No Extant Example, No Problem?

How do you make something that doesn't have a pattern or an extant example?  Illuminations, religious iconography, historically similar pieces, and Owen-Crocker's best guess.

We are in the week before the Calontir Clothing Challenge begins.  During this "pre-season" we are allowed to get fabric, prepare patterns, mock-up sample pieces, and plan, plan some more and do some research to give structure to our plans.  Most of our pieces of clothing and accessories are supported from sources or exemplars that are from the mid eleventh century.  The one piece of our project without a lot of historical guidance is the mantle, an over layer worn by upper class Anglo Saxon women in the mid 11th century.  The mantle is belted in the front and hangs a bit higher in the front than the back.  From period illuminations, it appears that the front of the belted mantle is about knee length.  

Owen-Crocker writes that the mantle was a rectangular or oval garment with a hole for the head, in the form of a poncho.  The hole is probably not centered because period illuminations show the front is a little shorter than the back.  It's origin is probably from religious garments.  We felt this short description by Owen-Crocker was a bit thin and needed more research.

Looking back in time, Roman soldiers brought a poncho like garment back from wars with Germanic tribes.  The bronze statue of Silenus, from the period between 1st century BCE and 1st century CE, shows a heavy poncho like garment with a hole for the head, the front of the poncho is stitched closed making it a circular poncho.  This garment called a paenula has a hole for the head and when the arms are lifted, deep folds of fabric would cover their arms.  The paenula was worn by soldiers and adopted by officers in the military, it is the paenula worn by generals that we can see in marble carving.  The paenula was adopted by some members of the Senate who wore this instead of a toga.  The paenula became so popular that the Codex of 382 decreed that only the toga could be worn during official government business in the senate.

A Byzantine religious vestment in Catholic Church, the Phelonion, was a conical poncho worn over other vestments, it was originally floor length all around and was adopted in the 3rd century CE.  During the 13th century CE part of the front of the tunic from the waist down cut away to reduce the amount of fabric over the arms as the arms are lifted.  

The Chasuble is a common western vestment worn over a tunic.  The Anglo Saxon Chasuble was a conical cape stitched up the front with decorative trim over the seams.  The length was between four and five feet long from the shoulders and is described by Regia Anglorum in their period clothing guide.  

Very few women are shown in the Bayeux tapestry and some of these women appear to be wearing a mantle over their tunic.  Aelfgyva is wearing a mantle over her tunic, one can see the folds of extra fabric from the mantle over her forearms.

From these historical roots, we are going to do some experimental living history and make mock-ups of some possible mantles, this is when a stash of muslin is a useful resource!  Six days before the contest begins...

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