What do we wear?
A man wears a simple knee-length tunic, long trousers
and a cloak. Trousers are woolen and belted with a
buckled belt. Thongs around your calves will help to
keep them from getting too muddy.
Your cloak should be about five foot square and made
of wool. Wear your cloak draped over you left shoulder
and pinned with a cloak-pin on the right side, so that
your sword always swings free. Many people like
storm-plaids on their cloaks that show them to be Red
Cow, but the followers of Orlanth Thunderous choose
cloaks of deep blue died with indigo. The broach that
holds the cloak at your throat and your arm and
finger-rings will show your wealth and skill as a
raider. If you become a thane, you might have a sacred
torc to wear.
In hot weather, many of the followers of Orlanth
Thunderous like to go sky-clad under their cloaks
wearing nothing but their woad and tattoos.
In winter, you may need to wear several tunics at
once, linen under-pants and a linen vest. If you are
rich, or a skilled hunter, you might be able to afford
clothing made from fur for extra warmth. Some people
wear hats but I prefer to go bareheaded.
Women wear a wide sleeved, knee-length linen dress,
sometimes pleated. A small disc brooch holds the
opening closed. Over this, a woman wears a colored
woolen pinafore dress. A pair of oval broaches,
usually bronze, fastens the overdress at each
shoulder. Useful implements, like scissors and knives,
hang from the brooches on straps or rings. Strings of
colored beads often run between. In the winter, women
wear knee-length leggings under their dress for extra
warmth. Instead of a cloak, a woman will wear a shawl
to keep out the cold of winter.
Men love fine beards. Growing your beard is a sign
that you have reached manhood and reflects your
virility and strength. There are many different
styles, the Hedkoranth men for example favor braiding
their beards into a fork, but I prefer the simple
Durev beard that needs less grooming. Some men favor a
mustache alone, but that is a northern affectation.
Girls have their hair loose, but after their
initiation, unmarried women wear their maiden=EDs
braids. After the birth of their first child, women
coil their hair on top or at the back of their head in
a mother=EDs braid. Leaders among the women confine
their hair, usually with a snood or circlet.
The cobbler cuts shoes from a single piece of leather
sown together on the top of your foot and held tight
at your ankle with rawhide. The cobbler can leave the
hair on the leather to make your shoes warm in winter.
Ian Cooper
0208-672-0717(H)07970-411892 (M)
"Give the kids tools, so they can go build their=20
own houses; not the blueprint of what the houses=20
should be."
Tori Amos
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