How did women dress in the medieval city? Where did the fabrics come from, how were they made and dyed? And what did items of clothing reveal about their wearers? We accompany a cloth merchant from Constance at the time of the Council. --------------- 00:00 Introduction - the Council of Constance 01:48 Examination of women's clothing 03:08 The fabrics from Constance 06:53 Clothing as an identifying symbol 09:16 The importance of clothing color 11:01 The medieval hood --------------- 1) Introduction - the Council of Constance Between 1414 and 1418, one of the most important events of the Middle Ages took place in the trading metropolis of Constance: the Council of Constance. Representatives of the church and politics from home and abroad met in the cathedral. Over 70,000 visitors come to the city of 6,000 inhabitants. World history is being written here. A chronicle records the event in pictures and text. 2) Examination of women's clothing The clothing of the women depicted reveals differences in class and immediately tells you whether they are nobles, traders, nuns or even prostitutes. Today two seamstresses are trying to sew the medieval dresses as authentically as possible. The difficult part: the old fabrics. The Cologne University of Applied Sciences is investigating which fibers they were made of. And details of textile production can be seen on frescoes in a town house in Konstanz. 3) The fabrics from Konstanz Konstanz was famous for its cloth merchants, who mainly sold woolen fabrics and linen. But thanks to their trading relations with Venice and the Hanseatic League in the north, they were also able to offer valuable fabrics such as brocade. Konstanz was excellently connected to the European long-distance network due to its convenient location on Lake Constance. 4) Clothing as a symbol of recognition As more than half of the people of Constance were poor in the Middle Ages, the Christian hospital foundation was founded in 1225 to care for and support the poor and sick. The elderly, orphans, pilgrims and the homeless also received food and shelter there. They were cared for by Beguines who lived in a pious community and distinguished themselves from secular women by their traditional dress. 5) The importance of the colour of clothing Social rank can be recognized by the colour of clothing. The common people wore undyed fabrics. The nobility and wealthy citizens could afford expensive dyes such as purple and indigo. Red tones could also be achieved using the native madder plant or with scale insects, and blue tones with woad. Yellow was a signal colour and was sometimes considered a shameful colour. In some places, pretty women (prostitutes) had to wear a yellow ribbon. 6) The medieval bonnet Headgear was important for women in the Middle Ages: every married woman had to wear a bonnet. The elaborate ruffles on the edge of the rich women's bonnets required a specific weave with the finest linen. With a magnificent bonnet and pin-on sleeves, a woman could appear confident in society - and also listen to the minstrels. #SWR #PlanetSchule ------------ ► All episodes of the series: https://www.planet-schule.de/wissensp... ► WEB: https://planet-schule.de ► NEWSLETTER: https://www.planet-schule.de/sf/servi... ► FACEBOOK: / planetschule ► TWITTER: / swrbildung