Medieval underwear

Women only wore one piece of underwear, as far as we know – a shift (the Anglo-Saxon word) or chemise (the Norman/French word). It's really just a very simple dress made of plain linen – cut the same way as the basic kirtle, but a little shorter. It had long sleeves, and had no gathering – those drawstring necks that people associate with barmaids are a total fiction!

For men, underwear was shirt and braies (linen underpants).