© Companions of the Longbow

Underwear & Hose

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Underwear

Called braies, underpants were unfortunately pretty much on show most of the time.  They incorporate ties, called points, which attached and linked the hose (leggings) and doublet together.

You can also see that the hose was looped under the foot much like a modern pair of Lycra tracksuit bottoms.

Illustrations by Gerry Embleton

Image above purposefully blurred for reasons of decency ...

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

As can be seen here with this 14th century example, baies look a lot like cotton shorts with shoelaces for points ...

The pictures on the left and right come from Historic Enterprises again.

Notice that the fabric is less “nylon tight” like than you would first believe.   Perhaps cutting down a pair of suitable tracksuit bottoms or long johns could make a suitable replacement?

Medieval women usually wore a close-fitting garment called a chemise or sometimes a shift or smock, sometimes coupled with braies-like leg wrappings.

They may have worn petticoats over the shift and under the dress. Quilted petticoats could be worn during the winter.

To the left are a pair of women’s stockings (with garters) and to the right a smock.

Some references state that medieval women went without braies but I’d imagine most re-enactors wouldn’t like the idea of going “commando”!