IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Sumptuous and ever more sumptuous grew dress in the fourteenth century,
when the outfit brought by Isabella of France, upon the occasion of her
marriage with Edward II., was a conspicuous example of the possibilities
of extravagance. Historians have it that her robes were of gold and
silver and of shot taffeta and velvet, that there were many beautiful
furs, and that six dozen coifs and 419 yards of linen, and six dresses
of green cloth, six dresses splendidly marbled, and six dresses of rose
scarlet were included in her possessions. Sovereigns in those times took
unto themselves some pride in leading the fashions, and we have Anne,
wife of Richard II., effecting the introduction of the _côte hardie_, a
garment not unlike a waistcoat, fitting closely on the hips and trimmed
round with a border of fur and buttoned down the front. This was cut
square below the neck and boasted long tight-fitting sleeves, and was
made of either plain or embroidered material, or it displayed, as did
so many of the garments of that day, an embroidered border. Embroidery
flourished in the reign of Richard II., when dress, petticoat, and mantle
would be emblazoned with the arms of the wearer's family, and the
device of a bird and tree adorned with stately grace many a mantle of
Richard's Queen, who must be credited with a most admirable inclination
towards beautiful frocks. In the picture given she is shown wearing a
train of peacock-blue velvet bordered with gold and embroidered with
the _fleurs-de-lys_, while her head appears to great advantage with a
short veil beneath her crown, her hair being braided over the ears and a
small lawn band supporting her chin. The sleeve of this frock shows the
fancy which obtained for the long scarf held above the elbow and falling
with long ends edged with fur; and the little chemisette and the white
cuffs give a winning suggestion of simplicity to an attire completely
magnificent.
[Illustration: THE QUEEN OF RICHARD II.]
Her royal consort decked himself with dress no less elaborate, fur, gold,
embroidery, and brocade and velvet all having the privilege of adorning
His Majesty, whose courtiers wore robes emblazoned and embroidered with
precious stones, and mantles sliced in pointed leaf or square indented
edges. Parti-coloured garments were their delight, the dress often being
divided in two, half in one colour and half in another, hose suffering
like treatment; and their wide sleeves, known as "devil's receptacles,"
trailed along the ground, with many slashings to decorate them. The
Troubadours gaily twanged the guitar and other instruments at the
tournament, where the dames and matrons rode in parti-coloured tunics,
with hoods and long tails to them, and bore small gold or silver swords
or daggers in the girdle, which fell over the hips instead of encircling
the waist.
Ermine shed its soft influence on many of the stiffest of silks, and
dresses were completely lined with ermine, which also bordered the
_côte hardie_. A deep royal blue was a very favourite colour, and jewels
obtained in abundance, girdles being encrusted with these, while no neck
seemed complete without a necklace of four rows of jewels and a pendent
cross.
A good example of the dress worn by the middle class may be taken from
Chaucer's Wife of Bath. He tells us she wore on her head on Sundays a
fine cloth kerchief which weighed a pound, and scarlet stockings and fine
new shoes; she travelled in a wimple and a very broad hat and cloak. The
Miller's wife went abroad in a girdle, barred all of silk, and a white
apron or barme cloth, as it was then called. Her shift had its collar
embroidered in front and behind with black silk, and she covered her head
with a white cap tied with strings, above a broad silk fillet. She had a
leathern purse with metal buttons and silken tassels depending from her
girdle.
Edward II.'s reign welcomed a new mode of dressing the hair, which was
parted in the middle; over each ear was a golden basket, and on the top
was a band of gold, narrower in the centre and broader towards the ears,
and the coverchief was placed on the top of the head. A peculiar method
too was the arranging of the hair in sausage rolls, covered with a white
veil held in a lattice-work of gold. On the whole, head-dresses were more
remarkable than beautiful and becoming. The caput, which came a little
later, and might have been called ugly, fitted closely to the head, and
had a broad scolloped border, and sometimes, in addition, two lappets
which hung to the waist; others were pointed as the bishop's mitre; and
most were characterised by a lack of height with no hair visible; and
the pendent veil at the back bore an embroidered border. There was much
hankering after yellow hair in the reign of Richard II., and those who
were unblessed with golden locks would dye them with saffron.
Gloves received the special attention of women in the fourteenth century,
and, when not actually on the hands, were placed in the girdle or
carried. The gauntlets were jewelled, and embroidery was on the back or
round the base of the fingers. Spain and France were famous for their
proficiency and industry in the making of gloves, and fur and sheepskin
were used for these as well as wool and silk.
In Germany the costume affected during the fourteenth century differed
but little from that of the thirteenth. The dress of the women consisted
of a long garment with a shorter under-dress, and over this another
dress was worn, and over this again a mantle. The loose under-garment
was very long, closely fitting to the hips, whence the skirt increased
considerably in width; long narrow sleeves were made of white or coloured
silk or of fine linen, and the necks of the dresses and the borders of
the sleeves were trimmed with tracings of gold; a short chemise was
visible from neck to waist, and the Hausfrau bunch of keys hung from the
girdle. It is on record, indeed, that German women in this century were
buried with their keys, and that divorced women were bound to return
them to their husbands. Young girls wore a long sleeveless robe closely
fitting to the hips and ample in the skirt, and over this a long gown of
equal fulness fell from the neck, extremely wide upon the shoulders, and
covering the forearm on both sides as a long tabard, circular pieces
being cut out from each side, and the lower portion of the skirt sewn up.
The old Teuton mode of hair-dressing with flowing locks prevailed, but
plaiting also was in vogue, twisted with coloured or gold ribbons, or
held at the back in a golden net. Simple garlands of flowers were placed
in the hair, and a fillet of stuff or metal, this being shaped either as
a crown, a diadem, or a coronet; and the matron adopted a fur-trimmed cap.
Italy in the fourteenth century showed a decided tendency to return to
the classic form of dress. Long robes fashioned like the old tunic and
stola fell in graceful folds round the figure to the ground; the sleeves
were of moderate width, permitting the under-sleeves to be seen fitting
tightly to the wrists. The dawn of the Renaissance brought some changes
in costume, notably in the over-dress, then called a "simarre," which
fitted closely in the bodice and outspread in a full trained skirt. This
simarre was sometimes made open from neck to hem, and held together
at the top by a square brooch; and the sleeves were of two varieties,
either quite tight or else wider and very long, ending in a point, but
invariably bearing some decorative border. The girdle definitely slipped
to the hips, and the description of a Florentine dress runs: "A simarre
of brocade fastened with small buttons on either side, the back hanging
quite straight, the girdle being worn in front of the dress only." Very
pretty must have been the cypriane, a gown of French origin which was
worn with a high belt and had a triangular-shaped opening low on the
bodice, a veil covering the bosom, and a delicate ruffle encircling
the neck; the puffed sleeves and the back of the dress were slashed.
A semicircular cloak was thrown over the shoulders and fastened in
front, and left open or buttoned from throat to hem. The married women
chose a sleeveless over-dress, and a long red or blue cloak, capacious
and enveloping, and the widow wore this in black, surmounted by a long
white veil. Caps, veils, and fillets found equal favour in the eyes of
the Italian, whose pretty hair was as frequently seen bound with satin
ribbons as with gold or silver paillettes, or arranged spirally, or
confined in a caul; and the horseshoe shape of head-dress common in
England was also to be seen in Italy, who borrowed it from France, where
the skirts were now gradually becoming narrower and the dresses buttoning
straight down the front, the skirt and bodice being cut in one, and the
sleeves invested with much diversity, being worn tight or loose, buttoned
or hanging open, displaying in some cases the forearm and in others a
close under-sleeve.
[Illustration: A GERMAN STUDENT IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.]
The sleeveless surcoat was very popular, the upper portion tapering to a
small point upon the shoulders, showing the gown worn beneath, and the
skirts of these surcoats were decked with ermine and emblazoned with the
family arms. The art of embroidery was cultivated assiduously by the
rich, whose leisured moments were spent in plying the needle and silk, to
accomplish devices which should honour and grace their attire.
Veils of white linen enwrapped the head, and unbound hair was rarely
seen except on young girls. A richly embroidered cap that received some
attention was so shaped that it partly covered the cheeks, and below
it were two ear-cages of metallic tissue in plaited design. A very
curious head-dress in France was composed of a closely-fitting cap with a
jewelled border, surmounted by a long flat piece of material placed over
the forehead and hanging down behind, this being elaborately trimmed and
jewelled, and completely hiding the hair.
[Illustration: A QUAINT WIMPLE.]
It is written to the honour of Isabella of Bavaria that she encouraged
the ladies of her Court in a great love for dress, and she would seem to
have made a study of the subject, if one judges from a picture of her
robed in regal array, with a horned head-dress surmounted by a crown,
an elaborate robe profusely adorned with jewels, a mantle bordered with
ermine, and a train of prodigal extent.
The surcoat received the honour of sleeves in the latter part of the
century, and these hung almost to the hem of the skirt, while the _côte
hardie_ took unto itself another shape, the shoulders being broader, the
bodice cut low, and edged with fur, with folds of white silk to form
a collar, a short waist being simulated by the wearing of the girdle
high. The last twenty years of the century saw the introduction of high
coverchiefs, mostly crescent-shaped or horned, one of the former being
contrived of two heart-shaped pieces of silk with rolled edges, the
spaces between the two sides being occupied with a veil of cloth.
[Illustration: THE HEAD-DRESS OF HENRY IV.]
Henry IV., with tender solicitude for his own comfort and beauty,
invented a cloth head-dress which enwrapped his bald pate and bore a
gold device on one side, and a fringe on the hem. A novel head-dress for
a woman, calculated to show both itself and the hair at the best, shows
plaits worn outside the lawn covering, as in the picture. This must
have been most attractive; so too would be a lawn head-dress which set
outwards and upon a frame at the back, whence it hung straight across
to form a most becoming background. The origin of this was German, and
its accomplishment was a little complicated, involving the arrangement
of the ordinary band of linen round the face, while above was drapery
of _appliqué_ work in white or white of silver. The short veil which
came above this again was kept in place by a jewelled circlet, the cloth
around the throat and shoulders being cut in one with the inner band of
the wimple.
[Illustration: A HEAD DRAPERY HELD WITH PLAITED HAIR.]
Amongst the most attractive descriptions that I have found of dress in
this period is one of a Frenchwoman whose hair was entwined with black
ribbon, and whose dress was of white embroidered in silver, with small
sleeves of red and white check bordered with gold.
Cambric of a sort--not as we know it to-day--must have been
indispensable, for it enwrapped the head, and formed the _guimpe_, and
had the privilege of making small ruffles. A dress of decided charm was
made of brocade, cut in one piece to the knees, and thence flounced with
ermine to the ground. The bodice was low to the waist, and from the waist
to the bust was filled in with white cambric, and an ermine collar was
round the shoulders. The sleeves were very tight to the wrists, with
ermine cuffs extending over the hands, and from the pointed head-dress
fell a long veil with embroidered border.
[Illustration: EMBROIDERED GLOVES.]
Women had plenty of chance to indulge their desire for variety in the
minor accessories of dress, in their embroidered purses, their jewelled
girdles, their decorated borders, their _guimpes_ and their ornamented
gloves. All of these gave opportunity for the display of the individual
taste, and it must be regarded somewhat regretfully that there were no
fashion papers in that day, or we who come after would not have been left
so high and dry for detail. Still, we may be grateful for the written
record that aprons were first seen in this period, and that they were
tied with ribbons; that widows were denied the privilege of elaborate
costume; and that white gowns were devoted to home wear. And so much may
we accept with content, remembering the entirely novel _côte hardie_ with
gratitude as one novelty in the century. Perhaps it would be greedy to
demand more.