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Doug Strong
doug-strong@comcast.net

http://armourresearchsociety.org

Sorry not to have gotten back sooner. I've been out of town and swamped with work. There were a number of artist included in my list from later than the 1340-60 that Gwen asked for but they were mostly Italian. Effigies by Jean de Liege might be a good place to look. I haven't gotten that far in Stothard yet so that info isn't readily available. According to Tristram, figurative cycles in English wall painting die off around 1350 so there's not much there to look at. Brasses for this period start to be more common so they might also be a good place to look. I'll poke around this weekend to see what more I can find.

I can't remember does your wife have long hair? There are also some experiments with braiding that we have been doing in this area that really change the shape of one's head and consequently one's veil.

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Doug Strong
doug-strong@comcast.net

http://armourresearchsociety.org

Also, if her hair is long she could forgo the whole filet thing- if the hair is brought forward and braided over the ears, the braids can be made into a "bun" over each ear. The resulting "horned" effect is pretty common and simple to do without any fancy gizmos. The wimple and veil are then pinned to the buns.

Likewise, the braids may be looped in front of each ear, forming another pretty common look. The wimple and veil are also pinned to the attachment point, sometimes with the wimple behind the braid loops.

I'll grant you both look fairly odd to the modern eye when taken on their own, but if you look at the photo of Mitake in the other thread, you can see it looks fantastic when the rest of the outfit is right.

I'll have to look at Textiles & Clothing again when i get home but if it is the one I am thinking of it is a cheesy easy piece of tablet weaving that I would be more than happy to show you.

One of the big things that I have found with braiding is that you can achieve alot by not being tied to starting your braids at the back of your head which is the basis for most modern braided looks.

For the two braids looped over the ears you can start the braids just behind your ears a la Heidi. But I find it much easier to get the braids to drop straight down if you brush you hair forward (think cousin it impressions) at start the braids at your temples. This also gives you a slightly wider appearance to your forhead, gives you little points in your veil, and gives you something firm to pin said veil to. Since I cut my hair a couple of years ago the hair at the back of my head isn't really long enough to add into these braids, so I divide my hair into 3 parts and just wear the back part in a bun under my veil. I have also seen effigies with lots of little braids starting from the temple, going over the ears and up under the veil. Having tried this once I think it's something that would be greatly benefited by having someone who can see what they are doing to do the braiding.

For a horned look, pull your hair into pigtails about 2 inches above you ears. Braid the pigtail, fold it over about 2 inches from the beginning of the braid and lash it to the base of the pigtail. Drape a veil over and pin it to the "horns."

Thats what I can think of for now. I can try to take pictures if something isn't clear.

If anybody is going to the cloisters with a camera soon, let me know. There are some statues with really cool braids that I want pictures of.

for those of us with modern haircuts we need to hide, I've found that you can create braidlike "volume" under a headdress through creative use of ponytails.

My hair is nape of the neck long. If I part it in the middle and do goofy top of the head pony tails on each side, and then bring the two ponytails back for a bun at the back, it not only secures the hair but creates lumps over my ears that will contribute to the shape of the headdress overall.

Of course I need to use fake braids for 15th century styles but most folks dont know its not my real hair .

--AM

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