All posts tagged: 1300s

Rate the Dress: Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, retrospectively

Published by The Dreamstress

There were some very mixed feelings about last week’s rose-garlanded frock, with some of you coming back multiple times to change your ratings.  Alas, you’re going to have to wait a day to find out what the final tally was, as I’m desperately trying to get some work done before a deadline. UPDATE: and the fringed and embroidered and laced 1850s frock came in at….(drumroll here)….5.7 out of 10.  Ouch. Today’s Rate the Dress heroine was quite the character.  Through wit, determination, and a bit of luck, Margaret of Gorizia managed to succeed her father as Countess of Tyrol in her own right, independently divorce the rat of a husband she was married to at 12 (an act which resulted in her excommunication from the Catholic church, 175+ years before Henry VIII did the same thing, for (in my opinion) much worse reasons), withstand the resulting Europe-wide scandal, and a number of challenges to her throne. As a result of her divorce, the Catholic church bestowed a nickname on Margaret that means, in its nicest …

Tell me about the early 14th century

Published by The Dreamstress

If you read my blog a lot you may realise that the areas between the 5th and 17th centuries are basically a costuming black hole for me.  I’ve done barely any work in that period, and a correspondingly brief amount of research. I know about textiles from the ‘Dark Ages’ and Medieval period, but my knowledge of the clothing is pretty basic. But now I have a reason to tackle the Middle Ages – specifically the early 14th century in England.  Think 1310-1330.  (Sorry, can’t tell you what the reason is yet). I do know that sometimes the trick to knowledge is not actually knowing the stuff, but knowing where to find the information.  I have a lot of leads, but I also know that there are a lot more out there. So, dear readers, who among you does late 13th and early 14th century costuming?  What are your favourite resources for that period?  Expand my knowledge! Update:  I’m mostly interested in men’s clothes – commoners, lower grades of knights, jesters, mercenaries, and maybe a …