RUSSIAN HISTORICAL COSTUMING

Boyarina (Lady) Yelizaveta Medvedeva, CM, OT
Barony of Carolingia, EK

Copyright 1997 by Elizabeth Lear


Kievan Russia:

Throughout Russia, the style of dress was fairly uniform (at least
outside of the court) according to class and position.  The difference
was in the fabrics used to make the garments.

circa 970: In summer, men wore linen shirts and linen trousers.  In
the 11th & 12 centuries, princes and boyars dressed much the same but
made of silk and brocade.  Caps were made of felt with high crowns,
called "greek hats"

In cold seasons, the linen and silk garments were worn under wool.
Caftans were common.

In winter, especially for travel, two kinds of sheepskin or fur coats
were worn:
	kozhukh: sleeved, with a tight waist, commonly sheepskin
	shuba: loose cloak with sleeves
Cloaks were made of bear, wolf and marten skin.

Men wore high boots.  If a man was wealthy, the boots would be of
green, red or yellow leather.  Dandies wore them with long curved
toes.  Low leather shoes were also worn, especially by women.  In the
forest zones, the shoes were often made of fiber or bark - willow, oak
or birch.


In summer, women wore a linen shirt and a wool skirt.  in northern
Russia, they typically wore a sarafan in place of the skirt.  Weathy
women, especially in the cities, used silk and brocade for these
garments.

In old Russia, a sarafan also denoted a man's garment - a light summer
overcoat.  The word sarafan is of Iranian origin.

Women wore a kika or kokoshnik.  (The difference is the front height)
Wealthy women ornamented the kokoshnik with precious stones.

In winter, village women might wear sheepskin coats, but most women
wore fur coats.  Wealthy women wore sable and beaver, others wore
marten or squirrel.  Fur caps were usually sable or beaver.

Full formal attire wasn't complete without jewelry, and clasps and
buttons were usually silver or gold with jewels.

Neck rings, torques, were usually symbols of office more than
ornament.

The belt was considered a man's finest ornament, and was often silver,
gold, silk or leather, artistically ornamented.

Women wore gold and silver earrings, temple pendants, necklaces of
pearls or gold or silver coins, enameled golden crowns, bracelets, and
various rings.

A 1073 miniature of Prince Sviatoslav and his family shows princely
attire was largely Byzantine except for the headdress and collar.  The
prince wears a kaftan of purple/blue with tight sleeves anding in gold
brocade cuffs and a red hem.  Over it he has a dark blue robe with
wide gold hems and a ruby clasp.  He wears boots of green leather and
a sable cap that has a gold brocade crown.  The pricess has a light
red dress with wide loose sleeves, somewhat dalmatic, with a wide gold
belt.  Her head is covered with a kerchief or shawl.  The sons wear
high fur caps with a low collar.


Olearius:

When anyone transgresses somehow against his Tsarist Majesty or learns
that he has fallen into disgrace, he allows his hair to grow long and
in disorder for as long as the disgrace endures.

Married women roll their hair up under their hats, young ladies leave
it hanging down their backs in a braid from which a red tassel hangs.
They cut off the hair of children under ten years of age, leaving only
long locks on either side.  To distinguish girls from boys, they hang
large silver or bronze rings in the girls' ears.

The men's clothing is like the Greeks'.  Their shirts are wide but
short, scarcely covering the seat; the collar is flat and smooth,
without pleats; and the back from the shoulder down is covered with a
triangular [piece of cloth] and sewn with red silk.  Some have gussets
under the armpits, and also on the sides, made very skillfully of red
satin.

The wealthy have thri shirt collars (a good thumb in width) as well as
a strip in the front (from top to bottom) and the places around the
cuffs, embroidered with multicolored tied silk and sometimes with gold
and pearls; such decorative collars extend out over the cloaks; they
Are fastened with two large pearls, or with gold or silver clasps.

Their trousers, which are broad at the top, may be drawn in or opened
out by strings.  Over the shirt and trousers, they wear tight cloaks
called "kaftans" which are like our jerkins; but theirs hang to the
knees and have long sleeves which are gathered into folds at the
wrists.  The collar, which rises behind the head, is a fourth of an
ell long and broad, lined on the underside with velvet, and with gold
brocade among the wealthy.

Over the kaftans some people wear still another garment which reaches
down to the calf or below and is called a feriaz'.  Both of these
garments are made of cotton, calico (kindiak), taffeta, damask, or
satin, depending on what the wearer can afford.  The feriaz' is lined
with cotton.  When they go out, over all these they don ankle-length
cloaks, which in most cases are made of violet-blue, brown (the color
of tanned leather), or dark green cloth, but sometimes of many-colored
damask, satin, or gold brocade.

These outer kaftans, or cloaks, have wide collars; and in front, from
top to bottom, and on the sides, they are drawn together with strings
embroidered with gold or with pearls.  Sometimes long tassels hang
from the strings.  The sleeves are almost the same length as those of
the kaftans, but very narrow.  They are gathered at the wrists in to
many folds so that [in putting one on] one is barely able to push his
hands through.  Sometimes when walking, they allow the sleeves to hang
free below the hands.  Some slaves and rogues carry stones or
bludgeons in them, which are difficult to detect.  Frequently,
especially at night, they attack and murder people with these weapons.

All Russian men wear hats.  During public ceremonies the princes,
boyars, and state counselors wear hats of black fox or sable, an ell
high.  Otherwise, they wear velvet hats like ours, lined and trimmed
with black fox and sable; however, not much fur protrudes.  These hats
are sewn on both sides with gold or strings of pearls.  Ordinary
citizens wear hats of white felt in summer and of cloth, lined with
some plain fur, in winter.

For the most part, like the Poles, they wear short shoes, made of
either ordinary or Persian Morocco leather and pointed in front.  They
know nothing of cordovan.  Women, particularly young women, wear shoes
with very high heels, some of them one-fourth of an ell high.  The
lower parts of these heels are nailed all about with fine nails.  In
such footgear they cannot run much, because the toes of the slippers
hardly reach the ground.

The ladies' attire is much like the men's except that the outer
garment is wider, though of the same cloth.  The garments of wealthy
women are trimmed in front with fringed braid and other golden laces;
others are decorated with strings and tassels, and sometimes with
large silver and pewter buttons.  The sleeve is not fully sewn above
so that they may thrust their hands through and allow the sleeves to
hang.

On their heads they wear broad and loose hats of gold brocade, satin,
or damask, with gold laces sometimes sewn with gold and pearls, and
embellished with beaver fur.

Formerly the Germans, the Dutch, the French and other foreigners who
had come to live among them, either in the service of the Grand Duke
or for trade, affected Russian clothes and styles.  They were even
constrained to do so in order to avoid being insulted and set upon by
malicious scoundrels.

[In about 1652 this was ended when the Patriarch could not tell the
Germans from the Russians in a crowd he was blessing.  He issued an
order that all foreigners divest themselves of Russian clothes and
dress in the garb of their own country.]

[The Prince of Moscow admired the foreign clothing and ordered Polish
and German clothes for himself.  The Patriarch was furious and
"secured his renunciation of them".]


Cultural History:

The Moscow Court spoke Turkish in the 15th century.

By the end of the 17th century, approximately 17% of the Moscow
aristocracy was Mongol.

Many Russian noblemen from the 15th to 17th centuries took Mongol
surnames.

Many Russian words for daily business, clothing, household objects and
diet came from the Mongols.


The Influence of Ottoman Turkish Textiles:

The Caucasus was strongly influenced by the Turks, and common garb
items for Armenians include:
 - tarboosh (a hat similar to the fez) - caftan - veil - pantaloons

The Georgians were more sucessful in resisting the Turks, and their
clothing reflects the influence of Ukraine, though pantaloons are
popular.

Georgian costumes include the "Cossack" coat (short and long), with a
sash or belt, baggy trousers, and a wide-sleeved loose shirt.

Women in Ukraine frequently wear a long blouse/dress with full
sleeves, covered by an apron and a sleeveless coat that overlaps in
the front and has an Asian appearance.

Headgear for men is usually made of fur.

A constant influx of people like the Sarmates, Huns, Avars, Bulgars,
Hungarians, Cumanians and Mongols introduced many steppe costume
elements into the Russian territories.  The Turkish expansion and
occupation of the Baltics and northern territories reinforced this,
and oriental fashions were popular in these regions from the 14th to
early 20th centuries.  Turkmen moved into the Ottoman Empire in large
numbers in the 14th and 15th centuries, and many of them were
subsequently moved into the Balkans by the Turks.

Manuscript illuminations and paintings from the 14th to 16th centuries
show the three magi, the centurion of the Crucifixion and the
persecutors of Christ as Turks, complete with turbans and
characteristically oriental clothing.

King Mathias I Corvinus of Hungary greeted an Italian ambassador in a
Turkish caftan, and they noted the king made gifts of caftans and
other garments made of expensive Persian fabrics.

Transylvanian inventories from the 16th to 18th centuries mention
numerous Turkish caftans and other coats.  In 1633, Catherine von
Brandenberg, widow of Gabriel Bethlen, received six caftans from
George Rakoczi I, including one described as "silk interwoven with
gold" and one "patterened in small red flowers on a white ground".
Sixteen Turkish caftans were listed for Emericus Thokoly in 1683.
Catherine Bethlan's inventory of 1729 lists twelve Persian coats made
of silk, depicting human figures in gold against a background woven of
silver file'.

Various contemporary lists indicate caftans were often cut up and used
for coverlets, lining other clothing, and even occasionally hangings.

Fur linings and fur coats were frequenly ordered from Constantinople,
along with Turkish leather coats which had elaborate leather applique
(these coats may have originially been part of the military uniform).

At the peak of the Ottoman empire in the 16th and 17th centuries,
interest in oriental garments was spread even further through the west
by a general exotic trend in European fashions.  The Austrian emperors
in 1583 and 1606 recorded gifts of caftans or Turkish fabrics.
Caftans were also important diplomatic gifts, and ambassadors to the
court of the Sultan were brought to the 'caftan-giving hall' before
being presented.  The quality of the caftan was used to reflect the
quality of the reception.  In 1678, the Transylvanian ambassadors were
insulted when they were offered neither seats nor caftans.  Caftans
were also given by the Sultan's ambassadors for special occasions.

The Hungarian town of Kecskemet gave many generous gifts to the Sultan
in 1596, and in return received a caftan of silk and gold from him.
The garment was supposed to protect the town from any Turkish demands
or attacks.  Whenever the town was confronted by Turkish forces, the
mayor would don the caftan and go to meet them.  The Turks would
immediately dismount and kiss the garment.

The custom of dressing people in these "robes of honor" was adopted by
the Hungarians, particularly when receiving Turks.  Prince Emericus
Thokoly wrote "I also caftaned with my own mente my interpreter at the
Sublime Porte, Aga Hassan, when he came to my house.  In this manner I
confirmed his position as my interpreter at the Sublime Porte."

Caftans were also favored in Poland, Ukraine, and parts of European
Russia, and described in inventories as various forms of mentes.

Baggy Turkish pants were apparently only in fashion for a short time
in late period, but Turkish hats and shoes were widely worn.  Sashes
as well, and during the excavations of a Roman Catholic church in
Hungary, several silk sashes were recovered from four 17th century
crypts.  They measured between 100 to 120 cm wide and 200 to 250 cm in
length, with ends finished in tassels.

Hungarian sources refer to Turkish shirts, blouses and chemises.  An
inventory of 1598 mentions a Turkish shirt among the possessions of a
citizen from northern Hungary.  Belts of coins were popular with
Hungarian nobilit y in the17th century.

By the late 17th century, the Turkish fashions were giving way to
those of western Europe. Still, oriental elements remained until the
18th century in Transylvania.  After that, only the Hungarian festival
costume retained the Turkish elements.  But echos of it can be seen in
things like the oversized sleeves of the szur.

Turkish fashions lasted until the 18th and 19th centuries in the
Balkans.


Textile fragments show that patterned woven textiles and embroidery
were used for clothing as early as the 11th - 13th centuries.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baron, Samuel H. (trans) The Travels of Olearius in 17th Century
Russia..  Stanford University Press 1967.

Carmichael, Joel A Cultural History of Russia.  Weybright and Talley,
New York 1968

Fairservis, Walter A., Jr, Costumes of the East.  The American Museum
of Natural History, New York 1971

Gervers, Veronica The Influence of Ottoman Turkish Textiles and
Costume in Eastern Europe, The he Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto 1982

Vernadsky, George Kievan Russia. Yale University Press 1948