Medieval Russian fashion

[lilian567321]

Hello,

I'm writing a fantasy book set in medieval times, around the 14th century. One of the characters has a thick, winter coat from what would roughly be Russia. It's a coat with a woolen exterior, it's lined with cotton quilted fabric and has fur linings on the edges of the coat and on the hood of the coat.

My question is how realistic would this coat be in around 14th century Russia and why or why not, provided we say real-world Russia is the exact same as the one in my fantasy world, i.e. same climate, landscape, surrounding countries and political relations etc.

Thank you in advance,

Lillian K.

Comments

[lilian567321]

Thank you for commenting!

I was unaware of the fact that coats had debuted as military garment, and while my setting would have a military composed of primarily aristocrats, I think I may tend towards a cloak instead of a coat.

[full_metal_ox]

…my setting would have a military composed of primarily aristocrats…

Those would be the officers, since I’m hazarding a guess that you’re envisioning dashing fancy uniforms; where do the rank and file come from? If you conscript commoners on a war-by-war basis, you need to wait until harvest season is over. If you have the food surplus to maintain a standing army, where do they come from? Is there a draft? Volunteers? Domestic or foreign mercenaries (which can be risky?)

(You cited Fantasy Russia as the source of your character’s outerwear; what kind of culture(s) and terrain(s) will he be living and adventuring in?)

[texasdreamer01]

Yeah no problem!

If I'm remembering correctly, the evolution of coats more or less corresponds with the evolution of firearms? Historical paintings would be to your advantage here, despite the subjects usually being aristocracy - unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a lot of that from Russia, but Balkan clothing has a significant amount of overlap among the different ethnicities in that era. One thing that would stand out, and help others recognize where your character(s) are from, would be embroidery on the coat/cloak. Usually at the bottom corners or around the edges, but sometimes also on any hoods (which may be their own garment, if it's not a character wearing a scarf, instead).