Underpants of Hendrik Casimir

Underpants were rare in the first half of the 17th century. Men wore long shirts whose ends were folded between their legs and tucked into the breeches. In probate inventories, we sometimes find woollen ‘underpants’, but sporadically of linen. Count Hendrik Casimir of Nassau-Dietz, governor of Friesland, is said to have worn these underpants during the battle of Hulst (Zeeland), where he was mortally wounded. As a tribute, his clothes were kept and were kept by the family and passed down through generations.