Lining garments with fur

[William of Stonebridge]

I have read articles and posts here on the archive about wealthy garments lined with fur. I have noticed many pictures in the manasse codex with what appears to be fur lined robes.

Primarily, I am curious about the late 14th century, but I would like to know comparing with 13th and 15th centuries:

1)What type and color of fur would have been used?
2)How was it attached?
3)From what fabrics would the typical fur lined garment be made?

[Charlotte J]

Check this out for a start:
http://www.mathildegirlgenius.com/FurDr ... essDoc.pdf

Look in the bibliography and footnotes for good books to check out.

[Tailoress]

William, I can't tell from your initial query if you're aware of this, but the Manesse Codex is early 14thc, not late. There are tons of other illuminations dated to the late 14thc that portray fur integrated with clothing, either as a lining and purfelle or a purfelle (purfelle being the portion that shows on /edges the cuffs, hem, or neckline -- basically, the openings).

That said, there are over-simplified answers and the true, long answers to your questions, which are really rather huge.

Here are some overly simple answers.

1) In the late 14thc, the furs used on wealthy garments were predominantly the sleek, short-haired furs of the Russian (winter coat) squirrel imported to western Europe by the Hanseatic League. There were lots of other furs used, but that one is probably the pinnacle of "typical" for the wealthy. It was called gris, because it was a blue-grey. Other versions of light fur were pured miniver (white bellies of grey squirrels) and lettice (white/grey weasel). Ermine was generally the highest level and reserved for royal personages, though apparently people used a 'poor man's' version by cutting slits in white fur and inserting black lamb locks through the slits to simulate the look of black-tipped ermine tails. Veale cites that one.

2) I think Elspeth Veale's book goes into some detail about the method, but I don't recall. Also, Charlotte's link above will be useful, and it has the bibliographic reference for the Veale book. That author references primary sources from the skinner's guild in London, so if you really want to get into the detail, those would be the records to chase down. Also, check out Fur in Dress by Elizabeth Ewing for further historical fur references in clothing.

3) Probably silk and wool predominantly.

-Tasha

[Charlotte J]

2) I think Elspeth Veale's book goes into some detail about the method, but I don't recall.

Indeed, it does.

To sum up, the fur itself was attached to an interlining of, if I'm remembering correctly, canvas, and then the interlining was attached to the garment. The fur and the interlining would be bound at the edges with leather. Veale cites that by the Tudor period, linings could be left as separate items altogether, and moved from garment to garment.

When I did mine, I padstitched the fur onto a heavy linen interlining. The lining and interlining are very lightly attached to the wool, just stitched around the edges to hold it together. Presumably, if I want to move the lining to another gown, it should be pretty easy.