Hans Holbein the Younger Young Woman with a White Coif 1541 LACMA M44 2 9 2

A coif () is a close fitting

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

worn by both men and women that covers the top, back, and sides of the head.

History

Coifs date from the tenth century, but fell out of popularity with men in the fourteenth century."A New Look for Women." Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. Gale. 2005. Coifs were worn by all classes 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

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to the early seventeenth century (and later as an old-fashioned cap for countrywomen and young children). Tudor (later Stewart in Scotland) and earlier coifs are usually made of unadorned white

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

and tied under the chin. In the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and early

Jacobean era The Jacobean era was the period in English and Scotland, Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI and I, James VI of Scotland who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. The Jacobean era succeeds the Elizabeth ...

s, coifs were frequently decorated with

blackwork embroidery Blackwork, sometimes historically termed Spanish blackwork, is a form of embroidery generally worked in black thread, although other colours are also used on occasion, as in scarletwork, where the embroidery is worked in red thread. Most strong ...

and

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

edging. Coifs were worn under

gable hood A gable hood, English hood or gable headdress is an England, English woman's hat, headdress of , so called because its pointed shape resembles the gable, architectural feature of the same name. The contemporary French hood was rounded in outline ...

s and hats of all sorts, and alone as indoor headcoverings. Coifs were also worn by a now-defunct senior grade of English lawyer, the Serjeant-at-Law even after they became judges. A

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

law school honor society is called the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

. The traditional

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally, some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious Hermit, eremitic and Anchorite, anchorit ...

of Catholic nuns and religious sisters includes a coif as a headpiece, along with the white cotton cap secured by a

bandeau A bandeau ( ; ; diminutive of the French word meaning 'strip') is a garment comprising, in appearance, a strip of cloth. Today, the term frequently refers to a garment that wraps around a woman's breasts. It is usually part of a bikini in sports ...

, to which the

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

is attached, along with a white

wimple A wimple is a medieval form of female headcovering, formed of a large piece of cloth worn draped around the neck and chin, covering the top of the head; it was usually made from white linen or silk. Its use developed in early medieval Europe ...

guimpe The guimpe (from the French ''guimpe)'' was a garment which developed in medieval Western Europe. It was a silk or linen kerchief, sometimes sheer, sometimes starched, which covered the neck and shoulders of the wearer, sometimes the entire ch ...

of starched linen or cotton to cover the cheeks, neck and chest. A

mail coif A mail coif, a type of armour, covered the head. It consisted of a flexible hood of chain mail, extending to cover the throat, neck, and the top part of the shoulders. Mail coifs protected European fighting-men of the Middle Ages. History Th ...

was a type of

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

, made of

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

, which covered the head (face excluded), neck and shoulders.

References

External links

Tudor and Elizabethan Coifs
{{Authority control Caps Children's clothing English clothing Medieval European costume Catholic religious clothing Medieval armour

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links