Portrait of Isabella of Denmark
The two most common head coverings seen on Dutch women of the period 1500-1530 is the white hood (the hovetcleet) and the béguin hood, as seen in the picture of Isabella of Denmark to the left. This hood appears to have developed from the hoods worn in the 14th century, although this particular shape is seen in Flemish and French tapestries and illuminations in the mid to late 15th century. Its precursors are probably most commonly recognised as the style worn by Anne of Brittany (image to right).
Portrait of Anne of Brittany
Why “béguin”? The Oxford English Dictionary states that the béguin cap is named after the beguine communities. The beguines lived in religious communities which were exclusively female and were founded in Brabant in the late 12th century. For a history of the movement this site is very good. They are commonly depicted wearing black hoods similar in style to the one worn by Anne of Brittany, without the decoration that is seen on her hood. The painting of Anne of Brittany to the left was painted in the late 1400s. By the 1520s the sides of the beguin had raised off the shoulders, the front was turned over further and it was sitting further back on the head.
8 October 2004, Initial Construction Theory
After surveying all the pictures of Béguins that I have for the decade of the 1520s I have established that:
- The hoods probably have a seam at the centre back of the head
- They don’t appear to have any structure under them, in contrast to the white hoods of the same era. However there is probably some form of coif or biggins under them.
- Some of them are constructed of two layers
- They are probably made of black velvet, and the only decoration is beading around the face edge
- They have a “liripipe” in the back, ie. a draped section at the back that is part of the hood, but comes off the top of the head.
Based on these observations my first pattern mockup is going to look like this:
initial pattern for a beguin style hood
However work on this is going to have to wait until after December as there are not enough sleeps till Yule as it is.
7 March 2005
From “the Fortuneteller” by Lucas van Leyden
I’ve actually done something! Béguin mark I has been made, and as a first prototype/attempt I am very happy with it. The impetus came from remaking my hovetcleet and realising that all my headgear for the coming Rowany Festival hung off the back of my head and I had no back up headgear in case of headache caused by my neck being out of alignment. One of the variations of bCguin has the veil part folded on top of the head which means that the weight of the hat is centred through the skull rather that at the back of the skull. The image at left from van Leyden’s “The fortuneteller” show this style (as well as a very cute gollar).
It is made from black cotton velvet with a red linen lining. the lining is made from a rectangle 60cm x 30cm. This was folded in half to form a square and one side was sewn up half way from the open edge. The remaining “pouch”, formed from the fold and the gap in the seam was folded at right angles to the seam and they stitched down, forming a flat plane across the top of the head.
The velvet out is a rectangle 60cm x 80 cm. I folded it along the 60cm side and made a cut at 31.5cm, half the height of the folded piece, to mirror the lining that I had just made. This was then sewn along that cut, right sides together. I folded the remaing length in half, and separated the fold on either side of the length. This was then sewn together to create a tube. I’ll put up a pattern & diagram for this later this week.
I sewed the lining inside the hood and tried it on.
It worked quite well. I need to take out a triangle at the back, 6cm x 6cm so that a slight curve is created through the face, and to allow room for my hair. The tube was too long and I cut off approx 20cm of it.
The characteristic curve of the béguin through the face is quite simply achieved. The front section is folded back, and then the hood is tipped slightly back on the head. The corners are smoothed into shape and voila! the shape emerges. All quite exciting and simple really. My béguin is a little flat and blowy, which I think is the result of the fabric used. Most béguins seem to be lined with fur with would change the bulk of the turnback and the rigidity of the section next to the face, something I will be testing on mark II.
Overall a simple project, easily finished in an afternoon, if you’re not considering decorating it. Although looking at images, this seems almost mandatory.
10 March 2005
final pattern for beguin hood
The finished shape. The blue lines are the seams and the black lines are the edge or the fold of the fabric. The blue section in the fold right corner is my attempt to show how the inside folds together. Please contact me if this doesn’t make sense and you would like some clarification. In hindsight there is no particular reason why you need to fold the fabric inside the liripipe, it just means less cutting.
13 April 2005
Béguin mark I was a success! It achieved its purpose of giving me a lightweight head covering which co-ordinated with my Dutch clothing. A few comments about wearing it. I ended up wearing it over a white cap I made to go with a livery outfit for our current King and Queen. This was because the cap had hair combs on it to secure it to my head, which then allowed me to pin the béguin to this cap. I used three pin, one at the crown and one at each temple. The one at the crown was hidden by the fold while the other two were visible. I’ve seen no evidence for pins on these hats, but the site was windy and it kept it on my head. The pin under the fold is plausible and useful.
Hello!
I am a fellow SCAdian (from the Barony of Aneala) who is also very interested in early to mid 16th c clothing of the Low Countries. I just stumbled across your blog, and I am very interested in your Beguin hood (on an off-note, I have actually visited one of the women’s religious communities you mentioned, when I was in Antwerp in 2009 as an exchange student).
What I am most interested in, is if you have any ideas regarding how to attach the various layers to your hear, when there is no hair to attach it too. I have very little hair (actually, I have a number 3 buzz cut), and I always feel uncomfortable in garb without covering my head. The problem is finding (persona appropriate) headware that stays on by itself.
Any ideas?
Hi Suzie, thanks for the comment and if/when I make it over to Aneala I’m going to pick your brains on those communities (and share stories from one exchange student to another! Yay!)
In terms of how to secure one of these hoods to your head primarily what you are aiming for is a single under layer that will stay on your head securely with the height of a hood pulling it backwards. Here’s some ideas
1. Make a black velvet headband similar to those worn under hennins earlier in the century. We’ve got evidence of them being worn under hovetcleets into the first decade of the 1500s, so it’s plausible that they were also worn under these formal hoods. The nap on the velvet creates friction against your hair, and should be excellent with a buzz cut (Velcro!!). I’ve got one that I secure at the nap of my neck with a trouser hook, which provides a secure clasp and a smooth profile.
2. Make a ‘Birgitta” cap and apply a decorated band on the front edge to similate the decorated layer you see on these hoods – although sometimes you see a white layer peeping out underneath. Or make it in black or gold.
3. I spend a bit of time looking at how Islamic women wear their hijabs (the scarf wound around the face, head and neck, but still having all of the face visible). Most of these are secured on with a deep black headband that obscures the hairline, made from a stretchy woven fabric – so not period at all, but a good solid base if the previous two options don’t work for you. There’s a few instructional videos on YouTube if you want to see what I mean.
Happy to expand on any of these ideas if you have further questions
Hmmm……I think a Birgitta cap, maybe with a velvet band on the inside might work. I have a bit of hair at the moment (about 2 inches), but that will be cut once I finish my teaching prac for uni in 6 weeks. I am trying to find some images where the hood is pulled right forward, hiding the hair, because I want to avoid hair inserts.
Believe me, I would LOVE to chat with someone else who shares my garbing interests (I am also interested in period cheeses….). I can be found on Facebook under Suzie Day/Isolde van Wilravenssijde (my current profile photo has me dancing in my wheelchair).
Another question, do you ever wear clogs with your garb? I brought a pair back with me when I was in Amsterdam in 2012, and I almost always wear them to events. I usually walk with crutches, and find them really comfortable to use. No one else seems to ever believe me though!
Isolde
Clogs got me through the recent Rowany Festival. I LOVE them. Two of my household members wear them as well, as we all portray Dutch or German personas of the turn of the 1500s.
If you have the time, or inclination, I’d try one and then the other, not Birgitta cap AND a velvet band. Some of the very early hoods don’t have any hair showing, such as this one from 1490-1500: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101331060342464810/
OR this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101331060340078722/
Margaret of Austria (daughter of Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy) doesn’t show much hair: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101331060340028610/
The lady in red on the left is from the first decade of the 1500s: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101331060340028620/
This one is 1505: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101331060339635652/ and shows a tiny amount of hair.
Then there’s this style from the mid 1500s: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101331060340898034/
If you hunt the rest of that board you’ll find other images where the hairline is obscured. These images are appropriate for court wear. If you’re doing a work dress or tourney frock then I’d make one of the tied caps. I like seven star wheel’s pattern for comfort and looking right: https://sevenstarwheel.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/late-15th-century-white-hood-or-coif-transition-peroid-war-of-the-roses/