Figure 1.-- Another illustration of a French page boy, this one in charge of the greyhounds for some great noble engaged in hunting. He seems to be in his later teens. His costume is designated as typical of the reign of Louis XII (1462-1515). I suspect that the dress is late 15th century, probably about 1485, since clothing styles changed considerably after the turn of the century, and this style is more late medieval than early French Renaissance. This drawing or engraving was made in 1849 by an artist who was attempting to recreate and illustrate historical costumes. It probably came from an album of such illustrations. Unfortunately we do not know the name of the artist.

Another illustration of a French page boy, this one in charge of the greyhounds for some great noble engaged in hunting. He seems to be in his later teens. His costume is designated as typical of the reign of Louis XII (1462-1515). I suspect that the dress is late 15th century, probably about 1485, since clothing styles changed considerably after the turn of the century, and this style is more late medieval than early French Renaissance. This drawing or engraving was made in 1849 by an artist who was attempting to recreate and illustrate historical costumes. It probably came from an album of such illustrations. Unfortunately we do not know the name of the artist.

Imagery

This drawing or engraving was made in 1849 by an artist who was attempting to recreate and illustrate historical costumes. It probably came from an album of such illustrations. Unfortunately we do not know the name of the artist.

Individual

Another illustration of a French page boy, this one in charge of the greyhounds for some great noble engaged in hunting. He seems to be in his later teens.

Chronology

His costume is designated as typical of the reign of Louis XII (1462-1515). I suspect that the dress is late 15th century, probably about 1485, since clothing styles changed considerably after the turn of the century, and this style is more late medieval than early French Renaissance.

Influence

The styles of courtly male dress during this period were strongly influenced by Italy, the country that led Europe in the extravagance of male clothing. Northern Italy is where the Renaissance began. The spread of ideas and social attitudes spread north just as did Italian fashions.

Clothing

The youth here wears a round flat hat. Pages might have doublets with a belted wasp-waist (the style for boys and young men at the time) and the doublet is cut extremely short so as to expose the upper legs. The medieval church often complained about the scandalously short doublets that boys and young men insisted on wearing. The youth in the image here wears a doublet with elaborately puffed and decorated sleeves (figure 1). Itis the most extravagant aspect of his costume. Notice the ribbons or strings attached to the sleeves. Some medieval sleeves had openings in them so that a shirt worn underneath would show through at various places. They were sometimes tied shut, which may be the case in this illustration. On the other hand, the strings may simply be worn like decorative ribbons, having no function other than display. The stockings are really a form of tights although they were put on separately and attached to a waistband by little strings or straps referred to in the jargon of the day as "points". The youth here wears vertically striped "pane hose" (stockings sewn together with pieces of contrastingly colored fabric). They resemble modern tights, covering, as they do, the entire lower body from the waist down. Notice the exaggerated codpiece (the front opening). We note rather inpractical-looking slipper-like shoes (apparently made of felt). The image here shows a youth wearing long hair over the ears, but cut well above the shoulders.

Created: 4:03 PM 3/6/2005
Last updated: 4:03 PM 3/6/2005