A Fascinating History 5: Hennin 2

HENNIN 2: 1480s “Whatever its origin it would appear to have been a natural development of the previously fashionable horned headdress; the two horns having become higher and closer until they finally became one,” (De Courtais, 34).

Confusing the profile of the previous hennin style, and converting the two points of the crescent shape into one was seen as a response to the outcry against the “devilish” shape of the horned hennin (Lester and Oerke, p.18). This new shape was stylish and showy, and still allowed the wearer to display the fabrics afforded by their families’ wealth.

In the 1480s, women and children of the upper classes were allowed, through sumptuary law, to add a black front band to their hennins to display their wealth status. These front bands, which helped to keep these precarious headpieces in place, were a precursor to the Tudor styles in the era that followed, (De Courtais, 34).

This single-peak hennin is made on a wired frame, with silk brocade, and silk gauze veiling and base, with a gold-covered forehead stabilizing wire, and golden balls at the tip of the cone, and around the base.