Medieval Hoods

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Cloaks

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Jesters' Hoods

Men's Coifs
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This webpage is divided into three sections: men's hoods, women's hoods, and links to information on making hoods.



Men's Hoods

I'm also encluding some examples of hoods being worn in the "chaperone" style, as they sometimes provide good construction-related details. Additional pictures can be found here as well.


Women's Hoods

One thing I've noticed: I can find no examples in period illustrations of a woman wearing a dagged hood. Sure, I've seen them in dagged sleeves, and even in one example, a gown with a dagged bottom hemline ... but no dagged hoods.

I've found a few literary references, though. Margery Kempe, in a section of her writings posted as an inset further down on this page, describes herself ("this creature") as having been proud and vain, and wearing hoods with dagged tippets. (As discussed elsewhere on this site, it seems that "tippets" refer to the long tail of a hood, rather than sleeve-streamers.) There is also the green hood in a satirical mid-15th century poem, which is also described as "daggyd."

  • Some Clothing of the Middle Ages includes information about several extant hoods, including two buttoned hoods -- London 246 and London 247.
  • The Maciejowski Bible, 13th century
    Boaz encounters Ruth: Farmworker picking up grain (lower central part of illustration); notice white linen head-wrap worn under the hood.
  • Manesse Codex, 1300-1330: A woman observing the tournament of Albrecht Marschall von Rapperswil wears a fur-lined open hood; a woman observing the tournament of Johann von Ringgenberg seems to have a hood perched on top of her head.
  • The Luttrell Psalter (British Library MS. ADD. 42130), c. 1325-1335: Some of the women (like the milkmaid in fol. 163v) wear open hoods, sometimes over a veil (6)
  • Le Roman de la rose, c. 1350
    This illustration shows women wearing hoods with contrasting linings; one of the women wears hers on the back of her head (see also the Romance of Alexander cited above).
  • Some of the women in Le Roman de la Rose (University of Chicago Library ), c. 1365, wear open hoods, some of which seem to have buttons; see fols. 80r, 81r, and 83r, for example.
  • Illustration of St. Ursula and companions in an Italian breviary, ca. 1380; one of the women in the back row wears a red hood on top of her head.
  • Tacuinum Sanitatis, 15th century (BNF Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673), c. 1390-1400: Celery (fol. 28v); Hissop (fol. 29v); Marjoram (fol. 30)
  • Bible historiale by Guiard des Moulins, beginning of the 15th century
    The Judgment of Solomon (BNF Fr. 10, fol. 318): Two women wear open hoods.
    Birth of Israel (BNF Fr. 10, fol. 444): One woman's headdress looks like an open hood worn over a veil and wimple.
    Abraham travels: Sarah wears an open hood.
    The death of Job's children: The women wear open hoods; yellow (golden? brass?) buttons can be seen along the right edge of two of the hoods.
  • A shepherdess in the Rohan Hours (BNF Lat. 9471, fol. 85v); a bright red lining on the black hood
  • And, whan this creatur was thus gracyowsly comen ageyn to hir mende, sche thowt sche was bowndyn to God and that sche wold ben his servawnt. Nevyrthelesse, sche wold not leevyn hir pride ne hir pompows aray that sche had usyd befortym, neithyr for hyr husbond ne for noon other mannys cownsel. And yet sche wyst ful wel that men seyden hir ful mech velany, for sche weryd gold pypys on hir hevyd and hir hodys wyth the typettys were daggyd. Hir clokys also wer daggyd and leyd wyth dyvers colowrs betwen the daggys that it schuld be the mor staryng to mennys sygth and hirself the mor ben worshepd.

    The Book of Margery Kempe, ll. 189-196

  • De mulieribus claris (BNF Fr. 598), beginning of the 15th century: Women wear open hoods in illustrations of Juno (fol. 12), Minerva (fol. 13), Pamphile of Kos (fol. 68v), Tanaquil (fol. 70v), Sappho (fol. 71v), Thamyris (fol. 86), Leontion (fol. 92v), Flora (fol. 97), A young Roman woman (fol. 99), Iaia (fol. 110v), Tertia Aemilia (fol. 112), Turia (fol. 123v), Sulpicia (fol. 125), and Anicia Faltonia Proba (fol. 143v).
  • A woman wears an open hood with an almost exaggerated (wire-supported?) front in Terence's Comedies (BNF Arsenal 664, fol. 230v\, ca 1410
  • Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1412-1416
    Women in February, July, and September wear open hoods.
  • Border, The Hours of Margaret of Orleans (BNF Lat. 1156 B, fol. 135), c. 1426
  • The Decameron, 1432
    Women wear open hoods in 108v, 215v (note buttons and seam), 304, 314, and 347v. Another 15th century illustrated Decameron (BNF Fr 239 has many more women in open hoods, some with buttons along one edge.
  • Gifts of the Holy Spirit (BNF Fr. 50, fol. 28v) and Miracle of St. Narcissa (BNF Fr. 51, fol. 91), Speculum historiale, 1463
  • Lust, a book of hours (Morgan Library M.1001, fol. 98r), c. 1475
  • Livre d'heures de Charles d'Angouleme, late 15th century
    This illustration (also here) features a lady in a scarlet open hood with a long liripipe tucked into her belt.
  • Annunciation to the Shepherds, Hours of Henry VIII (Morgan MS H.8, fol. 56v), c. 1500

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