IIITHEMANTLE

THE TUNIC.

The tunic, as well as the super-tunic, was often ornamented with rich borders and diapered with sprigs, spots, stars, &c. The tunic of the Roman women reached to the feet, with the exception ofthat worn by the Lacedemonian girls, which was short, and also divided at the sides so as to show their thighs; and "this indecency," says Strutt, was countenanced by the laws of Lycurgus.

THE TUNIC.From Hope's "Costume of the Ancients."

Horace, in his twenty-fifth Ode, addressing an old woman affecting youth—"flaunting wife of the indigent Ibycus"—exclaims—

"What becomes thee best is a warm woollen dress;Get thee fleeces from famous Luceria."

Broadly speaking, classic dress consisted of but two elements—the tunic and mantle, both being worn of a thicker material during cold weather. Ulysses exclaims, in the "Odyssey"—

"I have no cloak; the fates have cheated me,And left alone my tunic."

Dion Cassius has given us an account of the dress of Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni. He says she wore a tunic woven chequerwise in purple, red and blue, and over it a shorter garment open on the bosom. Her yellow hair floated in the wind, and upon her shoulders was a mantle fastened by a fibula. It was, in fact, a variation of the Roman dress of tunic and mantle or toga. This was the dress which was common to all nations, both Gaul, Goth, Visigoth, and Vandal, from the Roman period to the time of Charlemagne, varied, however, according to climatic conditions, and ornamented in the manner peculiar to the particular country.

Mr. Planché ("Cyclopædia of Costume") says: "That in this chequered cloth we see the originalbreacan feile, the garb of old Gaul, still the national dress of the Scotch Highlanders, there can be no doubt; and that it was at this time the common habit of every Keltic tribe, though now abandoned by all their descendants except the hardy and unsophisticated Gaelic mountaineers, is admitted, I believe, by every antiquary who has made public his opinion on the subject."

Eginhart, a writer of the ninth century, has left us a detailed description of the dress of Charlemagne. It consisted of the following parts: The shirt, the drawers, the tunic, the stockings, the leg bandages, the shoes, the sword-belt, and sword. In the winter he added the mantle and thethorax, which was, as its name implies, a covering for the chest and throat. It was made of otter's skin, and was probably worn underneath the tunic, as no picturedor other representation of this garment is available.

His tunic was ornamented with aborder of silk. The material of the tunic itself is not mentioned, but Strutt thinks that, according to the custom of the time, it was made of linen. It was theshorttunic, as the historian positively asserts that he wore the longer tunic but twice in his life.[6]

Another French writer quoted by Strutt mentions stockings andtrowsers, the latter of linen, but ornamented with precious workmanship,i.e., embroidery as forming part of the dress of the Franks.

GREEK FIGURE.From Hope's "Costume of the Ancients."

Fortunately, we are able to form a very complete idea of Frankish dress from the sculptured effigies of Clovis and his Queen Clothilde on the façade of theCathedral of Chartres, and other records which have come down to us. The pencil, or the sculptor's chisel, must necessarily be more eloquent and convincing than any written description can possibly be. The general appearance of the Queen may, however, be described as follows: She wears a long loose tunic of soft material, reaching to the ground, confined by a falling girdle with an oval clasp in front, in which emeralds, amethysts and rubies vie with each other in their brilliance. The sleeves are long and ample, the edges serrated in the form of leaves. The long flowing embroidered mantle is fastened by a gold fibula at the throat. Her flaxen hair falls in two long double plaits in front of her person, reaching almost to the ground; the plaits being first bound singly by a dark ribbon, and each pair bound together by a lighter ribbon. A thin gauze veil covers the head, which is surmounted by a crown of exquisite workmanship.

GREEK FIGURE.From Hope's "Costume of the Ancients."

The dress of the Byzantine women, at the time of the dismemberment of the Roman Empire in 395, was still the loose or semi-loose tunic, with sleeves added, elaborately ornamented in the rich diapered patterns peculiar to that period and nation, and confined at the waist by a girdle. This costume, with variations, obtained until the Norman Conquest, when costume began to be more complex. The long loose gown is variously described in documents of the period by the names of the tunic, thegunnaor gown, and the kirtle. There was a short tunic, with sleeves reaching only to the elbows, and there was a long tunic, with tight sleeves, worn underneath. Thekirtle, such as we are familiarised with in the dress of a later period, had not come into being. As a matter of fact, the term "kirtle" is indiscriminately used in the description of various garments. Tyrwhitt describes it as "a tunic or waistcoat."

In the "Romaunt of the Rose" the "damoselles right young" are arrayed—

"In kirtles and noon other wede,"

evidently here intended for a long gown or tunic.

The dress of the twenty young squires chosen by Guy of Warwick is thus described:—

"Kyrtyls they had oon of sylkeAlso whyte, as any mylke.Of gode sylke and of purpull palleMantels above they caste all.Hosys they had uppon, but no schone;Barefote they were everychone."

Both Strutt and some other writers on the subject of costume appear to be puzzled by thecolouringof the earlier illuminators, principally, however, with respect to the colour of the hair and beard, but also in regard to the various details of costume. They remark the curious circumstance of the hair and beard being paintedblue. "In representations of old men this might be considered only to indicategrey hair; but even the flowing locks of Eve are painted blue in one MS., and the heads of youth and age exhibit the same cerulean tint." Strutt argues from this that some art of tinting or dyeing was practised.A writer who quotes Strutt says: "The hair being painted sometimesgreenandorangeis in favour of this argument, but such instances are very rare, and may have arisen from the idleness of the illuminator, who daubed it, perhaps, with the nearest colour at hand." This, however, was not in the least so. The explanation is, as anyeducatedartist knows (artists are notalleducated), that with the old illuminatorthe decoration of the pagewas his first consideration—rightly so; and the colour of the hair and beard, together with the precise tint of the gown, would incline to either blue, red, or yellow, accordingly as the exigencies of the general colour scheme demanded. This fact should always be kept in mind in considering the colour of any illuminated MS.

This colouring is amusingly parodied by Mr. Punch in his book of British costumes (1860). He gives a fragment of a love song, "commonly believed to have been written by King Vortigern, who was inveigled into marriage with the daughter of old Hengist":—

"Rowena is my ladye-love,Her robe itte is a gunna;Shee wears blewe haire her ears above,O is shee notte a stunna!"

He adds: "Critics disagree as to the meaning of the word 'stunna,' but we incline, ourselves, to think it was a bit of Saxon slang, and from the context we imagine it was used by way of compliment."

"TREUTHE'S PILGRYME ATTE PLOW."From the MS. R. 3, 14 in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge.

A development of the super-tunic was the surcoat, which was worn by either sex during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It assumed a variety offorms, and was either a long loose outer garment, variously shaped and sleeveless, or, as during the reign of Richard II., was a shorter, closely-fitting jacket or coat with sleeves, and usually trimmed with miniver or other fur.

The surcoat, or super-tunic, during the Anglo-Saxon period, was worn by the nobility only, and was therefore made of the most costly material, of silk or of finest linen, and often richly embroidered. As a matter of fact, embroidery always forms a conspicuous element in Anglo-Saxon dress, the Anglo-Saxon women being famous for their skill with the needle. We learn from Eginhart that the four Princesses, daughters of Edward the Elder, and sisters to Æthelstan, were celebrated for their skill in spinning, weaving, and embroidering, and Editha, the wife of Edward the Confessor, was a perfect mistress of the needle.

ANGLO-SAXON DRESS (EIGHTH CENTURY).

A somewhat remarkable feature of Anglo-Saxon dress of the eighth century was the long super-tunic with long sleeves, worn in travelling or during cold weather. The sleeves not only cover the hands, but reach considerably below the tips of the fingers. The sleeves worn by the Chinese mandarins at the present time are identical with the long sleeves of the Anglo-Saxon period.

The tunic, so far as women's dress is concerned, may be said to have finally disappearedby the time of the Tudors, when a woman's dress consisted of kirtle or petticoat, and bodice or stomacher. Indeed, the tunic proper may be said to have disappeared with the general change which came about in costume immediately after the Norman Conquest, the Saxon word "gunna" and the Norman "surcoat" better describing the dresses of that period.

The term "tunic" is also applied to the military surcoat of the present time, this article of military costume, however, bearing no sort of affinity to the original tunic.

An important adjunct of the tunic was the girdle, by which the garment was looped up and confined within reasonable limits. In the case of the men, as Strutt observes, it served a double purpose, that of confining the tunic, and supporting the sword.

Girdles were of various kinds—a sash of silk or other materials; or formed of leather, either a simple thong or ornamented in various ways; or of different cloths, richly embroidered and studded with jewels; or of metal. The girdle of Charlemagne was composed of gold and silver.

"A girdel ful riche for the nanesOf perry and of precious stanes."

Ywaine and Gawin.

The Imperial girdle of the Holy Roman Empire was woven in silk and gold, having a woven inscription upon the narrow border, and clasped by means of a heavy gilt buckle.

It is recorded that upon the return of Henry VI.to England after his coronation in France in 1432 the Lord Mayor of London rode to meet him at Eltham, "being arrayed in crimson velvet, a great velvet hat furred, a girdle of gold about his middle, and a baldrick of gold about his neck trailing down behind him."

Numerous fine examples of the girdle occur among the early brasses. It was used also by both sexes for the purpose of suspending or sustaining the pouch or purse which was invariably worn during the Middle Ages, as it was the only form of pocket—

"And by his gurdil hyng a purs of lethir,Tassid with silk, and perled with latoun."

Miller's Tale.

The name "cut-purse" applied to thieves is derived from the circumstance of the leather thongs which attached the pouch to the girdle being slit with a knife.

Some few years ago a movement, having its origin, singularly enough, in the United States, above all places, was instituted for the purpose of inducing the modern Greeks to adopt the ancient costume of their forefathers, several prominent Americans masquerading in the streets of Athens in tunic and peplum. The only result of the movement was to create a diversion amongst the inhabitants, who probably regarded their would-be instructors as harmless lunatics. The result was, indeed, inevitable; such sentimental movements are predestined to failure.A national costume is of slow growth; it is the natural outcome of the general habits, mode of thought, and temper of a people. It is as impossible to bring about a sudden change in dress as it is to create a new style of architecture.

At the annual congress of Prussian female elementary school teachers held recently at Altona, some interesting papers were read which are germane to this subject of costume, and which serve to show that some of the continental peoples are more alive to the importance of this subject than we are. We give a shortrésuméwhich appeared in the pages of theDaily Chroniclea short while ago. The italics are ours.

"School-Inspector Muller urged the necessity of reform of children's clothes, statingthat the human body is a most magnificent work of art which is frequently maltreated with corsets and other tightly fitting garments.

"Fraulein Lischnevska, of Spandau, said a return must be made to the pure art of the ancient Greeks. During gymnastic exercises children must be naked, and only immoral persons would regard this as immoral. This remark was greeted with a storm of applause.

"Fraulein Bertha Jordan, of Mulhausen,deplored the fact of people becoming so greatly estranged from art, a circumstance which she ascribed to the degradation of work and the severance from nature, both resulting from industrialism. The remedy, she considers, lies with schools and school education,and she argued that much can be done by a careful selection of pictures on the class-room walls, by awakening faculties of observation in children and arousing their interest in nature which surrounds them."

The gret Emetreus the Kyng of YndeUppon a steede bay trapped in steelCovered with cloth and of gold dyapred welCam rydyng lyk the god of armes marsHis coote armour was a cloth of TarsCowched of perlys whyte round and greteHis sadil was of brend gold newe beteA mantelet upon his schuldre hangyngBret-ful of Rubies reed and fir sparclyngHis crispe her lik rynges was i-ronneAnd that was yalwe and gliteryng as the sonne.

Chaucer,The Knight's Tale.

THE CORONATION MANTLE.Preserved in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna.

IIITHE MANTLE

Of the famous mantles recorded in history, one of the first which will occur to the mind is that of Elijah, in which he hid his face when he stood in the cave at Horeb, and heard the still, small voice, which came after the fire, which came after the earthquake, which came after the great strong wind which rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord. And afterwards, when he "found Elisha the son of Shaphat who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth, Elijah passed by him andcast his mantle upon him."

And again, on the shores of Jordan, "Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground."

"And it came to pass as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

"And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces."

"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan."

"And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."

St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, soldier of God, dividing his mantle with the beggar at the gates of Amiens, is one of many similar stories in the earlier history of the Christian Church. It is a variation of the story of St. Christopher, and is intended as a lesson in charity. The legend recounts that Christ appeared to him the following night covered with the half of his mantle.

What schoolboy but does not remember the story of Raleigh's mantle, which he cast into the mire in order that Queen Elizabeth's feet might not be soiled? "The night had been rainy, and just where the young gentleman stood, a small quantity of mud interrupted the Queen's passage. As she hesitated to pass on, the gallant, throwing his cloak from his shoulders, laid it on the miry spot, so as to ensureher stepping over it dryshod. Elizabeth looked at the young man, who accompanied this act of devoted courtesy with a profound reverence, and a blush that overspread his whole countenance. The Queen was confused, and blushed in her turn, nodded her head, hastily passed on, and embarked in her barge without saying a word."[7]

The mantle is the cloak or outermost covering to the body, and was originally worn either when the weather was unpropitious, or, as occasion demanded.

The peplum of the Greeks was, in fact, a mantle, worn by both sexes, and was occasionally very long, passing twice round the body, first underneath the arms and then over the shoulder. In rainy or cold weather it was pulled over the head, and also in times of mourning.

The peplum had no clasps or fastenings of any sort, but was kept in its place by its own involutions, of which the combinations were almost endless.

It will readily be understood that the natural foldings of drapery, possessing in themselves so much variety and interest, when thrown over a form so beautifully proportioned as is the human figure, gave the utmost grace of line and form, and this fact makes it all the more surprising that the natural foldings of drapery are not taken greater advantage of in modern dress. The peplum was often diapered with sprigs, spots, stars, or other patternings, and was occasionally richly bordered.

The Greeks also occasionally wore a shorter and simpler cloak, called chlamys, in lieu of the moreample peplum; such a short mantle is the one which we see upon the shoulders of the Apollo Belvidere.

PLAN OF THE TOGA.

The Roman toga corresponded to the Greek peplum, but differed from it in shape, and was more ample, for while the peplum was square, or rather oblong, the toga assumed the form of two semicircles—a larger and a smaller one, or, more correctly speaking, a semicircle and the smaller segment of a circle, which was doubled over the semicircle before adjustment. One end of the toga was then placed upon the left shoulder in such a position that the end or point just touched the ground, the rest of the garment drawn round the back of the figure, underneath the right arm, and flung again over the left shoulder; a sort of loop or bag was then drawn out at the waist infront and served as a pocket. The toga measured 18 feet from tip to tip, or three times the height of a man. It was worn always over the tunic—at any rate during the later Roman time. Horace, in his fourth Epode, thus satirises an upstart:—

"Mark, as along the Sacred Way thou flauntest,Puffing thy toga, twice three cubits wide."

THE TOGA.From Hope's "Costume of the Ancients."

The material of the toga was wool, in the earlier time and for the common people; afterwards silk and other materials were used, coloured or bordered according to the rank or station of the wearer.

The mantle—that is, the simple square or oblong cloak which was derived from the Greek peplum—was worn in different ways from the Roman period onwards, either thrown loosely over the shoulders as was the peplum, or fastened at the shoulder or breast by means of fibulæ, rings, or cords. In a bas-relief found at Autun and engraved in Montfaucon, an archdruid is represented with a long mantle reaching to the ground, the ends drawn through a ring upon the left shoulder.

The large coronation mantle of the Holy Roman Empire, preserved in the Imperial Treasury at Vienna, is semicircular in shape, of red silk, richly embroidered in gold thread, the outlines emphasised by rows of seed pearls. The design, which is divided in the middle by a representation of a palm tree, figures on either side a lion springing upon a camel, and is treated with that noble convention characteristic of early Sicilian design. On the border of the curved edge is worked an Arabic inscription (commonin earlier Sicilian fabrics), stating that the robe was worked in the Royal factory at Palermo in 1134.

One of the gifts which the five maidens present to Beryn from Duke Isope is a purple mantle—

"The thirde had a mantell of lusty fressh coloureThe uttir part of purpell i-furred with peloure."

The Tale of Beryn.

The mantle was a distinguishing feature of the costume of the Franks, which was a variation of Roman or classic dress,i.e., the loose tunic and mantle, with the addition of hose or leg covering with cross gartering; both tunic and mantle were often elaborately bordered in a style of ornament which strongly betrayed, in fact, was a development of, Byzantine influences.

King John of Gascogny having been counselled by his barons to yield up to Charlemagne the four sons of Aymon, after much sorrow, summons his secretary—"Come forth, syre Peter, and write a letter from me to the Kinge Charlemagne, as I shall telle you: It is that I sende hym salutacyon wyth goode love, and yf he wyll leve me my londe in peas, I promyse hym that afore ten dayes ben paste, I shall delyver unto hym the foure sones of Aymon, and he shall fynde theym in the playne of Valcolours clothed with scarlette furred wyth ermynes, and ridynge upon mewles, berynge in theyr handes flowres and roses for a token, bycause that men shall better knowe them."

Charlemagne calls then his chamberlain—"Make a lettre to Kyng Yon of Gascoyne in my behalve. Wryte that I sende hym salutacyon and goode love,and that yf he dooth for me as he sayth, I shall encrease his royame wyth fourtene goode castelles, and therof I gyve hym for surete our lorde and saynte Denys of Fraunce, and that I sende hym four mauntelles of scarlette furred wyth ermynes, for to clothe wythall the traytoures, when they shall goo to the playne of Valcoloures, and there they shall be hanged, yf God wyll."[8]

The Venetian mantle which Charlemagne wore was, according to an early French writer quoted by Strutt, of a grey or blue colour. It was quadrangular in its form, and so doubled that when placed upon the shoulders it hung down as low as the feet before and behind, but on the sides it scarcely reached to the knees.

In the Anglo-Saxon dress of the earlier period, the mantle is a simple square with a border on the outer side, the two upper corners being gathered together at the shoulders and fastened with brooches connected by a chain. It is an instance of a very decorative effect being produced by simple means.

The coronation mantle of Edward the Confessor was richly embroidered by his Queen, Editha.

William of Malmesbury mentions a mantle presented to Henry I. by Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln, which was lined with black sables with white spots, and cost £100, a large sum in those days.

The mantle, during the Norman period, underwent little change. It was fastened, either upon one of the shoulders, generally the right, or in front, by means of fibulæ or pins of an ornamental character. In theearliest sculptured effigies of English Sovereigns which we possess, those of Henry I. and his Queen Matilda at the west door of Rochester Cathedral, the King is represented in a long dalmatic, with a loose mantle thrown over his left arm. The Queen has a more formal mantle, resting upon either shoulder, the system of fastening of which is hidden by the two long plaits of hair which fall down on either side, but which was probably some kind of ornamental strap. The ordinary mantles of this period were often provided with a "capa" or cowl, which was drawn over the head and frequently used in lieu of a hat.

STATUE OF QUEEN MATILDA AT ROCHESTER.

In the effigies of the Plantagenet Kings, the mantles are generally of the long flowing character above described, varied by rich borderings or embroiderings. Henry II., however, introduced a shorter mantle (cloak of Anjou), from which circumstance he obtained the sobriquet of "Curt manteau." The effigy of Eleanor of Castile, his Queen, in the Abbey of Fontevraud in Normandy, shows a mantle embroidered with a"powdering" of gold crescents. That of Cœur de Lion, in the same Abbey, has a square-bordered mantle fastened at the breast by a fibula at the upper corners. The two lower corners are plainly shown in the statue folded over each other.

During the reign of Henry III. costume generally increased in splendour. The effigy of this monarch, however, exhibits a loose plain mantle, fastened by a fibula on the right shoulder, the folds of the mantle hanging in a series of regular festoons over the front of the figure.

In the Harleian MSS. is a satirical Latin "Song upon the Tailors" of this reign (Henry III.), an English version of which is included in Mr. Wright's "Political Songs," published by the Camden Society. Addressing the tailors, it commences:—

"I have said ye are gods; why should I omit the service which should be said on festival days? Gods certainly ye are, who can transform an old garment into the shape of a new one. The cloth, while fresh and new, is made either a cape or mantle; but, in order of time, first it is a cape, after a little space this is transformed into the other: Thus ye change bodies. When it becomes old, the collar is cut off; when deprived of the collar it is made a mantle: Thus in the manner of Proteus are garments changed. When at length winter returns, many engraft immediately upon the cape a capuce; then it is squared; after being squared it is rounded, and so it becomes an amice. If there remain any morsels of the cloth or skin which is cut, they do not want a use: of these are made gloves. This is the general manner, theyall make one robe out of another, English, Germans, French, and Normans, with scarcely an exception. Thuscapeis declined, butmantelotherwise: in the first year while it is fresh, the skin and the cloth being both new, it is laid up in a box; when, however, the fur begins to be worn off, and the thread of the seams broken, the fur is clipped and placed on a new mantle, until at last, in order that nothing may be lost, it is given to the servant for his wages."

LORD BURLEIGH, 1520-1598.National Portrait Gallery.Photo by Emery Walker.

The vestments of the most noble Order of the Garter, founded, as every student of history knows, in the reign of Edward III.,[9]consisted originally of a mantle, a tunic, and capuchon, of blue woollen cloth, cut to the fashion of the period, the knights differing only from the monarchs in respect of the tunic being lined with miniver instead of ermine. All three garments were closely diapered or powdered with garters of gold, the mantle having one larger than the rest on the left shoulder, enclosing a shield, Argent, with the cross of St. George, Gules.

The vestments of this Order have been constantly altered during different periods. In the seventh year of Richard II. the surcoat or tunic was of "violet in grain," in the eleventh year white, and in the twelfth and nineteenth of "long blue cloth." They were changed again to white in the first year of Henry V., another change to scarlet in the reign of Henry VI., and afterwards back again to white.

The number of embroidered garters on the coatand chaperon were in this reign limited to 120 for a duke, 110 for a marquis, 90 for an earl, decreasing in the same ratio to 60 in the case of a knight bachelor. The King's was unlimited; on the surcoat and hood of Henry VI. there were 173.

The material of the mantle was changed to velvet during this reign, lined with white damask or satin.

In the reign of Henry VII. an important addition was made to the insignia of this Order, that of thecollar. The whole habit sent to the King of Castile in the twenty-seventh year of this reign consisted of mantle, kirtle, hood andcollar, and was of purple velvet lined with silk or sarcenet, the embroidered garters entirely disappearing.

The Statutes of the Order were reformed by Henry VIII., who also altered the dress to the fashion of the period. The flat velvet hat or cap, so familiar in Holbein's portraits, superseded the chaperon or hood, which was, however, still worn hung or depending upon the shoulder, and called thehumerale. Both hat and surcoat were of crimson velvet.

The lesserGeorge, or jewel of the Order, was introduced during this reign, suspended upon the breast by either a gold chain or riband, which latter wasblack.

In the reign of Elizabeth, the flat hat gives place to one with a higher crown, being more in keeping with the fashion of the time, but no other alteration of the habit was made.

During the reign of Charles II. ostrich or heron plumes appear in the cap, and the broad blue riband was worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm.

As at present worn, the mantle is of purple velvet lined with taffetas, bearing on the left shoulder the badge of the Order, viz., a silver escutcheon charged with the red cross of St. George and enriched with the garter and motto. In chapters it is worn over the uniform or Court dress. The surcoat, or short gown without sleeves, is made of crimson velvet, lined, like the mantle, with white taffetas silk. The hood, worn on the right shoulder of the mantle, is made of the same velvet as the surcoat, and lined with the same material.

Matthew Paris, describing the solemnisation of the marriage of Alexander III. of Scotland with the Princess Margaret, sister of Henry III., says:—

"There were great abundance of people of all ranks, multitudes of the nobility of England, France, and Scotland, with crowds of Knights and military Officers, the whole of them pompously adorned with garments of silk, and so transformed with excess of Ornaments that it would be impossible to describe their dresses without being tiresome to the reader, though it would excite his astonishment. Upwards of one thousand Knights on the part of the King of England attended the nuptials in vestments of silk, curiously wrought in embroidery; and these vestments on the morrow were laid aside; and the same Knights appeared in new robes of still more magnificent decoration. The nobles of Scotland and of France did not fall a whit below those of England in their show and parade. The Barons and the Knights were habited in robes of divers colours; sometimes they appeared in green, sometimesin blue, then again in grey, and afterwards in scarlet, varying the colours according to their fancies, or the wills of the ladies to whom they had dedicated their amorous vows. Their breasts were adorned with fibulæ, or brooches of gold; and their shoulders with precious stones of great magnitude, such as emeralds, sapphires, jacinths, pearls, rubies, and other rich ornaments. The ladies who attended had rings of gold, set with topaz stones and diamonds, upon their fingers; their heads were adorned with elegant crests or garlands; and their wimples were composed of the richest stuffs, embroidered with pure gold, and embellished with the rarest jewellery."

LODOWICK, DUKE OF RICHMOND AND LENNOX.Engraved by J. Barrà.

In an inventory of the wardrobe and jewels of Henry V., taken in 1423 at his decease, mention is made ofheukesof scarlet cloth and camlet, andpilchesof grey fur. The wordpilcheis a corruption of the Latinpelliceus, or the Saxonpylce, and represented a coat of fur worn during cold weather. The modern wordpelisseused to describe a child's coat is derived from the same source.[10]

"After grete hete comith colde,No man cast his pilche away."

Chaucer.

A farewell letter of Bishop Ridley (Foxe's "Book of Martyrs"), describing the sufferings of Christ's true soldiers, says:—

"They were stoned, hewn asunder, tempted, fell, and were slain upon the edge of the sword; somewandered to and fro in sheep's pilches, in goats' pilches, forsaken, oppressed, afflicted."

PORTION OF THE PICTURE OF THE MIRACLE OF ST. BERNARD.By Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Pinacoteca, Perugia.

In the inventory above referred to are mentioned, "gounes de noier damask, furrez de sides de foynes et marterons." The cost of these furs is also given—"iiipares de foyns, chascun cont' c. bestes, pris le pec' xd.xiili.xs.," the marteron being more costly.

The foyne appears to have been the same as the polecat or fitchet.

The pylce was in common use during the Anglo-Saxon period, and worn by all classes. In Michel's "Chroniques Anglo-Normandes,"c.1185, is described a meeting on a little bridge near Westminster between Tosti, Earl of Huntingdon, and Siward, Earl of Northumberland. "The said Earl approached so near to Siward on the bridge that he dirtied his pelisse (pelles) with his miry feet; for it was then customary for noblemen to use skins without cloth." This evidently referring to a long mantle or cloak.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions the great gifts and many treasures of skins decked with purple, pelisses of marten skin, weasel skin, and ermine skin, which King Malcolm of Scotland and his sister Margaret gave to the Conqueror in 1074.

During the general change which came about in costume in the reign of Richard II. a shorter mantle or cloak began to be worn, which continued at intervals and under various forms until the universal adoption of coats at the close of the reign of Charles II.

In the tempera painting of the miracle of St. Bernard by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo in the Pinacoteca at Perugia, a young man is wearing a short cloak or mantle, hanging in very formal folds from the shoulder and reaching a little below the middle. The mantle is buttoned upon the right shoulder, thus repeating the principle of the Roman toga, whichleaves the right arm free. A similar short cloak is figured in a copy of Froissart's Chronicles in the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum. There was a reason for the mantle being fastened upon the right shoulder; it was that the right arm is the sword-arm. This, however, does not apply to the toga, which is the last garment that a man would fight in. Two other figures in the picture above mentioned are habited in long cloaks reaching to the feet, with full sleeves; the cloak of the dark figure lined and bordered with miniver, and the other of a different fur.

These long robes with ample sleeves constantly occur in Benozzo Gozzoli's frescoes in the Campo Santo at Pisa, either flowing loosely or confined by a girdle, and generally lined and bordered with miniver, which appears to be a favourite enrichment with Benozzo. These garments are worn usually by more elderly persons.

In a small but extremely elaborate and beautiful picture by Fra Angelico, in the Convent of San Marco at Florence, a figure appears habited in one of these long robes, having openings for the sleeves of the under garment, which are of a different material, to pass through. The dress is confined by a rich girdle.

During the reign of Elizabeth the short cloak, or cape cloak, continued to be worn. It reached scarcely below the waistbelt, was provided with a collar, which was often deep, and was lined with silk or satin of a different colour to the outside, often extremely rich.

"Here is a cloke cost fifty pound, wife,Which I can sell for thirty when I have seenAll London in't, and London has seen me."

Ben Jonson,The Devil is an Ass.

The Spanish cloak was thrown loosely over the shoulders somewhat after the manner of the toga. It was customary to wrap it around the left arm to serve as a shield in duels.

In the portrait of Prince Henry, eldest son of James I. (p. 103), the Prince is figured as wearing a long mantle reaching to the knees. It has a collar, a richly jewelled border, and is lined with silk damask.

The Puritan cloak did not differ materially in shape from that worn by the Cavaliers, but, like the rest of Puritan dress, was entirely bare of ornament:—

"He was tall and fair, and had plain but very good cloaths on his back" (Bunyan, "Life of Mr. Badman").

There are a number of references to dress in Pepys's "Diary," which covers a period of ten years, 1659-69.

Under date July 1, 1660, he writes: "This morning came home my fine camlett cloak, with gold buttons, and a silk suit, which cost me much money, and I pray God to make me able to pay for it."

About this time a shorter cloak, reaching to a little below the waist, came into fashion. On October 7th (Lord's Day) of the same year, 1660, occurs the entry: "To Whitehall on foot, calling at my father's to change my long black cloake for a short one, (long cloakes being now quite out), but he being gone to church, I could not get one."

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