Here's the link to download a pdf of a 19th century copy of the Chronicle of King Dom Fernando. This passage is the one quoted by Portuguese historians to attest that medieval people slept naked. Note that her nakedness is mentioned as something natural. He enters her chamber at night and she gets up from the bed, hurrying to cover her nakedness with a chemise. I recall in particular detail a chapter in the chronicle of King Dom Fernando, where a lady is killed by her 'secret husband' on suspicion of adultery. I've got them in book (there are plenty of editions around, though they're mostly old and partial). The chronicles in question are the ones by Fernão Lopes. People of lower standing might have slept with their clothes on for the simple goal of remaining warmer. Of course the people mentioned in the chronicles are nobles, with good beds, plenty of blankets and properly heated homes. On the other hand, most of these images are from non-Iberian sources so that the custom of wearing coifs to sleep may or may not have existed in Portugal. even (or maybe especially) when those people were having sexual relations. This assumption of mine comes from images of the time, which sometimes (do note I say sometimes) show coifs worn by people in bed. They wear the basic medieval garments: a tunic, probably of wool, slightly fitted with a high neck and long sleeves, usually worn over a linen shirt. However, coifs might have been worn, though the chronicles do not mention them. Many mushrooms and lichens will turn fabric brown as well.According to the description of events in medieval chronicles (namely the 14th century), no clothes at all were worn at night in Portugal. Brown is the result if you mix various colors together, or just get something dirty :). One could also attempt a purple by mixing blue and red.Īs you might imagine, turning something brown was fairly easy. Locals could get some approximation of purple if they had just the right lichen around. Purple is famous for being a hard-to-get color in medieval times, and it was often reserved for royalty. They would paint their faces, their bodies, their clothes, everything with this color. Woad was famous for its use by the Celts. Just look at Robin Hood in his green outfits! Medieval times were well known for green outfits, to blend into the forests. There are few things in medieval times that could make a green dye - but luckily they knew how to make blue and yellow in great abundance. Some mushrooms will turn fabric yellow as well. Turning something yellow wasns't much of a problem for the medieval folk. Yellow could be made from a number of sources - buckthorn berries, dyer's green weed, and weld being three of them. There was also a special red which came from a rare insect this specific red would have been for nobles only.ĭyers would need to find specific mushrooms to attempt to achieve a rust-orange type of color. Madder - a root - was used in Greek and Roman times and had definitely spread to England by the medieval period. Cloaks made from sheepskin, woolen hats, and mittens were wore. Red was the "male" color at the time, while blue was the "female" color. women used to wear only the lower garment in those times. You see red crosses on a variety of uniforms. History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization or earlier. Knights loved to use the color red to represent battle and blood. Red was an extremely popular color in the medieval times. If everyone else was in brown, and one special person was in bright green, that bright green person might be happy about their exclusive outfit. That would ensure that their outfits could get high prices. There were even "guilds of dyers" where they taught only certain people how to make those colors. Those who made dyes were often extremely proud of the colors they could create. That meant some colors were easy to make - and others were quite rare. They had to find specific raw materials to make dyes. In medieval times, however, all clothes started out in a bland color. We don't even think that some colors might be hard to make. In modern times we can choose clothes in any color we choose. Medieval Clothing Dyes - Life in Medieval Days
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