A red early 14th century cotte
Made in 2004
The fashion from ca 1300 and a couple of decades forward is one of my favourite styles. This is much thanks to my friend Anna/Ingeborg, who got wildly enthusiastic about this style when she joined Nylöse five years ago. Her enthusiasm for this style, which I previously had thoutgh rather boring and unflattering for women with a large bust, was contagious (she proved me wrong on the bust issue too) and now early 14th century is the style I have most of, except 16th century (which I wasn't particularly interested in from the beginning either).
A good thing about this style is that there are a lot of readily accesible pictures. Most known is the Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift, also known as the Codex Manesse, but another good example is the Konstanz-Weingartner Liederhandschrift. Unfortunately the site that had the pictures is reconstructed and will probably not show them again. A few examples can however be seen here. There are also several other picture of this style which with some variations was popular throughout Europe from circa 1270-1330. Another good place to see this style is the Murthly Hours, a manuscript from ca 1280. It is interesting to note the differences in for example female headgear between this manuscript and the Codex Manesse.
The cotte is made from rose red thin wool tabby and wholly lined with charcoal grey thin wool tabby with a discrete checked pattern. The sleeves are buttoned from wrist to elbow with gold coloured buttons with a square of blue-green enamel in the center. A detail picture can be seen here, where also the trim, in blue, red and gold (brass thread), is easier to see. You can also see the results of my very much improved skill in making hand sewn button holes.
In the picture I'm wearing the cotte with a belt, it is just as common or even more common that it is worn unbelted. Here's a picture of how this looks. There you can also see the grey lining showing in the nursing slits at the side. Those slits are the main reason I wear this cotte with a belt, it keeps them closed. Otherwise I think it looks better without a belt. The nursing slits are placed in a seam to make it easier to sew them closed when I stop nursing. To give a seam in a suitable place the cotte is made the same way some of the Herjolfsnes tunics/cottes are made. They are maybe 50 years younger than the style I've made here, but it is not impossible that this way of cutting was used earlier too. Anotehr way to get the necessary side-front seams (they are actually just 7 cm from just under the arm, but it makes a difference) is the cut seen in the gowns of St. Elizabeth of Thüringen and St. Clara of Assisi, both from the first half of the 13th century. I will probably use this cut for my next cotte.
On my head I'm wearing a fillet with a "wavy" edge. Whether the many examples of fillets with this kind of edge is the artists' way of showing pleating or actually shows a wavy upper edge is under debate. I however think that it is unlikely that so many artists, who have no problems showing pleats on for example sleeveheads on gardecorps should be unable to draw them on women's headwear. I do not say thet pleated fillets do not exist,there are many clear examples of that, exspecially in sculpture, but I think that there were several different ways to decorate a fillet, pleated, with a wavy or scalloped edge, edged with a braid etc. (all in white though). This fillet is based on St. Anna on this altar frontal from Odda in Norway, seen below.
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I plan to wear this cotte both on it's own and with my favourite blue sleevelss surcoat. Pictures of the latter will be added as soon as I have them.