I l l , the long garments of nobles and knights -were changed for a shorter and
close* vest, which was distinguished by the name of a cotte-hardie, from the
sleeves of which hung long slips of d o th ; and over the whole was wbm a
large flowing mantle, buttoned over the shoulder, the edges frequently jagged,
or, as it was then termed, flagged, and cut into the form of "leaves, This
mantle was in general thrown over the back, so as to leave the front of the
body uncovered. The cotte-hardie was richly embroidered, and the whole
costume was composed of the most costly materials and of the gayest colours ;
the “ paynted hoodes” and “ gay cotes” were the subject of many a popular
rhyme. • To the richness of the dress was added a profusion of jewellery] and
to increase the variety of colour party-coloured dresses were now brought into
use. The shape of the cap or hat, which was sometimes made of beaver, was
frequently changed; One of its peculiarities, now first Observed, was the addition
of a feather.
The middle classes of society soon began to vie with the courtiers in the
extravagance of their apparel, and sumptuary laws were first- enacted "in the
reign of the third Edward, and were frequently repeated in succeeding times.
The reign of Richard II. was that in -which, the. extravagance, which these
laws were intended to repress, was earned to,, the greatest excess. A host of
contemporary writers inveigh bitterly against the- Vain, foppery Ofifthe times.'
The writer of the remarkable alliterative poem bn the Deposition of Richard II.
describes these costly fashions as the immediate causes bf-most of the Misfortunes
Of his reign. He says of the great people
—“They keep nö coin thatjionieth 'to their hatids,
Bat change it for chains that in Ghèpe hangeth,
And set afi their silver in seimtes (? girdiespand home,”*
The satirist goes on to say
“ That lewd lad ought evil to thrive,
That hangeth on his hips more than he eameth,
And feareth no debt; so that dukes praise them,
But beg and borrow of burgesses in towns
Furs of ffoyne and many other wares,
And are not a bean the better though they borrow ever.
And unless the sleeves slide on the earth,
They will be as wroth as the wind, and worry thoae that made it ;
And if the elbows were only down to the heels,
Or passing the knee, it was not accounted.^—
But now there is a guise, the quaintest of all,
A Wondrous curious craft, lately arrived,
That men call carving the doth all to pieces,
That seven good sewers, in the course of six weeks after,
May not set the seams, or sew them again.,f
* The language of these extracts is modernised.
■
He says that the clergy ought to—
— “ blame the bumes (fellows) that brought new guises,
And drive out the dagges and all the Dutch cotes,
And set them aside, and turn them all to scorn.”
Some idea of the costume of this time will be given by our plate of Courtiers
the/time m* -Richard JZ;p|speciafly of the dogging oi the edges of the
mantle, pr rather of ther gown, for that was the name by which this part of the
dress was now designated. Many of the fashions of this reign appear to have
been brought from Germany, which is probably-the meaning of the term Dutch
coats given to them in the foregoing lih e ^ .;
The rest of the dress is thus - described bMj$ contemporary writer:—“ Their
hobds are small, tied under the Chin, and buttoned 'Bike' those of the women,
but set with gold, silver, and precious stones. -Their lirripipes or tippets pass
round the neck, and Ming down before to the feet,/all jagged. They have
another garment of silk which they calk*a- paltpck. Their hose are of two
colours (party-coloured), "or pied with more, which -they ri® to toe paltoeks,
with white latchets called herlats,- without any 'breeches. Their girdles are
of jtold and silver, and some of them worth- twenty marks. Their shoes and
pattens",are snouted and piked more than a finger long,’bending -upwards, which
they -'call fyrakmes, resembling the ■,'claws of devils, and fastened to the knees
with chains of gold and silver.’”
Several articles of dress at this period were common to both sexes.' Another
contemporary moralist (printed in the Reliquiae AmtiqUse, - vol. i., p. 41) gives
the,'following account of the dress of the men and women of the reign of
Richard I I .—“ Thus the devil farith with men and women: first he ?stirreth
them to pappe and pamper their flesh,, desiring delicious meats and drinks, and
so to’ h5p on the pilar (of the devil-s ,temp.tatibhf-|5rith their h i - > >i /->
'o f gold and of rich pearls, cauls, filets, and«?||?®&S', -and 'rid'flfyd^dgwrvs, 'and
rockets, cplars, laces, jabkes, paltokes, wito their long cralflnp&s, ’and thus toe
devil beareth them np upon toe pillar, to .teach them to flyMilove other simple-
folk, and saith that they shall 'not hurt .themselves, but he lieth falsely, for
unless they are as sorry therefor as ever they were glad,, they shall leap down
from1 th.e;pillar into the pit of hell.”
The female costume in the first? half of the fourteenth 'century differed little
from that of the preceding age; Ah® ladies still woye the same style of Mffure,
toe kerchef, and the gorget about the neck.$3pij; gorget ahd ker.chef are seen
in the figures on our plate of A Royal Repast, the reign of Edward III.,
the dress of the ladies made the same advances 'as; thaMof ‘the other sex The
cotte-hardie, sometimes with and sometimes without||be long slips at the elbows,
was worn by the women as well as by. toe men. Sometimes, -instead of this vest,
the ladies wore a tight gown or kirble, very Tong, with long or shbri .rieeves,
and not unfrequently with the .same long slips at the -dhows. At a later
period a kind of spencer or waistcoat came into fashion, worn over the gown,
reaching to the hips, and bordered with rich furs. This waistcoat came into