Body linens - braies, shirts & smocks Body linens were regarded as a different kind of clothing from the garments made by tailors. It was the quality and cleanliness of the linen which set the rich apart from the poor. Its function differed somewhat from modern underwear and it was often quite visible. Dyed wools and tailored clothes could not be washed, so the layer of linen formed a barrier protecting not only the body from the clothes, but also the clothes from the body. Unlike wool, linen washes without shrinking and even improves with washing. This, combined with its smooth surface and great absorbency, made it ideal for the purpose. The main linen items were the shirt and braies (breeches, drawers) for men, and the smock (shift, chemise) for women. In addition there were many uses for plain hemmed squares and rectangles of all sizes, known collectively as 'kerchiefs', and head covering was their commonest use (see Head-wear). There was also the hand-kerchief, said to have been introduced by Richard II to discourage his courtiers from blowing their noses on their sleeves, and the breast-kerchief, which was worn by men in the 15th century, tucked down the front of the doublet to protect the high collar or to fill in the cut-away front. Women very often wore a long kerchief tucked inside the neck of the kirtle or gown, with the centre pinned at the back of the neck and the two ends drawn forward. This and the breast-kerchief would be of the finest linen the wearer could afford, and were intended to be seen.
The simplest form of body linen was the 'clout', an item of hygiene rather than dress, often made of a patterned weave with extra threads for greater absorbency. When pinned round the baby's bottom it was known as a tail-clout.
Making and laundering Body linens remained simple in shape throughout the period. They were made economically, with the seamstress working to the width of the linen, rather than the shape of the wearer. Her main concern would be to make the seams flat, so they were comfortable in wear, and durable to withstand repeated washing. Medieval laundry methods are not well-recorded, but every town had its laundresses and linens were re-bleached by spreading them out in the sun.
Materials The word 'linen' is used throughout, though the medieval seamstress would often have used hemp canvas and you may well be using cotton. Linen and hemp were both spun and woven in a wide range of weights and qualities: the finer the spinning, the more expensive the fabric. The coarser grades were used unbleached in their natural brown or greyish colour, which became paler with repeated washing and exposure to the sun. Fine linens were bleached white. Body linens were usually undyed although some 14th century peasants are shown in blue shirts, probably dyed with woad. This may have been preferred to unbleached linen by men who couldn't afford the bleached quality.
1. c.1250, French Thresher wearing a loose breech clout, wrapped round a waist cord, one leg tied up to a hose-string. Coif on head. (Maciekowski Bible, Pierpoint Morgan Library, New York, MS 638, f.12v).
1
Long-legged braies
2
67
Short braies
3