The buttons on the front of her surcote were also a sign of wealth. The large amounts of fabric in the sleeves and train showed that Elinor was definitely part of nobility. Fabric was very expensive, especially silk fabric which had to be imported from the East. Surcotes were a huge sign of wealth in the Middle Ages. The skirt has a slit up the front that reveals the dark green kirtle underneath.

Her over-dress (surcote) has a fitted bodice with buttons up the front, a full skirt with a long train, and flowing sleeves that almost reach the ground. Elinor’s dark-green underdress (kirtle) has a fitted bodice with a full floor length skirt and long, fitted sleeves that come to her knuckles. Elinor’s dress is composed of at least two dress layers: a fitted under layer called a kirtle made of a dark green linen and an over-dress called a surcote made of a flowing silk-like fabric. The rich, green dress worn by Queen Elinor, Merida’s mother, is a great example of how a woman’s dress reflected her social status and wealth. The costumes worn by the women in Brave are very historically accurate. Andrews said, “We kind of looked at the 9th to the 12th century and took all the stuff that we liked and made a fantasy Scotland” (Andrews, ). Set in a kingdom in the highlands of medieval Scotland, Brave’s fictional story is mixed with accurate costumes and sets as well as real themes and ideas that give the film a sense of believability.Īccording to co-director Mark Andrews, Brave takes place in 9th to 12th century Scotland. That is where Disney Pixar’s 2012 animated film, Brave falls on the scale.

And still others fall in the middle of that scale, containing historical accuracy mixed with fantasy. Others are almost entirely historically accurate. Each one of those movies has varying degrees of historical accuracy. Many movies have been made about different periods in history. So without further ado, here are my findings. I already posted all about my Merida dress ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and so this post will be all about my actual research.

I presented my research for school, and thought, “Hey, why not make a dress to go with it?”

I wrote a research paper on this topic several years ago, which was the primary reason why I made my Merida dress. As the title implies, this post is about the historical accuracy of Disney Pixar’s Brave.

Brave merida mom costume