The Hairstyles Of The Middle Ages ⛪ Hair History #2: 6th - 13th Centuries

It's my understanding that people wore hair coverings in part to keep their hair clean. If you use linen, in particular, it will absorb excess oils and you can wash the fabric more frequently than Europeans washed their hair in that era.

here in Italy, up until the last century, all women had to wear a veil when they entered church on Sunday. in my province, all women wore a special long black scarf decorated with flower prints, folded so that it formed a triangle down the back. my grandma told me that, when she was young, she wore two braids looped around her her ears. nice to see that this style has been used throughout history!

Fun fact: a lot of Christian women (Eastern Orthodox usually) still veil today. I know in the Middle East, wearing some sort of head covering all the time is a lot more common whereas in the US, it’s usually just in church if that. A popular style is a long rectangular scarf over the head, knotted in front of the neck once and then once in the back. There are a lot of others but things really haven’t changed to much!

PLEASE MAKE A FRENCH HOOD WHEN YOU GET TO THE TUDOR ERA!!! They're so sick and I feel like you even resemble the descriptions we have of Anne Boleyn.

Not me wishing we could casually wear medieval hair styles (more like head styles?) outside and inside, without being judged.

One other reason not really mentioned below for covering the head. Men wore caps of various shapes, sizes and styles. Women wore veils which - if you look at late Saxon/early Norman images - may have started out as a simple rectangular shawl or piece of fabric which didn't need sewing or shaping (unlike mens caps/hats) and could be fastened to the hair. But one reason not mentioned is weather. Thee 1300s saw the beginning of the little ice age and even before then there were/are parts of Europe which were very cold in winter (north of Scotland, Scandinavia, northern Germany etc) and it wouldn't have taken much to have worked out that wearing something over your head keeps you warm in winter and the sun off you in summer. Veils don't need shaping in their basic form, they can be made from left over fabric when a garment was cut down or so worn out it couldn't be used any more as a garment. And most importantly of all, it didn''t need to be shaped and sewn like a man's hat did which if you weren't able to afford to pay for someone to sew for you would have been a major advantage. Plus you could have more than one, a work one and one for Sundays and Holy days when you'd wear your good one, and they ould be passed on to servants or those in need as they became worn or out of fashion.

Why do I want to wear these now???? The last style really was hella cute…screw the 90s comeback, I need a medieval headdress comeback

I love veiling! Not for religious reasons but I just feel more put together if I wear a scarf, also it's nice to have long hair out of the way. And of course practical reasons! It protects your hair from the sun, from cold dry air, from dirt etc etc. Scarfs are already a trend in the summer but can we bring back more veiling practices...

I just need y'all to know my kitten chose this video with her nose

The first tutorial looks similar to a modern day muslim hijab

It’s so interesting how similar these are to the styles of hijabs, even though they were two extremely different parts of the world in the Middle Ages!

I love that you’re representing some more ancient styles! Especially all in one place. Thanks for this lovely video 😊

The veil styles also reminds me of nuns. Looks way less complicated to do than iv thought!

It's really exciting to note that this head covering though European had middle-eastern origins and is basically very similar to Hijab worn by Muslims today. Also, many Christian women, mostly devout Catholic and orthodox women do use the veil. Honestly, we Hindus/Buddhists throughout history never had this thing in vogue, even many women didn't cover their breasts and it was seen kind of natural, given the hot sultry weather and lax rules, but these head wraps or purdah was introduced around the 12th century, during Islamic invasions into the South-Asian Subcontinent and the Sultanate periods and then, the women started covering their heads or segregating from men. And now, Purdah is an inseparable part linked to Chastity and several parameters in Hindu culture, (although you would find countless naked and covered sculptures on Indian temples, as they served in educating the common man about healthy sex then) there are still many areas in India where women don't cover their heads, mostly the southern and Eastern parts of the country.

she came veiled, as a proper married lady 😄

I love the scarf style tutorials! You have done some retro looks with scarves and more hair exposed as well that I enjoyed. Headscarves are such a great way to maintain healthy hair and protect it for less cleaning.

They didnt have to worry about bad hair days. Just completely cover it up!

Actually, the Bible does not dictate that married women should cover their hair, but ALL Christian women, specifically when praying/ prophecying (1 Corinthians 11) - which is why in for example in churches that retained the practice most women only veil inside church. Furthermore, the passage references head*coverings, which is different to *hair coverings and that's why it is often permissable for some hair to still show, as long as the top of your head is covered

my little 18th century obsessed self is waiting patiently for a few hundred years of hair to evolve hehe

Your new & improved "Hair History" series is amazing! I wonder how the treatment of women with alopecia was back then. They never grew hair, so... was it covered up in hope no-one finds out or were they shunned forever bc it was seen as some sort of punishment? Or letting fake braids peek out somewhere to mimic hair?