Fashion and Architecture in the Middle Ages
The era of knights in shining armor and princesses living in castles, or better known as the middle ages, a transitional period, took place between 300-1500 A.D. This era has been divided into different sub periods: The Byzantine Empire or The Early Middle Ages, and Late Middle Ages.
Preceding the middle ages was the fall of the Roman Empire, which led to the Holy Wars then causing a major shift in religion (Phyllis and Eurbank). Europeans began to explore, discovering new things and started accessing trade routes with near by countries for resourceful goods. This was also the time period where many citizens died from the famously known Black Death plague, which was a combination of the bubonic …show more content…
The feudal system determined the type of garments one could wear from fabrics to decoration. Focusing on men’s costume in the middle ages, they wore tunics, which varied depending on the time and status of the man. In the beginning, tunics were generally shorter in the earlier years as the Middle Ages progressed (Lambert). The tunic was generally worn with a belt, could be decorated with clavi and paired with a segmente which was a decorative medallion placed on different areas of the garment. Since menswear in the Middle Ages was more simplistic than of the previous era, so as times progressed new fashions emerged. The cote-hardie became a new popular fashion for men and later on women in the 14th century. The cote-hardie was similar to the surcote, a closely fitting to the body through the waist hitting at the knee. From the waist down, it flared out to a full skirt and had an opening in the front. Detail of the garment included: buttons down the front and side of the garment, and sleeves which ended at the elbow, with a long to short tongue like extension called tippets. Dagging was used to decorate the edges of the garment, which were scalloped or pointed scalloped edges for a finish. To polish off the look, men would add a belt that was worn at hip level and had a decorative detail such as a buckle (Phyllis and
The era of knights in shining armor and princesses living in castles, or better known as the middle ages, a transitional period, took place between 300-1500 A.D. This era has been divided into different sub periods: The Byzantine Empire or The Early Middle Ages, and Late Middle Ages.
Preceding the middle ages was the fall of the Roman Empire, which led to the Holy Wars then causing a major shift in religion (Phyllis and Eurbank). Europeans began to explore, discovering new things and started accessing trade routes with near by countries for resourceful goods. This was also the time period where many citizens died from the famously known Black Death plague, which was a combination of the bubonic …show more content…
The feudal system determined the type of garments one could wear from fabrics to decoration. Focusing on men’s costume in the middle ages, they wore tunics, which varied depending on the time and status of the man. In the beginning, tunics were generally shorter in the earlier years as the Middle Ages progressed (Lambert). The tunic was generally worn with a belt, could be decorated with clavi and paired with a segmente which was a decorative medallion placed on different areas of the garment. Since menswear in the Middle Ages was more simplistic than of the previous era, so as times progressed new fashions emerged. The cote-hardie became a new popular fashion for men and later on women in the 14th century. The cote-hardie was similar to the surcote, a closely fitting to the body through the waist hitting at the knee. From the waist down, it flared out to a full skirt and had an opening in the front. Detail of the garment included: buttons down the front and side of the garment, and sleeves which ended at the elbow, with a long to short tongue like extension called tippets. Dagging was used to decorate the edges of the garment, which were scalloped or pointed scalloped edges for a finish. To polish off the look, men would add a belt that was worn at hip level and had a decorative detail such as a buckle (Phyllis and