Reconstruction of women's ancient clothing. Indigenous peoples of the Leningrad region. Historical reconstruction of women's clothing in Belarus of the 12th century

See illustrations at the end of the article in the gallery

To reconstruct the ancient Russian costume as a whole, the method of superimposing archaeological finds on conventional silhouettes corresponding to the images on the frescoes and miniatures of Ancient Rus' was chosen. To reconstruct urban costume, entire forms found during urban excavations (dress, clothing details, shoes) were used, as well as ensembles of jewelry preserved in treasures.

Peasant costume is represented mainly by archaeological material from the burials of the Krivichi and Vyatichi people. The correspondence of archaeological fabrics from excavations to peasant fabrics of the 19th - early 20th centuries, as well as their terminological correspondence, made it possible to classify many types of peasant clothing of the 19th century. to more early period(Levinson-Nechaeva M.N., 1959. P. 20-34; Kuftin B.A.,) 1926. P. 48; Levashova V.P., 1966. P. 112-119).

On the table 71-73 show reconstructions of the princely-boyar attire. Archaeological material is based on those clothes that are known from frescoes of the 11th-13th centuries. and belong to ancient Russian princesses. As is known, graphic material gives two main types of cut women's clothing(Kalashnikova N.M., 1972. P. 29, 30). The first type includes straight-cut dresses, intercepted at the waist with a belt. The sleeves of clothing could be either wide or narrow with a cuff. Such dresses are often made from plain fabric and decorated along the hem with an ornamental stripe, less often with a border and shoulder (Table 71, 1). Dresses of the second type were straight or slightly flared at the bottom, with narrow sleeves ending at the waist (Table 73, 1,2). They were made from richly ornamented fabric and decorated with a shoulder and a border running in the center and along the hem (Salno N.B., 1982. Ill. 29, 30, 102). Such dresses became part of the traditional costume of the upper classes. They are known in the princely-boyar and royal life of the 16th-17th centuries. (Sizov E., 1969. Ill. 10, 24 - lower dresses, 15 - upper dress). The reconstruction of the princely-boyar's attire shows leather boots. Their shape is given based on finds in the layers of Novgorod.

On the table 71-72 collected material, including a single stylistic dress made of silver with niello. On the table 71, 1 presented women's suit. The princess has a crown on her head. Its shape could have a different contour. In the visual material, crowns with a rounded and sharp top above the forehead are known (fresco on the wall of the Dmitrov Cathedral in Vladimir with the image of righteous women - Salko N.B., 1982. Ill. 102; miniature of the Panteleimon Gospel of the 13th century - St. Catherine - Strekalov S., 1877. Issue 1. P. 19).

These forms have become traditional. They are laid in two rows and form a zigzag pattern. Remains of a similar decoration on a rigid base were found in the Nabutovsky burial ground of the former Kyiv province (Teze V., 1904. p. 86. Fig. 1) (Table 72, 2,3). In the burial, on the sides of the ochelya with plaques, chains with rings were also found, similar to those known on cassocks made from blocks - obviously, the latter may not have survived. The crown on the table is decorated with kolta hanging on cassocks made from blocks. This scheme for fastening the stakes was proposed by B.A. Rybakov (Rybakov B.A., 1949. P. 55, 58. Fig. 23). The correctness of B.A.’s reconstruction Rybakova is confirmed by finds recent years: chains made of blocks on which colts are suspended, as well as three-beaded ones, were found temporal rings. They were worn on a ring attached to the outermost link of the blocks (Darkeshch V.P., Mongait AL., 1972. P. 208) (Table 72.1) or on a ring to the last link. The reconstruction shows the kolta found in Chernigov (Rybakov B.A., 1949. P. 56). They are lined with hollow balls.

On the black background of their shield, griffins are depicted on the sides of a vertically located wickerwork (Table 72, 4). The image of the braided pattern on the kolta is similar to the collar ornament also found in the Nabutovsky burial ground (Spitsyn A.A., 1905. P. 149. Fig. 101). The golden embroidery of the collar is complemented by images of crosses. On the collar, as well as on the headdress, were sewn silver gilded plaques of round and square shape (the location of the latter is unknown). The collar clasp in the form of hollow buttons made of gilded silver, as well as the ornament in the form of a braid, forms a single whole with the decoration of the collars. Similar collars could be sewn onto lower clothing (Table 72, 5). The dress's shoulder, belt and hem are decorated with embossed plaques and embroidery. The middle of the dress was decorated with ribbons similar to those found by V.V. Khvoiko in the burials of Shargorod of the former Kyiv province (Khvoiko V.V., 1905. P. 101; KIM. Inv. No. 67185-8). They are embroidered with gold thread in the form of heart-shaped figures with krins; their location indicates the vertical placement of the ribbon on the dress (Table 72, 8). The ornamentation on the given ribbons and collars is close to the ornamentation on many silver hoop bracelets (Table 72.7). Thus, on a bracelet from the Kyiv treasure of 1939, the ornament consists of two belts (Korzukhina G.F., 1954. Table XI, 2). In its upper part there are heart-shaped figures, similar to the sewing on the border, and in the lower part there is a braided pattern. The ensemble of silver jewelry with niello also included signet rings. A similar ornament can be seen on a ring from the treasure of 1869 (Gushchin A.S., 1936. P. 81. Table XXX, 11) - table. 72, 6.

Next to the reconstruction of the princess’s clothing is a silhouette of the prince (Table 71.2). The prince is wearing the same clothes as on the fresco of the St. Cyril Church in Kyiv, where the king of Feodosia is depicted. According to the researchers of this monument, Theodosius’s costume conveys “the full outfit of a Russian prince of the 12th century.” (Blinderova N.V., 1980. P. 59). The prince is wearing a pointed crown, reminiscent of an imperial crown with characteristic side pendants (Darkevich V.P., 1975. P. 133), a caftan with wide "sleeves, from under which the sleeves of the shirt are visible. The shoulder, breastplate and hem of the caftan are decorated with plaques and stones. The fabric of the caftan is dark red with an ornament in the form of heart-shaped figures, with krins. The prince wears green ports and high soft boots of red color, embroidered with beads or plaques. The men's costume shown on the table corresponds to the ornamentation of metal headdresses of the indicated time.

On the table 73, 1 there is a reconstruction of the princess’s ceremonial costume with enamel decorations. On the princess's head is a complex headdress consisting of a diadem with an enamel image of the Deesis on icon cases, gold brackets and cassocks with colts. The headdress represents one of the possible ritual headdresses, the reconstruction of which was compiled on the basis of the mutual occurrence of the indicated parts of the headdress in treasures and by analogy with wedding crowns and crowns known in the ethnography of the north of the 16th-20th centuries. (Saburova M.A., 1978. P. 408-412). The tiara was sewn onto a hard band or headband. Pendants with pearls fell on the forehead, and the arms of the headband decorated the headdress's roller in its upper part. On the sides of the headdress are suspended cassocks with kolts decorated with enamel. T.I. Makarov, following the data of G.F. Korzukhina (who noticed the presence of a double hinge in the middle of the cassocks), explains this by the fact that the cassocks were bent at half their length, becoming double-sided, like the kolta, which were suspended at the bend of the cassocks (Korzukhina G.F., 1954. P. 54; Makarova T.I., 1975. P. 40).

Obviously, the chain located at one end of the cassocks was attached to the base of the headdress and was fixed at the temple with the help of a temple ring located at the other end of the cassocks. It is interesting that in peasant attires of the 11th-12th centuries. Also found were ribbons folded in half, as if playing the role of cassocks for hanging rings. To select materials for the complex, the similarity of the decorative features of the jewelry was taken into account. Thus, the headdress could consist of a diadem, similar to that found in Kyiv in 1889 (Kondakov N., 1896. P. 139. Table VIII) and cassocks, similar to those found in 1900 in Sakhnovka (Makarova T.I., 1975. P. 103). They are united not only by the proximity of the geometric ornament on the plaques of the cassocks and the pendant plaques of the diadem, but also by their quadrifolium shape. This headdress could have included kolta, similar to those found in the treasure of 1827 in Kyiv (Kondakov N., 1896. Table X, 2-4). The princess's headdress is covered with a veil. The mantle, borders and necklace are decorated with embroidery, plaques and pearls, also known in the Mikhailovsky treasure of 1903 (GIM. Inv. No. 49876). The costume includes a breast decoration - barmas, found in Sakhnovka in the same treasure as the diadem (Makarova T.I., 1975. Table 14). B.A. Rybakov assumed that bracelets were not worn in this attire, since we do not know gold bracelets with enamel and stones - they were replaced by sewing on the cuffs of the sleeves (Rybakov B.A., 1970, p. 36). However, in addition to embroidered wristbands, they could wear gold bracelets similar to those found in the Ryazan treasure of 1822 (Kondakov N., 1896. P. 95. Table XVI, 3). This is also where gold rings with garnets and pearls come from, forming a single whole with bright enamel jewelry.

On the table 73, 2,3 shows a costume including decorations made of embossed plaques (both smooth and with inserts) and figured cutouts in metal. They were used to decorate the headbands of headdresses (Table 66:8-14), necklaces and necklaces, belts and hems of clothing (Table 74: 3-24). Stringing with pearls was widely used both in sewing and in metal jewelry. All these decorations are usually found in treasures together with enamel and niello decorations and are considered as additions to two stylistically unified decorations. Nevertheless, this set of decorations can also be used to create an independent outfit. Thus, the reconstruction (Table 73, 2) shows a woman’s headdress found in Novgorod (Strokov A.A., 1945. P. 72, 73. Fig. 32) - Table. 66, 14. The necklace of the headdress is decorated with embossed plaques and plaques made of filigree silver with grain. Obviously, similar attire could be worn with cassocks, which are a conical pendant with eight chains extending from it. Its cap was decorated with filigree and granulation, and hollow plaques and end pendants of rhombic and teardrop shapes were strung on chains (Darkevich V.P., 1972. P. 206, 207. Fig. 1; Sedova M.V., 1963. P. 49. Fig. 12.9). The entire set of pendant plaques, as well as the filigree and grain decorations included in the decoration, bring the pendants closer to the found necklace. Of the sewn-on plaques, the most interesting are large plaques with an 8-shaped slot from the Kyiv treasure of 1824 (Kondakov N., 1896. P. 104. Fig. 66). They are a variant of necklace plaques.

The entire set shown in table. 74, and plaques from the Kyiv treasure of 1824 were used to decorate the dress (Table 73, 2).

On the table 73, 3 depicts a noblewoman’s costume, including a tiara and cassock in the form of a ribbon with three-beaded temple rings and kolts. The possible number of these decorations in one headdress is indicated by their finds in a Chernigov burial at the altar of the Boris and Gleb Church (Korzukhina G.F., 1954. P. 52).

On the table 75 presents the urban costume of the nobility and ordinary citizens based on materials from three cities. In Fig. Figures 13 and 14 show silhouettes created based on materials from the Raikovetsky settlement and ancient Izyaslavl. In Fig. 13 you can see a diadem made of blocks found on the skeleton of the deceased (Goncharov V.K., 1950. Table XX, 15). The tiara is attached to the head on top of the plate. On the neck there is a necklace made of blocks, known from burial mound implements (Tables 74, 25). The jewelry includes the following finds from the layers of the Raikovets settlement: beads (Goncharov V.K., 1950. Plate XVIII, 1), hryvnias (Ibid. Plate XX, 4), glass bracelets (Ibid. Plate XXII, 3) and metal (Ibid. Table XIX, 9; XX, 2,3), rings (Ibid. Table XIX, 9), belt plaques (?) (Ibid. Table XX, I) and necklace (9) with sewing (Ibid. Table XXIX, 3). In contrast to the Raikovets headdress, the headdress from Izyaslavl (Fig. 14) shows a cassock made of blocks with triangular links at the ends. Three-bead temple rings were suspended on the lower side of the cassocks, and on the upper side there were ring-shaped rings, with the help of which the cassocks were attached to the headdress. Judging by the materials from the Raikovetsky settlement and Izyaslavl, the townspeople of these cities had decorations that were similar in shape, as well as a single set of fabrics. Clothing is characterized by the widespread use of folds, corrugation and pleating. The whole dress found in Izyaslavl is shown in Fig. 14. It is close to the clothes on the Novgorod icon of the 14th century. "Nativity of the Mother of God" from the Tretyakov Gallery (Table 68, 7,2). These are short outer garments, from under which a long shirt is visible. The shoulders, hem, sleeves at the wrist, and also the forearm are trimmed with tape.

On the table 75 a men's suit is presented. Thus, based on materials from the Suzdal necropolis, shirts with different cut collars are restored (Table 75, 2.5). A silhouette is shown in a short shirt with a stand and a slit on the left (Table 75, 2). The stand-up collar of the shirt, the sleeves at the wrist and the belt are decorated with embroidery. Long men's shirts are also known from the visual material. On them you can see decorations in the form of rectangular pieces on the chest, decorated wrists and hem (Antonova V.I., Mneva N.E., 1963. Ill. 84) (Table 75, 4). Silhouette 4 shows a long dress with seams decorated with embroidery, like the seams found in the Vladimir burial mounds (Prokhorov V., 1881. Fig. 1. Table 8).

A well-preserved rectangular breast decoration was found in the Ivanovo region by K.I. Komarov in 1975. Silhouette 7 shows the upper winter clothes, restored by analogy with the Hutsul short fur coat (Rybakov B.A., 1949. P. 37, 38. Fig. 12). Silhouette 8 shows outerwear with a wrap on the left side, which, according to ethnographers, appeared simultaneously with the blouse. This form of cut distinguished outerwear from the clothes of their neighbors (Maslova G.S., 1956. P. 581. Note 4). Long outerwear with a wrap on the left side is also known from miniatures where the brothers - the founders of Kyiv are shown (Radziwill Chronicle, 1902. L. 4). The male silhouettes depict princely hats (Table 75.8, 9.15) and a diadem with an enamel image (Table 75. 4), similar to the one known from a mound in the village of Mutyshino, Smolensk region (Savin N.I., 1930. C 233. Table P, 19). The men's costume includes boots from the 12th century, the shape of which is known from excavations in Novgorod and Pskov.

Silhouettes in Fig. 10-12, table. 75 represent a complex of clothing and jewelry based on materials from excavations in Suzdal (Saburova M.A., Sedova M.V., 1984. P. 114-122). The headdress worn by a middle-aged woman (Fig. 12) covers her hair, and there is a ring-shaped ring in her ears. The girl (Fig. 10) has a ribbon headdress on her loose hair with cassocks made of ring-shaped rings, with three-bead rings suspended from them. The girl (Fig. 11) has braided pigtails, into which ring-shaped rings (up to 20 pieces) are threaded. The silhouettes feature outerwear with a wrap on the left side, dresses and shirts, with ribbons and sewn collars with a fastening on the left side. Among the decorations you can see a lamellar fibula, lamellar and twisted rings and rings with inserts, bracelets, etc. The typical footwear of ancient Russian townswomen were leather shoes with embroidery. The material from the Suzdal necropolis dates back to an earlier time (XI - mid-XII century) than the materials from the Raikovets settlement and Izyaslavl (early 13th century). Nevertheless, a typical city dress of the 12th century was created in Suzdal. Obviously, here, as in Kyiv, Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk, urban culture began to take shape very early on the basis of druzhina culture.

On the table 76 presents reconstructions of peasant clothing complexes based on materials from the Vyatichi people. Silhouette 1 shows a reconstruction of the headdress of a middle-aged woman. It was restored based on materials stored in the museum of the Department of Archeology of Moscow State University. A drawing of the surviving part of the headdress is given in Table. 77, 2. Its details, as well as the scarf, patterned lining tapes, checkered fabric (Table 77, 3) and decorations come from the excavations of A.V. Artsikhovsky 1940-1946

Silhouette 2 shows the jewelry of a young woman. They were reconstructed based on materials from five burials from different kurgan groups (Saburova M.A., 1976. P. 127-131). The fringed headdress shown in the silhouette is known among the southern Great Russians of the 19th century. They were worn by young women along with a set of clothing, including paneva. Checkered woolen and half-woolen fabrics, close to the later “panevny” ones, are also known from archaeological materials (Table 77, 3). In silhouette 3 the costume of a young girl-bride is given. A ribbon headdress with seven-lobed temple rings on ribbons is worn over the loose hair (Table 76.3; 77.1). The clothing includes elements of urban costume: a silk mantle with sewing and plaques (Table 77, 8), stripes made of silk ribbons and plaques on the woolen ribbon of the headdress (Table 77, 7), a glass bracelet, etc. Shoes - soft shoes. In silhouette 3, shoes are represented by a form from the mounds near Bityakovo, Domodedovo district (Rozenfeldt R.L., 1973. P. 65. Fig. 18).

On the table 78 provides reconstructions of clothing and jewelry based on materials from peasant burials. Silhouette 1 shows a costume based on materials from the Vologda mounds (Saburova M.A., 1974. P. 90. Fig. 3). Silhouette 2 shows the suit of the betrothed girl in a towel made of rare fabric, which was woven for weddings and for death. Paneva was restored according to a well-preserved complete rapport wool fabric from Bityagovo (GIM). The decorations are from the same mounds. Silhouette 3 shows a woman’s costume based on Krivichi materials (Schmidt E.A., 1957, pp. 184-281). A tall headdress, reminiscent of a kokoshnik with plaques, hides the woman’s hair. On the sides of the headdress there are bracelet-shaped temple rings and diamond shield rings, attached to birch bark circles. On the chest there is an abundance of jewelry: beads bright combinations, miniature metal pendants, chains, bells. Bracelets are worn over the shirt. The clothing is represented by a long shirt with embroidery, made using the “branch” technique. On his feet are soft leather shoes.

Further study of ancient Russian clothing will primarily depend on improving the methodology of field research and the rapid inclusion of restorers in the work of restoring excavated fabrics and other organic remains. Only the joint efforts of archaeologists and restorers can give a new impetus to deepening our knowledge in this most interesting area.

PROJECT "RECONSTRUCTION OF THE TRADITIONAL COSTUME OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE LENINGRAD REGION"

The project began in 2002 with the help of craftsmen, ethnographers and volunteers from the Center for Indigenous Peoples of the Leningrad Region.

Includes the following areas:

Reconstruction of a water costume:

The costume of a married leader from the mid-century has been recreated. based on materials from the Ingrian collection of the National Museum of Finland and archival descriptions;

For 11 years, a permanent seminar “Water Embroidery” was held;

A collection of water embroidery has been created;

A catalog of traditional Votic embroidery has been created (see the section of the website “Ornaments” / “Vodian Ornaments”);

Master classes on the modern use of Votic ornaments were held;

The project materials were included in the book “Vod. Essays on history and culture", St. Petersburg, 2009;

For 3 years, a permanent seminar was held on recreating Vodian dolls;

A collection of Votic traditional dolls has been created;

The book “Vodskaya” was published traditional doll", St. Petersburg, 2013 (authors O.I. Konkova and N.E. Romanova).

Reconstruction of the Izhora costume:

The Izhora costumes of the late 19th - early 19th century have been recreated. XX centuries from the regions of Northern Ingermanland (the territory of the modern Vsevolozhsk and Priozersky districts), costumes of the Soykin and Lower Luga Izhoras (the territory of the modern Kingisepp district); The reconstruction was carried out on the basis of materials from the Ingrian collection of the National Museum of Finland, local history museums of the Leningrad region, the Estonian Folk Museum, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) RAS and archival descriptions;

An Izhora costume was created for the Sosnovy Bor Museum of Local Lore;

For 11 years, a permanent seminar “Izhora embroidery” was held;

A collection of Izhora embroidery has been created;

A catalog of traditional Izhora embroidery has been created (see the section of the website “Ornaments” / “Izhora Ornaments”);

Master classes on the modern use of Izhora ornaments were held;

The project materials were included in the book “Izhora. Essays on history and culture", St. Petersburg, 2009;

For 3 years, a permanent seminar was held on recreating Izhora dolls;

A collection of Izhora traditional dolls has been created;

The book “Izhora Traditional Doll” was published, St. Petersburg, 2013 (authors O.I. Konkova and N.E. Romanova).

Reconstruction of the costume of the Ingrian Finns:

The costumes of the Ingrian Finns of the late 19th - early 19th century have been recreated. XX centuries from the regions of Northern Ingermanland (the territory of the modern Vsevolozhsk and Priozersky districts), Central Ingermanland (the territory of the modern Gatchina, Volosovsky and Lomonosov districts); The reconstruction was carried out on the basis of materials from the Ingrian collection of the National Museum of Finland, local history museums of the Leningrad region, the Estonian Folk Museum, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) RAS and archival descriptions;

For 11 years, a permanent seminar “Embroidery of Ingrian Finns” was held;

A collection of Ingrian Finn embroidery has been created;

A catalog of traditional embroidery of Ingrian Finns has been created (see the section of the website “Ornaments” / “Ornaments of Ingrian Finns”);

Master classes were held on the modern use of Ingrian Finn ornaments;

The project materials were included in the book “Ingria Finns. Essays on history and culture", St. Petersburg, 2009 (authors O.I. Konkova, V.A. Kokko);

Throughout the year, a permanent seminar was held on recreating Ingrian Finn dolls.

In 2014, the Center for Indigenous Peoples of the Leningrad Region completed a project to revive the traditional costumes of the Eurämöyset Finns - Ingrian Finns living in Central and Northern Ingermanland. The culture of the Finns in the vicinity of St. Petersburg has been studied very little. At the same time, its unique aspects - ancient costume, folklore, rituals, children's and festive culture - can surprise with their unusualness and beauty. For 10 years, volunteers of the Center for Indigenous Peoples, under the guidance of professional ethnographers from the Academy of Sciences and experienced teachers in the reconstruction of folk costumes, have been systematically engaged in the restoration of Ingrian costumes. Working with museum collections in Russia, Estonia and Finland, hundreds of master classes and regular classes on cutting, embroidery and sewing with everyone interested - all this hard work brought excellent results. Many Ingrian Finns were able to sew unique costumes for themselves. Volunteers from the Center for Indigenous Peoples of the Leningrad Region created copies of costumes of the 19th century for the Lomonosov Museum and the Mobile Museum of Indigenous Peoples of the Leningrad Region, for the national folk theater of indigenous peoples "KAGRKARU".

This year, the work of volunteers had a special result: new costumes were sewn for the famous ensemble of Ingrian Finns from the village of Rappolovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region, completely replicating the ancient clothes of local Ingrian Finns. For more than a year, the craftswomen carefully embroidered parts of shirts, wove belts, wove lace and sewed costumes, and each singer’s costume was different from the others. For the first time, the folk group of the Leningrad region began to perform in completely authentic authentic costumes. The project leaders were folk master and highly qualified teacher Natalya Romanova (leader by origin), designer Leontina Saksa (Ingrian Finn), ethnographer Olga Konkova (Izhoran). In total, more than 120 people took part in the project.

Currently, the Center for Indigenous Peoples continues its professional work on the revival of Vodi and Izhora costumes.

Hello everyone! Based on the eternal holivars - gobuli/correct and passportists/participants - I want to publish a small sketch about how we relate to the reconstruction of a costume, and about several existing approaches to the reconstruction of an early medieval costume.
I have identified for myself four main approaches, with subdivisions.

First. You can call it scientific-archaeological, code name “suit for a museum display case.”
There are more and more of these characters at festivals every year, due to mass Internet accessibility special information. These reconstructors set themselves the condition of making the most correct reconstruction of the complex from a specific burial, or perhaps some archaeological site, as accurately as possible. Perhaps the human costume will combine reconstructions of finds from several burials and various finds. But the costume will always not only be well and neatly made, correspond to the most modern scientific data, and represent such a “walking museum showcase.” To create this costume, the author usually turns over a lot of sources; often the author of the reconstruction is historians. As a rule, very large material and labor costs are invested in such costumes. The owners of the reconstruction are usually experienced “famous” reenactors. Such a reenactor is the decoration of the festival. Although among a wide range of reenactors there is no desire to imitate them, and this is not possible for many. The ultra-negative buhurt majority laughs at them. The authors of the “museum reconstructions” themselves spit on the buhurt majority (deservedly) and call them “gobuls” and “infantry rednecks”. As a rule, if you do not have a costume of this level, you have no say in the matter of high reconstruction. However, in such a suit, as a rule, you cannot take a walk, you will not lie around, you will not work, you will not fight. These costumes are for costume competitions, themed lectures, pretentious photography, commanders' feast and dissection in the evenings. They are usually not only expensive, but also hot.

The second "legitimate" approach to costume reconstruction is "good reconstruction". That is, just a correct standard reconstruction that passes all the hassles of passport control and access.
This is a reconstruction of a costume that has links to a specific ethnic group, period and status, made based on specific finds and serious works on the history and archeology of costume. The costume may not be a reconstruction of a specific burial, but a collective costume of one ethnic group. But it will always be based on archaeological data, from the fabrics used to the seams. In the minds of most reenactors, this is the costume that is called a “good reconstruction.” Of course, in order to meet the criteria of the second group, the suit must be well tailored for a specific person, look neat and tidy, even beautiful. All accessories and jewelry, hats and shoes, must not only exist, but also correspond to specific museum samples. Castings and accessories must be copies and models of archaeological specimens. The amount of borrowing should be small, and borrowing should be historically justified.
This second approach has several common variations. They are intended for specific conditions of festival life.
1 - "everyday work suit". A suit for work, usually a reconstruction of the costume of poor townspeople and peasants, ordinary soldiers. Often this costume is made by simplifying the first two options, simply removing the “extra”. Sometimes reenactors make only such a costume, pointedly disdaining more and more complex ceremonial versions.
2 - “hiking” suit. A suit for sea, hiking and winter crossings. They are made mainly for specific hiking purposes, based on basic suits, adding some special elements, such as oiled shirts or fur caftans.
3 - “summer” version, lightweight. For those who cannot stand the heat well, for those who do not want to wear woolen clothes or walk around in just a shirt in the heat, for those who consider it indecent to walk around the festival naked. And also for girls, who are not going to walk around the whole festival in one thin linen dress. Russian weather realities introduce their own adjustments. South of Russia, July, your determination to look right melts like ice cream. And you still get silk shirts and dresses, linen hangeroks, light hats. This option is a “necessary evil”.

The third option for reconstructing the costume is “ceremonial and pathetic”. This is a costume that is created initially for a pretentious existence. The goals of such reconstruction may be different. For example, a person makes a living by taking pictures with tourists. Or he really wants to make a reconstruction of a rich Scandinavian costume, guided by the rich royal clothes that have been preserved. Many reenactors are familiar with the conditions under which it is necessary to have a pretentious bright nice suit. This is a “show off” in front of distinguished guests, and a big citywide holiday, and a “museum day”, and filming in some film. In such cases, a beautiful bright suit is necessary. I don’t mean a bad, sloppy reconstruction with pretensions to wealth, clumsily sewn and crookedly inaccurately embroidered with huge stylized patterns. I mean exactly the reconstruction. When everything that a person wears is made from materials from completely recognizable archaeological finds, in compliance with materials and proportions, and is tied to a specific ethnic group and social group. status. This suit may be very bright, and may have large embroidery, but everything looks very correct, beautiful and neat. Such a costume usually comes with a famous and respected person in the reconstruction, a lot of precious metal and some pretty good weapons. Such a costume and its accessories usually take years to assemble, cost a lot and are an attraction in themselves, just like the first option - “archaeological”. Not many people have such “pretentious” suits; as a rule, they do not pass the passport suit. They are simply brought in and then worn to the commanders' feast or to an evening party. According to Rusborg rules, such costumes are often not allowed; it is customary to make fun of them among true re-enactors. But for tourists, government officials and foreigners, these costumes are much preferable to ordinary costume reconstructions. Many old reenactors have such a costume hidden in their chest just in case.
I in no way condemn the proud owners of such costumes. I understand this approach, and it has a right to exist, just like other approaches to costume reconstruction.

The fourth option is “under-reconstruction”, or reconstruction of the “fuck off, passport officer” type.
Alas, some representatives of the “infantry majority” consider this reconstruction option to be the most correct. That is, you can wear whatever you consider necessary just to get to the festival. At the same time, the main criterion when creating such a costume is what clothes you have lying around and what fabrics are left? Most often, this reconstruction option is chosen by neophytes and guys from provincial clubs. Are you missing accessories or shoes? No problem, we’ll take it from someone for a photo shoot, or write about what we’ll buy at the festival. Accessories and castings are typically stylized, often collected “from Adam to Potsdam.” There is no clear connection to region and ethnic group. Problem with hats, bags and shoes. Almost all “standard” Scandinavians or “Russians in the service of a Scandinavian jarl” belong precisely to this category. It is common for them, firstly, to speak contemptuously about the owners of suits from another category, secondly, to argue with passport officers, and thirdly, to consider themselves the most intelligent and erudite. Costumes from this category are low-cost, often made of poor quality, sometimes from someone else's shoulder. This category is characterized by the use of any fabrics that do not correspond to the era. For example, the persistent use of factory cloth and velvet. The steady love of this category for factory-made flaxes of aniline colors and factory-made fabrics in general is a striking difference between this category and suits of the second category. They may be similar, costumes of the second and fourth categories, but there is a conceptual gap between them. Many neophytes are not even aware of this abyss.
I don’t want to speak negatively about this costume category, because firstly, it is an inevitable evil, secondly, we were all like this once, and thirdly, many “grow out” of this category and move on to others. This costume diaspora at large festivals accounts for between half and the majority of participants. Only a few thematic festivals screen out such participants. And at some small provincial festivals, costumes of a different category have never been seen.
This fourth option has several variations.
1 - “old man”, or “recon in law”. An old reenactor is not always the owner of a good, competent costume. Sometimes, out of laziness, he simply does not carry anything decent with him. But no one will make any comments to him, they will let him into the fest, and the passport officers will turn a blind eye. Even if someone digs in, he will be sent... far away.
2 - “young”, or “have pity, uncle.” How many times do passport officers have to read “we are a young club, we don’t have enough information, time, money, let us through for now, huh?” Maybe this young club will improve. Or maybe not....
3 - "militants". These people are not interested in reconstruction in principle. They go to eat kebabs, get drunk and have some pizza. For the surroundings, simple ports, a shirt and a raincoat will be enough.
4 - “tourists from reconstruction”, or “infiltrators from other eras”. These are people who are interested in seeing festivals on a different topic. Some of them make themselves a basic costume for the era, and some simply rent a friend's costume, often already outdated.
5 - real tourists, or “useful extra people.” These are drivers dressed up in entourage, someone's wives, husbands and mothers who want to show what their relative is doing, scientists-guests of the festival, and finally, real tourists who buy or rent a suit. Such people are often dressed, I don’t know how, sometimes they get into the frame and then everyone asks “what kind of gobul is this?”
6 - Traders, musicians, artisans, horsemen and other “professional re-enactors”. They often attend all festivals in the same way, from the early ones to the seventeenth. Sometimes they don’t bother with a suit at all. Some of them, on the contrary, may have a suit good class. Tourists mostly take pictures of them. Therefore, from photos from the festival it is not always possible to track the real level of reconstruction at this festival.
7 - “freaks”, “punks from reconstruction”. They voluntarily take on the role of buffoons and clowns. They are often dressed who knows how, sometimes they walk around in just a loincloth, sometimes they are dressed in furs a la Conan the Barbarian, sometimes they depict beggars in rags. It can be boring without them.

These are the costume sketches. Criticism and additions are accepted.
What can I say about my specific costume and my costume approach to reconstruction? I had the opportunity to be in each of the four groups. I just have several suits for different purposes. But I’m already trying not to fall into the fourth :)
The post is duplicated on “Southern Rus'”.