Nordtorp-Madson, Michelle A. wrote:
Robin: I, of course, got the authors' names wrong, so I undoubtedly completely confused you. I can't find the French version at work, so it's probably in stratum 5 or 6 at home: I shall find it tonight to compare and contrast. However, my never to be praised sufficiently intern found the salient passage in Pipponier and Mane (not Perrine; that's Mane's first name). Page 13 (again, annoyingly not footnoted):Extreme caution is necessary, however, if erroneous identifications are to be avoided. One of the most famous examples is the word 'hennin', applied to the tall pointed hates worn by women at the beginning of the fifteenth century and used on the strength of a much later commentary, at several removes from the original. It appears that a preacher, who was a member of an order particularly opposed to women's interest in personal adornment, promised indulgences who would help him in his mission by shouting 'Au hennin!' at any woman wearing such headgear. His invective was taken to be the actual name of the hat. So, if someone knows medieval French well enough to say what "au hennin" means, that might make sense. Or it might be apocryphal. I will check the French version, though, just to see if it is more forthcoming. You probably knew this passage.
That's exactly the story my inquirer relayed to me ... only she learned it in a class quite a long time ago, probably earlier than Piponnier and Mane published. I think it was an in earlier source. So, it might be right ... or it might be something P&M picked up from the older source, assumed was right, and repeated. It wouldn't be the only time they did so.
Yes, the lack of footnotes in that book is maddening. I have only the English version.
Audrey noted earlier that "hennin" meant rooster in French, so the story could be true ... or it could be a completely straightforward derivation! The meaning of the word is not necessarily an insult itself.
In any case, I wish I could nail down someone who was doing French or Flemish inventory work in this particular period. There had to be some common terms used for women's headgear, and the marked absence of "hennin" in the presence of other terms would be as telling as the presence of "hennin." I know a number of people doing work on inventories, but I can't think of anyone working in this particular region, period, and language!
(If I were at a library right now, I'd check a copy of Victor Gay's _Glossaire archéologique du moyen age et de la renaissance_, a French dictionary that includes clothing terms and that has specific citations to French medieval documents, rather like the OED cites English documents. Gay's interpretations are no better than any other 19th-century scholar's, but the primary quotations are golden. But no library trips for me in the near future, and this is not a request for anyone else to do extra footwork; that is the next step I will suggest to the person who has asked for the information.)
--Robin _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
