https://wist.info Wish I'd Said That! Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:57:18 +0000 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://wist.info/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/little-w-little-box-60x60.jpg https://wist.info 32 32 43606282 https://wist.info/orderic-vitalis/37421/ https://wist.info/orderic-vitalis/37421/#respond Thu, 06 Jul 2017 17:37:52 +0000 Dave http://wist.info/?p=37421 Our ancestors used to wear decent clothes, well-adapted to the shape of their bodies; they were skilled horsemen and swift runners, ready for all seemly undertakings. But in these days the old customs have almost wholly given way to new fads. Our wanton youth is sunk in effeminacy, and courtiers, fawning, seek the favors of women with every kind of lewdness. […] They sweep the dusty ground with the unnecessary trains of their robes and mantles; their long, wide sleeves cover their hands whatever they do; impeded by these frivolities they are almost incapable of walking quickly or doing any kind of useful work.

Orderic Vitalis (1075-c. 1142) English monk, chronicler
Historia Ecclesiastica, Book 4 [tr. Chibnall (1969-80)]

Alt. trans.: "Our ancestors used to wear decent clothes, nicely fitted to the shape of their bodies and suitable for riding and running and performing every task that they should reasonably perform. But in these wicked days the practices of olden times have almost completely given way to novel fads." ]]> https://wist.info/orderic-vitalis/37421/feed/ 0 37421