medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Chris Laning <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>On Apr 14, 2008, at 11:30 AM, Frans van Liere wrote:
>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of
medieval religion and
>> culture
>>
>> I have an enlarged photograph of this in my office.
I showed it to
>> my wife and a few colleagues. The consensus is that
she is, indeed
>> sitting astride.
>> Must be a fancy dress with a split in the middle
...
>Not necessarily split; goodness knows there's enough
fabric in a 15th
>or 16th-century skirt that legs can remain decently
covered. What I'm
>told (by an accomplished scholar who is also an
accomplished
>horsewoman) is that even after Catherine de Medici,
women often >rode
>astride if they were, for instance, traveling long
distances or over
>rough ground. It's a far more secure seat, and
doesn't require
>holding the body in a twisted position as riding
sitting sideways to
>the horse does. (The early "sidesaddles" were a
simple platform with
>footrest, and the rider simply sat at a 90-degree
angle to the axis
>of the horse with both feet on the footboard.)
>
>Whether something was worn under the skirts to
protect the thighs
>from chafing is something that in most cases we
simply don't know.
>Clothing historians say that women's long drawers
were known in >Italy
>at this period, but we simply don't have a lot of
data on whether
>real women actually wore them anywhere else (most of
the so-called
>"evidence" is either satirical "who wears the pants
in the family"
>engravings or mythical women like Penthisilea, Queen
of the >Amazons).
There is a reference in the Abbe Brantome's "Lives of
Gallant Ladies" to this problem. He asked one of the
gallants in question how she managed on horseback when
the court went hunting, and was informed that she wore
breeches of soft leather under her skirts. This is a
C16 solution, but it must have been thought of earlier
by someone; the garment might not even have belonged
to the lady, but simply have been borrowed from a
suitable male relative.
Pat
___________________________________________________________
Yahoo! For Good helps you make a difference
http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|