[Fig. 420.]--Costumes of a rich Bourgeoise, of a Peasant-woman, and of a Lady of the Nobility, of the Fourteenth Century.--From various painted Windows in the Churches of Moulins (Bourbonnais).

[Saint Catherine Surrounded by the Doctors of Alexandria.]

A miniature from the Breviary of the cardinal Grimani, attributed to Memling.

Bibl. of Saint-Marc, Venice.

(From a copy belonging to M. Ambroise Firmin-Didot.)

"There were two kinds of mantles; one was open in front, and fell over the back, and a strap which crossed the chest held it fixed on the shoulders; the other, enveloping the body like a bell, was slit up on the right side, and was thrown back over the left arm; it was made with a fur collar, cut in the shape of a tippet. This last has been handed down to us, and is worn by our judges under the name of toge and épitoge.

"It is a very common mistake to suppose that the shirt is an article of dress of modern invention; on the contrary, it is one of great antiquity, and its coming into general use is the only thing new about it.

"Lastly, we have to mention the chape, which was always regarded as a necessary article of dress. The chape was the only protection against bad weather at a period when umbrellas and covered carriages were unknown. It was sometimes called chape de pluie, on account of the use to which it was applied, and it consisted of a large cape with sleeves, and was completely waterproof. It was borne behind a master by his servant, who, on account of this service was called a porte-chape. It is needless to say that the common people carried it themselves, either slung over their backs, or folded under the arm."

If we now turn to female attire, we shall find represented in it all the component parts of male dress, and almost all of them under the same names. It must be remarked, however, that the women's coats and surcoats often trailed on the ground; that the hat--which was generally called a couvre-chef, and consisted of a frame of wirework covered over with stuff which was embroidered or trimmed with lace--was not of a conical shape; and, lastly, that the chaperon, which was always made with a tippet, or chausse, never turned over so as to form a cap. We may add that the use of the couvre-chef did not continue beyond the middle of the fourteenth century, at which time women adopted the custom of wearing any kind of head-dress they chose, the hair being kept back by a silken net, or crépine, attached either to a frontlet, or to a metal fillet, or confined by a veil of very light material, called a mollequin ([Fig. 420]).

[Fig. 421.]--Costumes of a young Nobleman and of a Bourgeois in the Fourteenth Century.--From a painted Window in the Church of Saint-Ouen at Rouen, and from a Window at Moulins (Bourbonnais).