A Theory on Hats (perhaps to be shot down).

So Amy sent me a picture which spawned thought, which I decided to write down before I forgot about it.

I have been known to wear a hood in the men’s chaperone style, which I had seen a few images of, but knew was rare. Still, I figured I had just enough evidence to justify it. However, I realized today that (with one *marginal* exception, that I think may not actually be an exception) unless I want to move my persona WAY north, I don’t actually have justification for it. On the up side, it DOES fill in a mental gap in “how europe north and west of france differed a bit from english/french styles in the early 15th century”.

Anyway, without further ado, Blanche of England – married a german prince, died in austria, had her picture painted on the ceiling (circa 1430):

wpid-Blanche_of_England-2011-05-21-22-31.jpeg Look at that hat! It’s like a very elaborate version of a men’s chaperone. And the thing I realized, looking at it, was that every example I could think of with a woman wearing this sort of hat? Netherlands, German, Switzerland, Cleves… somewhere not France. (Thus why it’s technically “right out” for me… though I want Blanche’s outfit.
wpid-SK-C-1454-2011-05-21-22-31.jpeg This one’s netherlandish and from 1425. And I’ve got 2 more in “A Visual History of Costume (The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centurythat are also Netherlandish (images 66 and 71, if you have it, I couldn’t find either online). Cynthia Virtue has a redrawing of a Swiss Tapestry that seems to be the same idea (3rd image), though without additional citation.

The only counter example I could find, I suspect is actually a guy – English, 1415 – http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucerreading.jpg – the figure in pink in the bottom right corner.

Anyone want to shoot me down? As I *like* wearing “men’s” hats, they’re easy… but I’m not from the Netherlands…

7 responses to “A Theory on Hats (perhaps to be shot down).”

  1. I recognize the CV redrawing as from a lady and the unicorn- the things she’s holding is its horn- but the first book I looked at IDed it as from Basel and the L&U tapestry they have online is a different one. I’ll look some more.

    As for hats- there’s a chaperon-ish hat on a woman in the ‘Bear and Boar’ Devonshire tapestry http://www.vandaimages.com/results.asp?image=2006BF7028-01&itemw=2&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=23

    One that’s more like a man’s hood is in a tapestry in the Musee des Artes Decoratif on the right in this pic http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/arts-decoratifs/collections-26/parcours-27/chronologique/moyen-age-renaissance/les-salles/une-chambre-a-coucher-a-la-fin-du/lit-a-dais It’s also on p227 of the _Paris 1400_ catalog.

    I’ll look some more later.

    T.

  2. OK, there’s also this: http://arts-graphiques.louvre.fr/fo/visite?srv=mipe&paramAction=actionGetImage&idImgPrinc=1&idFicheOeuvre=110899&provenance=mlo&searchInit=SEARCH_OEUVRE It’s a late 16th c copy of a 15th c Burgundian original.

    And now I really HAVE to go to bed!

    T.

  3. http://www.oilpainting-frame.com/upload1/file-admin/images/new21/French%20school-977863.jpg

    French School, Hunting with Falcons at the court of Philip the Good (Versailles)

    Also found in 20,000 Years of Fashion by Francois Boucher (figure 402)

    1. I saw that painting at Cleveland when we went up for an exhibit on the Court of Burgundy. It’s in Dijon. If you are going to be at the next rapier practice I’ll bring both catalogues.

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