— (‘a robh of scarlet
twelve yaxdS'-wide, with pendant -lebi 6a down •
ground, and th'e-furrjire tberetw-set «>
Amounting imto twenty pounds1 or d.
For ■which, as h / Sajd, if the wearer paid, he would- haye'd“ no- gpbci ” 'left,
“ wherewith to buybimself a hop'd//- And he'Sidds quaintly:—• - :
■“ Now have theaetorda1 little need of brOOms ' ’
- To sweep away the filth out of the street,
Since «da sieA^es Of pennyless groOma
"r1 'Wiltdfcitip-lic^ be i t dry or'wet.” ",
With jih£jreign of Hpnry VI., We come tbla new pgaodjaf^ ^ ^ ^ r o y-of co'.*
tume. The male dresses of .this reign'-arp.'
of extravagance,- and are almost_infinitely varied.1 Among the principal "charac*
teristica were* long tight hose, witfc feetp and-sometimes» shojt/Bd'dts or hji-drin^’.
sometimes .boots reaching to. ATfeitniddleJm^ffchff thigh.- called^fflfof/tfj ? Or" very
long-toed shoes, with high fronts -and backs that-turi/ov'er eafli^aY; with-a
jacket, or doublet cut short at the Shbuld5ers,’and apparently an under
of-which the sleeves pass through #||q arm-hples of tlie* jacket* The’nwn.tlS.'j
appears in every fantastic variety of form, as well as
now feequenSy surmounted by a feather. _^)to,plat6Siq&ntairifK^3^ousji|Lti2M.'5r
tions- of the state dresses of this period. -
The long toed shoes, the hose buskins, and galochgg. writh -/Bfher'-iSriicleS of
•malft attirepibfitinued under Edward I V.~and, Hiohard III. AvithiHttlbdTariation-}
biit thei jacket was cut shorter, and was much’ ^ufled And padded, and^fhOv
sleeves, cut open in slits, so as to show life.rich sbi rts,< The Va] > w as "SOmejirncs
made in a form nearly resembling that oUthe iaodern hat.1 The mdnfle ajipears
now to have been less frequently worm-
The extravagance in dress of the fifteenth cendujtyappears a'fcno period more;
remarkable than during the reign of Henry' VIIj/JVTem^of fashion, wore yery
broad-brimmed bats or caps; with3 profusion of lttygef‘fekthersI^The sleeve of
tbe jacket_or pinpoint is formed of two or more shps, attached fp...each other,
by. points or lace% leaving opening; through wMchu the. ehabroidered tiiirt is
seen protruding. • The upper part of the hose is sometimes slashe'd"and puffed,
The mantle is sometimes elegantly bordered, or dagged ; sometimes it is' made
of. a square form, reaching hardly to the thighs, but with long square • sleeves
Which nearly touch the ground, and holes through which the arms pass. But
the most remarkable characteristic of the latter part. ofrthe_.fifteenth century is
the ridiculous broadness of the. toes of .the- shoes, which suddenly usurps the
place of: the long pointed toes of the preceding reigns. Anjold French writer,
Paradin, describing the manners of this century, says that at first “ the men
wore shoes with a point before, half a foot long; the richer and more eminent
personages wore them a. foot, and princes two feet long, which was the most
ridiculous thing .that ever was seen; and when men became tired of these
pointed shoes, -which were called they adopted others in their place
which were named -duck-bills, having a bill or beak .before df four or five fingers
$rv Aft.erWarda. assuming a contrary fashion/they wote shoes sa'very*
broad' in front as toc'eScefed thé measure of.a.gdod foot/ Our plates from the
i ^ ’3' wilfetgivewne beskidea of,-the“ male costume of the reign of
Hefpy VII.
" > Tlu" yieracue^sfymq also* went through many changes during the fifteenth.
the' dress of nle ladies differs little
from that .of tH|/mgrt o0Ej^hLard I l^ fc^mfe’ iu the h.eadflrels?' The hair is
gtili^atKcred into a gold1, t aSEg ».but. is stretched put laterally'like two barrel-;
be1 crowned with ft
garland, M B ^ efed witia a ' .This fashion not to have
lasted cs td/fk^iïg, and wo /sqnn^ectte.iiJ^u5^:Kqrii--,Eiaped>' head-dresses, a fashion
'/some form* o^SUngr^'had^cptavfdj^lisisted' nforc than a1 century
before;*»., Thpi horned hoad-dVL‘^^^föfe'Sli'4^Éti;crdli'<,,b(nturv appear first in the
• This fashion
appears to have bt$™PS8pught from IVanoefl^mFft it was^^ry flat,' as in the'
figured in our plites oj/ / / ^ fflffijutnd yrfil Cbti tine'(It Pisanf In
Mil--.ilaff;terrpl3t^Vwe^^e^^nd)fliprfSindJwPJmruM''‘,hp.a,d--flrftts^ which appeared in
■Hn^udi-'a lutlé^lateijavr^unlllmè im/oSSf^il^FL^-tu od -butterflies’ ‘wings; it
willgM^erL -more s t r ó n the plate pf th'e'iZ/fc^o/ ihe‘"Towna-*
’jne^M Jt«w^tepiceedëd About the middle of.thujslntufx by thé (high tower or
head dress, which had gem rally a ^qn-gSytjl^or' kerchief hanging
down , /pSHg kritte-hardie cbntitauMi to bev^wprip "and was laced very
tiglftjïin örder raijgiyê a small waist to f hel ‘wê/rér, Tbe common , dress of the
l&kj^thro ugh the reigns of .Henry VV. and Vl|§fMf/vety long gown trailing
ptj ipga^oJnd. with hanging sleeve^/like thoMj of! the mem |&n4'fr Henry VI/
the train of 4hif;gcfwn wa> first madeïtif an extravagant length, and soon pro*
ydlcdd ,the-criticismg af'^fMe^satirists,, who aDo'aocUi'e tfEe ladies of this time of
ha$flgmi<.ir dress open so lowTofo^etafid behind 'as up expo-ejxo vit \y the naked
bad§£fcihd; breast to an' indecent'-extent. Towards“ the bfld of Henry’s reign^
and ill that of his -jsiioce'.&or, the Steeple head-drosseS .were worn of an extras
ordinary1 Sight* A French moralist, jwhbdwrote' .soon - afterMhe middle of the
century,-gives ns some curious traits ®^cphtempoxary manners^' 'entering upon
-» iu b je c t of clothes, he says, “ One manner of spoiling/and abusing one’s
bèsteents is, as todthe' form, which as regards women-I jfepsider in four parts.*
The first is in the head, which use^1“ $> be horned, buflis now mitred in these
parts of France * A^.-'And-nQW tnfese flqifcs are ii?tiho^ha|>e, of chimneys, .* + j
andj the more beautiful .and younger | | | i ’wearers ,are,J^romgher chimneys they
carry , v^> The battlements tot popaBat^o'dj above 'are tlEfine works of silk, the
beautiful figures, the gpld, ,thp süveï/'fhé/pearles, sometimes precious ,stones,-
and rich embroidery . * , , The, lanpes'afe thè- great' forked pins; the arrows are
** Addition tp';q.t(her allusions to tbe early use of the horned head-dress; which has. been too hastily
stslted Dot ‘ to have existed before the period to which, we are now treating, we may pdihi/otifc an early
French satirical poem, probably of the end of tli'e thirteenth century^ on the subject entitle<T Des Cornetesr
printed in Mi dubinai’s Jongleurs ,et .Trouv^res, p. B7»