Medieval Belts: History and Guide
Vložit
- čas přidán 31. 03. 2023
- A very brief look at the history of Medieval Belts and then a guide on how you can achieve the same look for very cheap.
Article on Belt History:
sagy.vikingove.cz/en/the-leng...
Help Support me on Patreon!
/ livinganachronism
Join the Discord: / discord
Instagram: / livinganachronismofficial
Like my Medieval Clothes? Use code "LA10" to get 10% off at burgschneider.us/
Check out Mythology Candles: mythologiecandles.com/kL9hZIT...
*Links provided may be affiliate, I get a small commission if you use one of them, which helps support me, and the channel, at no additional cost to you!
-----
Special thank you to Gabriel Lefkowitz from Green Forge Studio for providing all of his awesome Tavern Music.
Check him out here! / greenforgestudio
www.greenforgestudio.com/
-"Nowhere Land, "Now We Feast", "Grundar", "Mjonir", "Enchanted Forest", "Heartbeat" by Alexander Nakarada | www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/... - Zábava
A lot of the evidance for longer belts that I've seen comes from the stone tomb effigys of knights , so its probably that old favourite of medieval society, "conspicuous wealth".
It also works for anyone who would be in combat or similar, add your protection and padding, and the belts would, likely, end up a lot "shorter" there. Especially the belt that would have your stuff on it there.
Knights also might need the longer end as an additional contact point to keep a longsword from flapping around. Tod Cutler has a video on that topic
As a reenactor, I can offer - at least in our case - a simple explanation to longer belts: our group tends to borrow from each other materials whenever necessary, so when buying or making we account extra lenght (or width, for clothing) to acomodate all shapes and sizes. Transporting it to medieval period, I can perfectly imagine a belt made longer to a pot bellied father and then passing to a more leaner son, as inheritance (the more embellishments it has, the more valuable, and for the poor the mere fact it's made of leather would make it valuable).
A reason for a long belt that you didn't touch on is if you're using the same belt for carrying a sword scabbard and also for a normal belt without a scabbard the belt has to be much longer to accommodate the wraps to secure the scabbard.
I'd read somewhere once that long belts were for rich people to show off how much they could afford to spend on something as superfluous as extra belt length. I can absolutely see the common man not even wanting a long belt getting in the way of work.
Technically, it would make sense for women belts to be longer, because they might fluctuate a lot more due to pregnancy etc. This is also seen in other cultures' traditional clothing, e.g. Japan's kimono, where women garments were designed to be much more adjustable. Whether this is historically true for belts or not, remains to be researched though.
Pregnancy etcetera or just pregnancy?
@@pyotrilyichtchaikovsky3733women's weight and size can fluctuate throughout the month due to hormonal changes during her cycle or bloating during menstruation in addition to weight/size changes associated with pregnancy.
@@pyotrilyichtchaikovsky3733 ect because our weight can also fluctuate during our monthly cycle due to bloating. Some women bloat quite a bit and have a whole other set of pants just for that time of the month
@@pyotrilyichtchaikovsky3733 I'll have to assume that you're a man and don't know this, but women can also fluctuate due to things like bloating and water retention due to hormone changes and menstruation. I assume these kinds of things are under the 'etc'
@@RJE95I know that this might sound argumentative, but i am truly curious, would that be bloating to the extent of being pregnant like and requiring inches more of belt? Because as a man, i am also sometimes bloated and perhaps need half an inch to an inch max on bad days. That isnt near close to pregnancy levels. And pregnancy is a rare enough event where i wouldnt base my whole wardrobe around its potential.
As far as belt length being excess material, consider nobility, hypothetically at least, maybe you're showing off, similar to incredibly long sleeves or long pointy boots, just an idea
A belt video is never a waist of time, but srsly this was a good and informative video.
You made me belt out in laughter, then buckle over.
Btw, just occurred to me that when I was younger, "Cowboy"-style belts often had metal chapes on the end. Might be useful to check places like _Shepler's_ for "Western" belts...
Leatherworker supply stores (like Tandy's) will have tons of belt and strap hardware, including an array of the belt tips.
They also often do the wide middle/narrow ends trick.
@@DH-xw6jp Also _Dixie Gun Works, Crazy Crow Trading Post_ (also good source for knifemaking supplies),....
For as practical a bunch of people as ranchers are, some of us will still cram some scrolled silver just about anywhere we can find to put it.
Great work as always, Brother!
Buckland Anglo Saxon Cemetery near Dover in England has had two excavations made (and published). Both digs found evidence of belts with plain rings as the fastening - two rings, sometimes rusted together in place, with one end of the belt holding the rings in a loop and the loose end threaded through one ring, over the other then pulled back through the first ring to provide a sliding fit, and no sign of leather, which suggests the belts were made of fabric that decayed fast enough to not be preserved by corrosion products. And you could argue, based on one or two of the graves, for a belt with two separate rings that tied together with something (two same sized rings found separated, one to the left and one to the right of the skeleton). The first excavation only found a couple of rings, but the second many years later across a modern road found much more. Wide belts with a narrow tongue or loop fastening are a Late Roman (3rd-4th Century CE - 6th Century CE roughly) fashion and occur both in Europe and England (first few generations of Anglo Saxon settlement there) associated with both 'weapon graves' and female graves - it has been suggested, based on wear and repairs, that the belt parts found in female graves were 'family heirlooms', repaired over a few generations before being deposited in a grave. These wider belts seem to have had their 'danglies' suspended from small rings that were fastened to the bottom edge of the belt with a 'U' shaped metal loop and at least some had metal plaques or metal stiffeners riveted on so the leather didn't fold over or collapse & dig in.
Thanks for this info! How very cool.😊
1. Commenting for the algorithm.
2. Great advice as always, keep up the good work.
3. “I Leik Yer Belt” 😂
I've got to thank you man, you've helped me immensely with your videos in making my first ranger type garb for my first renfaire coming up in a few weeks. I was actually a little worried that my thrifted belt wasn't going to look accurate enough since I could only loop over just a small tail but you've certainly put my mind at ease
Haha, a _waist_ of leather
You hit a very important point, that over 1000 years, from the Arctic to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic to the steppe, from beggars to rulers, things vary.
At one time in Western Europe, all the cool kids wore too long belts. But not everyone everywhere at all times. At one point, all the women wore belts that wrapped from the front, crossed in the back, tied low in the front, and hung past their knees. But that's over a bliaut, not a gunne or a houppelande.
What I found fascinating is how expensive buckles must have been. Not only will your man at arms tie his sword belt, his horse's tack will be held with knotted tails in the leather, saddles as well as bridles.
Good point. Something people probably seldom give much thought to. The only actually practical purpose for a lengthy belt is if one uses it to double as a baldric...
I can see my medieval self being embarrassed for having nothing but a hemp cord as a belt.
Bless you. I can see you are inching 50 000 subs. You absolutely deserve them.
Still, having a short rope can be quite useful, be it for improvising things, or using bits of it as tinder...
@@edi9892 People rarely needed tender since they worked with pre-established fires (camping is largely a recent thing) outside of a night or two while traveling, in which case, you are way better off carrying dedicated tender material than destroying your belt (and rope was not exactly cheap, either). Rope also stays in place less compared to a flat belt, which creates additional drag (and thus energy expenditure) and chafing.
Please never change your intro music. It gets me excited for the coming video!!
Agreed!
Great video!
One thing I almost always do is carrying my sword in either a very long belt or two belts together, so that I can wrap it twice. Having the belt wrapped twice around your waist really makes it more comfortable to carry a sword, especially on long outings.
4:39 Many western style belts are very ornate even when keeping it "simple" like this example you gave. With the more decorative ones with designs and metal all along the belt.
With a silver or copper design on the tip and a matching buckle.
I’ve actually been looking at thrift stores and stuff for belts the past few weeks trying to find one that would work well for a ranger type costume but I wasn’t really sure what to look for besides that it should be leather so this video was most timely! It definitely helps me know more what to look for! 😄
Oh I’m SO relieved to hear that the long ring belts shouldn’t necessarily even be that long, because I managed to get one secondhand for a LARP and the excess length of it was driving me just so mad the way it’d bang against my legs whenever I needed to run, I thought, “Surely I must be wearing it wrong somehow”! I’m planning to dye the leather and so I might as well trim it down a bit too. Very grateful for this video, this really is a topic that isn’t discussed too much and I’m very happy you chose to do so! Your channel is always so wonderfully informative, by far one of my favorites to watch and listen during tasks! 🖤✨
If they are using ring belts then they are pretty relaxed about historical accuracy to begin with. Ring belts are anachronistic for a historical intention.
What if you're not tryng to create any character, but rather simply like to wear medieval clothing?
Then you're lucky because you can just use what you like instead of thinking about whether it suits the character.
Creating a character can give you focus of where you are going if you don’t know what step to take next. But if you just like me to have a clothing then buy what looks good and wear it.
Then you ARE the character!
You still kinda need to think of a time period and region.
It would be like looking for "American fashion", do you want 18th century or 21st?
Do you want SoCal or Wyoming?
Then this video is mostly useless. As anyone say medieval is at best gesturing at a huge span of time.
In my country we had traditional tripple buckle belts. I can't find its english translation. It was used by shepards, woodmen or bandits.
The long belt tail is something I had occasionally wondered about, it's nice to have some facts about it.
I like the long belt look, and broad belts
Omg Im driving to go camping and looking up how to do sword belts, so perfect timing!
Another factor that points towards a shorter belt, the hide that the belt is cut from will have a limited length (essentially the spine of the animal.) Your typical medieval livestock wouldn't be able to produce more than 48", maybe 50" inch belt without a splice in it somewhere. Narrow width belts could be cut out of the hide on a curve and then stretched straight, but a wide long strap would have been somewhat rare and expensive and would have logically been used for harness work before being repurposed as a belt as portions wore out or were broken. Today, we raise animals without as much concern for the season and they are fed such that they grow quickly, so they are much larger and much heavier than they generally had back then.
I legit thought this was an april fools video but I'm glad it's not. Really helpful!
Excellent video!
A book to look for is Dress Accessories, c. 1150- c. 1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London) which shows the source of a lot of the replicas you see on the market these last dozen years or so. A lot of the info in there has since petered out into the internet, but it's still worth a look if you can find a cheap copy.
Also the Portable Antiquities Scheme has pictures of *lots* of buckle finds broken out by era. One of the surprises I found there was that strap ends were substantially more common that buckles in the Anglo Saxon era, which might indicate lots of woven belts just tied, maybe with a metal strap end at each end - which is a neat visual image, though I've not found any iconography supporting it.
Great work and a fascinating topic!
Looking forward to next week!
Great video! I appreciate the content
Great video dude.
Excellent video Kramer. 😃
Wonderful video as always Sir Kramer.
Thanks for a nice rework of my article :)
Certainly becoming one of my new favorite channels!
This was really informative. Always did wonder about the extra length and this answered some of my questions. So very grateful for all that you do and can't wait for you next video. Keep up the good work.
Awesome work! Most reenactors fall into this issue as well! I’m working on correcting it in my own kit.
finallly, my question has been answered!
I like the way you analize, you think of every crumb of use the long belt may have had, and mention it. Shows me you're really in the theme, good stuff
Great vid, Kramer! A belt is an essential part of any outfit.
Thank you for the demo of how to tie the belt.
Perfect timing, I've been collecting references on belts and straps
Black was according to the Welsh viking a difficult colour to create in early mideval times, easier in late. He has a whole video about it, so it apparently depends on when in the mideval times it is based. Thanks for a good video!
It is less that it is difficult so much as that most of the available black dyes had high lead or iron content and tended to itself corrode the material over time. It caused the object to have a much shorter 'lifespan', so it was often something used by the more affluent (indicating that they could afford to replace clothing more frequently).
No, they did (according to his video) not have acces to the ingrediences to make it proper black (it turned some type of grey).
@@lynxlynx6685 Then he is irresponsibly spreading misinformation (not the first time). The Hospitaliers and some monk orders wore black in the High Middle Ages (we even know which dyes they used) and we have explicit mentions of black textiles in Viking sagas. While dying leather is different to dying textiles, coloring leather is usually _easier._
@@nevisysbryd7450 yet REAL black fabric was considred very high status even in late medieval times. because, like today, even if the black is really black at first, it starts to fade quickly by washing.
and dont forget that "black" isnt the same as "black". Depending on the source that might refer to a dark grey or other dark shade.
@@Glimmlampe1982 'Real' black fabric today is still not scientifically black. True black would absorb all light and have no color bias or reflection. Color runs on a spectrum and in-period they were able to achieve textile colors that they considered sufficiently black and RBG-neutral enough to categorize as it as black.
Black was not categorically particularly expensive; the better, darker blacks were, much as carmine (read: kermes and later cochineal) red was vastly more expensive than madder red (selected for the signature British 'redcoats' specifically because it was the cheapest dye). There were equivalent processes for blacks, although, yes, they tended to be shorter-lived or less 'true' of a black (in the same way that madder has a lower color saturation and is more orange than kermes/cochineal).
And, no, it was not exorbitantly expensive by the Late Middle Ages. By the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, it was increasingly popular with the middle class. While the best forms of blacks were expensive, they rarely compared in price to scarlet or tyrian purple.
a longer belt can be used both in regular clothing and above padding and armor meaning you can use one belt for every thing.
I wonder if any medieval belts were designed to maybe double as a light weapon.
Like some of the museum piecea I've seen had such massive belt buckles that they might have given you a pretty mean hit.
I do early medieval reenactment (Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Anglo-Scandinavian) and one of my favourite period crafts is tablet weaving, which I've used to make my own fabric belts with patterns out of yarn (and just using cut out cereal box for the tablets)
I've watched quite a few of your videos now. I don't see myself ever partaking in your period or hobby, but enjoy your enthusiasm and dedication.
Upon seeing this particular video I subscribed. It takes a helluva man to freely admit that he's been wrong about something and declare it. Well done. It got you my measly sub.
I have followed the lifestyle of 1750 - 1840 US/colonial era (focusing on Western fur trade era) for just under 40 years, and can appreciate when you mention going out for extended treks over just hanging around an event. Perhaps a bit on that might spark an interest in potential newbies.
Fun stuff. Keep it up.
Amazing video!
I been drawing belts like shit for so long, copying other artists without understanding the subject, now, finally I set out to actually investigate how they work and you just kinda solve it for me =D
Loved everything you showed and the explanations!
Excellent content, Kramer. Once again, you've made me re-think some everyday wardrobe choices and consider some cool DIY projects to flex my nerd cred.
I've worn a longer belt here and there and as someone who's really into knives and things with an edge, having that long section is like having a leather strop right on your hip. When you start or when you're done using your sharp thing you can strop it and keep it nice and sharp without bringing out or going back to your shop where your strop is hanging. Maybe not a thing they actually did do back in the day or a reason to spend alot more money for the extra material, but just another use for having it maybe from a fantasy adventure standpoint.
That double wrap of the woven belt may have been the origin of the wide kidney belts. Perhaps they weren't designed that way, but they were effectively worn that way.
My fave dwarf Bruenor Battlehammer once took off his wide leather belt, wrapped the buckle over his knuckles, and punched the wooden door of his bed-bound, highest ranking general. That left a sunken impression of their clan standard in the wood: a foaming mug. Then he told his general he was gonna fill that relief in with gold and mithral (D&D mithril). (From R.A. Salvatore's _The Two Swords_ )
I have a sizing hole in my belt for every day wear, and I have a sizing hole for when I'm armoured. This makes the most sense to me. I do not however fluctuate in girth.
excellent
The length of belt tips varies by time period. Some medieval belts get knee length tails or longer, and your point about the waste of material is also exactly the point. When materials are more expensive, then more material is conspicuous consumption.
And it being impractical can also be a status symbol. For a clearer example, look at late 16th century women's sleeves for upper class wear. "This outfit makes me useless" shows how many servants you can afford... rather the opposite of the adventuring lifestyle.
How it was explained to me was that the ring belt and the absence of keepers was a result of wear and tear. The middle tine of a buckle and the keeper would easily break off so you would have to tie it like a “ring belt”.
I've been trying to figure out costuming for a Shakespeare production I'm working on and this came just in time! Thanks!
Make sure to do some extra research, the article and time period I focus most on is earlier than the Elisabethan period, so fashion would definitely be different then!
@@LivingAnachronism The period is early 15th century actually (Henry V), so it's very much medieval! It's on a low budget to begin with, so I'm really optimizing wherever I can to make up for any shortcomings (like getting good belts to make up for the lack of accurate armor pieces, etc.) Definitely researching the period a lot though, and your videos have already given me a lot to work with!
You could easily make a matching keeper to go along with your chape. Whether the keeper is used for its intended purpose or a little bit of decoration.
One small convenience I added to my ring belt was two rings rather than one. That way I can thread it through both rings, then back through just one, and friction holds it tight without needing to rely completely on the knot.
This video makes me think of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They have a huge section of medieval armor and weaponry. It may be worth a trip for some research
Yes, I will go! Actually not that far of a drive for me, thanks Greg!
One thing to consider, back then material was expensive, so clothes would be made using as little as possible- UNLESS, you wanted to flaunt your wealth, so big drapy sleeves for instance, became popular among people who didn't really do work, so the extra stuff didn't get in the way, so perhaps long belts would be a way of showing off your ability to buy the best bit of leather? (as i understand it with hides, belts that long need to be made from the very middle where the animal is longest, so it stands to reason this would be the more expensive cut of leather than a belt made of smaller sections joined with loops/ stitching.)
It amazes me that they did not have pockets but could make elaborate pouches.
I was expecting an April Fools' thing, but this is often the stuff we tell new people at my reenactment group.
As for multiple pouches, I think that would normally be for people leaving town for the day or more than a day. This would be loggers, swineherds, longhunters, etc. These people would need to have some food and water with them, and they might decide to use extra pouches to an extent. I am sure at some point they would just decide to put that extra stuff in a back pack of sorts.
I like a wide folded sash , the fold makes a nice pocket.
A re-enactor that i know showed someone else i know that you can shorten the excess of the tail simply by wrapping it repeatedly though the loop till you get it to the length you want.
I'm not sure If that was mentioned in comments before but you can go check Tod's Workshop and such, mostly long belts were done to compliment the scabbards , it's a really good addon that keeps the sword from going all about the place. I am kind of crazy about buckles and chapes and have designed many of my own while checking out hundreds of them on the internet before. But yeah long belts were probably as common as short ones if you had a sword .
Woah, perfect timing! I was just thinking about this! Not needing extra material is such a relief - thank you!
With adding chapes and patterned buckles/rings, I wonder if one could try casting pewter? It seems relatively inexpensive, and has a really historical feel to it (and looks really cool when it's aged).
Thanks again for another awesome video!
If you're into casting, you could try not only pewter, but also brass and aluminum! The source is aournd us everywhere, in cans...
I know of one creator that does this. They also offer custom cast designs, although they claim it takes ~$30 USD minimum in time and materials to make the cast alone.
@@nevisysbryd7450 Oof, yeah - I forgot to factor in making the mold. Guess it'd only be worth the setup if you were going to make them a lot (or lots of them). Ah well, cool in theory, lol 😄
@@morgansmith1930 I think the crafters' shop name is Billy and Charlie, btw. Might find something to your fancy there.
Pewter was really popular in Britain. Idk about anywhere else, though.
@@nevisysbryd7450 Wow, thanks! A lot of their stuff looks really good - I'll have to keep them in mind. I especially like the pilgrims' badges. Thanks for the recommendation!
really interesting video, thank you :) I have made lots of belts for both medieval/cosplay and fantasy and I had never thought to actually research designs and the like, if someone asked me to make them a ring belt I would have just made them a ring belt, and the worst thing is that I was aware that the ring belt is a medieval myth because I've been told at reenactment events, it's cool to learn what was actually done
just a thought: it is common place in the modern day for military and tactical belts to actually be load rated with the same standards as climbing harnesses and some of them even have D-rings for rope/carabiners etc... some equipment designer somewhere has decided that a belt could do double duty as any number of things from part of a climbing rig all the way to securing load on a roof rack. Anyway, I'll get to my point LOL, A ring belt is stronger (provided that the ring is welded) than a buckle belt when used in this way, so perhaps this is precedent for ring belts for fantasy adventurers even if they are not historical
I think a very long, loosely braided belt makes the most sense for a ranger character. Long for the same reason you mentioned, being usable as a tool should the need arise, and braided because, as a quick google search puts it, "In the simplest sense, fiber that is twisted or braided is stronger than the same bundle of fibers that are straight because the cord has more capacity to stretch."
Also, maybe I'm just very attuned to anything that seems slightly off since it's April 1st, but what is that around the collar of your tunic? Is it a microphone? I've never noticed it before.
The "heavy metal" belts would have been very porular in medieval times. So fancy and so much bling! Trust me on this :-)
Medieval belt studs were actually a thing, and not just relegated to the upper classes. Most of them were tiny round domes in patterns but I've also seen spaced out triangular pyramids cast from pewter. These were just finds from the Netherlands roughly 12c-15c, not sure how widespread they were.
@@hellaradusername They never went out of fashion ;-)
I've just bought a "medieval" belt in a Medieval Festival back here in Mexico, it is the round buckle with a very long tail, now I now that I was just as confused with the authenticity of the concept of that long tail. As I used for the entire weekend (there was a camping for the event) I was thinking that the long tail had more disadvantages than benefits for the double use as a rope. Whenever I crouched down I had to watch for the belt not getting into something.
I was bound to encounter a third 'Kramer' if I encountered / endeavoured to immerse myself in enough media...
i personally use a woven sash instead of a leather belt
wich is also a good option
As usual, great inspiration, no not great, that is a to small word, you make me want to create right now instead of going to bed
I've just been looking at belts! What luck!
Dunno about where you live but you can get a full leather belt meant for mining granted it is wide but has some loops for your stuff ( and becomes thiner at buckle ). But it's only about 6$ for new one ( keeping in mind conversion rates can change but 30 PLN is not that much either)
Good video! Fun, what can be found at a thrift store.
Long belts can be used to tie a Sword sheath on (aka. without a frog). But then used even when not wearing a sword (aka. using the same belt with or without a sword). Also excess materials=a show of wealth.
Neat, so the 2 belts i have are fine. I found them for free because they used to be my grandfather’s, but because they are too worn for regular use they are perfect, especially because they are very plain belts
The long belt tail could also double as a strop in a pinch.
I saw another video on the topic, and they stated that richer people might have had longer belts with decorations on, to show off their wealth. But since showing off was often not seen as very "good", they often had Christian motifs. :)
Any excess is to easily accommodate extra layer of clothing or periodic weight gain or loss.
I always worry about the cosure and riveting that holds the buckle on with leather. Your weapons mean a lot, and if you are wearing a 2.5 pound sword, and a dagger, or a pistol and magazines, then you really need to have a high strength belt you can trust.
Your videos are great and super useful, but that "men and females" at 12:47 made me wince lol
I once had to carry 6 or 8 liters of diesel with my dad for 2 or 3 kilometers. Nether of us are big of burly (but very tall)
I'd always have leather belt, so my dad used it to carry one of the jerrycans on his back. So I had to carry heavy jerrycans and have pants who were constantly falling of🤣 It suckt, but the boat was outa diesel soooooo....🤷🏻♂
TLDR, always use Leather belts, or in general
Can you do a review of the Dungeons and Dragons movies?
nice
2:03
HA
nice one!
Great look into all things belts Kramer. LOTR always gets a pass!
Nate
I feel like I've seen really long belt tails in artwork of courts.
I need to look through my stash of belts....
Hello
Can you help me dicide to buy which hide?
I think i should buy a giant cow hide and use it as a blanket.
Is that priodicly accurte?
Will it be too heavy for camping and carrying?
Will a cow hide be a good and warm blanket?
Is cow hide
do you suggest me too buy another animals hide?
Any way thank you for reading this comment.
I love your conntent.
Congrats on 50.000
❤🎉
I have a question, how would you make a tourniquet with these belts? If your artery in your leg is ruptured on an adventure, knowing how to put a tourniquet on would be lifesaving and a valuable skill. Even today I am unsure how people get belts tight enough to act as effective tourniquets.
The instant you mentioned having an extra long belt in case you need to tie up gear, but, in that case, why not just use rope, my mind brought up McManus' theory of rope, which goes thusly:
“Give a man enough rope and it still will come out 6 inches too short. That is the nature of rope, if not the nature of man.” -”Tying One On,” September 1987
Sadly, the expanded version points out that, regardless of how many bits of ropelike objects you string together, the result will ever remain 6 inches too short.
I wonder if medieval belts were also used as an equivalent of today’s “paracord bracelet”: meaning it served multiple purposes in camp etc … hence the potential varying lengths.
Could you please make a video on medieval EDC?
I've seen some weird, some interesting, and a few practical items on the belt, or slung across the back:
1) Grossmesser (similar to a machete) with companion knife and pricker (predecessor of the fork, but more useful tool, as it's essentially an awl)
2) dagger
3) coin purse
4) leather pouch; potential content: fire kit, sharpening stone, comb, cordage, some food (sausage, or hardtack)
5) water bladder
6) a wooden spoon
7) a wooden mug (I find the use debatable, but a personal bowl does make some sense, if you're about to get some food from a big cauldron)
8) gloves, or a handkerchief tugged into the belt
9) a small bag tied to the belt similar to a purse, probably for gathering things like berries or nuts
This is highly relative to the individual's lifestyle.
People in most situations rarely went that far from their house and so would go back for anything they needed.
Blades were subject to varying legal restrictions. While messers were popular throughout much of the Holy Roman Empire, I hey were not everywhere.
We actually have no evidence to suggest that the prickers were used to eat with. Their practical purpose is entirely speculation.
Most people did not carry a dagger most of the time. Carrying one was something for lifestyles, locations, or activities with a higher risk of violence.
People rarely carried around water containers outside of travel, in which case, most evidence points to canteens of either metal, wood, ceramic, or in Britain's case, leather, or calabash gourds. People mostly seem to have gotten water from a local source (eg a fountain or vendor) or gone back home for it.
Spoons were rarely an EDC thing. Again, we mostly see them kept at home unless someone is specifically off to an eating event. Same thing for mugs.
People usually carried around a single bag or purse at a time, not a separate coin purse, although plenty of purses had multiple separate containers.
Gloves varied entirely by social activities and time of year.
The most consistent EDC items were a purse or bag, a knife (and possibly a pricker), a belt, possibly a few coins (possibly not), possibly a religious object like a paternoster, and clothes (insofar as EDC is separate from clothes). Scribes would carry a penner set (up to a penknife, pen(s), inkwell, ink(s), paper/parchment) hunters and woodsmen often some kind of short sword, gamblers dice, many might carry a dagger/sword/buckler, some might carry a lantern, travelers might carry a firestarter kit, anyone traveling or working far from storages might carry a canteen, moneychangers had specialized purses, and chatelaines with keys and hygiene kits and so on were especially popular with women. Anyone might carry a scent pouch/pomander, pilgrim badge, or other insignia to imply or display something.
As far as perishables, that depends greatly on the activities that you will be doing and the duration. People in a historical context rarely carried food with them besides maybe a single meal to spare them a trip; travellers might carry up to a couple of days, although really, distances between settlements (or at least some sort of inn/tavern) were rarely that far apart. This applies to most camping supplies (ie, most of your #4).
Things are also very different based on whether you are traveling alone or with others and whether you have any beasts of burden or vehicles (donkey, mule, horse, cart, wagon, etc) to carry more supplies. Granted, that is not EDC at that point-pretty much none of #4 is, though, besides _maybe_ combs, which are more of an 'at home' thing.
@@nevisysbryd7450 I was thinking of pilgrims, sheppards and anyone else who is likely to be outdoors for a while. There were also travelling craftsmen (especially shoe repair and Gesellen), lesser travelling merchants, and obviously day jobbers (especially during harvests). Depending on the era, mercenaries come to mind as well.
I know that not everyone who could carry a sword did carry one, but I thought that daggers were pretty ubiquitous. For one, single edged ones may have been just as much tools as weapons and when it comes to renaissance, you see them in paintings on pretty much everyone and as soon as they get upset, they apparently drew them. I haven't seen a single painting of a brawl without weapons being drawn! (Quite a few of these paintings showed alcohol and playing cards BTW).
@@nevisysbryd7450 The combs part was what I've heard of Viking women and early Medieval people. You can even find them buried with them. Quite often they were made of bone. Later it seems to have been replaced by pocket mirrors as a status symbol.
@@edi9892 That depends entirely on the shepherding system and wealth of the individual in question. Northern France largely kept their sheep in pens and such, letting them out and driving them back in daily. Throughout much of Southern Europe, they practiced transhumance, which could be anywhere from a few miles to vast distances. Shepherds might have a lodge, cabin, or a caravan or other vehicle that they largely stuck close to as a mobile home, or in some cases (such as in Northern England), bush shelters. In pretty much all cases, they still operated out of some kind of residence and did not carry everything around with them constantly.
Travelling craftsmen and merchants generally meant vehicles (wagons, carts, etc) to carry their stuff, and, again, there were often inns and such along trade routes, besides that settlements were usually as close to each other as the logistics of production from land allows.
Military and mercenaries actually have one of the higher rates of extensive EDC stuff, given that stopping the supply lines greatly slows things down. Canteens and supplies and tools on one's person made a bit more sense for those not mounted or with servants to carry things for them. A lot _was_ carried by the supply lines, though; infantry rarely carried all of their arms, armor, rations, and son on personally but were partially carried en masse in wagons and the like, unlike modern military procedure.
Daggers _were_ common, yes. That does not mean that _everyone carried one. Gambling involved higher than usual rates of violence; anyone frequenting such places was more liable to take to carrying a weapon relative to the general population. People who are more likely to get into a fight are more likely to be armed, and recorded depictions of fights are more likely to be exceptional. We are working with many layers of selection bias here.
We do not really have any evidence for single-edged swords being used as tools rather than dedicated weapons.
Combs might have been bone, horn, or wood (curiously, I do not recall any instances of metal). Whether they were carried around on their person or kept in a container at home is variable, though (between brooches, chatelains, necklaces, bracelets, torques, all sorts of headwear, rings, etc, they were hardly short on types of jewelry). That is also a matter of lifestyle; women largely remained at home, walking short distances and without vigorous activity that would pose a major risk of damaging, dropping, or losing more delicate objects (chatelains, combs), and with the additional weight of carrying them less of an issue. This is much the same as rings being a status symbol by virtue of indicating that the obstruction of your hands is less of a concern; the impracticality of wear for those of lower status itself is part of its intended function. Carrying a comb on your person, rather than retrieving it on the occasion that you use it, suggests a lot about one's lifestyle.
Mirrors often went with combs, actually. Not necessarily in the same container or in burials-we often seen combs used with a mirror in visual depictions, though (albeit this is as much or more trope as it is authentic representation).
Long belts can also be used as a horse hobble.
Good to know because I never liked belts with long tails.
just for curiosity sake, I see your red belt. Are you a squire in the SCA? A red belt represents a squire, and white belt is for knights. Just wondering.
I could possibly see somebody wearing that big weightlifting like belt if they r doing heavy lifting on the farm or mine etc... But otherwise it seems like it would get in the way. Just like now days, belts like that r only used for lifting heavy stuff. Idk if they did back then cuz like u said there isn't any evidence but using common sense, I bet there were people who figured out that a very wide heavy belt would help in lifting stuff.