Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/110

90 with jewelled pins or the odd frames which often enough encircled their heads. With this and the throttling wimple round their necks, they were amply protected. Hoods with long points were worn by the poorer classes, or flat caps made of fur. The dull uniformity and sombre hues of our modern dress were left for monk and merchant, for each profession had its distinctive costume, each social grade was distinguished by the cut and texture of its garments. To-day the workman can dress as the duke, the tradesman's wife as a Royal Princess, but in the fourteenth century this was utterly impossible. Thus, loitering about the streets of an old medieval city one might recognise the young noble with tippet and long jagged sleeves, short tunic, piebald legs and pointed shoes, followed perhaps by a servant carrying his mantle; the hooded merchant in his long gown of brown or grey, girded at the waist; the workman in his russet smock and flat cap; the monk in his sombre frock, and the pilgrim distinguishable by his long beard and staff in hand. Some of the most extravagant fashions were adopted by the clergy, whose vestments and robes were magnificently embroidered with flowers and figures and lined