Landsknecht Project List

According to Renaissance Costuming FAQ, landsknecht basic garb consists of the following: (New project list!)

1) Shirt: In one aspect German shirts are very unique - they did not use the yoked style so prevalent in many other countries at the time. Also the ever-popular "drawstring" faire shirts are less then period. One variation I’ve seen on the German shirt came up only to the base of the neck, and the fullness of the shirt was pleated and/or gathered onto a collar. Other variations include the smock-type shirt with full sleeves, and the normal collared Elizabethan shirt with box-pleated ruff.

2) Doublet: German doublets vary as much in design as any other countries would. Most often, however, they favored a side or back closure over front closures. Some overdoublets might cross in front as a bathrobe would. The doublet often had elaborate slashing. Another front closure doublet seems an adaptation of the placket-front bodice. You get into the doublet much as you would a shirt and the placket (which is much like the top of overalls) is buttoned and/or laced into place.

3) Trews: The trews German men wore never reached much further down the leg than immediately below the knee. Styles varied from form-fitting pant to the wide leg "pumpkin" pants. Slashing was prevalent on this garment, and rarely did the pattern of slashing on one leg match that of the other leg.

[Personal addendum to correct indexing: I'm finding that these are more commonly referred to as 'pluderhosen'. http://www.dict.cc/german-english/Pluderhosen.html Therefore, that's my link in the index, not Trews.]

4) Waffenroch (pronounced (approx.) vawf - fen - rawk): Literally "war-coat" - the skirted doublet that some German’s wear, you may remember it more aptly as the long, skirted doublet Henry VIII adopted. The origins of the name may be only a "faire-ism" but it is appropriate as it was worn over the already single or double layer of doublets and trews as an additional protection against enemy weapons. Typically this doublet has a side closure. Some also have placket closures in the front (perhaps just for show).

5) Stockings/Hosen: All men would wear stockings of some sort. Length varied from knee-high to full leg-length hose. Striped hosen and/or parti-color hosen were common, as was wearing two different colors of hose.

6) Hats: There are two hats a German man would wear: something close to a woman’s headwrap and then the over-hat.

7) Head-wrap or Under-cap.

Caul - this is a smaller version of the popular muffin cap. The band that sits on the head is thinner and the bag for the hat is cut much closer to the head. In most cases men will wear this on top of the head and under the larger over-hat.

Arming Cap - this cap may be worn alone or under another hat. Typically the arming cap is made out of leather or wool - it looks an awful lot like a padded version of the biggins cap. Some might want to put some slashing on this cap. This cap was adopted to protect the head from the helmet. You can find a good pattern for an arming cap here.

8) Over-hat [or tellerbarret]

The typical hat most men wore is what we affectionately call the "pizza" hat. This hat has a large brim, in some cases measuring over three feet in the circumference. There are many variations on this style of hat including: parti-colored hats, "barber-pole" trimmed hats, pleated, starfish brimmed, etc...

9) Shoes: Shoes would be sturdy and well-suited for marching. Black or brown leather with dark soles. Some shoes might boast puff and slash patterns.