Category Archives: Clothing

Medieval weaving

In the early Middle Ages, most weaving was done at home for the family’s own use. By the late period, most weaving was commercial, carried out as a full-time craft by professionals. The key shift was in equipment cost, and … Continue reading

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Medieval cloth: linen

Linen was Europe’s native plant fiber. FLax grew in every region; it’s a field grass with little blue flowers. Flax seeds are edible and very nutritious, but Europe’s chief interest was in the fibers running along the inside of each … Continue reading

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The rude garb of barbarians

On the other extreme from the urbane Mediterranean Byzantines were the tribes drifting in from the Central Asian plain. Asia birthed several waves of people who took turns pushing each other into Europe: first the Germans (Goths, Franks, Burgundians, Vandals, … Continue reading

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More about Byzantium

Constantinople, or Byzantium, was a city unlike any other in the medieval world. Modern equivalents don’t spring to mind, though perhaps readers will spot one. The city was walled and inbred to a high degree. Geography shaped its character. Surrounded … Continue reading

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Byzantine clothing fashion

We know the culture of Constantinople mainly through its own art, especially wall and floor mosaics that lasted through time. We don’t seem to have many images, certainly not as many as from later medieval Europe, but what we have … Continue reading

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The Fall of Roman clothing

The “Middle Ages” period is defined as the time after Roman hegemony centered in Rome itself. After Rome was overrun by Goths and ceased to control its empire, Constantinople was called the New Rome or Eastern Rome. Its cultural domination … Continue reading

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