Forensic Fashion
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>Costume Studies
>>793 Viking hersir
>>>costume
Subjecthersir sea raider
Culture: Scandinavian / Norse
Setting: Viking Age, northern Europe 8th-10thc
Object: costume





Hair

* Harrison/Embleton 1993 p
Viking men were vain about their appearance and bathed and changed their clothes regularly.  They were almost invariably bearded (the beard being looked upon as proof of masculinity), some Vikings wearing their beards forked, or plaited.  Hair might likewise be plaited, and was generally worn long enough at least to cover the neck, though it could be considerably longer -- that of Brodir of Man is supposed to have been so long that he tucked it into his belt in battle."


Tunic

* Sanmark/Sundman 2008 p92
"Rika män bar byxor av olika snit, allt från vida puffbyxor till mer kroppsnära modeler.  På Overkroppen bar de tunikor av linne eller ylle.  Tunikorna kunde ha dekorerade kantband och bars med bälten med stiliga spännen.  Som ytterplagg användes en tjock mantel som fästes med ett spänne."

* Nurmann/Schulze/Verhülsdonk 1997 p64
"The basic garment for both men and women in the early Middle Ages was the tunic, a simple shirt-shape cut straight and with added sleeves.  To give more width at the lower edge gussets might be incorporated, sometimes of a contrasting colour. ...
"The man's tunic reached the knee, and was worn over trousers.  Trousers seem to have been cut in various shapes: full-length, straight and loose; tighter-fitting in the manner of later medieval hose; knee-length, with separate, cross-gartered leggings below; and -- for the relatively wealthy, given the amount of material needed -- in the baggy Rus style.  These garments, made from woolen cloth and normally loose enough for easy movement, were often the only clothing a Viking owned apart from a simple woolen cloak, and a belt to which small possessions might be slung."

* Harrison/Embleton 1993 p45
"Representations of tunics from the first two centuries of the Viking Age show knee-length garments with full skirts gathered at the waist, usually by a belt.  There is little change until the later part of the period.  The neck of the tunic could be square or round, and was fastened by a drawstring, garment hook, or sometimes by a single bead used as a button. The sleeves were usually long, to the wrist or longer.  From the elbow to the cuff the sleeve was close-fitting but not tight enough to prevent wrinkles appearing when pushed back up the fore-arm.  A placket might be fitted around the neckhole or a length of tablet-woven braid.  Similar decoration might be found applied to the hem and cuffs.  Embroidery was an alternative to braid. Sections of materal of a contrasting colour could be inset to add width to the skirt of the tunic."

* Heath/McBride 1985 p50
"Tunics often had hems and panels of tablet-woven cloth, patterned in coloured silk and metal thread."


Footwear

* Harrison/Embleton 1993 p32
"Shoes and boots were constructed of leather or hide usually obtained from cattle but sometimes from seals or reindeer.  The ancient name for a hide shoe was Hriflingr.  The hersir might be expected to wear more elegant footwear of dressed skin like those found in Hungate and Coppergate in York.  Boots and shoes were made in a variety of styles.  They could be cut from a single piece of leather or made up from two sections stitched along a vamp -- a seam running along the upper towards the toe of the shoe.  Soles were usually made from separate pieces of leather."