Medieval female fashion in the 1300’s

An overview of medieval female fashion in the 1300’s (14th century) with lots of images from the source material as well as a short description of each type of garment. This post is focused on the upper classes.

Underwear

The innermost layer of a woman’s clothing was a linen or woolen chemise, shift or smock, some fitting the figure and some loosely garmented. There are some mentiongs of a “breast girdle” or “breast band” which may have been the precursor of a modern bra.

Women also wore hose or stockings, although women’s hose generally only reached to the knee. Read more here.

Inconstancy Giotto, 1306

Women in a shift c. 1376. Here I notice that it is two parts with a waistline just under the breast.

Chemise, 1378 Note center core and inside and outside sleeve seams.

Woman with bath equipment. 1390-1400 No I don’t know what the beast is

Cote, cotta, cotte, tunic or kirtle

Women wore long cote/cotta/tunic/kirtle (kjortel), the length depended on their station and wealth. The cote would be worn over the shift and often under an outer layer often a surcote.

While the cote of the early medieval period was a loose garment, it became fitted around mid 1300’s as the outer layers grew more fitted as well. It was usually to the ancles, but could be substancally longer for formal occations (or when the artist didn’t want to draw feet it would seem). Fitted kirtles had full skirts made by adding triangular gores to widen the hem without adding bulk at the waist.

The sleeves seem to have been either fitted all the way or fitted from the albow down the wrist, sometimes reaching to the knuckes.

From mid-1300’s the cote would buttoned or laced either in front or in the sides – known as a cotehardie

Woman in a very long red cote – notice how it pools on the ground. It seem to have wide neckline. Early 1300’s

Maid and lady both in simple loose cotes with tight sleeves. The lady is having her hair braided and pined by her maid, who is wearing a veil. c. 1325-1335.

The wide neckline of the cote lets you nurse while wearing it – apparently. Early 1300’s

Woman spinning in her belted cote, c 1300 – 1340

Woman in a belted dark blue cote. Notice the simple neckline, c. 1300-1340

Woman in a decorated cote with a high neckline, 1325-1340

cote with a very wide and open neckline but a pretty loosely fitted body. c. 1338-1344

Woman gathering eggs in a very simple gown with a low neckline. It might just be her kirtle/cote.

Woman and her lover in a cote with a very wide neckline, c. 1390

Courtly woman in cotes with wide necklines, c. 1390

Surecotes

Thoughout the 1300’s the surecote comes in a number of different edirations. From a simple large tunic and cyclas to the complicated pelice over the houppelande and sometimes a robe.

Loose tunic over a cote, c. 1300-1340

Loose tunic over a very long cote, c. 1300-1340

Loose tunic over a cote, c. 1300-1340

Loose surecote with short sleeves over a cote. c 1300 – 1340

Ladies dancing in different styled surecotes. c. 1343-1377

Cyclas

For a long time noble women would wear surcotes with large armholes showing off the tunic underneath that would be of a different fabric. A cyclas began as a rectangular piece of cloth with a hole in it for the head. Over time the sides were sewn together to make a long, sleeveless tunic.

In the first half of the century the cyclas is open from the shoulder to the waistline in a straight line. On a few examples it is however much shorter – just allowing the arm though or opening a bit smaller.

On a few examples the arm hole is rounded so that it shows off more of the cote under the cyclas. This style will become more destint ending up with the fur trimmed and turning into a pellote/pelice or surcote ouverte.

The virgin is wearing a cyclas and matching cote. In the background the ladies are wearing cote that are tucked under their breasts, 1305

The lady in the front is wearing a cyclas and matching cote with narrow forarms, 1305

A loose dark red cyclas with a cream cote and gold details worn under. Notice the sleeve, 1306

A loose dark red cyclas with a cream cote and gold details worn under. Notice the sleeve, 1306

A lady wearing a rose cyclas over a red cote. Again the upper sleeve is loose while it is fitted from the albow down. c. 1315-1325

Lady in a blue cyclas over a yellow cote, c. 1300 – 1340

Woman in a red cyclas over a cream cote. c 1300 – 1340

Woman in a rose cyclas over a turquoise cote. c. 1300-1340

Intense blue cyclas over a rose cote, c. 1300 – 1340

Red cyclas over a dark blue cote. c 1300-c 1340

Cyclas, c. 1340

Here the openings of the cyclas is round rather than straight and shows off more of the cote underneath. Also notice the bottoms on the sleeve. c. 1325 – 1335

Yates Thompson 13 c. 1325-1350

 Cotehardie

The cotehardie was a 1300-1500’s unisex garment tailored to fit the torso and arms, usually with a row of buttons down the front as well as down each fitted sleeve from the elbow to the wrist. Women’s coathardies trailed on the floor.It was mostly worn in 1300’s and early 1400’s – at least without anything over it. Cote hardie literally “daring cote.”  Women’s versions were tight-fitting outer garments.

The buttons also added decoration to the gown. The buttons also allowed the sleeve to be tightly fitted. The neckline dropped and got wider.

The sleeves of the cotehardie got ornamented and the sleeve wider or streamers, also known as tippets was added.

Parti-coloured cotehardies, 1300’s

Falconer in a blue gown with tippets

Hunting woman with a crossbow wearing a red cote and red surcote with hanging sleeves.

Hunting woman with a crossbow wearing a red cote and rose surcote with hanging sleeves.

Woman wearing a red hood on her head and an overgown with vair-lined hanging sleeves or tippets. c. 1338–44

cotehardie with buttons down front and ties in the side to really show off the figure. c. 1360

Cote hardie literally “daring cote.” Worn in 1300’s and early 1400’s. Women’s versions were tight-fitting outer garments.

Sideless surcote or pellote/pelice, plackard or surcote ouverte

Over time the cyclas developed into the Sideless surcote or pellote/pelice, plackard or surcote ouverte and were popular from the mid 1300’s until the 1500’s as a symbol of rank among the noble women. The sideless surcote was a woman’s sleeveless outer garment, with very large armholes trimmed with fur. They are sometimes known as “hells gates” – presumably because they show of the shape of the woman under the surcote.

Rounded red cyclas or a sideless surcote over a red cote. Notice the wide neckline on both dresses. c. 1325-1340

Rounded blue cyclas or a sideless surcote over a cream cote. c 1300 – 1340

“Le Livre Des Bonnes Moeurs” – by Jacques Legrand, 1338)

The assassination of Agamemnon in De casibus (BNF Fr. 226, fol. 27), first quarter of the 15th century

Roman de la Rose – 1348 MS. Selden Supra 57. – fol. 150v (found on Bodleian Image Library – Luna)

Hs 2505, German 1360 Speculum humanae salvationis

Illumanulater 14th century (1372) France? Bibliothèque de Besançon Ms. 434: Traités philosophiques et moraux

Sideless surcote, 1391

Effigies and Brasses: Hugues de Roucy A (1395). St Yved’s Church, Braine, Aisne, France

Muriel Dinham, 1380 Kings-Carswell Church, Kings-Carswell , Devon, England

Marie de Brabant in a sideless tunic with fur and a wonderful pattern. This is the type that is sometimes know as “hell gates”

Houppelande or pellanda c. 1360-1430

Over time the bliaut develope into the  houppelande/pallanda, which is introduced in the 1360’s. It is a sleeved, front-closing robe worn by both sexes. It is always full-length on women; sometimes short on men. In the north they are called pallanda.

Robe with dagging on the sleeves, (1200’s or early 1300’s)

Full-bodied houppelandes with voluminous sleeves worn with elaborate headdresses are characteristic of the earlier 1400’s.

Blue robe tied with a red studded belt just below the breasts. Notice the big white collar and very wide sleeves, 1413

Woman wearing a houppelande with “dagged” sleeves. c. 1415 Maria d’Harcourt et d’Aumale, wife of Reinald IV, Duke of Guelders and Jülich, in a houppelande, fol 19 of the Breviary of Marie de Gueldres

Two ladies wearing houppelandes, 1440

Robes from late 1300’s

In the late 1300’s women would wear a robe (kåbe) belted just under the breasts. The robe would have a lot of fabric, folds and huge sleeves.

Woman in robe with the belt knotted under her breasts. 1300’s

Mary de Bohun in a high collared robe with wide sleeves and small wrist openings. It is belted just under her breasts. She also has funky hair.

About the post

This is an image based research post on what woman wore between 1000 and 1300. My main interest is Northern Europe but because scarcity of images from part of the period, pictures from all of the medieval world is used. I try to be exact as possible with dating and naming the sources. In a few case that I find no source, that is also mentioned in the description of the image. I know many other people have done similar things and I link to some of them and I am grateful for everyone who takes the time to not just study but also write about the medieval period.

You can find a post on the female fashion for head wear and hair styles in the period here. And I have large post on what the common people wore in the middle ages here. If you are interested in medieval underwear you can find that here.

Useful links

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