Recreating 14th Century Braies

by Ken Nye, writing as Edward Newman

As cotehardies grew shorter in the middle of the 14th century and uncovered more of the leg, hose were made longer and more closely fitted. To manage this, the braies also had to be shortened and reduced in bulk. In the 15th century the separate legs of the hose were eventually joined and the undergarment reduced to a mere loincloth. It is the transition between the loose, draped braies of the previous century and their dissapearance under closed hose that I address. (I suspect the tailors and seamsters of the period invented their own solutions to the problem and I offer my experiments as a possible clarification of the surviving evidence.)

I present two technically similar patterns (Figure 3 and Figure 4) that are simple and efficient, and form garments that, when on the body, look like two types of braies seen in 14th and early 15th century illustrations.

Where original garments do not exist, it falls to the maker of garb to decide on the pattern shape that will reproduce most closely the look and function of a garment. I have three basic rules:

  1. I disregard everything I know about drafting patterns for mundane clothing.
  2. The pattern must make use of the loom widths of the period and cut with little of no waste.
  3. The finished garment must be comfortable, convenient and suit the way clothing was worn and cared for in the period. After all, we're talking about the every-day dress of real people.

I have made several experiments to find a believable cut for a pair of braies to wear with a short cotehardie based on the Charles of Blois pourpoint of the l360's (Payne) and cloth hose after the Herjolfsnes finds (Norland) (see fig. 1). The finished dimentions work well on me (6'1", 150lbs). I would, however, recommend trying the patterns in muslin before cutting into your hand-woven linen. My diagrams are based on 22" wide fabric. This is the width of linen used in the 13th century shirt illustrated in Burnham and is also one half width of the 45" fabric I use to test patterns. Wider fabric would produce overall larger garments.

Unbleached or white linen would be standard for a washable garment but as cotehardies became ever shorter, the Great Wardrobe accounts of the time give a clue as to what was being done to make the exposure of the breeches less obvious. Listed along with plain linen underpants there is a more expensive version made of coloured wool cloth. I believe they were made to match hose giving, in effect, waist length tights (see fig. 2). In practice, this method provides more freedom of movement than the later one piece style which has to be untied at the back if the wearer is planning to do anything strenuous (like bend over).

Medieval linens were smoothed by being carefully folded and placed in a press. Shirts, shifts and braies, to work with laundry practices of the period, should fold flat. This is one of the most annoying failings of braies styled on the cut of modern trousers.

The other happens when you try to mount a horse.

Definitions

Authorities differ on the use and meaning of most of these terms. I have no intention of arguing with anyone. If you take exception to my usage, please feel free to translate mentally as you read.

Braies / Breeches
Used interchangably, both terms mean underpants.

Braie girdle
A waist belt that holds up the underpants and hose. [see fig. 7]

Doublet
A padded under jacket. Its most important function in civilian dress was to hold up the hose. [see fig. 8]

Hose
Leg coverings. They may or may not have feet and can be two separate legs or joined into one garment like trousers.

Hose points
The laces or cords that are used to tie the hose to either the braie girdle or the doublet. [see figs. 7,8]

Cotehardie
A general term for a fitted outer garment. They were worn by both men and women and could range from floor length to not quite long enough to cover the crotch. [see fig.1]

Pourpoint
Generally taken to mean a short cotehardie padded and quilted like a doublet and worn instead of these two garments.

Bias
A line at 45 degrees to the warp and weft threads of the fabric. As fabric is pulled on this diagonal line, the threads can shift from square giving a certain amount of stretch. This method of cutting is used especially for hose.

Hemming
A "plain" hem is made with tiny, slanting stitches so that the parts of the stitch on either side of the fold are of equal length. It is very strong and stable, the total length of each stitch being about equal to the space taken by six threads of the fabric.

Oversewing
This stitch is worked over an edge by always entering the needle into the fabric from the same side. The most common use is for joining selvedges but it can also be used on folded or hemmed edges. The stitches are worked closely, usually leaving only two or three threads of the fabric between. By working round the edge the stitches form a coil making a flexable seam well suited to joining bias edges that have been folded or hemmed.

Seams
All of the seams called for in my braie patterns are oversewn between either selvedges or hemmed edges. For the finished garments, I used medium weight bleached hemp sewn with 2 ply bleached linen thread. This type of thread always requires to be drawn over a cake of beeswax to smooth it and protect it from fraying.

Figures:

Note: these figures are all "downloadable". Click on the figure to download the GIF.


FIGURE 1 		Illustration of short cotehardie based on the Charles of Blois pourpoint of the l360's (Payne) and cloth hose based upon the Herjolfsnes finds (Norland).

FIGURE 2 		After Pisanello: "Drawings of a Hanged Man." Early l5th century. Although the seams in the doublet and hose are clearly drawn, there is no seam indicated in the seat of the braies.
Sewing pattern
FIGURE 3

Diagram showing cut of braies on the straight of grain. When on the body, these braies look very much like fig 8. To make up, any cut edges are finished with narrow hems. The ends are oversewn to the sides as indicated. Leave a gap about 3" long in one of the seams to serve as a fly opening.

Sewing pattern
FIGURE 4

Diagram showing cut of braies on the bias. This style is very comfortable and is cut on the bias so it fits very smoothly over the thighs. Finish all cut edges with narrow hems and oversew seams. Leave a fly opening in the front seam.


FIGURE 5
 To dress yourself in this style of braies, fasten the braie girdle around the body. If your hose are to be tied to the girdle, loop your points around to hang were needed. Pull the braies up and bring the waist edge up between the girdle and the body. Fold the excess fabric down and tuck it up under the girdle again. Leave the hose points dangling and just tuck the excess fabric in on either side. This is a suprisingly secure fastening and is much quicker than trying to fish a belt through a sewn channel. Tying hose to the doublet transfers the strain to the shoulders and is more comfortable when the hose are under enough tension to keep them really smooth [see fig 6].

FIGURE 6
 Separate hose tied to the doublet at the front and sides will slide over the legs of the braies at the back making it possible to sit in relative comfort.

FIGURE 7
 From Cunnington

FIGURE 8
 Unidentified psalter, 14th Century, illustration from Cunnington

FIGURE 9
 Unidentified manuscript, British Museum, ca. early 15th century
About the author:

Edward Newman is a 14th Century English gentleman, the only surviving son of a Knight. He has the black death to thank for his narrow escape from a life in the cloister. He adamantly denies having any relatives named Alfred E.

Ken Nye is a piano technician and amateur textile historian who lives in the beautiful Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, Canada.

This article is Copyright ©1997 by Ken Nye, writing as Edward Newman. You may get in contact with Mr. Nye at nye_ken@hotmail.com

Bibliography

Boucher, F. 20,000 Years of Fashion, New York, N.D.

Burnham, D. Cut My Cote. Toronto, 1973

Cunnington, C.W. and P. The History of Underclothes. London,1951

Langly, A. Medieval Life. London, 1996

McLean, W. and Singman, J. The Chaucerian Handbook. 1993

Newton, S. Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince. London, 1980

Payne, B. History of Costume. New York, 1965

Norland, Paul, Buried Norsemen at Herjolfsnes, Meddelser Om Groenland #67, Copenhagen, 1924

Crowfoot, Pritchard and Staniland, Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 4. Textiles and Clothing, HMSO, London, 1992