|
Author
|
Topic: Period Headwear
|
Monsieur Geoffrey de Leon
Member
Member # 24
|
posted 09-04-2000 06:35 PM
    
One of the topics Jeff brought up at War was "why do I wear my hair that long?" since it really isn't appropriate for my time period. The short answer is, of course, that's the way I like it, but it brings up the subject of what would I have worn on my head? I usually do the armoured soldier thing & wear my hair stuffed into a padded coif so it is not an issue. Now that Gwen is making me a cotehardie and everything that goes with it, what would I have worn on my head? How common was it for a minor French noble to go bare-headed? The styles for hair since WWII have changed drastically. My Dad had a marine buzz in HS. I had a "Beatle" in HS, the 80's had big hair like mine now, and the 90's have cuts that look almost "Norman". In 1385 would I have had one type of cut, (I'd have been 30), 1400 another, (45) and 1415 a 3rd style, (@ 60), or would I have stayed the same like I have in real life, and what would have been the appropriate hats/coifs for this time period?
Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
hauptmann
New Member
Member # 0
|
posted 09-07-2000 08:42 PM
I recommend wearing a hood like a chaperone. Roll the face opening and jam it on your head. The tail becomes the liripipe and the mantle becomes the "comb".I've also seen simple 'bag' type caps rolled up on their open end and jammed on the head. I think Bob Charrette of La Belle has something like this, though my recollection of it pegs it as a little later. Ever though of looking it up yourself?? JH
Registered: A Long Time Ago! | IP: Logged
|
|
Dave Key
Member
Member # 17
|
posted 09-08-2000 07:46 AM
There appear to be 2, separate, questions here ..
1. What hairstyle
2. What headwearBoth do vary widely by locale, date, social degree and your age (people invariably become more conservative in their dress as progress into middle age ... however what you consider conservative may not be the same as someone in 1400! As Jeff & Gwen have said you do need to get a feel for the character you are portraying ... and then the hair cut and headgear will naturally follow. A Hood may be period but it may not be socially acceptable for you in that period.
Similarly it may also not be suitable with the other clothing ... styles are often more than a single item of clothing ... for example modern upper-class indicators for young women in England may include ball gowns and green wellies but you wouldn't catch a deb' in them at the same time and expect not to look stupid!
Unfortunately since I don't know enough of the character of your portrayal I can't judge. As a By-the-by the c15th English for Chaperon is simply Hood ... and these were widely issued as part of the suit which was standard Livery issue ... i.e Gown & Hood, just like the modern college graduation clothing (which traces it's ancestory directly to this). Cheers
Dave [This message has been edited by Dave Key (edited 09-08-2000).]
Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged
|
|
Dave Key
Member
Member # 17
|
posted 09-08-2000 07:46 AM
As a follow on ... don't forget hat it was not uncommon to wear more than one layer of headgear.For example I recall, but don't quote me on this one, that the simple coif was fairly common up to the end of the c14th, and a hood would typically be worn over it ?? Similarly in winter it is not uncommon to see pics. of acorn caps being worn over hoods in the mid-c15th
Cheers
Dave [This message has been edited by Dave Key (edited 09-08-2000).]
Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged
|
|
Seigneur de Leon
Member
Member # 65
|
posted 11-04-2000 04:34 PM
Who is this Monsieur Geoffrey chap? Sounds like an intelligent fellow. With no internet for a month, I've had a chance to peruse the parchment.
After the Norman invasion, closely cropped and shaven heads were soon changed to the "long-yellow-haired English fashion" of wearing one's hair flowing on the shoulders, and this quickly spread through France. Under William II this effeminate style was carried to such excess that in 1095 the Council of Rouen issued a decree forbidding it, without avail. By the beginning of the 12th C. it was fashionable to divide the hair by 2 partings, the center combed forward like a fringe and the back long like a woman's. By 1135, the French style was to wear the side hair parted and plaited into two tails (called guernons) which were passed over or under the ears and joined behind the head above the mass of hair falling on the neck and shoulders.
By the time of Richard I it was worn to the length of the chin. By King John it was once again hanging on the shoulders.
By the late 14th early 15th, the salad bowl was popular. Henry VI wore his like this until he reached 24, then he let it grow over his ears, which remained in style through the century in England. The Flemish style was long, touching the shoulders at the back, with a fringe of bangs. This was popular in Italy and France as well.From Costume and Fashion, Senlac to Bosworth 1066-1485, by Norris. The cover of Medieval Costume in England and France (Houston) shows a man wearing his hair falling on and perhaps past his shoulders. It is titled "Man and Woman in a Garden: End of Fifteenth Century. This is Flemish circa 1500, from the Romance of the Rose.
The book also shows a wall painting from St. Stephen's Chapel of a young king with hair almost touching his shoulders.
Charles VIII of France is shown with hair brushing his shoulders (1470-1498).
Obviously, hair fashion changed considerably over the years and in different areas of Europe. I have some more info on Italian fashions if I can remember where I put the book.
Registered: Nov 2000 | IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
