Braies
Contents
Why wear undergarments?
Why wear undergarments? 1. To keep your outer garments protected from body oils and dirt. 2. To keep your skin protected from the rough fabric of your outer clothing. We know that the undergarments were changed daily at least for some of the nobility,1 and it is also known that they weren't worn to sleep in. In art you generally see naked people in bed. And besides, they would be really uncomfortable to sleep on!
What was worn?
The 12th and 13th c. men's underwear, known as Braies or Breeches were a long legged full garment, shaped somewhat like pantaloons with a long flap at the top that is rolled down called the coulisse 2. I have found no good pictures of the 12th C. Braies, but I am basing my design on the 13th. C. versions, assuming that the design did not change much as the outer garments have not changed that much either. 14th C. Braies seam to have straight legs and less fabric, although they still roll down at the hips. The length also shortens later in period.
The other under-garment is the shirt. The shirt seems to appear in art only few times in the 12th and 13th C. There are only two shirts that are shown in the Old Testament Miniatures, and about 10 figures wearing braies and no shirt. (this does not mean they weren't wearing undertunics - there is pictorial evidence of this, but they would be taken off with the Super tunic presumably. There are mentions of the Shirt in literature and art, although more often in the 14th and 15th C. The shirt appears to have slits at the sleeve, and short sleeves. The slits help the sleeves fit better under the tight fitting sleeves, allowing for better movement at the elbow.
Braies are made of white linen, or woolens for lower classes. The medieval shirt was made of wool, linen, hemp and, for the wealthy, occasionally silk 3 Over the Braies would be Chausses (separate leggings footed or not, tied onto the braies at the hips. On the head goes a coif, made in 2 pieces and tied under the chin.
How do Braies affect the other clothing?
Note that the fit of the 13th c tunic as worn with the braies is somewhat specific. The tunic must be very tight fitting in the upper arm and upper chest, and flare to a very full skirt starting mid-chest. If the tunic is baggy in arm or chest, it will look fine worn with modern underclothes. However, when worn with the appropriate braies, the wearer looks heavy. Since the artistic style and image of beauty of the 12th and 13th C. in art is to have an elongated torso and look tall and thin, you see the problem. You would think the rolled down coulisse riding low under the belly would make the wearer look fat at all times, but with the proper fitting tunic, belted with a thin belt right below the coulisse, it actually makes the torso appear thinner and elongated. I believe that this is one reason for the coulisse (to shape the torso- much as women's undergarments do today…) Another reason for the coulisse is that the belt holding the braies up is what the chausses and the leg of the braies is tied to. When you put the pressure of the strings holding on your leg coverings at 2 points of a girdle, it really digs into the hips and hurts. But with the girdle inside the coulisse, it becomes padded and thus is much more comfortable to wear.
