In the Middle Ages so-called long belts were worn, which were made by belters. Belt variants have changed over the centuries with fashion. For example, if you wanted to be en vogue in the 12th century, you wore your belt so long that it had to be looped twice around your body. Basically it was the case that the length of the belt said something about the wealth of the wearer. The longer, the richer and more influential. We'll show you how to tie such a long belt accordingly.
Note:Below you will find a video in which we demonstrate how to tie the long belt again. Sometimes it's easier to understand how it works.
Tie a long belt
First you pull one end through the buckle. If your belt has a thorn, you can close it. Then you pull the long end up from below behind the buckle and then pull it down through the resulting gap. (see video)
Knot a belt with a ring buckle
If your belt buckle doesn't have a spike, then the knot alone has to hold the weight of the belt. However, the belt is often hung with a number of bags and utensils such as cutlery, so that the knot has to be quite tight. There are two ways you can stabilize the knot.
On the one hand, you can then tie a kind of lying eight. You start as usual with the simple knot and then mirror it on the other side of the buckle. To do this, simply guide the end of the belt behind the belt again on the other side and pull it through the gap that has been created. This is especially useful if your long belt is very long and you want to wear it a little shorter at the front anyway.
Another possibility is to strengthen the simple knot by not only pulling the belt end through the loop that was created at the front, but also through the ring again.
Long belt in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, the belt therefore not only had a practical use, but also a symbolic meaning. A richly decorated belt could be an expression of one's power and social standing. The belt was also seen as a "bearer of power" in legends and myths, for example in the Gunther Brünhild scene in the Nibelungenlied, where it also stands for loyalty and chastity.
Belts are usually made of leather and have a belt buckle, which was made of bronze, silver, pewter or iron, depending on the status. In the Middle Ages there were buckles with and without a spike. If the wearer was very wealthy, he wore a – often richly decorated – strap tongue at the other end of the belt. On the one hand, this was for decorative reasons, on the other hand, it weighed down the hanging end.