COSTUMES AND ORNAMENTS.
Unfortunately, we must refrain from entering in detail into the history of the gradual transition and interesting incidents by which, long after the fall of the Empire, the Roman costume became predominant in the regions north of the Alps. We mentioned above (p. 235) the special event that clad Duke Arechis in Roman attire, and this circumstance no doubt to a certain degree estranged him from his people.
Charlemagne, according to the description of Eginhard, wore the simple national garb of his people. In a mosaic preserved in Rome until the last century he appeared exactly like the Frank on Plate 34 (fig. 12): the hair-arrangement was that of a Frank, and his legs were enclosed in a garment precisely as described by his private secretary, but the draped tunic and the cloak buttoned on the right shoulder are Roman. He had most probably during an expedition to Italy, which may have been the occasion of the picture, accommodated himself to the custom of that country. We again find essential parts of the same costume in a minia ture painting representing the emperor St. Henry II., which we give on Plate 35 (fig. I). But no sooner had the Roman costume gained a hold in the northern countries than their inhabitants began to develop it inde pendently, in accordance with the general tendencies of the age.
The eleventh century was the beginning of a new epoch in the Teu tonic world. Paganism had disappeared, and Christianity controlled the minds of men. The old Teutonic nature thirsted as much as ever for action, and it exercised itself, though in a different manner, in this newly-created field. The Crusades were the active expression of this spirit. While the movement excited the highest enthusiasm in the Ro mance countries, it was the Teutonic nobility here' that carried it out.
The ancient Roman pallinm was unsuited to the Teutonic character. Even the modern Italian is most nimble with his feet and his tongue, and prefers to keep his arms at rest. It is quite the contrary with the Ger mans; it was unbearable for them to be compelled to have even the left arm confined under a heavy covering. Accordingly, the first change they
made was to fasten the cloak at the neck instead of at the shoulder, thus liberating the left arm. This style is shown in the portrait of the emperor Frederick I. (fig. 2).
The women whose means enabled them to follow the fashions—those below that station were far more poorly clad during the Middle Ages than iu our time—wore as upper garment a cloak which, in the case of royal ladies, was lined with costly furs, as shown in Figure 3 (p. 35). Their taste for display was naturally more pronounced than that of the men. Instead of a simple clasp, as in the case of the men, the women used a ribbon to fasten the cloak, and sometimes both clasp and ribbon. The ribbon was finally worn so long that (as in fig. 5) it had to be held with the hand lest the cloak should slip from the shoulders. Beneath the cloak the women usually wore a double dress: one, long and concealing the feet in com pliance with court etiquette, was close-fitting above and had long sleeves; the other, worn over this one, was shorter, of a different color, and had wide half-sleeves.
Only toward the end of the thirteenth century was a chemise regularly worn beneath these garments. Gradually the mantle fell into disuse, and it finally disappeared. The greater attention given to the cut and dec oration of the other garments proves that the cloak was no longer the chief article of apparel. The cloaks of the two emperors are still dec orated with gold borders and ornamented with precious stones, though they are not to be regarded simply as a distinctive mark of the high rank of the wearers. The cloak is much reduced in importance in Figure 4, which represents one of the remarkable sculptures of the cathedral of Naumburg, of the thirteenth century. Eventually, it was used only as a mark of princely dignity, until, after several centuries, it was again adopted in an entirely different shape as a protection against inclement weather.