Dear Kathryn:
I do not claim expert status on this important topic. Oriens will no
doubt have a good deal of information to offer on it. But I can tell you
that when St Thomas's body was being prepared for burial, it is recorded,
the monks discovered he was wearing drawers made of haircloth which,
to make matters worse, were completely worm-infested. This extreme
mortification of his body by Thomas was taken, naturally, as a sign of his
extraordinary sanctity. So, yes, very much in the vein of a hair-shirt.
Cheers,
Martin Howley
On Thu, 27 Jul 2000, Kwildgen wrote:
> Dear Oriens & Martin,
>
> What are hair-underpants? Is this in the vein of hair-shirt? Or do you mean
> hair and underpants? I'm not really up to speed on medieval underwear.
> Thanks,
> Kwildchild
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