fabrics which the Prussian Government is issuing, the sarcophagus at
Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral in which the remains of Charlemagne rest has
been opened, and certain pieces of valuable silk have been extracted in
order that they may be examined and photographed. The great Frankish
Emperor's bones were wrapped in these costly cloths. One of them is
ancient Constantinople work, the production of the celebrated Imperial
Byzantine workshops, and represents a brilliantly coloured surface with
elephants embroidered in circles. The other piece is believed to be of
Sicilian origin, with a design of birds and hares.
Charlemagne's bones are still intact, with the exception of the
skull and one arm, which are in another part of the Cathedral.
Medical men who have examined these bones say that the Emperor was
a man of huge proportions. The Kaiser is greatly interested in the
preparation of this work on ancient tissues, and it was his Majesty
who induced the Archbishop of Cologne to consent to the opening of the
sarcophagus.--_Daily Paper._
III
THE
MANTLE
The gret Emetreus the Kyng of Ynde
Uppon a steede bay trapped in steel
Covered with cloth and of gold dyapred wel
Cam rydyng lyk the god of armes mars
His coote armour was a cloth of Tars
Cowched of perlys whyte round and grete
His sadil was of brend gold newe bete
A mantelet upon his schuldre hangyng
Bret-ful of Rubies reed and fir sparclyng
His crispe her lik rynges was i-ronne
And that was yalwe and gliteryng as the sonne.
CHAUCER, _The Knight's Tale_.
[Illustration: THE CORONATION MANTLE.
_Preserved in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna._]
III
THE MANTLE
Of the famous mantles recorded in history, one of the first which will
occur to the mind is that of Elijah, in which he hid his face when he
stood in the cave at Horeb, and heard the still, small voice, which
came after the fire, which came after the earthquake, which came after
the great strong wind which rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the Lord. And afterwards, when he "found Elisha the son
of Shaphat who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he
with the twelfth, Elijah passed by him and _cast his mantle upon him_."
And again, on the shores of Jordan, "Elijah took his mantle, and
wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither
and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground."
. . . . .
"And it came to pass as they still went on, and talked, that, behold,
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them
both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."
"And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of
Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more; and he took
hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces."
"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went
back, and stood by the bank of Jordan."
. . . . .
"And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw
him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came
to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."
St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, soldier of God, dividing his mantle with
the beggar at the gates of Amiens, is one of many similar stories in
the earlier history of the Christian Church. It is a variation of the
story of St. Christopher, and is intended as a lesson in charity. The
legend recounts that Christ appeared to him the following night covered
with the half of his mantle.
What schoolboy but does not remember the story of Raleigh's mantle,
which he cast into the mire in order that Queen Elizabeth's feet might
not be soiled? "The night had been rainy, and just where the young
gentleman stood, a small quantity of mud interrupted the Queen's
passage. As she hesitated to pass on, the gallant, throwing his cloak
from his shoulders, laid it on the miry spot, so as to ensure her
stepping over it dryshod. Elizabeth looked at the young man, who
accompanied this act of devoted courtesy with a profound reverence, and
a blush that overspread his whole countenance. The Queen was confused,
and blushed in her turn, nodded her head, hastily passed on, and
embarked in her barge without saying a word."[7]
The mantle is the cloak or outermost covering to the body, and was
originally worn either when the weather was unpropitious, or, as
occasion demanded.
The peplum of the Greeks was, in fact, a mantle, worn by both sexes,
and was occasionally very long, passing twice round the body, first
underneath the arms and then over the shoulder. In rainy or cold
weather it was pulled over the head, and also in times of mourning.
The peplum had no clasps or fastenings of any sort, but was kept in its
place by its own involutions, of which the combinations were almost
endless.
It will readily be understood that the natural foldings of drapery,
possessing in themselves so much variety and interest, when thrown
over a form so beautifully proportioned as is the human figure, gave
the utmost grace of line and form, and this fact makes it all the more
surprising that the natural foldings of drapery are not taken greater
advantage of in modern dress. The peplum was often diapered with
sprigs, spots, stars, or other patternings, and was occasionally richly
bordered.
The Greeks also occasionally wore a shorter and simpler cloak, called
chlamys, in lieu of the more ample peplum; such a short mantle is the
one which we see upon the shoulders of the Apollo Belvidere.
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE TOGA.]
The Roman toga corresponded to the Greek peplum, but differed from
it in shape, and was more ample, for while the peplum was square, or
rather oblong, the toga assumed the form of two semicircles--a larger
and a smaller one, or, more correctly speaking, a semicircle and the
smaller segment of a circle, which was doubled over the semicircle
before adjustment. One end of the toga was then placed upon the left
shoulder in such a position that the end or point just touched the
ground, the rest of the garment drawn round the back of the figure,
underneath the right arm, and flung again over the left shoulder; a
sort of loop or bag was then drawn out at the waist in front and
served as a pocket. The toga measured 18 feet from tip to tip, or three
times the height of a man. It was worn always over the tunic--at any
rate during the later Roman time. Horace, in his fourth Epode, thus
satirises an upstart:--
"Mark, as along the Sacred Way thou flauntest,
Puffing thy toga, twice three cubits wide."
[Illustration: THE TOGA.
_From Hope's "Costume of the Ancients."_]
The material of the toga was wool, in the earlier time and for the
common people; afterwards silk and other materials were used, coloured
or bordered according to the rank or station of the wearer.
The mantle--that is, the simple square or oblong cloak which was
derived from the Greek peplum--was worn in different ways from the
Roman period onwards, either thrown loosely over the shoulders as was
the peplum, or fastened at the shoulder or breast by means of fibulæ,
rings, or cords. In a bas-relief found at Autun and engraved in
Montfaucon, an archdruid is represented with a long mantle reaching to
the ground, the ends drawn through a ring upon the left shoulder.
The large coronation mantle of the Holy Roman Empire, preserved in
the Imperial Treasury at Vienna, is semicircular in shape, of red
silk, richly embroidered in gold thread, the outlines emphasised by
rows of seed pearls. The design, which is divided in the middle by a
representation of a palm tree, figures on either side a lion springing
upon a camel, and is treated with that noble convention characteristic
of early Sicilian design. On the border of the curved edge is worked an
Arabic inscription (common in earlier Sicilian fabrics), stating that
the robe was worked in the Royal factory at Palermo in 1134.
One of the gifts which the five maidens present to Beryn from Duke
Isope is a purple mantle--
"The thirde had a mantell of lusty fressh coloure
The uttir part of purpell i-furred with peloure."
_The Tale of Beryn._
The mantle was a distinguishing feature of the costume of the Franks,
which was a variation of Roman or classic dress, _i.e._, the loose
tunic and mantle, with the addition of hose or leg covering with cross
gartering; both tunic and mantle were often elaborately bordered in a
style of ornament which strongly betrayed, in fact, was a development
of, Byzantine influences.
King John of Gascogny having been counselled by his barons to yield
up to Charlemagne the four sons of Aymon, after much sorrow, summons
his secretary--"Come forth, syre Peter, and write a letter from me to
the Kinge Charlemagne, as I shall telle you: It is that I sende hym
salutacyon wyth goode love, and yf he wyll leve me my londe in peas, I
promyse hym that afore ten dayes ben paste, I shall delyver unto hym
the foure sones of Aymon, and he shall fynde theym in the playne of
Valcolours clothed with scarlette furred wyth ermynes, and ridynge upon
mewles, berynge in theyr handes flowres and roses for a token, bycause
that men shall better knowe them."
Charlemagne calls then his chamberlain--"Make a lettre to Kyng Yon of
Gascoyne in my behalve. Wryte that I sende hym salutacyon and goode
love, and that yf he dooth for me as he sayth, I shall encrease his
royame wyth fourtene goode castelles, and therof I gyve hym for surete
our lorde and saynte Denys of Fraunce, and that I sende hym four
mauntelles of scarlette furred wyth ermynes, for to clothe wythall the
traytoures, when they shall goo to the playne of Valcoloures, and there
they shall be hanged, yf God wyll."[8]
The Venetian mantle which Charlemagne wore was, according to an early
French writer quoted by Strutt, of a grey or blue colour. It was
quadrangular in its form, and so doubled that when placed upon the
shoulders it hung down as low as the feet before and behind, but on the
sides it scarcely reached to the knees.
In the Anglo-Saxon dress of the earlier period, the mantle is a simple
square with a border on the outer side, the two upper corners being
gathered together at the shoulders and fastened with brooches connected
by a chain. It is an instance of a very decorative effect being
produced by simple means.
The coronation mantle of Edward the Confessor was richly embroidered by
his Queen, Editha.
William of Malmesbury mentions a mantle presented to Henry I. by Robert
Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln, which was lined with black sables with white
spots, and cost £100, a large sum in those days.
The mantle, during the Norman period, underwent little change. It was
fastened, either upon one of the shoulders, generally the right, or in
front, by means of fibulæ or pins of an ornamental character. In the
earliest sculptured effigies of English Sovereigns which we possess,
those of Henry I. and his Queen Matilda at the west door of Rochester
Cathedral, the King is represented in a long dalmatic, with a loose
mantle thrown over his left arm. The Queen has a more formal mantle,
resting upon either shoulder, the system of fastening of which is
hidden by the two long plaits of hair which fall down on either side,
but which was probably some kind of ornamental strap. The ordinary
mantles of this period were often provided with a "capa" or cowl, which
was drawn over the head and frequently used in lieu of a hat.
[Illustration: STATUE OF QUEEN MATILDA AT ROCHESTER.]
In the effigies of the Plantagenet Kings, the mantles are generally of
the long flowing character above described, varied by rich borderings
or embroiderings. Henry II., however, introduced a shorter mantle
(cloak of Anjou), from which circumstance he obtained the sobriquet of
"Curt manteau." The effigy of Eleanor of Castile, his Queen, in the
Abbey of Fontevraud in Normandy, shows a mantle embroidered with a
"powdering" of gold crescents. That of Cœur de Lion, in the same
Abbey, has a square-bordered mantle fastened at the breast by a fibula
at the upper corners. The two lower corners are plainly shown in the
statue folded over each other.
During the reign of Henry III. costume generally increased in
splendour. The effigy of this monarch, however, exhibits a loose plain
mantle, fastened by a fibula on the right shoulder, the folds of the
mantle hanging in a series of regular festoons over the front of the
figure.
In the Harleian MSS. is a satirical Latin "Song upon the Tailors" of
this reign (Henry III.), an English version of which is included in Mr.
Wright's "Political Songs," published by the Camden Society. Addressing
the tailors, it commences:--
"I have said ye are gods; why should I omit the service which should
be said on festival days? Gods certainly ye are, who can transform an
old garment into the shape of a new one. The cloth, while fresh and
new, is made either a cape or mantle; but, in order of time, first it
is a cape, after a little space this is transformed into the other:
Thus ye change bodies. When it becomes old, the collar is cut off;
when deprived of the collar it is made a mantle: Thus in the manner
of Proteus are garments changed. When at length winter returns, many
engraft immediately upon the cape a capuce; then it is squared; after
being squared it is rounded, and so it becomes an amice. If there
remain any morsels of the cloth or skin which is cut, they do not want
a use: of these are made gloves. This is the general manner, they all
make one robe out of another, English, Germans, French, and Normans,
with scarcely an exception. Thus _cape_ is declined, but _mantel_
otherwise: in the first year while it is fresh, the skin and the cloth
being both new, it is laid up in a box; when, however, the fur begins
to be worn off, and the thread of the seams broken, the fur is clipped
and placed on a new mantle, until at last, in order that nothing may be
lost, it is given to the servant for his wages."
[Illustration: LORD BURLEIGH, 1520-1598.
_National Portrait Gallery._
_Photo by Emery Walker._]
The vestments of the most noble Order of the Garter, founded, as every
student of history knows, in the reign of Edward III.,[9] consisted
originally of a mantle, a tunic, and capuchon, of blue woollen cloth,
cut to the fashion of the period, the knights differing only from the
monarchs in respect of the tunic being lined with miniver instead of
ermine. All three garments were closely diapered or powdered with
garters of gold, the mantle having one larger than the rest on the left
shoulder, enclosing a shield, Argent, with the cross of St. George,
Gules.
The vestments of this Order have been constantly altered during
different periods. In the seventh year of Richard II. the surcoat or
tunic was of "violet in grain," in the eleventh year white, and in the
twelfth and nineteenth of "long blue cloth." They were changed again to
white in the first year of Henry V., another change to scarlet in the
reign of Henry VI., and afterwards back again to white.
The number of embroidered garters on the coat and chaperon were in
this reign limited to 120 for a duke, 110 for a marquis, 90 for an
earl, decreasing in the same ratio to 60 in the case of a knight
bachelor. The King's was unlimited; on the surcoat and hood of Henry
VI. there were 173.
The material of the mantle was changed to velvet during this reign,
lined with white damask or satin.
In the reign of Henry VII. an important addition was made to the
insignia of this Order, that of the _collar_. The whole habit sent to
the King of Castile in the twenty-seventh year of this reign consisted
of mantle, kirtle, hood and _collar_, and was of purple velvet lined
with silk or sarcenet, the embroidered garters entirely disappearing.
The Statutes of the Order were reformed by Henry VIII., who also
altered the dress to the fashion of the period. The flat velvet hat
or cap, so familiar in Holbein's portraits, superseded the chaperon
or hood, which was, however, still worn hung or depending upon the
shoulder, and called the _humerale_. Both hat and surcoat were of
crimson velvet.
The lesser _George_, or jewel of the Order, was introduced during this
reign, suspended upon the breast by either a gold chain or riband,
which latter was _black_.
In the reign of Elizabeth, the flat hat gives place to one with a
higher crown, being more in keeping with the fashion of the time, but
no other alteration of the habit was made.
During the reign of Charles II. ostrich or heron plumes appear in the
cap, and the broad blue riband was worn over the left shoulder and
under the right arm.
As at present worn, the mantle is of purple velvet lined with taffetas,
bearing on the left shoulder the badge of the Order, viz., a silver
escutcheon charged with the red cross of St. George and enriched with
the garter and motto. In chapters it is worn over the uniform or Court
dress. The surcoat, or short gown without sleeves, is made of crimson
velvet, lined, like the mantle, with white taffetas silk. The hood,
worn on the right shoulder of the mantle, is made of the same velvet as
the surcoat, and lined with the same material.
Matthew Paris, describing the solemnisation of the marriage of
Alexander III. of Scotland with the Princess Margaret, sister of Henry
III., says:--
"There were great abundance of people of all ranks, multitudes of the
nobility of England, France, and Scotland, with crowds of Knights and
military Officers, the whole of them pompously adorned with garments
of silk, and so transformed with excess of Ornaments that it would
be impossible to describe their dresses without being tiresome to
the reader, though it would excite his astonishment. Upwards of one
thousand Knights on the part of the King of England attended the
nuptials in vestments of silk, curiously wrought in embroidery; and
these vestments on the morrow were laid aside; and the same Knights
appeared in new robes of still more magnificent decoration. The nobles
of Scotland and of France did not fall a whit below those of England
in their show and parade. The Barons and the Knights were habited in
robes of divers colours; sometimes they appeared in green, sometimes
in blue, then again in grey, and afterwards in scarlet, varying the
colours according to their fancies, or the wills of the ladies to whom
they had dedicated their amorous vows. Their breasts were adorned with
fibulæ, or brooches of gold; and their shoulders with precious stones
of great magnitude, such as emeralds, sapphires, jacinths, pearls,
rubies, and other rich ornaments. The ladies who attended had rings of
gold, set with topaz stones and diamonds, upon their fingers; their
heads were adorned with elegant crests or garlands; and their wimples
were composed of the richest stuffs, embroidered with pure gold, and
embellished with the rarest jewellery."
[Illustration: LODOWICK, DUKE OF RICHMOND AND LENNOX.
_Engraved by J. Barrà._]
In an inventory of the wardrobe and jewels of Henry V., taken in 1423
at his decease, mention is made of _heukes_ of scarlet cloth and
camlet, and _pilches_ of grey fur. The word _pilche_ is a corruption
of the Latin _pelliceus_, or the Saxon _pylce_, and represented a coat
of fur worn during cold weather. The modern word _pelisse_ used to
describe a child's coat is derived from the same source.[10]
"After grete hete comith colde,
No man cast his pilche away."
CHAUCER.
A farewell letter of Bishop Ridley (Foxe's "Book of Martyrs"),
describing the sufferings of Christ's true soldiers, says:--
"They were stoned, hewn asunder, tempted, fell, and were slain upon the
edge of the sword; some wandered to and fro in sheep's pilches, in
goats' pilches, forsaken, oppressed, afflicted."
[Illustration: PORTION OF THE PICTURE OF THE MIRACLE OF ST. BERNARD.
_By Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Pinacoteca, Perugia._]
In the inventory above referred to are mentioned, "gounes de noier
damask, furrez de sides de foynes et marterons." The cost of these furs
is also given--"iii pares de foyns, chascun cont' c. bestes, pris le
pec' x_d._ xii_li._ x_s._," the marteron being more costly.
The foyne appears to have been the same as the polecat or fitchet.
The pylce was in common use during the Anglo-Saxon period, and worn by
all classes. In Michel's "Chroniques Anglo-Normandes," _c._ 1185, is
described a meeting on a little bridge near Westminster between Tosti,
Earl of Huntingdon, and Siward, Earl of Northumberland. "The said Earl
approached so near to Siward on the bridge that he dirtied his pelisse
(_pelles_) with his miry feet; for it was then customary for noblemen
to use skins without cloth." This evidently referring to a long mantle
or cloak.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions the great gifts and many treasures
of skins decked with purple, pelisses of marten skin, weasel skin, and
ermine skin, which King Malcolm of Scotland and his sister Margaret
gave to the Conqueror in 1074.
During the general change which came about in costume in the reign of
Richard II. a shorter mantle or cloak began to be worn, which continued
at intervals and under various forms until the universal adoption of
coats at the close of the reign of Charles II.
In the tempera painting of the miracle of St. Bernard by Fiorenzo
di Lorenzo in the Pinacoteca at Perugia, a young man is wearing a
short cloak or mantle, hanging in very formal folds from the shoulder
and reaching a little below the middle. The mantle is buttoned upon
the right shoulder, thus repeating the principle of the Roman toga,
which leaves the right arm free. A similar short cloak is figured in
a copy of Froissart's Chronicles in the Harleian MSS. in the British
Museum. There was a reason for the mantle being fastened upon the right
shoulder; it was that the right arm is the sword-arm. This, however,
does not apply to the toga, which is the last garment that a man would
fight in. Two other figures in the picture above mentioned are habited
in long cloaks reaching to the feet, with full sleeves; the cloak of
the dark figure lined and bordered with miniver, and the other of a
different fur.
These long robes with ample sleeves constantly occur in Benozzo
Gozzoli's frescoes in the Campo Santo at Pisa, either flowing loosely
or confined by a girdle, and generally lined and bordered with miniver,
which appears to be a favourite enrichment with Benozzo. These garments
are worn usually by more elderly persons.
In a small but extremely elaborate and beautiful picture by Fra
Angelico, in the Convent of San Marco at Florence, a figure appears
habited in one of these long robes, having openings for the sleeves of
the under garment, which are of a different material, to pass through.
The dress is confined by a rich girdle.
During the reign of Elizabeth the short cloak, or cape cloak, continued
to be worn. It reached scarcely below the waistbelt, was provided with
a collar, which was often deep, and was lined with silk or satin of a
different colour to the outside, often extremely rich.
"Here is a cloke cost fifty pound, wife,
Which I can sell for thirty when I have seen
All London in't, and London has seen me."
BEN JONSON, _The Devil is an Ass_.
The Spanish cloak was thrown loosely over the shoulders somewhat after
the manner of the toga. It was customary to wrap it around the left arm
to serve as a shield in duels.
In the portrait of Prince Henry, eldest son of James I. (p. 103), the
Prince is figured as wearing a long mantle reaching to the knees. It
has a collar, a richly jewelled border, and is lined with silk damask.
The Puritan cloak did not differ materially in shape from that worn by
the Cavaliers, but, like the rest of Puritan dress, was entirely bare
of ornament:--
"He was tall and fair, and had plain but very good cloaths on his back"
(Bunyan, "Life of Mr. Badman").
There are a number of references to dress in Pepys's "Diary," which
covers a period of ten years, 1659-69.
Under date July 1, 1660, he writes: "This morning came home my fine
camlett cloak, with gold buttons, and a silk suit, which cost me much
money, and I pray God to make me able to pay for it."
About this time a shorter cloak, reaching to a little below the waist,
came into fashion. On October 7th (Lord's Day) of the same year, 1660,
occurs the entry: "To Whitehall on foot, calling at my father's to
change my long black cloake for a short one, (long cloakes being now
quite out), but he being gone to church, I could not get one."
[Illustration: PRINCE HENRY, ELDEST SON OF JAMES I.]