A capotain, capatain, copotain, copintank or steeple hat is a tall-crowned, narrow-brimmed, slightly conical "

sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

" hat, usually black, worn by men and women from the 1590s into the mid-seventeenth century in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and northwestern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Earlier capotains had rounded crowns; later, the crown was flat at the top. The capotain is especially associated with

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

costume in England in the years leading up to the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and during the years of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

. It is also commonly called a flat-topped hat and a Pilgrim hat, the latter for its association with the Pilgrims who settled

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

in the 1620s. Contrary to popular myth, capotains never included buckles on the front of them; this image was created in the 19th century. It has been theorised that the capotain inspired the

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

. Image:Unknown Lady Robert Peake c1592.jpg, England, 1592
(''Portrait of an Unknown Lady'', attributed to Robert Peake the Elder) Image:Gunpowder Plot conspirators.jpg, England, 1600s
(Detail from a contemporary engraving of the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

ters) Image:Willem_Pietersz._Buytewech_003.jpg, Holland, 1615 (''Elegant Couples Courting'' by Willem Pieterszoon Buytewech) Image:Adriaen Brouwer - Head of a man with a pointed hat.jpg, Flanders, 1630s
(''Man with a Hat'' painting by Adriaen Brouwer) Image:Ester Tradescant and son detail.jpg, England, 1640s
(''Ester Tradescant and Son'', attributed to

Thomas de Critz Thomas De Critz or Decritz (1 July 1607 – 22 October 1653) was an English painter. He was born in London, the son of the Flemish-born painter John de Critz. He worked for the English court and was entrusted with the restoration and cleanin ...

) File:ThePuritan Cropped comparison.jpg, A spurious buckled capotain, as carved by Augustus St. Gaudens on ''The Puritan'' and ''The Pilgrim'', 1887

References

External links

* {{Historical clothing 16th-century fashion 17th-century fashion Capotain English clothing Plymouth Colony English Civil War Religious headgear

See also

References

Further reading

External links