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Saya of Leonora de Castille
This is an interesting and controversial dress. First of all, it is
asymmetric. On the left flank, leather strips (not lacing!) are sewn
into the opening of the garment, so that the undergown is
visible. Their function is unknown: they certainly were not used to
enter the garment, and our best guess is that they were simply
decorative. Secondly, the proportions of this dress are somewhat
strange. The circumference of breast and waist are both less than 80
cm, as would be for an extremely thin person. On the other hand, the
circumference of hips is 92 cm (normal), and the length of the garment
is 197 cm (giant!). According to other garments that belonged to her,
Leonora was probably a thin woman, and a bit tall too, around 165-170
cm. Still, this does not explain the extreme narrowness of the top
part of the dress, nor the extreme length of the skirt.
Based on: Some Clothing of the Middle Ages -
Tunics - Leonora de Castille's Dress; I. Marc
Carlson; 1996 a fotografií Musea de Telas Medievales |
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