Men and women of noble blood are often the most important characters in medieval plays. During the Middle Ages, harsh "Sumptuary Laws" controlled society and even mandated clothing, to ensure the maintenance of a strict class structure, reports Middle Ages.org. According to English law, only noblewomen could wear veils of silk, and only ladies of knights earning more than 200 marks a year could wear fur. Wives of esquires and gentlemen could not wear velvet, satin or ermine, and gold and purple silk was reserved for the royal family.
For women, the early medieval period included ankle-length tunics called "kirtles" which they wore over shirts, or long and wide gowns embroidered at the edges. Later centuries included tight lacing on waists and hips, which created a long torso. Hair was typically worn in a bun and covered with tight-fitting caps or veils. For men, the early medieval period included flowing tunics and a tighter-fitting tunic in later centuries, says Middle-Ages.org. Men wore stockings, sleeveless jackets and cloaks with a round opening for their heads. Laced sandals or leather shoes and long, trailing sleeves were popular for both sexes. During later periods men wore pointed shoes and hats.
Popular fabrics for nobles' garments in your medieval play can include silks, satins, damask, brocade and velvet. Nobles' clothing emphasize richness of fabric quality, bright garment color and include embroidered designs to signify high rank. Exaggerate characteristics of costumes like hat height or the amount of embroidery to signify higher status.
Knights were a class between nobility and commoners. When not in armor in the medieval play, knights dress like other men in tunics and trousers, but they also wear a sleeveless jacket called a "surcoat" decorated with their coat-of-arms. According to All Things Medieval, kings supplied the chain mail or plate mail that knights wore, and coupled with the coat-of-arms, even a few pieces of armor easily signify a knight's character.
Commoners are depicted less often in medieval plays because courtly drama is typically more interesting to audiences. Commoners' clothing includes the same basic garments as nobility, such as gowns, shirts and kirtles for women, or tunics and trousers for men. The Sumptuary Laws imposed strict rules over what commoners wore; for example, wives and daughters of servants could not wear a veil of greater than 12 pence in value. These restrictions guaranteed that the undyed wool and linen of commoners' clothing was plain and cheap.
Other characters in medieval plays are holy people such as priests or nuns, occult-oriented characters like witches and wizards and "non-humans" such as dragons, faeries and ghosts. Clerical people like priests wear inner and outer cassocks or tunics, while nuns wear habits. Costuming for occult-oriented or non-humans offers opportunities for creativity; the costumes for witches or wizards can imitate noble costumes, but you can alter the styles to reflect their personalities. You can depict non-humans as realistic or symbolic representatives of the creatures they are supposed to portray.