The history of costume in religious ceremonies and as worn by religious figures, such as priests or shamans or other spiritual leaders, has shown interest in, if not relevance of, distinguishing religious leaders from the greater population and endowing him/her with a certain authority. By virtue of marking distinction, ceremonial costume not only makes others aware of a spiritual figure’s role but can be appreciated to confirm to the wearer his own mission and responsibility to his respective belief-system.
Examples of costume in religion are available from every culture. In the western religions, we are most familiar, perhaps, with the dress of the Jewish rabbi or the Catholic priest or Christian minister, as well as the Muslim imam. The history of Jewish religious dress is more extensive and references to specific garments worn by the Jewish High Priest are even found in the Book of Exodus. According to Rabbinical study, each garment worn by the priest was meant to atone for a particular sin committed by the Children of Israel. The symbolism of different attributes of the garments is rich and has lasted through the Rabbinical tradition of millenia. Similarly, the early Catholic Church defined the ceremonial costume that is retained by Catholic clergy today. 
When fashions began to change in Europe and the simple tunic evolved into more gender-defined garments, with alterations in hemline and waist definition, the clergy held on to the tunic-robe form and in this manner classified themselves apart from the general population. The sacred vestments of the church would evolve to show distinctions in color (green, white, red, violet, and occasionally gold) but over time would essentially remain integral as a tradition. During the period of the religious reforms and the particular religious fervor at the turn of the first millenium, marked by the Crusades and religious pilgrimages, monasticism redefined itself through the establishment of the new mendicant orders. These ascetic orders, such as the Dominicans and the Franciscans, took vows of poverty and relied on the charity of the general populace. They also distinguished themselves in their garments, both from other Church figures and from greater society. Franciscans wore rough brown wool robes with ropes as belts and Dominicans wore white and black robes. Interestingly, the mendicant orders and the institutional church figures both had the intention of catering to the spiritual interests of the population though they did so from very different vantage points, as is apparent through the costumes they inhabited.During the early medieval period men and women’s costumes were not greatly differentiated and it was not until the mid 1300’s that significant distinctions in clothing began to make their mark in the theater of the public sphere. What contributed significantly to the increasing distinctions in men’s and women’s garments was the evolution of certain types of armor made to better fit the man’s body.
Up until this transition in clothing, men and women to greater or lesser degree wore tunics that were not very far removed in style and function from the robes and tunics of the Roman period. (Roman Tunic) The simplicity of the Roman costume held sway in Europe with very few changes partly due to the socio-economic reality of the feudal system that was dominant in Western Europe as well as to the lack of developed trade and commercial routes that weren’t to flourish until the 13th century.
The typical suit of armor for the knight of the 13th century was a hauberk of chain mail. This was a top that reached to mid-thigh with sleeves and neck of linked chain metal and it followed the pattern of the typical woolen dress worn by men at the time. A gambeson, or quilted cotton garment, was worn beneath the hauberk for additional protection and in the 13th century it became customary for knight’s to wear a heraldic surcoat over both these layers. The change in this chain mail uniform towards a more fitted, plated body armor required a more closely adjusted undergarment: the doublet for the upper body, and the trunk hose, short padded breeches, for the lower body. These more tailored styles, necessary to make the protection of the plated armor more effective, were quickly translated into the daily costume of the medieval man.
Tags: armor, armour, Medieval Armor, medieval fashion, Medieval History, roman tunic, shaping
