Folded French Hoods
My ‘way in’ to the SCA and Tudor-era clothing went squarely through the Tudor Tailor’s original tome (my copy is well-worn), and after I tackled a smock and farthingale based on their patterns, I dove in on the French Hood thinking ‘how hard could this be?’.
Friends. I did not yet know how to properly use a thimble. Mistakes were made.
That said – I came away with a pair of decently constructed French Hoods according to their techniques, with some modifications based on what & where they were likely to be worn.
In the time since, my focus has gotten a bit more broad – I have poked at styles from Italy, as well as earlier period garments across Europe. However, Tudor (and specifically Henrican) England still holds a fond place in my heart.
Enter: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s and Henry’s Holiday Huzzah. I took a trip to see the Met’s amazing exhibit on the Tudors and spent a stupid amount of time looking veeeeery closely at a portrait that is currently believed to be of Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister (the attribution has shifted around a bit).
Looking at the image in photos, my braid had always translated the big round halo behind her head to be part of the hood – a very large and oddly angled version of what the Tudor Tailor and others have represented as a “french hood” in countless movies, tv shows, and reenactment outfits. Viewing it in person, however, crystallized things – the halo is NOT part of the hood, it is a halo or something round behind her. The way the paint is laid on the canvas leaves me with no doubt.
So. What might a French Hood actually BE, if not this large, haloed thing with lots of support that feels like a partial helmet when worn on the head?
Turns out, a bunch of folks have been poking around that question lately. And apparently now I am one. Let’s explore!
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