Copy of `Tufts - Saxon hair terms`

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Tufts - Saxon hair terms Category: History and Culture > Ancient hair stylings Date & country: 31/01/2017, UK Words: 16

Wimple
appeared by 1190, a length of fine linen or silk draped underneath the chin, across the throat. The ends were pinned at the crown of the head. During this time period, it always accompanied a veil , and usually a circlet. (Fig 12).

Loose Hair
was only worn by young girls, unmarried, and queens during coronation ceremony and brides. Often a circlet was worn.

Turban
this style was popular throughout the 15th century. It’s influence was Turkish, probably after the capture of Constantinople. They were light, made of wire mesh and fabric.

Veils
made of light-weight fabric like silk, cambric, or fine linen. They were usually rectangular lengths with a hole cut in the middle for putting the head through.

Hennin
eventually the horns became so tall and vertical they merged into one tall horn. In England, the cone had a flat top and would not exceed a height of nine inches. Compared to the 2-3 feet of Continental styles, this was modest. Transparent veils were attached to the top, or draped, sometimes to the ground.

Horizontal Braiding
popular in the mid 14th century, the head would go uncovered, but sometimes a fillet would support the plaits ( Fig. 22).

Horned
the side cauls eventually grew to such large proportions that they became horns. The metal mesh that had encased the cauls became decorative surface for the fabric horns.

Head-tires
circlets of gold that could be worn by any Saxon of rank at this time. The circlets could be made of other material, and the veil could be worn under or over.

Heart-Shaped
over time the horned headdresses rose in verticality, eventually forming a heart shape. They were crafted by goldsmiths, using rich fabrics and a gold mesh, usually set with needlework and jewels. The headdresses were so rich they were often mentioned in wills. Fig. 51 and 52 showcase a style in which a padded roll of fabric frames the face.

Extreme Length
this trend was echoed in sleeve length ( considered one of the first fashion trends) The illusion of long hair was aided with fake hair, ribbons, silk tubes with tassels, and attached metal cylinders.

Fillet
a stiffened band of linken or silk worn around the head, over the barbette. Sometimes worn under a crown, with the tips showing. Became narrower over time. Young girls wore the fillet and barbette with flowing hair (fig 17), but more often the hair was braided ( fig 13) The fillet and barbette became narrower over time in this period.

Crespine
or crespinette, a net or caul usually worn and attached to the barbette and fillet (Fig 15 and 16) Great ladies wore crespines of silk and jewels.

Caul
a crespine, or a net, this trend went hand in hand with the circular or horizontal braiding around the face. These cauls gradually got larger and larger.

Barbe
a pleated linen bib, which went out of fashion, along with the wimple, in the sixteenth century. Sumptuary laws of mourning made the barbe mandatory for Court.

Barbette
supposedly introduced by Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a band of linen encircling the face and pinned into place. At first it was only worn by royal ladies with a circlet or coronet (Fig 11) but was eventually adopted by all classes

Butterfly
consisted of a cap which resembled an inverted flowerpot, set at an angle orginally resembling the hennin, and then eventually becoming completely horizontal. The veil arrangement was important and structural. Sometimes the veil was starched into it’s folds, but often it was supported by wires. The V-shape was desirable.