Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles Online
This single volume encyclopedia is a unique work that brings together hundreds of articles offering the latest research from across the range of disciplines which contribute to our knowledge of medieval dress and textiles.
Despite the long-standing interest in this subject, there has never been an in-depth and comprehensive treatment of the topic. This encyclopedia is an interdisciplinary reference work, introducing readers to various sources of evidence, providing clear information about recent discoveries and interpretations, and offering bibliographical guidance. The volume contains over 100 plates and diagrams to illustrate and explain the text.
The online version of the encyclopedia has been updated with new material in 2016, 2018, and 2021.
Also available as part of Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online and in print.
Features
• Examines the materials, techniques and styles of secular, ecclesiastical, and military dress, and the changes they underwent over a millennium, as well as considering the concept of fashion in the Middle Ages.
• Focuses on the British Isles, while also considering comparative material from other areas.
• Details surviving material examples and offers technical information on individual garments.
• Investigates techniques of manufacture, the people who produced the goods, and the equipment used – for instance, covering weights and measures, spinning, weaving, and different types of stitching.
• Examines material sources, both archaeological and artistic – such as manuscript illumination, stone and wood carving, brass engraving, and stained glass.
• Makes through use of written evidence, both literary and documentary – such as poetry, epic, riddles, wills, inventories, and wardrobe accounts.
• Broader subjects covered include cross-dressing; the use and significance of gemstones; horse equipment and textiles; religious morality and political philosophy relating to dress; the trade of textiles; and the use of medieval dress and textiles in the present day. See below for a full table of contents.
Despite the long-standing interest in this subject, there has never been an in-depth and comprehensive treatment of the topic. This encyclopedia is an interdisciplinary reference work, introducing readers to various sources of evidence, providing clear information about recent discoveries and interpretations, and offering bibliographical guidance. The volume contains over 100 plates and diagrams to illustrate and explain the text.
The online version of the encyclopedia has been updated with new material in 2016, 2018, and 2021.
Also available as part of Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online and in print.
Features
• Examines the materials, techniques and styles of secular, ecclesiastical, and military dress, and the changes they underwent over a millennium, as well as considering the concept of fashion in the Middle Ages.
• Focuses on the British Isles, while also considering comparative material from other areas.
• Details surviving material examples and offers technical information on individual garments.
• Investigates techniques of manufacture, the people who produced the goods, and the equipment used – for instance, covering weights and measures, spinning, weaving, and different types of stitching.
• Examines material sources, both archaeological and artistic – such as manuscript illumination, stone and wood carving, brass engraving, and stained glass.
• Makes through use of written evidence, both literary and documentary – such as poetry, epic, riddles, wills, inventories, and wardrobe accounts.
• Broader subjects covered include cross-dressing; the use and significance of gemstones; horse equipment and textiles; religious morality and political philosophy relating to dress; the trade of textiles; and the use of medieval dress and textiles in the present day. See below for a full table of contents.
Login via Institution
Login with brill.com account
Redeem Access Token
Please contact our sales team for more information on prices and licensing.
Purchase short term access
List of Contributors for the Updates
- Assize of cloth
- Candlewick
- Clothier
- Cordage
- Cornwall: Cloth Industry and Trade
- Coventry
- Credit
- Devon and Exeter: Cloth Industry and Trade
- Fell
- Fleece
- Flemings
- Flocks
- Royal Records as a Source for Textile and Clothing History
- Science and Technology
- Staple
- Thread
- Thrums
- Tow
- Warp
- Web
- Weft
- Woof
- Woolfell
- Yarn
List of Contributors for the Updates
- Assize of cloth
- Candlewick
- Clothier
- Cordage
- Cornwall: Cloth Industry and Trade
- Coventry
- Credit
- Devon and Exeter: Cloth Industry and Trade
- Fell
- Fleece
- Flemings
- Flocks
- Royal Records as a Source for Textile and Clothing History
- Science and Technology
- Staple
- Thread
- Thrums
- Tow
- Warp
- Web
- Weft
- Woof
- Woolfell
- Yarn
Students of medieval material culture, art, theater, design and economic history, metropolitan and industrial studies, politics, archaeology, medieval literature, arms and armour, women's history; museums, art, galleries, departments of archaeology, art history, art institutes.
Gale R. Owen-Crocker is an Anglo-Saxon specialist who enjoys interdisciplinary research, which uses, for example, archaeological evidence to illuminate Old English literature; and art, archaeology, glosses and text (both Latin and English) to explore the issue of Anglo-Saxon dress. She is the co-founder and co-editor of the international journal Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Her recent books include King Harold II and the Bayeux Tapestry (2005); Dress in Anglo-Saxon England: revised and enlarged edition (2004), The Four Funerals in Beowulf: and the structure of the poem (2000), Medieval Art: recent perspectives (1998) and Anglo-Saxon Texts and Contexts (1998).
Recommendation: "This is a serious, academic work that is fun to dip into. I have learnt so much by going from one entry to another and ending up in subjects I had not expected or even knew existed. This book should be in any academic library that has an interest in medieval European life (in all its aspects), medieval British history, as well as in the libraries of those working in the field of archaeological textiles. It will also appeal to those involved in medieval re-enactments (Living History groups), and film and theatre groups who wish to increase their knowledge and accuracy." - Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, in: TRC Library, April 2016. (For the full review, please visit the TRC website.)
"A superb reference work [...] well-produced color and black-and-white illustrations [...] an essential work for scholars of medieval British dress and textiles, as well as for students of dress and material culture in general. And, because costume, jewelry, tapestries, and other aspects of clothing, cloth, and textiles are so important in medieval British writing and culture, the Encyclopedia will be just as important for scholars of medieval British literature and history." - David Elton Gay, Indiana University, in: Journal of Folklore Research, online review posted on September 17, 2013
"A superb reference work [...] well-produced color and black-and-white illustrations [...] an essential work for scholars of medieval British dress and textiles, as well as for students of dress and material culture in general. And, because costume, jewelry, tapestries, and other aspects of clothing, cloth, and textiles are so important in medieval British writing and culture, the Encyclopedia will be just as important for scholars of medieval British literature and history." - David Elton Gay, Indiana University, in: Journal of Folklore Research, online review posted on September 17, 2013
Preface
Introduction and Timeline
List of Maps
List of Figures
Articles A-Z
Index
List of Contributors
List of Articles
Academic dress (update 2016)
Accessories
Ælfric’s Colloquy and Glossary
Aglet
Ailette
Aketon
Alb
Aldhelm
Alien (update 2016)
Alnage
Alnagers
Altar Cloth
Altar Cloths (update 2016)
Altar Frontal
Alum (update 2018)
Amber
Amice
Animal Fibre
Apparel
Appliqué
Archaeological Textiles
Arming Doublets
Armour
Armour: coif and capados/helmet linings
Arms and armour terminology in manuscripts
Assize of cloth (update 2021)
Aventail
Badges
Bands
Bast
Baudekin
Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry: evidence of arms and armour
Beads
Beaver Fur
Beds ante-1100
Beds post-1100
Bell
Belt
Bend
Bequests
Bezant
Black Prince: achievements of The Black Prince at Canterbury
Blackwell Hall London
Blanket
Bleaching
Bliaut
Bluet (blewet) (update 2018)
Body Garments ante-1100
Body Garments post-1100
Bokasin
Bologna Cope
Bolt
Book of Rights (Lebor na Cert)
Books
Books: book markers
Books: covers
Books: curtains
Books: embroidered parchment repairs
Books: spine lining
Boots
Boston (update 2018)
Botcher
Bourrelet
Bracer, Archer
Braie/Brael
Brandea
Bras
Bras Maunche
Brayer
Brayette/Brayer
Breuddwyd Rhonabwy
Brigandine
Bristol clothmaking (update 2016)
Broadcloth
Broadcloth: history of English broadcloth (update 2016)
Brocading
Brooches: England
Buckle
Buckram
Budge
Burel
Burl
Burnet
Buskins
Butler-Bowdon Cope
Button
Cadace
Calabre
Calendar
Camaca
Cambric
Candlewick (update 2021)
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Tales
Canvas (update 2018)
Cappers
Caps
Cards and Carding of Wool
Carpets and Rugs
Cat Fur
Cattle Tail Hair
Caulking and Sealing
Chain Mail
Chainse
Chalon
Chapemakers
Chaperon
Charles d’Orleans ‘Fortune Stabilnes’
Chastity Belts
Chasuble
Chaucer: career
Chaucer: dress
Chaucer: soft furnishings
Chausses
Check
Chemise
Chichester-Constable Chasuble
Church Furniture
Cilicium: hair cloth
Clare Chasuble
Cloak ante-1100
Cloak post-1100
Cloth
Cloth of Gold
Cloth: dimensions and weights
Clothier (update 2021)
Clothiers
Clothworkers
Clove
Coat Armour
Coat of Plates
Codpiece
Cogware
Coif: military and non-military
Collections
Colour and Weave Effects
Colours of Liturgical Vestments and Hangings
Coney
Conservation of Archaeological Textiles
Cope
Coral
Cordage (update 2021)
Cordwainers
Cornette
Cornwall: Cloth Industry and Trade (update 2021)
Cote
Cotehardie
Cotton
Cottons
Coventry (update 2021)
Covering
Cowl
Crakou
Crannog
Credit (update 2021)
Cross Dressing
Crowfoot, Elisabeth
Crowfoot, Grace Molly
Crown
Cuffia/Cuffie
Cuir-bouilli
Curriers
Curtains
Cyprus
Cywyddau Gofyn a Dioloch
Dagging
Dalmatic
Damask
Decorative Techniques
Denizens (update 2016)
Devon and Exeter: Cloth Industry and Trade (update 2021)
Donor Portraits
Doublet
Drapers
Dream of Rhonabwy
Dress Accessories
Dress and Ethnicity
Dress and Gender
Dress Fasteners
Dublin
Duties on Wool and Cloth
Dyeing
Dyers
Ecclesiastical Dress
Ecclesiastical Dress post-1100
Effigies and Brasses
Ell
Emballage
Emblems
Embroiderers
Embroideries ante-1100
Embroidery
Enamel
Ermine
Exchequer
Fashion
Fasteners
Feathers
Felbrigge Psalter Embroidered Book Cover
Fell (update 2021)
Felt
Fibre
Finger Loop Braiding
Finishing
Fitch
Flax
Fleece (update 2021)
Flemings (update 2021)
Flocks (update 2021)
Floor Coverings
Footwear
Fox Fur
Foynes
Fraternity
Frieze
Fringes and Tassels
Fripperers
Frouncing
Fullers
Fuller’s Earth
Fulling and Fulling Mills
Funerals ante-1100
Funerals post-1100
Fur
Fustian
Gambeson
Gamboising
Garter ante-1100
Garter post-1100
Gauntlet
Gawain Poet
Gemstones
Genette
Gerefa
Girdle ante-1100
Girdle post-1100
Girdlers
Glosses and Glossaries
Glovers
Gloves
Goat Hair
Gold and Silver Metal Thread
Gold and Silver Wire Drawing
Gore
Gorget
Goscelin
Gower, John
Gown
Great Wardrobe
Gris
Guilds: London
Guilds: provincial towns
Haberdashers
Haberget
Habit
Hair Accessories post-1100
Hairnet
Harlots
Hat/Hatters
Hatters
Haubergeon
Hauberk
Headgear
Hearse-cloth
Heckle
Hemming
Hemp
Heraldry
Heroic Literature
Homespun (update 2016)
Hood
Horse Hair
Horse Trapper, Musée Cluny, Paris
Horse Trappings
Hose
Houppelande
Hourson
Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter
Hurers
Iconography and Symbolism on Textiles
Inscriptions on Textiles
Insignia
Jack
Jazerant
Jewellery
Johanna Beverlai Altar Frontlet
John Lydgate
John of Thanet
Jupon
Kendal
Kermes
Kerseys
Kingston upon Hull (update 2018)
Knitting and Related Non-Woven Structures
Laȝamon
Lambskin/Sheepskin
Lampas
Last
Latten
Laundry
Lawn
Laws and Prohibitions: cloth regulations
Laws and Prohibitions: ecclesiastical
Laws and Prohibitions: sumptuary
Leather
Leathersellers
Lebor na Cert
Legwrap
Leopard
Lettice
Liber Pontificalis
Linen
Linen production and trade (update 2016)
Liripipe
Liturgical Textiles ante-1100
Liturgical Textiles post-1100
Livery Collars (update 2016)
Livery: company
Livery: uniform
Llan-Gors Decorated Garment
London: archaeology
London: trade
London: Victoria and Albert Museum
Looms
Loomweights
Luttrell Psalter
Lye
Lynx
Lyric Poetry
Maaseik Textiles
Mabinogion
Mail
Maniple
Mantle
Markets and Fairs
Marten
Maternity and Nursing Garments
Mattress
Mediterranean Trade
Medlee
Mercers
Merchant Taylors
Metaphor
Military Dress
Milliners
Miniver
Mi-parti
Mirror
Misericords
Mistery and ‘Mystery Plays’
Mitre
Mittens
Monastic Dress
Monks
Monumental Brasses
Mordant
Multilingualism (update 2018)
Murrey (update 2018)
Nail
Nålebinding
Naming of Cloths
Naming of Garments in Old English
Narrow Wares
Necklace
Needle
Nettle
Norfolk Worsteds
Northampton Fair
Nuns, Convents and Monasteries: the monastic orders and their costumes
Officers of the Royal Household
Official Dress
Opus
Opus Anglicanum
Order of the Garter
Orkney Hood
Orkney: Late Medieval Dress (update 2016)
Orphrey
Otter
Padding
Painted and Stamped Cloth
Pall
Paltok
Pampillion
Parade and Tournament Sporting Clothing
Passementerie
Paston Letters
Patrons and Patronage
Pavilion
Pearls
Pelican
Pendant ante-1100
Pendant post-1100
Pers
Personal Names
Pew Ends
Pictish dress (update 2016)
Piece
Pienza Cope
Pilgrimage
Pillow
Pin
Pinners
Pisane
Place Names
Plate Armour
Plume
Plunket
Point
Pokes
Political Thought
Poots
Popel
Portraits
Pouch post-1100
Pouchmakers
Pourpoint
Powdering
Prayer Mats
Purple
Purse post-1100
Pursers
Purses and Pouches ante-1100
Quilting and Padding
Rath
Ray
Reconstruction
Recycling
Re-enactment
Relic of St. Lebuin
Relics of St. Cuthbert
Riddles
Rifeling
Rings
Rogart Shirt
Romance
Roof Bosses
Rosary
Rothwell Jack
Royal Brides (update 2016)
Royal Portraits
Royal Records as a Source for Textile and Clothing History (update 2021)
Royal Regalia ante-1100
Royal Regalia post-1100
Russet
Sabatons
Sable
Sack
Sacks
Saddles
Sails
Saints
Samite
Sarpler
Sarsenet
Satin
Say
Scabbard
Scarlet
Science and Technology (update 2021)
Scissors
Sculpture post-1100
Sculpture: evidence for dress ante-1100, Ireland, Isle of of Man and Scotland
Sculpture: evidence for dress, ante-1100, England
Sculpture: skeuomorphs of textile techniques, ante-1100, England
Seal Bag
Seals (for cloth) and Merchants’ Marks
Second Hand Clothing
Secular Dress: Anglo-Saxon
Secular Dress: Celtic Irish
Secular Dress: Celtic Welsh
Secular Dress: later Medieval
Secular Dress: Viking
Selvedge
Sendal
Sensuality and Sexuality
Serges
Sewing
Sewing: cutting and construction
Shearman’s Hook
Shearmen
Shears
Sheet
Ship Burial
Shirt
Shoes
Shopping
Shroud
Shuttle
Sign Language
Silk in the British Isles
Silk Road
Silk: sericulture
Silkwomen
Skinners
Sleeve
Slickstone
Slipper
Smock
Soap
Soft Furnishings and Textiles ante-1100
Soft Furnishings and Textiles post-1100
Southampton and the Later Medieval Textile Trade (update 2018)
Spindle Whorl
Spinning
Spinning Wheels
Spinsters
Sports
Spurs
Squirrel Fur
Squirrel Robe of Queen Philippa
Staple (update 2021)
St Bartholomew’s Fair (update 2016)
St Beesman (update 2018)
St. Boniface
St. Botolph’s Fair, Boston
St. Giles Fair, Winchester
St. Ives Fair
St. Thomas Becket: life and textile relics
Stamford Fair
Stitches: embroidered seams and line stitches
Stitches: filling stitches and other embroidery techniques
Stole
Stone
Stourbridge Fair
Straits/Dozens
Stranling
Stripes
Suffolk clothmaking (update 2018)
Surcote/Sucot(e)
Surviving Medieval Textiles of the British Isles
Syon Cope
Table Linen
Tablet-weave
Taffeta
Tailors
Tapestry
Tapicers
Tartarin
Tax
Tent Maker/Pavilioner
Tenter
Tenterhook
Tents ante-1100
Tents post-1100
Textile Armour
Textile Production in York
The English Wool Trade 1250–1330
The German Hanse in England (update 2016)
The Kingis Quair
The Pearl Poet
The Scottish Wool Trade 1250–1450
Thong
Thread (update 2021)
Thrums (update 2021)
Tinsel
Tippet
Tiretaine
Tissue
Tod
Tools post-1100
Tools: archaeological evidence ante-1100, England and Scotland
Tools: archaeological evidence ante-1100, Ireland
Torque
Tow (update 2021)
Towns and their Products
Trade and Craft Guilds, Scotland
Trade in Irish Cloth
Trade in Textiles, Arms and Armour, England 1250–1450
Trade in Welsh Cloth
Tuckers
Tunic
Turnshoe
Underwear: a historical overview
Urine
Vair
Vambrace at British Museum London
Vegetable Fibre
Veil
Velvet
Verge
Vesses (update 2016)
Vestments
Vestments: vestments of the Anglo-Saxon Church
Voider
Voluper
Wadmal
Wall Covering
Wall Paintings
Warp (update 2021)
Waterford
Weapons as Items of Dress
Weavers
Weaving
Weaving Batten
Web (update 2021)
Weft (update 2021)
Weights and Measures
Welsh Begging Poems
Westminster Abbey (update 2016)
Wey
Whitawyers
Wiliam Langland: Piers Plowman
Wills and Inventories ante-1100
Wills and Inventories post-1100
Wimple
Winder
Wire Drawing
Wiredrawers
Woad
Wood Carving
Woof (update 2021)
Wool Comb
Wool Merchants
Wool: processing
Wool: sheep
Wool: types
Woolbroggers
Woolfell (update 2021)
Woollens
Woolsack
Worsted
Wrappings
Yard
Yarn (update 2021)
Introduction and Timeline
List of Maps
List of Figures
Articles A-Z
Index
List of Contributors
List of Articles
Academic dress (update 2016)
Accessories
Ælfric’s Colloquy and Glossary
Aglet
Ailette
Aketon
Alb
Aldhelm
Alien (update 2016)
Alnage
Alnagers
Altar Cloth
Altar Cloths (update 2016)
Altar Frontal
Alum (update 2018)
Amber
Amice
Animal Fibre
Apparel
Appliqué
Archaeological Textiles
Arming Doublets
Armour
Armour: coif and capados/helmet linings
Arms and armour terminology in manuscripts
Assize of cloth (update 2021)
Aventail
Badges
Bands
Bast
Baudekin
Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry: evidence of arms and armour
Beads
Beaver Fur
Beds ante-1100
Beds post-1100
Bell
Belt
Bend
Bequests
Bezant
Black Prince: achievements of The Black Prince at Canterbury
Blackwell Hall London
Blanket
Bleaching
Bliaut
Bluet (blewet) (update 2018)
Body Garments ante-1100
Body Garments post-1100
Bokasin
Bologna Cope
Bolt
Book of Rights (Lebor na Cert)
Books
Books: book markers
Books: covers
Books: curtains
Books: embroidered parchment repairs
Books: spine lining
Boots
Boston (update 2018)
Botcher
Bourrelet
Bracer, Archer
Braie/Brael
Brandea
Bras
Bras Maunche
Brayer
Brayette/Brayer
Breuddwyd Rhonabwy
Brigandine
Bristol clothmaking (update 2016)
Broadcloth
Broadcloth: history of English broadcloth (update 2016)
Brocading
Brooches: England
Buckle
Buckram
Budge
Burel
Burl
Burnet
Buskins
Butler-Bowdon Cope
Button
Cadace
Calabre
Calendar
Camaca
Cambric
Candlewick (update 2021)
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Tales
Canvas (update 2018)
Cappers
Caps
Cards and Carding of Wool
Carpets and Rugs
Cat Fur
Cattle Tail Hair
Caulking and Sealing
Chain Mail
Chainse
Chalon
Chapemakers
Chaperon
Charles d’Orleans ‘Fortune Stabilnes’
Chastity Belts
Chasuble
Chaucer: career
Chaucer: dress
Chaucer: soft furnishings
Chausses
Check
Chemise
Chichester-Constable Chasuble
Church Furniture
Cilicium: hair cloth
Clare Chasuble
Cloak ante-1100
Cloak post-1100
Cloth
Cloth of Gold
Cloth: dimensions and weights
Clothier (update 2021)
Clothiers
Clothworkers
Clove
Coat Armour
Coat of Plates
Codpiece
Cogware
Coif: military and non-military
Collections
Colour and Weave Effects
Colours of Liturgical Vestments and Hangings
Coney
Conservation of Archaeological Textiles
Cope
Coral
Cordage (update 2021)
Cordwainers
Cornette
Cornwall: Cloth Industry and Trade (update 2021)
Cote
Cotehardie
Cotton
Cottons
Coventry (update 2021)
Covering
Cowl
Crakou
Crannog
Credit (update 2021)
Cross Dressing
Crowfoot, Elisabeth
Crowfoot, Grace Molly
Crown
Cuffia/Cuffie
Cuir-bouilli
Curriers
Curtains
Cyprus
Cywyddau Gofyn a Dioloch
Dagging
Dalmatic
Damask
Decorative Techniques
Denizens (update 2016)
Devon and Exeter: Cloth Industry and Trade (update 2021)
Donor Portraits
Doublet
Drapers
Dream of Rhonabwy
Dress Accessories
Dress and Ethnicity
Dress and Gender
Dress Fasteners
Dublin
Duties on Wool and Cloth
Dyeing
Dyers
Ecclesiastical Dress
Ecclesiastical Dress post-1100
Effigies and Brasses
Ell
Emballage
Emblems
Embroiderers
Embroideries ante-1100
Embroidery
Enamel
Ermine
Exchequer
Fashion
Fasteners
Feathers
Felbrigge Psalter Embroidered Book Cover
Fell (update 2021)
Felt
Fibre
Finger Loop Braiding
Finishing
Fitch
Flax
Fleece (update 2021)
Flemings (update 2021)
Flocks (update 2021)
Floor Coverings
Footwear
Fox Fur
Foynes
Fraternity
Frieze
Fringes and Tassels
Fripperers
Frouncing
Fullers
Fuller’s Earth
Fulling and Fulling Mills
Funerals ante-1100
Funerals post-1100
Fur
Fustian
Gambeson
Gamboising
Garter ante-1100
Garter post-1100
Gauntlet
Gawain Poet
Gemstones
Genette
Gerefa
Girdle ante-1100
Girdle post-1100
Girdlers
Glosses and Glossaries
Glovers
Gloves
Goat Hair
Gold and Silver Metal Thread
Gold and Silver Wire Drawing
Gore
Gorget
Goscelin
Gower, John
Gown
Great Wardrobe
Gris
Guilds: London
Guilds: provincial towns
Haberdashers
Haberget
Habit
Hair Accessories post-1100
Hairnet
Harlots
Hat/Hatters
Hatters
Haubergeon
Hauberk
Headgear
Hearse-cloth
Heckle
Hemming
Hemp
Heraldry
Heroic Literature
Homespun (update 2016)
Hood
Horse Hair
Horse Trapper, Musée Cluny, Paris
Horse Trappings
Hose
Houppelande
Hourson
Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter
Hurers
Iconography and Symbolism on Textiles
Inscriptions on Textiles
Insignia
Jack
Jazerant
Jewellery
Johanna Beverlai Altar Frontlet
John Lydgate
John of Thanet
Jupon
Kendal
Kermes
Kerseys
Kingston upon Hull (update 2018)
Knitting and Related Non-Woven Structures
Laȝamon
Lambskin/Sheepskin
Lampas
Last
Latten
Laundry
Lawn
Laws and Prohibitions: cloth regulations
Laws and Prohibitions: ecclesiastical
Laws and Prohibitions: sumptuary
Leather
Leathersellers
Lebor na Cert
Legwrap
Leopard
Lettice
Liber Pontificalis
Linen
Linen production and trade (update 2016)
Liripipe
Liturgical Textiles ante-1100
Liturgical Textiles post-1100
Livery Collars (update 2016)
Livery: company
Livery: uniform
Llan-Gors Decorated Garment
London: archaeology
London: trade
London: Victoria and Albert Museum
Looms
Loomweights
Luttrell Psalter
Lye
Lynx
Lyric Poetry
Maaseik Textiles
Mabinogion
Maniple
Mantle
Markets and Fairs
Marten
Maternity and Nursing Garments
Mattress
Mediterranean Trade
Medlee
Mercers
Merchant Taylors
Metaphor
Military Dress
Milliners
Miniver
Mi-parti
Mirror
Misericords
Mistery and ‘Mystery Plays’
Mitre
Mittens
Monastic Dress
Monks
Monumental Brasses
Mordant
Multilingualism (update 2018)
Murrey (update 2018)
Nail
Nålebinding
Naming of Cloths
Naming of Garments in Old English
Narrow Wares
Necklace
Needle
Nettle
Norfolk Worsteds
Northampton Fair
Nuns, Convents and Monasteries: the monastic orders and their costumes
Officers of the Royal Household
Official Dress
Opus
Opus Anglicanum
Order of the Garter
Orkney Hood
Orkney: Late Medieval Dress (update 2016)
Orphrey
Otter
Padding
Painted and Stamped Cloth
Pall
Paltok
Pampillion
Parade and Tournament Sporting Clothing
Passementerie
Paston Letters
Patrons and Patronage
Pavilion
Pearls
Pelican
Pendant ante-1100
Pendant post-1100
Pers
Personal Names
Pew Ends
Pictish dress (update 2016)
Piece
Pienza Cope
Pilgrimage
Pillow
Pin
Pinners
Pisane
Place Names
Plate Armour
Plume
Plunket
Point
Pokes
Political Thought
Poots
Popel
Portraits
Pouch post-1100
Pouchmakers
Pourpoint
Powdering
Prayer Mats
Purple
Purse post-1100
Pursers
Purses and Pouches ante-1100
Quilting and Padding
Rath
Ray
Reconstruction
Recycling
Re-enactment
Relic of St. Lebuin
Relics of St. Cuthbert
Riddles
Rifeling
Rings
Rogart Shirt
Romance
Roof Bosses
Rosary
Rothwell Jack
Royal Brides (update 2016)
Royal Portraits
Royal Records as a Source for Textile and Clothing History (update 2021)
Royal Regalia ante-1100
Royal Regalia post-1100
Russet
Sabatons
Sable
Sack
Sacks
Saddles
Sails
Saints
Samite
Sarpler
Sarsenet
Satin
Say
Scabbard
Scarlet
Science and Technology (update 2021)
Scissors
Sculpture post-1100
Sculpture: evidence for dress ante-1100, Ireland, Isle of of Man and Scotland
Sculpture: evidence for dress, ante-1100, England
Sculpture: skeuomorphs of textile techniques, ante-1100, England
Seal Bag
Seals (for cloth) and Merchants’ Marks
Second Hand Clothing
Secular Dress: Anglo-Saxon
Secular Dress: Celtic Irish
Secular Dress: Celtic Welsh
Secular Dress: later Medieval
Secular Dress: Viking
Selvedge
Sendal
Sensuality and Sexuality
Serges
Sewing
Sewing: cutting and construction
Shearman’s Hook
Shearmen
Shears
Sheet
Ship Burial
Shirt
Shoes
Shopping
Shroud
Shuttle
Sign Language
Silk in the British Isles
Silk Road
Silk: sericulture
Silkwomen
Skinners
Sleeve
Slickstone
Slipper
Smock
Soap
Soft Furnishings and Textiles ante-1100
Soft Furnishings and Textiles post-1100
Southampton and the Later Medieval Textile Trade (update 2018)
Spindle Whorl
Spinning
Spinning Wheels
Spinsters
Sports
Spurs
Squirrel Fur
Squirrel Robe of Queen Philippa
Staple (update 2021)
St Bartholomew’s Fair (update 2016)
St Beesman (update 2018)
St. Boniface
St. Botolph’s Fair, Boston
St. Giles Fair, Winchester
St. Ives Fair
St. Thomas Becket: life and textile relics
Stamford Fair
Stitches: embroidered seams and line stitches
Stitches: filling stitches and other embroidery techniques
Stole
Stone
Stourbridge Fair
Straits/Dozens
Stranling
Stripes
Suffolk clothmaking (update 2018)
Surcote/Sucot(e)
Surviving Medieval Textiles of the British Isles
Syon Cope
Table Linen
Tablet-weave
Taffeta
Tailors
Tapestry
Tapicers
Tartarin
Tax
Tent Maker/Pavilioner
Tenter
Tenterhook
Tents ante-1100
Tents post-1100
Textile Armour
Textile Production in York
The English Wool Trade 1250–1330
The German Hanse in England (update 2016)
The Kingis Quair
The Pearl Poet
The Scottish Wool Trade 1250–1450
Thong
Thread (update 2021)
Thrums (update 2021)
Tinsel
Tippet
Tiretaine
Tissue
Tod
Tools post-1100
Tools: archaeological evidence ante-1100, England and Scotland
Tools: archaeological evidence ante-1100, Ireland
Torque
Tow (update 2021)
Towns and their Products
Trade and Craft Guilds, Scotland
Trade in Irish Cloth
Trade in Textiles, Arms and Armour, England 1250–1450
Trade in Welsh Cloth
Tuckers
Tunic
Turnshoe
Underwear: a historical overview
Urine
Vair
Vambrace at British Museum London
Vegetable Fibre
Veil
Velvet
Verge
Vesses (update 2016)
Vestments
Vestments: vestments of the Anglo-Saxon Church
Voider
Voluper
Wadmal
Wall Covering
Wall Paintings
Warp (update 2021)
Waterford
Weapons as Items of Dress
Weavers
Weaving
Weaving Batten
Web (update 2021)
Weft (update 2021)
Weights and Measures
Welsh Begging Poems
Westminster Abbey (update 2016)
Wey
Whitawyers
Wiliam Langland: Piers Plowman
Wills and Inventories ante-1100
Wills and Inventories post-1100
Wimple
Winder
Wire Drawing
Wiredrawers
Woad
Wood Carving
Woof (update 2021)
Wool Comb
Wool Merchants
Wool: processing
Wool: sheep
Wool: types
Woolbroggers
Woolfell (update 2021)
Woollens
Woolsack
Worsted
Wrappings
Yard
Yarn (update 2021)
Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles Online
in Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online
This single volume encyclopedia is a unique work that brings together hundreds of articles offering the latest research from across the range of disciplines which contribute to our knowledge of medieval dress and textiles.
Despite the long-standing interest in this subject, there has never been an in-depth and comprehensive treatment of the topic. This encyclopedia is an interdisciplinary reference work, introducing readers to various sources of evidence, providing clear information about recent discoveries and interpretations, and offering bibliographical guidance. The volume contains over 100 plates and diagrams to illustrate and explain the text.
The online version of the encyclopedia has been updated with new material in 2016, 2018, and 2021.
Also available as part of Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online and in print.
Features
• Examines the materials, techniques and styles of secular, ecclesiastical, and military dress, and the changes they underwent over a millennium, as well as considering the concept of fashion in the Middle Ages.
• Focuses on the British Isles, while also considering comparative material from other areas.
• Details surviving material examples and offers technical information on individual garments.
• Investigates techniques of manufacture, the people who produced the goods, and the equipment used – for instance, covering weights and measures, spinning, weaving, and different types of stitching.
• Examines material sources, both archaeological and artistic – such as manuscript illumination, stone and wood carving, brass engraving, and stained glass.
• Makes through use of written evidence, both literary and documentary – such as poetry, epic, riddles, wills, inventories, and wardrobe accounts.
• Broader subjects covered include cross-dressing; the use and significance of gemstones; horse equipment and textiles; religious morality and political philosophy relating to dress; the trade of textiles; and the use of medieval dress and textiles in the present day. See below for a full table of contents.
Despite the long-standing interest in this subject, there has never been an in-depth and comprehensive treatment of the topic. This encyclopedia is an interdisciplinary reference work, introducing readers to various sources of evidence, providing clear information about recent discoveries and interpretations, and offering bibliographical guidance. The volume contains over 100 plates and diagrams to illustrate and explain the text.
The online version of the encyclopedia has been updated with new material in 2016, 2018, and 2021.
Also available as part of Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online and in print.
Features
• Examines the materials, techniques and styles of secular, ecclesiastical, and military dress, and the changes they underwent over a millennium, as well as considering the concept of fashion in the Middle Ages.
• Focuses on the British Isles, while also considering comparative material from other areas.
• Details surviving material examples and offers technical information on individual garments.
• Investigates techniques of manufacture, the people who produced the goods, and the equipment used – for instance, covering weights and measures, spinning, weaving, and different types of stitching.
• Examines material sources, both archaeological and artistic – such as manuscript illumination, stone and wood carving, brass engraving, and stained glass.
• Makes through use of written evidence, both literary and documentary – such as poetry, epic, riddles, wills, inventories, and wardrobe accounts.
• Broader subjects covered include cross-dressing; the use and significance of gemstones; horse equipment and textiles; religious morality and political philosophy relating to dress; the trade of textiles; and the use of medieval dress and textiles in the present day. See below for a full table of contents.
Please contact our sales team for more information on prices and licensing.