Relatively little clothing of the Tudor period has survived, and that which has tends to be sumptuous and ornate, not the clothing of the common man. The clothing found on the Mary Rose provides a range of garments worn by the sailors, soldiers and officers aboard.
The type of clothing that survived depended on the individual materials susceptibility to the action of the micro-biological organisms in the Solent silt. Leather items survived well, although the thread used for their manufacture has usually disintegrated. Twelve almost complete leather jerkins have been identified, with no two exactly the same. These are sleeveless garments for the upper body, which fastened either at the centre on the front, down one side or with a crossover front. While the majority were fastened with aiglet tipped laces, at least one jerkin had buttonholes, but the buttons did not survive.
A few jerkins are slashed and pinked in a decorative manner and some have stitch marks from an appliqued cross, but most are plain. Leather fragments, covered with patches of iron or concretion, suggest some thicker jerkins may have been worn under armour.
The mid-sixteenth century marked a turning point in shoe construction, with the traditional 'turnshoe' giving way to the 'welted' method still used today. Square, round or ear-toe shoes demonstrate the variety of styles worn, with some slashed in a decorative manner similar to that used on the jerkins. Though generally of the slip-on type, some are fastened with a buckle and strap or aiglet tipped laces. Boots were worn either to the ankle or above the knee. It is not known if all men on board wore shoes, some were possibly barefoot.
Two leather mittens, both for the left hand, were stored inside the same chest. These are the only examples of handwear recovered from the Mary Rose and their exact purpose is unclear. Wool garments have generally survived in a fragmentary state.
The most complete woollen garment identified is a jerkin. This was decoratively edged with a green silk braid and fastened with four woollen buttons. Discovered inside this jerkin were large fragments of woollen fabric, dyed yellow and checked in red, possibly the remains of a shirt. A large woollen fragment with stitched eyelet holes for the attachment of laces may be the waist area of a pair of hose. Several small fragments found inside shoes or boots may also be the remains of woollen hose.
Three woollen knitted hats resembling flat brimmed berets have been recovered. Two of these are intact and have silk linings. Another knitted item recovered virtually complete is a scogger, a versatile sleeve rather like a modern legwarmer that could be worn either on the arm or lower leg.
Velvet and silk were generally recovered only in small fragments, threads, braids or ribbons. Many of these are probably trimmings from garments worn by individuals of high rank. An exciting discovery was a complete velvet hat, the seams trimmed with silk, that was found within the cabin of the Barber Surgeon.
It bears a close resemblance to the head coverings worn in a contemporary painting of Henry VIII and the Guild of Barber Surgeons, painted by Hans Holbein in 1540.
An incomplete hat (made entirely of silk) in the same style was recovered from the upper deck.
Several types of fastenings were recovered, including 'set's of ornate buttons, which are spherical, hemispherical or pear-shaped and covered in red or green silk. Simple buttons of wool, silk or leather have also been identified. Copper alloy aiglets were rolled around the ends of laces to prevent fraying and ease the process of lacing garments or shoes. Metal buckles of varying sizes were used to fasten belts, shoes and armour.
It is not possible from the finds alone to create a complete 'picture' of the clothing worn by the men on board the Mary Rose. For example, linen was probably used in the manufacture of many of the shirts and breeches and this material has not survived. Despite this, in conjunction with written and visual sources, the collection has given us an important insight into the everyday clothing of the period.
There is evidence of clothes having been mended. One of the jerkins extensive repairs around the armhole and we have a number of thimbles and thread bobbins. "Make and mend" must have been as important in the Tudor navy as it is today.
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