It is not actually a head covering. It is worn under a veil, sort of a swathe of fabric, covering the throat (and sometimes the base of the chin.) It was worn in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries, generally by married women. It then became part of the habit of some orders of nuns - those that were founded at that time - which is what many modern people think about when they hear the term. (Orders usually based their habits on the ordinary clothing of a matron or widow of their time.)
Now - it seems quite possible that the author *meant* the veil, not the wimple... which would itself indicate just how trustworthy this is as a source... The veil is the part that covers the head. They are two different pieces, even when worn together, sometimes of two different fabrics. (The veil is worn without the wimple in many periods - the wimple is not generally worn without the veil, which may cause the confusion.) Veils were worn by many women in many cultures. Ancient Greek and Roman women usually wore something over their heads when they went out in public... it's not just a Judeo/Christian thing. Anne On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 4:54 PM, Becky <[email protected]> wrote: > What is a wimple? I assume it is a head/hair covering. Any images of one? > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 24, 2012, at 4:48 PM, Anne Murphy <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Given that the "Earliest Christians" didn't wear wimples... that >> sounds like nonsense to me. >> >> Wimples developed late in the Middle Ages - when it started getting >> colder, for one thing. And I do remember someone (possibly on this >> list, years ago) commenting that it did indeed keep her much warmer. >> >> Anne >> >> On Fri, Mar 23, 2012 at 1:03 PM, Laurie Taylor <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> Greetings all, >>> >>> I've been mulling this bit of trivia around in my head for the longest time. >>> I think I need to share it and see if any of you know of any support or >>> documentation for this information. >>> >>> "Most Unusual Concession to Modesty: The earliest Christians believed that >>> the Virgin Mary was impregnated through her ear and that other women as well >>> had used their ears as reproductive organs. For that reason, an exposed >>> female ear was considered no less an outrage than an exposed thigh, and a >>> woman would not appear in public unless clad in a tight-fitting wimple." >>> >>> Felton, Bruce, and Mark Fowler. "Part II, Behavior." The Best, Worst, and >>> Most Unusual: Noteworthy Achievements, Events, Feats and Blunders of Every >>> Conceivable Kind. New York: Galahad, 1994. 428. Print. >>> >>> So, the wimple had to develop for some reason. Is this reason believable? >>> Documentable? Are there any other reasons that would be more legitimate >>> based on available documentation? >>> >>> >>> Laurie Taylor >>> Phoenix >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> h-costume mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume >> >> _______________________________________________ >> h-costume mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume >> > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
