Lengberg cap in natural linen

Another Lengberg cap finished. Last time I made it in white linen because all the reproductions I had seen of it were. But in the paper of the project it clearly says that its made of natural linen, and its also visibly in the few photos there is of it. For the Doublewars market I made two pieces of sprang with the pattern for the cap and they did not sell, so I thought I would make a cap for at least one of them. Im still selling it, but with a cap attached obviously. I dont wear 15th century so someone else is going to look fantastic in this one.

 

 

In artwork all the versions of this cap have been white. So white caps were used. As with all clothing there was a matter of social class and the light white linen where more fancy. But at the same time, this sprang is not made by a beginner... 

Im using this linen for the cap and this linen for the sprang.

This type of headwear is mostly seen in birth-scenes with the virgin Mary, on midwifes. For examples in the Birth of the Virgin, a triptych, by Master of the Crucifixion or another triptych, Birth of the Virgin, by Master of Uttenheim. The later can be seen at the German National Museum.There is also a Swedish one, from 1514, in Jäders church, but that triptych is made in Brussels. The floorboards, under which the original sprang cap where found, was built 1485 and that means that the cap must have been worn out by then. So it might have been used around the mid 15th century. If Im right and there is a cap like this, with sprang, on the triptych of Jäder church, this type of headwear were used for almost a 100 years with not that much change in its type. I dont know if that is likely. There might not be any headwear like these in use in Sweden during the 16th century, but its surely a fascinating thought that the congregation were looking at a picture of one during mass.

Most of the depictions of this type of headwear, with one or multiply sprang panels across the head, are men. But there is of women too. Both men and women are almost always working class. Or maybe middle class. But they are all working. They are midwifes, cooks, soldiers, clerks and servants. But also doctors. The caps worn by men are always bigger than the ones worn by women. The female ones are much tighter, more fitted. The male versions are big, round, fluffy almost...I have not figured them out yet. But I really want to make one! If I could find a guy who would wear it...There is a note in an estate account from 1545, belonging to a guy, about a cap with a wulst. According to Zander-Sediel (Textiler Hausrat) this might mean that the men also wore padding underneath there caps. 

Like this man here. He is wearing a sprang cap, with one big piece of sprang in the middle. Fluffy! Wouldn't it be fun to see this type of headwear on a landsknecht reenactor...?!

The coloured woodcut is made by Hartman Schedel 1493 and can be found here.
 

And here are the female version. Much more fitted. As seen in this painting there are sprang in other colours than natural and white. 

This one is from the painting The birth of Mary from 1495-1505 Master of Mariapfarr; Mariapfarr, Austria.

Among the Lengberg findings there where a couple of narrow sprang pieces too. Pieces that could have been worn in a male sprang cap. I have made two of them, they look like this and like this.

I made the ties longer this time. So that its possible to tie it in the back and not on the top of the head. I also made it a bit bigger. The original is really small.

When I made one last time I did not do the needle lace between the cap and the fingerloop braid. I just attached the fingerloop braid to the cap directly. I think its such a beautiful detail and Im happy with how it turned out. Next time I think I need to use a thicker thread, to make the gap between the cap and the braid bigger. The needle lace and the fingerloop braid is also in natural linen. I attached the fingerloop braid to the lace with whipstitch and a waxed linen thread.

I dont look good in this tight headwear, I really dont. I need the big 16th century head... But Im feeling so genuinely happy seeing this beautiful sprang patterns on others, it looks so good with the hair underneath. 

The back of it is more fancy than the front, with the pattern of the sprang.

 Linen is such a beautiful material!

 

Sources:

Enigmatic beauty - Headwear of Lengberg castle. Beatrix Nutz, Rachel Case, Carol James. https://www.academia.edu/38136973/Enigmatic_Beauty_Headwear_of_Lengberg_Castle_pdf

 

Textiler Hausrat, Jutta Zandler-Seidel.