As with women's clothes, the subject of underwear is a difficult one with little being certain.

Some men, possibly only the wealthier ones, wore a linen undershirt.    This would be similar to the overtunic, probably similar in cut to the tight fitting tunic, but made of undyed, undecorated linen or perhaps fine wool.   It is uncertain whether it would be worn outside the trousers or tucked into them.

Words for this garment includecemes, ham, hemeðe, serc and smoc.

The short trousers mentioned before might well be underwear, they would certainly make a logical forerunner to the braies worn in the late Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods.   These short trousers (brec) couold have been of linen or fine wool.   They are cut very simply in comparison to the normal trousers.

The short trousers from Marx-Etzel. Despite their simple design the are made of a good woollen twill and work very well.

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