Summary of NRW Clothing Terms

A summary of the terms used in my Complete Survey of Women’s Dress of the North Rhine

Feet:

Hoesen: From foot to knee, white, black, or red (Mattheier)
Shoen: Shoes, usually leather
Trippen: Velvet slippers with a wooden sole, trippe is a kind of velvet (Mattheier)
Tuffelen: as slippers.

Undergarments:

Hembdt: Linen shirt
Seelgin: The closest garment to the skin aside from the hemden. These may be a supportive type of garment but may be a use of the words “seel” and “lyff” meaning soul and body respectively.
Wammes: A doublet- these appear to change with the style of the era.
Underrock: A garment worn under the outer garments, they may be somewhat supportive.

Gowns:

Fuycke: This term also appears across NRW. It is used for adult male and female garments and appears to mean a gown with no waist seam, smooth fit through the body and sleeves that are not full. This term appears in the late 15th century and persists through to the second half of the 16th century.
This type of gown is made from red fabric for both marriage and for entering the orders.
Schube: This garment is also known as a Sûbe in Hamburg.
Rock: This term at times can be used to refer to a full length garment or a skirt alone. It does
Tabbart: This term appears across the NRW. It is used for both adult male and female dress and appears to refer to a garment with full sleeves and full skirt. This term appears from at least the 14th century and persists even through to the start of the 17th century. It appears to be mainly a ceremonial garment for women at this time.
The word can be found in lists of men’s clothing as well as in the inventory of Princess Marie Eleanore in 1573. This inventory lists several lengths of costly fabric to make new “tabbarden” in her new home in Prussia.

Cloaks:

Fale: woolen cloak from shoulder to floor
Mantel: woolen cloak from shoulder to floor
Heuke: A simple semicircular or gathered cloak like garment that fell from the head to knee or lower with a very large collar framing the head and shoulders.

Neck and shoulders:

Kleyr: This garment covers the shoulders and is related to the same garment known as a “goller” in Nurenberg and appears to be a term related to “collier” in French.
Halsdoich: These appear to be made from a variety of fabrics, and may be another kind of partlet worn under the gown when made of linen and over the gown as a “kleyr” when made of a heavy fabric.
Borstlappe: A cloth that covers the chest. Often made of velvet.
Schiltgin: another chest covering, perhaps related to the word “schild” meaning scheild.

Jewelry:

Kette: widely used to refer to chains across the NRW
Halsband: a golden piece of jewelry around the neck.
Bentgin: The term “bendichen” is used frequently in clothing ordinances as part of restrictrions on jewelry.
Vurspanne: Associated with chains worn around the neck.
Kroen: A crown or coronet.
Krantz: a wreath
Reyen: a kind of circlet.
Latzen: The Grimm dictionary calls this a bib or a fold (“latzmütz”) so this could refer to the decorative strip at the front of the distinctive regional headdress.

Arms:

Mauwen: These are fitted sleeves sometimes a part of another garment sometimes as a separate element.
Stuichen: These appear to be a kind of long sleeve (Mattheier.)

Aprons:

Schurz: Made from a variety of fabrics including linen and wool.

Headgear:

Rantz: a linen cloth, sometimes with a decorative end.
Hulle: A kind of linen headdress. These may have been made at home as well as in the orders as they often appear as purchases of fabric.
Rolle/Ringe: these appear to be supportive pieces for headdress. Thesedo not appear frequently at all however.
Betzelen: Possibly another linen item as it does not appear to be listed with any further description of colour or fabric.
Stickel: This item is often associated with linen headwear items. Wallenburg considers this to be a textile decoration- and only lists items from Hamburg, 1583. In this region however they appear to be distinct items and are not further described with fabric or colour.
Haube: This term is mostly used later in the 16th century and Hermann Weinsberg uses this term in 1596 to describe the golden headdress worn earlier in the century ” Unse colnische frauen trogen auch gulden hauben.”
Mutzger: This term is used to describe hats made from both costly materials and linen. This may be the closest term to describe the distinctive headdres of the region as these too appear in both linen and costly materials.
Heuftdoich: Cloths for the head, may be made from linen as well as other materials.
Benet: This appears to be the same term as used in men’s headgear of the region a “bonet.” These appear to refer to a knitted piece in men’s wear.
hairsnoir: Wallenberg includes Snor/schur as a kind of net while the Weinsberg online glossary considers this to be a kind of bullion used for embroidery.

Belts:

Webbe: An extraordinary number of these are listed and are made from costly fabric such as velvet or golden fabric.
Gurdel: A more general term for belts but often refers to items made from precious metals.

Purses:

Budel: Purses, often worn hanging from the ends of belts also used to store items in the 1519 house lot.

Prayer beads:

Paternoster: Paternoster
Rozenkranz: Rosaries

Colours:

Sanguinen: blood red
Roidt: Red
Blaue: Blue
Groen: Green
Swartz: Black
Wyss: White
Grauw: grey
Dannete: dull brown
Roester: Reddish
Umbher: amber

Fabric:

Worstein: worsted, wool
Fuwelen: Velvet
Sammt: Velvet
Wullen: wool
Arnsche: Arnnish (from Arnhem) wool
Schamelotten: camelt, a kind of wool mix
Englisher: English wool
Syde: silk
Ruwe: mourning
Lynen: Linen
Dammasken: damask
Marden: Martin fur

Decoration:

Lysten: deep hem, usually fur, sometimes velvet
Bort/Vorder: border
Gestick: embroidered
Gestrickt: knitted/netted/knotted

Sizes:

Clein: small
Grois: large
Stuck: piece

Metalwork:

Stein: precious stones
Perlen: pearls- in other regions this could be beads in general, however pearls are dominant in the NRW region.
Gulden: gold
Silberen: silver
Diamant: diamonds
Kreuz: cross
Cleispen: clasp
Kneufen: buttons
Spanne: across
Ort: fastener, combined with ort;
RRingk: ring
Melgen: maille
Ameieren: enamel
Kornen: grain

Patterns:

Rosen: rose
Eichorn: acorn

Brut: bridal