I've been quiet and watching this convresation evolve, and honestly I have been enjoying myself. It gives food for thought as to why these underwear, and another Venetian pair that indeed look like men's breeches, exist in the first place. It also further develops the question as to why one of them is stained in a strategic place. I'll throw some opinions and theories out there and see why others think... conversation fodder.
This collection is referred to as the Sicilian Bride. Following along with the lingerie philosophy that "it's not the contents, but the packaging that make it sweeter" would it be a habit to "wrap the prize" of marriage to further entice the couple into consummation? By extension, the other pair that are listed as undergarments: http://realmofvenus.renaissancewoman.net/wardrobe/extdraw2.htm and given the blatant nature of the phrase all over them, are we back to the "underwear on women are for enticement" theory? It also seems odd to put so much decorative effort into a marginally functional garment if they were not in regular use. I think it was Lawner that mentioned a text reference to courtesans and prostitutes being church sanctioned in order to try and turn the homosexual males back to a more biblical way of life. I think there was also mention of some women cross dressing for this very reason - playing an erotic cross-gendering game. Would it not be another type of erotic game to dress like a woman but wear men's underwear underneath all that obvious femininity? I think too that we have to take into account the culture these underwear are attached - Sicilian, not Italian as many people believe. Sicily is more attached to Spain than it is Italy at this time. I am rather vague on both Spanish and Sicilian 16th c. cultures to really make any comment on the commonality of intimate undergarments for women. I think our general ignorance on the subject of feminine hygiene has nothing to do with it not being written down. I suspect it's more due to it being hidden away, my guess would be typical of the Victorian, possibly earlier depending on the social mores of the time and place. I have an entire book written on childbirth and its' associated rituals in Venice. It contains some surprisingly frank art within it's covers. Unfortunately, since it deals with childbirth as an event, there is no real mention of how menses are handled in it. I would suspect though, that if we followed the authors' original sources, we would find more than our share of information. In all of the primary texts that I have come across relative to sexuality in general, the Venetians at least, are very straightforward and have a rather colourful and broad vocabulary covering such private topics. Looking up "sangue" in Florios' 1611 Italian-English Dictionary garners me a broad variety of derivatives that can be applied to a woman's menstrual blood. Looking up "menses" I get a period (pardon the pun) term for a woman's monthly: "M<e'>nstruo: a womans monethly(sic) termes, issues, fluxes, sheddings or flowers. Also silver(?) among Alchemists." Flowers?! So they really weren't any less frank about it than we are, really. And honestly we are just as allusive today as they were then - that whole "period" and "flowers" thing. Therein lies a possible explanation as to why we know little about the topic - code words that were used amongst familiar groups that are meaningless to us today. Either way, it bears looking into. My general opinion on the stained underwear I mentioned above is the possibility of proof of consummation. The provenance of the garments suggests that the woman in question was possibly not that well-to-do, perhaps from a convent orphanage. If she married above her station, mayhap this was her insurance against annulment? It would seem odd to save stained underwear in a time when all fabrics were too precious not to put into regular daily use, or sell off for rags. I suppose I will know more when I see them in person - if the stain looks undisturbed or washed several times since their discolouration. Anyway, food for thought. Kathy ItÂ’s never too late to be who you might have been. -George Eliot For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it. -Ivan Panin __________________________________________________________ Find your next car at http://autos.yahoo.ca _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
