Lady Aénor D'Anjou Embroidered Coif

Documentation and Commentary on Linen Coif Favour
Lady Aénor d’Anjou
Project completed February 28, 1999.
Beginning dyer, intermediate couching, expert coif maker.
(editor's note - please click on images below to display larger versions)

Original Artifact:
The images for this coif came from a silk on linen embroidered purse, 1170-90, carried by a lady as a favor and symbol of lovers. The images are produced in the style and method of the Bayeux Tapestry, around 1077. The hat itself I have documented back to the early 11th C. and much later, through pictures in many manuscripts and carvings.

My Artifact: Linen coif, hand dyed by me in onion skins, embroidered in wool, many colors of which are vegetable dyed yarn. (not dyed by me.)
Symbolism: The purple glove stands for the lady (me) and is wearing a wedding band. The feminine is on the right side, showing her as strong in the relationship, as opposed to the typical sinister position for women in art (thanks to Eve’s sin.) She is holding a dog on a long leash, representing her “capacity to control his baser animal passions”. I chose to use just the glove for the symbol of the person, because I did not want this to look like he was wearing the Bayeux Tapestry on his head.
The green glove (his color) represents Efenwealt. His grip on the hawk shows that he was the hunter in the relationship, as well as in control of passions. Birds of many kinds represented lovers and love in different ways in the 12th C. Many of the Jongleurs and Troubadors in the Courts of Love wrote about things like Bernart de Ventadorn’s song of wanting to become a bird so he might “fly through the air and land deep in her house.” (actual size 2" tall)
On the back is a purple Fleur de Lys, which is part of my badge. (actual size 3.5" tall)

Sources:
The Medieval Art of Love, M. Camille – for purse and much symbolism in art in the 12th C.
Costume and Fashion vol.2 , H. Norris – Coifs
Bayeux Tapestry- Animal and people styles, couching.
Evolution of Fashion, M. Hamilton, P. Bucknell- 2 coif patterns I don’t like.
Arawynn’s coif pattern, K. Vaughan- a coif pattern I have developed myself over the years. This one I do like.

Reason for Fabrication:
I wanted to make my lord a new favour and this competition at Crown Tourney. I wanted to give him an item appropriate to our period, other than a strip of cloth to hang from his belt. After much deliberation, I chose to make a coif, and couch meaningful pictures on it. I have not found 12th C. examples of embroidered coifs, but being anachronistic, I chose to go along with the 16th C. notion that if you could afford it, even your bed cap was richly embroidered.

Method:
I first dyed a piece of linen in a boiling pot with some onion skins and salt for hours. The colour was much darker while wet, but still turned out nice. This was my first dying experiment. I used the coif pattern that I have published, because after researching many examples, and using and making many different patterns, I find that this one fits the best and is comfortable, as well as keeping with the authentic and correct look for a coif.

I chose to serge the inside seams together instead of hand sewing. This is due to the fact that linen frays and I would have had to clip close to the curved seam, encouraging fraying. I also am not the best at hand sewing, and it wouldn’t show. Efenwealt is hard on his clothing, too. I top-stitched this seam down to one side, to add strength and smooth the curve. In period I would have opened my seam to both sides and topstitched both sides down, but since I serged it, there was no need for the second line. I then drew my design with pencil, stem stitched the outside lines and filled in with laid stitches and couched these down.
I kept enough of the dyed fabric to make one lining coif. Unfortunately, many hours in the embroidery hoop caused the linen to stretch, and the coif top did not fit the lining. I had just enough scraps to piece together a very medieval looking – use-what-you-have- lining. I stitched these together by machine, turned, and finished the hole and the straps by hand.

My own criticism:
I would have liked a darker yellow dye. I think that darker and more onion skins might be the way next time. I would have also liked the lining piece to have fit without all the piecing and splicing, but it worked fine. I might have liked to sew the construction seams by hand, but it just might have fallen apart. I can mend a hole and finish and edge, but construction seams are quite another thing. Other than that, I am pleased with the way it turned out.