[Ansteorra] Undies

[Michelle Hartz-Coutts]

It's my understanding that underpants/drawers/bloomers are an 18th century invention. There is a famous story about Ben Franklin at the French court. A lady-in-waiting took a header in her fancy gown and exposed her privates. Franklin is said to have told the Queen, "I am happy to see, Madam, that your ladies do not wear drawers, and the gates of Paradise are always open."

Anyway, I studied medieval and Ren lit at grad school, and I am quite certain that for Europe at least, "underwear" in period meant your shift or your shirt.