FEMALE COSTUMES.
James I.
The female costume of this reign presents few variations from that in use at the end of Elizabeth’s reign. The portrait of Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I. (Pl. [49], Fig. 1), in the general character of the dress, resembles that of Queen Elizabeth painted by Holbein. The enormous farthingale was worn throughout this reign by the nobility, the ruffs and collars worn at this time by the ladies being generally stiffened with yellow starch, like those of the gentleman.
“The fondness of ladies for painting their faces and exposing the bosom was severely reprimanded by the divines and satirists at the early part of the 17th century. While a ruff or band of immoderate size stretched forth from the neck, the front of the dress was cut away immediately beneath it, nearly to the waist, which made the fashion more noticeable, as all the other part of the bust was over-clothed, while the bosom was perfectly bare.”
Masks were worn by ladies on all public occasions, and it was considered a sign of impropriety to appear without them (Fig. 2).
The ruff went out of fashion during this reign, because Mrs. Annie Turner, a starcher of ruffs, who was executed for poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury, wore a starched ruff of the approved colour at her execution.
Charles I. and the Commonwealth.
There was little change in female costume at the beginning of this reign. The French hood and farthingale were still worn, and the high-crowned hat was generally worn by countrywomen and the wives of the citizens (Figs. 5 and 7), especially when they belonged to the Puritanical party. In the course of the reign of Charles, there came a change in female costume, contemporary with and as elegant as that which took place in the male costume.
The hood, the farthingale, and the starched bands disappeared. A good specimen of the new costume is given in Fig. 1, after Hollar. The dress is full, and falls gracefully about the body; the bodice is tight-fitting, and the sleeves are rich and full, but gathered at the wrist, and there is an elegant falling collar edged with lace.
The long petticoat was generally displayed in a certain measure by the robe, which was, at times, quite gathered up at the waist.
As a matter of course, the ladies of the Republican party, following the example set by their men folk, dressed very soberly, some of them adhering to old-fashioned articles of dress, such as the hood and high-crowned hat. A fashion introduced in the previous reign was that of wearing patches on the face. Fig. 3 gives a curious specimen of this fashionable absurdity. It excited the derision of the satirists, who repeatedly decried it in their works; but it continued in fashion for a long time—until the end of the 17th century.
The usual costume of a Puritan woman is shown in Fig. 5.
The female costume in the later years of the Protectorate is illustrated by Fig. 6 from the monumental effigy of Elizabeth Sacheverell, 1657 A.D., in Morley Church, Derbyshire.
Charles II.
With the Restoration, England threw off the sober, kill-joy aspect that it had worn, and the Court, with its gaiety, set the fashion in a studied negligence and elegant déshabille.
The glossy ringlets of the ladies, escaping from a simple bandeau of pearls, or adorned by a single rose, fell in graceful profusion upon bare, snowy necks, and the arms were bare to the elbow.
This was carried to such an extent that a book was published entitled “A Just and Seasonable Reprehension of Naked Breasts and Shoulders,” with a preface by Richard Baxter.
The richest and brightest materials were employed for the dresses and petticoats. The costume of this period is very well known from the portraits of the ladies of the Court by Sir Peter Lely (see Pl. [49], Fig. 2).
James II. and William III.
There was no change in female costume during the short and unfortunate reign of James, but when William and Mary ascended the throne, they and their entourage brought with them, as might be expected, a number of Dutch fashions. The very low-necked dresses were replaced by those with a formal stomacher.
The elegant full sleeve gave place to a tight one, with a cuff above the elbow, from which fell a profusion of lace in the form of ruffles.
The hair, which had been allowed to hang loose in ringlets, was now “put up” and combed from the forehead like a rising billow, and surmounted by piles of ribbons and lace. This was called the “commode,” and was sometimes covered by a lace scarf or veil that streamed down each side of the coiffure.
Stiff stays, tightly laced over the stomacher and very long in the waist, became fashionable, so that a lady’s body, from the shoulder to the hips, looked like the letter V.
PLATE 48.
(Fig. 1): A lady of the Court of Charles I. (1643), after the engraver Hollar, wearing a lace collar on a low cut neck. The robe is not draped, and the hair is combed tightly back from the forehead and gathered in close [154] rolls behind, being allowed to flow freely at the sides. (Fig. 2): A lady wearing a mask of the time of James I., from a contemporary print. She holds a folding bone fan in her right hand, and attached to her girdle, hanging over the farthingale, are a looking glass, a ball-shaped pomander (containing perfumes) with tassels, and a toilet case, probably of silver. In the Court of James I., which was very dissolute, the mask was worn on all public occasions by ladies; and those who appeared without it were called “bare-faced.” (Fig. 3): A lady wearing patches, from a woodcut in Bulwer’s “Artificial Changeling,” 1650. The custom of patching was introduced in the reign of James I. A coach, with a coachman and two horses, with postillions, appears on her forehead; both sides of her face have crescents upon them; a star is on one side of her mouth, and a plain circular patch on her chin. (Fig. 4): A lady of Charles I.’s reign, showing the arrangement of the hair, with a coif covering the head. (From a tomb in Morley Church, Derbyshire.) (Fig. 5): An English tradesman’s wife, 1649, after Hollar. (Fig. 6): Dress of an elderly lady of the middle class during the Protectorate. She wears a close hood and band, with ample gown. (From the effigy of Elizabeth Sacheverell, 1657, in Morley Church, Derbyshire.) (Fig. 7): A Puritan woman, 1646, from a contemporary print. (Fig. 8): A “Tower” head-dress, also known as a “Commode,” as worn at the close of the 17th century. It consisted of rows of lace stuck bolt upright over the forehead, rising one above the other, forming a kind of pyramid, with streaming lappets hanging over the shoulders from the head. The hair was combed upwards to form a support to the structure. (From a contemporary print.) (Fig. 9): Side view of a similar head-dress, of one “storey” only, backed by dark coloured ribbons, the hair at the front and sides being arranged in short, close curls. (From a contemporary print.) (Fig. 10): Head of a lady of the early time of Charles II., showing the method of dressing the hair with a “foretop” or tuft of hair turned up from the forehead. This fashion, being introduced by Catherine of Braganza, was probably Portuguese. (From a print in the Pepysian Library.)
PLATE 49.
(Fig. 1): Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I. (from a contemporary portrait). This costume differs in no way from that worn at the Court at the end of Elizabeth’s reign. The farthingale, or enormous hooped petticoat, projected more at the sides than in front. It was absolutely flat on the top, with a series of radiating pleats upon the surface of it. The exquisite design in needlework upon the robe, with gems worked into the pattern, is shown clearly in the illustration. The ruff, composed of rich lace and needlework, stretches back from the neck, and the front of the dress is cut 155-156 very low. The Queen holds a feathered fan and a book in her hands. (Fig. 2): A lady of the Court of Charles II. (from a contemporary portrait). There is the greatest contrast between the costume shown in Fig. 1 and this, the former being most uncomfortable and artificial. Fig. 2 shows the prevailing character of the female costume of this reign—unconfined ease. “The ringlets hang loosely upon the exposed neck, which is quite innocent of the transparent lawn of the band or the partlet. The gown is striking by its very simplicity, the sleeves being merely looped material covering the undersleeves of lawn.”
[ARMS AND ARMOUR.]
(To end of CHARLES II.)
James I.
During the reign of Elizabeth the decay of the use of armour had set in on account of the enormous weight and unwieldly nature of the harness.
It prevented free action, and, indeed, seriously crippled the physical frames of many of the wearers.
The increasing use of fire arms also tended to hasten the disuse of armour, for it became difficult to make plates that would be sufficiently strong to oppose a bullet, unless the armour were made of great thickness. By the end of the reign of James I. its use had been so modified that the armour of the heaviest cavalry terminated at the knees. Sometimes the arms were encased in armour, and occasionally complete armour was worn by the commanders.
A contemporary engraving of Prince Henry of Wales, the eldest son of James I. (Pl. [50], Fig. 1), shows the nature and extent of the armour usually worn.
Through the intercourse with Spain, the cavalry soldier was often termed a cavalier instead of lancer. The infantry consisted of pikemen, armed with pikes or spears 18ft. long, and musketeers, armed with fire arms. Before this reign, on account of their weight, a soldier carrying a fire arm also bore a forked rest in which to place the musket when firing it; but at this time the caliver or matchlock, that could be fired without a rest, came into use generally.
The musketeers were armed with long, rapier-like blades (for their personal defence), nicknamed a “sweyne’s feather” or a “hog’s bristle” (Fig. 9).
Charles I. and the Commonwealth.
During the struggle between King and people, the armour consisted, at the most, of helmet, backplate and breastplate, or cuirass, with tassets.
In fact, the only armour worn by many noblemen and gentlemen was a cuirass over a buff leather coat, with a helmet or hat to cover the head; and some entire regiments of cavalry were raised, attired in this fashion and named “Cuirassiers.” They were armed with a good sword, stiff, cutting, and sharp-pointed, and pistols hanging at the saddle.
The lancers carried a pike-shaped lance, about 18ft. long, a sword similar to that carried by the cuirassiers, and one or two pistols.
One class of cavalry was called dragoons, because they were armed with a fire arm shorter than that in general use, called a “dragon.”
The full length portrait of Sir Denner Strutt, 1641 (Fig. 10) from his tomb in Whalley Church, Essex, well illustrates the armour of the period as worn by officers in the field. The upper part of the body is completely armed, but the lower part is not so, as the back of the figure and the thighs, which would, in fact, be defended by the position of riding, could need no other protection in the field. The front of the thigh is covered, and the entire leg below the knee. A broad sword-belt passes across the chest, and the plain fashionable collar and long hair repose peacefully on the armed shoulders. Some officers wore helmets completely covering the head (Fig. 8), but often helmets of the form shown in Fig. 5 were in use. Flexible ear-pieces covered the cheeks, and overlapping plates (lobster-tailed) covered the back of the neck. The costume of a General of the Parliamentary Army (Lord Fairfax, General for the County of York) is shown in Fig. 2, where the only articles of armour he wears appear to be the cuirass and gauntlets, the former over a buff coat. His breeches also appear to be of buff leather, and large boots, with wide tops, encase his feet and legs. The modern fire-lock was invented about this time, and a spark being struck by a piece of steel from a flint, so that the spark fell upon the powder in the pan.
Charles II.
The military costume of this reign was nearly that worn in the Civil Wars.
The defensive armour of the cavalry consisted of “a back, breast, and pot (helmet), the two latter to be pistol proof.” As offensive arms they carried a sword and case of pistols with barrels not under 14 inches in length. The musketeers were ordered to carry a musket with a barrel not under three feet in length, a collar of bandoliers, and a sword.
During this reign the bayonet was first invented, at Bayonne, and was made like a dagger, with a round wooden hilt, screwed or merely stuck into the muzzle of the gun. It is now known as a “plug bayonet.” The gun could not be fired while the bayonet was fixed without the loss of the bayonet also.
PLATE 50.
(Fig. 1): Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of James I. (from Drayton’s “Polyolbion”), showing the amount of armour that was generally worn. The Prince wears only armour to the waist, with large, bombasted trunk hose, and is represented as balancing a pike. (Fig. 2): Costume, with armour of “Ferdinand, Lord Fairfax, the father of the more celebrated Parliamentary General, who also served in the same cause, and was appointed General for the County of York.” He wears as armour only the cuirass and gauntlets. (Figs. 3 and 4): Plug bayonets (the earliest form), invented at Bayonne; formerly in the Meyrick collection. (Fig. 5): Single-barred helmet with “lobster-tail” neck piece and ear-pieces, usually worn by dragoons. (Fig. 6): Helmet with triple bars which protect the face, as worn by harquebussiers in 1645. (Fig. 7): Pot helmet or open head-piece, with cheeks, and a fluted ornament over the top, of the time of Cromwell. (Fig. 8): Close helmet of the time of Charles I., with ear-pieces and a perforated vizor which may be drawn down to cover the face. (Fig. 9): A “sweyne’s feather” or “hog’s bristle,” a kind of rapier, carried by the musketeer for his defence. (Fig. 10): Effigy of Sir Denner Strutt, 1641, from his tomb in Whatley Church, Essex, illustrating the armour of the period as worn by officers in the field. (Fig. 11): A pikeman of the time of James I. (from a broadside in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries). He wears a morion-shaped helmet with plumes, back and breast plates reaching to the waist, with two broad tassets fastened to the breast plate over padded knee breeches. He is armed with a long pike and sword. (Fig. 12): A musketeer of the time of James I. (from the same source as Fig. 11). Musketeers at first wore morions on the head, but, later on, large hats with plumes were adopted. This one is represented as wearing only back and breast plates, and he is armed with a musket and a sword. In his right hand he carries a rest for his musket, and slung over his shoulder he wears a bandolier or set of leather cases, in each of which a complete change of powder for a musket was carried, to facilitate the loading of the piece. This was used until the end of the 17th century, when the cartridge-box came into use.