Its Wednesday, which means its time for another chapter of Golden Threads. Our heroine and her brother learn that life in the twenty-first century is a little different from their sixteenth century village.
Let’s hear from their teacher, Samantha, why she chose to start teaching them about our times with clothing:
Everyone understands clothes, so I figured that made an easy starting point to introduce the kids to some of the huge changes that have taken place since they were born. Telling them first about cars, airplanes, and computers seemed too difficult. They would never believe me. Even the variety of outfits worn in my time would shock them.
Laura and David have lived all of their lives in a small rural village. Even though their parents owned the Manor house when they were young, and their father was educated in London and Paris, these two children have never spent time in the greater world. England is still Catholic. The church rules their lives, and insists upon modesty. Everyone wears wool clothing, over a linen shift. Peasant women wear a long dress covered by an apron, and a hat called a coif. Peasant men wear a tunic that comes just below their knees, breeches with stockings, and a hat. Everyone sleeps in their shifts. It’s the middle of the Little Ice Age, so it’s a lot colder in England even than today. Indoor heating is almost nonexistent. All of these layers help keep them warm. When it’s cold, they use shawls.
Gossip is rampant so you have to stay modestly covered at all times or you will be ostracized. I figured that David and Laura had probably never seen another person even slightly naked. You should have seen their faces when I transformed back into my twenty-first century attire.
Pretty much everyone looks the same and wears the same thing in their day and age. I wanted them to get used to the huge variety you run into in modern Britain. They had to learn to accept all sorts, and adapt quickly, or they would fail to thrive when we brought them to our world. Where better to start, than with clothes?