adorned with precious
stones, and was surmounted by a small cap, coquettishly placed either on
one side or on the top of the head, and ornamented with gold chains,
jewels, and feathers. The body of the dress was always long, and pointed
in front. Men wore their coats cut somewhat after the same shape: their
trunk hose were tight, but round the waist they were puffed out. They wore
a cloak, which only reached as far as the hips, and was always much
ornamented; they carried a smooth or ribbed cap on one side of the head,
and a small upright collar adorned the coat. This collar was replaced,
after the first half of the sixteenth century, by the high, starched ruff,
which was kept out by wires; ladies wore it still larger, when it had
somewhat the appearance of an open fan at the back of the neck.

If we take a retrospective glance at the numerous changes of costume which
we have endeavoured to describe in this hurried sketch, we shall find that
amongst European nations, during the Middle Ages, there was but one common
standard of fashion, which varied from time to time according to the
particular custom of each country, and according to the peculiarities of
each race. In Italy, for instance, dress always maintained a certain
character of grandeur, ever recalling the fact that the influence of
antiquity was not quite lost. In Germany and Switzerland, garments had
generally a heavy and massive appearance; in Holland, still more so (Figs.
436 and 437). England uniformly studied a kind of instinctive elegance and
propriety. It is a curious fact that Spain invariably partook of the
heaviness peculiar to Germany, either because the Gothic element still
prevailed there, or that the Walloon fashions had a special attraction to
her owing to associations and general usage. France was then, as it is
now, fickle and capricious, fantastical and wavering, but not from
indifference, but because she was always ready to borrow from every
quarter anything which pleased her. She, however, never failed to put her
own stamp on whatever she adopted, thus making any fashion essentially
French, even though she had only just borrowed it from Spain, England,
Germany, or Italy. In all these countries we have seen, and still see,
entire provinces adhering to some ancient costume, causing them to differ
altogether in character from the rest of the nation. This is simply owing
to the fact that the fashions have become obsolete in the neighbouring
place