9 - Medieval Castilian Garments and their Arabic Names

Summary

Introduction

The study of Castilian garments bearing Arabic names requires starting with some historical context that cannot be overlooked, even if it is well known already. I refer specifically to the fluctuating border between the Kingdom of Castile and the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, particularly from the 13^th century onwards. In this period the Castilian Kings Fernando III (r. 1217 in Castile, from 1230 in both Castile and Leon to 1252) and Alfonso X (r. 1252–1284) managed to consolidate the boundaries that separated the Christian and Islamic kingdoms, or perhaps it would be more precise to say that they ‘demarcated’ them because, as we shall see, they had many things in common despite their origins as two different societies with conflicting political interests and different religious systems. This border between the two entities maintained, throughout the following centuries, a reflection in which each one could see itself, as an ‘other’ through which their own identity could be reinforced. In any case, I believe that it is appropriate to talk about a ‘border of influence zones’ when referring to the Castilian-Nasrid frontier that acted for centuries as an area for cultural exchange that was mutually enriching. This was undoubtedly a permeable division for which there is a large body of evidence of cultural transfer. Within the evidence, and as an example, we can find both clothing and the words used to refer to it, which is the main focus of this work.

With regard to garments, scholarly literature has increased over the last decades, but much research remains to be carried out. There is also a lack of interdisciplinary research, considering the complex nature of the data that needs to be examined in this field, particularly regarding the dress of the period under discussion. Nevertheless, we have access to the language in which these clothes were named, and this is the most difficult part of this study, because the evolution of a garment and that of the word that describes it do not always follow a similar path, as we shall see below.

It seems clear that clothing bears witness to the scene of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, a cultural crossroads fostered by the territory of al-Andalus and the various Christian kingdoms. This was the cradle of what was in later centuries referred to as ‘Spanish culture’.