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What to Wear in Medieval Ireland Whether you are celebrating Irish culture or just trying to keep yourself from getting pinched, come this St. Patrick's Day, you might find yourself wearing something green. But green wasn't always the color most associated with the Irish. In fact, it was as late as the 1700s that Ireland was first referred to as the Emerald Isle, and it wasn't until the 1800s that green became more prevalent. The color historically favored by the Irish people was actually yellow, at least until it was banned by Henry VIII! In this newsletter, we'll walk through the most typical garments of early Irish clothing, as well attempts made to ban these unique fashions. |
Start Your Outfit with the Leine
Medieval Irish clothing had a distinctive look that stood out to outsiders, and while the saffron yellow color was certainly part of that look, other aspects contributed to their fashion, sometimes called "barbarian" by Romans or the English. The wardrobe staple of most Irish people was called a leine. Ranging between tunic and shirt, the leine changed much throughout time, starting out as long sleeved, ankle-length tunics. Later, the leine gained its more iconic look of long, draping bell sleeves, a generally shorter length, and an impressive level of pleats. They were cinched and bloused with belts at the waist. Women wore leines that were similar but longer and used as chemises instead of as outer garments. Leine could technically come in a variety of colors, but yellow was the predominant favorite. |
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Layer Your Look
Medieval clothing was all about layering, so what would people wear with the leine? Both genders wore short jackets on top of that, their sleeves short or open so the longer, draping sleeves of the leine were still on show. They would also wear cloaks called brata. The number of colors a brata had signified your wealth, with slaves limited to just one color, freemen allowed four, and kings permitted as many colors as they wanted. Early wearers of the leine did not wear pants with the longer tunic, but the shorter version that came later was worn with pants. To complete the look of a typical medieval Irish person, be sure to forget the shoes. While shoes must have been worn when necessary, most surviving depictions of the medieval Irish show them barefoot. |
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The Saffron Panic of Henry VIII
But why were leine banned by Henry VIII? It wasn't necessarily the style that he so hated, nor the color itself, but the way the yellow leine was created. First of all, the garment was heavily pleated, which meant it used a lot of fabric to make. This wouldn't have been too big of an issue, except that the yellow color came from saffron, derived from the crocus flower. Incredibly costly to create, it took a lot of the flower to make just a little bit of dye. And with the Irish using so much saffron to dye their clothes, Henry VIII was afraid he wouldn't have enough of the spice to garnish his dinner table. Henry first tried to prohibit the use of saffron in clothing in 1536. To no avail, he then tried to simply limit its use in 1537 but setting parameters for how much fabric could be used to make a leine. But nothing could stop the Irish people from wearing what they wanted, as evidenced by even later attempts at jurisdiction and surviving sales records. The people of Ireland did not stop wearing what Henry VIII called the "saffron shirt" until it finally fell out of fashion in the 1600s. |
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While It Might Not Keep the Leprechauns Away...
So while the color green is nearly synonymous with Ireland and all things Irish these days, history remembers a time when that was not so. If green just isn't your thing, try wearing yellow this St. Patrick's Day! No guarantee that you won't get pinched, but you can take pride in the knowledge that you're rocking Irish style that predates the modern surge of St. Patrick's Day popularity. |
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