Medieval undergarments…

They have been my lowkey obsession for years. I have actually considered, on more than one

occassion, not going in to an event because I had forgotten my braes.  For me, skin-out is as much the fun of the game as learning new skills and sharing what I know. I’ve had to make allowances for bras because I don’t care for binding and I prefer to have some support.  This led me to continue to search for what women would have done. I simply do not believe that ‘nothing’ or binding was the only answer. Women throughout time have been busty and the varience on it being comfortable or not was likely to have varied as much then as it does now.

This led me initially to the Lengberg bra (another post that is coming, I swear). These bras were found in Austria and date to between 1390 and 1485. Several bras were found,  some in very good condition and they all resemble the modern bra-lette. I’ve made one, it’s super comfy. I can even run in it. However, my focus is the era of the Kievan rus’ and while there are finds of slav temple rings down into Bavaria, it is no small gap between the end of the Kievan rus’ and 1390. Even being generous, 100 years is quite the leap.

So, what next?

Honestly, I found the Ciasnoche 100% by accident. A Polish artist I follow on Facebook posted about them and called them an undergarment. Imagine a lightbulb dinging over my head when I saw this. I screen shot everything and now… now I had a name!

First, It is astonishing to me that this garment is not more widely known (at least in the US, I imagine any Polish person is laughing at this post). I asked everyone, no one ever mentioned this garment. Why is that odd? Because this garment has been worn since roughly the 9th century all the way into the modern era. You can look at a wonderful 3D ciasnoche on Krakows Ethnographic museums website here that is from 1950.  This modern ciasnoche is virtually indistinguishable from descriptions and illustrations of their earlier counterparts. I mean, look at it.

So, what is the actual information?

According to the scanty information I’ve been able to find so far, the ciasnoche was not only an undergarment but also a working garment for women. The English translation below indicates it was worn for working out in the field which makes it great for those hot summer events.

Ciasnoche literally translates to ‘tight’. Why I don’t know. That is the last word I would use to describe this garment. How it is constructed does not lend itself to being ‘tight’.

I have only been able to find two different descriptions mentioning the

ciasnoche. One is a very rough English translation and the other is a page in Polish (both provided below) which I have not managed to sit down and translate much of yet.  I don’t speak Polish so it is going to take a minute unless I find a translator.

In addition to these two written descriptions, I have managed to find a redrawing of what is believed to be a ciasnoche from some miniatures.  Here you can see that the woman is carrying what appears to be a bucket as well as some branches. This will be important as we go on.

It appears the most common way to make a ciasnoche is with a single strap that connects at the center back, goes across one shoulder and then connects again at the front. It appears that you can stitch it at the back and have it go through an eyelet or ring at the front or have rings at both the back and front and the strap is a separate piece all together. There are also later extant finds, such as the one below that have two straps that are permanently attached to the front and the back.  Another important construction note, that I had not realized before I made mine was that the gathers in the skirt are only at the sides and back, the front is flat. It doesn’t matter a whole lot as they aren’t large gathers, but for a correct garment these rules should be followed.

Now, let’s talk fabric. All the reconstructions I have found are out of linen and there is this late period extant one out of strips of silk and if you look at the English translation above it just says ‘batiste’

which is pretty much just a thin version of ANY fabric… so, of course, I went fancy with my first one and made it out of thin noile silk.  You could even make these out of thin wool, which they absolutely had in period. I won’t, I’m allergic, but you could.

I love silk noile. Its nice on the skin, is pleasant to work with and honestly, just makes me feel fancy.  That being said, I plan on making lots of these for hot events like Lilies War or if I ever get to make it out Pennsic. So I’ll be making a bunch out of linen and in different colors.

Now, as I said earlier, the descriptions have it as an undergarment and working garment. I have my doubts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the closest thing I’ve found to a period undergarment so that’s what I’m going to use it as but it isn’t supportive. It simply can’t be with its construction. You either have to be able to get it over your chest/shoulders or your hips and that means it can’t be particularly supportive. Remember the miniature illustration from earlier? Especially after making and wearing one, I think its far more likely that it was worn for bathing than as an undergarment. But, I’m not going to argue with my data too much.

So there you have it. Everything I know about the ciasnoche, a medieval Slavic woman’s undergarment. There will be another post showing how to take all the appropriate measurements and how to make the actual garment. I just wanted to share the information I had with this one since there isn’t much and its so scattered. Please keep in mind, there IS more information out there and I’m always looking but I’m not omni-present, so if you have more info, please feel free to share. We could all use it, and as always, if you have any questions, hit me up, I’m happy to answer what I can and send you to more knowledgeable folks if needed.