Quotation from: Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period

Written by: Paul Lacroix


We shall commence our historical sketch from the fifth century, at which
period we can trace the blending of the Roman with the barbaric
costume--namely, the combination of the long, shapeless garment with that
which was worn by the Germans, and which was accompanied by tight-fitting
braies. Thus, in the recumbent statue which adorned the tomb of Clovis, in
the Church of the Abbey of St. Genevieve, the King is represented as
wearing the _tunic_ and the _toga_, but, in addition, Gallo-Roman
civilization had actually given him tight-fitting braies, somewhat similar
to what we now call pantaloons. Besides this, his tunic is fastened by a
belt; which, however, was not a novelty in his time, for the women then
wore long dresses, fastened at the waist by a girdle. There is nothing
very remarkable about his shoes, since we find that the shoe, or closed
sandal, was worn from the remotest periods by nearly all nations (Figs.
402 and 403).

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