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Dame Catriona
Mairghread nic Dhuibh of Moray
The study of middle and lower class garments is something that
must be approached a little differently from our usual study of
court garb. Because the middle and lower classes did not change
their clothing style as quickly as did the nobility, it is often
difficult to tell the dating of a style based on its silhouette.
The lower classes were not usually painted or drawn in the formal
portrait genre. That is, a person of the middle or lower class was
unlikely to be found sitting for a portrait in order to immortalize
himself or herself for posterity. Yes, artists painted and drew
their relatives as a source of practice subjects. They were also
known to draw upon the lower classes as pictorial examples for admiration
or caricature. However, true portraiture was the bailiwick of the
nobility. These people wanted to be remembered by history because
of their own personal accomplishments or because of family ties.
They spent money to be remembered. This was not an accident. It
was a conceit of the class of which they belonged.
Where we find a surprising presence of the lower classes is in
the engravings of the period and in the new "still life"
genre. And it is in the middle class that such historical re-enactment
sites as Williamsburg (Virginia) and Plymouth (Massachusetts) devote
such care to reconstruct. It is from such sources that one can extrapolate
information regarding middle and lower class life.
The study of garb begins with the nobility. If you see and understand
what was worn by the noble class, then you realize that the clothing
of the lower classes was ultimately a simpler and less sophisticated
continuation of the same styles. The clothing of the Middle and
Lower classes "aped their betters". For example you will
find a ruff or a falling band on a chemise (smock) of the under
classes. However it took longer for the trickle-down effect of fashion
to arrive and once it was established, it took much longer for the
style to change. Also fashion changed slowly for people as they
got older. The style you find on a person of twenty years old differs
greatly from that of the fashions of a fifty year old.
Sumptuary laws attempted to restrict the styles of fashion with
varying degrees of success. The lower class could not obtain certain
items, such as lace, silver and gold trim or cloth of gold, simply
because of the excessive cost. However, to a wealthy merchant with
money to spend, clothing was often the source of stiff penalties
in the form of fines. The result: the Crown's coffers were enriched
when the fine was paid. But the merchant class continued to wear
their rich clothing, despite the outrage of the nobility and the
condemnations from the pulpit. And the merchant class was satisfied
with the arrangement because, despite the cost of the fine, the
fine clothes that they wore allowed them to look prosperous, successful
and noteworthy. It also allowed the merchant class to, visually
if not actually, reach beyond their station.
We must remember that the late 16th and early 17th Centuries were
tumultuous times in England. Though it was not a time of war, there
were political pressures abounding. The waning years of Elizabeth's
reign exacerbated the debate and fears fueled by her lack of a successor.
The selection of James VI of Scotland may seem to be a logical choice
to us 400 years in retrospect. But at the time there was much opposition
from the populace to a "foreign" King ruling England.
Not since the unfortunate days of Queen Mary I had a foreigner been
titled King of England. Philip I of Spain, despite his desires to
the contrary, had little personal power under the agreement that
forged the marriage between Catholic Mary and himself. After her
death, five years into the marriage, he lost all power he had ever
had over England. This reverted entirely to Mary's half sister Elizabeth.
So, England, by the time of Elizabeth's death in 1603, had been
ruled by an Englishwoman for the entirety of most peoples' lives.
It struck fear into the hearts of many that a Scot, despite his
clear english lineage, would come to be called King.
James knew of these feelings. His personal wardrobe included heavily
padded doublets that protected him from assassination attempts.
His progress from Scotland to England to take possession of the
Throne brought a gleam to his eyes when he saw the peaceful, prosperous
land that had been Elizabeth's legacy to him. since he had been
raised to think of himself as an absolute monarch (a Stuart failing),
he saw and perceived it to be "all his". During this time, actually a holdover from the later dark days
of Henry VIII, Elizabeth's father, the political climate became
uncomfortable for those who disagreed with the Royal Opinion - especially
in matters of religion. We in the 20th Century really cannot conceive
of the important place that religion held in the minds and hearts
of the people in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Religion started
their lives, from the day that they were baptized, and religion
ended their lives, when they received Last Rites and wer buried
under the rites of the Church. The names of the religions might
have changed and the ceremonies altered, but the importance of religion
in the daily lives of the Englishman never faded. It was during
this period of time that the concept of a "personal religion"
came to the forefront. We of this century have filled our lives
with a new philosophy, that of humanism. It was this humanism that
began to take shape in the late 16th Century - contemporaneous with
the eras of Henry, Elizabeth and later Charles, James' son and heir. But what does religion and politics have to do with the clothing,
you might ask? Everything, is my response. A man or woman, of whatever
status or class, was immediately identified and categorized by what
he or she wore. The simple elegance of the Puritan was as much a
statement as the lace-encrusted foppishness of the Cavalier courtier.
Their philosophies and their politics and their personal weath were
reflected in their clothing. Truly clothes made the man!
And so, with this brief overview, we turn to look at the clothing
of the middle and lower classes in England in the late 16th and
early 17th centuries.
Burgers, Jacqueline: Wenceslaus Hollar: Seventeenth Century
Prints from the Museum Boymans-Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Alexandria:
Art Services International, 1994. Jones, Jeanne: Family Life in Shakespeare's England:
Stratford- upon Avon 1570 - 1630. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing,
1996. Hibbert, Christopher: Charles I. New York: Harper
and Row, 1968. McLeod, Kirsty: Drums and Trumpets: The House of Stuart.
London: Andre Deutsch Ltd., 1977. Schneider, Norbert: Still Life. Loln: Taschen, 1994. Sim, Alison: The Tudor Housewife. Montreal: McGill-Queen's
University Press, 1996. Walters, Kate: Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life
of a Pilgrim Boy. New York: Scholastic Publishers 1993. Walters, Kate: Sara Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of
a Pilgrim Girl. New York: Scholastic Publishers, 1989. Watson, D.R.: The Life and Times of Charles I. London:
Book Club Associates, 1972.
[Monica E. Spence]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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