Late Middle Ages Fashion and Costume History (1350–1500)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the socio-historical background, technological developments in tailoring, silhouette shifts, garment types, and Burgundian fashion trends of the Late Middle Ages (1350–1500).

Bubonic Plague (Black Death)

A devastating pandemic spread via trade routes by rats and fleas that caused the death of an estimated one-third of the European population.

Sumptuary Laws

Laws that regulated and restricted the fabrics, colors, and ornamentation people could wear according to their social class and rank.

Dressing Above One's Station

A phenomenon where wealthy merchants and lower-ranking individuals utilized high-end fabrics and colors beyond their rank to display status, blurring class boundaries.

Conceiving → Accentuation → Shaping

The three-stage framework describing costume development from 1350 to 1500, culminating in the shaping phase centered on tailoring.

Tailoring

The specialized craft developed in the late 14th century of constructing clothes cut precisely to the shape of the body, distinguishing Western dress from loose, linear garments.

Chain Mail

A flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings weighing approximately 25 kg, typically worn over a thick doublet to insulate and protect the skin.

Suit of Armour (Plate Armor)

Custom-fitted rigid plate armor that replaced chain mail in the late 14th century, offering higher protection but requiring tightly fitted undergarments.

Doublet

The earliest jacket-like undergarment designed with a front opening closed by buttons and buttonholes, producing an inverted triangle silhouette.

Jean Charles Lebrun's Doublet

A historic doublet preserved in a French museum constructed from approximately 40 to 50 quilted silk pieces, featuring rounded shoulders and armpit gussets.

Hose

Men's leg coverings (tights) attached to the doublet at six to seven connection points.

Jacque

A jacket derived from the doublet that was cut longer and looser to be worn as an outer layer over armor rather than underneath it.

Male Silhouette (Late 14th Century)

An inverted triangle profile characterized by broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and fully visible legs.

Female Silhouette (Late 14th Century)

A silhouette characterized by an emphasized bust, a cinched waist, and a wide, long skirt, forming the opposite of the male inverted triangle.

Cotte

A garment with an open neckline that revealed the skin and shoulders, functioning in context as either women's underwear or outerwear.

Sukko

A women's outer garment featuring open armpits, worn layered over the cotte.

Houppelande

A long, voluminous outer gown worn over undergarments during the Late Middle Ages.

Early Corset (14th Century)

A body-hugging, low-neckline dress featuring an opening down the center of the chest that laced tightly to conform to the torso.

Hoop Gown

A heavy, voluminous gown worn by upper-class women with a high waistline set directly beneath the bust to evoke a pregnant appearance.

Boulette

A ring-shaped female headpiece constructed from cardboard or metal and covered in fabric.

Coiffe (Coifa)

A female head covering made by arranging multiple layers of thin veils around the face.

Hennin

An excessively high, pointed headpiece associated with the verticality of Gothic architecture that reached peak popularity in Burgundy.

Duchy of Burgundy

A prosperous region spanning modern Belgium, Luxembourg, and northern France, known for funding artists like Jan van Eyck and pioneering extravagant fashion.

Robe (Roba)

A short, fitted Burgundian men's outer garment made from luxury textiles like gold brocade and worn directly over the doublet.

Bodice and Skirt Separation

A Burgundian tailoring technique in women's dress that horizontally divided the upper bodice from the skirt at the waistline.

Journea

An Italian-influenced loose, cape-like male garment consisting of front and back panels connected solely at the shoulders.

Burgundian Black

A deep black color elevated into a supreme luxury status symbol around 1450 by the Dukes of Burgundy following advancements in dyeing technology.

Changeant

A shot fabric woven using two different colored yarns, producing a shifting color effect depending on the angle of light.

Pomegranate / Artichoke Motif

A large-scale botanical textile pattern woven into high-end fabrics to ensure distinct visibility from a distance.

Pomander

An apple-shaped pendant container crafted from gold or silver to carry herbs and solid fragrances around the neck.