Saturday 1 October 2022

Winter Weeds?

 

Despite the title, this is not another gardening post. There is an old English expression, "winter-gewēode" which I found in my Word Hord book. It means winter weeds and refers to the clothes worn in winter time. As a child, I remember people using the expression widow's weeds, when a woman wore black clothes following the death of her husband. 

It seemed strange- why were these clothes weedy? As I learned from Hana Videen's book, there are two very similar words in Old English...

wǣd [pronouned wadd] meaning clothing, and

wēod [pronounced way-dd] a useless plant or weed

The term winter-weeds  was around at the time of the Battle of Hastings [but widow's weeds are not recorded until around 500 years later, in the Middle English Old Testament, Genesis 38;14]
It is the first of October, and the nights are getting longer, the weather is getting cooler - so I shall sort out my wardrobe - lighter summer dresses will be put away, warm woollen skirts unpacked. This system has worked well for me for many years - and it is a good opportunity to cull the clothes.
There are some summer garments I have not worn since retiring, and they will be sent off to the CS if they are saleable, recycled if not. And the wonderful vacpac bags will compress the remainder. 
The downsizing/decluttering continues.

And I am not sure that I have really regretted getting rid of anything yet - although I did say to Bob that I might have used my Palm Tree in the Nativity Tableau. Then I realised I couldn't have put it in the stable, and it is not weatherproof or strong enough to stand outside! The October page on my calendar is definitely an encouragement in this respect.
So today will definitely be a day for weeding out my wardrobe.
Or as the Old English would put it
Time to 
wēod out the wǣds

11 comments:

  1. I have recently swapped my wardrobe over - I always quite enjoy it, as I rediscover old favourites I had "forgotten" I had. I usually weed out the unloved items when I am putting out a wardrobe, thinking that I didn't wear it last summer, so maybe someone else will wear it this summer...But there are still a few garments I cannot bear to get rid of, even though they no longer fir me: the shirt my nana bought me when I went off to uni, the T-shirt from the Run the World race we ran on our first wedding anniversary, that rugby shirt that is "so" 80s but I still love it...

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    1. I have the denim skirt I bought the day after I met Bob in June 1978. I am not sure I'll ever be size 10 again!

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  2. Sorry That was from Fat Dormouse!

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  3. I shall be sorry to put away summer clothes as our winters are so long and I seem to wear the same old clothes all the time except for church or rare outings for a meal.
    As for "Widows' weeds", I have never forgotten that scene in "Gone with the Wind" where the new war widows were putting all their coloured clothes into a black dye bath. So sad!

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    1. Oh I'd completely forgotten that. I do remember Scarlett putting her wedding ring in the auction, and Rhett buying it back for her though

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  4. Yes, I have packed away all my lighter summer clothes now, they are safely vacuum packed and under the bed and I'm wearing my winter weeds. The few t-shirts left out are of darker colours and suitable for going under jumpers and cardigans etc.

    I think doing this makes your clothes last that much longer as they are only worn for half the year, I realised that a couple of my winter woollies had been in rotation since about 2009 so that's good going ... and it's always a nice start to the season to pull out things you haven't seen for a few months isn't it.

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    1. Yes, I think they wear more evenly and so last longer. I have a heavy cardigan from about 1993 which comes out every year and still looks fine. When I bought it, it seemed expensive - but nearly 30 years on, the quality shows

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  5. I have heard the term "widow's weeds" but didn't know how the term originated. I always learn so much from you. :)
    I don't put away summer clothes/winter clothes. The winter items (sweaters, mostly) are kept in the chest of drawers year round. Summer clothes generally hang in the closet, year round. They come in useful in the winter because I can wear them under sweaters, etc.

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    1. Layering clothes is a good way of getting more use from them

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  6. I'd heard of widow's weeds, but not winter weeds. That's fascinating. The sweaters are definitely coming out here.

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