1066-1327 - Women's Hair & Headdresses
by Dion Clayton Calthrop
Edited By Pauline Weston Thomas
For Fashion-Era.com
1066-1327 - Women's Hair & Headdresses As Shown In
'English Costume History by Dion Clayton Calthrop'
This costume history page is about hair fashion history. It consists of a selection of women only
headdresses and hairstyle illustrations and text from 1066 to 1327
all taken from Calthrop's
English Costume. They are as shown in individual Calthrop costume pages
for specific eras on 36 other pages in another section of this website. The partial text copy
is from the book ENGLISH
COSTUME PAINTED & DESCRIBED BY DION CLAYTON CALTHROP. Full
text is on the individual dated pages.
This page is about female headdresses and hairdressing styles for the
medieval era 1066-1327. Later eras of headdresses are shown on
other pages. For the Introduction to this book see this
introduction written by Dion Clayton Calthrop. My comments are in italics.
Woman's Headdress - 1066
On the head, where the hair was closely coiled with a few curls at the
forehead, a wimple was worn, which was wound about the head and thrown
over the shoulder, not allowing the hair to show.
These wimples were
sometimes very broad, and were almost like a mantle, so that they fell
over the shoulders below the breast.
Tied round the wimple they sometimes had a snood, or band of silk.
This
women's costume history illustration shows the pendant sleeve with an
embroidered hem. The long plaits of hair were held fast at the ends with
metal, or silk tags. A white chemise is visible at the neck and wrists.
The greatest change in the appearance of the women was in the
arrangement of the hair.
After a hundred years or more of head-cloths and hidden hair suddenly
appears a head of hair. Until now a lady might have been bald for all
the notice she took of her hair; now she must needs borrow hair to add
to her own, so that her plaits shall be thick and long.
It is easy to see how this came about.
The
hair, for convenience, had always been plaited in two plaits and coiled
round the head, where it lay concealed by the wimple.
One day some fine
lady decides to discard her close and uncomfortable head-covering. She
lets her plaits hang over her shoulders, and so appears in public.
Calthrop continues:-
Contempt of other ladies who have fine heads of hair for the thinness
of her plaits; competition in thick and long hair; anger of ladies whose
hair is not thick and
long; enormous demand for artificial hair; failure of the supply to meet
the ever-increasing demand; invention of silken cases filled with a
substitute for hair, these cases attached to the end of the plaits to
elongate them
- in this manner do many fashions arrive and flourish, until
such time as the common people find means of copying them, and then my
lady wonders how she could ever have worn such a common affair.
The gowns of these ladies remained much the same, except that the
loose gown, without any show of the figure, was in great favour; this
gown was confined by a long girdle.
The silk cases into which the hair was placed were often made of silk of
variegated colours, and these cases had metal ends or tassels.
C12th Hair
Cases for the Hair
The hair was a matter of great moment and most carefully treated; it was
parted in the centre and then plaited, sometimes intertwined with
coloured ribbands or twists of thin coloured material; it was added
to in length by artificial hair, and was tied up in a number of ways.
Either it was placed in a tight silk case, like an umbrella case, which
came about half-way up the plait from the bottom, and had little tassels
depending from it, or the hair was added to till it reached nearly to
the feet, and was bound round with ribbands, the ends having little gold
or silver pendants.
The hair hung, as a rule, down the front on either
side of the face, or occasionally behind down the back, as was the case
when the wimple was worn.
When the ladies went travelling or out riding they rode astride like
men, and wore the ordinary common-hooded cloak.
The plait was introduced into the architecture of the time, as is shown
by a Norman moulding at Durham.
Left
- The woman in the costume plate wears a dress that has been made form
fitting to her figure by lacing at the back.
The dress has extra long
sleeves and these have been tied up to keep them from trailing the
ground.
She holds a green wimple in her hands and she was able to
use that to cover up her luxuriant braided hair.
The plaited braids are
fastened at the end into silken cases.
THE WOMEN -
The Wimple
About this time came the fashion of the chin-band, and again the
glory of the hair was hidden under the wimple.
Stages Of Dressing The Hair For A Chin Cloth
To dress a lady's hair for this time the hair must be brushed out, and
then divided into two parts: these are to be plaited, and then brought
round the crown of the head and fastened in front above the forehead.
The front pieces of hair are to be neatly pushed back from the forehead,
to show a high brow.
Now a cloth of linen is taken, folded under the
chin, and brought over the top of the head, and there pinned.
Then
another thin band of linen is placed round the head and fastened neatly
at the back; and over all a piece of fine linen is draped, and so
arranged that it shall just cover the forehead-band and fall on to the
shoulders.
This last piece of linen is fastened to the chin-band and the
forehead-strap by pins.
The Linen Cap
This fashion gave rise in later times to a linen cap; the
forehead-strap was increased in height and stiffened so that it rose
slightly above the crown of the head, and the wimple, instead of hanging
over it, was sewn down inside it, and fell over the top of the cap.
Later the cap was sewn in pleats.
Although discreet its possible to just about see the chin band the
12th century woman wears in this costume plate. The chin-band passes under the wimple
and the band is
pinned to hold it around the head.
As may be seen from the plate, no change in costume took place.
The hair plaited and bound round the head or allowed to flow loose upon
the shoulders. Over the hair a gorget binding up the neck and chin. Over all a wimple
pinned to the gorget.
Right - Notice the glimpse of purse beneath the cloak front, where it hangs from the
belt.
A fine diaper-patterned material has been used for the cloth of
the cloak.
Right - This costume plates shows the very slight changes in a woman's dress.
The woman wears a
plain cloak, a plain gown, and a wimple over the head.
A lady would have
worn clothes and shoes of richer cloth.
For the head a wimple made of white linen or perhaps of silk; this
she would put above her head, leaving the neck bare.
A WOMAN'S HEADWEAR OF THE TIME OF EDWARD I
-
1272-1307
The Gorget
Calthrop
continues to write:-
They sought for comfort in every particular but one: for though I think
the gorget very becoming, I think that it must have been most
distressing to wear.
This gorget was a piece of white linen wrapped
about the throat, and pinned into its place; the ends were brought
up to meet a wad of hair over the ears and there fastened, in this way
half framing the face.
The hair was parted in the middle, and rolled over pads by the ears,
so as to make a cushion on which to pin the gorget. This was the general
fashion.
The Round Linen Cap
Now, the earlier form of head-dress gave rise to another fashion. The
band which had been tied round the head to keep the wimple in place was
enlarged and stiffened with more material, and so became a round linen
cap, wider at the top than at the bottom. Sometimes this cap was
hollow-crowned, so that it was possible to bring the wimple under the
chin, fasten it into place with the cap, and allow it to fall over the
top of the cap in folds; sometimes the cap was solidly crowned, and was
pleated; sometimes the cap met the gorget, and no hair showed between
them.
WOMEN OF THE TIME OF EDWARD I
-
1272-1307
WOMAN OF THE TIME OF EDWARD II
- 1307-1327
Left - Dressing the hair was important and the woman has her hair dressed in two side-plaits.
The throat gorget
or neck-cloth has been pinned to her plaits.
Right - Gorget version worn by a common woman.
HEAD COVERINGS 1307-1327
Wimple, Gorget & Fillet
Upon the head they wore the wimple, the fillet, and about the throat
the gorget.
The arrangement of the wimple and fillet were new, for the hair was now
plaited in two tails, and these brought down straight on either
side of the face.
The fillet was bound over the wimple in order to show
the plait, and the gorget met the wimple behind the plait instead of
over it.
The older fashion of hair-dressing remained, and the gorget was pinned
to the wads of hair over the ears, without the covering of the wimple.
The Broad Wide Fillet Headdress 1307-1327
Sometimes the fillet was very wide, and placed low on the head over a
wimple tied like a gorget; in this way the two side-plaits showed only
in front and appeared covered at side-face, while the wimple and broad
fillet hid all the top hair of the head.
Steeple Headdress 1307-1327
Very rarely a tall, steeple head-dress was worn over the wimple, with a
hanging veil; but this was not common, and, indeed, it is not a mark of
the time, but belongs more properly to a later date shown on the
next hair webpage.
Calthrop noted:- However, I have
seen such a head-dress drawn at or about this time, so must include it.
This costume history page is about hair fashion history. It consists of a selection of women only
headdresses and hairstyle illustrations and text from 1066 to 1327
all taken from Calthrop's
English Costume. They are as shown in individual Calthrop costume pages
for specific eras on 36 other pages in another section of this website. The partial text copy
is from the book ENGLISH
COSTUME PAINTED & DESCRIBED BY DION CLAYTON CALTHROP. Full
text is on the individual dated pages.
This page is about female headdresses and hairdressing styles for the
medieval era 1066-1327. Later eras of headdresses are shown on
other pages. For the Introduction to this book see this
introduction written by Dion Clayton Calthrop. My comments are in italics.
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This shows a gown that fits far more closely to the female form.
The sleeves gain width fullness above the wristline.
Left - In this costume plate the woman keeps her very full cloak
in place by the cord which passes through loops..jpg)
Calthrop
continues to write:-
