Thanks.
Yes, I see y’all have a lot of fun. I don’t have much of a sense of humor myself, but I can see happening.
It seems to me that the two paragraphs describing actual conditions are chronological. He lists Medieval Baths, the Plague, the development of linen underclothing, the 18th century renewed interest in bathing, etc. So, I assume that the information in those two paragraphs was presented pretty much chronologically, Another undated passage, about people drenching themselves in perfumes sounds more like a Renaissance/Enlightenment things than a medieval thing, so that falls neatly into its chronological spot, too. (Frankly, my take on the Middle Ages was that they did stink, compared to us, but that was more because they didn’t have running water than because they weren’t interested in being clean. But this idea comes more from years of studying the Middle Ages than anything I can cite off the top of my head.)
Some basic sources mentioning linen underclothing would be:
Agnes Geijer, 1983.” The textile finds from Birka”, pp 80-99 in Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe; Essays in Memory of Prof. E.M. Carus-Wilson, ed. N.B. Harte and K.G. Ponting. Pasold studies in Textile History 2. London, Heinemann Educational Books/The Pasold Research Fund Ltd.
Inga Hägg, 1983, ”Viking women’s dress at Birka: A reconstruction by Archaeological methods”. Pp 316-350 in Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe: Essays in Memory of Prof. E.M. Carus-Wilson, ed. N.B. Harte and K.G. Ponting. Pasold studies in Textile History 2. London, Heinemann Educational Books/The Pasold Research Fund Ltd.
The above are cited in this article http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/dress/OSEBERG.HTM , which mentions that the Franks, too, use a linen chemise under the rest of their clothes.
Some other sources that mention linen underclothing are:
Dress in Anglo-Saxon England, by Gale R. Owen-Crocker and
Women’s costume in French texts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries by Eunice Rathbone Goddard
I could go on, but there are some starting sources, dating from the 10th century (900s) and earlier and down at least to the 12th century. I believe a linen layer on the skin was pretty standard in Western Europe from the 10th century (at least) until linen was replaced by cotton as the appropriate material for underclothing.
One of the most famous surviving linen undershirts from the Middle Ages is the Tunic of Saint Louis from the 13th century, which is analyzed here, with at least a few pictures: Another Look at St. Louis' Shirt
Spinster3
