Clothing in Medieval Scandinavia. Social and Legal Implications

This essay focuses on medieval clothing in Scandinavia and its social and legal implications, according to the most relevant passages in the corpus of the Icelandic Sagas. Besides accounts of ordinary clothes for the main character, when required by the plot, we find also descriptions of peculiar outfits: the costume of a Finnic sorceress (seiðkona); women’s wear that seemingly the Christian priests like pagan warlocks have on when performing their rituals; the new trend for men’s trousers, which originated from the East and came into fashion in Norway under the reign of Olaf Kyrre (1050-1093). Additionally, some statements of the Old Icelandic Laws are related to clothing and unappropriate behaviour, by barring men and women from wearing clothes of the opposite sex.