Page 53 - All About History - Issue 52-17

Medieval #Trends
LOCATION: EUROPE
Clothes were hugely important to
the medieval elite, as it was a way of
displaying their wealth and overall
superiority over the poor. Because of
this, various unusual fashion trends
swept through Europe, such as long,
pointed shoes for men. The longer the
shoes were the greater the wealth of the
wearer and hence the social rank. Some
of the shoes were so long they had to
be reinforced with whalebone. Late 14th
century men were keen to show off their
bodies in saucy and revealing clothing,
and would wear dangerously short tunics
with tights. This trend was followed by
the codpiece – a pouch attached to the
front of men’s trousers, shaped and
Clothes were used to
padded to emphasise their masculinity.
Pigs would often find
themselves on trial
“A court found a rooster guilty
of the ‘unnatural crime’ of
laying an egg”
These shoes
were at the sole
of medieval
fashion
indicate a man’s wealth
LOCATION: ALL OVER EUROPE
Life in medieval times could be tough, and this didn’t just apply to
humans. Just like their two-legged owners, all manner of animals
from livestock to insects were put on trial if suspected of breaking
the law. There are records of at least 85 animal trials that took
place during the Middle Ages and the tales vary from the tragic
to the absurd. By far the most serial offenders were pigs, accused
and convicted of chewing off body parts and even eating children.
Most were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging or
being burned at the stake. In 1386, a convicted pig was dressed in
a waistcoat, gloves, drawers and a human mask for its execution.
It wasn’t just pigs that felt the sting of the law, though, In
1474 a court found a rooster guilty of the ‘unnatural
crime’ of laying an egg; unwanted rats often found
themselves on the receiving end of a strongly
worded letter, asking them to leave the premises;
and curiously enough, there was a trial of dolphins
in Marseilles in 1596. However, not all of the
trials ended in brutality. One donkey, which found
herself the victim of unwanted sexual advances, was
proclaimed innocent after a
strong recommendation from
a convent’s prior, declaring
her to be a ‘virtuous’ and
‘well-behaved’ animal.
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