A Fourteenth-Century Guide to Hairshirts (or, Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Wearing Your Cilice)

In 1371 at the canonization trial for Charles de Blois, duke of Brittany from 1341-1364 (when he died in a battle), much was made of hairshirts.* In it, I apparently counted and logged 44 references before giving up with an "etc." They have since become a constant theme of my research, which is weird. So, for my convenience and especially for any pious reader who might want to deck themselves out with this latest religious fashion accessory, here is what this source tells us about hairshirts--tips and tricks for the savvy devotee.

• Horsehair makes them appropriately scratchy (p. 107).
• It can be elegantly concealed beneath your clothes for a "private devotion" look. Only if your servants see you undress (p. 38) or happen to feel it through your outer clothing (p. 66) will anyone find out.
• Swear them to secrecy, it's only modest. But they'll tell everyone, so you can enjoy a good reputation! (p. 39)
• You have an exciting range of color choices: match your clothes with a hairshirt in red, black, or plain white (p. 76).
• The really good ones can be bought in Paris (p. 48).
• If you're feeling extra-charitable, you can give your old hairshirt (or a new one) to a deserving recluse (p. 52). Bonus points (but don't forget about that "secrecy" thing).
• And if people think it's strange that you have so many lying around, lie and say they're for someone else (p. 71).
• Warning: make sure to take it off before going to bed at night with your wife (p. 79). She may not share all your habits, and may not appreciate the fleas (p. 163). In fact, it's probably best if she just doesn't know you have one (p. 107).
• But she'll be really pleased to find you've stored some away in the treasure chests instead of gold (p. 121).
• It makes for a good corpse. If you have one on you when you die, people will be impressed (p. 31). And they can turn it into relics! (p. 102)

Additional accessories which you might want to wear with you hairshirt:

• Knotted cords, Franciscan-style. We recommend three--one for your chest, one at kidney level, and one around the belly. String and horsehair make good materials. These can go on top, to push the itchy shirt right up against your skin (p. 34); or sometimes below to really get the pressure of those knots (p. 79). Warning: may cause infection.
• Rocks in your shoes, to make sure you don't have unnecessary comfort while walking.
• A blanchetum, a wool garment worn under armor that is really good for hiding that hairshirt! (p. 38)
• Little cushions with hard fillings to use as your travel pillow (p. 179).

Various other lifestyle choices, like fasting, sleeping without a mattress, and barefoot pilgrimages in winter, may complement your fashion perfectly. And your wife might even want to keep a scrap of it long after you're dead! So sweet.**


*Sérent, Antoine de. Monuments du Procès de Canonisation du Bienheureux Charles de Blois, Duc de Bretagne, 1320-1364. Saint-Brieuc: R. Prud'homme, 1921.  All page numbers representative--the same information can be found repeatedly.

**A piece of Charles' hairshirt was in fact among the possessions of his widow, Jeanne de Penthièvre, upon her death in 1384 (see Arthur le Moyne de la Borderie, Inventaire du mobilier de Jeanne la Boîteuse, duchesse de Bretagne (1384). Nantes: Guéraud et Cie, 1854).