Part 4

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.

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 disappeared by 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 nanes Of 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 short _résumé_ which appeared in the pages of the _Daily Chronicle_ a short while ago. The italics are ours.

"School-Inspector Muller urged the necessity of reform of children's clothes, stating _that 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."

FOOTNOTES:

[6] With the object of making more complete a work on ancient textile fabrics which the Prussian Government is issuing, the sarcophagus at Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral in which the remains of Charlemagne rest has been opened, and certain pieces of valuable silk have been extracted in order that they may be examined and photographed. The great Frankish Emperor's bones were wrapped in these costly cloths. One of them is ancient Constantinople work, the production of the celebrated Imperial Byzantine workshops, and represents a brilliantly coloured surface with elephants embroidered in circles. The other piece is believed to be of Sicilian origin, with a design of birds and hares.

Charlemagne's bones are still intact, with the exception of the skull and one arm, which are in another part of the Cathedral. Medical men who have examined these bones say that the Emperor was a man of huge proportions. The Kaiser is greatly interested in the preparation of this work on ancient tissues, and it was his Majesty who induced the Archbishop of Cologne to consent to the opening of the sarcophagus.--_Daily Paper._

III

THE MANTLE

The gret Emetreus the Kyng of Ynde Uppon a steede bay trapped in steel Covered with cloth and of gold dyapred wel Cam rydyng lyk the god of armes mars His coote armour was a cloth of Tars Cowched of perlys whyte round and grete His sadil was of brend gold newe bete A mantelet upon his schuldre hangyng Bret-ful of Rubies reed and fir sparclyng His crispe her lik rynges was i-ronne And that was yalwe and gliteryng as the sonne.

CHAUCER, _The Knight's Tale_.

III

THE 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 and _cast 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 ensure her 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 more ample peplum; such a short mantle is the one which we see upon the shoulders of the Apollo Belvidere.

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 in front 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 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 (common in 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 coloure The 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 the earliest 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.

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, they all make one robe out of another, English, Germans, French, and Normans, with scarcely an exception. Thus _cape_ is declined, but _mantel_ otherwise: 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."

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 coat and 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 the _collar_. The whole habit sent to the King of Castile in the twenty-seventh year of this reign consisted of mantle, kirtle, hood and _collar_, 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 the _humerale_. Both hat and surcoat were of crimson velvet.

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

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:--