Visard
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A visard, also known as a vizard, is an oval
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
of black
velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
which was worn by travelling women in the
early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
to protect their skin from
sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...
. The fashion of the period for wealthy women was to keep their skin pale, because a tan suggested that the bearer worked outside and was hence poor. Some types of vizard were not held in place by a fastening or ribbon ties, and instead the wearer clasped a bead attached to the interior of the mask between their teeth. The practice did not meet universal approval, as evidenced in this excerpt from a contemporary polemic:

A visard recovered from inside the wall of a 16th-century building in
Daventry Daventry ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, Daventry had a populati ...
, England.
In
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, the visard developed into a design without a mouth hole, the ''
moretta Moretta is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about north of Cuneo. As of 1-1-2017, it had a population of 4 141 and an area of .All demographics and other st ...
'', and was gripped with a button between the teeth rather than a bead. The mask's prevention of speech was deliberate, intended to heighten the mystery of a masked woman even further.


Notable wearers

A Spanish observer at the
wedding of Mary I of England and Philip of Spain Mary I of England (1516–1558) and Philip of Spain (later Philip II; 1527–1598) married at Winchester Cathedral on Wednesday 25 July 1554. Making a marriage There was some opposition in England to the new Queen marrying a foreign prince. ...
in 1554 mentioned that women in London wore masks, ''antifaces'', or veils when walking outside. Masks became more common in England in the 1570s, leading
Emanuel van Meteren Emanuel van Meteren or Meteeren (1535 – 11 April 1612) was a Flemings, Flemish historian and Consul for "the Traders of the Low Countries" in London. He was born in Antwerp, the son of Sir Jacobus van Meteren, Dutch financier and publisher o ...
to write that "ladies of distinction have lately learned to cover their faces with silken masks and vizards and feathers". In Scotland in the 1590s,
Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
wore masks when horse riding to protect her complexion from the sun. These were faced with black satin, lined with taffeta, and supplied with Florentine ribbon for fastening and for decoration. On some later public occasions she did not wear a mask outdoors. In June 1603, after she travelled to England for the
Union of Crowns The Union of the Crowns (; ) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single i ...
, John Chamberlain said she had done "some wrong" to her complexion "for in all this journey she hath worn no mask". In September,
Arbella Stuart Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marrie ...
praised her for greeting the populace at Newbury with "thankful countenance barefaced to the great contentment of native and foreign people." When the Spanish ambassador
Juan Fernández de Velasco y Tovar, 5th Duke of Frías Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías ( – 15 March 1613) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat. Biography Juan Fernández de Velasco was the son of Íñigo Fernández de Velasco; and of Maria Angela de Aragón y Guzmán El Bueno. He i ...
, arrived by ship to negotiate the Treaty of London the following year, Anne wore a black mask while observing from a barge on the Thames.
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
had masks lined with perfumed leather and made with satin supplied by
Baptist Hicks Baptist Hicks, 1st Viscount Campden (1551 – 18 October 1629) was an English cloth merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1628. King James I knighted Hicks in 1603 and in 1620 he was created a baronet. He wa ...
. In September 1602, she was observed wearing a mask while walking in the garden at
Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 t ...
. In 1620 the lawyer and courtier
John Coke Sir John Coke MP JP PC (5 March 1563 – 8 September 1644) was an English civil servant and naval administrator, described by one commentator as "the Samuel Pepys of his day". He was MP for various constituencies in the House of Commons bet ...
sent clothes and costume to his wife, including a satin mask and two green masks for their children. Visards experienced a resurgence in the 1660s. In 1663, after attending a play at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
,
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
noted in his diary that as the venue began to fill Mary Cromwell "put on her vizard, and so kept it on all the play; which of late is become a great fashion among the ladies, which hides their whole face." Later that day, he bought a vizard for his wife.


See also

* 1550–1600 in Western European fashion


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * On
Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...
: * *


External links


Details of a visard
in the collection of the
Norwich Castle Museum Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England. The castle was used as a ...

A miniature visard made for a 17th-century child's doll
in the collection of the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
__NOTOC__ 16th-century fashion 16th century in Europe 17th-century fashion 17th century in Europe Masks {{Europe-hist-stub