Kontusz (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

plural ''kontusze''; uk, кунтуш, Lithuanian: ''kontušas''; originally from Hungarian ''köntös''- "robe") - a type of outer garment worn by the Hungarian and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n male

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

. It became popular in the 16th century and came to the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

rule via Hungary from Turkey. In the 17th century, worn over an inner garment (

żupan Żupan (; lt, žiponas, cz, župan, sk, župan, hu, kabát, be, жупан, uk, жупан) is a long lined garment of West or Central Asian origin which was worn by almost all males of the nobility in the multi-ethnic Polish–Lithuanian ...

), the kontusz became a notable element of male Polish national and

Zaporozhian cossack The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...

attire. The kontusz was a long robe, usually reaching to below the knees, with a set of decorative buttons down the front. The sleeves were long and loose, on hot days worn untied, thrown on the back. In winter a fur lining could be attached to the kontusz, or a delia worn over it. The kontusz was usually of a vivid colour, and the lining was of a contrasting hue. The kontusz was tied with a long, wide sash called a

pas kontuszowy Kontush belt ("kontusz sash" or the ''Slutsk sash''; lt, kontušo juosta, be, слуцкi пояс) was a cloth sash used for girding a kontusz (a robe-like garment). It was one of the most distinctive items of male dress of Polish and Lithua ...

. The kontusz was more of a decorative garment than a useful one. Tradition states that the first kontusze were worn by szlachta who captured them from

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

to display as loot. Throwing kontusz sleeves on one's back and stroking one's

moustache A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...

was considered to be a signal of readiness for a fight. In 1776,

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

from different

voivodeships of Poland A voivodeship (; pl, województwo ; plural: ) is the highest-level administrative division of Poland, corresponding to a province in many other countries. The term has been in use since the 14th century and is commonly translated into English as ...

were obliged to wear different coloured

y and kontusze denoting their

voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

s. In Poland, kontusz was worn mainly by the nobility, but it was also adopted by the

s when Ukraine and

Ruthenia Ruthenia or , uk, Рутенія, translit=Rutenia or uk, Русь, translit=Rus, label=none, pl, Ruś, be, Рутэнія, Русь, russian: Рутения, Русь is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin as one of several terms ...

were under Polish rule.

Sources

* Jan Samek: ''Polskie Rzemiosło Artystyczne'', Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe, Warszawa 1984,

External links

Short description, sketch
Polish clothing Lithuanian clothing Lithuanian nobility Belarusian clothing Ukrainian folk clothing Coats (clothing) {{Poland-hist-stub

See also

Sources

External links