When people in historical fiction or pre-industrial fantasy settings go out, they almost invariably wear cloaks (travelling cloaks, riding cloaks, etc.), despite the fact that a cloak seems both more cumbersome and less likely to protect you from the elements than a coat. I find it impossible to believe that simple coat-making technology was beyond the reach of these people, so what advantage did cloaks have when travelling? Is the idea of people wearing cloaks constantly until about WWI just completely baseless?
Is the idea of people wearing cloaks constantly until about WWI just completely baseless?
It's not baseless, but it's an exaggeration born out of ignorance of fasion history, sort of like thinking all men wore swords until then.
May I asssume that by "cloak" you mean a cape, with or without armholes, rather than a loose garment with sleeves? "Cloak" gets used for either.
Yes, people wore them up to the Arctic circle. We have plenty of pictorial evidence to the effect. There's even a 14th C Swedish bog body, the Bocksten Man, who was found wearing one, so we have the physical survival of one.
Have you any experience of wearing capes? Many people are misled by a polyester "Dracula" opera cape not being warm. Polyester is just crap for warmth, unless you're using non-cloth air-trapping like poly fiberfill in a windproof parka. Capes for warmth were made of wool, so it was more like wrapping yourself in a good wool blanket. That sort of wool is also good protection from rain (on YouTube, there's a short on that). You don't even need a lining. But lining it with fur was pretty common.
You also have to remember that the Middle Ages was warmer than the early Renaissance (when the Little Ice Age started, about 1300s) or the Early Modern 1600s when the LIA was at its nadir, or when it ended in the later 1800s. The Medieval Warm Period, or Medieval Climatic Optimum, was a really comfortable time to be living in a wattle and daub hut. Their concern in castles and clothing may have been more with excess warmth in summer than excess cold in winter.
The Très Riches Heures fron the late 1300s has illuminations from the cold months that show us commoners at work, like the February illumination. The man coming back from the yard has his head and shoulders wrapped in cloth, but the one cutting wood has no cloak, and even has his tunic tucked up to cool himself. In this early period, avoiding becoming wet during hard exertion is easier in a cape: you just fling it back. When you cool down, you wrap it closer around yourself.
You don't have yet another layer of sleeves preventing you bending your arm at the elbow. That's important when you pull a weapon. Capes can be as easy to make as pulling on a blanket, or as complicated as a 1300s cyclas with a collar that buttons into a hood, and arm slits.
Calling /u/chocolatepot for expertise.
That's a really thorough answer. Thank you!
Thanks for the call, u/Zither13!
There really isn't much to add, you've pretty much nailed it. The only thing is that one should bear in mind is that while everyday historical clothes didn't have to be hot, it was very possible to make them warmer without the addition of a heavy coat. A closer fit, materials like wool or silk, flannel waistcoats, knitted layers, and quilted petticoats (for women) were used to hold in body heat during winter months - so during weather that might make us want a fluffy synthetic-material coat over our flimsy poly/cotton knits, they may have only needed a wool cloak for outerwear.
I'm not totally sure what time period you're asking about, OP, as there's a lot of space between a pre-industrial setting and WWI, but overcoats seem to take over from capes and cloaks at the beginning of the 19th century. While you can still find capes/cloaks after 1800, sleeved overgarments proliferated for men and women.