Women's headdresses



For the most part, women in the Middle Ages did not let their hair go uncovered. Girls might let their long locks flow free, but that was considered too enticing to men for older girls and women. The nobility allowed the tresses to show for coronation and other ceremonies. Prostitutes were sometimes mandated to show their hair to distinguish them from modest, proper women. Most women braided long hair and covered the head with a coif. The coif, also worn by men, was a simple bowl-shaped piece of linen or cotton, often with strings to tie under the chin. It looked something like a baby bonnet. But, of course, the demands of beauty and fashion could not leave well enough alone. In Murder at the Leopard, we have a scene in which Ysabella and Angelica dress in their best clothes to impress Ferdinand. Angelica's long, dark hair is swept up on the back of her head and covered with a crispine. The crispine is a variation of a caul or coif. The crispine is a mesh net that slips over hair buns. These hairnets served dual purposes, holding hair back and dressing the hair up, as they were adorned with stone, pearls, precious gems or crystal beads. A somewhat later fashion divided the hair into two buns on each side of the head, Princess Leia like, and covered the buns with smaller hairnets called crispinettes. This was often accompanied by a band around the head holding a gauzy veil. More on other head coverings in the next post.

Detail of crispinette from rre-enactment costume

The crispinette with veil