A&S50 List-Hats Just because I have done these hats too... 1. Natural linen Dublin hat 2. White linen Jorvik hat 3. Yellow Linen Dub...

Here's how I went about "cobbling" a big, fancy, Edwardian hat to wear to tea with my dress-up group, The Atlanta Time Travelers. Sure, you could buy an antique hat. But this was more fun. And if I don't count my time or blood loss in the equation, much less expensive! It's not difficult and requires no advanced sewin

Dress pins are a must have for the person wearing veils and wimples and so. But they are surprisingly expensive for what they are. I do understand why but still, I am a student and sometimes it is …

Medieval Islamic Cloak-type Wraps Sayyeda Samia al-Kaslaania Copyright March 2010, Julia May Protecting one from the sun, the cold, and the eyes of the unknown, cloak-type wraps were, and continue to be, an important part of the material culture of the Middle East. Wraps are simply large rectangles of fabric draped and pinned to conceal the body, yet there were no fewer than ten different types of wraps used in the Fatimid period of Middle Eastern history. Studying Fatimid clothing Many sources aid modern researchers in the study of Fatimid period clothing in Cairo (969-1171 C.E.). Primary among them is a collection of hundreds of extant documents discovered outside Cairo in a geniza, or storehouse. Many of these documents are trade records and bridal trousseau lists which describe the colors, style, and adornment of clothing and household objects. Another significant research source is the large number of extant Fatimid fabrics now housed all over the world, owing to the dry climate of Egypt which preserves abandoned textiles. Additionally, there are secular illuminated manuscripts, the creation of which reached its height in the thirteenth century. Figure 1 Women listening from the gallery. Image from the Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī. MS Arabe 5847, fol. 58v, detail. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Note: borders and colors of the over-wraps. There are, of course, limitations to the sources. First, the contemporary writers whose records exist in the Cairo Geniza inherently knew the differences between clothing types and therefore only recorded details which distinguished, say, two ridâ’ from each other, instead of a ridâ’ from a mulâ’a. While that information might give a baseline, it becomes muddled as writers from different generations would use different words to describe the same garments. Second, many of the extant fabrics known today were discovered by nineteenth century archeologists who would cut apart garments to keep only the repeat, decoration, or design. Further, the beautiful illuminated story books still in existence were not created in the Fatimid period, but some one hundred years later. And finally, Scholars over the last 70 years have used different standards of transliteration (for example, Koran and Qur’an) when looking at the same extant manuscripts. Known elements of Fatimid costume In one collection of extant Fatimid fabrics studied by Kühnel and Bellinger, the loom widths range from 0.665 meters to 0.992 meters. Items that don’t have both selvedges attached reach up to 1.016m (about 40 inches) along the weft. Linen was traded more than any other commodity in medieval Cairo markets. Among the fibers, wool production and usage follows next. And while sericulture was practiced in Fatimid Egypt, silk is used quite a bit less than wool. Cotton usage trails at a distant fourth (Goitein). Fabrics were produced in a rainbow of colors at this time. Color names used include snow, pearl, cloud, silver, lead, soot, pepper, sky blue, turquoise, pistachio, emerald, pomegranate, pink, purple, violet, crimson, ruby, purple-brown, apricot, bitter orange, sandalwood, saffron, safflower, and sandgrouse, plus many more (Stillman 1972). In the Fatimid period, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived, worked, and shopped side by side. They all spoke Arabic in daily interactions and dressed much the same as each other. Figure 2 Two men talking. Image from Kalila wa Dimna, MS Arabe 3465, fol. 15v, detail. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. circa 1200 Syria. Note: two ways of wearing their wraps. Fatimid period cloak-wraps Of the eleven known Fatimid wraps, six have been fairly well identified by Yedida Stillman in her dissertation examining the bridal trousseaux found in the Cairo Geniza. The remaining five are still somewhat elusive. Unless otherwise noted, all references in this theme are to Stillman’s dissertation, listed below in the references section. The ridâ' was considered the basic garment of the Islamic wardrobe for men. It was worn several ways: to cover the head and body (a cover-all); draped like a cloak; or wrapped toga-style around the body and left shoulder, leaving the right arm free (Stillman 2003). Women's ardiya (plural) were distinct from men’s but there is no mention in the Cairo Geniza of what made them different. Women's ardiya were fastened with a fibula, called simply a ridâ' pin. Fabric choices for ardiya ranged from unbleached and coarse linen to fine linen to silk. They were most frequently white or blue, but other colors were also used. Decorations included woven-in and/or embroidered borders. Extant examples of fabric scraps feature narrow repeating motifs of animals in linked roundels, text, or pseudo-text. The half-ridâ’ was also frequently listed in bridal trousseaux and was described as shorter than a standard ridâ'. The half-ridâ' was occasionally lined, whereas the ridâ' was never listed as such in the trousseaux. Typical cost across the two types was of 1/4 of a dinar to 7 dinars. Figure 3 Two women listening. Image from Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī, number 40. MS Arabe 3929 fol. 144, detail; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Dated to 1240s, location unidentified. The izâr was a common item in men's clothing and slightly less common for women. Men’s and women’s are noted as distinct from each other but the Geniza records do not yield a description of the difference. A man could be considered fully dressed if both his head was covered and an izâr was wrapped around his waist, although it was typically worn draped like a cloak. A woman could wear the izâr both indoors and as a cover-all when she went out of doors. As to size, the izâr is described as a large, sheet-like mantle. Like all wraps, numeric dimensions are not provided in the historical records. In the trousseau lists izâr colors are never mentioned, though their adornment is. They were occasionally decorated on the hems of the short sides (along the weft) with an appliquéd border of colored fabric. Some had fringe. Wool appears to have been the standard fiber choice for the garment, and the ornamentation choices included wool, silk and linen. The izâr was sometime worn with a brooch. Typical cost for a plain izâr was between 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 dinars, while extravagant izârs might go for 10 to 35 dinars. The mulâ’a was usually worn by men and women as a cover-all, but was also worn as a cape thrown over the shoulders (by men more than women). The mulâ’a was made of two or more pieces of cloth sewn together along the length, and is described as large and enveloping. Usually made of fine linen cloth, an elaborate mulâ’a might have been decorated with a border on two opposite sides (following the weft) or all the way around; decorated with appliquéd silk bands; or gilded, perhaps with script or pseudo-script. The mulâ’a were often white, but brightly colored mulâ’a were worn for special occasions (Stillman 2003). This garment doubled as a blanket or bedsheet. Typical cost was between 2 and 20 dinars each. The burd or burda was a garment for both genders. Another large wrapper that doubled as a blanket, the burd was most often described as thick and woolen. Abrâd (plural) were striped, and often quite colorful. The word appears to have evolved into an adjective as well during this period, probably indicating that an object was striped. Oddly, burd is also the word used to describe a different kind of wrap at the same point in history. This second garment was a fine striped cloak made of silk and decorated with borders of a different color. This fine burd was sometimes described as not having selvedges. Urban Fatimid women had the choice of a milḥafa as well (men were no longer wearing the milḥafa in urban locales by this period). This garment was for outdoor use and was described as a large piece of fabric. It was often made of more expensive linen, including polished or glossy linens, and might have a repeating pattern woven in. It occasionally doubled as a bedsheet—perhaps a decorative top blanket. Prices ranged between ½ dinar and 6 dinars. Figure 4 Two men and a boy. Image from Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī, number 23. MS Arabe 3929 fol. 163, detail. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Note wrap tided around the shoulders with borders on four sides. Additional cloak wraps The remaining five wraps mentioned in the Cairo Geniza are more difficult to define. Again, using Stillman’s findings these garments are discussed here. The barrakân is a wrap for men and women. The word could be derived from a Persian root, “barak”, which would mean that the garment was made of camel hair. Stillman indicates that a find barrakân might be woven of both silk and camel hair, but give no indication for this belief. It is known to have been worn in Tunisia during the middle ages as well. The word occurs once in the Cairo Geniza and no price is listed, suggesting that it was not a popular garment for the urban dweller. The kisâ’ appears to be a man’s garment in Fatimid Egypt. The only mention of it in the Geniza describes it as both wrap and blanket (and does not mention a price). Linen was the only fiber known to be used in making the kisâ’ (Stillman 2003). The niṣfiyya was not identified with a gender in the few places it is mentioned within the Geniza. It is known to be a garment, and the root of the word might indicate it is a half-garment. It appears to have been listed with other wraps in a single trousseau. One of the records indicated it was made of a fine linen cloth. The single recorded price (from the same trousseau) was 6 dinars, which, according to Stillman, might reflect extreme ornamentation. The safsârī was also not gender-specified in the Geniza. It is known to be used as a garment in Tunisia and Libya during this period (Stillman 2003). It was another wrap which likely doubled as a bed covering. There are no Fatimid-era descriptions of the safsârī, though a fourteenth century record suggests that the garment name derives from fabric of the same name. A garment called a lihâf has been lumped in with the milḥafa as they derive from the same root word, though they are listed separately in the same documents more than once. It could be a bed blanket instead of a garment. The price range is also ½ to 6 dinars. Figure 5 A woman concealing her face before the judge, accompanied by two men. Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī number 9. MS Arabe 3929 fol. 15v, detail. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Note: White unadorned garment, probably an izâr. Obtaining wraps Finished wraps could be purchased in the Fatimid markets where both new and used clothing were sold alongside fabrics and raw materials. Considering the costs of the above garments, and knowing that ½ dinar could purchase 100 pounds of bread (Goitein), it’s not surprising that textiles, used and new, were considered liquid assets and might comprise the greater part of a family’s investments. Knowing that each outfit required several layers of clothing the cost of a wardrobe for the bourgeoisie class is astonishing. Of course every part of life contributed to this practice in the Middle Ages—from protection from the elements, to conspicuous consumption, to the ever important daily practice of faith in the lives of medieval people, be they Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. Though many limitations hamper research efforts, the armchair Fatimid historian has access to an astounding number of resources, the largest among them being the Cairo Geniza. From these records we can piece together many aspects of the daily lives of people living in the Medieval Islamic lands. While there are currently only scattered records defining each of these garments, their cultural significance is clear. Within a short period of history, and tight geographic area we have records of at least eleven distinct flat rectangular garments which are wrapped to conceal and protect the body. Resources Ellis, Marianne. Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt. University of Oxford, Ashmolean Museum: University of Oxford, 2001. Note: beautiful and affordable full color photo book of extant embroidered items with technical analysis. Pieces included span the Fatimid to Mamluk periods. Goitein, S.D. A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza. Vol. 1. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967. Note: heavily footnoted nitty gritty details of trade, culture, and everyday life in the Fatimid period. Goitein’s findings exhibit how the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish cultures co-habitated in Cairo fairly comfortably during this period. This is the first of six volumes. Kühnel, Ernst and Bellinger, Louisa. Catalogue of Dated Tiraz Fabrics: Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid. Washington: National Pub. Co., 1952. Note: Detailed black and white images and analysis of extant textiles, including the backs of some embroidered items. Arabic, transliterated Arabic-English, and English translations of all the text on the textiles is included. Stillman, Yedida K. Female Attire of Medieval Egypt: According to the Trousseau Lists and Cognate Material from the Cairo Geniza. PhD Dissertation. Unpublished: University of Chicago, 1972. Note: Detailed analysis of extant documents put into encyclopedic format for easy reference. Many direct comparisons to other North African items of clothing. Includes some cultural analysis and descriptions of complete outfits. Stillman, Yedida K., Norman A. Stillman, ed. Arab Dress from the Dawn of Islam to Modern times: A Short History. Boston: Brill, 2003. Note: Posthumous production of Yedida Stillman’s work. Some flaws in the compilation. Good discussion of cultural use of clothing with little direct description or details. http://www.eternalegypt.org/ is an online resource compiled from multiple museums housing collections of Islamic art. There are several examples of extant Fatimid textiles available. Note that this site is a resource hog, best used with a fast computer on a fast connection. The illuminated manuscripts mentioned above are called the Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī and the Kalila wa Dimna. Using “Maqamat al-Hariri” in an Internet search engine will yield many images from several copies created throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. A maqāmā is a story or tale (literally “assemblies”), and al-Ḥarīrī is the man credited with writing this collection. Dimna and Kalila are the names of the title characters of the second manuscript. Because it was originally a Persian tale there are many non-Islamic illustrated copies of Kalila wa Dimna from period as well.

After watching The Borgias for the first time I was entranced with the hairstyles and especially the headdress/head coverings,Coif caps,cauls or snoods. I'd give a try at my version of a Renaissance hair accessories. I designed this Renaissance COIF CAP without the use of a pattern. It was inspired and taken after a “Portrait of a Bride” by Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck. It has been made with PURPLE & GOLD Ribbon & pearl (POLYESTER/satin ribbon) with Purple,plum & Gold shimmer thread, and White Pearl beads along the front edge.It has a removable Matching ribbon interlaced in the front.This coif looks great with or with out the ribbon. I have attached small combs will be located in various places to help secure to hair.Bobby pins can be applied for extra hold. Great caul cap, could be used in costumes, reenactment,Renaissance fair costumes,wedding,brides maid,Renaissance styled wedding, Elizabethan Medieval weddings,plays or film. My pictures just don't do it justice,it looks much better in person. This COIF cap is a ONE OF A KIND. https://www.etsy.com/listing/231556454/renaissance-inspired-coif-cap-purple?ref=shop_home_active_3

The one thing I felt would be the hardest to replicate in my chosen painting was not one of the clothing pieces, but the girls beautiful hairdo. My short red modern hairstyle do not lend itself wel…

As a Viking reenactor, one of my challenges is recreating garments worn centuries ago, with no instructions on how they are put together. I read through several sets of instructions for how to make…

Explore MsDtakespix's 694 photos on Flickr!

Hand braided and sewn straw hat Introduction: Straw hats of different shapes caught my interest a while ago, and I did some research on them. They appear in art from around the 13th century onwards…

This Saturday I'll be teaching my German Tellerbarret Make-and-Take Class at RUM (Royal University of the Midrealm) from 11-1 pm. This year, Royal University of the Midrealm is located at Cleveland Central Catholic High School and St. Stanislaus Church Social Hall, 6550 Baxter Ave., Cleveland, OH 44105 -- there is a $12 entry fee ($17 for non-members). If you're not an SCA member or otherwise...

Since I have been making clothing from this period for over fifteen years now I have of course learnt a lot, discarded some ideas and tried new ones regarding the fillets, coffee filter hats or whatever you want to call them. So I thought that I should share three different fillets that I have made, and the inspiration for them. More generally I have written about headwear options for women in this period in this, rather image-heavy post. It is important to note that these are in period texts considered as part of the veils, chin band etc, what in German would have been called gebende, a word related to ribbon, at this period, and one that I like a lot, because it includes all parts of the (mostly) linen headwear. They were therefore also of the same material and colour as the veil, chin band or wimple etc. In fact, it is clear to see from 13th centry images that they originally were a strip of linen would around the head. These two are from a French manuscript from the 1220s - and you can even see the pin holding it together. This lady, from the Worcester cathedral, from the 1240s, has a pleated band wound around her head as a crown, but we can see where it overlaps. This 13th century lady from Dryburg Abbey appears ot have wound her pleated strip twice around her head. I haven't worn this variant yet, but since I have five metres of hemmed linen strip to wind around my head this is probably just a matter of time. And of boiling starch. Later one they appear to have become a separate piece, worn over the chin strap and sometimes also over a coif, but always under the veil, if worn with a veil (see the post linked above). A lot of these were plain, and I have one of those too, bust since it's only a piece of linen, cut at an angle at the edges, folded over, sewn together and starched slightly I didn't bother to take a photo of it. Plain fillets, from Reims cathedral, 13th century, and the Holkham Bible 1325-1330. But, there are also more decorated ones, in one way or the other, and that's what I am going to show you three examples of. 1. This is a fillet with a "wavy" edge. These are rather common in art, but whether the many examples of fillets with this kind of edge is the artists' way of showing pleating or actually shows a wavy upper edge is under debate. I however think that it is unlikely that so many artists, who have no problems showing pleats on for example sleeveheads on gardecorps should be unable to draw them on women's headwear. I think that there were several different ways to decorate a fillet, pleated, with a wavy or scalloped edge, edged with a braid etc. This fillet is based on St. Anna on this early 14th century altar frontal from Odda in Norway, seen below. Both her fillet and and her "chin strap" has rows of decorations which I have interpreted as braid, but could also be embroidery for instance. Another example showing a fillet with an edge of something thicker, maybe a braid, or a rolled piece of fabric is this s seal from c. 1300 (picture showing the imprint) My fillet has a silk cord sewn to it, but a more period solution would be a hand made braid or cord. The fillet is made from linen in a diamond twill, to add some interest to the simple white colour, and it is stiffened with heavy fusible interfacing. This was my first fillet, and today I would have either chosen vellum, which I'm told was used to stiffen some 13th century Spanish hats, or starch. To make the top wider than the bottom the pieces are cut at an angle where they are sewn together. A few more wavy fillets with some kind of edge decoration at the top: Roman del la Poire, 13th century And the ever popular Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift. 2. This fillet instead has a scalloped edge. There are quite a few images of these too. My first inspiration, the violent woman in blue in the Trinity Apocalypse. This one, from teh Maciejowski Bible also appears scalloped. But it is also slightly shaped, since the edges stand out. To achive this there is a wire sewn along all the scallops bty hand, before, again by hand, sewing the outer and inner layers together. Here you see that the strip is angled at the back. 3. Finally we have a pleated fillet, which is new, I made it this autumn. This is not my first try at a pleated fillet, but the less said about that other one, the better. I sewed wire to the edge of many metres of linen and knife pleated the whole thing. It was not a success. This one is also made from a long strip of linen, but instead of knife pleating it all I sewed tucks on the strip, levaing the top 1,5- 2 cm. After hemming it all of course. To give it some stability I sewed a strip of linen to the bottom edge. I contemplated sewign teh pleats to teh top edge of this strip too, but as you can see on the photo of me above, it keeps its shape pretty well anyway, with the help of spray starch. This, absolutely fabulous photo of Countess Margareta von Brabant, married to count Gerald von Gerle, taken by the German re-enactment group Amicorum Gratia shows a pleated fillet from above, and you see that it is double, though the inner layer also appears to be pleated. This may be next on my list. Again, this my be a strip of linen wound twice around the head. I'm not sure about this cosntruction with the tucks, but it does give a good Maciejowski bible look. This Italian manuscript from 1241 shows either a pleated, or a scalloped fillet which has decoration in yellow on it. I'm guessing pleating. This german one appears to have pleats both at the top and the bottom, and not much of an angle. My guess is that this is still a strip of linen just wound around the head. This one, from, the Rutland Psalter (ca 1260) is probably pleated in some way, but much less so than the one I have made. Anyway, there are a million medieval images showing this type of headwear, and showing these was not the point of this post, but to show different variants that I have made. And, hopefully, point out that these are three interpretations, and that there are many more to make. And therefore I end here.

With our next medieval event (see below post) coming up soon, I am working on a few accessories to help round out our outfits and give a more finished, complete look to our overall impressions. The impression we are shooting for is roughly later 14th century laboring class. In idealistic imaginings upon the subject, I rather picture our family as working tenants on a small manor in rural England. We live in a small but relatively comfortable home, cultivate fields for both ourselves and our landlord and keep a few animals for livestock. We are not beggars but not wealthy, either. Anyway, whatever the case may be, the fact is, clothing for medieval reenacting can be expensive, even if you sew it yourself. The reason? The materials are expensive! Wool is the ideal choice for tunics, cotes, kirtles, cloaks, what-have-you, and linen is used for undergarments and possibly as linings. (I have found only one example of an actual linen tunic/cote/thing and the vastly common fabric used seems to have been wool). Silk - well, I don't use silk very often. All three of those fabrics these days are very expensive. When you take into consideration that things ought to be at least partially, if not fully lined, your costs can be doubled. So, that being said, a new outfit for each of us is really out of the question right now. I have found pure linen and wool skirts at Goodwill for a few dollars each so I think I can make each of the boys a sleeveless surcote to add a more finished look. For myself, I am making a few accessory items that I hope will add interest to my plain and ubiquitous greenish-blue wool gown. ;) The project I have been working on is a white linen smocked apron. From the first event we ever went to I knew I needed an apron, and one of my favorite blogs, Medieval Silkworks, recently posted about a smocked apron. I read some tutorials and did some research and looked at others interpretations of this useful, pretty accessory and began my own version. I used some white linen I got earlier this year from Fabric-store.com. Going off of another persons interpretation of the apron, I cut a rectangle of linen appx. 27" x 24" (the long edge being the top). I cartridge pleated the top of the apron and smocked it using a honeycomb stitch. Here is a photo of the apron-in-progress, showing the rows of the honeycomb smocking: The end result was *way* too small. : / I about cried when I saw how little the apron smocked up to be. It was too short and way too narrow at the top. I was determined to not be defeated by it, though, so pieced on extra fabric at the sides and an extra bit at the bottom, too, to widen and lengthen the apron. I then smocked the extensions to match the original smocking. That problem was solved. Another problem was a drawn thread I had drawn out of the linen to mark a cutting line. It ran above the bottom edge of the original piece of linen I used for the apron. It looked ugly so I embroidered a chain stitch along the line, using threads I pulled out of the linen fabric. Now it looks intentional. :) After finishing the seams, hemming the apron all round and sewing it to a waistband with long ties, here it is! I washed it after it was completed to remove the markings for the smocking and it dried very stiff. So excuse any stiffness in the photo. I know after it is used and washed multiple times it will become much softer. I sewed this completely by hand and was jarred whilst working on it to feel such a connection to the project. It took a little longer than machine sewing, but all in all it was only the work of three evenings. I like knowing that I have a project made in the period correct way. Maybe more completely handsewn items will be in my future. I would be daunted by something big and meant to take a lot of stress, but for smaller things, it is very pleasant. :) Love, Sarah

About 3 years ago I ran across a blog about a hat. Doesn’t sound exciting, but the hat just blew me away. It’s a beautiful and complex 13th century cap called St. Birgitta’s huva.…

Learn what types of “decorative” stitches were actually used on the Skjoldenhamn hood, and the function of each.

Oil painting, Portrait of a lady, 19th century, in the manner of German School, 16th century

This post is about my work with 15th c dresses for the Golden Egg challenge I do in the SCA, and it will be something like an overview on dresses. If you want pattern outlays and sewing tutorials, …

This embroidered Viking Age gown (serk) was made for Queen Cassandra of Caid for her stepping-down coronation. The cut of the serk is based on 10th century finds from Hedeby, Denmark. There are ver…

Elizabeth Tudor, was born September 7, 1533. She would have to wait 25 years and two siblings before would acsend to the throne of England. In November 17 1558, Elizabeth became to a bankrupted country. So before 1558? Any clothing is not...

On May 17 I published my entry for the Historical Sew Monthly May 2016 challenge – a pair of German hats (worn together). I’ve been pretty busy with a few different things so I didnR…

Lately I've started on the HEADGEAR portion of the 15 for 15 challenge I've set myself.. I've made one list of things I've thought of.. th...

From Medieval World Jan/Feb 1993

I made this as an entry to the Historical Sew Fortnightly I encourage you follow the link to the pattern as the blog posts includes many reference pictures of this coif style. Challenge #1 2…

There has been a bit of blog silence on it for the last few months, but I have been plugging away on the 1370ish dress, but there has been an awful lot of effort on it that doesn’t look like anything, because it was just unpicking and re-doing. I got it all sewn together, did an initial fit, and it just didn’t feel quite right, which prompted a LOT more research. Based on the research, I decided that lining 14th century gowns with linen is almost certainly not accurate, and gives a fit that doesn’t match the fits shown on effigies of the period. This is what the dress looked like with a linen lining: It looks really good, but it’s very constricting. It just didn’t feel right. So I sucked it up and unpicked the lining. And all my gores. And then I re-sewed the entire gown without a lining, and with the gores placed almost at my waist. As soon as I tried on gown 2.0 I knew two things. First, the fit …

As I mention on my general craft blog, we just got back from attending the Nightmare Machine Paranormal Steampunk Convention in Jefferson...

In the last weeks I’ve been working on making a kokoshnik. A kokoshnik is a tiara-like Russian headdress as worn with the traditional costume. There’s many shapes and styles of kokoshni…

The office of guardianship was clearly needed in the society of sixteenth-century Lithuania. The comparatively short average life expectancy meant that quite a great number of children lost one or both of their parents before reaching majority, and thus had to receive some sort of protection.

An overview of the kinds of fur used in clothing of 14th and 15th century Europe. Learn to recognize it in figural art from the time period.