Here's how they carried their purses in the middle ages
Both men and women wore belt pouches to hold their valuables
You can see this merchant's money pouch hanging from his "girdle," or belt. Because clothing didn't have pockets then, people had small purses or pouches made that they could hang from their belts, keeping their hands free for riding or fighting off robbers.
This picture of a medieval merchant is part of a 12th century manuscript called the Hortus Deliciarum. The word "mercator" is Latin for "merchant." In New Testament times Judas carried the disciples' money in a purse and bought provisions as needed. He would not have held it in his hands, however, but would have hung the pouch off his belt, in a similar fashion to this merchant from the 1100s.
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The President and Jacqueline Kennedy arriving in Dallas... November 22, 1963
Notice the classic lines of her black handbag. It's etched forever in my memory, the outfit she wore that day.
By Cecil W. Stoughton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
