Medieval commoners’ clothing 1000-1550

What did medieval commoners wear?

An overview of medieval fashion for common people in the 11th to 16th century.

While the fashion of the nobles changed quite a lot between 1000 and 1550, the clothing of the common people, particularly the peasants, changed but slowly. There were however changes both the the male and female dress. This post is mostly peasants and workmen and other country dwellers. I think I will do a separate post on artisans, craftsmen, merchants and other city dwellers. My focus here is on Northern Europe.

For an overview on clothing in the middle ages read more here

Men’s clothing

Underwear

The inner most layer was the for the men consisted of braies, a shirt and some kind of hose or stocking. The inner layers were made by either linen or less common wool. If you want to look more at the underwear I have a huge post about that here. As you can see form the pictures working men, particularly peasants would often strip down to their braies to work in the field.

Two farmers in their braies working. Notice their covered heads even as their upper bodies are nude. c. 1250

Peasant in shirt, braies and stockings. 1300’s

Two men wearing loose shirts and braies while threshing grain

Shirt is made of rectangles with gussets at shoulder, underarm, and hem. 1300’s

Peasant working in his shirt, short braies, hose, a hat and shoes. 1386

Peasant reaping in linen braies and shirt and straw hat. c 1412–1416

Peasants harvesting hay in tunics and shirts.

1400’s workingman in unlaced hose rolled to the knees. Wearing undergarment, a chemise. c 1455

Barley, Tacuinum Sanitatis 1370-1400

Peasant working in his shirt, c 1475

France, Paris, between 1495 and 1498 MS M.934 fol. 5v

Work clothing

Over their shirt and braies working people would wear a belted tunic for most of the period and some kind of hose – short or long. For most jobs they did not wear special work clothing. The exception were the leather apron of the smith and the apron worn while sowing. The outer layers were made of linen or wool.

1000-1300

In the 1200’s working men would wear a short coat or tunic with a belt over their shirt. The tunic would be split up the front and could be tied up if needed. Under the tunic they wore long braies that could be used as shorts in hot weather or while doing dirty work. Over the braies they wore chausses tied to the belt or with a drawstring. 1Wikipedia

Two peasants c. 1180

Two peasants c. 1180

Peasant knocking down acorns. He is wearing a simple belted tunic and a hood. c. 1180

Peasant sewing wearing a tunic, naked legs and a coif. He has a piece of fabric around the neck for the seeds.

Peasants working, 1180

Peasants working, 1180

Peasant at work wearing a red tunic with a interesting neck line and a funcky hat. Also notice his hat and naked leggs.

Peasants working, 1180

Peasants working both wearing tunics and one of them is wearing hose. 1180

c. 1170

c. 1170

Men working in linen braies, tunics, and coifs. The man on the left wears green hose over his braies. c. 1250

Peasants working c. 1250

Shepherd wearing a tunic, hose and a short cape/hood. c. 1250

A peasant working the feild in his braies, coif and shoes. c. 1260

Peasant wearing a hooded cape, tunic, braies and short boots/shoes. c 1260

1270: portages of the grapes during the harvest. Two men both in tunics. One is also wearing a coif and a basket full of grapes. He wears short boats and his tunic got a slit up the front.

Swineherd wearing blue hose, redish tunic and a hood

Peasent picking leeks 1200’s

Man with a basket full of stuff. He is wearing very worn chausses, a very short tunic, braies and a hood. late 1300’s

1400-1500

During the 1400’s some commoners started wearing shorter and tighter doublets ranter than loose tunics. Many others still wore the loose tunic and old fashioned chausses.

Sewing time, c. 1412

Man sewing c. 1413

Man and woman shearing sheep. c. 1415

Peasant in straw hat, 1416

Peasant in in a tattered tunic over a blue tunic with sheep, 1416

Peasants harvesting hay in tunics and shirts.

Peasant reaping in linen braies and shirt and straw hat. c 1412–1416

Working in the winter in short hose, braies and a tunic that is tucked in up at the waist

Très Riche Heures du Duc de Berry, attrib. Paul Limbourg, 1416

Farmer in tunic and short hose, c. 1430

Farmer in tunic and short hose, c. 1430

Workmen on a dock wear short overgowns with hats, 1437

Farmer, c. 1470

Farmer, c. 1475

Two peasants 1475

Workman shown fastening of the hose to the short doublet by means of points or ties. c. 1475

Two peasants beating grain in their under shirts. One wears a flat straw hat. 1490

1500-1600

Joined hose tied to the jacket. Late somewhere around 1500

Bavarian stonemasons wear knee-length tunics, hose, and ankle-high shoes, c. 1505.

Sheep shearers wear short tunics over shirts, with hose and ankle-high shoes, Flanders, c. 1510.

Haymakers: Barefoot women wear short-sleeved, front-laced dresses with contrasting linings tucked up over knee-length chemises, with aprons and straw hats. Men wear sleeveless overgowns or jerkins over their shirts and hose, c. 1510.

The prodigal son is dressed like a beggar, in undyed or faded clothing. He wears a hood and carries a hat with a brim and a wicker pack on his back, c. 1510.

It looks like he is wearing a white shirt and a joined hose, 1559

Sheep herd, 1560

Peasants harvesting, 1565

Merry making

Woman’s clothing

Underwear

The inner most layer was the for the women consisted of a shift of linen and short stockings tied under the knee. The inner layers were made by either linen or less common wool. If you want to read more about female underwear have a look here.

Work clothing

Over the under shift women would wear a dress. In the first part of the period it would be very loose but it became a fitted cote or kirtle toward the latter part of the period. Women would often wear an apron to protect their clothing. The outer layers were made of linen or wool.

Woman wearing a mantle and veil over a long gown. c. 1155-1160

Woman getting water from a well. She is wearing a wide sleeved gown and a cape or mantle. She also wears a veil wrapped around her head like a hijab, c. 1155-1160

Woman picking up straw at harvest, c 1180

Woman spinning, c 1180

A peasant in tunic, hose, hat and short shoes and a woman spinning with an unweightened teen. She is wearing a knee long tunic over a shift and a veil wrapped around her head.

Servent woman wearing a cote and a head cover/veil wrapped or possible a cap. late 1200’s

Servent woman in a veil wrapped around her head. She is wearing a long cote with a cape over. As she is working the fire I think she is a commoner of some sort, possibly a servent. c. 1300 – 1340

A woman working in her shift. Second half 1400’s

The woman is wearing a tied up veil, a cote with a wide neckline and a white apron, 1200’s

She is wearing a cote and a white shift underneath. Her cote is belted at the waist and the sleeves bellows a bit at the elboves but narrows near the wrist. Woman caring water(?), 1300’s

Shepherd wearing a blue cote/kirtle, cut low. She wears her hair up and is weaving a garland for her hair. In her belt she wears a purse. c. 1413

Woman in a blue dress and black hood. c. 1415

Women raking hay work barefoot and wear their kirtles looped up over long-sleeved linen smocks, c. 1415

Man and women working the grape harvest. The women are in their cotes and the men are in tunics and short hose. c. 1416

Peasant woman in a cote 1475

The woman is wearing a cote – it looks to have a high waist line and a square neck line as well as tight sleeves. She is wearing a very tight cap. Peasant woman with a basket – working on trashing grain. 1490

Two women spinning and talking, 1559

Woman 1559

Notice how deep the V neck is in the back. c. 1565

Three female peasants walking, 1565 Notice how short their skirts are. They wear laced bodice and white wide sleeved shifts.

Feast wear

Since most of the period pictures I have found of peasant feasts have both men an women in them I will have them combined.

If you could afford clothing just for festive occasions and perhaps church you would, since it is a great opportunity to show off to the neighbors. The clothing seem to be simpler version of what-ever was the fashion at the time. Probably produced in wool rather than silk and brocade. More likely than not there would be pretty details of lace and needle work.

The Dancing Peasants, late 1400’s

I want to take a closer look at The Dancing Peasants. Below is a description of the clothing seen in the picture.

From the left: The first woman is wearing a red striped surcote ouverte with a blue cote with fitted sleeves under it and a white kerchief stuffed into her neckline. She is wearing black pointed shoes.

The man in front of her is wearing with shirt with a very loose tunic with a hood attracted or a chaperon in the same color over that. On his legs he is wearing white hose without feet. He is also wearing a coif and a small hat decorated with leaf.

He is dancing with a woman in a dusty red (sur)cote over a white cote or shift with fitted sleeves. She is wearing a very red chaperon with a floor length tale and a twig with red berries. On her feet she wears small black shoes.

She has her partner’s sleeve. He is wearing a blue surcote with “reversible” sleeves and a beautiful pattern. The cote has a huge hood. Underneath he is wearing something with black sleeves and red hose. Over that he has short black boats. On his head he wears a small black hat with a upturned edge.

In front of him is a woman wearing a little black hat with beads over her visible long blond hair, which looks to be tied at the neck. She is wearing a red cote with not visible shift under. She also have a white kerchief stuffed into her neckline. Unlike the other women she is wearing a white apron around her waist.

To her right is a barefooted fellow with rolled-up white shirt sleeves under a red waistcoat – which seem to be laced. Over that he wears a thin black belt with a purse tucked behind him. He is wearing what looks like red pants – but is properly a joined hose without feet rolled up to the knee. His waistcoat has hole to tie a hose to tit but his hose is not tied to it. It seem that he the waistcoat is meant to be worn with a different hose – perhaps it is an older or borrowed piece of closing.

To the left of the tree is a man in a red chaperon which has fallen off his head. He is wearing what looks to be a blue jacket. It is fairly loosely fitted. He is either wearing black hose with feet or black boots.

Out to the right a musician is playing on a bagpibe. He is wearing a loose blue tunic, grey hose and a very red chaperon worn on top of his head like a hat.

Dancing peasants 1400’s

Peasants partying at a wedding