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Headware
of the Middle Ages
THE
FILLET - THE
TORQUE - CROWNS
& CORONETS - ATTOUR
DE GIBET or HORNED HEADDRESS
CRISPINETTE
or CAUL - TRESSOUR
CRISPINETTE - CYLINDER
CAULS or TEMPLARS - THE
HENNIN
HEART-SHAPED
HENIN & RETICULATED HEADDRESS - FLOWERPOT
or BUTTERFLY HENNIN
THE HORNED
HEADDRESS RETURNS - THE
JEWELLED COIF
The
following takes brief look at the most popular forms of medieval headware.
The Fillet
An excerpt from "Manners, Customs, Dress In the Middle Ages"
by Paul Lacroix states-
"The expression chapeau de fleurs
(hat of flowers), which continually occurs in ancient works, did not
mean any form of hat, but simply a coronet of forget-me-nots or roses,
which was an indispensable part of dress for balls or festivities down
to the reign of Philippe de Valois (1347). Frontlets (fronteaux), a
species of fillet made of silk, covered with gold and precious stones,
superseded the chapeau de fleurs, inasmuch as they had the advantage
of not fading. They also possessed the merit of being much more costly,
and were thus the means of establishing in a still more marked manner
distinctions in the social positions of the wearers."
  The
Torque
The torque is often lovingly referred to as "the Pie Hat" and
is widely seen in manuscripts of the 14th century such as the Manesse
Codex.
Around the 12th century, the torque or toque was nothing more than a narrow
band of cloth used to secure a woman's veil. Eventually
the band widened into a stiff linen band or fillet which could be as wide
as 4 inches. A narrow chin band was adopted which was called a barbette.
At this time, hair was confined by hairnets, some of which were silk.
Crowns
and Coronets
Crowns during the 13th century were simple and set with few
jewels. Queens and noble ladies wore crowns as well as chaplets and ornate
floral wreaths made from fine metalwork called guirlands.
By the 14th century, crowns were becoming more like those we know today.
Gold, silver, precious and semi precious stones and enamel
were used. Goldsmiths in France, Northern Spain and Northern Italy were
considered the best jewelers during this period, though Limoges was reputed
as the best. 
The
Attor de Gibet or
the Horned Headdress
This style of Headdress
was worn for many years by the middle classes and was Burgundian-French
in origin. Pictured at right is an illumination of the famed writer Christine
de Pisan.
The cones or horns which project out at roughly a 45 degree angle and
called templettes or templars and over the course of the next few hundred
years varied in shape and size according to fashion.
The hair was completely concealed as decorum dictated. Starched white
veils would then be attached to the headpiece using pins.
The
Crispinette or Caul
The crispinette came into fashion in the second half of the 13th century.
It was originally known as the crispine, which was a worked hairnet.
These were made of gold or silver thread or woven silk and shaped like
modern-day hairnets, which is hardly surprising since they perform exactly
the same function.
The hair was coiled into two gold cauls made from either fabric or fine
metal wire over each ear and was held in place by a narrow fillet. The
entire structure of cauls and fillets jointly was known as the crispinette.
As always, a veil was worn with the
crispinette.
 The
fashion of dressing the hair in this manner was brought to the English
courts by Princess Isabella who married Prince Edward II. By the time
of Edward III, the crispinette was still worn by women of middle to upper
class and noble class both for day and formal occasions.
This fashion persisted on and off over the next few decades. Shown above
is a detail from the mausoleum of Mary of Burgundy dated at 1502 where
one can see her jeweled crispinette.
 Tressour
Crispinette
The tressour crispinette is another 14th century headware which
is best described as a chaplet of goldsmithry or material worn on the
head which has the side pieces of the crispine which have become more
largely exaggerated with the addition of a more elaborate headband-like
construction.
By the time of Edward III in the 14th
century, it was still worn highly decorated with pearls, goldwork and
jewelry if the wearer was permitted and, as always, a full veil. Shown
at right is an effigy of Jeanne de Bourbon of 1390 showing her large and
heavily-jewelled tressour. Her crown denotes her social status.
 The
tressour crispinette became the predecessor to the more fanciful Heart
Shaped Hennin in the early 15th century.
At right a detail from a 15th century painting
showing the fine work and silk veil of a fashionable woman.
Cylinder
Cauls
or Templars
Cylinder cauls or templars came into fashion during the 14th century
during the time period of King Edward III by his wife the Belgian Queen
Philippa who brought this style to England from her home in Valenciennes.
This style of headware originated in the hairstyle of hair being worn
in two plaits which were tied in front of the ears and often across the
front of the head also. The natural progression of the upper classes love
of fine things and chance to show their social superiority with their
fineness of dress from plaited hair to plaited hair encased in gold, silver
or embroidered cylinders is a fairly easy one to make. The cylinders are
attached to a fillet or coronet, also heavily jeweled.
As this headware was generally only available to the upper echelons of
society, it was worn with the finest gauzy veils only.
Cylinder cauls were considered suitable for formal wear and special occasions,
fit for state occasions and special celebrations. They were not worn everyday
around the house.
 The
Heart Shaped Hennin and Reticulated headdress
The earliest version of the heart shaped hennin was the crispinette worn
during the reign of Richard II.
It developed into this headdress and was worn alongside the hennin and
the horned headdress of the lower classes as seen in this illumination
of Christine de Pisan presenting a volume to Queen Isabeau. The Ladies
of the court are fashionably dressed in the new fashion, while Christine,
who is socially inferior, wears a headpiece befitting her station. One
of the older Ladies at the back also wears the older style which was considered
more modest and more becoming for older women.
It retained the golden fretwork caul which
still confined the hair on either side of the face, but no longer had
the fillet over the cauls. It had a large padded roll instead. As the
top of the padded roll extended heavenwards, the middle of the roll descended
into a V at the centre of the forehead making a heart shape, hence the
name.
 The
padded roll could be made from coloured silks, velvets or linen. It was
often jeweled or decorated and finished off with small circular veils.
These veils differed dramatically in that they were often not white, sometimes
daggued and usually decorated at the edges with "rich stuff".
By the mid 15th century, the top edges of
the padded roll of the "Heart Shaped Hennin" were drawn closer
together still, producing yet another style of headdress called the Reticulated
headdress seen at left in the painting of Clarice de Gasconne in 1468.
Both of these styles continued to be worn by upper and middle classes
woman throughout this period in time.
The
Hennin
The hennin was a popular 15th century
hat usually worn with the Burgundian Gown. It consisted of a cap with
a cone or cylindrical construction over the top. It was worn on an angle
at the back of the head. Some of the caps which were worn underneath featured
a wide black band folded back from the front by the brow. The fold helped
secure the rest of the hennin to the head. A veil was almost always worn
although some depictions in contemporary art show them being worn without.
 Steeple
hennins, as the tallest of the tall, pointed hennins became known as,
were worn in England only by the most fashionable of Noblewoman although
were extremely popular in Europe. In Italy some steeple hennins reached
an astonishing half an ell high (3/4 of a metre). The picture detail at
right shows the wife of Tommas Portinari painted by Memling in 1470.
Because of the physical nature of the hennin, it was banned from the lower
classes. How could one perform daily work in a hat such as this anyway?
It was deemed that a woman with an income of less than £10 was not
permitted to wear one, effectively restricting it to the upper classes
and the wealthy only.
The Hennin was constructed an a fine silver wire base and was covered
in brilliantly coloured silks and gold and silver tissue to remain light
enough to we worn at such an angle on the head. It was quite a fragile
affair.
The
Flowerpot and Butterfly Hennin
During the late 15th century, a new style
hennin became more fashionable and supplanted the steeple hennin. This
is known these days as the flowerpot hennin, although it most certainly
was not known by that name at the time. It consisted of a cone construction,
very similar to the Turkish Fez.  The
cap with the wide black fold-back front which was worn underneath the
hennin previously was abandoned in favour of very thin supporting straps
which pass under the ears of the wearer. An example of a heavily jeweled
hennin with a supporting band can be seen here in a painting by Christus
in 1455.
This new hennin could support the weight of more decoration and became
heavily decorated and set with gemstones and pearls. The fabrics used
to construct it were heavier and often of geometrically patterned brocades
which themselves, were stiffer by nature than the previous silks.
In an extremely short period of time another decorative feature made an
appearance- two silver wires attached to the front of the hennin like
a butterfly's feelers and supported the veil in new and interesting ways.
This was the butterfly hennin.
The
Horned Headdress Returns
Along with the hennin, the flowerpot hennin and the butterfly hennin,
the late 15th century saw the return of the horned headdress for the upper
classes.
 There
appears to be a loop at the top of the forehead centrally and it is uncertain
whether this is attached to the headware itself to permit the wearer to
pull the piece forward in case of slippage or whether it is a part of
a cap which is worn underneath. There often appears to be some kind of
support around the ear, but of what kind, it is unclear. It is unlikely
to be a securing cord as it doesn't pass around the ear but rather stops
in front of it. Perhaps this was heavily stiffened or wired for the purpose
of securing.
This painting by Rogier Van
Der Weyden in the 1500s of Isabella of Portugal is a fine example of the
new richness that this style adopted and the silken veil which was de
rigeur.
The fabrics used were sturdier than those of the original steeple hennin
and were often geometrically patterned brocades. The lozenge design was
popular as the cloth could be worked with precious and semi-precious gemstones
and pearls according to the pattern of the cloth. Obviously, to show off
the workmanship of such a headpiece, the veils accompanying them were
the finest and gauziest silks of a generous size. This allowed the wearer
to appear modest with a large veil while at the same time displaying her
wealth underneath.
 The
Jeweled Coif
The coif started off as a close fitting simple cap or bonnet made
of plain white linen which was worn by men, women and children from the
12th century onwards. It can be seen in many paintings and illuminations,
even in bedroom scenes where the subjects are otherwise naked
During 1450 to 1530, the coif had developed into a jeweled affair which
consisted of a close fitting cap of rich material, which might be patterned
and decorated with gold embroidery and jewels or pearls. It was never
worn alone but as a foundation with a crown or coronet.
The jeweled coif was clearly only worn by those with the means to do so
and was favoured by ladies everywhere- from England, France, Spain and
across Italy. Shown at right is a detail of Anne De France De Bourbon
from 1498-1499 wearing a jeweled coif and crown.
Copyright
© Rosalie Gilbert
All text & photographs within this site are the property of Rosalie
Gilbert unless stated.
Artifact images remain the property of the owner.
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