William Garza
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances, The Jakobsweg
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
That was my first thought, too. Thousands and thousands walk today in character ☺. You can spot them from a mile. In fact, I told a few friends once that they didn't even need to attach a shell to their backpacks, anyone would recognise immediately that we were on the way to Santiago with one look at our backpacks, our trousers, our shoes, our shirts and jackets, our poles ...I wear clothes that I'd never wear at home and don't care how I look ..... does that count?
I've never seen anyone dressed up in what we think is classical medieval pilgrim outfit and actually walking long-distance to Santiago. Nor do I even recall (Catholic) clergy, monks or nuns recognisable as such by their clothes. If there were any, they were either wearing civilian clothing or I didn't register it any more than I do in normal life.Have you ever seen a peregrino in character? A monk, a dandy, a highwayman? Just a curious question of my imagination about how practical\impractical dress would have been..and shoes..oh boy...
I’m really wondering about how he wore that bandanaOn my 2014 Camino I met a man who looked like a Hells Angel. Tattoos all over his arms, legs, chest and back, wearing a bandana.
I've done quite a lot with historical re-creation societies. Early to mid-medieval dress is remarkably practical and comfortable to wear, the main difference that people notice is that it's a lot heavier than modern clothing. I've slept many a night wrapped in my cloak too, and felted wool is surprisingly water-resistant.A really..odd question
Have you ever seen a peregrino in character?
A monk, a dandy,a highwayman?
Just for the sport of it..or an authenticity, a search for how it may have been..or never been to travel cognito in costume.
Just a curious question of my imagination about how practical\impractical dress would have been..and shoes..oh boy...
Below is a photo of the shoes that a history student with focus on medieval history made and used for a pilgrimage to Santiago and Finisterre in the summer of 2012, in total 62 days and 1.400 km, based on the equipment of a pilgrim from the 14th century. He says that he needed to repair them frequently but never had a single blister, to the astonishment of many other pilgrims in contemporary shoes.
What a beautiful human!
Father Joyful? Erm, well, ok ... https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/565840Father Joyful, Camino Francés, May 2017
Note the bare feet
Father Joyful? Erm, well, ok ... https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/565840. There was of course also Zapatones. Some of you must have taken a photo of him.
What I noticed with interest is the fact, that the three people in @grumerz' photo as well as the two people I mentioned earlier who had studied medieval pilgrim clothing and spent a lot of time to procure it or make it themselves did not wear the brown robes peregrino outfit that is imprinted on your retinas ...
Do you recall the name of the Pueblo where you took the photo, Juspassinthrough? Thanks, John
I've never seen anyone dressed up in what we think is classical medieval pilgrim outfit and actually walking long-distance to Santiago.
Nor do I even recall (Catholic) clergy, monks or nuns recognisable as such by their clothes. If there were any, they were either wearing civilian clothing or I didn't register it any more than I do in normal life.
Atapuerca on May 30 2017Do you recall the name of the Pueblo where you took the photo, Juspassinthrough? Thanks, John
Many thanks. I was in nearby Ages.Atapuerca on May 30 2017
We began our day in Agés, we stayed Albergue San RafaelMany thanks. I was in nearby Ages.
Medieval clothing was almost certainly a lot more colourful than most people think. For the poor people it would have been mostly natural wool colours so anything between light cream to dark brown. But natural dyes can produce a wide range of surprisingly bright colours so even poor people who made their own clothing might have dyed some pieces, or made colouful edgings or braids. Richer people may well have worn quite bright clothing especially if they could afford silk instead of wool or linen. There are plenty of medieval paintings and books showing bright colours, and even allowing for the artistic license of the painter that would suggest that people wore things other than brown. Since cloth was expensive (see below) most people would not have had multiple items of clothing nor would they have made or purchased special items to go on pilgrimage and so would have been wearing their ordinary,day to day clothes.What I noticed with interest is the fact, that the three people in @grumerz' photo as well as the two people I mentioned earlier who had studied medieval pilgrim clothing and spent a lot of time to procure it or make it themselves did not wear the brown robes peregrino outfit that is imprinted on your retinas ...
Medieval clothing was almost certainly a lot more colourful than most people think. For the poor people it would have been mostly natural wool colours so anything between light cream to dark brown. But natural dyes can produce a wide range of surprisingly bright colours so even poor people who made their own clothing might have dyed some pieces, or made colouful edgings or braids. Richer people may well have worn quite bright clothing especially if they could afford silk instead of wool or linen.
There are plenty of medieval paintings and books showing bright colours, and even allowing for the artistic license of the painter that would suggest that people wore things other than brown. Since cloth was expensive (see below) most people would not have had multiple items of clothing nor would they have made or purchased special items to go on pilgrimage and so would have been wearing their ordinary,day to day clothes.
At average UK wages now that would equate to about £500 value for one garment.
I stayed at Albergue El Pajar. We may well have crossed paths; the Camino provides many possible storylines.We began our day in Agés, we stayed Albergue San Rafael
I didn't meet Father Joyful, I read up on him. I'm not sure that I need to know who told him to walk the Camino.Did he share with you who told him to walk the Camino? I read your blog post, at least his story was consistent.
All good stuff, though the only source I'm aware of making anything like the full traditional pilgrim robes & cloak using the original type of wool provides them in brown, light grey, and black.
SNIP
€600 is the price I've seen for a new one today in 2019.
Killer!Not taken on Camino (note the absence of shell & backpack), but basically this is me :
View attachment 61265
I have lost the cape annoyingly, but I intend to replace it soon.
Came out of St Pancras railway station (in London) about two months ago to see six similarly attired gents - turned out they were supporters of the England cricket team . . .A few years ago I met a young man dressed as a Crusader knight, chain mail, white surcoat with red cross, helmet, belted sword in scabbard (modern trainers).
On closer inspection the chain mail was 'film use', light synthetic, and the sword was made of painted wood.
He was very cheerful!
I had to look up what "cloth hose" means. The website of the Austrian pilgrim is in German and he talks about Beinlinge. Looking at the explanation of his sewing work and also at his photos in general, I think he had both of these to cover his legs and perhaps wore them alternatively:That looks like proper cloth hose in the picture on the right, those are tricky to make and fit
I learned mostly out of necessity. When I started hiking and camping a very long time ago (I'm in my mid 60s and was walking alone from age about 12 so back in the late 1960s) I couldn't afford to buy ready made kit so I learned to sew from my Mum and made most of my own stuff. I learned to knit socks from my gran because it was impossible to buy good wool socks in small sizes. I even made a tent for my O level needlework exam!Walking "in character" isn't as easy as one might think ☺. It definitely requires a lot of preparation and a talent for handiwork. I really appreciate the expertise that you bring to this thread, @Moorwalker!
I had the privilege of walking part of my first CF with two teachers - one from Chile and one from Switzerland. The Swiss lady was knitting her friend a pair of socks while she walked. Watching somebody walk, talk, turn a heel and learn the words to "On Ilkley Moor Baht 'at" on the path to Foncebadon was a life changing experience!@Jeff Crawley, I don't know whether you are interested in sock knittingbut as someone who knows how to knit a sock with four needles I was intrigued to learn that knitted socks were a rarity for medieval people and/or a luxury item. Knitting with two or more needles was a fairly recent invention. Below is apparently one of the first images (at least for the area between the North Sea and the Alps) that show this new technology: Mary knitting a garment for baby Jesus.
Long discussions about what kind of socks to take with you or how many socks to wear must have been highly unlikely in medieval pilgrim circles.
View attachment 61392
I had the privilege of walking part of my first CF with two teachers - one from Chile and one from Switzerland. The Swiss lady was knitting her friend a pair of socks while she walked. Watching somebody walk, talk, turn a heel and learn the words to "On Ilkley Moor Baht 'at" on the path to Foncebadon was a life changing experience!
Besides the MAGIC LOOP is the way to go for socks though I've yet to master knitting two socks on the one needle at the same time!
But can you knit TWO socks at the same time on the one set of needles?Ooh that's a subject for debate! I worked out various loop methods when I was learning to knit back in the early 1960s and I much prefer using 4 needles for small items like socks or hats or sleeves. And I can happily knit while walking or watching television, or reading. I even did most of a sock the day after I had laser surgery for short sight so most of it was done with my eyes closed.
A really..odd question
Have you ever seen a peregrino in character?
A monk, a dandy,a highwayman?
Just for the sport of it..or an authenticity, a search for how it may have been..or never been to travel cognito in costume.
Just a curious question of my imagination about how practical\impractical dress would have been..and shoes..oh boy...
Oh that's a shame - never mind, you can always get somebody to Photoshop the smartphone and your hands off of the sunglasses lens.He was obviously a super cool kind of chapView attachment 61418
Do you mean one sock inside the other? Yes, it's not difficult once you learn how, but it needs concentration because one mistake means that the two are irrevocably joined together, so I don't.But can you knit TWO socks at the same time on the one set of needles?
(nope, me neither!)
No, side by side!Do you mean one sock inside the other? Yes, it's not difficult once you learn how, but it needs concentration because one mistake means that the two are irrevocably joined together, so I don't.
No, side by side!
Two balls of yarn, not connected. Apparently you can knit them toe up or cuff down - I've only succeeded in two tubes! It means you knit the cuffs at the same time, turn the heels at the same time . . .
I remember my mother knitting a tubular scarf for my sister on two needles: odd stitches were for the front face, even stitches for the rear - looked really odd!
I wonder whether the movie scene from The Way was inspired by one of the local pilgrimages TO Roncesvalles that usually take place in May. These pilgrims look quite different from Camino pilgrims:Pilgrims carrying their Cross in that way are extremely rare, but they do exist. Just don't expect to meet one.
Well, luckily he wasn’t Scottish....I’m really wondering about how he wore that bandana
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?