CHATS ON
COSTUME
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
_Fully Illustrated, and with Coloured Frontispieces. 5s. net_
CHATS ON OLD CHINA
By ARTHUR HAYDEN
SECOND EDITION. Revised, with many New Illustrations.
"A handsome handbook that the amateur in doubt will find useful, and
the china-lover will enjoy for its illustrations, and for the author's
obvious love and understanding of his subject."--_St. James's Gazette._
"All lovers of china will find much entertainment in this
volume."--_Daily News._
"It gives in a few pithy chapters just what the beginner wants to know
about the principal varieties of English ware. We can warmly commend
the book to the china collector."--_Pall Mall Gazette._
CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE
By ARTHUR HAYDEN
"The hints to collectors are the best and clearest we have seen; so
that altogether this is a model book of its kind."--_Athenæum._
"A useful and instructive volume."--_Spectator._
"An abundance of illustrations completes a well-written and
well-constructed history."--_Daily News._
"Mr. Hayden's taste is sound and his knowledge thorough."--_Scotsman._
"Should be as indispensable to collectors and lovers of antique
furniture as the author's 'Chats on Old China' is to connoisseurs of
old china."--_Lady's Pictorial._
CHATS ON OLD PRINTS
By ARTHUR HAYDEN
(_In Preparation_)
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN
[Illustration: MISS ELLEN TERRY as "LADY MACBETH,"
BY J. S. SARGENT, R.A.
(_Reproduced by kind permission of the Artist._)]
CHATS
ON COSTUME
BY
G. WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD, R.E.
AUTHOR OF "THE TREATMENT OF DRAPERY IN ART," "THE
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN," "A HANDBOOK OF ETCHING,"
"STUDIES IN PLANT FORM," ETC., ETC.
WITH 117 ILLUSTRATIONS, INCLUDING 35 LINE DRAWINGS
BY THE AUTHOR
[Illustration]
LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
ADELPHI TERRACE
1906
(_All rights reserved._)
PREFACE
Needless to say the present work is far from exhausting the subject
of costume, which extends, indeed, over the whole field of history.
For reasons of space, neither ecclesiastical nor military costume is
touched upon. The book makes no pretensions to being anything more than
what its title suggests--a series of chats upon a subject which fills a
considerable place in the minds of, at any rate, the larger half of the
community.
While many works germane to the subject of costume have, of necessity,
been here largely drawn upon in the way of quotation, there will, at
the same time, be found a certain proportion of what may be described
as fresh material, the result of the author's acquaintance with the
subject in his individual practice as an artist. Indeed, the subject of
dress is, or should be, an artistic matter; it was so in the past, and
it will again, in the very near future, come to be recognised as one of
the Decorative Arts, requiring artistic knowledge, and some perception
of the fundamental laws of Design.
The author's thanks are particularly due to Mr. J. S. Sargent, R.A.,
for his kind permission to reproduce his portrait of Miss Ellen Terry.
[Illustration: WILLIAM, DUKE OF JULIERS AND CLEVES.
_By Aldegrever._]
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 5
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
CHAT
I. A GENERAL SURVEY 17
II. THE TUNIC 59
III. THE MANTLE 81
IV. THE DOUBLET AND HOSE 109
V. THE KIRTLE OR PETTICOAT 133
VI. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CRINOLINE 157
VII. COLLARS AND CUFFS 179
VIII. HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS 203
IX. THE DRESSING OF THE HAIR, MOUSTACHIOS, AND BEARD 235
X. BOOTS, SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET 279
INDEX 302
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PORTRAIT OF MISS ELLEN TERRY AS LADY MACBETH, _Frontispiece_
by J. S. SARGENT, R.A.
HORNED HEAD-DRESS: BEATRICE, COUNTESS OF ARUNDEL, 1439 _Title-page_
PAGE
DUKE OF JULIERS AND CLEVES (ALDEGREVER) 6
CHAT I.--A GENERAL SURVEY.
Heading 19
The Comte d'Artois and Mademoiselle Clothilde 21
Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham 23
Ludovicus Rex, by Thackeray 27
Travelling in a Horse-litter (from a Fourteenth Century MS.) 31
William III. 35
Queen Mary 39
Caricature: Pig Walking upon Stilts (Harleian MS.) 43
Caricature: Winged Devil (Cotton MS.) 43
Duchess of Ancaster (after Hudson) 47
Damask in Silk and Gold (Saracenic) 50
Venetian Fabric (Thirteenth Century) 51
London Promenade Dress, 1836 55
CHAT II.--THE TUNIC.
Tunic, Petticoat, and Girdle (Jutland) 62
Hunefer and his Wife ("Book of the Dead," _c._ B.C. 1370) 63
A Priest Burning Incense ("Book of the Dead") 65
Plan of the Tunic 66
The Tunic (Hope's "Costume of the Ancients") 67
Greek Figure (Ibid.) 70
Greek Figure (Ibid.) 71
Treuthe's Pilgryme atte Plow (Trinity College, Cambridge) 75
Anglo-Saxon Dress (Eighth Century) 76
CHAT III.--THE MANTLE.
Heading: The Imperial Coronation Mantle at Vienna 83
Plan of the Toga 86
The Toga (Hope's "Costume of the Ancients") 87
Statue of Queen Matilda at Rochester 91
Lord Burleigh (National Portrait Gallery) 93
Lodowick, Duke of Richmond and Lennox 97
Portion of the Picture of the Miracle of St. Bernard, Perugia 99
Prince Henry, eldest son of James I. 103
Earl of Rochester (National Portrait Gallery) 105
Duke of Buckingham 107
CHAT IV.--THE DOUBLET AND HOSE.
Heading: Italian Cassone (Fifteenth Century) 111
Figure by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Perugia 113
Paris on Mount Ida (Hope's "Costume of the Ancients") 115
Anglo-Saxon Retainer (G. W. Rhead) 116
Knightly Pastimes: Hawking, 1575 119
Sir Thomas Gresham (National Portrait Gallery) 121
Philip II. of Spain (National Portrait Gallery) 123
Henry, Prince of Wales 125
An Exquisite (from Jacquemin) 129
Philippe de Vendôme 131
CHAT V.--THE KIRTLE OR PETTICOAT.
The Close-fitting Jacket, _temp._ Edward III.
(from Viollet le Duc) 137
A Lady of Basle (Holbein) 139
The Children of Charles I. 143
Miss Lewis 145
The Gamut of Love (Watteau) 147
Madame de Mouchy 151
Walking Dress, 1810 152
Promenade Costume, 1833 154
Paris Evening Dress, 1833 155
CHAT VI.--THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CRINOLINE.
Heading: Figure from Jacquemin 159
Queen Charlotte (after Gainsborough) 161
Queen Elizabeth 163
James I. and his Queen, Anne of Denmark 165
Festal Dress, Otaheite 167
Mary Queen of Scots and Darnley 169
"Don't be afraid, my dear!" 171
King and Mrs. Baddeley 173
The Crinoletta Disfigurans (_Punch_) 177
CHAT VII.--COLLARS AND CUFFS.
Henrietta, Marquise d'Entragues 182
Henry IV. of France 185
The Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia 187
Son of the Painter Dirck de Vries 191
Charles I. in three views 193
Cravats 199
CHAT VIII.--HATS, CAPS, AND BONNETS.
Heading: Fools in a Morris Dance 205
Mrs. Anne Warren (after Romney) 207
Hunting Hat, Orcagna, Campo Santo, Pisa 210
Hunting Hat (Ibid.) 210
Figure with Long Net-caul (G. W. Rhead) 212
Hat, Fra Angelico, Florence 213
Hat (Ibid.) 213
Heart-shaped Head-dress 216
Horned Head-dress 216
Francis Bacon 219
Thomas Killigrew 221
The Development of the Pot Hat 223
Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex 225
Letitia Bonaparte, mother of Napoleon 228
Anne Day 229
Two of the Wigginses (Gillray) 230
Parisian Head-dresses for 1812 231
Fool's Cap of Leather, German (S.K.M.) 233
CHAT IX.--THE DRESSING OF THE HAIR, MOUSTACHIOS, AND BEARD.
Heading: Comb (Italian, Fourteenth Century) 237
Assyrian Bas-relief 238
Bearded Bacchus (Hope's "Costume of the Ancients") 239
Greek Head-dresses (Ibid.) 241
Roman Head-dresses (Ibid.) 243
Head-dress from Viollet le Duc (Fifteenth Century) 248
A Painted Face (Roxburghe Ballads) 251
Wig, Egyptian, B.C. 1500 (British Museum) 254
Beau Fielding 257
Hyacinthe Rigaud 259
Ridiculous Taste; or, The Lady's Absurdity 261
The French Lady in London 263
Head-dress (from Jacquemin) 264
Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, and the Dauphin 269
A Reigning Monarch 272
Philip IV. of Spain 273
CHAT X.--BOOTS, SHOES, AND OTHER COVERINGS FOR THE FEET.
Heading: Shoes (Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries) 281
Clog or Patten 282
Roman Sandals (Hope's "Costume of the Ancients") 285
Sandals of Italian Peasantry 286
Lords John and Bernard Stuart 287
Shoes, French (Fifteenth and Seventeenth Centuries) 290
Shoes, German (Sixteenth Century) 291
Shoes (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Musée de Cluny) 293
Carved Wooden Shoe, French (Seventeenth Century) 294
Shoe, Dutch Officer of Guards, 1662 296
Shoe of a Musketeer, 1697 296
Top Boot, Louis XIII., 1611 297
Top Boot, Comte de Soissons, 1628 298
Bravoes (Martin Schongauer) 299
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Barclay: Ship of Fools of the World, 1508.
_Bell's Fashionable Magazine, 1812._
Bulwer: Pedigree of the English Gallant.
Carlyle, T.: Sartor Resartus; French Revolution.
Caxton: The Four Sons of Aymon.
Chaucer.
English Costume from Pocket-books, 1799.
Eginhart: Life of Charlemagne, 1619.
Fairholt: Costume in England, 1896.
Froissart's Chronicles, H. N. Humphreys, 1855.
Gregory of Tours: History of the Franks.
Gosson, Stephen: Schoole of Abuse, 1579.
Harding's Chronicle, 1543.
Holme, Randal: Notes on Dress, _c._ 1660.
Hope, T.: Costume of the Ancients.
Jonson, Ben: Plays.
John de Meun }
} Romance of the Rose.
William de Lorris}
Knight of La Tour Landry, 1371, Caxton.
Lydgate, Monk of Bury: Poems.
Le Blanc, H., Esq.: The Art of Tying the Cravat, 1828.
Paris, Matthew.
Piers Plowman: Pierce Ploughman's Vision.
Planché: British Costume, 1874; Cyclopædia of Costume, 1877.
Racinet: Costume.
Roxburghe Ballads, _c._ 1686.
Statutes: Henry III., Henry VIII.
Stothard, C.: Monumental Effigies, 1877.
Strutt: Dress and Habits of the English People, 1842.
Stubbes: Anatomy of Abuses.
Stow, John: Chronicle, 1615.
Stewart, J.: Plocacosmos, or the Whole Art of Hairdressing, 1782.
Viollet le Duc: Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier Français, 1858-75.
Wright, T.: Caricature and History of the Georges, 1868.
William of Malmesbury.
I
A
GENERAL
SURVEY
"You see two individuals, one dressed in fine Red, the other
in coarse threadbare Blue: Red says to Blue: 'Be hanged and
anatomised;' Blue hears with a shudder, and (O wonder of wonders!)
marches sorrowfully to the gallows; is there noosed-up, vibrates
his hour, and the surgeons dissect him, and fit his bones into a
skeleton for medical purposes. How is this; or what make ye of your
Nothing can act but where it is? Red has no physical hold of Blue,
no clutch of him, is nowise in contact with him: neither are those
ministering Sheriffs and Lord-Lieutenants and Hangmen and Tipstaves
so related to commanding Red, that he can tug them hither and
thither; but each stands distinct within his own skin. Nevertheless
as it is spoken so it is done; the articulated Word sets all hands
in action; and Rope and Improved-drop perform their work.
"Thinking reader, the reason seems to me twofold: First, that man
is a Spirit, and bound by invisible bonds to All Men; secondly,
that he wears Clothes, which are the visible emblems of that
fact. Has not your Red hanging-individual a horsehair wig,
squirrel-skins and a plush-gown; whereby all mortals know that he
is a Judge?--Society, which the more I think of it astonishes me
the more, is founded upon Cloth."
CARLYLE, _Sartor Resartus_.
[Illustration]
CHATS ON COSTUME
I
A GENERAL SURVEY
That singular clothes-philosopher, Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, whose
revolutionary theories upon the subject of the "vestural tissue" first
burst upon an astonished world some seventy odd years ago, has, with
characteristic emphasis, drawn attention, amongst other things, to
the fact that man is the only animal who is not provided with some
Nature-made protection against the elements--a protection either of
fur, feather, hide, or what not. Bounteous Nature, however, always
kind, who never withholds a good without affording ample compensation,
has endowed man with that fertile brain and cunning hand whereby he may
convert hide into leather, wool of sheep into cloth, web of worm into
silk, flax and cotton into linen of various kinds, and so restore that
balance of endowment without which man would be at the mercy of every
wind that blew.
The uses of clothes, or costume--the words may be here taken as
synonymous--may be said to be threefold: first, for decency, which was
their first and apparently only use, as we may assume that in Eden the
sun always shone; secondly, for comfort and protection; thirdly, for
beauty and adornment.
First, then, for decency. That is sufficiently clearly established if
we may accept the Mosaic account of the world's juvenescence: "And
the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons";
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins
and clothed them."[1] This habit of observance of the decencies of
life appears to be common to all nations. No people or tribe, however
primitive the civilisation, but makes some sort of provision in this
respect. The Veddas of Ceylon make girdles of leaves, which gives
them a strangely fantastic appearance. We learn from the accounts of
travellers in Central Africa that "clothing, though extremely simple,
consisting of a little grass-cloth, ornaments of feathers, fur, shells,
glass and metal beads, are worn, and the skin is decorated by stripes
of paint or an extensive series of cicatrices." Among the aborigines
of the Malay Peninsula (Sakais) "the men wear a strip of bark-cloth
twisted round the waist and drawn between the legs. The women sometimes
wear small cotton-cloth petticoats (sarongs) purchased from the
Malays, and the men occasionally adopt Chinese trousers; but in their
native forests, however, none of these luxuries are indulged in."
[Illustration: THE COMTE D'ARTOIS AND MADEMOISELLE CLOTHILDE.]
Secondly, for comfort and protection. The climatic influence on dress
is, and must necessarily be, considerable. This is well illustrated by
the well-known fable of "The Wind and the Sun." The more boisterously
the wind blows, the more closely the man enwraps himself with his
cloak; the more fiercely the sun shines, the more the man divests
himself of raiment;[2] but between the skins of the Laplander,
fashioned by the help of a thorn or a fishbone for a needle, and the
sinews of the animal for thread, and the light gossamer clothing of
the countries of the East there is a vast range, the extent of which,
indeed, is almost boundless. Climate not only determines the amount or
degree of warmth or otherwise, but also, as in architecture, influences
its character both as to form and colour. Moreover, clothes are an
index to the character or temper of an individual or nation. "What
meaning lies in Colour! If the Cut betoken intellect and talent, so
does the Colour betoken temper and heart."[3]
[Illustration: CHARLES HOWARD, EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.
_Engraved by Thomas Cockson._]
Thirdly, for beauty and adornment--and it is with this latter aspect
that this work is mainly concerned. That clothes _should_ be beautiful
is an axiom which, one would think, might readily be accepted; that
clothes _have been_ beautiful is a fact which cannot be denied. (It is
only during the present utilitarian age that the æsthetic principle has
been lost sight of.) That clothes _might again_ be beautiful, without
suffering any loss on the score of utility, is also unquestionable. To
attempt to follow the whims and vagaries of that jade, Fashion, through
all her endless diversities and constant changes, would indeed be a
Herculean task, and might well appal the boldest he (or she, for that
matter) who would wield pen or pencil.
The will-o'-the-wisp of Fashion is, however, a less capricious person
than would appear at first sight. There is some method in her madness.
Similar types, similar decorative _motifs_, appear and reappear
through the centuries with the regularity of the changing seasons.
The veracious chronicler may therefore take some comfort from this
fact; it lightens his burden, and makes his task less difficult than
it would otherwise be. Moreover, dress, as in architectural form, to
the careful student of decorative development, presents really less
inherent variety than one would suppose; historical accuracy is the
favourite bugbear of pedants, and, while appreciating to the full the
great distinctiveness of such periods as the Elizabethan, the Stuart,
and the Georgian, there are certain primitive forms, certain leading
characteristics, which are common to most periods, and which, like
the poor, are always with us. One might hazard the contention that a
painter would be perfectly safe in introducing a pot-hat and a pair
of trousers at practically any period of the world's history--_not in
conjunction, mind_; no, that glorious consummation was reserved for
this happy age of ours. The Greeks, however, as is well known, wore
trousers. Some form of the trouser was worn by the lower classes at
most periods of English history. Ben Jonson makes Peniboy junior walk
in his "gowne, waistcoate, and _trouses_," expecting his tailor. Nay,
do we not read in the Old Testament--in _some_ Old Testaments, at any
rate--that even Adam and Eve made themselves--ahem!--breeches? As for
the pot-hat, its origin is lost in the maze of antiquity. It crops up
in its various developments at all sorts of odd times and periods. A
fearsome variety of it is to be seen upon the head of Jan Arnolfini
in Van Eyck's picture in the National Gallery. It appears in Durer's
engravings and woodcuts, woolly, hairy structures, occasionally of
abnormal height. It is perhaps not generally known that it occurs in
the Raphael cartoons ("Paul preaching at Athens"). One would have
imagined such a singular appearance as a pot-hat, in such surroundings,
to have been evident at first sight. The reason it was not so was on
account of its colour (vermilion). Had it been black, one would have
spotted it at once; and this fact, when one comes to consider it, is
a little singular, since, if one were to march down Piccadilly some
fine afternoon crowned in a vermilion pot-hat, methinks one would not
_altogether_ escape notice.
There is, however, still another aspect of clothes which remains to
be considered, _i.e._, their symbolism. It has been written, "Manners
maketh man." It might also be written with even a still greater degree
of truth, "_Clothes_ maketh man," since clothes contribute so much
to man's dignity. Carlyle finds it difficult to imagine a naked Duke
of Windlestraw addressing a naked House of Lords, and asks, very
pertinently, "Who ever saw any Lord my-lorded in tattered blanket
fastened with a wooden skewer?" His King Toom-tabard (empty gown)
reigning over Scotland long after the man John Baliol had gone! His
quaint conceit of a suit of cast clothes, meekly bearing its honours,
without haughty looks or scornful gesture, has been imitated by
Thackeray in his amusing illustration of "Ludovicus Rex"--the "silent
dignity" of "Rex" as represented by the suit of clothes, the forlorn
appearance of Ludovicus, the magnificence of "Ludovicus Rex," all
testify to the great importance and value of costume, as contrasted
with the relatively trivial character of the wearer.
Who, then, shall dare to belittle the importance of costume? or to
affirm that character can rise superior to its environment? Our subject
is one of the most significant which can be presented to the reader's
consideration. It provides one of the most curious and fascinating
studies in the world.
[Illustration: "LUDOVICUS REX."
_From "Paris Sketches."_]
The materials upon which we base our knowledge of the dress of the
earlier periods of the world's history are necessarily scanty. For
the Egyptian and Assyrian period we are dependent upon monumental
inscriptions and carving, and the few papyri which have survived the
ravages of time. For the Greek and Roman period, upon sculpture,
pottery, and the written description of the more considerable authors.
For the Byzantine, Frankish, and Gothic periods, upon mosaic,
monumental effigies, and illuminated MSS. It is not until what may be
called the age of the _painter_ that we may be said to emerge into the
broad light of day, and the pencils of Holbein, Rubens, and Vandyke
make things clearer for us. The sumptuary laws, however, enacted at
various periods, against excess in apparel and extravagance in dress,
let in a flood of light on the manners and customs of the times, and in
them will be found many curious and interesting details. The principal
Acts are the following: 2 Edw. II. c. 4; 37 Edw. III. cc. 8, 14; 3 Edw.
IV. c. 1; 22 Edw. IV. c. 1; 1 Hen. VIII. c. 14; 6 Hen. VIII. c. 1; 7
Hen. VIII. c. 6; 24 Hen. VIII. c. 13; 1 and 2 Phil. and Mary, c. 2; 8
Eliz. c. 11. All these laws were repealed by an Act of 1 Jac. I.
This grandmotherly legislation, which was never effective, always
evaded and even defied, had a double object in view, first to induce
habits of thrift amongst all classes of the people, and secondly on
æsthetic grounds.
In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Edward III. (A.D.
1363), the Commons exhibited a complaint in Parliament against the
general usage of expensive apparel not suited either to the degree or
income of the people; and an Act was passed by which the following
regulations were insisted upon: Furs of ermine and lettice, and
embellishments of pearls, excepting for a head-dress, were strictly
forbidden to any but the Royal Family, and nobles possessing upwards of
£1,000 per annum.
Cloths of gold and silver, and habits embroidered with jewellery, lined
with pure miniver, and other expensive furs, were permitted only to
knights and ladies, whose incomes exceeded 400 marks yearly.
Knights whose income exceeded 200 marks, or squires possessing £200
in lands or tenements, were permitted to wear cloth of silver with
ribands, girdles, &c., reasonably embellished with silver, and woollen
cloth, of the value of six marks the whole piece; but all persons under
the rank of knighthood, or of less property than the last mentioned,
were confined to the use of cloth not exceeding four marks the piece,
and were prohibited wearing silks and embroidered garments of any sort,
or embellishing their apparel with any ornaments of gold, silver, or
jewellery. Rings, buckles, ouches, girdles, and ribands were forbidden
them, and the penalty annexed to the infringement of this statute was
the forfeiture of the dress or ornament so made or worn.
In the reign of Henry IV. these laws were so little regarded that it
was found necessary to revive them with considerable additions. It was
enacted that--"No man not being a banneret, or person of high estate,"
was permitted to wear cloth of gold, of crimson, or cloth of velvet,
or motley velvet, or large hanging sleeves open or closed, or gowns so
long as to touch the ground, or to use the furs of ermine, lettice,
or marten, excepting only "gens d'armes quant ils sont armez."
Decorations of gold and silver were forbidden to all who possessed less
than £200 in goods and chattels, or £20 per annum, unless they were
heirs to estates of 50 marks per annum, or to £500 worth of goods and
chattels.
Four years afterwards it was ordained that no man, let his condition
be what it might, should be permitted to wear a gown or garment cut or
slashed into pieces in the form of letters, rose leaves, and posies
of various kinds, or any such-like devices, under the penalty of
forfeiting the same, and the offending tailor was to be imprisoned
during the King's pleasure.
In the third year of the reign of Edward IV. an Act was promulgated
by which cloth of gold, cloth of silk of a purple colour, and fur
of sables were prohibited to all knights under the estate of lords.
Bachelor knights were forbidden to wear cloth of velvet upon velvet,
unless they were Knights of the Garter; and simple esquires, or
gentlemen, were restricted from the use of velvet, damask, or figured
satin, or any counterfeit resembling such stuffs, except they possessed
a yearly income to the value of £100, or were attached to the King's
Court or household.
It was also forbidden to any persons who were not in the enjoyment of
£40 yearly income to wear any of the richer furs; also girdles of gold,
silver, or silver-gilt were forbidden.
[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN A HORSE LITTER.
_From the MS. 118 Français in the Bibliothèque Nationale (late
Fourteenth Century)._]
No one under the estate of a lord was permitted to wear indecently
short jackets, gowns, &c., mentioned by Monstrelet, or pikes or
poleines to his shoes and boots exceeding two inches in length. No
yeoman, or person under the degree of a yeoman, was allowed bolsters or
stuffing of wool, cotton, or cadis in his purpoint or doublet under a
penalty of six shillings and eightpence fine, and forfeiture awarded;
the unfortunate tailor making such short or stuffed dresses, or
shoemaker manufacturing such long-toed shoes for unprivileged persons,
being under the pain of cursing by the clergy for the latter offence,
as well as the forfeit of twenty shillings--one noble to the King,
another to the cordwainers of London, and the third to the Chamber of
London.
It will readily be seen that these laws were necessarily the cause of
great hindrance to trade, which was, indeed, not the least of the evils
occasioned by these absurd laws. Richard Onslow, Recorder of London,
1565 (given in Ellis's "Original Letters," vol. ii.), describes an
interview which he had with the civic tailors, who were puzzled to know
whether they might "line a slop-hose not cut in panes, with a lining of
cotton stitched to the slop, over and besydes the linen lining straight
to the leg."
The statutory laws, however, were not the _only_ hindrance to trade,
since it would appear that during the Plantagenet period _dishonesty_
in trade was as rife as it is at the present time, and foreign
competition as keen; the conditions, however, were slightly different,
the foreign merchants obtaining high prices for their goods, instead
of dumping cheap goods into the country at low prices. The remedy was
directed to the enforcement of greater honesty in trade dealings,
rather than to fortify themselves behind tariff walls.
It was enacted in the third year of the reign of Edward IV. c.
1:--"Firste, whereas many yeres paste & nowe at this daye, the
workemanshyp of clothes & things requisite to the same, is & hath bene
of such fraude disceite & falsite, that the sayde clothes in other
landes & countreis, is had in small reputacyon, to the greate shame of
this lande. And by reason thereof a great quantite of clothes of other
strange landes be brought into this realme, & here solde at an highe
& excessyve pryce, evydently shewynge thossens defaulte & falsyte of
the maykynge of wollen clothes of this lande. Our soveraigne lorde
the Kynge, for the remedy of the premisses, & to the preferment of
such labours & occupacions, which hath been used by the makynge of the
sayde clothes, by thaduyse assent & request & auctoritie aforsayd,
hath ordeyned & establysshed, that every hole wollen clothe called
brodclothe, which shal be made & set to sale after the feaste of
Saynt Peter called ad vincula, which shal be in the yere of our Lorde
M.CCCC.LXV. after the ful waterynge & rackyng straynyng or tenturyng of
the same redy to sale, shall holde & conteyne in length xxiiii yardes,
& to every yarde an ynche, conteynynge the bredthe of a mannes ynche,
to be measured by the creste of the same clothe. And i brede ii yardes,
or vii quarters at the leaste wythyn the lystes. & if the clothe be
longer in measure than xxiiii yardes & the ynches than the byer therof
shall paye to the seller for for as moche as doth excede such measure
of xxiiii yardes, after the rate of the measure above ordeyned. Also
it is ordeined & establisshed by auctoritie of the sayd lordes, that
all maner clothes called streytes, to be made & put to sale after
the same feaste, after the full watering & rackyng, streynynge or
tenturynge therof redye to sale, shall holde & conteyne in lengthe xii
yardes & the ynches, after the measure aforsaid, & in brede one yarde
within the lystes. Also it is ordeyned & establysshed by thauctoritie
aforsaid, that every clothe called kersey, to be made & put to sale
after the sayde feaste, after the full waterynge & rackynge straynynge
or tenturynge of the same redy to sale, shall holde & conteyne in
lengthe xviii yardes & the ynches, as is aforsayd, & in brede one yarde
& a nayle, or at the leaste one yarde within the lystes. & also it is
ordeyned & establysshed, that every halfe clothe of every of the sayde
hole clothes, streytes, & kerseys, shall kepe his measure in length
& brede after the rate fourme & nature of his hole clothe aforsayde.
& that no persone, whiche shall make or cause to be made any maner
wollen clothe to sel after the said feaste shall medle or put in or
upon the same cloth, nor the wolle, whereof the sayd clothe shall be
made, any lambes wolle, flockes or corke in any maner, upon payne to
forfayt xx_s._ for every clothe or halfe clothe, wherein & wherupon any
such lambes wolle, flockes or corke shall be put or medled. The one
halfe thereof to be to the Kyng, & the other halfe to hym that shall
leyse the same clothe, & duely prove the same to be made contrarie to
this ordinance, excepte that he shall chose to make of lambes wolle by
itselfe without mynglyng with any other wolle. Excepte also that corke
may be used in dyenge upon woded wolle, & also in dyenge of all suche
clothe, that is onely made of woded wolle, so that the same wolle &
clothe be perfytly boyled & madered, except also that corke may be put
upon clothe, whiche is perfectly boyled & madered"--but enough of this.
The sumptuary laws continued to be enacted against this, that, or the
other abuse, or fancied abuse. If a new fashion sprung up, a brand new
law would be immediately fashioned for the purpose of keeping it within
bounds. It was to no purpose, however; the sumptuary laws continued
to be disregarded as heretofore. "How often hath her majestie with
the grave advice of her honorable Councell, sette downe the limits of
apparell to every degree, & how soon again hath the pride of our harts
overflowen the chanell!"[4]
[Illustration: GUILJELMUS III.
D. G. ANGLIÆ, SCOTIÆ, FRANCIÆ et HIBERNIÆ REX.
WILLIAM III.]
It was the same with the satirists, whether of horned head-dresses
or other extravagances; Monk Lydgate might rave, might shout himself
hoarse, but the women would have their horns.
It was indeed inevitable that the vagaries of fashion and the love
of fine feathers should become the favourite butt of the satirists,
purists, and other persons who assumed the character of mentor. Among
the most insistent of these were the priesthood. St. Bernard thus
admonishes his sister, perhaps with greater candour than politeness, on
her visiting him, "well arraied with riche clothing, with perles and
precious stones":--
"Suster, yet ye love youre bodi, by reson ye shuld beter love youre
soule: wene ye not that ye displese God and his aungels to see in you
suche pompe and pride to adorn suche a carion as is youre body.... Whi
thenke ye not that the pore peple that deyen for hungir and colde, that
for the sixte part of youre gay arraye xl persones might be clothed,
refresshed, and kepte from the colde?... And thanne the ladi wepte,
and solde awey her clothes, and levid after an holy lyff, and had love
of God, aungeles, and holy seintes, the whiche is beter thanne of the
worldely pepille" ("Knight of La Tour Landry," 1371).
The sister of St. Bernard, however, evidently lacked the power of
repartee of St. Edith, daughter of King Edgar, who, though brought
up in a convent at Wilton, and destined to the life of the cloister,
nevertheless had a weakness for clothes which seemed too fine and
gay for a nun. St. Ethelwold, who, it is clear, must have shared the
opinions of St. Bernard upon the subject of finery, and ventured to
upbraid her, received this crushing reply: "God's doom, that may not
fail, is pleased only with conscience. Therefore I trow that as clean
a soul may be under those clothes that are arrayed with gold as under
thy slight fur-skins." He was reminded also that St. Augustine had said
that pride could lurk even in rags. This latter sally calls to mind
the story of Diogenes spitting upon the floor of Plato's house and
exclaiming, "Thus I trample on the pride of Plato." "With _greater_
pride, O Diogenes," was the quiet rejoinder.
Dowglas, the monk of Glastonbury, writing against the extravagances
which were rife during the latter half of the reign of Edward III.,
says: "The English haunted so much unto the foly of strangers, that
every year they changed them in diverse shapes and disguisings of
clothing, now long, now large, now wide, now strait, and every day
clothingges, new and destitute, and devest from all honesty of old
arraye or good usage; and another time in short clothes, and so strait
waisted, with full sleeves and tapetes of surcoats and hodes, over long
and large, all so ragged and knib on every side, and all so shattered,
and also buttoned, that I with truth shall say, they seem more like to
tormentors or devils in their clothing, and also in their shoying and
other arraye than they seemed to be like men."
The authors of the "Roman de la Rose," William de Lorris, who died
in 1260, and John de Meun, who continued and finished the poem about
1304, are amongst the most severe of these satirists. In alluding to
the unnecessary length of their trains, the author advises the ladies,
if their legs be not handsome, nor their feet small and delicate, to
wear long robes trailing on the pavement to hide them; those having
pretty feet are counselled to elevate their robes, as if for air and
convenience, that all who are passing may see and admire. This has been
imitated by Ben Jonson, who in his "Silent Woman" makes Truewit say:--
"I love a good dressing before any beauty o' the world. Oh, a woman is
then like a delicate garden; nor is there one kind of it; she may vary
every hour; take often counsel of her glass, and choose the best. If
she have good ears, show them; good hair, lay it out; good legs, wear
short clothes; a good hand, discover it often; practise any art to
mend breath, cleanse teeth, repair eyebrows, paint, and profess it."
[Illustration: MARIA
D. G. ANGLIÆ, SCOTIÆ, FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ REGINA.
QUEEN MARY.]
The author of the "Roxburghe Ballads" ("A Woman's Birth and Education")
informs us that when Cupid first beheld a woman--
"He prankt it up in Fardingals and Muffs,
In Masks, Rebatos, Shapperowns, and Wyers,
In Paintings, Powd'rings, Perriwigs, and Cuffes,
In Dutch, Italian, Spanish, French attires;
Thus was it born, brought forth, and made Love's baby,
And this is that which now we call a Lady."
Nor was it the fair sex only who were thus lampooned. The men also came
in for their share, and were as much the objects of the satirist's
wrath as were the women:--
"Your ruffs and your bands,
And your cuffs at your hands,
Your pipes and your smokes,
And your short curtall clokes,
Scarfes, feathers and swerdes,
And their bodkin beards;
Your wastes a span long,
Your knees with points hung
Like morrice-dance bels
And many toyes els."
SKELTON, _Elinor Rummin_, 1625.
The Knight of La Tour Landry, writing towards the close of the
fourteenth century, in order to deter his daughters from extravagance
and superfluity of dress, recounts a story of a knight who, having
lost his wife, applied to "an heremyte hys uncle" to know whether she
was saved or not and how it "stode with her." The hermit, after many
prayers, dreamed that he saw "Seint Michelle & the develle that had her
in a balaunce, & alle her good dedes in the same balaunce, & a develle
& alle her evelle dedes in that other balaunce. & the most that grevid
her was her good & gay clothing, & furres of gray menivere & letuse; &
the develle cried & sayde, Seint Michel, this woman had tenne diverse
gownes & as mani cotes; & thou wost welle lesse myghte have suffised
her after the lawe of God; ... & he toke all her juellys and rynges,
... & also the false langage that she had saide ... & caste hem in the
balaunce with her evelle dedes." The "evelle dedes passed the good, &
weyed downe & overcame her good dedes. & there the develle toke her, &
bare her away, & putte her clothes & aray brennyng in the flawme on her
with the fire of helle, & kist her doune into the pitte of helle; ... &
the pore soul cried, & made moche sorughe & pite ... but it boted not."
Lydgate, the famous monk of Bury, and one of the foremost poets of his
time, was unwearying in his condemnation of the extravagances of dress,
his pet aversion being the horned head-dresses which obtained during
the York and Lancastrian period. In a "Ditty of Women's Horns," he
unbosoms himself as follows:--
"Clerkys recorde, by gret auctoryté,
Hornes wer yove to bestys for dyffence;
A thing contrarye to femynté,
To be maad sturdy of resystence.
But arche wives, egre in ther vyolence,
Fers as tygres for to make affray
They have despit, and ageyn concyence
Lyst nat of pryde, then hornes cast away."
But the most insistent of all the satirists was Philip Stubbes, who
wrote his "Anatomy of Abuses" in the reign of Elizabeth. In lampooning
the feminine habit of aping masculine dress, he says: "The women have
doublets and jerkins as the men have, buttoned up to the breast, and
made with wings, welts, and pinions on the shoulder-points, as man's
apparel in all respects; and although this be a kind of attire proper
only to a man, yet they blush not to wear it."
Artists also, as well as writers, joined in the general chorus of
condemnation of the extravagances of fashion. Strutt gives a cut from
the MS. copy of Froissart in the Harleian Library, of a pig walking
upon stilts playing the harp, and crowned with the high steeple
head-dress which prevailed during the reign of Edward IV.
In the Cotton MS. (Nero, C4) there is an illustration of a winged
devil arrayed in a costume with elongated sleeves tied in knots, the
prevailing fashion of the period.
It must be confessed that the satirists were occasionally a little too
severe in their strictures, for while doubtless extravagance prevailed
at most periods--indeed, must always prevail--the dress of such a
period as that of the Plantagenets, as well as that of Elizabeth,
was sumptuous to a degree. In fact, it is difficult for us moderns,
so surrounded as we are by commonness, cheapness, and vulgarity, to
realise the extreme splendour of the Middle Ages, either as regards
their dress or their surroundings. Plenty of extravagance there is at
the present time, but no real magnificence, either as to invention or
material.
[Illustration]
With respect to material, by far the most sumptuous fabric employed for
purposes of adornment in past times is undoubtedly cloth of gold. This
truly regal fabric has been in use from the earliest periods. "And they
shall make the ephod of _gold_, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet,
and fine twined linen, with cunning work. And the curious girdle of
the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the
work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen."[5]
It is recorded of the wife of the Emperor Honorius, who died about the
year 400, upon the re-opening of her grave in 1544, the golden tissues
which formed the shroud were melted, and amounted in weight to 36 lbs.
About the body of the Frankish King Childeric, when his grave was
discovered in 1653, were found numerous strips of pure gold, pointing
to the fact that the body must have been wrapped in a mantle of golden
stuff for burial.
The sumptuary laws which were enacted at various periods of English
history, regulating and restricting the wearing of this precious fabric
to persons of estate, have already been referred to, and serve to show
in what high estimation this fabric was held.
It will readily be imagined that cloth of gold was necessarily costly.
The Princess Mary (afterwards Queen), thirteen years before she came
to the throne, "Payed to Peycocke, of London, for xix yerds iii qrt of
clothe of golde at xxxviij_s._ the yerde. xxxvij_li._ x_s._ vj_d._" and
for "a yerde & dr qrt of clothe of silver xl_s._" In later times the
use of the pure gold thread was discontinued except for very costly
garments, and tissues were made of silver-gilt or copper-gilt thread.
The thin paper which we now know by the name of tissue paper was
originally made for the purpose of being placed between the pieces of
stuff to prevent tarnishing when laid by.
Silk, like the sun, and so many other good things comes to us from
the "sacred East." The earliest mention of it is in Aristotle, who
refers to the importation into the Western world of raw silk. Silken
garments were brought to Rome from a very early period, but on account
of their costliness were worn only by a very few. Heliogabalus was the
first Emperor who wore silk for clothing. By the revised code of laws
issued for the Roman Empire in 533 A.D., a monopoly of silk
weaving was given to the Court, looms being set up in the imperial
palace and worked by women. The raw material, however, had still to
be brought from abroad. The story of the introduction of the silkworm
into Constantinople will serve to show how jealously the secret of the
rearing of the worm was kept by the peoples of the East. The eggs of
the silkworm were brought, hidden in their walking staves, by two Greek
monks, who had lived many years amongst the Chinese and learnt the
process of rearing the worm, and who carried them to Constantinople and
presented them to the Emperor. Very soon afterwards the Western world
reared its own silk.
Silk was known under different names at various periods, according
to its colour, texture, or design. Samite, Samit, Examitum, is a
six-threaded tissue, and consequently costly. The hand which grasped
the sword Excalibur when it was thrown into the lake was clothed in
white samite--
"Launcelot and the Queen were cledde
In robes of a rich wede,
Of samyte white, with silver shredde."
Ciclatoun was a substance of light texture, and was used both for
ecclesiastical purposes and for the more stately dresses of a secular
character. Chaucer, in his "Rime of Sire Thopas," says:--
"Of Brugges were his hosen broun
His robe was of ciclatoun."
Cendal was a less costly fabric, and was also used largely in
ecclesiastical vestments.
Taffeta was a thin transparent textile, and was used, as well as
cendal, during the Middle Ages for linings.
Sarcenet also is a light webbed silk, and by degrees supplanted cendal.
Satin was also used in the Middle Ages, and is mentioned by Chaucer in
his "Man of Lawe's Tale," but was not brought into general use until
later. The beauties of the Court of Charles II., as pictured by Sir
Peter Lely, are usually clad in satin.
Velvet, that most sumptuous material, has always been held in high
estimation on account of the richness of its texture and fold. It has
always been used, since its introduction into the West, for robes of
state and for the more sumptuous kind of dress. The place of its origin
is not known, but it probably comes from China.
[Illustration: DUCHESS OF ANCASTER (AFTER HUDSON).]
In a letter preserved in the Record Office (_circa_ 1505) to Edmund de
la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, from his steward Killingworth (De la Pole had
been indicted of homicide and murder, "for slaying of a mean person in
his rage and fury," and had fled to Flanders), conveying excuses from
some person un-named, mentioned only as "your friend," for not having
communicated with De la Pole earlier, as he had hoped, to send him news
from England, the writer continues:--
"For your gown he axked me howe many elles velvet wold serve you.
I told hym xiiij Englishe yerdis, and then he saied, 'What lynyng
thereunto?' I answerde 'Sarcenet' by cause of the lest coste to helpe
it forward. And he saide to me, 'Wel, I shal see what I can doo
therin.' Soo, sir, if it please you to write to him in Duche, and thank
him, and geve but oon worde therin towching your gown, I doubte not ye
shal have hyt."
The patternings of woven brocades, damasks and other textiles afford
an interest quite apart from mere utility, or the purpose for which
they were intended to serve as an ornamental adjunct to dress, since
by their means we are able to trace the great ornamental traditions to
their original source in the East.
The history of the art of weaving in China is lost in obscurity, but we
may reasonably infer from our knowledge of the character of its people
that neither their methods nor the character of the ornamentation have
materially changed during a period of as much as two thousand years.
Dionysius Periegetes informs us that the Seres "make precious figured
garments resembling in colour the flowers of the field, and rivalling
in fineness the work of spiders."
It is certain that the Egyptians practised the art of weaving from very
early times, although the earliest ornamental fabrics found in Egypt
are of the sixth century A.D. In later times, however, their
woven fabrics were exceedingly sumptuous. Shakespeare's description of
the barge of Cleopatra will be familiar to all--
"The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne
Burned on the water:
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them; she did lie
In her pavilion--cloth of gold, of tissue," &c.
The Sicilian brocades of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were
the finest in the world. The character of their ornamentation betrays
their Eastern origin, and we may trace in them the various influences
which were brought to bear upon them by their successive conquerors,
and which left a lasting mark upon their art. The earliest ornamental
influence was that of Byzantium, which followed upon the conquest
of the island by Belisarius in 535. The patternings are made up of
grotesque animals, birds, griffins, chimeras, &c., intertwined with
conventional foliage or ornament of a purely abstract character. After
the Saracen conquest, resultant upon the preaching of Muhammad, we find
Arabic inscriptions freely introduced as part of the general decorative
motive. Gold thread is lavishly used, and, together with an admixture
of colour, usually forms the pattern, upon a coloured ground, dark or
light, as the case may be.
[Illustration: DAMASK IN SILK AND GOLD (SARACENIC, ELEVENTH TO
THIRTEENTH CENTURY).]
The tradition spread to the mainland of Italy, and looms were set up
in Lucca, Florence, Venice, Genoa, and elsewhere; the character of
the ornamentation gradually changing, however, as the Renascence
influence began to make itself felt. Even the most cursory study of
Italian painting will serve to give an idea of the splendour of the
dresses of the Italian Gothic and Renascence periods.
[Illustration: VENETIAN FABRIC IN SILK AND GOLD (THIRTEENTH CENTURY).]
It was Louis XI. who introduced the art of silk weaving into France,
and looms were established at Tours in 1480. In 1520 looms were set up
in Lyons by Francis I.
In England also the art of weaving flourished, and was employed for
ecclesiastical vestments, hangings, furniture, and other purposes, as
well as for civil dress. In the wardrobe accounts of Edward II. occurs
the item: "To a mercer in London for a green hanging of wool with
figures of Kings and Earls upon it, for the King's service in this hall
on solemn feasts at London," &c.
For the "mantell of the Garter" of Henry VII. "a pound and a half of
gold of Venys" was employed "aboute the making of a lace and boton."
Instances of the splendour of the costume at the different periods of
the past might be multiplied indefinitely.
The monk of Malmesbury describes the banner under which Harold fought
at Hastings as having been "embroidered in gold with the figure of
a man in the act of fighting, studded with precious stones, woven
sumptuously."
Chaucer describes the King's daughter in the "Squire of Low Degree" as
having--
"Mantell of ryche degre
Purple palle and armyne fre."
In the "Romaunt of the Rose" the dress of Mirth is described as
follows:--
"Full yong he was, and merry of thought,
And in samette, with birdes wrought,
And with gold beten full fetously
His bodie was clad full richely."
. . . . .
"A coronell on hur hedd sett,
Hur clothys wyth bestes and byrdes wer bete,
All abowte for pryde."