Eleonora de Medici's Burial Gown and Wardrobe!

In this video we will be taking a look at 4 gowns the Duchess Eleonora de Medici wore in the 16th century. The first is her burial gown, discovered after an excavation project for the Medici’s, which is now displayed at Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The second is her famous velvet brocade gown seen in her official portrait by Agnolo Bronzino. And the final two gowns we discuss are crimson gowns, one of which is extant and the other is a recreation.
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[@crystalmeier6579]

As a professional seamstress of 30yrs, I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I make replica medieval clothing for humans and dolls. While I try to work within my clients budgets, I realize the expense of the quality put into these lovely garments. ♥

[@historybylynny]

How cool that you do that! 🙂 glad you enjoyed the video!

[@JaRule6]

I used to be a custom clothier and I love to read about history. I have to tell you how blown away I am by this video. Thank you for sharing this with us ❤ 🙏🏻

[@historybylynny]

Wow thank you so much! Im so glad you enjoyed it.

[@JeanBray-cj3lu]

WOW!!!! I can not begin to imagine just how long it took to make each dress. And, how many women worked on the embroidery, the gem setting, lace work, and actual stitching of each gown!!! Plus, can you imagine the cost today of reproducing each one? All done by hand!!! I would love to see the actual handiwork , and touch one of them. Thank you for the lovely presentation, will be watching for more.

[@historybylynny]

Thank you! 😀

[@ankhpom9296]

Her gowns are wearable art!

[@elizabethsloan3192]

I have always loved her gowns. When I was 30, I was the exact size of her burial gown and made a replica for myself.

[@ruthcleland5499]

yes please do a video of her Eleonora's full life

[@dominicganteaume8274]

By all means do a video on Eleanora's life. She was an important consort to the Medicis.

[@dagmarvandoren9364]

Danke danke. So ein herrliches vidio...no baseball caps sloppy clothing. Endless t shirts. I love this...i knew a lot also. Was at least 25 times in firence...thank.youbthank.you. young woman can learn....

[@timefoolery]

Thank you! Eleanora is like my 15th or 16th great grandmother. I never knew anything about her until now!!

[@EriAug78]

That 2nd dress is stunning!! Woah the 4th one too ! These are beautiful! I’d love to hear about her life

[@ljcmsw]

The second dress, black/white, how did they make that fabric?! Stunning

[@Amy-hs1qe]

Very surprised the dress was permitted to be removed from the corpse/casket, particularly in these modern times (and is the discoloration bodily fluid?!). Interesting, thanks.

[@beareid6053]

The portrait of her with her son is in the Detroit Institute of Art. I have seen it many times. That gown is amazing.

[@historybylynny]

There is also one in Florence, so beautiful in person!

[@Nicolas-io5hj]

Le tableau de Bronzino est au Palais Pitti! Rien à voir avec Détroit!!

[@salemdesigns65]

Yes, that portrait with her son is indeed in Detroit. It's in the Italian galleries. I used to work at the D.I.A. back in the 80s, I would stand back and amaze over this piece all the time. I think around 2000 or so, it was removed (maybe for restoration?), yet the last time I was at the D.I.A. in 2010, it was there but in a different area. I think it's time to see it again!

[@tommoncrieff1154]

The painting in Detroit is a Bronzino studio copy. It’s one of the ones sent out as gifts. The original by Bronzino is in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The copy is still hugely important and very valuable as it is contemporaneous.

[@salemdesigns65]

@tommoncrieff1154 I still have connections at the D.I.A. I'm going to find out what's the deal, next week.

[@ellerose9164]

All of these dresses are gorgeous! Eleonora had great taste :) I only wonder how one could wear them in an italian summer. I know the fabrics back then were much more breatheable than our synthetic stuff, but still. How did they not overheat?

[@historybylynny]

Definitely much more breathable but it was a bit cooler and they did have different fabrics for warmer months.

[@lindakoester8799]

I think it is grave robbing and absolutely abhorrent to defrock a corpse of it’s burial cloths for any reason! Who would do that??? Would they like their own corpse so disrespected?

[@carlajohannes9987]

Is all the brown staining decomposition fluid?

[@Angela-382]

Yes it is. Which makes it even more repellent that it was restored. The ethical thing to have done, in my opinion, would have been to examine it closely with the intention of making a replica, and then place it back with her remains.

[@maureenkirby1207]

Love your videos 🎉 Please please please do a video on Eleonora's life.

[@sentatsantilis2591]

Another fascinating video! I’ve been wondering lately how the dresses were stored & even cleaned? And what kind of shoes would have been worn with her dresses? Would love to see a video on Leonora’s life!! 🙏🏼🦉⚖️🌷💀

[@yayayarelis]

The black and white one for sure is my pick

[@tonibarrone854]

They took her gown off her the one she was buried in? Did they substitute something else?

[@historybylynny]

No they did not. Just interred back with a new tomb

[@jenjen.rutherford8559]

Grave robbing really

[@affenschwanz64]

@@jenjen.rutherford8559 To whose personal profit? I think Eleonora is beyond caring at this point. They actually preserved something of her, allowing her to live on in some fashion, just like the portraits.

[@aliceputt3133]

She must have been a skeleton and undressable.

[@lovinglife419]

It’s truly disgusting they did this.

[@dionnegonsalves8188]

.... Tomb opened & taken off her corpse? 🤔... really?... Hmm 😒 May her bones R.I.E.P 🙏🏽

[@michellekemp3104]

While this is really interesting why on earth would you open someone’s tomb and take their clothing after hundreds of years, I think this is awful!!

[@randomvintagefilm273]

Exactly, what the hell? These people are disgraceful! They are no better than any grave robber! How dare they do this

[@jant4741]

Pay money to see her clothes! Same as the grotesque grave robbing in Egypt. 1000 years from now it’ll all be lost forever.

[@dagmarvandoren9364]

No respect. No respect. Nothing is surprising anymore

[@momof2momof2]

They removed her burial clothing from her remains?? I'm all for discovering history, and learning from it, but this is so disrespectful. Would someone want this to happen to their family member?

[@b.f.2461]

It looks quite fragmentary. Possibly during the reinhumation it was determined to be too damaged to redress the body, and they provided a modern shroud.

[@ChristophersMum]

It's beyond disgusting to think that they robbed her of her burial gown...to see all the stains that could only be from the deterioration of her body was sickening.

[@Queensofafrica8]

Makes me wonder what they used to cover the body back up

[@ankhpom9296]

How was she reburied, and in what?

[@beckykent6674]

I totally agree! It's disgusting!!

[@affenschwanz64]

@@Queensofafrica8 There was no "body," only bones. The Medici vaults were hit hard by the big flood of 1965 and I think minor floods over hundreds of years. It's actually surprising anything was left.

[@monikahasch7441]

2. Dress...because some time ago you could buy the fabric in CZ at Sartor ..they reproduced the fabric 🥰🥰 I bought it but never found the time to sew it 😢

[@historybylynny]

Wow, do you still have it?

[@peacockcrowe2718]

@@historybylynny Probably not. Sartor only does a limited amount of their reproduced fabrics, so once it's gone it's gone 😢

[@nancytestani1470]

This is so cool and fascinating. Love this. Always wondered about these beautiful fabrics, how they are made, where does silk, gold thread, silver thread come from. How are they made, everything about them. Where does the jewels come from, etc. what seamstress would make them?

[@marciacoco9549]

The dresses are beautiful I’m wondering if they were heavy to wear. It would be great if you could do a video on her history 😊

[@dalestaley5637]

The second dress is my choice. It's beautiful, intricate and interesting in detail. It looks regal, whereas the others pale in comparison.

[@user-co6bn1wq7j]

your voice is so calming

[@historybylynny]

😊 thanks!

[@jessiecee6564]

Great video. This is a silly question but what did people wear back then in summer when it was really hot? Those dresses look really heavy, couldn’t imagine wearing that in the heat.

[@historybylynny]

Pretty much the same styles but the fabrics were lighter and cooler for the warmer months.

[@jessiecee6564]

@@historybylynny thank you 😊

[@amierikke6225]

Very interesting. How tall was she? Are these gowns something she would wear daily, or for “official” type appearances or duties? If she didn’t wear something like these gowns, what would she have worn in everyday wear? What did her attendants wear?

[@BelleWhittington]

Fabulous! Thank you for this video! I wonder if Eleonora's body was clothed in anything once her burial grown was removed...

[@wendynordstrom3487]

I'm sure hoping so! I hope they didn't put her back naked.

[@susanpolastaples9688]

The pearl partlet dress and 5he red one similar to her burial gown

[@dominicganteaume8274]

What is Eleanora, Grand Duchess of Tuscany wear now that her gown is in a museum? I take it her remains were reinterred.

[@athenathegreatandpowerful6365]

There is still some confusion as to the actual color of the burial gown. The brown velvet would have faded from red or black, depending on how it was originally dyed. The selvages (and under the bound seams) are a bright spring green not white. Eleanora hated white as a dress for herself. The brocade dress, from what I've been able to find, never existed. A dress she already had was painted with that fabric to showcase the fabric. People forget that they are not photographs, they are paintings. No, it's NOT disgusting nor is it disrespectful. It is History. It is educational. It is Truth. True it is visceral but that doesn't mean it's gross.

[@lilydread8136]

How are you able to tell the colour/shades of the last dresses? I

[@nb9419]

Her name was Leonor de Toledo. She was Spanish. Leonor Álvarez de Toledo.

[@historybylynny]

Yes, in the video i say she was born in Spain. 👍🏼 Eleonora di Toledo in Italian.

[@nb9419]

@@historybylynny ,I know, I just mention it because there's a certain tendency in the Anglo-Saxon world to change Spanish names into Italian, even if it isn't necessary. This lady was Spanish, so her name is Leonor.In the same way Isabel de Castilla should be called Isabel or, if you prefer to translate, Elizabeth of Castille, hut not Isabella as she appears in the books of History , or Isabella II of Spain. Her name was Isabel II or, if you prefer, Elizabeth II of Spain. It's like if I said Isabelle II d'Angleterre for Elizabeth II. Spanish are not Italian, even if like in the case of Leonor, lived there. Have a lovely week.It's just a comment, take no offence, please.😘😘🎈💕

[@kristenevans4557]

This video was fascinating. These gowns must have been so heavy and tiring to wear for long stretches of time.

[@clare5one]

I subscribed. Excellent video.

[@historybylynny]

Happy you are here, Thank you! 😀

[@manuellubian5709]

So let me get this straight somebody actually took her gown off of her body and for what? Why would her gown have been taken off of her body or is the reason why we know what she was buried in is because it was drawn as in a portrait or a sketch before the closing of the casket?

[@user-qn8vn6yo2p]

These gowns look heavy and hot. How did they keep them odor free and clean?

[@aliceputt3133]

They wore a chemise underneath which could be washed and the sleeves were detachable and changeable.

[@JohnKyleChalmers]

It was also significantly colder in Europe in the 16th century as they experienced a cold climate called The Little Ice Age (roughly late 14th century ~ early 18th century) where the climate in Europe was overall between 8°C and 10°C colder than current temperatures.

[@ankhpom9296]

The gowns would have weight to them. Did she bathe? Unlikely it will seem. Imagine all that work and the fabrics while the wearer would have stunk to high heaven.

[@JohnKyleChalmers]

@@ankhpom9296 that’s not true at all. Most people bathed often, at least a ‘towel bath’, and they wore easy to wash linens close to the skin to absorbs oils and sweat. They would stink any more than people do now.

[@beckykent6674]

I disagree. We have deodorant now! People back then stunk but everyone was used to it!

[@wilhelminamarquart240]

Wonderful video I so love fashion and History and your video is a 100% on point so had to subscribe ❤

[@historybylynny]

Thank you! So happy you are here 😀

[@tessdurberville711]

How ghoulish! Why do people think it acceptable to open graves and rob them? Carter and Canarvon were taught a lesson, that others should learn.

[@ReneeandJimmyG]

That's an artichoke on the second dress. I think this was so disrespectful removing her dress from her remains.

[@helenedansereau9255]

Very interesting, great research. But stressful to watch with a finger on pause because of the too speedy delivery.

[@shushymcsecret993]

Do you think she is the Mona Lisa? I see a resemblance

[@skepticalmaiden]

It’s horrendous that they would take her burial gown from her corpse. WTH?

[@wkjeom]

The ehite dress.

[@beckykent6674]

What?? Did they take this gown out of her casket??

[@janniebee9501]

Oh, please scan your camera up the dress to Eleanora's sweet face. The artwork is divine!

[@carolinecarter6874]

Evil pharaoh bloodline.