THE CARLOVINGIAN PERIOD.
987 TO 1270.
Earliest times of the Carlovingian period—Variety of
costume in the provinces—Fashions in the Duchy of
France—French taste dating from the eleventh century—Luxury
increases with each generation—The dominical—The
“bliaud”—Canes of apple-wood—Women in the twelfth
century—Head-dresses—“Afiche”—Serpent-tails—Pelisses—The
thirteenth century—“Grèves” and veils are in fashion—The
“couvre-chef” in the fourteenth century—The skirt, or
“cotte-hardie,” surcoat, or overall, or over-skirt, cape,
trained skirt, and “gauzape”—Accessories—Emblazoned
gowns—Various kinds of stuffs.
By degrees, according as the nation acquired unity, and France was
in process of self-construction, dress became more original and more
special. The remembrance of the Roman occupation and the influences of
the barbaric invasion were visibly fading away. Gallo-Roman, Frankish,
and German women no longer dwelt on the soil of our country, their
place was taken by Frenchwomen of feudal times and of the middle ages,
whose nationality became every day more decided. These were our real
ancestresses, who neither in their dress nor in their homes were content
to follow the fashions of antiquity.
From the accession of the Capet family until the Renaissance, variety in
dress became developed in all those western provinces that were destined
to be welded at a later period into one homogeneous France. In Brittany,
Burgundy, Flanders, Gascony, and Provence, the women adopted a costume of
their own, adding to one general principle of form a number of details.
Some of these still exist at the present day, but it would be too tedious
to describe them.
The Duchy of France, which formed the kernel of our modern France, will
suffice to afford us an exact idea of olden fashions; just as Paris is
nowadays the great centre and starting-point of every innovation in the
toilet of our fair contemporaries.
Dress, fashion, and luxury varied considerably from and after the
eleventh century. William, Archbishop of Rouen, caused a Council of
the Church to be held in 1096. At this council it was decreed that men
wearing long hair should be excluded from the Church during life, and
that after death prayer should not be offered for their souls.
Taste in France became improved through the commercial relations existing
with the East, and the rudimentary style of dress of the two earlier
races was succeeded by something more artistic, and more easily adapted
to the art of chivalry. Women adorned their brows with bands of jewels,
wreaths of roses, or golden nets.
It is no exaggeration to say that each succeeding generation saw greater
attention paid to dress by both men and women, the latter especially;
that caprice began to show itself in those curious eccentricities which
still afford us food for laughter, and that luxury reigned in consequence
over all the population, in spite of the efforts of those in authority,
who endeavoured to regulate the tastes of all classes by sumptuary laws.
There are many miniatures of women of rank in the eleventh century, in
which they are represented as wearing a mantle and veil. The latter was
called a “dominical,” because it was usually worn at the services of the
Church on Sundays. Women were bound to wear this veil when receiving Holy
Communion. According to the synodical statutes women who were without
their veil were obliged to defer their Communion until the following
Sunday. At the moment of receiving the Sacred Host they held one end of
the “dominical” in the left hand.
A crown or a diadem encircled the veil of queens and princesses. Widows
wore, in addition, a bandeau covering the forehead and fitting round the
face so as to hide the throat and neck. They wore no jewels, not even
rings. The veil of a lady of gentle birth reached to her feet, but that
of a plebeian might not fall below the waist.
In the eleventh century women also wore “bliauds,” a sort of gown
reaching to the feet, with deep folds on either side, but scanty in front
and behind. The shape of the “bliaud” was afterwards altered, and long
sleeves were used in place of half sleeves. For travelling they might
wear the “garde-corps,” a long dress, open for a short distance from the
edge of the skirt in front, and with long wide sleeves; these they often
did not use as such, and in that case they hung loosely at the sides.
They also made use of walking-sticks of apple-wood, such as had been used
in earlier times by the Frankish warriors. It is recorded that Constance,
the second wife of King Robert, knocked out the eye of her confessor with
one of these canes. The Carlovingian women, as we have seen, had also
made use of walking-sticks.
From the beginning of the twelfth century many women wore round their
head a simple ribbon, ornamented with flowers or embroideries in the
case of the court ladies, who wore besides either a sort of chin-cloth
surrounding the face, or a “claque-oreille”—i.e. a hat with falling brims.
Women of the people wore veils or cloth hoods; those of high rank hoods
of velvet. These head-dresses were very becoming to Frenchwomen, who
altered them but slightly in the progress of time. In addition to these,
we remark in old illuminated MSS. head-dresses of hair only, a very
simple and yet elegant style.
From 1130 to 1140, women of noble rank divided their hair into two thick
plaits, falling in front of the shoulders, or, parting it as before,
they fastened the two long locks together by means of narrow bands of
silk or of gold tissue. Such hair-dressing as this required much care
and attention. Long plaits remained in fashion until about 1170, when
our countrywomen began to conceal their hair under a veil, or by a band
passing under the chin and fastened on the crown of the head, while the
hair was gathered together in a chignon at the nape of the neck.
At the same period they preferred plaques to necklaces. They wore these
plaques on the chest as brooches or clasps. The “afiche” or chest-clasp
was generally of a circular shape, and ornamented at each end with
a network of fine workmanship in precious metal set with pearl. The
handkerchief, of some valuable material, hung at the waist with the keys.
At the end of the twelfth century, Mabille de Retz, a noble and learned
lady of Provence, wore a fur-bordered gown without a waist-band. The
left side and left sleeve of the bodice are white, the other side blue.
Parti-coloured garments were already in vogue.
At times women wore their sleeves _à la bombarde_, like the leg-of-mutton
sleeves, of which I shall treat when writing of the Restoration. At other
times they ornamented their gowns with gold round the throat; again, they
preferred before everything a dress _à queue de serpent_. The Prior of
Vigeois raised his voice against the long-tailed gowns. “The tail,” said
he, “gives a woman the look of a serpent.”
The Council of Montpellier forbade the appendices in question under
penalty of excommunication. Tunics made of fur were called “pelisses.”
The sleeves of “bliauds” were trimmed with puffs, braid, or embroidery.
Beneath the “bliaud” drawers or the “bache” were worn.
One hundred years later women divided their hair in front, forming a
parting that was called a “grève” (or shore). Many of them began to dress
their hair without extraneous ornament, in all kinds of ways, and with no
little skill. They wore a veil, as was rigorously enforced by the Church;
for according to an Article of the Council of Salisbury, no priest might
hear the confession of an unveiled woman. This veil covered the head so
entirely that it was impossible to see whether a woman had any hair or
not.
In the fourteenth century Frenchwomen left off the veil in favour of the
“cornette,” a sort of coif or hood. Their hats were called “couvre-chefs”
(or head-coverings). The frame was of parchment, covered with fine cloth,
silk, or velvet; it was fantastic enough, if I may make use of that
modern expression.
But the couvre-chef did not remain long in fashion; it lasted during a
few years only, probably on account of its extraordinary appearance.
With regard to head-dresses women were about to fall, as we shall see,
into strange and costly vagaries, and even to take pleasure in offending
against the laws of modesty.
For a very long period Frenchwomen had assumed a costume almost similar
to that of men, and consequently of a grave style. They had worn both the
skirt or “cotte hardie” and the surcoat, with a pointed head-dress, from
which hung a veil covering their shoulders and neck, something like the
_guimpe_ of a nun. To the surcoats were added enormous flowing sleeves,
which softened the severity of their appearance, and made them more
agreeable to the eye.
In the romance of “Ermine de Reims” the following passage occurs:—
“Two women approached me, wearing surcoats a yard longer than themselves,
so that they must needs carry in their arms that which would have dragged
on the ground; and they had also long cuffs on their surcoats, hanging
from the elbows....”
The greater number of the romance writers of the Middle Ages describe
costumes of a similar nature. The surcoat, worn by both sexes alike in
the reign of St. Louis, derived its name, in all probability, from the
German _cursat_, signifying a sort of gown. A garment worn over their
cloaks by the Knights of the Star, an Order instituted by John the Good,
was also called a surcoat.
The surcoat was passed over the shoulders. It was as wide behind as in
front, and was hollowed out at the sides. It reached to below the hips,
where it was attached to a very long skirt. Marguerite de Provence, the
wife of St. Louis, wore a surcoat of ermine, and a gown, the lower edge
embroidered with pearls and precious stones.
According to some bas-reliefs in ivory (twelfth century) the Queen of
France wore a dress buttoned in front, with sleeves also buttoning from
the elbow to the wrist; a mantle open at the sides so as to afford a
passage for the arms, and a large collar that left the throat and neck
uncovered, ending in two points. The other figures wear gowns closed in
front, and in some instances with double sleeves. The upper sleeve is
wide at the edge and reaches only to the elbow.
At the same period both men and women wrapped themselves during the
severe cold of winter in a cape or cope, a long mantle with a hood that
could be drawn over the head in wet weather. The “chape à pluie,” hood or
cope, was probably gathered in front. How indispensable it must have been
to ladies in travelling! It preserved them from cold and fog, and was as
useful as the waterproof of the present day. An ancient writer speaks of
a count and countess whose poverty was so great that they had but one
“chape” between them. In the reign of Louis VII. only virtuous women had
the right to wear these garments in the streets.
By retaining only the upper part of the chape or mantle, the hood came
into existence, with its curtain or cape for the shoulders. To this was
generally added a roll on the top, and a veil hanging down behind. The
chaperon or hood was a sign of plebeian estate, and remained in fashion
for several centuries.
The long-trained skirt of princesses and noble ladies, with turned
back collar and narrow closed sleeves, was sometimes open down to the
ground in front, and sometimes closed and trimmed with buttons, and
covered with a mantle. The lower part of the face and throat were
hidden by a “guimpe.” Ladies frequently adopted the “gauzape” or
sleeveless gown, which was emblazoned, long-trained, and bordered with
ermine, thus distinguishing them from plebeians; for the most part
they wore a handsome hood, or a coronet of pearls, and an aumônière
or bag, remarkable either for its material or the needlework lavished
upon it. This was generally speaking either a gift, or embroidered
by the fair hands of the wearer. When the lady was travelling, her
aumônière contained besides coin and jewels, a few simple medicaments,
writing-tablets, etc. It was a small bag closed by a clasp or a
running-string. It was destined to remain in fashion during all the
Middle Ages, and afterwards to reappear as a passing caprice at various
periods.
The costumes of Blanche of Castille, and of Marguerite of Provence,
are interesting examples of the fashions of their day. Feminine dress
first became splendid in the thirteenth century, when great ladies and
wealthy bourgeoises with their long tresses and with something in their
carriage not unlike the Greek priestess, or the Roman matron, began to
wear closely-fitting gowns, frequently ornamented with a belt of silk, or
cloth of gold; the surcoat, and the fur-bordered mantle. A veil, fastened
on the crown of the head, flowed over the shoulders. Occasionally the
gown was open on the chest, and disclosed a sort of collar or chemisette
artistically embroidered.
The ladies of highest birth then began to emblazon these closely-fitting
gowns, fastened high at the throat. On the right side they placed their
husband’s coat of arms, on the left that of their own family. They cut
open their sleeves in an extraordinary way, from elbow to wrist, whence
hung a piece of the stuff.
A gown was made “historical” by embroidering it with _fleurs-de-lis_,
birds, fishes, and emblems of all sorts, and thus became a portable guide
to genealogy.
Let us here remark that materials for garments had greatly increased in
number. There was “cendal” almost the same as our silk at the present
day, and “samite” which apparently greatly resembled cendal. The latter
was made in every colour, both plain, and striped in two or three shades.
Samite, a thick silk of six strands, was, for the most part, white,
green, or red. Then there was “pers,” or dark blue cloth; “camelin,” a
fabric made from camels’ hair, of which “barracan” was only a variety.
The warp of the barracan assumed the appearance of bars, whence many
historians derive the name of the material itself. There was “isambrun”
also, viz. cloth dyed brown; “molekin,” a linen material; “brunette,” a
brown stuff; “bonnette,” a green cloth, and “galebrun,” a brown coloured
cloth.
There was also a material still coarser than camelin called “bureau,”
there was “fustaine,” a strong stuff manufactured from cotton, and
finally “serge,” woven of wool and occasionally mixed with thread.
The arts of weaving and dyeing had made extraordinary progress; a taste
for handsome materials had spread even among the lowest ranks of society.
It would appear that the silk manufacturers of Rheims were not very
scrupulous. They cheated their customers by introducing wool or thread
into stuffs that they sold as pure silk; or they made use of silk badly
dyed. At Rheims and many other places the saying, “He lies like a dyer,”
passed into a proverb.
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