<--click for larger detail of half-circle mantle

For this, and all the other Hungarian examples, I am indebted to Kolozsvari Arpad for the loan of his books.

Palermo, Royal workshop, between 1130 and 1154
Purple silk with trimmings in red silk, embroidered in gold, gold filigree, enamel, and pearls; H overall 141 cm

See a drawing of the whole garment.

Contributed by Dietmar.
See more photos at http://www.khm.at/nobiles/en/02/objects.html
and
http://medieval.webcon.net.au/extant_holy_roman_tunicella.html
 -- thanks to Bonnie Harvey who told me about these sites!

Sicily, beginning of the 13th century
Red silk, embroidered in gold; rubies, sapphires, pearls; enameled gold; L 15.5 cm and 17 cm respectively
The gloves were presumably made for the Emperor Friedrich II in the
royal workshop in Sicily before 1220, the year of his coronation.

contributed by Dietmar

From Boucher.

Color details, from a book from Spain (I hope to have a color scan eventually.)  The overall color is medium blue with white patterns, and some horizontal medium green stripes.

This is an excellent example of what "Royal Purple" really is -- a rather reddish purple.  Grape purple is not the same color at all!

Closeup of collar and sleeve.

Many thanks to Dietmar, who sent me this scan and info.

Note band of trim across chest, shoulders, and vertical in center.  Godets at side reinforced (?) with embroidered patches that match cuffs.
From Kohler, who notes that it is of "white linen, braided with blue and red." 

additional info from Nancy Stengel

Thought to be made near Coventry, based on the heraldic artwork.

Embroidery "opus Anglicanum" is worked in colored silk and gold and silver thread on linen ground.

contributed by Dietmar

In what is in effect a padded doublet, its outer layer of splendid silk patterned with gold, the padding has been so disposed that it enlarges the chest, and, by the closeness of its fit to below the hips, it must have maintained a corset-like grip round the body below the waist.  Its sleeves are set onto the body part in the manner known as the grande assiette.

Now, I, like many other 14th century geeks, have memorized the photos, not to say the cut of the thing, but have been unable to adequately explain the way it looks quilted.
Mystery no more:  It's NOT.  The puffy, quilted, look is an artefact of conservation - some kind soul carefully stitched the unlined garment onto another fabric to give it support, causing the horizontal puffing up that makes it look quilted.  The elbows look funky for similar  reasons, as the arms are filled not with a human-shaped form, but with a pile of stuffing that neatly fills the available space.

There's contradictory stories for how old Margaret was when she wore this gown; some put it at 1363 or so, when she was 10, but apparently radio-carbon dating puts it in the range of 1403-39, when she was 50 to 59! Others say it may be a generation later, and not Margaret's.

I have moved the additional information about this gown to a new page.  See the page for commentary and examples of the reconstructed brocade pattern.

See also Marc Carlson's page about this gown.

I think this gown would not be this stiff after a few wearings. 

Thanks to the Historic Costume folks, who have pointed out that the alleged pattern digram in the book attributed to Carl Kohler and written in the 1870s, edited and republished in 1928 with a 1911 pattern of the gown, was disproved in 1985 by modern conservators.  (A good example of why you must take Victorian costume books with a lot of salt.)

The picture at left is the b&w photo from Kohler.  Marc listed the best reference for this gown, which is: Geijer, Agnes, Anne Marie Franzen and Margareta Nockert. Drottning Margaretas gyllene kjortel i Uppsala domkyrka.  Stockholm: Kingl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, 1994. [The Golden Gown of Queen Margareta in Uppsala Cathedral] Note that this is the more desirable later edition (first was in 1985).
 

Made in the 14th century or for the coronation of Sigismund in 1414.

Named after the legendary  consecrator of the Aachen cathedral, pope Leo III, the robe was probably worn during the coronation of Sigismund in 1414.

The reddish-brown velvet is covered with small white blossoms in squares which are framed by knit golden threads. The front part of the hem shows an embroidered border with quatrefoil alternately adorned with three dimensional little birds and heraldic shields. Along the lower hem of the robe there is a broad, embroidered border with flowers, stars, and the figures of prophets, together with a band carrying 100 hammerless silver bells which produce sounds by knocking each other.
Contributed by Dietmar.

From Boucher

From Boucher

The attire of Queen Mary and Louis II came in the possession of the Hungarian National Museum in 1928, from Mariazell, a place of pilgrimage.  The gown of the queen was made of Italian silk damask after the Burgundian fashion between 1520 and 1530.

These scans are nearly identical colors to the Guide; moss green gown with light russet accents.  Here are closeups: Bodice - Skirt - Cuff.  Don't forget to click on the picture to the left for a larger view.  The belt looks as if it's made of two semi-circular sections, possibly hinged at the back.

News Flash!  Friends have been to the museum recently and report that the russet fabric and the green are damasks with metallic gold.