Unfortunately, most of the illustrations in the book that I have now (which has like 4 or 5 versions of the Tacuinum) are small and b&w, but as soon as the Depository people at the library get around to it, I should be able to get copy of a full-size version of the plates, at least from one of the Tacuinums.

People with holes in their clothes appear in all sorts of places- The Mittelauterliches Hausbuch, paintings by van der Wyden, van Eyk, etc. I can cite specifics if you'd like.

An interesting thing I found is that many of the clothes dug up at Herjolfsness had repairs **but all of the repairs were in the form of applied patches, not darning**. This blew my mind because it is incredibly easy to mend wool by darning, but apparently it was an unknown technique. Either that or there's another reason that's not immediately apparent.

Something to note is that virtually all of the people with holey clothes are lower class /workers. I can't remember ever seeing upper class people with holes in their clothes. I think they sold them, donated them or otherwise passed them on before they got to that state.

Gwen sez:
People with holes in their clothes appear in all sorts of places- The Mittelauterliches Hausbuch, paintings by van der Wyden, van Eyk, etc. I can cite specifics if you'd like.
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Something to note is that virtually all of the people with holey clothes are lower class /workers. I can't remember ever seeing upper class people with holes in their clothes. I think they sold them, donated them or otherwise passed them on before they got to that state.

its good to remember as well taht medieval artists were big into allegory and iconography. Specifically, you can tell that this is the Virgin cuz she's wearing a blue mantle and has that big gold dinner plate behind her head. the Magdalene is always represented in regular middle class clothing and often carries that ungent jar. You can tell "furriners" by the goofy hats they're wearing. Its possible that in medieval icongraphy "poor people" are represented by holey hose. If joe illerate medieval guy is looking at a picture and he sees a picture of guy wearing a doublet and hose with holes in 'em, he knows!

as for patching vs darning, is it possible that its done prophylactically? ie like we put patches on kids jeans BEFORE they wear out, as kind of an extra layer to protect the garment underneath?

All of the patches were over wear spots, tears or holes, so I doubt this.

"Its possible that in medieval icongraphy "poor people" are represented by holey hose."

While I'm not willing to go so far as to say this NEVER happened, I'm inclined to believe that at least some of the people in mediedieval paintings are fair representations of what was actually going on around the painter - "filler" if you will. I'd need some serious convincing to believe that everyone in a painting is representative of something specific.

You're a scientist, you know about controls "OK, this guy looks like us, and this one doesn't - which one do you think is Jesus?"

Gwen

And somewhat relatedly, there is the issue of washing clothes (particularly the linen, sometimes the wool). Most people (afaik) throw the linens at least into the wash between events, and some dry clean the wools (or silks). While this is definately desirable in terms of keeping your closet/room from reeking of woodsmoke, and for your personal enjoying in wearing the clothes to the next event, is it really that realistic? How often were things washed in the winter? If you are portraying a late-winter scene, should people be rather grungy? Would they be less grungy in the summer, when you can wash clothes in a stream without getting hypothermia?

I think the decision to either replace or repair clothes should be largely determined by the class you're portraying. If you portray an upper class person, by all mneans replace the item. If you're just the wife of one of the soldier schlubs (love that word Mike!) I'd say let a tear or hole go until it imperils the longevity of the garment, then patch it with whatever you have around, preferably a scap of something else that's worn.

In the Red Company we have several approaches to the situation of worn clothing. One is handing things off to members who are lower down the ladder than you are; I regularly give Amanda my used clothing. No, it doesn't fit her as well and it usually shows signs of wear, but this is a good thing since I'm the Captain's wife and she's a soldier's wife. Because of this, my clothes always look "nicer" than Amanda's, which is historically correct.

Another option is to intentionally age your clothing so it doesn't look "right from the tailor" new. As a matter of fact, this weekend I noticed that Godlefe's gown had a hole under one arm. When I questioned her about it, she showed me a corresponding hole in the other armpit that had been mended. Seems that in using sandpaper to give her brand-new dress that -lived in look, she sanded a bit too vigorously and went clear through the fabric! In addition to sandpaper, steel wool, bleach, muriatic acid, dye splotches and charcoal, simply putting a new gown into the washer with a dose of all-fabric bleach and allowing it to agitate for several long cycles will rough up the edges and take the color down a notch or two.

My favorite method of getting that-lived in look is by using old fabric. This is especially successful when making men's doublets and coats. Old wool blankets from the thrift are cheaply had and usually contain all sorts of interesting holes and stains. A bit of judicious pattern positioning and the holes will fall in the proper place- across the forarm, around the waist, across the belly, etc. This is a great technique because the garment has the useful life of a brand-new piece, but looks old. Several of our guys have doublets and coats made this way and I think they look the best.

As far as washing goes, I launder my linens and undergowns after each event. I wash my overgown as infrequently as possible, finding that if I let it hang in the garage or other airy place for a few weeks or month the smoke smell pretty much goes away. A light spray with Lysol or Febreeze also helps.

I believe medieval people were as clean as circumstances allow them to be, and I don't buy for a minute that people of the general class we portray would go for extended periods without washing or cleaning up. If you have 2 chemises, it's fairly simple to wash one while you're wearing the other, even if you don't want to do that every day. It can be swished out in a bucket of water in your home or tent, you wouldn't need to go to the well or a stream to do it.

Personally, I wash up every night at events, even when it's cold. I heat a bit of water up, put it in a bucket and take it in my tent. I strip to my chemise and wash all the exposed bits first (except my feet), including my legs which are covered by my chemise. Then I strip off my chemise and do my body, and put on a clean chemise or nightshirt. I finish up with my feet and ankles, dump the water outside the tent and jump into bed. A warm brick wrapped in a bit of fabric in the bottom of the bed warms me right back up. No, it's not the same as taking a hot shower, but I can go this way for a week or more and not feel at all disgusting or smelly. I believe my medieval counterpart would have been of hardier constitution, and so bathing like this wouldn't have been unpleasant at all. I've read plenty of accounts of Victorians who had to break the ice in their washing pitchers in the AM so they could wash their face- we've just gotten soft since the invention of central heating and plumbing.

that's easy! Jesus is the one making a peace sign with one hand and with the shiney dinner plate behind his head!

--AM, your friendly resident science geek with "trained powers of observation"

Robert Coleman, Jr.