© Companions of the Longbow

Shirts

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Shirts

Invariably made of linen, although quality would reflect the status of the wearer, shirts, along with underwear, would be pretty much the same no matter what social class you were.

As the style of the shirt changed with time the type of work you were expected to do did have an impact.  You’ll see a marked contrast between the pointed shoes and long sleeves of those who were not expected to do much manual work and those that were.  Archers of the time were very much used to manual labour so keep the sleeves at the length and style that’s comfortable for working (and shooting) in.

The picture on the right comes from a US website called Historic Enterprises who supply period costumes.  It’s an excellent resource as they quote the source for each design.

Illustrations by Gerry Embleton

The following link takes you to a resource which details a basic Dark Age and Medieval Costume.  Here are some simple patterns for generic tunics and shirts as well as some guidance on the colours you should be choosing.