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

Written by: Paul Lacroix

"The _braies_, or _brayes_, were a kind of drawers, generally knitted,
sometimes made of woollen stuff or silk, and sometimes even of undressed
leather. .... Our ancestors derived this part of their dress from the
ancient Gauls; only the Gallic braies came down to the ankle, whereas
those of the thirteenth century only reached to the calf. They were
fastened above the hips by means of a belt called the _braier_.