VIII. BOOK man severing an animal's head from his body with an axe. Another has put a long stick, with a hook attached to it, into a cauldron, as if to pull up meat. The cauldron is upon a trivet of four legs as high as the servant's knee, within which the fire is made, and blazing up to the cauldron." Strutt, plate xvii. fig. 2, and from Claud. in shewing the cookery and feasting of the B. 4. The tapestry of Bayeux is as useful Normans. CHAP. V. Their Dress. V. THE HE Anglo-Saxons had become so much acquainted with CHA P. the conveniences of civilized life as to have both variety and vanity of dress. Some change took place in their apparel after their conversion to Christianity, which rendered their former customs disreputable; for at a council, held in 785, it is said, "You put on your garments in the manner of the Pagans, whom your fathers expelled from the world; an "astonishing thing, that you imitate those whose life you "always hated." 66 I It is difficult at this distance of time to apprehend with precision the meaning of the terms of their dress which time has permitted to reach us, and to state them with that order and illustration which will enable the reader to conceive justly of their costume. The imperfections of our attempt must be excused by its difficulty. We will begin with what we have been able to collect of an Anglo-Saxon lady's dress. The wife described by Aldhelm has necklaces and bracelets, and also rings with gems on her fingers. Her hair was dressed artificially; he mentions the twisted hairs delicately curled with the iron of those adorning her. In this part of her dress she was a contrast to the religious virgin, whose hair was entirely neglected. Their hair was highly valuable and reputable among the Saxon ladies. Judith is perpetually mentioned with epithets allusive to her hair. Her twisted locks are more than once noticed: The maid of the Creator, With twisted locks, Took then a sharp sword. Concil. Calchut. Spelm. Conc. p. 300. 2 Aldhelm de Laud. Virg. p. 307. BOOK VIII. She with the twisted locks Then struck her hateful enemy, Meditating ill, With the ruddy sword. The most illustrious virgin Resplendent with her twisted locks, To the bright city of Bethulia.3 The laws mention a free woman, loc bore, wearing her locks as a distinguishing circumstance. Judith is also described with her ornaments: The prudent one adorned with gold Ordered her maidens Then commanded he The blessed virgin With speed to fetch To his bed rest, With rings adorned.s 6 Aldhelm also describes the wife as loving to paint her cheeks with the red colour of stibium. The art of painting the face is not the creature of refinement; the most barbarous nations seem to be the most liberal in their use of this fancied ornament. The will of Wynflæd makes us acquainted with several articles of the dress and ornaments of an Anglo-Saxon lady. She gives to Æthelfloda, one of her daughters, her engraved beah, or bracelet, and her covering mantle (mentel). To Eadgyfa, another of her daughters, she leaves her best dun tunic, and her better mantle, and her covering garment. She also mentions her pale tunics, her torn cyrtel, and other linen, web, or garment. She likewise notices her white cyrtel, and the cuffs and ribband (cuffian and bindan). 7 3 Frag. Judith, ed. Thwaite. ♦ Wilk. Leg. Sax. p. 6. 'Frag. Jud. • Aldhelm. p. 307. Our great Saxon scholar, Hickes, has given a transcript of this will, in his preface to his Gram. Anglo-Sax. p. 22. V. Among the ornaments mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon docu- CHAP. ments we read of a golden fly, beautifully adorned with gems;' of golden vermiculated necklaces;' of a bulla that had belonged to the grandmother of the lady spoken of;" of golden head-bands," and of a neck cross. 12 The ladies had also gowns; for a bishop of Winchester sends as a present "a short gown (gunna) sown in our manner." Thus we find the mantle, the kirtle, and the gown, mentioned by these names among the Saxons, and even the ornament of cuffs. In the drawings on the manuscripts of these times, the women appear with a long loose robe, reaching down to the ground, and large loose sleeves. Upon their head is a hood, or veil, which, falling down before, was wrapped round the neck and breast. 1 All the ladies in the drawing have their necks, from the chin, closely wrapped in this manner, and in none of them is a fine waist attempted to be displayed, nor have their heads any other covering than their hood. 14 In the dress of the men the province of female taste was intruded upon by the ornaments they used. They had sometimes gold and precious stones round their neck," and the men of consequence or wealth usually had expensive bracelets on their arms, and rings on their fingers. It is singular that the bracelets of the male sex were more costly than those allotted to the fair. In an Anglo-Saxon will, the testator bequeaths to his lord a beah, or bracelet, of eighty gold mancusa, and to his lady one of thirty. He had two neck bracelets, one of forty, and another of eighty gold mancusa, and two golden bands. 16 We read of two golden bracelets, and five gold ornaments, called sylas, sent by an Anglo-Saxon to her 8 Dugd. Mon. 240. 9 Ibid. 263. 10 Ibid. 268. "Thorpe Reg. Roffen. 26, and Mag. Bib. xvi. p. 7. "In the Archbishop's Will. Cott. Lib. MS. Tib. A. 3. 13 16 Mag. Bib. 82. A gown made of 14 Strutt's Horda Angelcynn. i. p. 47. 16 See the will of Byrhtric in Thorpe's VIII. BOOK friend." Their rings are frequently mentioned: an archbishop bequeaths one in his will," and a king sent a gold ring, with twelve sagi, as a present to a bishop. " The ring appears to have been worn on the finger next to the little finger, and on the right hand, for a Saxon law calls that the gold finger; and we find a right hand was once cut off on account of this ornament. In some of the stately apparel of the male sex, we see that fondness for gorgeous finery, which their sturdier character might have been expected to have disdained. We read of silk garments woven with golden eagles;" so a king's coronation garment was of silk, woven with gold flowers," and his cloak is mentioned distinguished by its costly workmanship, and its gold and gems." Such was the avidity for these distinctions, that Elfric, in his canons, found it necessary to exhort the clergy not to be ranc, that is, proud, with their rings, and not to have their garments made too ranclike.“ They had silk, linen, and woollen garments. A bishop gave in the eighth century, as a present to one abroad, a woollen tunic, and another of linen, adding, "as it was the custom of the Anglo-Saxons to wear it."" The use of linen was not uncommon; for it is remarked, as a peculiarity of a nun, that she rarely wore linen, but chiefly woollen garments. 25 Silk, from its cost, cannot have been common; but it was often used by the great and wealthy. Ethelbert, king of Kent, gave a silken part of dress, called an armilcasia. Bede mentions two silken pallia of incomparable workmanship. 26 27 |