Medieval Clothing
What people wore in medieval times: peasant clothes (wool, linen) vs noble clothes (silk, fur, bright colours); no zippers or buttons; how clothes showed your place in society
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe what a medieval peasant would typically wear
- Explain how noble clothing was different from peasant clothing
- Give one way that what you wore showed your place in society
The lesson
Peasants wore simple clothes. They used wool and linen. Wool comes from sheep, and linen comes from a plant called flax. If you touched their clothes, they would feel rough and plain.
Tom is a peasant boy. He puts on a wool tunic. It is brown and scratchy. He has no buttons, just a belt. The belt holds his tunic closed.
Nobles wore fancy clothes. They used silk and soft fur. Silk cost a lot because it came from far away. If you saw bright red or purple, you knew someone was rich.
Lady Anne is a noble girl. She wears a silk gown. It is bright purple with soft fur trim. Purple dye was very costly to make. Only rich people could wear it.
Medieval clothes had no zippers. Buttons were new and cost a lot, so most people used laces, pins, and belts instead. You could look at someone's clothes. Then you could tell if they were rich or poor.
Peasants wore plain wool and linen. Nobles wore bright silk and soft fur.
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