The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century (64 page)
Authors: Ian Mortimer
Tags: #General, #Europe, #Great Britain, #History, #bought-and-paid-for, #Medieval, #A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Cathedral,
270
province of,
44
St. Mary’s,
296
Yorkshire,
85
,
86
,
218
,
225
,
228
,
274
,
297
youthfulness,
37
–38
zodiac man,
214
Zouche, Ivo, Ralph and Roger,
241
Zouche, William,
45
The Wheel of Fortune is a common metaphor in medieval England. Fortune herself turns a great wheel on which kings, clergymen, burghers, and peasants all fi nd themselves lifted up to great heights only to fall soon after their moment of glory.
Knowledge of the world beyond Christendom is very vague. This early-fi fteenth-century image shows Alexander the Great receiving a present of white elephants.
All women of quality have long hair; but they are expected to conceal it in public, not to have it wantonly fl owing loose. Here a maidservant is plaiting her mistress’s hair into two long plaits, and winding each plait into a ramshorn hairstyle.
Married women, when in public, are expected to wear a wimple. This garment covers the hair, sides of the head, neck, and chin.
Most women are expected to work hard, and not just within the home. At harvesttime they labor alongside their menfolk, to bring in the lord’s harvest as well as their own.
Women married to violent men have tough lives. As long as he does not actually kill or maim her, it is lawful for a man to beat his wife as often and as hard as he likes.
On the other hand, the law is biased so heavily in favor of men that it does not recognize that a woman can beat her husband. Thus she can do so with legal impunity.
Women of rank like to hunt, but moral codes still apply. This lady might look carefree, but her hair is carefully dressed in a ramshorn style and her arms are not actually bare: she is wearing a pale, long-sleeved tunic.
Noblemen’s clothing in the early fourteenth century. Note the long, fl owing robes, the loose sleeves, and the sensible footwear.
Noblemen’s clothing in the late fourteenth century. By 1395 there is great variation in men’s dress. Note the very short tunic with tight hose and long, pointed shoes. Men’s clothing changes more in this century than in any other.
Noblewomen’s clothing in the early fourteenth century. The queen wears a red undertunic, a grey supertunic, and a long cloak or mantle. Like men’s attire of this date, it is loose and simply hangs from the shoulders.
