Descriptions of runaway slaves offer a rare window into lower-class men’s clothing. The most complete descriptions describe all a man’s visible clothing, from hat to shoes, often with colors and fabrics.
In full descriptions, each article of clothing is preceded by a word that explains how the garment is worn: başına, on the head; arkasına, arkasında, or eğinine, around him/her; belinde, around the waist; ayağına, on the feet or on the lower part of the body; boynunda, around the neck.
These court records contain descriptions of escaped slaves:
- Üsküdar 1, 1513-1521
- Üsküdar 2, 1518-1521
- Üsküdar 5, 1524-1530
- Üsküdar 9, 1534-1536
- Üsküdar 14, 1546-1549
- Üsküdar 17, 1549-1556 (only one)
- Üsküdar 26, 1562-1563
- Üsküdar 56, 1582-1583
- Üsküdar 84, 1590-1591
The bolded portion of each description is the section I’ve translated.