What were tights called in medieval times?

Such tights were called “hose” and were a staple in a man's wardrobe. European men used to wear them throughout the Middle Ages while riding horses. Tights are a kind of fabric garment that usually covers the body from the waist to the tips of the fingers with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolutely opaque, opaque, transparent and mesh styles, or in a combination, like the original concept of the American term pantyhose with transparent legs and opaque panties.

One of the most sought after medieval garments were tights or tights that covered the legs of men and boys. These were known as “chausses”, often “haut de chausse”. This was the French term for hose. France was, of course, a very influential country in fashion during medieval times.

These stockings are clearly shown in countless medieval paintings, often dyed in bright colors. This is the main source of information because few old copies of these tights and the “braids” that accompany them are preserved. Medieval tights were worn with 'braies', a kind of briefs. The braies were used to suspend the chausses.

The chausses were fastened by attaching them to the embers, often with a cord or ribbon that was tied to a belt that passed through a fabric channel in the waist of the braies. Both men and boys wore trousses and chausses. They would have been aristocrats and men from growing cities who lived in comfortable circumstances. Braies were commonly made of linen, while chausses were usually made of wool.

Cotton was not cultivated in Europe at that time. It could be imported from Arabs, but it was a very expensive fabric. These were known as chausses, often haut de chausse. Some say that tights were first worn by men in medieval times as a way to keep warm.

Others say that tights were a more comfortable alternative to the heavy, tight pants of the time. Whatever the reason, tights became increasingly popular among men from all social classes in the 17th century. In the early 18th century, tights were an essential element of men's fashion. The underwear shown here is modern, not medieval, but the length of the stockings and the means of fastening are authentic from the time.

For most of the medieval period, and after the hose went up too high for garters, 26% of pins, one point was enough. After models like Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton wore their miniatures and tights, young shoppers flooded department stores with their own styles. We have some examples of burials in swamps, unevenly preserved (although perhaps distorted) by centuries of peat pickling, and some examples (usually more damaged) of viscera landfills and other places, as documented in Textiles & Clothing. Most early images make it impossible to determine if medieval men wore stockings or stockings.

It is the only supposedly medieval pattern of pants that I know of in which the foot is not composed of multiple seams, which drastically wastes the fabric when placed and, therefore, is instantly suspicious. Medieval costume in England and France, the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries (Dover Publications, NY, 1996; first publication). Marc Carlson points out, on his websites on tree underwear with 26%, that medieval trees (below) always seem to be snug below the tips of the hips, in the slight space created between the tips of the hips and the swelling of the thigh muscle. Those condemned in hell are often portrayed naked (naked, helpless and deprived of dignity) or with the excessively rich and vain clothes for which they were condemned (exemplifying the mortal sin of Vanitas).

For horseback riding, tights in some equestrian circles may refer to tight riding pants made of lightweight material that extend to the rider's ankle and that are worn with a “paddock” style boot (ankle height). John, 32, has been wearing stockings for more than four years and recommends wearing them to maintain comfort and warmth. In order not to be ridiculed and insulted, there are many men who wear more than people know they wear under their pants so as not to be embarrassed by the public, Kim. By 1540, the complete men's hose style was divided into two or three different sections along the leg, called butts.

The wonderful people of Gaukeler's Medieval Wares warned me of the discovery in the tomb of the Battle of Wisby, where masses of soldiers in their full armor were buried immediately after the battle out of fear of the plague. .