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Escoffion
Detail of: Queen Isabeau receiving Christine de Pisan's Le Livre de la Cité des Dames
Yearc. 1410–1414
MediumIllumination on parchment
LocationBritish Library

The escoffion (French: /ɛsˈkɔfiˌjã/) was a piece of medieval headwear which was popular during the Late Middle Ages (1250 AD to 1500 AD). The headpiece was made out of a thick, circular roll of material like wool, felt or silk. The material was shaped, by sewing or starching, into a double-horned configuration, which each horn sometimes being up to a yard long. Over the headdress, gauze or silk was sometimes draped for weight distribution or aesthetic purposes.[1] The escoffion was a type of “reticulated headdress”, meaning that it was bound together by a network of golden thread or wire.[2] The hair of the wearer was tucked away under the headdress in a number of ways; the hair could either be braided and tucked underneath the escoffion or pinned into place on each side the head in configurations sometimes known as side-pillars.[3] Alternatively, the headdress was worn over a wimple or caul, simple pieces of cloth which kept the wearer’s hair out of sight and provided a base for the larger headdress to attach on to.[4] The piece was usually worn by women of high status, such as those who lived in the court, or those who were a part of the Royal Family.[5] Depending on the size, some wearers were often unable to do certain activities because their mobility was hindered by the weight upon their head.[6]

The Escoffion and the Hennin

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Illustration of a typical conical hennin

There is often some mislabelling in terms of what style or "genre" of headwear the escoffion falls under. Often, it is categorised as a separate kind of medieval headwear called hennin, often being referred to as a “two-horned-” or “heart-shaped hennin”, etc. However, it is important to make a distinction between the hennin and the escoffion, as they were very different pieces in terms of design. The hennin was a tall, conical headdress, to which lengths of gauze were sometimes attached. The piece itself could be up to 12 feet in height. Contrastingly, the escoffion was much wider in nature and sat over the wearers head.[7] One of the reasons why they are often categorised together is because they were both in fashion amongst women of the court around the same time.

Origins and Design

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It is difficult to pinpoint exact country or region where the escoffion first originated, because the style as it is now known developed in a number of stages over almost a century. In the 15th century, there was an upsurge of interest in large, sometimes extravagant headwear, which emerged into popular court fashion across Europe. Prior to the 14th century, simple veils or hoods which were fitted close to the face had been the most popular form of headwear for women of all classes. The hair was completely covered by the hoods; this was a common symbol of female attractiveness at the time[8]. The material of the hood grew in length leading up to the end of the 14th century, eventually resulting in one or more lengths of material hanging down the back of the wearer, sometimes being so long that they had to be tucked into a belt or dress so that the wearer would not trip over it. Progressing into the late 14th century, hair was still being covered, but larger headdresses - rolls of material of various shapes, such as a heart, turban or double-horned shapes - were placed on top of these coverings. It was only later that the double-horned configuration got it's own name; the escoffion.[9]

Shown to the right is a detail of an illumination on parchment showing Queen Isabeau of Bavaria wearing a heart-shaped escoffion. The headpiece was worn mostly by women of the court, or those of a higher class. The conventions surrounding who was able to wear the escoffion is covered in the Medieval Clothing Laws and Headwear section below. LINK THIS. Court fashion had became increasingly more extravagant across Europe in the Late Middle Ages, particularly in England, France, Germany and other countries in Western Europe[10]. The escoffion varied in terms of style across Europe, with the English 'Tudor' escoffion a more subdued and conservative version of the original large headdress.

Production

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Textile production changed drastically from the Early to Late Middle Ages. Wool was primarily used for the production of textiles, which were fabricated using looms. Archaeological studies have found that before the 11th century, textiles were predominantly made using vertical looms, while after this point, great innovation in the textile industry gave way to the use of horizontal looms. Textile were made by skilled female workers in textile factories. Later, hydraulic mills came to the forefront of textile production. Materials were dyed using dye extracted from organic substances such as insects.[11] The escoffion was hand-crafted by skilled craftsmen or women

More recently, various types of medieval headwear, including the escoffion, has been re-made as a form of arts and crafts or for costume purposes. Various examples of modern fabrications of the escoffion appear on sites like Pinterest.

Medieval Clothing Laws and Headwear

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Penthesilea as one of the Nine Female Worthie

In the Middle Ages, the types of clothing which people could wear were dictated by clothing laws. These laws dictated which classes of people could obtain and wear certain types of clothing. The laws were based on a hierarchy of wealth or status. These laws are sometimes labelled as sumptuary laws. The first English sumptuary law was passed in 1337, banning clothing made out of any foreign (non-English) materials to be worn[12]. These kinds of laws were put into place so as to stop the over-expenditure of the upper-classes on luxury items. Alternatively, these laws could be viewed as protectionist in nature, enacted in order to protect the textile industries of the time from overproduction and encourage local industry to develop.[13] Economics played a small role in the overall larger factor social order had on clothing laws. In a sub-section of the Statutes of Savoy (1430) there were the thirty-nine supposed different groups of people in society - mostly separated by birth or occupation - sorted into a hierarchy, with each level given specifications about what type of clothing they could wear, the value of the material and which accessories they could adorn[14]. As a result, the more elaborate clothing designs, which required more material and a higher level of craftsmanship, were reserved for these higher classes, such as the nobility, men and women of the court or the Royal Family (who had access to almost everything). People of lower-class or socio-economic status people wore simpler clothes, often without a headdress at all.[15] Additionally, the richest and darkest dyes were reserved only for the higher classes as they were expensive to produce and yielded little produce.[16]The escoffion and other extravagant headwear was regulated by these Statutes in England, although similar sumptuary laws were passed in other parts of Europe.

Decline

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Female head dresses of the fifteenth century styled au hennin

The extravagances of headwear the late fifteenth century was so notorious that is prompted the retaliation of a number of religious and moralist groups of the time, who likened the shape of some pieces of headwear to a goat or ram, animals which were strongly associated with Baphomet, a deity representative of The Devil.[17]








References

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  1. ^ Katherine Lester, Bess Viola Oerke (2013). Accessories of Dress: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation. p. 18. ISBN 0486140490.
  2. ^ Katherine Lester, Bess Viola Oerke (2013). Accessories of Dress: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation. p. 15. ISBN 0486140490.
  3. ^ Harrison, Michael (1960). The history of the hat. London: Herbert Jenkins. p. 44.
  4. ^ Wilcox, Ruth Turner (2008). The Mode in Hats and Headdress: A Historical Survey with 198 Plates. Courier Corporation. p. 45. ISBN 0486467627.
  5. ^ Perrine Mane, Françoise Piponnier (1998). Dress in the Middle Ages. Yale University Press. p. 69. ISBN 0300069065.
  6. ^ "Castle Life - Medieval Clothing". www.castlesandmanorhouses.com. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  7. ^ Katherine Lester, Bess Viola Oerke (2013). Accessories of Dress: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation. pp. 16–18. ISBN 0486140490.
  8. ^ Perrine Mane, Françoise Piponnier (1998). Dress in the Middle Ages. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 80. ISBN 0300069065.
  9. ^ Wilcox, Ruth Turner (2008). The Mode in Hats and Headdress: A Historical Survey with 198 Plates. Dover Publications. p. 45. ISBN 0486467627.
  10. ^ Wilcox, Ruth Turner (2008). The Mode in Hats and Headdress: A Historical Survey with 198 Plates. Dover Publications. p. 40. ISBN 0486467627.
  11. ^ Perrine Mane, Françoise Piponnier (1998). Dress in the Middle Ages. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 16. ISBN 0300069065.
  12. ^ Perrine Mane, Françoise Piponnier (1998). Dress in the Middle Ages. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 82. ISBN 0300069065.
  13. ^ Sponsler, Claire (1992). Narrating the Social Order: Medieval Clothing Laws. Clio. pp. 266–268.
  14. ^ Perrine Mane, Françoise Piponnier (1998). Dress in the Middle Ages. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 83–84. ISBN 0300069065.
  15. ^ Powel, Sarah (September 1889). "Some French Fashion of Other Days". Peterson's Magazine.
  16. ^ Perrine Mane, Françoise Piponnier (1998). Dress in the Middle Ages. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 16–17. ISBN 0300069065.
  17. ^ Katherine Lester, Bess Viola Oerke (2013). Accessories of Dress: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation. p. 18. ISBN 0486140490.
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