It was about 40 degrees and raining here the other day, and I wanted to post this, but did not have time.

Two things in mind -

First:
In the 15th century what passed for raingear?
What kind of waterproofing (if any) was used on boots, tents, bags ...

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We were at an event a few weeks ago where it rained/blew for most of the three days we were there. Only a couple of us out of the 200 or so there had pattens. Everyody else wearing period footwear got wet feet.

We have had foul weather at every event we've been to here this year. We also have well made period tents, camping equipment, footwear and clothing. This plus basic outdoor skills has ensured that each event has been a good one for us despite the weather.

If the weather is foul the event doesn't necessary stop as you still have to cook, gather firewood, care for horses, etc.

A bale of straw spread around the entrance to the tents also helps.

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URL=http://www.jousting.co.nz

this weekend after the front blew through south florida it actually went down to the lower fifties and upper forties inland. since i'm allways complaining that my kit is too hot for the tropical south florida wheather, i decided to conduct an experiment on it's "wearability" at a temp that isn't sub-tropical. plus i went out meteor watching at 4 in the morning.

my kit is composed of:

a medium weight linen shirt and braise.
a sleeved heavier weight linen doublet lined with the same linen used for the shirt.
one pair of woolen split hose which are lined to mid thigh with a "linen-look" cotton.
a pair of turn-shoes made from 4-5 oz leather and clumped with about two layer of 6-8 oz leather.
one woolen long sleeved coat with a fustian linning reaching to lower mid thigh (its seams are is still unfinshed and has no buttons yet, but wearable.)
one heavy woolen hood lined in linen.

my upper body felt great an cozy! there were some gust of wind but it didn't bite through my coat and doublet. most of the time i had the hood down round my neck. i may switch out the coat's linning for one made from wool just to give it a bit more warmth.

but my legs! for me, one pair of hose on didn't do much 'gainst the wind. i am no pansy subtopical beach bum, and i do like the cold weather, can't get enough of it. right now i am missing new england's wicked weather bad since it allready warmed up to the eighties today.

so my question is... were more than one pair of hose worn at a time, say a joined pair with a split on top? i've seen in manuscripst what look like leggings being worn from below the knee to about the ankle tied off at both ends. were these for extra warmth or to prevent the hose from wearing out whilst working in the feild??? what solutions could be offered. not that i'll be out very often in forty to fifty degree weather down here; but i would like to know what to expect in weather conditions closer to y'all up north.

have fun,

daniel

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Db

quote:

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Originally posted by Jeff Johnson:
Wool and Wool

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• Horses were in stables (Mittelauterliches hausbuch) or in tents while on campaign (Schilling)
  
• Dogs were kept in kennels (Gaston Phoebus)
  
• Stay inside by the fire as soon as the work is done (Tres Riches Heurs, February)
  

Campaigning was usually done in the summer (like I said, there were some notable exceptions, such as Agincourt and Granson).

Unlike modern fibres, wool retains its ability to hold heat even when its soaked, so layers will still keep you warm if it's cold out. Heavy fulling and brushing up of the nap will cause wool to shed water.

I don't believe wool could have had much lanolin left in it after the cleaning and fulling process. Perhaps a tiny bit, but fuller's earth is a great oil magnet.

Pilgrims are almost always depicted in a poncho-like overgarment (Gerry E calls this a "huke"), and some of the soldiers in the Mittelauterliches Hausbook wear them also. Because pilgrims were out during all kinds of weather I wonder if this "huke" is the equivalent of a rain poncho? Something I've been wondering about but have no concrete evidence for.

In the 14th century many illuminations show people wearing a pair of chacues and then a second shorter pair over top of these. I am not sure if the second pair had feet or were closer to spats. My assumption is that they protected the longer pair of chauces and if they had feet also provided some additional warmth. I assume that this arangement went in to the 15th century but have not looked very hard for its use in that time period.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Ginevra:
....

Unlike modern fibres, wool retains its ability to hold heat even when its soaked, so layers will still keep you warm if it's cold out.

.....
Gwen

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Gwen -
Thanks.

Cotton is the thing you don't want to wear in the cold and wet. It basically sucks heat from your body when it gets wet. Modern synthetics generally behave much like wool in their ability to keep you warm when wet. I assume that linen behaves much like cotton - do you know?

quote:

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Originally posted by Gordon Clark:
... what did they/you do?

It was about 40 degrees and raining here the other day, and I wanted to post this, but did not have time.

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oh boy howdy!
this sounds like home!
seriously, up here in the Pacific NW, our events are usually cold and wet. It doesnt snow often, but it does sometimes, and its not uncommon for there to be frost on the grass in the early morning. Rain is the usual, and if it gets over about 70 degrees, I start whining .

Wool is your friend. Even in a drenching downpour, the wet wool will not only keep you warm but the water seems to wick down to the hems. I've stood and worked in HOURS of rain before and my shoulders and back were only damp with my sleeve and skirt hems were wringing wet.

Linen is not much use, and cotton is worse than useless, actually making you COLDER, which is why your legs were so unhappy. Your hose were cotton, you said?

Places you lose heat: head and shoulders, bottoms of your feet, hands.

Theres pictures of peasants bundled up against the cold...they have their heads covered, are big wads of wool and have their hands tucked into their sleeves.

I wear:
wool stockings
turnshoes (leather)
wooden pattens (if your shoes get wet through it will wick the warmth right out)
linen chemisa
wool undergown
wool overgown
linen headcloth
wool hood

this has withstood me to below freezing very happily, even in a downpour.

One thing...when you're wet for hours and hours, you want to take the time to DRY off right before you go to bed. Being soggy all the time isnt good for us. Humans are fairly waterproof but it still takes it toll.

For our Florida friend, I would suggest that your wool doublet kept your body warm enough, but real wool hose (which will not be as hot as you think...theres a reason all those nomads in the desert wear wool. It insulates both ways, you'll never be hotter than body temp) would have saved you a lot of greif. Top that off with a wool hood, wool socks, wool in the bottom of your turnshoes and pattens and you would have been fine.

oh yes, and real wool only. Blends are even more useless, with the added joy of being dangerous near open fires.

hpe this is helpful...

--Anne-Marie, who has the questionable pleasure of camping in a place where you wear wool pretty much year round

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in this book of illuminations about the different season's there are several pics with people in the snow and snow storms. most have cloaks or some type of long coat. hoods seemed to be worn frequently aswell. one illustration caught my eye; it is of a flemish merchant returning home. his hands were stuffed inside what appears to be a fur hand muffler. this particular illustration is post new world discovery but still from the early part of the 16 cent. the muffler looks like the ones popularly made from beaver fur. has anyone else come across something like this?

Anne-Marie, thanks for the heads up. only the mid-thigh lining is made from cotton, the rest is 100% wool. i do stay away from the blends, they don't dye well and melt when exposed to flame. i do think that if i had worn a second layer of hose i would have stayed warmer. but, this stuffing the bottom of my shoes with wool is of interest. could you share some more on it? what do you mean? like an insole?

daniel

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Db

It also seem to have been rather common with the "layering-principle" - using several coats of the same type in layers above each other.

Boots and shoes higher than the ankle are statistically larger than lower types of shoes. This suggests that they were used in colder weather, to permit for more layers of hose or foot-patches.

In many years of reenacting I can see, as been mentioned, that wool is a superb material. As long as you move you will not get cold.

best wishes

quote:

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Originally posted by LHF:
Anne-Marie, thanks for the heads up. only the mid-thigh lining is made from cotton, the rest is 100% wool. i do stay away from the blends, they don't dye well and melt when exposed to flame. i do think that if i had worn a second layer of hose i would have stayed warmer. but, this stuffing the bottom of my shoes with wool is of interest. could you share some more on it? what do you mean? like an insole?

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what kind of wool did you use for your hose? jersey has way less insulating factor than fulled wool. (jersey by its nature has little holes in it).

also, on wool in your shoes, we just take wool roving and put a layer in the bottom of the shoe. it felts down nicely and makes a nice insulating layer (and cushy soft, too ) Dont put too much though, or you wont be able to fit your feet in the shoes!

hope this is helpful,
--AM

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nope, it wasn't a jersey. i used a wool twill, 'bout 10-15 oz weight, for my hose. how i fulled it was buy washing the fabric in hot water then stuffing it into the dryer @ med heat. it shrunk the fabric nicely and raised the nap. i then cut it up on the bias and put them together.

as far as how i care for my outer clothes, i usually just air them out if they are not too heavily soiled. if i have to wash them i do so by hand and lay them out to dry vs. hanging them. my underclothes i do wash every time i wear them and i do hang dry.

i've never heard of the term wool roving; remember south Florida doesn't have much use for wool. what is it? unspun wool?

thanks,

daniel

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Db

well, if your hose were really fulled wool then you were cold becuase
1. it was cold out (duh )
2. you need to eat more and build more of a fat layer

seriously, it sounds like you did the best you could. A long coat would help keep some of your body heat in, or I supposed you could wear two pairs of wooly hose, but that seems excessive...

FYI roving is the long skinny wads of clean carded wool before its spun. We can pick it up pretty cheap from local sheep farmers.

hope this is helpful,
--AM

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