0:00:02 > 0:00:03'Clothes are the ultimate form of visual communication.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05'By looking at the way people dressed,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08'we can learn not only about them as individuals,
0:00:08 > 0:00:10'but about the society they lived in.'
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'm Amber Butchart, fashion historian.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16And, in the words of Louis XIV,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I believe that fashion is the mirror of history.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24'So, taking historical works of art as our inspiration...
0:00:25 > 0:00:29'..traditional tailor Ninya Mikhaila and her team will be recreating
0:00:29 > 0:00:33'historical clothing using only authentic methods.'
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Oh, look at that, it's changing colour in the air.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39'And I'll be finding out what they tell us about the people
0:00:39 > 0:00:40'who wore them...'
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I'm assuming the king wouldn't be dressing himself, though, right?
0:00:43 > 0:00:44'And the times they lived in.
0:00:47 > 0:00:48'And seeing what they're like to wear.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:04The Black Prince, hero to the English, villain to the French.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09A warrior who's premature death in a 1376 denied him the crown
0:01:09 > 0:01:11by just 12 months.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Here he lies in his tomb at Canterbury Cathedral,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17immortalised by a gilded copper effigy.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It's really powerful.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25You can see why you would want this monument to be your effigy,
0:01:25 > 0:01:32to be the worldly reminder of who you were.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37I've chosen the Black Prince's effigy here
0:01:37 > 0:01:40as our inspiration for a number of reasons.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45The 14th century is really important in terms of fashion history.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It's a period where we start to dress differently.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52It a period that some historians think the actual idea
0:01:52 > 0:01:56of fashion itself really begins, this idea
0:01:56 > 0:01:58of perpetually changing styles.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Having won his first battle at only 16,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04this warrior prince chose to be represented in death
0:02:04 > 0:02:08as the heroic military leader. Dressed in full armour,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11covered with a type of Tabard known as a jupon,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13richly embroidered with his personal heraldry.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16The jupon is a fascinating garment.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22It's a military item, but also a very fashionable item as well.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25People tend to think that there's this distinction
0:02:25 > 0:02:29between military dress and fashionable dress, but in reality,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33the relationship between the two is much more symbiotic.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38What's also fascinating is that we actually have an extant version
0:02:38 > 0:02:40of the Black Prince's jupon.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45It was hung here in Canterbury Cathedral for centuries.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50So, having that extant garment as evidence is going to be invaluable
0:02:50 > 0:02:52in terms of recreating this piece.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Armour was worn by the most fashionable men of the day,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08but it's not an area I usually study,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12so I'm been given a tour of the Arms and Armoury Department of the
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Wallace collection by curator Toby Capwell.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18When people tend to think of armour, they think of metal,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20they think of the plate armour and they think of mail.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24But actually, textiles are a fundamental aspect
0:03:24 > 0:03:25of a suit of armour.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Yeah. Armour is just anything protective that you wear.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32It is not necessarily made out of metal.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37In the 14th century, they couldn't make big pieces of iron and steel
0:03:37 > 0:03:40yet, so they had to find other ways of protecting the human body.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Padded textile is the most important form of armour.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47It's the most fundamental form of protection.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50It is what you need before you have anything else.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54We always fixate on the metal bits because those are what survive.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57So, in the time of the Black Prince,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01what's the role of heraldry in these kind of garments?
0:04:01 > 0:04:04When you've got lots of guys in armour with their faces obscured
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and big shields on horses running around,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09you need to be able to tell who is who,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and this was hugely important for leaders like the Black Prince.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18Seeing the leader on the front lines has an extraordinary effect
0:04:18 > 0:04:20on morale. Imagine being a common soldier,
0:04:20 > 0:04:25and your leader fights on the ground with you, right next to you.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27That's an extraordinary statement.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29One early 15th century writer,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32not long after the death of the Black Prince,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37wrote that men follow their leader like a candle in the dark.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- Right.- And the heraldry is the flame of the candle.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44As a piece of textile armour,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46the extant jupon would have been padded.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50This means it differs slightly from the one depicted on the effigy,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53which, although it would have been identical in terms of colours
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and embroidery, was silk and purely for heraldic display.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02In his will, the Black Prince asked to have his military jupon
0:05:02 > 0:05:06hung above his tomb. It was clearly a significant garment for him,
0:05:06 > 0:05:11so, Ninya has decided to make our jupon to its exact specifications.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15I think it would be really fascinating to see how the garment
0:05:15 > 0:05:17looks in real-life as the complete new thing,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20because I think it will give us a real sense of the man.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Tell me about this embroidery.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26How difficult is it going to be to recreate this?
0:05:26 > 0:05:29It is a challenge, because, of course, it would all be done by hand,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32by professionals who worked in the Royal wardrobe.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34And there aren't nearly so many professional hand embroiderers
0:05:34 > 0:05:38around today. But I do have a team of hand embroiderers
0:05:38 > 0:05:41that I have worked with before who've always done
0:05:41 > 0:05:45really lovely work, and I'm sure we can send something to them.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47So, the whole thing, it's padded.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48What's inside this?
0:05:48 > 0:05:52These kind of padded armours could be stuffed with sheep's fleece,
0:05:52 > 0:05:58with tow, which is like a raw linen flaxy fibre, but also cotton.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59And I've got some, actually, down here.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- Oh, right. Oh, yes.- So, that's just the raw cotton fibre.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09You can see how this would make fantastic stuffing, can't you?
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Yeah. It's actually very, very soft,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15but once it's forced inside these tightly worked rows of quilting,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18then it becomes very robust. I think what we are going to have to do,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20is a few experiments with different ways
0:06:20 > 0:06:23that we could carry out to the quilting.
0:06:23 > 0:06:24- Sort of trial and error?- Yeah.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- Yeah.- Experimental archaeology.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- Love it.- Excellent. Excellent.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33The son of Edward III and father to Richard II,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36the Prince himself remains an enigma.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39I'm meeting historian David Green in the Black Prince's chapel
0:06:39 > 0:06:42at Canterbury Cathedral to find out more
0:06:42 > 0:06:45about this intriguing and complex man.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Where does this name come from?
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Was he known as the Black Prince during his lifetime?
0:06:51 > 0:06:55No. The first mention that we've got of him as the Black Prince
0:06:55 > 0:06:56is mid-16th century.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58There are two main theories.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01One is his so-called arms of peace.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03They are essentially his tournament arms.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06They're the three ostrich feathers on a black field,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and so there could be a connection there.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Or it could be a much more negative association,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13perhaps one that comes from France.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17He wages some extremely brutal military campaigns.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21In particular, there's one in 1355, the so-called grande chevauchee.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25A chevauchee is a sort of deliberate piece of socioeconomic warfare.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29In the course of that, he's said to destroy something like 500 towns,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31villages, castles and other settlements,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34so this is really calculated stuff.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36It's aimed at the peasantry.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39It's aimed at those who are in many ways least capable of defending
0:07:39 > 0:07:42themselves. It's designed to undermine the credibility
0:07:42 > 0:07:47of the French monarchy, but also to undermine the French king's ability
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- to put troops into the field. - That's brutal, isn't it?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Oh, yeah, it's absolutely brutal.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56So, it's not impossible that that sort of reputation
0:07:56 > 0:08:00gets associated with the Prince, and he gets this name.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I get the feeling, from what I've learned about the Black Prince,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06that he might enjoy that kind of representation.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07I think in some ways,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11and I think the tomb is an interesting representation of this,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13probably one of the best ways of getting some sort of insight
0:08:13 > 0:08:17- into the character of the man. - He was quite a fashionable man.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18Is that fair to say?
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Yeah, very much so. And particularly, perhaps,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22when he marries a Joan of Kent.
0:08:22 > 0:08:29Their court at Bordeaux from 1363 until he comes back in 1370
0:08:29 > 0:08:32is extremely lavish.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36And in fact, the first person who gets commissioned to come over
0:08:36 > 0:08:40and join him is essentially his tailor and dressmaker.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Oh, fantastic.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48Now, the effigy itself, as an artwork and as a memorial as well,
0:08:48 > 0:08:53how important would it have been for it to be lifelike
0:08:53 > 0:08:54as a representation?
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Not as important as we might think of it today.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04Most effigies seem to have much more concern given to things
0:09:04 > 0:09:07like heraldry and arms and armour
0:09:07 > 0:09:10rather than a personal representation.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12But I hope it looks a bit like him.
0:09:12 > 0:09:13He has a very splendid moustache.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15He does, indeed.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20The quilting is an essential feature of our jupon,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24as it would have played an important part in withstanding attack from
0:09:24 > 0:09:26arrows, crossbows and swords.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Without any record of how the original was made,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Ninya and Harriet still aren't sure which method to use.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36I've tacked my square all the way round,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and I'm going to sew channels.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43I'm trying a different method where I've got a big cushion
0:09:43 > 0:09:47of the wadding in here, and I'm going to sandwich the layers
0:09:47 > 0:09:50together and then stitch the lines.
0:09:50 > 0:09:51Oh, my God!
0:09:55 > 0:09:57It doesn't look as if it's going to be quite so successful
0:09:57 > 0:09:58as the other method.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04There's no other way of properly understanding how these things
0:10:04 > 0:10:09worked than to begin the process of making them.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11It's the only way to ask the right questions, really.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14You can't possibly think of all the questions until you begin to try and
0:10:14 > 0:10:16reconstruct something.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Because these were items that are worn,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21you have to experiment like that, or else...
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Because it's not just a piece of art.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28I have had so many experiences of trying to fathom out an original set
0:10:28 > 0:10:31of instructions for doing something and thinking,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34"Surely that's not, that can't be right, that can't be right,"
0:10:34 > 0:10:37- and then trying it and going, "Oh, it was right!" - SHE LAUGHS
0:10:37 > 0:10:39"They did know what they were talking about."
0:10:39 > 0:10:40And it can really surprise you,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43even when you're quite experienced and you think you know how something
0:10:43 > 0:10:47will turn out. Until you've given it a go, often you just can't tell.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- It's almost comical, your piece, I think! - LAUGHTER
0:10:50 > 0:10:52How rude! How rude!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54But it looks quite rude itself.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I think the whole thing's just going to be completely dense and still
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- very...- Cushiony.- Yeah, still very fat and just not very defined.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I've now finished my piece,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14but it's not very satisfying because it looks
0:11:14 > 0:11:17a bit stiff and not very defined.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20So far, this method is making me think, "Yeah, I can do that."
0:11:20 > 0:11:23The only difference is that this one is fat underneath the stitching
0:11:23 > 0:11:26lines, and that one goes straight down.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28But then I put a lot of stuffing in there.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- There's probably...- I think there is too much stuffing.- ..too much.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36But even so, there's no way you can get down to the base, which creates
0:11:36 > 0:11:38that lovely sausagey definition.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41I did have great hopes for that, and it's nicely strong.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I could stand in that while being shot at by arrows, possibly.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48But that just makes the velvet look nicer.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Hung above the Black Prince's tomb after his funeral,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56the jupon stayed there until World War II.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Due to its extremely delicate state,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01it's now carefully conserved at Canterbury Cathedral.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Garments, textiles this old are so incredibly rare, and it's very
0:12:06 > 0:12:09unusual that you're going to be able to get access to see them.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11You have to have a very special reason.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15And so this is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I'm very excited!
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Yeah, I'm really excited to see it.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Since the jupon was taken off display,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26only a handful of people have been allowed to see it.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29One of these is textile historian Lisa Monnas.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33- Oh!- Wow!
0:12:35 > 0:12:36Oh, look at that!
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Oh!
0:12:39 > 0:12:41That's incredible, isn't it?
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Considering it's over 600 years old, it's rather magnificent.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48- Wow.- It was the most magnificent velvet, originally,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52which was one of the most expensive materials you could buy at the time.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54It was an incredible status symbol,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56because it was very labour-intensive.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01They used the finest materials, and it was also a personalised design
0:13:01 > 0:13:05made especially for him. You can still see the fleur-de-lis,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10which were part of the Royal arms of France, and the leopards of England.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13These are so important for the jupon because, of course,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16they represented the arms of the Black Prince.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20The black and fleur-de-lis and lions that you see are all made with gold
0:13:20 > 0:13:26thread. The whole thing might have cost £20, and that would be a whole
0:13:26 > 0:13:30year's salary for one of the senior officers in the King's household.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Wow! So this is absolutely something that speaks of wealth, magnificence,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37status, royalty.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- Yes, it's ostentatious in every way, in fact. - THEY LAUGH
0:13:40 > 0:13:45What I really would love to know is, would this have been created
0:13:45 > 0:13:47specifically for the funeral,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50or would it have actually likely to have been
0:13:50 > 0:13:52in the Black Prince's wardrobe?
0:13:52 > 0:13:54I think this was undoubtedly something that he would have worn
0:13:54 > 0:13:56himself, which is very thrilling.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Wow.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Um...because it's so high-quality,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and it is so... the details are so fine.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08So, what can this jupon tell us, essentially, about the Black Prince?
0:14:08 > 0:14:10He was a man who liked
0:14:10 > 0:14:13to project a splendid image,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16but who wanted to be seen as someone who was a man of action,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19who was a chivalrous warrior.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21And it can also tell us that he was
0:14:21 > 0:14:24quite tall and very lithe from its
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- measures.- Right.- So you would expect that from a man who was an energetic
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- man of action.- Following their experiment,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Ninya and Harriet believe the best method for the quilting is to sew
0:14:33 > 0:14:35channels and then fill them.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40But having been able to study the actual garment, Lisa's not so sure.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- As far as one can tell...- Yeah.- ..I think that it would be
0:14:43 > 0:14:45the second construction,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48which feels a bit softer but which does have the advantage that the
0:14:48 > 0:14:51cotton wool padding goes right through, because when it's stuck in
0:14:51 > 0:14:53like this, not only is it rigid,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57but you have points of vulnerability where the channels go right through
0:14:57 > 0:14:59to the linen.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01So this may have
0:15:01 > 0:15:03a deceptively better defensive
0:15:03 > 0:15:06quality to it, and it's possible that it was
0:15:06 > 0:15:07this method that they used.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10OK, so this is the one, this is the one we're going with?
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Yes, yes, definitely. That's the better one.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14That is fantastic to know. Great.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18It's incredible that what is essentially just some velvet and raw
0:15:18 > 0:15:22cotton could be tailored into a garment which may well have helped
0:15:22 > 0:15:23save the Black Prince's life.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30And so, although our jupon will never be worn on the battlefields,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34I do feel a responsibility to get this absolutely right.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Here's our big pile of cotton...
0:15:39 > 0:15:41- Yeah.- ..and you just want to pull bits off and put them in the basket
0:15:41 > 0:15:45- until we get to 106.- 106, OK.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48It's quite a lot, actually, isn't it?
0:15:48 > 0:15:50- It is a lot. What have you got there?- 44.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52- Yeah.- It's loads! LAUGHTER
0:15:52 > 0:15:54There's so much that goes into it, isn't there?
0:15:54 > 0:15:56- Yeah.- No wonder it's such a protective
0:15:56 > 0:16:00- piece of clothing.- Yeah.- How's that? 106.- Perfect.- Perfect.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02So, this amount goes in here, yeah?
0:16:02 > 0:16:04One half of a body.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07We just separate it out a little bit.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10What we're aiming to do is get as even a distribution of the cotton
0:16:10 > 0:16:13over the pattern piece as possible.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16So, we lay it out kind of relatively thinly within these lines.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19So, if you'd like to take some and have a go as well.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21What we'll do is we'll layer it,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23- rather than trying to put it all down in one go...- Yeah.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26..which would make lumps and troughs,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29we'll do one thin layer and then we'll go back and do another one,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and hopefully our little patches overlap and kind of
0:16:32 > 0:16:33- even out a little bit.- Right.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36I see. OK. OK.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39I can, I can get on board with this.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41This is quite enjoyable. LAUGHTER
0:16:45 > 0:16:46When we've got all of this on,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48we can actually put the layer of velvet.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51I've got the piece of velvet ready here to put on the top.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- Yeah.- And I can start the quilting.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55But if you have a look at what Hannah's doing, she's actually
0:16:55 > 0:16:59nearly finished, actually, I think, one of her body pieces,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01and you can see how it looks at the next stage.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04OK, great. So you're doing the quilting process.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- I am.- How's it going? - It's going quite well, to be honest.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10I started with this line here. This was my very, very first line.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14- Yeah.- And then I worked this line, and then that one.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- Oh, I see, to keep it even...- So, all the time I'm spreading...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- Yeah.- ..yeah, evenly spaced.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Would you like to have a go at quilting?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23I would love to have a go at quilting, yeah, definitely.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26So...
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- ..going in here?- Yeah. That, about that size?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33- Yeah, that's perfect.- OK.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- It is quite hard to push all the way through.- Yeah. OK.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Now, it's this coming back, it's difficult to know...
0:17:47 > 0:17:50You can't sense exactly where you're going to go.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52- No.- It's only when you get into a rhythm.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Oh, that's, that's my finger! LAUGHTER
0:17:59 > 0:18:00Oh...no.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06So, if we just have a look underneath to see how
0:18:06 > 0:18:09- straight that line is.- Oh, God!
0:18:11 > 0:18:15It is really hard to sort of sense how straight you're pushing the
0:18:15 > 0:18:18needle through the fabric, and the wadding and then the velvet as well.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23- Yeah. So my attempt here is not too bad?- Not too bad.- OK. LAUGHTER
0:18:23 > 0:18:24Good.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Knights like the Black Prince would have started their military
0:18:30 > 0:18:32education around the age of five,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35so Toby Capwell is giving me some armour training to help me
0:18:35 > 0:18:38understand this fighting prince.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41I am wearing trackie Bs and I'm wearing sneakers,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43which has never happened before.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47So, I'm feeling pretty, pretty prepped, pretty ready for it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53A knight would have worn 20kg of armour,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56which would have had a huge impact on mobility.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59I don't know what I was expecting, but, of course,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02of course you can feel weight absolutely all over you.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- These muscles especially... - Yes.- ..right on the outside.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07They're not used to having to lift so much weight,
0:19:07 > 0:19:08but when you're fighting, too.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Those muscles are not used to doing anything, I'll be honest! LAUGHTER
0:19:12 > 0:19:15We do now have the helmet.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18- Right.- This is exactly what we see in the effigy - open-faced,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21no visor, high, sharp point to
0:19:21 > 0:19:23deflect weapons,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and the aventail of mail.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30- We'll put you in here and you'll be, you'll be ready to go.- OK.
0:19:30 > 0:19:31Hopefully.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35SHE LAUGHS
0:19:35 > 0:19:38There you go. It's a little bit deep for you...
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- Yeah.- ..but you want...- Oh, my God! - ..you want it to come as close to
0:19:41 > 0:19:45your eyes as possible to keep your brow protected, so...
0:19:45 > 0:19:50I feel like if I...if I leant over, I'd just keep going.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55So, how much does all of this weigh, that I'm wearing now?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- It might be at ten or 12. - That's all?!- Something like that.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- So, I'd have another, like, eight to ten...- Yeah.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03I'd have, like, twice this again?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Yeah, well, you'd have the mail shirt and the leg armour which is
0:20:05 > 0:20:08going to get you up to 20 kilos or more.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Now imagine, not only do you have to just hold yourself upright,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15you need to be able to fight, you need to be able to run,
0:20:15 > 0:20:20jump on your horse, climb siege ladders, cross rivers.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22You need to be able to do, physically,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24quite strenuous activity.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Yeah, I guess you need to wear it so much that it becomes second nature,
0:20:27 > 0:20:29like a second skin.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34- Yeah.- The 14th-century French knight Boucicaut recorded his training
0:20:34 > 0:20:38regime, which included leaping on to a horse while wearing armour.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Fortunately, Toby's not going to make me do that, but he is going to
0:20:42 > 0:20:46teach me the range of movements a knight would need to perfect.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Can you raise the sword in the air to strike?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- That's pretty good! That's pretty good. - SHE GROANS AND LAUGHS
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Some armour won't let you move that much.- Oh, really?
0:20:56 > 0:20:58That's, that's a decent level of movement.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00- SHE GRUNTS - Yeah.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03And then, of course, you know, if you're fighting me, with no
0:21:03 > 0:21:06equipment, any part of your body will hurt me.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07- Oh, I see.- Then you can strike with...
0:21:07 > 0:21:10If you're in tight and you feel you can't move,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- you can still strike with your elbow, strike with your head.- Yeah.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15You know, you can slam someone with the breastplate.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17I feel like that would do a lot of damage.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19If it's what you've got, use it, you know?
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I mean, the armour is turning your whole body into a weapon.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24- Yeah, yeah.- You just have to know
0:21:24 > 0:21:27what the limits of the equipment are.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Part of being a knight is to be managing the situation with your
0:21:31 > 0:21:35kit, so it all looks effortless and you never look clumsy.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37- Yeah.- It's very tough. - It's very, very tough.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40I've never felt less graceful, I'll be honest. LAUGHTER
0:21:40 > 0:21:43You could get there, you could get there.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Ooh!
0:21:46 > 0:21:47SHE LAUGHS
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Ooh!
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Well, unsurprisingly, that was really difficult.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I'm ridiculously sweaty.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00I feel like I've been working out for hours.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04You can really tell how much training I would need to not only
0:22:04 > 0:22:06get used to this as a kind of second skin,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10but also be able to operate it in a knightly way,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12with grace and decorum.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16There's not much that you can see, and you're kind of really aware that
0:22:16 > 0:22:19there could be people all around you, there could be people anywhere.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I was expecting to feel very powerful,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25but I actually felt quite small and felt quite vulnerable.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The quilting process creates a certain amount of shrinkage, and
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Ninya's estimated she needs to allow an extra 10% of material.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38It's now time to see if her calculations are correct.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- That's actually pretty amazing. So this is...- Phew! - LAUGHTER
0:22:43 > 0:22:46..this is the original pattern size, as it should be.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48This started out 10% wider.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51And that's pretty close.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- Shrunk to where we want it. Good.- Yeah.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Having taken the embroiderers 900 hours to complete,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02the leopards and fleur-de-lis need to be cut out and sewn on.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Hmm, they've not filled in this section here.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- Oh, wow. No, they haven't. It's a hole.- Yep.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15So, all the embroidery's been worked on white linen,
0:23:15 > 0:23:16which is as the original was.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19They've missed out a few little stitches, and so there's a tiny
0:23:19 > 0:23:23little white patch that shouldn't be a white patch, and we're wondering
0:23:23 > 0:23:25whether to cut it out so that it
0:23:25 > 0:23:27will be a little red patch underneath, or...
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- It would look wounded, then.- Or leave it, but I think that little
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- white patch will offend the eye. - LAUGHTER
0:23:32 > 0:23:34So I think the better thing to do
0:23:34 > 0:23:35is to actually just over-sew it
0:23:35 > 0:23:37with this colour thread, because
0:23:37 > 0:23:38it's luckily quite a small area,
0:23:38 > 0:23:40and I don't think it will be
0:23:40 > 0:23:41noticeable, really.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52We've worked out, at the rate we're going at the moment,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54it's looking like ten days' work
0:23:54 > 0:23:56for one person to just sew the embroidery on.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58And, yes, we've done one,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00and a little tiny bit.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06This is the first time in my life
0:24:06 > 0:24:09I've had to be trained to wear an outfit.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13But the fact is, even if I'd been born in the Black Prince's time,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I'd still never have worn this jupon.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21It was made for a prince, it was made for a warrior.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Oh, my God! Look at how much gold there is! The colours!
0:24:28 > 0:24:30That's so amazing!
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- It's a lot of gold, isn't? - It's so much. I just love it. LAUGHTER
0:24:33 > 0:24:36I can't believe how bright, how vibrant it is.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39It's just completely brought it to life.
0:24:39 > 0:24:40- Yeah.- Like, compared with, you know,
0:24:40 > 0:24:45the actual 600-year-old jupon that we saw,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48just to see it like this is just incredible.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52With the armour underneath it as well, it just looks so majestic.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55It really does. There's no mistaking who this person is.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Absolutely no mistaking. LAUGHTER
0:24:57 > 0:25:00You can really feel how much protection that would give.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03I imagine it really would. I think you'd feel quite safe in there.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Yeah, definitely.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10Definitely. This, the fleur-de-lis embroidery, is absolutely exquisite,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13- isn't it?- There's just something about the gold on the blue that is
0:25:13 > 0:25:16just stunning, isn't it? Really, really beautiful.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Yeah, really beautiful.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to touch it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- Do you want to try it on? - Absolutely.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23I really, really do.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46So, how many people would it have taken to get the Black Prince ready
0:25:46 > 0:25:50- like this?- Well, he probably would have had at least three, actually,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52at this stage, getting him ready.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Royal members of the household all had their own personal,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57what were known as body servants,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00people who were actually allowed to touch the king's body,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02- or the prince's body...- Mmm.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07..in order for it not to take a painfully long time.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- Are you in?- I'm in. I am in.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Does it feel incredibly heavy, now that everything's on?
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Yeah, it does feel really heavy.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25It's just, it's such an unusual feeling.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28It's kind of turning yourself into a kind of robot.
0:26:28 > 0:26:29It's like...
0:26:31 > 0:26:34..you know, like a war machine, really. SHE LAUGHS
0:26:34 > 0:26:36You do look almost twice the size.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Yeah. It's just such a different stature. LAUGHTER
0:26:39 > 0:26:42You know, you go through life, inhabiting your body,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44and I'm used to, you know,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47not only being female but being small.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49- I'm short and I'm small.- Yeah, yeah.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51LAUGHTER
0:26:51 > 0:26:53This is something incredibly alien for me.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59When I did the armour training, there's a certain lack of mobility,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01and I thought that the jupon on top would
0:27:01 > 0:27:06really increase that, but it didn't actually make it any more difficult
0:27:06 > 0:27:07to move around.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10However, it was a lot heavier.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13You've got this padded velvet, you've got the metallic thread.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16It's a lot of extra weight that you're carrying around.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20You can see that so much training would have been necessary to
0:27:20 > 0:27:22actually wear this.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27This has taught me a lot about the Black Prince and about how
0:27:27 > 0:27:30he would have wanted other people to perceive him.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32This item is so in-your-face,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35he's really turning himself into a human target.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39This is completely different to our contemporary idea of camouflage in
0:27:39 > 0:27:45warfare. He's saying, "This is me, and you simply can't ignore me."
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And, at the same time, he's a fantastic rallying point for the
0:27:48 > 0:27:52troops, as well. He's really there on the battlefield,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57leading his men in this incredibly garish, bright piece of clothing.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04As a historian, you're always trying to imagine the past and imagine it
0:28:04 > 0:28:08as accurately as you possibly can, based on the evidence.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12I spend a lot of time in museums, looking at dress in cabinets
0:28:12 > 0:28:17underneath glass, and being able to touch this and feel it and know
0:28:17 > 0:28:21that it's the same textures, the same materials that would have been
0:28:21 > 0:28:25felt in the 14th century is really incredible.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS