(Fig. 1): A nobleman of the thirteenth century. (MS. Bod. Auct. D., iv. 17.) A good example of the costume of the nobility of the time. The dalmatica is plainly shown, open up the front. In the MS. it is red, decorated with groups of spots, with a white lining. The mantle is blue; the long gloves are green. Red chausses are worn on the legs, with a cross-gartering of gold from the toes upwards. The hat is blue, and a small portion of the knickers is also shown. (Fig. 2): The hood or capuchon, with a long tail as worn in the reign of Edward II. (Fig. 3): Costume of a man in the reign of Edward III., from the brass of Robert Braunche, 1364, at King’s Lynn. He is dressed in the plain costume of the period, while a hat with a feather is worn over the hood. (Figs. 4 and 5): Hats of the time of Edward III., probably made of white felt, with coloured turned-up brims and long feathers. (Fig. 6): Costume of a youth in Early Plantagenet times. He wears an ornamental tippet round the neck, with a plain, bordered tunic, tight at the [91-92]waist, and closed all round. He also wears chausses and high boots. (Fig. 7): Costume of a lady in the reign of Henry III., from Matthew Paris’s “Lives of the Offas.” (Cotton MS., Nero D 1.) The dress is very simple, there is an absence of ornament or decoration, and the gown is loose, falling to the feet in ample folds. (Figs. 8 and 9): Hoods at the time of Edward II. (Fig. 8): Shows the hood, closely fitting to the head and neck, with the point that usually hangs down drawn up over the head. (Fig 9): Shows the long tail of the hood wound around the head. (Figs. 10 and 11): The ordinary costume of the labouring classes during the time of Edward II. (Royal MS., 14 E 3.) The man wears a long gown, buttoned from the neck to the waist, with loose hanging sleeves below the elbow, showing the tight sleeve of the time. The head and shoulders are covered by a hood hanging down. The shoes reach to the ankle, are slightly ornamented, and have pointed toes. The woman carries a distaff, and wears a hood or kerchief swathed round the head and knotted at the side. She has a wide, short gown, which, being caught up under the arm, shows the under garment and high buttoned boots. (Fig 12): Bronze figure of a daughter of Edward III., from his tomb in Westminster Abbey (1377). She wears a dress, however, which was in vogue twenty years earlier. The hair is arranged in square plaits at the sides of the head. There is an absence of any decorative material round the low-cut neck, and she has vertical front pockets in her tightly fitting gown, with long streamers hanging from the arms down to the feet. (Figs. 13 and 14): Two methods of “doing the hair” in the time of Edward I. (Fig. 14): Shows the hair enclosed in a caul or net, and is spoken of as “the reticulated head-dress.” (Fig. 15): Head-dress from the Braunche Brass. (King’s Lynn, 1354.) (Fig. 16): The Coif.
PLATE 32.
(Fig. 1): Bronze figure of Lionel Duke of Clarence (a son of Edward III.), from the tomb of the latter in Westminster Abbey (1377). It illustrates the ordinary costume of a gentleman at the end of the fourteenth century. He is attired in the côti-hardi or jupon, fastened down the front with buttons, and wears an ornamented girdle around the hips, while a large, full mantle reaches down to the ankles. The chausses are very similar in appearance to trunk hose, and fit tightly to the limbs; while the beard is forked after the fashion of the period. (Fig 2): Brass of Joan, Lady de Cobham, 1320, at Cobham, Kent. She wears a kind of wimple under the chin called the gorget (which copies a part of the knightly armour of the period), with a couvre-chef over the head falling on to the shoulders, completing the head-dress. She wears an under garment with tight-fitting sleeves, which are closely buttoned to the wrist, and a loose robe with loose sleeves terminating 93below the elbow. (Fig 3): A fop of the reign of Richard II., when the fashion of “cutting” the mantles in patterns reached a very absurd limit. The sleeves are cut at the edges into a number of acanthus-like lobes, and are lined with another colour. The robe has a high collar, is very full, and hangs in loose folds to the ground. The shoes, which are elaborately pierced and cut, are of the long-toed variety known as “crackowes,” and the point of the toe is fastened to the leg below the knee. He also carries a long purse or bag suspended from the girdle. (Harl. MS., 1319.) (Fig. 4): Costume of the early part of Edward III.’s reign. A semi-military dress with a breastplate worn under the côte-hardi. A very characteristic feature of the costume is formed by the tippets—long strips of white cloth, which are fastened to the arms above the elbow. (MS. 17 E vi.) (Fig. 5): Costume of a labourer of the better class of the time of Edward III. The tail of the hood is worn around the head. (Fig 6): Costume of a nobleman in the reign of Richard II., probably representing one of his royal uncles. (Royal MS., 20 B vi.) It shows another extravagant dress of the period. The gown is abbreviated to the hips; the sleeves are wide, and the chausses are tight-fitting to the limbs; while the shoes have long pointed toes. He wears a jewelled circlet around the forehead. (Figs. 7, 8, 9): Costumes of ladies in the reign of Richard II. (Fig. 7): Shows the sideless garment faced with fur, terminating in long, full skirts worn over the kirtle (or loose gown). (Fig. 9): Shows a lady with the outer sleeveless garment, so long as to be gathered up and carried under the arm. (Figs. 10, 11, 12): Various forms of head-dresses of men of the reign of Richard II. (Fig. 13): A singular kind of hood covering the head and shoulders, reaching to the elbows, and having pointed ends spreading out at each side. This was worn in the time of Edward III.
[MAIL ARMOUR.]
Pure mail armour, i.e., armour worn without additional defence over the mail but the heaume, was in use from 1150 A.D. to 1300 A.D., but its use was finally discontinued about 1350 A.D.
There were several kinds of mail, and different ways of representing it on effigies, brasses, etc., viz.:
(a) Mail apparently formed of rings or mailles, sewn on to a leather garment by the edge only, and arranged so that one ring overlapped the next.