The head was swathed in linen bands that had been white, but were now stained and discoloured with damp, but of this I shall not speak more, and beneath the chin-cloth the beard had once escaped.
To swathe someone or something in cloth means to wrap them in it completely. She swathed her enormous body in thin black fabrics His head was swathed in bandages made from a torn sheet. Variant of swath. to wrap or cover something in something
A swathe of cloth is a long strip of cloth, especially one that is wrapped around someone or something. swathes of white silk