What is Medieval?

You may know what a wimple or a coteharde is, but chances are some of your guests will not. The first thing you need to do is make sure your guests understand the lingo. Looking over this list may also help you decide on the exact time period / country you want to emulate or how far into fantasy you want to range. This definition of the medieval style is suitable for novice costumers and people like your great aunt Hortense or 2nd cousin Barney (twice removed).

Historical Data

Medieval (a.k.a. the Middle Ages) refers to European culture during the the 11th through 14th centuries (aproximately 1000 to 1500 A.D.). The clothing styles typically associated with this period usually come from France, Britain or Italy.

Fun & Fantasy

If you think to yourself "what does she mean by 'Medieval', does she think I'm some sort of historian or something?", just think of the Arthurian legends or the tales of Robin Hood. King Arthur, Maid Marrion, Camelot, Merlin, Friar Tuck, and all that. These tales have inspired many paintings, films and books with which you may be familiar. The divergence in visual style from pure historical fact in these works makes for festive and colorful costumes.

They've got the look...

Take a look at some of these sources for a more visual reference.

• The Court Jester (movie) - Starring Danny Kay and Angela Landsbury. Costumes are surprisingly accurate if you just ignore the glitzy fabrics and corsetry - but hey it's just a movie, and this is a party! Use whatever fabrics you want (just stay away from satin, it wrinkles).
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (movie) - It pains me to mention this "film" on a web page, but the costumes are of the right general style and are about the only good thing about the movie. Just about any version of Robin Hood will give you a good idea, even the Disney cartoon.
• The Princess Bride (movie) - The court garb of the male nobles is especially nice.
• Excalibur (movie) - Um, not quite. A little too barbaric, the shiney armor is nice though.
• Camelot (movie) - The musical - I haven't seen it, but I've got to assume it has the kind of stuff we're looking for.
• Pre-Raphaelites (paintings) - J.W. Waterhouse and the like. The Age of Chivalry is a common subject matter for this style and tends to be a bit "romanticised" which is a good thing.
• The Cantebury Tales (literature) - Illuminated editions of this book provide an authentic look at garb from the late middle ages.

Examples

Our sections on Ladies and Mens fashions can guide you further with illustrations and explanations of garments for the period.