Tudor Clothes Quiz

Q1) What was a "biggin"?

A close fitting cap tied under the chin

A woollen undergarment to keep the chest warm

The slang term for a codpiece

A tunic worn by people from Kent

Q2) What were tailclouts?

Nails in the soles of shoes

A device similar to a bustle

Diapers (or nappies) worn by Tudor babies

Small metal pins used to hold up a longer dress

Q3) What were you wearing if you had on “braies”?

Brightly coloured arm bands

A thread wound through the hair

Leather gloves worn by a blacksmith

A medieval form of mens underwear

Q4) A cassock is an outer garment, but how long is it?

Down to the ankles

Down to the top of the thighs

There wasn't a standard length

Often it would drag on the ground behind the wearer

Q5) A labourer in 1519 could buy a yard of canvas with a day's wages. How long would he have to work to buy a yard of cloth of gold?

Six months

Two weeks

One year

He could never have earned enough

Q6) The 1533 Act of Apparel did what?

Made it illegal for squirrels to be killed for their fur

Outlawed flat caps for the gentry

Enforced the wearing of leather for all horsemen

Denied the lowest of agricultural workers the right to wear fur

Q7) As part of the 1533 Act of Apparel, who could wear blue velvet?

Only women, men could not wear blue

Nobles and garter knights

Anyone who could afford it could wear it

Only the king could wear blue

Q8) What is kermes?

A red dye derived from the dried bodies of certain insects

A green cloth said to look like the skin of a frog

The Tudor London name for a waterproof hat

The name for handed-down clothing

Q9) Why was linen worn next to the skin?

Sumptuary laws prohibited any other material for undergarments

Because it was warm in the Tudor "ice age"

Because it could easily be washed.

Anything else was thought to stain (or damage) your eternal soul

Q10) What is buckram?

A woollen material taken from the finest wool of male goats and sheep

The measure used to weigh unwashed cotton

A hat worn during the mourning period

A stiff cloth made of cotton

Q11) What was a billiment?

A flowing night garment similar to a modern "nightie"

A jewelled band on top of a French hood

A re-enforced patch on the back of trousers, worn by farm labourers

A leather glove worn by falconers

Q12) What is "damask silk" actually like?

Silk with a “ribbed” cloth effect

Completely smooth silk of the highest quality

Cloth with a smooth weave with a design created by bringing the weft to the surface

Silk dyed with the colour purple