Ancient women's clothing in Rus'. Clothing and jewelry of ancient Rus'

How they dressed in the old days The ancient clothes of the Russian nobility in their cut were generally similar to the clothes of people of the lower class, although they differed greatly in the quality of material and decoration. The body was fitted with a wide shirt that did not reach the knees, made of simple canvas or silk, depending on the wealth of the owner. An elegant shirt, usually red, had the edges and chest embroidered with gold and silk, and a richly decorated collar was fastened at the top with silver or gold buttons (it was called a “necklace”). In simple, cheap shirts, the buttons were copper or replaced with cufflinks with loops. The shirt was worn over the underwear. Short ports or trousers were worn on the legs without a cut, but with a knot that made it possible to tighten or expand them in the belt at will, and with pockets (zep). Pants were made from taffeta, silk, cloth, as well as from coarse woolen fabric or canvas. Over the shirt and pants, a narrow sleeveless zipun made of silk, taffeta or dyed cloth was worn, with a narrow small collar fastened at the bottom. The zipun reached to the knees and usually served as home clothing. An ordinary and widespread type of outerwear worn over a zipun was a caftan with sleeves reaching to the toes. In elegant caftans, a pearl necklace was sometimes attached behind the standing collar, and a “wrist” decorated with gold embroidery and pearls was fastened to the edges of the sleeves; the floors were trimmed with braid and lace embroidered with silver or gold. Among the caftans, they were distinguished by their purpose: dining, riding, rain, “smirnaya” (mourning). Winter caftans made with fur were called “caftans”. Sometimes a “feryaz” (ferez) was worn over the zipun, which was an outer garment without a collar, reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves tapering towards the wrist; it was fastened in front with buttons or ties. Winter feryazis were made with fur, and summer ones with a simple lining. In winter, sleeveless fairies were sometimes worn under the caftan. Elegant feryazis were made of velvet, satin, taffeta, damask, cloth and decorated with silver lace. The most elegant clothes were considered fur coat. Not only was it worn when going out into the cold, but the custom allowed the owners to sit in fur coats even while receiving guests. Simple fur coats were made from sheepskin or hare fur; martens and squirrels were higher in quality; noble and rich people had coats made of sable, fox, beaver or ermine. Fur coats were covered with cloth, taffeta, satin, velvet, obyarya or simple dyeing, decorated with pearls, stripes and fastened with buttons with loops or long laces with tassels at the end. “Russian” fur coats had a turn-down fur collar. “Polish” fur coats were made with a narrow collar, with fur cuffs and were fastened at the neck only with a cufflink (double metal button).

How they dressed in the old days Women's outer clothing was a long cloth opashen, which had a long row of tin, silver or gold buttons from top to bottom. Under long sleeves openings were made under the armpits for the arms, and a wide round fur collar was fastened around the neck, covering the chest and shoulders. The hem and armholes of the opashnya were decorated with embroidered braid. A long sundress with sleeves or sleeveless, with armholes, was widespread; The front slit was fastened from top to bottom with buttons. A padded warmer was worn over the sundress. On their heads, married women wore “hair caps” in the form of a small cap, which for rich women was made of gold or silk material with decorations on it. Above the hairline, the head was covered with a white scarf (ubrus), the ends of which, decorated with pearls, were tied under the chin. When leaving home, married women put on a “kika”, which surrounded their head in the form of a wide ribbon, the ends of which were connected at the back of the head; the top was covered with colored fabric; the front part of the necklace was richly decorated with pearls and precious stones; The headband could be separated or attached to another headdress, depending on need. At the front of the kick were pearl threads (lower) hanging down to the shoulders, four or six on each side. When leaving home, women put on a brimmed hat with falling red cords or a black velvet hat with a fur trim over the ubrus. The kokoshnik served as a headdress for both women and girls. It looked like a fan or fan attached to a hairline. The headband of the kokoshnik was embroidered with gold, pearls or multi-colored silk and beads. Women and girls of all segments of the population decorated themselves with earrings, which were varied: copper, silver, gold, with yachts, emeralds, “sparks” (small stones). Solid earrings gemstone were rare. Bracelets with pearls and stones served as decoration for the hands, and rings and rings, gold and silver, with small pearls on the fingers.

Paneva Paneva (poneva, ponyava, ponya, ponka) women's woolen skirt worn by peasant women. It is a belt garment made from three or more partially sewn pieces of wool fabric, specially made on a weaving mill. Paneva is an ancient type of women's clothing; it was worn in combination with a kichka and special chest and shoulder clothing. This is the clothing of predominantly married women; girls wore it upon reaching puberty, and sometimes during the wedding ceremony. Panevs vary in cut and color. According to the cut, panevas differ in swing, open in front or on the side and with stitching, blind. Both types are characteristic of the regions of southern Russia. In the Smolensk province, among the hinged panels, there is a split panel, in which one panel is located in front and two at the back, so that both sides are open, and a mixed panel, consisting of three panels different lengths, of which the short one is located on the right, and a third of the first and third panels were worn with a tuck, turned away and thrown over the belt.

Sundress Sundress is Russian folk women's clothing. A dress, most often sleeveless. Sundresses varied in fabric and cut. Sundresses were worn in central and eastern Europe. The shapes and styles of making sundresses changed from century to century, from north to south, from peasant women to noble women. In the 14th century, voivodes and grand princes of Moscow could wear a sundress. The final affiliation women's wardrobe it became only in the 17th century. In Russian villages, one could learn from a sundress about a woman’s social status and mood. Russian sundresses consisted of many elements, so they were very heavy, especially festive ones. Slanted sundresses were made from sheep's wool, woven black with a decoction of alder and oak. There was a difference between holiday and weekday sundresses. Festive ones for every day were decorated along the hem with a "chitan" ("gaitan", "gaitanchik") with a 1 cm thin homemade braid made of red wool. The top was decorated with a strip of velvet. However, not only woolen sundresses were worn every day. How light home clothes household "sayan" straight sundress made of satin, gathered in a small fold along the back and sides. The young wore “red” or “burgundy” sayans, and the elderly wore blue and black. In the Smolensk region, a slanted sundress (except for the general modern name “sundress”), depending on its type, place of existence, cut, material, is called differently: feryaz (“queen”), sukman, sukmanka, sinikin, klinastic, nasovka, polubumazhnik, Chinese (“Titan”)

Shirt In Rus', it was customary to decorate shirts with embroidery in the most “vulnerable” places for evil forces at the collar, along the edges of the sleeves, on the shoulders, and especially along the hem. Embroidery served as a talisman; it was dominated by solar symbols, as well as images of birds, especially roosters, which were traditionally considered guardians, driving away evil spirits. In the XVII and XVIII centuries On shirts, a border was sewn along the hem. In rich shirts, gold braid or gold braiding was sewn along the seams. A shirt without a border was called a cover. IN folk costume the shirt was the outer clothing, and in the costume of the nobility the lower one. At home, the boyars wore a maid's shirt; it was always silk. The colors of the shirts are different: most often white, blue and red (red shirts were worn together with white ports). They were worn untucked and girded with a narrow belt. A lining was sewn onto the back and chest of the shirt, which was called a lining.

Women's headdresses In the general set of women's peasant costume, an important item was the headdress. In the Smolensk region, in combination with the slanted sundress at the end of the 19th century, old, traditional forms of headdresses continued to exist: collections, warriors, kokoshniks, duckweeds, kichkas, magpies, flies, “guardian” scarves, silk “punchovki”, shawls... Blanks, individual parts for headdresses came mainly from the neighboring Tver province: from Torzhok - velvet and brocade, forehead covers, embroidered with gold, silver and silk threads; from Rzhev - pearl and beaded duckweeds... These hats were expensive and not everyone had them.

Men's hats Hats played a big role in the costume. In old times men's hats made with velvet top bright color conical or round in shape, but always with a fur band. Edge of expensive fur or even headphones were a distinctive feature of princely hats. Over time, the hat became a symbol of a certain social class. That is why they did not take off their hats indoors, when visiting, at receptions, and even in front of the sovereign. The higher the hat was sewn, the more noble the boyar who wore it was. This meaning of the word “hat” is still preserved in the proverb “After Senka and the hat.” Tall hats signified the nobility of the family and rank. When coming home, they did not throw away the expensive hat, but put it on a special device, painted and used as a decoration in the house. It was called a dummy. In the 15th-17th centuries. The hats of the Russian nobility were of four types. Rich people, following Eastern customs, wore a small velvet cap, like a round or tetrahedral skullcap, on their shaved heads at home, embroidered with gold embroidery, beads and pearls. It was called tafya or skufya. They wore such hats at home and did not take them off even in church. A special decree of the Church Council of 1551 forbade even rich people from entering the church in tafiyas. Another form of cap was the already known and previously pointed cap. The rich wore caps made of satin, usually white, with a fastened band, studded with pearls, gold buttons, and precious stones.

Onuchi Onucha is a long wide (about 30 cm) strip of fabric of white, black or Brown(canvas, wool) for wrapping the leg up to the knee (when putting on bast shoes). Such strips of fabric were wrapped around the entire foot and lower leg. Onuchi, if worn with short shoes or without them at all, were tied to the leg with leather collars or frills made of rope or bast, knitted or wicker. The first ones were used on weekdays, the second ones (usually white or red) on holidays. The frills were tied crosswise or in coils around the leg. Usually in summer they wore canvas (linen or hemp fabric) onuchi, in winter they wore cloth (plain weave woolen fabric) and canvas ones together.

Lapti Lapti low shoes, common in Rus' in the old days, but, nevertheless, was widely used in rural areas until the 1930s, woven from tree bast (linden, elm and others) or birch bark. The bast shoe was tied to the leg with laces twisted from the same bast from which the bast shoes themselves were made. Bast shoes were worn with foot wraps (onuchs). From the bast shoe up and around the shin, in the manner of an ancient Greek sandal, there was a bast cord, which at the bottom was attached to the shank of the bast shoe and kept the footcloth from unwinding. Nevertheless, when walking for a long time, I periodically had to change my shoes and rewind my stray footcloths. Weaving bast shoes was a winter activity for peasants in Rus' when there was no field work. Bast was harvested during a certain summer season, when the bast had the necessary strength characteristics. New, freshly woven bast shoes were made one last at a time and in a pair there was no difference between the left and the right. A pair of bast shoes was enough for a man for no more than a week. Hence the saying: “To go on the road, weave five bast shoes!”

Boots The footwear of wealthy people consisted of boots, chobots, shoes and boots. They were made from soft skin Morocco kids. Boots were also made from thick leather yuft and calfskin leather. Just like fabrics, leathers were dyed in different colors. The material for princely shoes was velvet and brocade. Pointed chobots and turned-up ankle boots with heels. Boots were worn to the knees, and they served as protection for the feet, so they were lined with soft canvas. In the old days, boots were without heels and had a soft sole with several layers of leather and a pointed toe. Later, a heel appeared and a saying was made: “A nightingale will fly from under your sock, but an egg will roll around your heel.” The heels were attached with iron or silver staples, and the soles with nails. The front of the boot was usually higher than the back, and the seams were located on the sides. Shoes were cut for one foot, since the lasts with which the shoes were sewn did not distinguish between the right and left boots. So they said: “There are two boots in a pair, and both on the left foot.” Therefore, new boots took a long time to break in. Boots were made in black, and green, and yellow flowers, but most often red. The edges of the tops of rich boots were trimmed with braid, strips of bright fabric, not to mention embroidery: even pearls could be seen on the boots of the most noble ones. The boots were quite expensive. For one pair of boots in the 15th century. it was possible to replace 7 pounds of rye flour or 16 kg of butter. Therefore, most often rich people made shoes at home, for which they kept experienced shoemakers as slaves.

NECK JEWELRY In the burial mounds of the Smolensk region, necklaces made of beads and sometimes metal pendants are quite common finds; the most common beads are glass gilded or silver-plated, barrel-shaped or cylindrical; pendants were moonlights, round plate or openwork pendants, bells, and occasionally, drilled animal fangs; Of greatest interest are pendants in the form of a plate ridge, the body of which is usually decorated with a circular pattern, since over 80% of such decorations were found on the territory of Krivichi.

Just as in its dwellings and buildings Ancient Rus' revealed a lot of original taste and correspondence with the surrounding nature, so it was also original in its clothing, although it borrowed a lot from other peoples, especially from the Byzantines in terms of expensive fabrics and decorations. The main clothing consisted of a linen shirt or shirt and a narrow underdress tucked into boots. A “retinue” or “casing” was put on over the shirt. It was a dress with more or less long sleeves, usually falling below the knees and belted. The warriors and merchants put on a cloak over their retinue, called “korzno” or “myatl” (i.e., a mantle), which was usually fastened on the right shoulder to leave it free. right hand. Among ordinary people, shirts and retinues, of course, were made from coarse linens and woolen fabrics; and the rich wore thinner cloth and often silk. Noble people, boyars and princes, used expensive imported fabrics for their retinue, such as Greek pavoloks of various colors, blue, green and especially red (crimson, or scarlet). The hem was trimmed with a gold or patterned border; the lower part of the sleeves was covered with golden “handrails”; the satin collar was also golden. Sometimes buttonholes made of gold braid were sewn onto the chest; the leather belt or sash of rich people was decorated with gold or silver plaques, expensive stones and beads. They wore boots made of colored morocco and often embroidered with gold thread. The richest people used the most expensive fabrics, especially oxamite. It was gold or silver fabric imported from Greece, embroidered with multi-colored silk patterns and patterns, and very dense. A rather high hat, or, as it was called then, a “hood,” among noble people, had a top of colored velvet and a sable edge. It is known that the princes did not take off their hoods even during divine services. IN winter time There were, of course, fur clothes in use, the rich wore expensive furs, and the common people wore lamb. The very word “casing,” in all likelihood, originally meant the same thing as our “short fur coat,” i.e., a retinue made of lamb fur. A warm woolen retinue, or fofudya (sweatshirt), was also in use.

The luxury of the attire was expressed most of all in various expensive jewelry and pendants. The most common and ancient decoration of Rus' were hryvnias, or metal hoops. Initially, the word “hoop” apparently meant a bracelet or rod, bent into a spiral and worn on the hand. "Grivna" was a hoop worn around the neck or mane; for the poor it is simply twisted wire - copper or bronze, and for the rich - silver or gold. Often found among other antiquities, Russian hryvnias of very elegant workmanship come across. In addition to the hryvnia, they also wore necklaces, or monistas, around the neck, which consisted either of twisted wire or of a chain with various pendants. Of the latter, the most common were: metal and enamel plaques ("tsats"), a likeness of a horse lowered onto the chest, composed of plates and rings (probably what is called a "knuckle" in the chronicle), and in Christian times, a cross. Metal rings on the hands (“wrists”), spherical metal buttons, buckles for fastening, rings, etc. were also worn. In addition, the Russian princes had barmas in their formal attire, i.e. a wide mantle embroidered with gold or lined with pearls, expensive stones and gold plaques with different images on them.

The women's outfit was distinguished by an even greater abundance of decorations; Among them, the first place was occupied by various necklaces, beaded or made of colored glass beads, while among the poor, simply from ground stones. Women's necklaces, or monistas, decorated with coins were especially common; what were the coins obtained from different countries, but most of all silver oriental money. The predilection for metal hoops went so far that in some places women once wore ankle bracelets or a ring on their neck. thumb legs. Earrings were in general use; Even men had them (usually in one ear). The most common form of earrings was a ring of curled wire with three balls placed on it, copper, silver or gold. Women's headdresses were also lined with beads or pearls, and hung with coins and other pendants. It was the custom for married women to cover their heads with a “povoy” (povoin). Above we saw evidence of how luxury increased especially among women with their passion for expensive clothes. In the 13th century, a chronicler, recalling the simplicity of life of the ancient princes and warriors, says that the latter did not place gold hoops on their wives; but their wives wore silver. Luxury was also expressed in expensive furs. The famous ambassador of Louis IX to the Tatars, Rubrukvis, noticed that Russian women wore dresses lined with ermine at the bottom.

As for hair and beard, Rus', after the adoption of Christianity, obviously submitted to Greek influence in this regard; she abandoned the habit of shaving almost her entire head and beard, leaving her forelock and mustache. In the images we see her already quite long hair and with a beard; only young men are depicted beardless. However, the custom of shaving gradually waned. Thus, images of princes in manuscripts and on coins of the 11th century have a short-cropped beard; and at the end of the 12th century we see that they already have a long beard, at least in the north (the image of Yaroslav Vladimirovich in the Church of the Savior-Nereditsa).

The armament of Ancient Rus' was almost the same as that of other European nations in the Middle Ages. The main part of the weapons were swords, spears, or sulitsa, and bows and arrows. In addition to straight double-edged swords, sabers were also used, that is, with curved eastern blades. Axes, or battle axes, were also used. It was customary among the common people to carry a knife, which they wore either in their belt or hidden in their boot. Defensive weapons, or armor, consisted of: iron armor, mainly chain mail, and sometimes plank armor (“paporzi”); further, an iron helmet of a funnel shape with a chain mail mesh around the neck and a large wooden shield, covered with leather and bound with iron, wide at the top and tapering towards the bottom, moreover, painted in the red color (scarlet) beloved by Russia. The spiral hoop mentioned above probably served not only as decoration, but also as protection for the hand. Noble people had gold or silver gilded hoops. (As indicated by the well-known oath of the senior Russian squad at the conclusion of Igor’s treaty with the Greeks.) The best, expensive weapons were obtained through trade from other countries, from Greece, Western Europe and the East. Thus, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” glorifies Latin and Avar helmets, Lyatsky sulitsa, and calls the swords “Kharaluzhny,” that is, made of eastern blued steel. The princes and boyars had weapons decorated with silver and gold, especially helmets, on which the faces of saints and other images were often minted. Sometimes a fur cover, or “prilbitsa,” was put on the helmet. Tulas (quivers) that held arrows were also sometimes covered with fur. Saddles and horse harnesses were decorated with metal plaques and various pendants.

The stirrups of the princes, apparently, were gilded (“Step into the golden stirrups, Prince Igor,” says “The Lay”). Horseback riding was already in general use because it served as the main means of land transportation; on “stakes” (that is, on a cart) and on sleighs they transported heavy loads, as well as women, infirm people and clergy. It is curious that sources do not mention a bow in the composition of horse harness; the driver sat astride a harnessed horse; as evidenced by some drawings in manuscripts of that time.

Sources for the study of Russian clothing are ancient frescoes and manuscripts, such as especially: the Kiev-Sophia, Spas-Nereditsky, Staraya Ladoga frescoes; manuscripts: Svyatoslav's collection, life of Boris and Gleb, etc. Manuals: Sreznevsky "Ancient images of the holy princes Boris and Gleb" (Christian. Antiquities, ed. Prokhorov. St. Petersburg, 1863). "Ancient images of Vladimir and Olga" (Archaeological Bulletin. M. 1867 - 68). “Ancient images of Prince Vsevolod-Gabriel” (Information and notes on little-known monuments. St. Petersburg, 1867). Prokhorov “Wall iconography of the 12th century in the Church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga” (Christian. Antiquities. St. Petersburg, 1871) and “Materials for the history of Russian clothes” (Russian Antiquities. St. Petersburg, 1871). Further, for a visual acquaintance with the decorations of Russian clothing, a wealth of material is presented, a variety of metal objects obtained during excavations of burial mounds or accidentally found in the ground. In some places, by the way, the remains of the fabrics themselves have been preserved. From the many notes about these finds, I will point out: “About the grand ducal decorations found in 1822 near the village of Staraya Ryazan.” St. Petersburg 1831. For the same finds, with drawings, see Kalaidovich’s letters to Malinovsky. M. 1822. Gr. Uvarov about metal jewelry and pendants found in the Meryan land (“Meryans and their way of life” in the Proceedings of the First Archaeological Congress. What the author refers to here as the Varangians, we consider a misunderstanding and attribute to Rus'). Filimonov "Ancient decorations of grand ducal clothes found in Vladimir in 1865." (Collection of Moscow. About. Old Russian art. 1866). About the same Vladimir treasure, see Stasov (in Izvestia of St. Petersburg. Archaeological. Ob. T. VI). By the way, Mr. Stasov notes that the remains of silk clothes found are distinguished by patterns of the Byzantine style, and the gold and embroidered ones have silk-woven figures of fantastic animals of the same style and correspond to the same sculptural images on the Dmitrov Cathedral in Vladimir (130 p.). This article is supplemented by a note by the Vladimir archaeologist Tikhonravov (ibid. p. 243). He says that in the sacristies of the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral are kept scraps of princely clothes taken off when their tombs were opened. By the way, in the tomb of Andrei Bogolyubsky, silk material was found with patterns woven on it, herbs and lions facing each other, which are completely similar to the sculptured images of lions on the outer walls of St. Demetrius Cathedral. N. P. Kondakova "Russian Treasures". St. Petersburg 1906. Here about barmas and other decorations of princely clothing. His "Image of the Russian princely family in miniatures of the 11th century." St. Petersburg 1906. Here are described 5 Byzantine miniatures found in the Codex Gertrude, or handwritten Latin psalter, located in Lombardy. The author believes that these miniatures were executed in Vladimir-Volynsky shortly before the untimely death of Prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich, whose mother, a former Polish princess, bore the Catholic name of Gertrude. For comparison, the images on the walls of Kiev-Sof are given. Cathedral and Spas-Neredits. ts., miniatures from Svyatoslav’s collection, etc. Maksimovich explained the word “fofudya” by the Greek fabric from which caftans with belts, or “fofoudates” were sewn (his Works III. 424). And he explained the word “prilbitsa” with a fur hat (ibid). See about this word in my Historical writings. Vol. 2nd. There is also my note about the custom of princes to hang their clothes in churches, regarding the question of the “Golden Gate” of the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral, the Type of Kyiv earrings, see Archaeological news and notes. 1897. No. 3, p. 74. Prozorovsky “On utensils attributed to Vladimir Monomakh” (Western Department of Russian and Slavs. Archeology. III. 1882). For Russian princely life, the study of Prof. Anuchin "Sleigh, boat and horses as accessories of a funeral rite" (Antiquities of Moscow. Archaeol. Ob. XIV. 1890). His "On the forms of ancient Russian swords." (Proceedings of the VI Archaeological Congress. Vol. I. Odessa. 1886).

Thank you Ivan. For a real touch.

Lapti, a very common shoe (butt) and not only in Rus'. According to ancient chronicles from the 12th century. And in Ukraine, Belarus, among the Chuvash, Mordovians, Karelians, Bashkirs and partly among the Tatars and... other peoples. You can find a variety of bast shoes.

They are ankle-high, where, whatever grew, they wove them into light and useful bast shoes... yes, my bast shoes, says the proverb. From bast, and see, from the collector of Great Russian words and culture Vladimir Dahl:

“... less often from the bark of willow, willow (vrezki, ivnyaki), tala (shelyuzhnik), elm (elm), birch (birch bark), oak (oak), from thin roots (korenniki), from young oak shingles (dubachi, chrng.), from hemp combs, broken old ropes (kurpa, krutsy, chuna, whisper), from horse manes and tails (volosyaniki), and finally from straw (strawmen, kur.).
Only the bast shoes are woven on both legs (there is no right and left), but the mittens are different (i.e. right and left). Bast shoes with laces (required) and foot wraps, almost knee-length.

Bast shoes entered the life and everyday life of the Russian people tightly and closely, reflecting the surrounding natural identity, and the characteristic lot of the agricultural ambassador: peasants, artisans and Cossacks, right up until the 1950s. The truth is already in the depths of forests, and Siberian woodlands. Nowadays they are like souvenirs.
Although even in some cases, I met among the Old Believers of the Yenisei taiga, in its middle reaches, not far from the Ob-Yenisei Canal, almost on the border, at the junction of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Tomsk Region in the 1990s, real birch bark and bast (imported ) bast shoes, including funeral ones. All this became the property of the museum collections of our city on the mighty Yenisei. This is a wonderful, free and warm folk identity of Russian culture from the Volga and Don, which entered the space age and did not violate the purity and simplicity of the people, preserving the truth and truth of the ages.

Of course it is national wealth, which is crowned by the preservation of the patriarchal, peasant-artisan, moral, ethical and divine power and integrity of the philosophy and culture of the Russian people.
Bast shoes, paw, foot: human, animal and tree. There is also an anchor paw, a triangular, wide tip of the horns. Or: We took refuge from the snow that night under a paw-footed spruce tree. And on the edge of the ice, clinging to life, escaping from pursuit, with one sweeping leap he left his clawed paws, the little one, the owner of the taiga.
What a darling, my darling, you are not so obvious... . Bast shoes carry in themselves derogation and poverty, and where there is breadth and power.
The power of the bast shoe, all-pervasive. There is a place for him everywhere. And in songs, and in folklore, and in art, and folk tales.

Some examples please. The most popular of all, in collaboration with the balalaika, pity, spoons and accordions, and dashingly dancing and spinning from behind the stove, dashingly and inspiredly along the street, the folk song: Oh... Oh bast shoes, you bast shoes, you are my bast shoes. .. . And to this day it sounds marvelously patriarchal in its breadth and flamboyance.
Proverb. He shakes his beard, pulls his bast, but doesn’t weave bast shoes.
In the old room things are going well, but running the house is not a matter of weaving bast shoes!

And there are also riddles, including children's ones: In the linden trough. Is your leg moving? (bast shoes). He shakes his beard, pulls his bast, but does not weave bast shoes. /Goat/. A holey trough is made from linden, on the road. puts cells. (bast shoes). etc.

And even the poems are composed...
...Mukha And Lapot
A fly flew into a bast shoe, flew in and remained silent.
It looks warm and sweet to her - so she doesn’t buzz.
Lapot exhaled a yawn along with the fly in his sleep.
The fly flew into the air and woke up on the wall
“Where did I sleep barefoot tonight?
Maybe I got caught in a bast shoe and fell asleep right in it.”
Lapot thinks about the fly and sighs on the floor,
He sees her walking on the wall and on the ceiling.

Lord, doomed to eternity and immortality,
Have pity on my carelessness and suffering flesh,
Put me on a shelf closer to the sky - the ceiling:
I will cry and laugh, looking at my fate.

You can hardly say it more fully and wisely? Bast shoes live on in our time.
Here's the news:
In the Vladimir region on July 26, the Suzdal Versta running competition in bast shoes will take place.
The tournament will be held for the second time. This year it will be international. The Germans and French announced their participation in the competition. Among those who swapped sneakers for bast shoes last year were Olympic cross-country champions Olga Danilova, Olga Zavyalova, and Mikhail Ivanov.
In addition to running, football in bast shoes and competitions are planned: throwing bast shoes, juggling a ball, long jumping in bast shoes, “in bast shoes - for firewood” (shuttle running). The organizers prepared 700 pairs of bast shoes for the participants.
Permanent news address:
http://www.utro.ru/news/2008/07/25/754801.shtml

Speaking of the antiquity and sustainability of bast shoes.

Kursk archaeologists in July 2003 “made a unique find; they discovered an ancient bast shoe, which is almost 1000 years old! ... fragments of ceramic dishes from the 11th to 13th centuries were discovered next to him." http://www.rol.ru/news/misc/news/03/07/11_001.htm

God's abundant blessings to everyone.

Women's clothing during Muscovite Rus' was predominantly loose-fitting. Particularly original were outerwear, which included letniks, telogreas, cold jackets, rospashnits, etc.

Letnik is a cold outer garment, that is, without lining, and an overhead one, worn over the head. The letnik differed from all other clothes in the cut of the sleeves: the length of the sleeves was equal to the length of the letnik itself, and the width was half the length; They were stitched from the shoulder to half, and the lower part was left unstitched. Here is an indirect description of the old Russian letnik, given by the steward P. Tolstoy in 1697: “The nobles wear black outerwear, long, to the very ground and tirokiya, just as the female letniks previously sewed this in Moscow.”

The name letnik was recorded around 1486, it had a general Russian character, later letnik as a common name for; men's and women's clothing is presented in Northern Russian and Southern Russian dialects.

Since letniki had no lining, that is, they were cold clothes, they were also called cold clothes. Women's feryaza, elegant wide clothing without a collar, intended for the home, was also considered cold. In the Shuya petition of 1621 we read: “My wife’s dresses are feryaz kholodnik kindyak yellow and feryazi other warm kindyak lazorev.” Back in the 19th century, in a number of places various types of summer clothing made of canvas were called cold clothes.

In descriptions of the life of the royal family dating back to the second quarter of the 17th century, the rospashnitsa, a women's outer garment with lining and buttons, is mentioned several times. It was the presence of buttons that distinguished it from the letnik. The word rospashnitsa appeared as a result of the desire to have a special name for women's swing clothing, since men's swing clothing was called opashen. In Moscow, a corresponding variant for naming women's clothing appeared - opashnitsa. In the second half of the 17th century, loose-fitting loose-fitting clothing lost its attractiveness in the eyes of representatives of the upper class, the emerging orientation towards Western European forms of clothing affected, and the names considered moved into the category of historicism.

The main name for warm outerwear is telogera. Telogreys differed little from rosspashniks; sometimes men also wore them. It was mainly indoor clothing, but warm, since it was lined with cloth or fur. Fur quilted jackets differed little from fur coats, as evidenced by the following entry in the inventory of the royal dress of 1636: “The quilted jacket was cut for the Empress Queen in a las colored silk of worms (crimson, bright crimson - G.S.) and light green, the length of the fur coat in the front was 2 arshin." But padded warmers were shorter than fur coats. Telogrei entered the life of the Russian people very widely. To this day, women wear warm sweaters, shower warmers.

Women's light fur coats were sometimes called torlops, but from the beginning of the 17th century the word torlop was replaced by the more universal name fur coat. Rich fur short coats, the fashion for which came from abroad, were called kortels. Cortels were often given as a dowry; Here is an example from a row document (dowry agreement) of 1514: “The girl is wearing a dress: a cortel of maroons with a louse, seven rubles, a cortel of white ridges, half a third of a ruble, the louse is ready, striped sewn and a cortel of linen with taffeta and a louse.” By the middle of the 17th century, cortels also went out of fashion, and the name became archaic.

But the history of the word codeman begins in the 17th century. This clothing was especially common in the south. The documents of the Voronezh Prikaz hut of 1695 describe a humorous situation when a man dressed up in a codeman: “On those days he came dressed in a woman’s codeman and he couldn’t remember but put on the coat for a joke.” Kodman looked like a cape; kodmans were worn in Ryazan and Tula villages before the revolution.

And when did the “old-fashioned shushuns” appear, which Sergei Yesenin mentions in his poems? The word Shushun has been noted in writing since 1585; scientists suggest its Finnish origin; initially it was used only in the east of the Northern Russian territory: in the Podvina region, along the river. Vaga in Veliky Ustyug, Totma, Vologda, then became known in the Trans-Urals and Siberia. Shushun - women's clothing made of fabric, sometimes lined with fur: “shushun lazorev and shushun cat women’s” (from the parish and expenditure book of the Anthony-Siysky Monastery of 1585); “The zaechina shushun under a rag and that shushun to my sister” (spiritual letter - will of 1608 from Kholmogory); “Shushunenko warm zaechshshoye” (clothing painting of 1661 from Vazhsky district). Thus, Shushun is a Northern Russian telogrea. After the 17th century, the word spreads south to Ryazan, west to Novgorod and even penetrates the Belarusian language.
Wire rods, a type of outerwear made of woolen fabric, were borrowed from the Poles; These are short quilted jackets. For some time they were worn in Moscow. Here they were made from sheepskin covered with cloth on top. This clothing was preserved only in Tula and Smolensk places.
Clothes such as kitlik (women's outer jacket - influenced by Polish fashion) and belik (peasant women's clothing made of white cloth) fell out of use early. Nasovs, a type of overhead clothing worn for warmth or for work, are almost never worn now.
Let's move on to hats. Here it is necessary to distinguish four groups of things depending on the family and social status of the woman, on the functional purpose of the headdress itself: women's scarves, headdresses developed from scarves, caps and hats, girls' headbands and crowns.

Main title women's clothing in the old days - plat. In some dialects the word is preserved to this day. The name shawl appears in the 17th century. This is what the woman’s entire set of headdresses looked like: “And the robbers tore off her three-piece bottomed coat with sables, price fifteen rubles, a Ludan aspen gold kokoshnik with pearl grains, price seven rubles, and a felling scarf embroidered with gold, price ruble” (from the Moscow court case 1676). The scarves that were part of the indoor or summer attire of the yasenshchina were called ubrus (from brusnut, scatter, that is, rub). The clothes of fashionistas in Muscovite Rus' looked very colorful: “Everyone wore yellow summer clothes and worm-like fur coats, in ubrus, with beaver necklaces” (“Domostroy” from the 17th century list).

A fly is another name for a headscarf, which, by the way, is very common. But the povoy was known very little until the 18th century, although later the commonly used povoynik developed from this word - “the headdress of a married woman, tightly covering her hair.”

In the old book writing, headscarves and capes also had other names: withered, ushev, glavotyag, nametka, cape, hustka. Nowadays, in addition to the literary cape, the word nametka “women’s and girl’s headdress” is used in the southern Russian regions, and in the southwest - hustka “scarf, fly.” Since the 15th century, Russians have been familiar with the word veil. The Arabic word veil originally meant any cover on the head, then it acquired a specialized meaning of “bride’s cape”, here is one of the first uses of the word in this meaning: “And how they scratch the Grand Duchess’s head and put it on the princess’s head, and hang the veil” (description wedding of Prince Vasily Ivanovich 1526).

A special feature of the girl's outfit was the headbands. In general, a characteristic feature of a girl’s attire is an open crown, and the main feature of married women’s attire is complete coverage of the hair. Girls' headdresses were made in the form of a bandage or a hoop, hence the name - bandage (in writing - since 1637). Bandages were worn everywhere: from the peasant hut to the royal palace. The outfit of a peasant girl in the 17th century looked like this: “The girl Anyutka is wearing a dress: a green cloth caftan, a dyed azure jacket, a bandage sewn with gold” (from a Moscow interrogation record of 1649). Dressings are gradually falling out of use; they lasted longer in the northern regions.

Girls' headbands were called bandages; this name, along with the main bandage, was noted only in the territory from Tikhvin to Moscow. At the end of the 18th century, a bandage was the name given to ribbons worn on the head rural girls. In the south, the name ligament was more often used.

By appearance approaches the bandage and the crown. This is an elegant girl's headdress in the form of a wide hoop, embroidered and decorated. The crowns were decorated with pearls, beads, tinsel, and gold thread. The elegant front part of the crown was called the apron, and sometimes the entire crown was called that.

Married women wore closed headdresses. A head cover in combination with ancient Slavic “amulets” in the form of horns or combs is a kika, kichka. Kika is a Slavic word with the original meaning of “hair, braid, cowlick.” Only a wedding headdress was called a kika: “They will scratch the head of the Grand Duke and Princess, and put a kika on the princess and hang a cover” (description of the wedding of Prince Vasily Ivanovich, 1526). Kichka is a women's everyday headdress, common mainly in the south of Russia. A type of kick with ribbons was called snur - in Voronezh, Ryazan and Moscow.

The history of the word kokoshnik (from kokosh “rooster” due to its resemblance to a cock’s comb), judging by written sources, begins late, in the second half of the 17th century. The kokoshnik was a common class dress; it was worn in cities and villages, especially in the north.
Kiki and kokoshniks were equipped with a backplate - a back in the form of a wide assembly covering the back of the head. In the north, slaps on the head were mandatory; in the south they might not be present.
Together with the kitsch they wore a magpie - a hat with a knot at the back. In the North, the magpie was less common; here it could be replaced by a kokoshnik.

In the northeastern regions, kokoshniks had a unique appearance and a special name - shamshura, see the inventory of the Stroganovs’ property compiled in 1620 in Solvychegodsk: “The shamshura is sewn with gold on white ground, the headband is sewn with gold and silver; wicker shamshura with panicles, the necklace is embroidered with gold.” An elegant girl's headdress, golodets, was a tall oval-shaped circle with an open top; it was made from several layers of birch bark and covered with embroidered fabric. In Vologda villages, golovodtsy could be wedding dresses for brides.

Various hats, worn on the hair under scarves, under kichkas, were worn only by married women. Such headdresses were especially common in the north and central Russia, where climatic conditions required the simultaneous wearing of two or three hats, and family and community requirements regarding mandatory hair covering married woman were stricter than in the south. After the wedding, they put a lingonberry on the young wife: “Yes, put a kika on the fourth dish, and under the kika put a slap on the head, and a lingonberry, and a hairline, and a bedspread” (“Domostroy” according to the list of the 16th century, wedding ceremony). Evaluate the situation described in the text of 1666: “He, Simeon, ordered all the female robots to take off their cowlicks and walk around as bare-haired girls, because they didn’t have legal husbands.” Podubrusniks were often mentioned in inventories of the property of townspeople and rich villagers, but in the 18th century they were classified by the “Dictionary of the Russian Academy” as a type of common women’s headdress.

In the north, more often than in the south, there was a volosnik - a cap made of fabric or knitted, worn under a scarf or hat. The name dates back to the last quarter of the 16th century. Here is a typical example: “In my yard, Maryitsa beat me on the ears and molested me, and robbed me, and with a robbery he grabbed a hat, a golden hair cord, and a pearl trim knitted with silk from my head” (petition 1631 from Veliky Ustyug). The volosnik differed from the kokoshnik by its smaller height, it fit tightly around the head, and was simpler in design. Already in the 17th century, only rural women wore hairpieces. From below, a trim was sewn to the hairline - an embroidered circle made of thick fabric. Since the trim was the most visible part of the headdress, sometimes the entire hair was called the trim. Let's give two descriptions of the volosniks: “Yes, my wife has two golden volosniks: one has pearl trim, the other has gold trim” (petition of 1621 from Shuisky district); “Pearl trim with a hairline and a thread” (Vologda dowry painting, 1641).

In the second half of the 17th century, in Central Russian sources, instead of the word volosnik, the word mesh began to be used, which reflects a change in the very type of object. Now the cap began to be used as a single whole, with a tight circle sewn on the bottom, but it itself had sparse holes and became lighter. Volosniki were still preserved on the northern Russian territory.
Podubrusniks were more often worn in the city, and volosniki - in the countryside, especially in the north. Noble women have had sewn indoor caps since the 15th century. was called a cap.

From Tatar language the name tafya was borrowed. Tafya is a cap worn under a hat. The first mention of it is found in the text of 1543. Initially, the wearing of these headdresses was condemned by the church, since tafyas were not removed in the church, but they became part of the household custom of the royal court, large feudal lords) and from the second half of the 17th century. Women also began to wear them. Wed. foreigner Fletcher’s remark about Russian headdresses in 1591: “Firstly, they put a tafya or a small night cap on the head, which covers a little more than the crown, and on top of the tafya they wear a large hat.” Oriental hats were called tafya different types, therefore, the Turkic arakchin, known to the Russians, did not become widespread; it remained only in some folk dialects.
All the headdresses mentioned here were worn by women primarily at home, and also when going out in the summer. In winter they dressed up in fur hats of the most varied types, from a variety of furs, with a bright colored top. The number of hats worn at the same time increased in winter, but winter hats were generally shared between men and women.<...>
Let's stop spying on our fashionistas and end our story here.

G. V. Sudakov “Ancient women’s clothing and its names” Russian speech, No. 4, 1991. P. 109-115.

From the very beginning of time, clothing has expressed the characteristics of the person wearing it. Ethnic groups, entire nationalities were formed, and what they dressed in was directly related to culture, religion, living conditions, and way of life.

All these signs can be found in the design of clothing of the people who lived during the times of Ancient Rus'.

Names of clothing in Ancient Rus'

Old Russian clothing is distinguished by its bright originality, which, however, was not formed without the use of some elements from other cultures. The basis for the outfits of all classes of society were the shirt and trousers (ports).

At its core, a shirt can be considered as simple underwear. Know how she wore it underwear under an expensive outfit, and among ordinary peasants it was used as the main clothing. Therefore, shirts for different classes had completely different external characteristics. Long shirts made of colored silk, decorated with rich embroidery and precious stones, were, of course, available only to princes and all sorts of nobles.

A commoner in Ancient Rus' could only afford to wear linen clothes. Small children were also dressed in the shirt. At the same time, in order to protect them from the evil eye and evil forces, until the age of three, clothes were altered from their parents’.

Another popular men's clothing accessory was ports. They were pants that tapered towards the bottom, and were hemmed from coarse homespun fabrics. The nobility wore more expensive trousers, made from foreign fabrics, over simple trousers.

Features of women's clothing in Ancient Rus'

Old Russian women's clothing did not have a wide variety of cuts, however, like men's, it determined the material condition and status of the housewife. The lighter and more pleasant the outfit was, the richer and more numerous the decorations on it, the higher class the wearer belonged to.

The women's wardrobe in Ancient Rus' consisted of the following elements:

1. First of all, of course, the shirt. In the female version it was also called a shirt. Girls of Ancient Rus' especially loved canvas clothes called “zapona”. Canvas the right size it was bent in half, and a cutout was made in the middle for the head. They put the cuff on over the shirt, then beautifully belted it.
2. For holidays or special occasions there was a topper. It was usually made of expensive fabric, which was decorated with bright embroidery and rich ornaments. Today the top would be called a tunic, with or without sleeves.
3. A married woman could be distinguished by a poneva - the name given to a wide strip of woolen fabric wrapped around the hips and secured with a belt at the waist. The color of the poneva varied among different tribes. For example, the Vyatichi had it in a blue checkered pattern, while the Radimichi preferred red.
4. Festive long-sleeved shirt - women wore it only on special days.
5. A woman's head was necessarily covered with a warrior.

Winter clothes of Ancient Rus'

Geographical areas of residence of ancient Russian peoples, as well as climatic conditions, consisting of frosty winters and the rather cool summer could not but affect the clothes. To survive in the winter, the Russians wore a casing - outerwear made from fur-bearing animals with the fur inside.

More affordable option, a sheepskin coat, was made using the same method from sheepskin, and was worn mainly by peasants. Fur coats and sheepskin coats made of valuable fur, worn by the nobility, not only protected them from freezing, but were also used to emphasize their position in any season.

Despite the fact that the clothing of Ancient Rus' had clear differences in terms of belonging (for the upper classes it was made from foreign fabrics, and for the lower classes it was homespun), in general it had common features. The main ones are multi-layered, intricate embroidery, complex patterns. Moreover, the latter not only played the role of decorations, but were considered amulets that protected against grief and dark forces.