GOTHIC 1200-1450

Early Gothic1200-1350



Late Gothic 1350-1450



From Tudor Pattern Book, 1520

Gothic

1200-1450

Gothic Revival

(“Romantic”)

Mid 19th century

Goth

Last 20 yrs

Don’t be fooled!!!

Influential People

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

St Louis V11, V11, X1

Eleanor of Aquitane.

King John (weak King).

Henry 1V, V, V1.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Charles V, V1, V11.

Jeanne d'Arc (martyred 1431).

The de Medici family.

Popes: Innocent III, Gregory IX, Clement V.

1375- Robin Hood appears in literature.

Events

Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken

Josse Lieferinxe, p. 1497-99

Walters Art Muesum

The Three Living and the Three Dead

Psalter of Robert de Lisle, c. 1310

•  1214 Dominican and Franciscan orders established.

•  1215—Magna Carta (citizen’s rights) established.

•  1227—The Inquisition (Pope Gregory IX).

•  Crusades continue until 1291.

•  1260-1295—Marco Polo voyages to China.

•  1334-1354--”Black Death” plague kills nearly 75% of the population of Europe and Asia.

Philosophy



•  Nature and Magic still common notions.

•  Clergy extraordinarily powerful.

•  CHIVALRY- Romantic Notions - “Courtly Love”.

•  Very simple and devout existence at beginning of period. As time progresses, a move toward "humanism" develops which makes way for the Renaissance (Rebirth) of the next period.

•  People at this time believed that the soul and spirit were good, but the body was evil, which tremendously influenced clothing.

Most Representative Statement of Period



The Middles Ages



The Medieval Period



Eleanor of Aquitaine on wall

of Sainte Radegonde chapel

Eleanor and Louis VII

Discoveries/ Inventions

Le Jeu de la Hache, c. 1400

•  First bible in English

•  1287-First eyeglass (only one)

•  1337 first scientific weather forecasts

•  Heraldry

•  Guilds are established

•  Tailors become common

•  First attempts at standardization of mercantile goods



Everyday Life/ Society

•  The Feudal system continues, which causes class distinction. Royalty and wealthy land owners are powerful, as are religious figures.

•  The “Middle Class” emerges.

•  Life expectancy under 30 yrs.

Codex Manesse, c. 1305-1315

256v: Hartmann von Starkenberg

•  Traveling troubadours -- spread news.

Visual Style



Architecture

•  Cathedrals

•  The Gothic Arch

•  Castles - had “Great Halls” where everything happened.



Motifs

•  Religion

•  Everyday life



Furniture/ Interiors

•  Tapestries on walls and tables

Chartres Cathedral Interior

Chartres, France

National Museum of the Middle Ages

Paris, France

Palau de la Generalitat

Palau Real Gothic Stained Glass Window

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Santa Maria del Mar Church

Barcelona, Spain

Art



Style or Movement

•  Extremely elongated style

•  The "Gothic Arch” also appeared in artwork



Artists

•  Giotto (early)

•  Fra Angelico

•  Piero della Francesca

•  Jan Van Eyck

•  Pisanello (The “Father of Costume Design”)

The Marriage of Renaud of Montauban and Clarisse

By Loyset Liedet

Court Costumes

Pisanello

PRIMARY SOURCES

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Illuminated manuscripts

Monumental Brasses

Stained glass

Statuary

Frescoes

Tapestries

Virgin and Child With Saints Detail

Gerard David, 1509

Psalters (psalm books)

Books of Hours (Les Tres Riches Heures et Les Petites Heures de Duc de Berry)

Tres Riches Hueres du Duc de Barry

Limbourg Brothers

The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries

Musee de Cluny, Paris c.a. 15th Century C.E.

The Offering of the Heart

1410

Musee de Cluny, Paris

Alphabet based on human forms

From Tudor Pattern Book, 1520

Parchment Manuscript

Parchment Manuscript

From Lives of the Philosophers

By Diogenes Laertis c.a. 1450 C.E.

From Bestiary c.a. 1225-1250 C.E.

AESTHETICS

•  The general aesthetic feeling in the period was a logical progression from the Romanesque.



•  The elongated quality in combination with the gothic arch personified the look. This elongation grew--particularly in regard to clothing--more exaggerated as the period progressed. It manifested in a “trailing elegance”. You may note the “bend” in some of the figure poses.





The next phases for the tunic…….

Fit it in with DARTS, rename it: COTE-HARDIE

(Keep lacing it, but more for show than for fit)



Add a low waist

And flare it out with a circle or Godet



Make it extra long (or extra short as in men’s skirts)



Parti-colour it



Dag it



Women also:



Cut the layers WAY away



Give it two “waists”





The next phases for the tunic…….

Fit it in with DARTS, re-name it: COTE-HARDIE



(Keep lacing it,

but more for show

than for fit)















Cote-Hardie

Dart

Detail The Mocking of Christ

Detail St. Eligius

“A Goldsmith in His Shop”

Detail Les Vendages, le Fouloir Tapestry

Amico Aspertini, Portrait of a Lady 1500

Pisanello



xxx

Edward 1 of England



Board of British Library

Pourpoint de Charles de Blois

c 1340-60

Musee des Tissus, Lyon





The next phases for the tunic…….



Add a low waist

And flare it out with a circle or Godet















*

*

*GODET

The next phases for the tunic…….

Make it extra long: Sleeves & Women’s skirts

Or short: as in men’s skirts)







The next phases for the tunic…….

Parti-colour it







The popularity of heraldry and the coat of arms became evident on clothing as 

PARTI-COLOURING  became a dominant decorative feature.

Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg

Late 16th-mid 17th century

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Arms of Stamford, Lincolnshire

Town Council

Calvert coat of arms: Lord Baltimore

The Parti-Colouring is used in Maryland’s flag

University of Maryland

2011 Football Uniforms

Coat of Arms

At the Alcazar of Seville

Tournament Knight Sheild

Renaud de Montauban and Charlemagne 742-814

By Loyset Liedet

The Challengers

Facsimile printed in Munich, 1817

By Friedrich Schlichtegroll

Italian street musicians from a fresco in

Assisi

Black & Garland



Guidoriccio da Fogliana

xxxMartini

Painted by Simone

Elenco Fotocolors

Black & Garland

A show of blazoned helmets of knights.

Conrad Grunenberg Roll of Arms. 1483



Flemish gothic allegorical narrative tapestry panel

(Detail)

th c.a. early 16 Century

A Falconer with Two Ladies and a Foot Soldier (Detail)

c. 1500. France or Flanders

Presentation of Flags and Helms

Barthelemy d’ Eyck c.a. 1460

The Codex Manesse

and the Discovery of Love

Servant

Supper in the House of the Pharisee

Giotto

The Romance of Alexander

Bodleian Library

Bedchamber showing particolouring and dagging

Les Arts Decoratifs, Musee du Louvre

Codex Manesse Johannes Hadlaub

1305-1315

Detail from “The Romance of Alexander” Tapestry 13th century



The Bodleian Library

The next phases for the tunic…….

Dag it!





Replica of dagger

DAGGING:  Dagged Edges  Echoing the architecture and  furniture styles, these cut-out  shapes were prominent on  clothing edges.   Some common shapes were: 

Castellations

Foliations

Scallops

The Devils Cast Out of Arrezo

Giotto

Les très riches heures du Duc de Berry

c. 1416

Illumination on vellum

Musée Condé, Chantilly

The Alhambra

Granada, Spain

The Seige of Acre

Dominique Papety, c. 1840

The Alhambra

Granada, Spain

Dagging

DETAIL, Otto, Count of Nassau and His Wife Adelheid van Vianen, 1530–35 Bernaert van Orley



Otto, Count of Nassau and His Wife Adelheid van Vianen, 1530–35 Bernaert van Orley



Pieter Bruegel The Adoration of the Kings 1564, The National Gallery, London

The Tacunium Sanitas of Paris, late 14th century

Fountain of Youth



Jacguerio, La Manta, Turin, Scala



These figures are from an allegorical fresco in Northern Italy



Black & Garland

Detail from The Conversation of St. Paul

By Pieter Bruegel c.a. 1567

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Ink drawing, Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Knight



Modena Archaeological Museum

Detail Saint Lawrence receives the treasures of the Church

By Fra Angelico, c. 1447

GOTHIC CLOTHING STYLE

• 

• 

Basic tunic forms continue from previous period, but fabrics, decor, layering accessories, etc. become increasingly elaborate as the period progresses. As the desire for elongation begins to affect clothing, edges of garments seem to grow, particularly hemlines and sleeve hems. It was very common to have to carry ones garment folds in ones hands to be able to move from place to place, and hanging sleeves often had to be tied up to keep from dragging on the ground.





Some form of next-to-the-body tunic is still worn, whether it is in sherte/chemise form or is the layer worn closest to the body.

• 

The body is still covered, and some form of gartered hosen are still worn by both men and women. Gartering often comes from strips of fabric tied around. At the height of PARTI-COLOURING, it was popular for legs to be different colors and patterns worn at odds.

• 

Sleeves begin to be tied in as a decorative element. Sleeve edges and armhole edges have small holes and sleeves are actually tied in or on with various forms of string with decorative edges known as points. Evidence of the sherte or chemise at the tie point was considered attractive. Sleeves could be worn in combination, and did not necessarily have to match with the COTE-HARDIE or gown.

GOTHIC CLOTHING TYPES Men

• 

COTE-HARDIE - FIRST FITTED GARMENT-- the next progression of the T-shaped tunic, (also the cote and surcote) and the distinguishing feature is that through the use of triangular shaped tucks in the fabric called DARTS, there is an attempt to have some body contour. The garment is worn in a variety of lengths, depending on age and status and is still worn in layers.

• 

The BATEAU or boat neckline is the most popular, and the edge of the chemise can sometimes be seen out of the neck edge. Sleeve layering is common, and since sleeves are beginning to be tied in, this can get fairly elaborate. Additionally, sleeve shapes are becoming exaggerated and elongated, and sometimes drag the floor and have to be tied up. The part of a sleeve that hangs down is called the TIPPET. Sleeve variety provided much of the look. Hanging sleeves were common as well as BAGPIPE or BELLOWS. One still sees the exaggerated armhole, which is still known as the OPEN-SIDED SURCOTE. Some tunics begin to feature a waistline seam and elaborate lacing and layering.

• 

Armor followed the same lines as fashion and went from chain mail to hardened metal. This was done be incorporating pieces or plates into the chain mail and as technology progressed, more and more sections became hardened, shaped metal. The hardened metal necessitated the need for articulations which were graduated, bolted sections which would allow movement more readily than a solid surface.

T-Shaped Tunic

Cote-Hardie

Dart

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy

Rogier van der Weyden, 1400-1464

Tailors had not become sophisticated enough in cutting to achieve hosen that could cover the crotch area, so hosen came up the leg but left a triangular shaped void at the crotch. This space began to be filled with a triangle of cloth, which was tied in, called a   CODPIECE.   These began to be of alternate colors and the tie-ing became quite decorative. Eventually these became stuffed, ornamented and quite focal, but the true exaggeration comes in the next period. 

Pieter Bruegel The Harvesters 1565   MMA New York

 Land Of Milk And Honey Breughel, 1567 Alte PinakothekMunchen (Munich), Germany 

 The Peasant Wedding Pieter Breueghel the elder



 St Eustace from the Paumgartner Altar Albrecht Dürer, c. 1503 Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Detail Saint George and the Princess and sketch

c. 1436-38

Pisanello

Pieter Bruegel--Peasant wedding c. 1568  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Wedding Dance c. 1566 by Pieter Bruegel

The Blind Leading the Blind

c. 1568

Pieter Bruegel



The Mocking of Christ c. 1503 by Matthias Grünewald

Detail from “Les Vendages, le Fouloir” Tapestry 13th century



Musee Cluny

RE-Drawing

Il Costume di tutti popoli, vol V!!, Europa,plate 125

From Men’s Coats, Buzzaccarini

Arrival of the English Ambassadors (Detail)

By Vittore Carpaccio, c.a. 1496

Venice, Galleria dell’ Accademia

Tarot Card

c.1432

HAIR and MAKEUP



HAIR

•  Men wore longer hair







MAKEUP

•  Makeup was not commonly worn and the facial aesthetic of the period was extremely plain. No eyebrows, no eyelashes, and an extremely high forehead were

considered beautiful, and both men and women would pluck these areas to achieve the desired look.





HATS and HEADDRESSES MEN





• 



HOODS and COIFS continued to be worn in various forms







*Armour styles followed the shape of fashion hat styles, the early chainmail ones were hood/coif-like, while the later ones were hardened metal versions of hats.





Detail Knight

Modena Archaeological Museum

Portrait of Petrarch

By Altichiero da Zevio

c. 1379, from “De Viris Illustribus”

Portrait of Dante Alighieri

By Italian Miniaturist, c.a. 1436

The sarcophagus of a professor who dies in 1383 features a relief of a Bologna University Lesson.

Life Magazine

Tapestry weavers, Padua ca 1400

Portal Sculpture, c.a. 1280-1300

Strasbourg Cathedral, Strasbourg, France

Arthurian chivalric cycle detail

By Pisanello



CHAPERON



major head covering, began as simple hood shape, then became more shaped to the head, then began to develop a tail-like extension known as a LIRIPIPE (University hoods developed from here).





The liripipe could be coiled around (turban-like) to form the “wrapped” chaperon. These became oversized and excessively wrapped as the style progressed and the liripipe could have dagged edges.









Antonio Pisani Pisanello  The Vision of Saint Eustace,  circa 1438-42  (Egg Tempera on Wood) 

 National Gallery, London

Jan van Eyck - Man in a Blue Turban 1430-1433, oil on wood



Art Museum, Bucharest, Romania (Sibiu, National Brukenthal Museum)

Louis II of Anjou

Titular king of Naples

Portrait of a Young Man

By Masaccio, 1425

National Gallery of Art

Portrait of man in a turban

By Jan van Eyck, 1433

Portrait of Jan van Eyck

By Dominicus Lampsonius

Details from The Conversation of St. Paul

By Pieter Bruegel c.a. 1567

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna





RONDELL



Doughnut shaped stuffed hat could have fabric piece in the "hole" or could be bare head. These also got quite exaggerated and decorated as the period progressed, and could also have a liripipe and be wrapped







Detail Courtiers in A Rose Garden

Tapestry 1450-1455



A Jewish Wedding

 Illustration from a manuscript

Jacob ben Essen, Vatican Library, Rome



ACCESSORIES

•  Shoes- both men and women wore a style of soft cloth or leather shoes known as POULAINES or CRACKOWS. These start out as modestly pointed, but ultimately by the end of the period are very elongated, so much so that some dandified persons have to tie their shoe points to their knees. Also as the gowns become longer in length, a PATTEN / Chopin is developed which is like a platform sandal to keep ones feet, and hopefully, hem off the ground.

Detail The Arnolfini Portrait

15th Century “poulaines”

Altar piece for the Shoemaker’s Guild of Barcelona

Arnau Bassa

1346

Detail from The Marriage of Renaud of Montauban and Clarisse

By Loyset Liedet

Detao; Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy

Rogier van der Weyden, 1400-1464

http://yoshdance.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

Archivo Mondadori

Poulaine Clipart

Etc.usf.edu/clipart

Detail of Gothic Armour

15th Century Poulaines

c.a. 1900

Museum of London

Detail from The Marriage of Renaud of Montauban and Clarisse

kuhlcat.hubpages.com

www.wornthrough.com

xxx

Spotted in a storefront on the Champs Elysees, Paris

Spring 2004

Spotted on the plaza in front of the Cathedral in Chihuahua City, CH, Mexico

Spring 2006

Dance crew

From Matehuala

Dance crew

From Buenavista

Current popular style in Mexico

Dance crew

www.chuntaritos.com

GOTHIC CLOTHING TYPES Women

•  COTE / SURCOTE- The basic T-shaped tunic exists for women , but the darting, layering, lacing, and parti-colouring, etc, elements are carried over. Within this, a tremendous amount of variety exists.

•  The OPEN-SIDED SURCOTE is very popular, and these armholes often reach all the way to the hip. Also it is quite common to belt or girdle these gothic gowns at the hip area.

•  Toward the end of the period, a second belt might be added to the underbust area, so that for a time, there were 2 “waists”. Ultimately, the hip area girdle disappeared, leaving only the high waist leading into the next period.

More things to do to a tunic….

•  Cut the layers WAY AWAY….

•  Make it really full at the bottom

•  Make the hem and sleeves REALLY LONG

•  Give it TWO waists

–  (sometimes separately, sometimes together…)



More things to do to a tunic….

•  Cut the layers WAY AWAY….



xxx

From an Italian breviary

c.a. 1380

The National Library of France, Paris

Re-Drawing

from Hill & Bucknell

Detail Marienkrönung Fra Angelico, c. 1434 Louvre, Paris

Image 1 above, from Belles Heures de Duc du Berry, 1408-09 Image 2 Speculum Historiale, 1463 Image 3, From Tristan de Léonoi, first quarter of the 15th century (Pinterest)

More things to do to a tunic….



•  Make it really full at the bottom



GODET

Drawing showing added bottom width

Through insertion of godet

Slits for Godet

http://www.theweebsite.com/ sewing/sewing/godet.html

Modern skirt with Godet at Center Back

Cheerleader skirts with contrasting Godet

McCall’s 2006

More things to do to a tunic….

•  Make the hem and sleeves REALLY LONG

L: The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini (double-portrait—check out the mirror)

Jan Van Eyck 1434  National Gallery London

Detail from The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries

Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

The illustration for April

c.a. 1416, Musée Condé, Chantilly, Fr.

The Birth of the Virgin  Fra Carnevale (MMA,New York)

Love and Not

Detail from “The Romance of Alexander” Tapestry

13th century, The Bodleian Library

The Death of St Clare 1410 National Gallery of Art, Washington

Kalvarienberg der Gerber

Brugger Meister

1400



Detail from “The Romance of Alexander” Tapestry   th 13 century, The Bodleian Library

Hortus Deliciarum

More things to do to a tunic….

Give it TWO waists

–  (sometimes separately,

–  sometimes together…



Film costume design

Lady Edith

King Richard and the Crusaders

c. 1954

The Month of April

Detail from “The Allegory of the Constellations”

Hall of the Palazzo Comunale, Padua

Escultaras de Chartres

Santa Barbara Tilman Riemenschneider

Effigy of Catherine Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick, c 1370-1375, St Mary's Church.

Joan de la Tour (left), weeper from the tomb of Edward the III, c 1377-86

Hose and hood shop

A milk maid from late 14th century London, England, cast in pewter

Eleynore Corp, granddaughter of J. Corp 1361 or 1391

***

Courtiers in A Rose Garden

Tapestry 1450-1455

Marriage of Margaret of Britain and Francis II

c.a. Late 15th century

HAIR and MAKEUP



HAIR

•  Men and Women both wear longer hair, but women began to braid, coil and coif quite extensively. Women sometimes braided their hair at the sides and coiled gold threads around in a decorative fashion. This is known as a RETICULATED HEADDRESS. Hair was also fashioned to echo the silhouette of the popular hat styles.



MAKEUP

•  Makeup was not commonly worn and the facial aesthetic of the period was extremely plain. No eyebrows, no eyelashes, and an extremely high forehead were

considered beautiful, and both men and women would pluck these areas to achieve the desired look.





p/

http:

Unknown Artist Florentine School Portrait 1460-70

Fra Filippo Lippi c 1406–1469) Portrait of a Woman

HATS and HEADDRESSES WOMEN















MISC head-banding, and hair-wrapping





RETICULATED HEADDRESS



Wires or coils around “buns” or braids worn in back or on the sides







p/

http:

Detail of

St. George & the Princess of Trebizond

St George & the Princess of Trebizond

Pisanello 1436-38

Pelligrini Chapel, Verona

Portrait of a Princess

of the House of Este

Pisanello

1436-38

Detail of Lady with an Ermine

Leonardo da Vinci c.a. 1489-1490

Musee du Louvre

Czartoryski Museum, Crackow

Fra Angelico

The Psalter of Mary de Bohun and Henry Bolingbroke

John de Teye, c. 1380-85

The Palace of Justice in Poitiers

http://maldr.livejournal.com/77520.html

http://www.lizachristi.gr/gallery.php

A metal Snood

Bust of Marie de France

Jean de Liège, c.a. 1381



Women wore close fitting body covering combinations which could encompass one or more of the following three:





Gorget

(covers neck and partially shoulders)



•  Wimple (covers face and partially neck)

•  Veil (covers head)









(Nuns head-wear derived from here)









Detail

Meister Heinrich Frauenlob

From the Codex Manesse

A Woman

By Robert Campin, c.a. 1435

http://www.gluckliche-eme.com/13chairandhats.htm

Rogier van der Weyden

detail

Giotto

The Descent from the Cross detail

By Roger van der Weyden

c.a. 1435-1438

Detail

Life and Miracles of the Virgin

By Gautier de Coincy, c.a. 1260-1270

Detail: The Murthly Hours

National Library of Scotland

c.a. 1260-1280

Shrine of St. Elisabeth

c. 1235, Elisabeth Church, Marburg, Germany

St. Elisabeth

c. 1235, Elisabeth Church

HENNIN There were 4 major types of hennin that became more exaggerated as the period progressed.

















•  Regular (single horn) Hennin

•  Two-horned

•  Truncated

•  Butterfly

4 Gothic Hennin Silhouettes

Single-horned

Two-horned

Truncated

Butterfly

B a s i c

Detail of Meister des Jouvenel des Ursins

By Barthélémy d'Eyck c.a.. 1460

Detail of miniture of the marriage between Edward II and Isabella

c.a. 1475

Detail from The Marriage of Renaud of Montauban and Clarisse

By Loyset Liedet

Detail from The Donne Triptych

By Hans Memling, c.a. 1478

Detail of Christ Discovered in the Temple

By Hans Holbein, c.a. 1500-1501

Portrait of Barbara van Vlaendenbergh

By Hans Memling, c.a. 1480

Detail from The Donne Triptych

By Hans Memling, c.a. 1478

Maria Maddalena Portinari

By Hans Memling, c.a. 1470

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait of a Lady

Rogier van der Weyden, c.a. 1460

Portrait of a Woman

Rogier van der Weyden, c.a. 1464

Detail; Boccaccio, Decameron

c.a. 15th Century

Paris, Arsenal, manuscript 5070

Above: “Joueurs d’echecs” (failure of players) stained glass, Villefranche-sur-Saône, hotel

from Bessée, 1430-1440, Musee Cluny

Her headdress is referred to as “horns out of split bread”

Portrait of Margareta van Eyck

By Jan van Eyck, c.a. 1439

Christine de Pizan Presenting her Book

c.a. 1410-1411

The British Library

Detail Devonshire Hunting Tapestry

Netherlands, 15th Century

Victoria and Albert Museum

Unknown Artist Florentine School Portrait 1475

OUTERWEAR



HOUPPELANDE

• 

• 

worn by both men and women, this was worn as an outer garment or sometimes by itself. It is voluminous and generally closed down the front. It could have a standing collar and generally had very large, full, and long sleeves. It was often belted or girdled fairly high on the waist and is very often seen with dagged edges. It generally took 13-16 yards of fabric to make one.

This was mostly a full length garment, but shorter ones did exist and one shorter variety had slits at the sides to accommodate horseback riding and was known as a riding houppelande.



PELICON

•  an outer garment that is somewhat circular and capelike, but is generally closed across the front and back with the openings at the side. These could vary from knee to floor length. It was often fur lined

• 

Capes and cloaks continued to be worn as outer wear and could be rectangular or circular.

Master of life Utrechtse Marie (Courtly Society)

Women’s costumes, drawing

Early 15th century



Louvre, Paris



The Lion in The Winter (1968)

20th century movies



Robin Hood (2010)

Smallville

Robin and Marian (1976)

Robin Hood (1973)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Robin Hood (2010)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Star Wars

20th century movies

Excalibur (1981)

Shrek 2 (2004)





A Knights Tale

Tristan and Isolde

Princess Bride

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Additional Visual References

A Nobleman Greeting a Lady with his Servants

c.a. 1420 , Musée de Cluny

The Birth of Mary

c.a. 1470, Alte Pinakothek, Munich

18th century statues in Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, of the Queens of France indicate examples of draping and fullness.

18th century statues in Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, of the Queens of France indicate examples of draping and fullness.



18th century statues in Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, of the Queens of France indicate examples of draping and fullness.

Female Saints, standing in a landscape

By Hugo van der Goes

St. Barbara

By Jan van Eyck, c.a. 1437

The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin

By Jan van Eyck c.a. 1435



Musée du Louvre, Paris

The Madonna of Canon van der Paele

By Jan van Eyck, c.a. 1436

The Crucifixion, The Last Judgment

By Jan van Eyck, c.a. 1426

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

St. Eligius “A Goldsmith in His Shop”

By Petrus Christus, c.a. 1449

Metropolitan Museum of Art

HERALDRY Supplementary Information



• 

During the Gothic period, chivalry was a major form of behavior for the upper class. Knights defended honor by battle and out of this came "heraldry" as a way for knights to be identified because the face and body were covered. They developed a symbol or device by which they could be identified and it was incorporated onto the shield, armor and flags, etc. These encompassed the knight or family's colors and the subject they wished to be identified with, often animals or objects from nature. This concept went from military to civilian wear eventually. These colors and symbols became known as the coat-of-arms and families began to use them for all sorts of identification. The family servants and court jester even began to wear this (which is the origin of the traditional jester ensemble.) Heraldry continues to be used for official functions. The College of Arms and The Order of the Garter were official bodies formed in the period to recognize and establish heraldic traditions. These organizations are still with us and the 13 members are appointed by Parliament. Their motto is: "honi soit qui mal y pense"(which translates "cursed be he who thinks evil of it") This is embroidered into the official garter.

• 

The first coats had two colors, and divided the shield in half. As the next generation became involved, the colors got more complex, and the shield had to be divided into fourths. The multiplicity of color gave way to the practice of parti-colouring, based on the specifics of the coat-of-arms.

(Heraldry continued)

• 

The shield is the actual base for the coat-of-arms. The heater is the shape, the top is called the chief, the bottom , the base, the left side, the dexter, and the right, the sinister. The actual symbol on the shield is called the device. The field, which is the surface of the shield is divided by lines into partitions (parti-)The tinctures or colors are added and then the device. A barry is a bar which divides the shield horizontally, and a bend divides it diagonally from left to right. (a sinister bend divides it from right to left and indicated a bastard) An animal used on the device could be walking on all fours which was passant, or standing on hind legs which was rampant. The subject chosen for the device could be a play on words or have some significant meaning to the family. Each son could add his own personal adaptations,called differencing, so the family history represented on one shield could be quite extensive. Any study of heraldry materials available reveals astonishing amounts of technical terms, specific requirements and variety.

Jewelry

Gold lozenge-shaped brooch set with spinels and sapphires, of north-west European origin, 14th of 15th century AD.



Tait, Hugh. Jewelry 7000 Years

English medieval stirrupshaped ring set with a sapphire from Wittersham, Kent, c. 1200 AD.



Tait, Hugh. Jewelry 7000 Years

Star-shaped brooch set with pearls and precious stones, northern Italian, mid 14th century. Museo Civico, Verona. .



Gregorietti, Guido. Jewelry Through the Ages

Gold and enamel pendant decorated with ivy leaves, France, 14th century. Museo Civico, Cividale del Friuli.

Gregorietti, Guido. Jewelry Through the Ages

A large brooch with gold foliage, sapphires and rubies 13th century.



Phillips, Clare. Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present