Textiles and Dress

Chaperon (headgear)

A chaperon ( or ; Middle French: chaperon) was a form of hood or, later, a highly versatile hat worn by men in all parts of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Initially a utilitarian garment, it first grew a long partly decorative tail behind (a liripipe), and then developed into a complex, versatile and expensive item of headgear after what was originally the vertical opening for the face began to be used as a horizontal opening for the head. The chaperon was especially fashionable in mid-15th century Burgundy, before gradually falling out of fashion in the late-15th century and returning to its utilitarian status. It is the most commonly worn male headgear in Early Netherlandish painting, but its complicated construction is often misunderstood.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Escoffion
• ▸Elusa (Haluza)
• ▸Hussar

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.