1400s

A Stylish Paper Doll July: 15th Century Gown with Hennin

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Sources:

Okay, so today’s paper doll dress was one of the first I drew and inked, but somehow I forgot about it in the shuffle, so it is ending up being one of the last that gets shared. That’s just how things work out sometimes, I suppose.

When it comes to citing manuscript illustrations, I try as often as possible to go back to the original source if I can and I try to give enough information that if I was working at the front desk of the library that had one of these books and a person handed them the information I provide, that person would be able to find the item (or at least make a really good guess at it.)

The reality is that not all websites give all the details that might be needed, but I do my best to provide as much as I can. Medieval documents generally don’t have title pages and usually don’t have clear authors, but places often give them titles, which is what I’ve used here. It’s not perfect, but it is at least a place to start. I’ve included a manuscript number or shelf-mark when I could find one.

I am endlessly frustrated when I see a great manuscript illustration on some website and there’s absolutely no clue where the book is from or how one might actually verify the details. It’s not that I think people are intentionally making up things, but dates and locations are especially easy to get messed up in the Internet’s game of telephone. Plus, context matters when looking at what people are wearing.

Marisole Monday’s Printable 15th Century Dress

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme circa 1488-1496, Boccaccio, Des cas des nobles hommes et femmes circa 1475 and Maria Maddalena Baroncelli Christus circa 1470.
A 15th century dress for a paper doll with a headdress based on manuscript illustrations to print and play with from paperthinpersonas.com

A 15th century dress for a paper doll with a headdress based on manuscript illustrations to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com.

Today’s Marisole Monday paper doll gown is a 15th century dress. Women’s fashions of the 15th century included a long gown worn over a kirtle or under-gown. These gowns were in a high-waisted style with fullness over the belly decorated with a super wide belt. The belt often had a decorated buckle.

The deep low neck was enough to reveal the decorated front of the kirtle beneath. The neckline was sometime filled in with a sheer linen partlet.

I used a partlet on today’s gown, but getting the transparency was tough. So, it’s not as transparent as it should be.

This headdress is known as a hennin. It was usually cone shaped or a flattened cone. They got pretty extreme over the course of the century, I have to say. If you think of the stereotypical princess than you are thinking of the hennin headdress.

The sources of today’s 15th century dress were Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme circa 1488-1496, Boccaccio, Des cas des nobles hommes et femmes circa 1475 and Maria Maddalena Baroncelli Christus circa 1470. One is a painting and the rest are manuscript pages, mostly from France.

I really wanted to play around with color as well. The colors in today’s gown are based on Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme. I really loved the green, red and the blue belt. There’s more images of 15th century dress on my 15th century Pinterest board.

The hardest thing to draw for today’s paper doll outfit was the hennin headdress. I must have re-sketched the angle of that headdress a dozen times. The drape on the headdress should be transparent, but I didn’t really want to try

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here. 

Ms. Mannequin’s 15th Century Burgundian Gown and Headdress

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Manuscript Illustration from 1470, this Manuscript Illustration from 1401-1500, this one from the same work, and this Manuscript Illustration from 1475

A Burgundian gown for a paper doll based on illuminated manuscript illustrations. Along with the gown, there is a headdress based on the designs of the 1450s.

A Burgundian gown for a paper doll based on illuminated manuscript illustrations. Along with the gown, there is a headdress based on the designs of the 1450s.

Today’s paper doll dress and headdress are both from the 15h century. The gown is known as a Burgundian gown named for the Duchy of Burgundy.

About 1450, this style of Burgundian gown became popular. The deep V-neckline revealed the kirtle (under dress) beneath. The trimming would have been fur or wool. The wide belt was placed above the natural waist and gives the gowns a pregnant look.

(Remember, being pregnant was a good thing for women in this time. After all, fertility was seen as a super critical part of a woman’s value.)

Women never had uncovered hair in this era. So, I needed a headdress to go with the Burgundian gown.

The headdress I chose to draw was based on this illustration of the Whore of Babylon from an 1470 manuscript. The headdress is from 1450, according to the Morgan Library where the manuscript is housed. I’m afraid I don’t know quite enough about the era yet (though I am studying) to make any claim either way.

By the way, the wonderful book Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands, 1325-1515 is currently on sale from the Morgan Library for just 20 dollars. I bought a copy for my library and I’d recommend it if you are at all interested in medieval dress. Though it doesn’t touch on how these garments were made, nor does it discuss how to make them yourself, so… don’t buy it if that is what you want.

Secondary Sources:

Houston, Mary G. Medieval Costume in England and France: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Centuries. N.p.: Dover Publications, 1996. Print.

Scott, Margaret. Fashion in the Middle Ages. N.p.: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011. Print.

Scott, Margaret. Medieval Dress & Fashion. N.p.: British Library, 2009. Print.

Ask me if you have any questions about the books or the manuscripts I looked at. There are links to all the manuscript illustrations at the top under the “inspiration” links list. I was just too lazy tonight to bother citing them all properly.

I know. I’m a rebel librarian sometimes. Happy Friday!