Originally posted by SELFBOW19953:
Did the common man really wear that style of pants/leg coverings in the 11th/12th centuries? If so, were they wool? I had always thought that the idea of tights in this era, for other than the rich, was a Hollywood invention.
Well – yes, they did. Usually called "leggins" nowadays, these could either be joined between the elgs or be two individual legs just knotted together, as they were also joined with the upper garment via loops or knots.
Still, when a peasent bent down working on a field, you could occasionally see right up his ... well, you get the idea. Church didn't like that AT ALL!
Trousers as we know it were worn by the early Germanic peoples and the vikings up to the 10th century, then leggins were worn throughout the population until the 15th or 16th centuries approx.
If you're interested in clothing and equipment of the medieval archer, I highly recommend Clive Bartlett's "English Longbowmen 1330-1515" (Osprey Publishing) – nice illustrations by Gary Embleton.
Oh, and yes, they were made of woven wool, the weaving pattern running in an angle (diagonally), so the material would stretch with the movements.