Medieval coif
Detail of
Edward VI as a child by
Holbein, 1538. He wears a linen coif under a cloth-of-gold coif and a feathered hat.
A coif (IPA: /ˈkɔɪf/) is a close
fitting cap that covers the top, back, and sides of the head, worn by all classes in
England and Scotland from the Middle Ages to the early seventeenth century (and later as an
old-fashioned cap for countrywomen and young children).
Tudor (later Stewart in Scotland) and earlier
coifs are usually made of unadorned white linen and tie under the chin. In the Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras, coifs were frequently
decorated with blackwork embroidery and lace
edging.
Coifs were also worn by an extinct senior grade of English lawyer, the Serjeant-at-Law. A United States law school honor society, the
Order of the Coif, is named after this use of the coif.
Coifs were worn under gable hoods and hats of all sorts, and alone as indoor
headcoverings.
Coifs were also a type of armour, traditionally made of mail, which covered the head
(face excluded), neck and shoulders.
See also
References
Oxford English Dictionary
George Wingfield Digby. Elizabethan Embroidery. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1964.
External links
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