REIGNS OF LOUIS XI., CHARLES VIII., AND LOUIS XII.
1461 TO 1515.
Duchesses and bourgeoises under Louis XI.—“La grand’gorre,”
or sumptuosity—The “troussoire”—Allegorical and moral
costumes—Trains—Head-dresses—“Collets rebrassés”—Wigs
and false hair—Some results of the war in Italy—Italian
fashions—“Sollerets” and slippers—Gorgets—Garters—Jean Marot
writes against novelties—Anne of Brittany—Pins—Menot “the
golden-tongued”—A Parisian in the time of Louis XII.—Coat à
l’Italienne—Manufacture of stuffs.
The Empire of Fashion was scarcely founded, ere it began to promulgate
those despotic laws which have never been relaxed to the present day.
The spread of luxury, art, and comfort, which became manifest at the dawn
of the Renaissance, led to a sudden change in the whole character of
costume. This fact has been commented on by all historians; and can be
verified and explained by the archives of the period.
Although for the most part Louis XI. affected a great simplicity in
his dress, and was fond of playing the “bourgeois,” yet at times he
desired to see his palace filled with nobles richly attired, and wearing
magnificent stuffs, even of foreign manufacture. The astute sovereign
appreciated the influence of fashion on commercial prosperity.
Then commenced a competition in dress between the bourgeoisie of the
towns and the nobility; as says the poet,—
“En Paris, y en a beaucoup
Qui n’ont d’argent, vergier, ne terre,
Que vous jugeriez chascun coup
Alliés aux grands chefs de guerre.
Ils se disent issus d’Angleterre,
D’un comte, d’un baron d’Anjou,
Parents aux sénéchaux d’Auxerre,
Ou aux châtelains du Poitou,
Combien qu’ils soient saillis d’un trou,
De la cliquette d’un meunier,
Voire ou de la lignée d’un chou,
Enfans à quelque jardinier ...
Une simple huissière, ou clergesse
Aujourd’hui se présumera
Autant et plus qu’une duchesse;
Heureux est qui en finira!
Une simple bourgeoise aura
Rubis, diamans et joyaux,
Et Dieu sait si elle parlera
Gravement en termes nouveaux!”[10]...
Maillard, a preacher of the day, declaimed against “gorgeous” women
(“femmes à la grand’gorre”), rebuking them for their long trains, their
furs, and gold ornaments. He sketched the portrait of a lawyer’s wife
dressed like a princess. Other preachers drew comparisons between the
poverty of the people and the self-indulgence of fine ladies. “The poor,”
says one of them, “are dying of cold; while you, Madame Pompous, Madame
Boastful (“la braguarde”), you have seven or eight gowns in your coffer
that you do not put on thrice in the year.”
So long as the bourgeoises dressed above their station, it was naturally
next to impossible that the female aristocracy should not endeavour to
eclipse their humbler rivals. “The married ladies, and the young ladies
at the court of Louis XI., no longer wore trains to their gowns, but
they wore borderings of fur and of velvet, and of other materials the
same width as velvet; on their heads they wore round padded caps, with
peaks half a yard in height—some more, some less—and fastened above these
were long veils reaching to the ground behind, with silken girdles four
or five inches wide, with both the metal work and the tissue wide and
gilt, and weighing six or seven silvern ounces; and on their necks broad
collars of gold of diverse workmanship.”
One side of their long skirts was held up by a “troussoire” or clasp.
The troussoire consisted of a chain, of more or less value, which was
attached to the girdle and to which a small scent-box, some keys, and a
strong clasp for holding up the gown, besides other little articles, were
suspended.
Olivier de la Marche in his poem of “Le Triomphe des dames” (1464),
recommended fine ladies to wear costumes of allegorical and moral
significance, viz., slippers of humility, shoes of diligence, stockings
of perseverance, garters of firm purpose, a cotte of chastity, a
waist-band of magnanimity, a pincushion of patience, a purse of
liberality, a knife of justice, a ring of faith, a comb of stings, a hood
of hope, &c.
He spoke in jest; but Jean Juvénal des Ursins was in serious earnest,
when in 1467 he told the States-General, “Another wound of the State
lies in coats of silk; and as to women, God knows how they are attired,
in gowns of the said material, cottes, and in many and divers ways. In
bygone days we have seen how damosels and other women, by merely turning
up the edge of their dresses in a fashion called “profit,” looked like
handsome white cats; nowadays they make these “profits” of silk material
as wide as cloth, with great horns or high towers on their heads, or
couvre-chefs of stuff or silk reaching to the ground....”
Dresses were now profusely trimmed with ribbons and cords; and the mode
of the silk corset separate from the skirt was adopted; the gown was of
Florence satin, open up the front, and in winter lined with badger’s fur.
By these means noble ladies marked the distinction between themselves
and mere bourgeoises. A thin wooden busk in the front of the corset was
called a “coche.” Occasionally the chemise, artistically arranged, took
the place of the corset, properly so-called, which had itself succeeded
to the “bliaud.”
Towards 1480, women uncovered the neck very much in full dress, and
“collets” or collars were worn turned downwards almost to the arms. These
were called “rebrassés,” and were often trimmed with fur. Villon mentions
them in his “Grand Testament:”—
“Dames à rebrassez collets,
De quelconque condicion.”[11]...
Working women going into the towns to sell their merchandise or their
work, wore a white apron and a gown of cloth, serge, or woollen; they
were bare-headed, the hair being confined by a band on the forehead and
hanging loosely behind. They imitated the bourgeoises in the make of
their dresses, but refrained from trains.
The fashion of hanging sleeves was succeeded by that of tight,
close-fitting ones. Gowns were made with bodices laced up in front like
the Swiss costume; and the collars, sleeves, and edge of the skirt were
bordered with a wide band of velvet; the sleeves hung down to the ground.
A girdle of velvet covered with gold-work fitted tightly to the waist.
Another girdle called a “surceinte” embroidered with mottoes, initials,
and even with heraldic arms, confined the outer garment.
There were three kinds of head-gear, the pyramid, the truncated,
terminated by a button, and the small “barillet,” which was like a little
barrel. Hats were more general under Charles VI. and Charles VII., and
were worn at all times.
Long hair, whether natural or false, was called a wig. Poets raised their
voices against the false hair, which was worn over the forehead till it
touched the eyes; the ears were hidden by it, and the ends, reaching to
the shoulders, were curled. The hair was either white, or of the bright
yellow colour fashionable at the present day. An infusion of onion-skin
was sometimes used as a dye.
In the reign of Louis XI., French ladies “adorned” themselves with
enormous head-dresses, three quarters of a yard in height, stuffed into
various shapes, viz., a heart reversed, a shell, or a cushion, and
covered with beads and precious stones. Doorways were widened that
ladies might pass through them. Montesquieu, writing on the subject, says
that “architects have often been obliged to contravene the rules of their
art as to the dimensions of entrances to our apartments, in order to
bring them into proportion with women’s adornments.”
The fashion of long hair and also of false hair lasted until the close of
the reign of Louis XII.
The admirable miniatures on the manuscripts of the fifteenth century
certainly point to an improvement in head-dressing, as well as in attire
generally. We learn from them that the sugar-loaf head-dress was in
fashion during the whole of that century. It was ordinarily bordered in
front with gold embroidery on black velvet. That portion of the dress
which covered the chest was of black velvet, embroidered in the upper
part, and of gold tissue as far as the waist. The outer dress was of
blue velvet, embroidered in gold, and lined and bordered with crimson
velvet. The edge of the sleeves was of the same. The veil was white and
transparent, the belt green, and sparkling with gold ornaments. That part
of the under-dress which was visible below was violet; the shoes were
black.
Generally speaking, the train of a great lady was borne by a young girl.
The head-dress of the latter was black or brown velvet.
Our fair readers will remember that Charles VIII., son of Louis XI., made
a warlike expedition into Italy, where the “French fury” was lavishly
displayed. They are familiar, no doubt, with accounts of the entry of
Charles VIII. into Florence, Rome, Capua, and Naples successively. “The
discovery of Italy,” an historian very justly remarks, “had turned the
heads of the French; they were not strong enough to withstand its charm.
We use the right expression when we say ‘discovery.’ The companions of
Charles VIII. were not less astounded than were those of Christopher
Columbus.”
The Italians, on the other hand, greatly admired the agreeable manners
of the French. As Charles VIII. made his progress through their country,
they assumed the French mode of dress, and sent for all manner of finery
from France. Victors and vanquished made mutual exchange of manufactured
productions. The French, who still wore the striking costumes of the
days of chivalry, excited eager curiosity wheresoever they went, and the
greater the contrast between their garments and those of the Italians,
the more did the latter delight in wearing the French fashions. They
willingly exchanged their Genoese trinkets and jewels against the
products of the Arras looms, if only from mere love of novelty.
When the King of France had once more crossed the Alps and returned to
his capital, the French ladies in their turn experienced the fascination
that the soldiers of Charles VIII. had succumbed to in Italy. Their
“heads were” likewise “turned,” and their enthusiasm naturally had its
effect on the fashions of the day.
Our fair countrywomen laid aside the sombre garments of the time of
Louis XI., and began to wear the brightest colours, as well as several
materials of Milanese or Venetian manufacture. Many Italian fashions
were added to our national costume—viz. tight-fitting bodices, highly
ornamented; very wide sleeves; white gowns trimmed with many-coloured
fringes; and black veils. The ladies would no longer wear the hennin,
which had been so fashionable in the reign of Charles VI., and declared
it was horrible.
For poulaines “sollerets” were substituted; these were rounded to the
shape of the feet. Very light slippers were made in velvet or satin, of
the same shape as sollerets; and shoes, something like high pattens, that
were worn over the slippers. “Nos mignonnes,” says the poet Guillaume
Coquillart, in “Les Droits Nouveaulx,”—
“Nos mignonnes sont si trèshaultes,
Que, pour paraître grandes et belles,
Elles portent pantoufles haultes
Bien à vingt et quatre semelles.”[12]
Hose, or stockings, were composed of several pieces of stuff sewed
together. Chemises of woollen stuff were in general use. The “gorgerette”
or gorget, a linen collar, either plain or plaited, reached as high up
as the collar-bones, and was worn over the “piece” or “plastron” of stuff
that was laced across the chest. The “demi-ceint” was a small silken
scarf, wound about the waist and fastened in front by a rosette. The
“ceinture” was a wide ribbon, worn flat over the hips and ending in an
angle on the skirt, where it formed a rosette with two floating ends.
Among the accessories of dress were garters, either fastened by a buckle
or simply tied. These were ornamented, in the fifteenth century, with
mottoes or initials. Women also made use of pincushions, of purses in the
shape of bags, of knives, of “rings”—meaning probably necklaces, and of
paternosters or rosaries of gold, pearls, or other valuable materials.
These were fastened to the knot of the girdle, and hung down in front of
the gown. We have already mentioned these rosaries.
In the reign of Louis XII., the successor of Charles VIII., the dress
of women was but slightly changed. The upper gowns were made shorter,
reaching only to the knees, and resembled a wide cloak or cape, cut low
on the bosom.
One great novelty was the shape of the sleeves, which in the upper gown
remained wide and flowing, but those belonging to the under bodice
consisted of several separate pieces fastened together by ribbons. We can
picture to ourselves the elegant appearance of a sky-blue bodice, of a
dark blue cloth gown, and of green sleeves in superfine cloth. Some women
dressed in Genoese, or Milanese, or Greek fashion. The poet Jean Marot is
unsparing in his criticisms on such women:—
“De s’accoustrer ainsi qu’une Lucrèce,
A la lombarde ou la façon de Grèce,
Il m’est avis qu’il ne se peut faire
Honnestement.
“Garde-toi bien d’estre l’inventeresse
D’habitz nouveaux; car mainte pécheresse
Tantôt sur toy prendrait son exemplaire.
Si à Dieu veux et au monde complaire,
Porte l’habit qui dénote simplesse
Honnestement.”[13]
A considerable number of wealthy ladies began to frequent the court,
attracted thither by the fascinating manners of Anne of Brittany, “the
good queen,” whose whims became a law, according to which all Frenchwomen
regulated their dress, whatever might be their position in the social
scale.
It is worthy of remark that, at the close of the Middle Ages and during
the first years of the Renaissance, brides wore red or scarlet on their
wedding-day.
Anne of Brittany was celebrated for the beauty of her leg and foot, and
liked to wear her skirts short. Most women followed her example in that
respect.
For a long time past ladies had made use of pins, gilt pins even; they
now began to outstrip the bounds of moderation in their use. “Oh,
ladies!” exclaimed Michel Menot, the Franciscan monk, surnamed the Golden
Tongue, “Oh, ladies! who are so dainty, who so often miss hearing the
Word of God, though you have only to step across the gutter to enter the
church, I am certain it would take less time to clean out a stable for
forty-four horses than to wait until all your pins are fastened in their
places.... When you are at your toilet you are like a cobbler, whose
business is to ‘stop up,’ and to ‘rub,’ and to ‘put to rights,’ and who
needs a thousand different articles for bits and patches.” He added: “A
shoemaker’s wife wears a tunic like a duchess.”
Vainly did the preacher thunder against pins. Fashion could not be in
the wrong. Presumptuous were they who attacked her, for her partisans
increased with the number of her opponents.
We must now point out a change in the mode of wearing mourning.
The former queens of France had worn white for mourning. On the death of
Charles VIII., Anne of Brittany for the first time wore black. She wore
a white silk cord round her waist, and had a similar cord affixed to her
coat-of-arms, knotted in four places and twisted into four loops, forming
the figure of 8,[14] so as publicly to display her grief for the loss of
so beloved a husband.
Clément Marot, the son of Jean Marot, has given us the following sketch
of a fashionable Parisian lady in the time of Louis XII.:—
“O mon Dieu! qu’elle estoit contente
De sa personne ce jour-là;
Avecques la grâce qu’elle a,
Elle vous avoit un corset
D’un fin bleu, lacé d’un lacet
Jaune, qu’elle avoit faict exprès.
Elle vous avoit puis après
Mancherons d’escarlate verte,
Robe de pers, large et ouverte.
...
Chausses noires, petits patins,
Linge blanc, ceinture houppée,
Le chaperon faict en poupée....”[15]
Some commentary is needed on the above description to enable the reader
to form an accurate idea of a fine lady in Marot’s time.
The “corset d’un fin bleu” must be rendered by “a bodice of the finest
sky-blue.” Instead of “mancherons d’escarlate,” we must read, “brassards
or sleeves of the finest possible quality,” because the word “écarlate,”
or scarlet, was used in those days to denote quality, not colour, as at
present. The “chaperon faict en poupée” was a piece of stuff placed on
the head-dress.
Sometimes, as we see by a manuscript in the National Library, French
ladies would dress after the Italian fashion, that is, with a greater
quantity of jewels, and without head-gear; their hair being curled at the
side, and plaits wound round the head.
Although extravagance in dress had not yet reached the point which it
afterwards attained under the chivalrous Francis I., yet it began to be
universally displayed in both masculine and feminine attire.
At the privileged fairs, quantities of materials of more or less value
were offered for sale. Bourges was so famous for its cloth, that wealthy
purchasers frequently stipulated that their coats should be made in “fine
Bourges cloth.” Foreign manufactures of gold, silver, and silk entered
France by way of Susa, when coming from Italy; Spanish goods were sent by
way of Narbonne and Bayonne, whence they were forwarded direct to Lyons,
where they were unpacked and sold. The Paris ell was longer by one-half
than that of Flanders, Holland, England, and other countries.
Ordinary wool for women’s garments was sufficiently plentiful in France.
The finer cloths were generally manufactured from English and Spanish
wools. Lower Brittany and Picardy supplied, it is true, a somewhat
finer quality, which was used in the manufacture of certain cloths, and
in particular for one called _camelot_. Linen-cloth was produced in
considerable quantities, but was inferior in quality to the Dutch linen,
which was much esteemed, and formed an important item in the trousseaux
of young girls.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Francis the First 1515 to 1526
Francis the First 1530 to 1545]