THE HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COSTUME

ALBERT RACINET

THE CLASSIC WORK OF THE 19TH CENTURY

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EUROPE FROM BYZANTIUM TO THE 19TH CENTURY

FRANCE

PEASANTS AND SOLDIERS

Upper Register

THE ILLUSTRATIONS AT THE TOP of the page show the costumes worn by working people in 16th-century France, during the reign of Henri III.

1.1 A peasant from the neighbourhood of Saumur, wearing a felt hat with a turned-down brim, a sayon that goes down as far as mid-thigh level and a blue jerkin. He has a country-style coat, called a balandras, and is wearing gamashes to protect his legs from mud.

1.2 A wine seller in 1586, wearing a red-trimmed felt hat and a loose jacket with long basques that is gathered into the waist by a leather belt from which hangs a money bag. His breeches are narrow and his stockings are held up beneath the knee by garters. Men such as this wandered the streets of Paris in the mornings, offering wine to passers-by.

1.3 A shoeblack, wearing a large smock with a cape and stockings made of coarse wool. His huge leather bag is carried by means of a shoulder-strap.

1.4 A shepherdess from Anjou, wearing a cloth bonnet with a raised crown, a loose-sleeved blouse with a fluted collar, a blue bodice, braces and a woollen skirt.

1.5 A rich peasant woman wearing a décolleté blouse with a large, high collar, a bright blue surcoat, a white coat and a black apron.

1.6 A servant girl going to market in Paris in 1586. Her bonnet is covered with a cloth hood that hangs down the back as far as the belt, and she has a blouse with a high collar and a red bodice that is laced up at the front and trimmed with black velvet.

1.7 A chambermaid from Saumur wearing a bonnet from Anjou, as in 1.5, and a blouse that is gathered into the collar.

Back to France: 16th-Century Peasants And Soldiers by Racinet