{{Short description|Type of trousers worn by Celtic and Germanic tribes in antiquity}} {{For|the town of the Italy named Braies|Prags}} thumb|Threshing sheaf of two men, these are wearing a baggy medieval Braies – Luttrell Psalter ({{c.|1325–1335}}) thumb|Psalter (the 'Shaftesbury Psalter') with calendar and prayers, England (2nd quarter of the 12th century)
'''Braies''' are a type of trouser worn by Celtic and Germanic tribes in antiquity and by Europeans subsequently into the Middle Ages. In the later Middle Ages they were used exclusively as undergarments. Braies generally hung to the knees or mid-calf, resembling what are today called shorts. They were made of leather, wool, or, in later years, cotton or linen. They were adopted by the Romans as ''braccae''.<ref>Miriam Webster dictionary</ref> By the 11th century, ''Braies'' were ankle-length pants held in place by a cord fitted through the top.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laver |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l936DwAAQBAJ |title=Costume and Fashion: A Concise History (World of Art) |date=2020-04-14 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-77514-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Brunt |first=Nancye |date=1990-05-04 |title=A Concise History of Underwear from Ancient Times to 1918 |url=https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/msu_theses_dissertations/567 |journal=Morehead State Theses and Dissertations |pages=22–23}}</ref> People from upper classes wore more fitting braies while people of the lower classes typically wore loose braies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradfield |first=N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2eA1DwAAQBAJ |title=Historical Costumes of England - From the Eleventh to the Twentieth Century |date=2017-09-15 |publisher=Read Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-4733-4137-1 |language=en}}</ref>
== Etymology == Braies stems from {{langx|fro|braies}}, but is etymologically related to many other European words for pants, including the English word breeches. Braies via Old French originate from {{langx|la|bracae}}, plural of ''braca'' (also spelled ''braccae''), referring to the shapeless pants worn by the Ancient Gauls, which in turn is borrowed from Gaulish ''brāca'', of Germanic origin. Etymologically akin to {{langx|non|brók}} (such as in the nickname Ragnar Lodbrok, "Ragnar Shaggy-braies"), {{langx|ang|brōk}} or ''brōc'' (plural: ''brēc''), {{langx|de|Bruch}}, {{langx|da|brog}}, {{langx|sv|brok}}, etc.<ref name="brok sbst.1">{{cite web |title=Brok sbst.1 |url=https://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=B_4207-0112.lGhn&pz=3 |website=saob.se |publisher=Svenska Akademiens Ordbok (SAOB) |access-date=2023-08-09}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}} {{-}} {{men's undergarments}} {{Clothing}}
Category:Undergarments Category:Medieval European costume
{{clothing-stub}}