Paris linen altogether to make the shell (9.7 ells vs. the previous 12)? The strengthened sindon could be for lining the collar or making some sort of reinforcements. Use the linen thread for sewing together the shell, and the silk thread for adding the covering. The deerskin (1/9th of half a hide?) might only be enough for lacing the front closed. The wide gold ribbon adds a bit of kingly bling at the cuffs or collar, and the 24 points are used for attaching plates.

Aketon for the king:
Camocas, 4 ells
Linen of Rheims, 4.5 ells
Linen of Paris, 4.5 ells
Cotton wool, 3 lbs
Silk thread, 1/4 lb
Sindon, 1 ell

The patterned silk camocas is clearly the covering. There seems to be more than needed for the purpose, so it could be that they bought up all that was available, with the intent to use the remnants for other projects. Or the account, as well as the aketon is padded. Again, the linen for constructing the doubled shells. I wonder if the Rheims linen was used on the innermost layers next to the body and the Paris linen as a backing for the cotton ropes, or if the separate linens were paired together? The loose cotton wool for stuffing, obviously, and the silk thread for sewing it together. Again, I'm unsure of the use for the sindon - perhaps to line sleeves and collar?

[Ernst]

Robin Netherton suggests the Reims linen is of finer quality, and the chemise of St. Louis might be an example, though it can't be proven. If so we're looking at a thread count of 28 threads/cm or roughly 70/inch. If this is the finer of the two linens, I suspect it would be the one used nearest the skin, and therefore over the padding. The Paris linen would therefore form the two innermost flat layers.
https://books.google.com/books?id=PkToC ... ms&f=false

[RandallMoffett]

Is it also possible these were the purchase records? You rarely buy less than you need to ensure you have all the material you need. I suspect though as Ernst is saying they did indeed have multilayers of fabric and the padding material.

RPM

[Sean M]

Weren't tailors expected to be very good at estimating exactly how much they would need and cutting the cloth as efficiently as possible? Cloth was expensive, and if you asked for an extra half a yard per layer to be safe, your customer might chose the pourpontier down the street. I would certainly expect that Edward III's wardrobe hired the best.

It would be nice to have the originals (or more documents like this) though.

[Sean M]

In Italy, the “piece” was either the length of cloth which came off the loom, or a simple fraction of that (the spinners produced warp threads in standard lengths and qualities, so it was easier to weave cloth to that length then cut it in half if your buyers preferred shorter bolts). In northern Italy, statutory lengths for cloths containing cotton were on the order of 50 braccie or 100 American feet before cutting in half; I don't have figures for other kinds of cloth. So those pieces of bolt cloth could have lengths in the tens of yards! See Maureen Fennell Mazzaoui, The Italian Cotton Industry in the Later Middle Ages, 1100-1600 (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1981) pp. 80, 84; a 2008 reprint is available on Google Books and for sale new for about $50.

In Italy "short" or "low" cloth was contrasted with "high" or "long" broadcloth which was twice as wide eg. 3/4 braccia for short cloth and 6/4 braccie for long cloth. The short cloths were often cut in half after weaving, so the piece was short as well as narrow.

Drei Schnittbücher defines how precisely one needed to be able to estimate cloth requirements for a list of different garments in different materials to become a master tailor (Schneider) in several Austrian towns in the sixteenth century. How often tailors asked for a bit extra is not part of the exam