The Vertical Headdress of Fifteenth Century Northern Europe

Abstract

Lucy Roy Sibley is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Textiles and Clothing at The Ohio State University. Northern Europe of the fifteenth century is marked by very unusual headdresses; they range shape from a double-horned to a steep, cone-shaped version. Most of our knowledge of the fifteenth century European headdresses stems from documents of the period and visual depiction the contemporary art.1 Historians have sought a variety of terms to describe the many distinct types, and these terms have not always been applied consistently. To add to the confusion, scholars are not consistent when describing the methods of arrangement of the inner structures. This set of problems is related to the lack of extant physical evidence. In a preliminary analysis of headdresses represented works of art, the investigators identified six different types of headwear based upon apparent structural and visual characteristics. Moreover, the six categories demonstrated a relation to the caul and of the fourteenth century. It is the intent of the present effort to explore these relationships and differences among the fantastic headdresses of fifteenth-century northern Europe. The terms previously used to designate headdresses of the fifteenth century include such names as homed, heart-shaped, reticulated, bourrelet, and hennin. Three of the terms appear to express distinct visual shapes and were probably so named by contemporary costume historians. These are butterfly, homed and heart-shaped.2 A fourth term reticulated is described by Norris as a net-like covering of fixed form.3 Considered a padded cap or padding, the term bourrelet appears to have been used the fifteenth century to indicate an object with padding. Scott reported that the inventory of the Duchess of Orleans 1408 indicated that in 1403 Isabella of Bavaria bought two and a quarter ells of black satin to finish (i.e. cover?) a for her.4 In addition, the fifteenth century term hennin is one that has been the target for the criticism among costume historians. Despite the fact that the term is often used for describing the tall, unicorn headdress of the mid-fifteenth century, it is probable that it was mainly used to insult women who wore any of the horn-shaped headdresses, whether single or double horn.s With the exception of the term bourrelet, none of the terms listed above will be used this paper to label a type of headdress, since the confusion regarding the terminology could lead one to misinterpret the shape or the method of arrangement. Instead, the term will designate all headdresses of fifteenth-century northern Europe which have upward and a somewhat outward tendency to their shape. The vertical headdresses are classified as follows: