Summary
In the period between 500 and 1500 CE, dress and textiles varied greatly from one part of the world to another, from one region to another, even from one village to another. In many parts of the world, costume was regulated by law or decree. In the medieval period, fashion varied from the practical and threadbare to the rich and luxurious—with little in between.
Specific coverage includes the rise of technology and trade, church and state, lords and ladies, working people, keeping warm, dressing for war, courtly fashion, freemen and merchants, palaces and popes, armor and heraldry, imperial China, and a brief look at other societies of the time.