Fashion History Exam III Study Guide

Merovingian

Early Frankish royal dynasty ruling much of Gaul and Germany

Anglo-Saxon

Germanic peoples and culture in England before the Norman Conquest

Norman

People from Normandy in France who conquered England in 1066 and spread their feudal culture

Alb

Long white linen liturgical tunic worn by clergy, usually with narrow sleeves.

Chasuble

Sleeveless circular or oval outer cape for Mass, worn over other clerical garments.

Cowl

Monastic hood attached to or worn over a robe, covering head and shoulders.

Cote

Basic tunic-like garment, usually knee to ankle length, worn by men and women as main body layer.

Surcote

Outer garment worn over the cote; could be sleeveless or with sleeves, often signaling rank.

Chemise

Simple linen under-tunic or shift worn next to the skin by both sexes, especially under gowns.

Braies

Loose linen drawers or underpants worn by men, tied at the waist.

Bliaut

Fitted, , often floor‑length gown with tight torso and sleeves, worn by upper‑class men and women in the 12th c.

Gamurra

Italian women’s fitted gown with laced bodice and detachable sleeves, , worn over a chemise, c. late Middle Ages–early Renaissance.

Kaftan

Long, loose coat or robe with sleeves, of Middle Eastern origin, sometimes adopted in medieval courts

Mantle

Cloak or cape, , often semicircular, fastened at the shoulder or center front as outerwear.

Pelisse

Fur-lined or fur-trimmed outer garment or cloak used for warmth

Woad

Blue dye from the woad plant, , used to color textiles and sometimes associated with body staining in earlier periods.

Doublet (Middle Ages)

Close-fitting, padded upper garment for men, worn over the shirt and under outer layers.

Hose (Middle Ages)

Separate or joined leg coverings, fitted to the legs and often tied to the doublet.

Livery

Standardized clothing in specific colors and badges showing service to a lord or household

Hauberk

Long mail shirt (chain mail) used as armor, often knee‑length with sleeves.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

476 CE (deposition of Romulus Augustulus)

Founding of al-Andalus

711–718 CE after Muslim conquest of Iberia and establishment of Umayyad rule in Spain

Founding of the Holy Roman Empire

800 CE, Charlemagne was crowned “Emperor of the Romans” by the pope

Black Death

Peak years in Europe 1347–1351

Medieval textile production

Guilds regulated quality and training; women and men had distinct roles in spinning, weaving, and finishing; horizontal looms and the spinning wheel increased productivity and supported urban cloth industries.

Crusades and merchant class during Medieval times

Crusades and trade opened access to Eastern luxury textiles and dyes; richer fabrics inspired new fashions; growing merchants pushed for display while sumptuary laws tried to limit who could wear what.

Dress and social status during Medieval times

Clothing signaled rank in feudal society: royalty and nobles used fine fabrics, bright colors, fur, and embroidery; merchants adopted modified versions; peasants wore simpler, coarse garments in limited colors.

Advances in tailoring during Medieval times

Set‑in sleeves, buttons, and more body‑fitted cuts replaced earlier draped shapes, creating closer‑fitting garments and establishing techniques that underlie modern pattern making and dressmaking.

Bombast

Stuffing material (e.g., cotton, wool, rags) used to pad doublets, hose, and other garments to create exaggerated shapes.

Doublets (Renaissance)

Fitted, often padded men’s upper garments, center of the male silhouette in the Renaissance.

Hose

Tight leg coverings, sometimes joined into trunk hose; emphasized the legs and lower body.

Chopines

Very high platform shoes, especially in Venice and Spain, used both for status and to keep gowns off dirty streets.

Codpieces

Padded and shaped front pouch covering the opening between hose, emphasizing the male genital area.

Stomacher

Decorative, often stiffened, triangular panel filling in the front opening of a woman’s bodice.

Verdugales (Spanish for fartingales)

Hooped skirt supports that created cone-shaped or drum-shaped silhouettes for women

Ropa

Loose, often sleeveless or short‑sleeved outer gown or coat, Spanish in origin, sometimes with Eastern influence.

Farthingales

Hooped petticoats supporting wide skirts, especially in Spain and later England

Slashing

Fashion technique of cutting outer fabric to reveal contrasting lining or underlayer puffs

Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans

1453

Catherine de Medici’s arrival in France

1533 (marriage to Henry, future Henry II of France)

Italian Renaissance dates

Approximately 1300–1600

Northern Renaissance dates

Approximately late 1400s–1600s in regions such as Flanders, Germany, and England

Protestant Reformation

1517 (Martin Luther’s 95 Theses)

Renaissance textile production

Italian city‑states specialized in luxury wool and silk; professional tailoring shops grew more important; innovations like Lee’s knitting frame and advanced patterned weaving enabled more complex, fashionable textiles.

Global trade and Ottoman influence in the Renaissance

New trade routes and contact with the Ottoman Empire brought silks, velvets, and rich dyes; this supported trends like slashing, structured Spanish silhouettes, and Eastern‑inspired garments such as the ropa.

Dress, status, and religion in the Renaissance

Clothing signaled both class and confession: Spanish‑influenced Catholic courts favored dark, rich, heavily structured dress, while Protestants (Lutherans, Huguenots, Puritans) often adopted more restrained colors and decoration to express religious identity.

Structural garments and tailoring in the Renaissance

Verdugales/farthingales, bombast‑stuffed doublets, and the peascod belly created the distinctive cone‑ and V‑shaped silhouettes of the era and set patterns for later European fashion.