1400s

The era of the Crusades of the Middle Ages had come to a close. The 1400s was the dawning of a new age, that of the Renaissance. Gone was religious austerity. With the 1400s, women were allowed to be pretty women again. The Italian philosopher and writer, Niccolo Machiavelli proposed his opinion, stating that women should have hair that is loose and blond, ... the color of gold, at other times like honey, shiny as the rays of the sun, wavy, thick, and long, [with] long curls, and fluttering at the shoulders.

Women for the most part abandoned the restrictions of the Middle Ages, and with the return of fashion and its status, they cast off the massive head coverings and showed their hair, like fields of flowers, emerging into spring after a long bleak winter. They adopted adornments with jewels and veils, showed ornate braided styles, which followed the classic influence of Greece and Rome. Pearls, and ribbons, and precious stones enhanced a braided crown around the top of their heads. Hair was dyed golden and of lighter colors. A "snood" could be worn over a bun, and a demure circlet, like a necklace was strategically spaced around the forehead. Hair was twisted upward to be worn above the shoulders.

The strange and likely hoaxed work, called the Voynich Manuscript, was identified as having been produced in the 1400s simply because its illustratrations of nymphs had hairstyles that pointed to the late 1400s. Europe was not the only locale of fashion, for even in Africa there was a complex elegance of styles, composed with oils and combs to create a fashionable effect. It was an explosion of status all around the world. Those who did not participate, were those considered devout or those in mourning.

Women did not wear bangs. The hair was drawn back to expose a noble forehead, much like the days of the classic styles. Hair could be braided and coiled, to form either soft circles or what appeared to be 'horns'. The coils would be shielded by veils and snoods, and topped off with precious stones. Both rich and poor often wore cauls, like cloth bags to partially shield the elaborate braids, but the decorations established the classes and nobility.

15hqql.

1444	1445	1447	1454

1455	1456	1457	1464

1471	1476 Queen Isabella	1485 Botticelli's Venus	1487 Da Vinci model

1490 Artist's model	1490 Voynich nymph	1498 Isabelle of Portugal	1499