While coloured veils are well documented for the periods before 1200 ( I wear coloured veils with all my 12th century gowns) they are not unusual in the High Middle Ages either, though they tend to be more white with a pattern, or in lighter colours, such as yellow. Literary sources from Germany complain that women were wearing saffron coloured veils in the 13th century, something that was both luxurious, given the price of saffron, and vain.
Decorated veils tended to arise the ire of men of the church, who claimed that it was given as a sign of humility and modesty, and a sign of Eve's guilt in the fall of man (don't ask me how they came to that conclusion) and that it was an offence to the christian god to make them into an item of vanity and seduction.
Well, I'm all for vanity and seduction, though I'm not sure that it works, so I have decided that in my renewed 13th-early 14th ceetury wardrobe I am going to wear even more decorated veils.
So, here are some images from the period.
Coloured
This one is from 1214-1220, much like the 12th century veils. I love pink.
Emma wearing a red veil in the Vita of Edward the Confessor, from c 1260
Darker colours seems to be more popular in Spain. This one is lined with a contrasting colour as you can see.
13th century scupture from Navarre, again at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Another Spanish statue
Santa Maria de Vitoria, from Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain
Edged
French c.1275-1300, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same time. Also the Metroplitan Museum of Art
Striped, or otherwise overall patterned
How much do I love these veils by Meister Heinrich von Konstanz, ca 1300? Too much for words,
Again, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Manuscript c 1325-30, from Bibliothèque Nationale deFrance
Santa Maria de Montserrat, statue from Montserrat Abbey in Barcelona,
Wikimedia Commons. A detail photo can be found here.
Lined
Hello,
SvaraRaderaI come from Poland and I deal with the reconstruction of the 14th century.
I was looking for an iconography depicting colorful veils. This is how I found iconography on Pinterest and through it - on your blog.
You mention texts from Germany writing about colorful veils.
"While colored veils are well documented for the periods before 1200 (I wear colored veils with all my 12th century gowns) they are not unusual in the High Middle Ages either, though they tend to be more white with a pattern, or in lighter colors , such as yellow. Literary sources from Germany complain that women were wearing saffron colored veils in the 13th century, something that was both luxurious, given the price of saffron, and vain. "
Could you please point to the source?
I will be extremely grateful to you.
Regards Katarzyna
does anyone have any information on what would have been worn at about 1200-1220? In england specifically. I cannot find any information out there on the early 13th c. Thank you!
SvaraRadera