In ancient Britain, from the earliest time to the arrival of the Saxons,
A.D. 450, we can find no mention made of ladies’ head-dress, and but
little is mentioned until about 1066, and even at this date not any style
existed, although Anglo-Saxon females of all ranks wore a veil, or long
piece of linen or silk wrapped around the head and neck. This part of
their dress was exceedingly unbecoming, perhaps partly owing to the want
of skill in the artists, and this head-dress was seldom worn except when
they went from home (see figures on preceding page), as the hair itself
was cherished and ornamented with as much attention as in modern times.
In an Anglo-Saxon poem the heroine is called, “The maid of the Creator
with twisted locks.”
About this time the fashions began to travel northward from Italy,
through Paris to London, and caps, hats, and bonnets of various and
fantastic shapes were introduced.
(See figures opposite.)