Bibliography for Eastern European Costume.

This is a work in progress, and may change at any moment. Although I am particularly interesed in information about Poland at this time, due to a general lack of bibliographies about Eastern Europe, I am listing books about Poland’s neighbors as well. Most descriptions are courtesy of persons other than myself as the book list regarding Poland is the current list I have sitting at my local library’s interlibrary loan desk. Those annotated by me have my initials (NMM) after the description. If you wish to suggest other volumes, please e-mail me:

info "at" medievaltextiles.org

Poland/Lithuania:

Mateijko, Jan. Costumes in Poland of Other Days. Krak'ow, Wydawn: Literackie, 1967.

Covers 1228-1333.

Henssel, Witold & Gieysztor, Aleksander. Archaeological Research in Poland. Polonia Publishing House, Warsaw. 195874 p.

In English. This small volume covers the neolithic period up to the Medieval period. Only the last 15 or so pages deal with the medieval period (500-1500 AD) (NMM)

Bartkiewicz, Magdalena. Polski Uboir do 1864 roku. Zaklad Narodowy imiena Ossolinskich Wydawnictwo, 1979. [MSR]

Lots of illustrations of garments, shoes, and so on, from Poland 10th-19th century, but text entirely in Polish.

Bartkiewicz, Magdalena. Polski Uboir do 1864 roku. Zaklad Narodowy imiena Ossolinskich Wydawnictwo, 1979. (10th-18th centuries)


Turnau, Irina. History of Dress in Central and eastern Europe from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Warsaw: Institute of the History of Material Culture, 1991.

___________. Ubior Narowdowy w Dawnej Rzezczypospolitej. Warsaw: Semper, 1991.

Kruppé Jerzy, Pośpiech Andrzej [eds]. "Omnia res mobilia". Polish Studies in Posthumous Inventories of Movable Property in the 16th-19th Century. Warszawa 1999; 302 pp ISBN 83-85463-32-1

In English. This collection of articles, devoted to the topic of material culture in everyday life of various social groups in Poland from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, is based on posthumous inventories.

Hensel Witold, Hilczer-Kurnatowska Zofia, Łosińska Anna. Studies and Materials on the Early Medieval Settlements of Greater Poland, vol. 7 [Studia i materiały do osadnictwa Wielkopolski wczesnośredniowiecznej]. Poznań - Toruń 1995; 469 pp ISBN 83-85463-23-2

In Polish. The final volume (entries from T to Z) of extensive catalogue of all archaeological artefacts and sites in Greater Poland, accompanied by historical and linguistic records.

Vecellio, Cesare. Vecellio's Renaissance Costume Book. New York: Dover Books, 1977.

Hungary/Wallachia/Moldavia:

Amman, Jost. Pictorial Archive of Decorative Renaissance Woodcuts, Second Edition. New York: Dover Books, 1985.


Gervers, Veronika. The Influence of Ottoman Turkish Textiles and Costume in Eastern Europe, with Particular Reference to Hungary. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1982.


Turnau, Irena. History of Dress in Central and Eastern Europe from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Warsaw: Institute of the History of Material Culture, 1991.


Vasnetscu, Virgil. Wall Paintings in Northern Moldavia. Bucharest: Meridian Publishing, 1974.

Eastern Balkans:

Nicolescu, Corina. Istoria Costumului de Curte in Tarile Romane, 14th-18th Seceole. Bucharest: Editura Stintifica, 1970.

Cross, Samuel, Slavic Civilization through the Ages (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1948

Magocsi , Paul Robert. History of Ukraine (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996)

Borachynska, Lydia. "Folk Dress." Ukrainian Arts. Compiled by Olya Dmytriw. New York: Ukrainian Youth's League of North America, Inc., 1952.

Brown, Ruth A. Baltic Folk Costumes. Los Angeles: Rosewood Press, 1990.

Paper dolls - beautiful color costumes labeled with countries and regions (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania).

Bruhn, Wolfgang and Max Tilke. A Pictorial History of Costume. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1955.

Drevnaia odezhda narodov vostochnoi evropy [Ancient Costume of the Peoples of Eastern Europe]. Moscow: Nauka, 1986.


Series of scholarly articles with some pictures.

___________. Polskie Skornichtwo. Zaklad Norowdowy imiena Ossolinskich, 1983.

Shoes and some Hussar horse tack with detailed history of leatherworking industry in Medieval Poland. Text in Polish but extensive illustrations (10th-14th, 17th-18th centuries).

Zoll-Adamikowa Helena, Dekówna Maria, Nosek Elżbieta Maria. The Early Mediaeval Hoard from Zawada Lanckorońska (Upper Vistula River) Warszawa 1999;132 pp ISBN 83-85345-09-4

This is a publication of the hoard which consists of 47 glass beads with silver ornamentation, and 30 other silver items discovered together in a clay jar. The assemblage is photographically documented including many SEM and X-ray photographs

Urbańczyk Przemysław [ed.] The Neighbours of Poland in the 10th Century. Warszawa 2000; 204 pp ISBN 83-85463-88-7

The volume consists of papers that offer a broad panorama of the regions surrounding Polish lands during the 10th century: Sweden, Norway, Polabian Slavs, German Kingdom, Bohemia, Slovakia, Hungary, Rus' and the Baltic tribes.

Urbańczyk Przemysław [ed.] Europe around the Year 1000 Warszawa 2001; 488 pp ISBN 83-7181-211-6

In English. A rich panorama of the whole of the continent at the turn of the 1st millennium. 'Native' scholars comment upon the situation in their region: Europe around the year 1000 was a boiling complexity, from which its modern geopolitical structure was emerging.

Turnau Irena. History of Knitting before Mass Production. Warszawa 1991; 214 pp ISBN 83-900213-2-3

In English. The author presents history of knitting in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the 19th century. The book describes the development of production and use of knitted garments.

Turnau Irena. Hand-Felting in Europe and Asia from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Warszawa 1997; 144 pp ISBN 83-85463-52-6

In English. The book is the first synopsis of a long history and development of hand-felting in Europe and Asia.

Dulinicz Marek. Formation of the North-Western Slavdom. [Kształtowanie się Słowiańszczyzny Północno-Zachodniej. Studium archeologiczne]. Warszawa 2000; 324 pp ISBN 83-85463-89-5

In Polish. Making use of the recent archaeological discoveries, the author presents the beginnings of the Slavic settlement in the region between lower Vistula and lower Elbe. Discussion of the emergence of Slavic tribes and their contacts with neighbours is supplemented with an extensive catalogue of sites dated to the 6th-9th centuries