Peasant Clothing

1
Peasant Clothing

• Peasant men wore stockings and tunics, while
  women wore long gowns with sleeveless tunics and
  wimples to cover their hair. Sheepskin cloaks and
  woolen hats and mittens were worn in winter for
  protection from the cold and rain. Leather boots
  were covered with wooden patens to keep the feet
  dry.

2
Outer and Under Garments

• The outer clothes were almost never laundered,
  but the linen underwear was regularly washed. The
  smell of wood smoke that permeated the clothing
  seemed to act as a deodorant. Peasant women spun
  wool into the threads that were woven into the
  cloth for these garments.

3
Fur and Jewelry

• Fur was often used to line the garments of the
  wealthy. Jewelry was lavish, much of it imported
  and often used as security against loans. Gem
  cutting was not invented until the fifteenth
  century, so most stones were not very lustrous.
  Ring brooches were the most popular item from the
  twelfth century on.

4
Love Conquers All

• Chaucer's prioress in the Canterbury Tales wore a
  brooch with the inscription Amor vincit omnia
  (Love conquers all), not a particularly
  appropriate slogan for a nun.

5
Laws Governing Jewelry

• Diamonds became popular in Europe in the
  fourteenth century. By the mid-fourteenth century
  there were laws to control who wore what jewelry
  , and knights were not permitted to wear rings.
  Sometimes clothes were garnished with silver, but
  only the wealthy could wear such items.

6
Health Hygiene

• As the populations of medieval towns and cities
  increased, hygienic conditions worsened, leading
  to a vast array of health problems.

7
Medicine

• Medical knowledge was limited and, despite the
  efforts of medical practitioners and public and
  religious institutions to institute regulations,
  medieval Europe did not have an adequate health
  care system. Antibiotics weren't invented until
  the 1800s and it was almost impossible to cure
  diseases without them.

8
Myths and Superstitions

• There were many myths and superstitions about
  health and hygiene as there still are today.
  People believed, for example, that disease was
  spread by bad odors. It was also assumed that
  diseases of the body resulted from sins of the
  soul. Many people sought relief from their ills
  through meditation, prayer, pilgrimages, and
  other nonmedical methods.

9
Four Humors

• The body was viewed as a part of the universe, a
  concept derived from the Greeks and Romans. Four
  humors, or body fliuds, were directly related to
  the four elements.
• Fire yellow bile or choler
• Water phlegm
• Earth black bile
• Air blood.
• These four humors had to be balanced. Too much of
  one was thought to cause a change in
  personality--for example, too much black bile
  could create melancholy.

10
Bloodletting

• Medicine was often a risky business. Bloodletting
  was a popular method of restoring a patient's
  health and "humors." Early surgery, often done by
  barbers without anesthesia, must have been
  excruciating.