Cunnan - User contributions [en]

12th Century

2004-03-18T05:50:53Z

4.12.175.251:

== Events ==
* Song dynasty loses power over Northern China
* First, Second, and Third [[Crusade]]s of western European kingdoms against Islam
* [[Pope Adrian IV]] granted overlordship of [[Ireland]] to [[Henry II]] of [[England]].
* Suger rebuilds the abbey [[church]] at [[St Denis]] north of [[Paris]], regarded as first [[Gothic]] building
* [[Portugal]] declares independence from the kingdom of [[Leon]] and [[Castille]] in 1139

== Significant people ==
* [[Peter Abelard]], one of the first scholastic [[philosopher]]s
* [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], French abbot influential in church politics
* [[Hugh of St. Victor]], French scholar
* [[Richard of St. Victor]], theologian
* [[Alfonso I Henriques]], first [[King]] of [[Portugal]]

== Artwork ==
European art: transitional period from [[Romanesque]] to [[Gothic]].

== Clothing ==
T-tunic styles continue esentially unchanged from the [[11th century]] (often a little tighter fitting across the chest), as clothing for the common man or woman, and the lord or lady when working, or less fashionable.
Court styles see the introduction of the bliaut for both sexes, a tightly fitted garment, often cut with silly dangly long sleeves.
see: [[12th century garb]]

External [[Garb]] Links
* Some Clothing of the Middle Ages - http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockhome.html
*12th century Garb mailing list (also diverges to acessories, jewellry and occasionally daily life in the 12th C)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12thcenturygarb/
*Instructions on how to make a (current best guess) highly authentic bliaut
http://bliautlady.50megs.com/

== Material Culture ==
Objects (eg silk) and ideas are being brought back from the crusades to western europe, resulting in a faster transition of ideas (eg clothing fashions) and sudden new fashionable objects.

''See also:''
* [[11th Century]]
* [[13th Century]]
* [[Period]]

19th century

2004-03-15T20:52:34Z

4.12.175.251:

The '''nineteenth century''' saw a great rise in interest in history, which was probably a Good Thing but, on the other hand, it also saw a lot of slipshod, nationally-biased work where authors either fabricated evidence, or were very careful with what they selected.

Nineteenth century [[historian]]s were very big on ideas like the March of History towards Progress, and thus tended to promulgate ideas like the [[Renaissance]].

Nineteenth century craftspeople and artists were also very fond of the romantic ideals of the middle ages, and produced many well-known artworks that are widely believed, by the uninformed, to be from the middle ages. The Pre-Raphaelites and the later Craftsman movement both drew inspiration from medieval and renaissance sources.

An example of an artwork of this type, and why it's a bad source for our purposes, is discussed here:
http://jauncourt.i8.com/accolade.htm

== Using 19th Century sources in the SCA ==
Generally, if something is a nineteenth century work, don't use it unless
# You really know what you are doing, or
# It's a nineteenth century reprint of a historical document.

While it is not unknown for historical documents to have been fabricated in the 19th Century, you are more likely to be on solid ground if you use 19th Century document collections (eg the Historical Manuscripts Commission collections) than if you use nineteenth century interpretations (eg [[Burckhardt]]).

A similar principle applies to using 19th Century copies of [[medieval]] [[art]]works. The general outline of the picture is usually copied correctly, but the smaller details often have errors which may be misleading (e.g. giving the idea of [[corset]]s under [[bliaut]]s). Ninteenth century copies can give you an idea of whether you might want to look for an original (if it still exists), but often less effort and misconceptions are involved in looking up an original copy in the first place. Many internet sites redistribute 19th century copies of [[illumination]]s (without warning about potential errors), because unlike modern accurate copies, 19th Century copies are out of [[copyright]].

Bliaut

2004-03-15T03:27:42Z

4.12.175.251:

Conventional usage of this word in the sca refers to a garment known from the 12th century (actually possibly dating back to about 1060, and forwards to about 1210 in remote areas). This garment differs from the [[t-tunic]] that preceeds and accompanies it in several ways. It appears to have been a court garment, ie used on special occasions by those who could afford special garments used on days when not doing any physical labour.
The body section of the garment (hips to underarms) was much tighter than the normal t-tunic, for the most fashionable kinds of bliauts, the sides of the garment were laced up with spiral lacing, to get a tighter fit. Women wore a bliaut with moderately full ankle length or lower shirts. Men wore garments that came to just above the ankle, but had less fabric in the skirt and were slit up the side to nearly the hip to allow free movement. A wide range of sleeve types were worn with this dress, from tightly fitting sleeves, to sleeves that flare out into a dangling cascade from anywhere between the elbow and wrist. Such sleeves might be knotted if especially long.
Women tended on average to have longer sleeves than the knights and princes depicted in this type of clothing.
A large variety of sub-styles existed within this broad definition, depending upon country, exact time period, rank and personal preference.

== Finding more Information ==
You will be able to find plenty of medieval pictures of this kind of garment if you look for books under the topic romanesque art, but there are no excellent books on how to construct this kind of garment. Many costume books are based on the victorian idea of this kind of garment and are of dubious value at best, downright confusing and wrong at worst (even some which are great for other periods).

== Meanings of the word bliaut ==
The word bliaut can be used to refer to many things:
*It can refer to this broad style of clothing, as above
*It can refer to a specific french sub-style of this clothing, as depicted in the statuary at Chartres cathedral
*In Medieval french texts the word is possibly used to describe all outer garments (tunics, dresses, not cloaks), despite whatever style they are cut in. This usage appears to last until the 14th century.

== External Links ==
Excellent sites on how to construct such a garment can be found at:
*http://bliautlady.50megs.com
The other site previously listed has been updated and moved to the URL above.

And an email group for this kind of garment can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12thcenturygarb

Bliaut

2004-03-05T01:28:38Z

4.12.175.251:

Conventional usage of this word in the sca refers to a garment known from the 12th century (actually possibly dating back to about 1060, and forwards to about 1210 in remote areas). This garment differs from the [[t-tunic]] that preceeds and accompanies it in several ways. It appears to have been a court garment, ie used on special occasions by those who could afford special garments used on days when not doing any physical labour.
The body section of the garment (hips to underarms) was much tighter than the normal t-tunic, for the most fashionable kinds of bliauts, the sides of the garment were laced up with spiral lacing, to get a tighter fit. Women wore a bliaut with moderately full ankle length or lower shirts. Men wore garments that came to just above the ankle, but had less fabric in the skirt and were slit up the side to nearly the hip to allow free movement. A wide range of sleeve types were worn with this dress, from tightly fitting sleeves, to sleeves that flare out into a dangling cascade from anywhere between the elbow and wrist. Such sleeves might be knotted if especially long.
Women tended on average to have longer sleeves than the knights and princes depicted in this type of clothing.
A large variety of sub-styles existed within this broad definition, depending upon country, exact time period, rank and personal preference.

An excellent site on how to construct such a garment is at:
http://bliautlady.50megs.com
An email group for this kind of garments is at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12thcenturygarb

You will be able to find plenty of medieval pictures of this kind of garment if you look for books under the topic romanesque art, but there are no excellent books on how to construct this kind of garment. Many costume books are based on the victorian idea of this kind of garment and are of dubious value at best, downright confusing and wrong at worst (even some which are great for other periods).

The word bliaut can be used to refer to many things:
*It can refer to this broad style of clothing, as above
*It can refer to a specific french sub-style of this clothing, as depicted in the statuary at Chartres cathedral
*In Medieval french texts the word is possibly used to describe all outer garments (tunics, dresses, not cloaks), despite whatever style they are cut in. This usage appears to last until the 14th century.