Chaperon

What it was

A chaperon covered the head and shoulders of men in medieval western Europe. In its first shape it was a hood joined to a small cape, put on by pulling it down or fastening it at the front. Wool ones were for cold weather, lighter cloth for summer. Push the hood back and it hung behind, with the cape left round the neck. The cape edge might be trimmed, cut or scalloped. This plain sort lasted to the end of the Middle Ages and was worn by poorer people, and by women as well as men, mostly in the north of Europe.

From hood to hat

Around 1300 wearers turned the opening meant for the face upward and put it over the crown of the head, perhaps because of heat. Tail and cape then dangled from the top, and makers began building for that look. A padded ring, the bourrelet, settled round the skull, while the tail lengthened into a scarf-like strip, squared off at the end by the 1430s. Some Italian versions dropped the tail and kept only a tube of cloth hanging to one side. By the middle of the 15th century this hat was ordinary dress for well-off men, and a silk one was a loud statement of wealth.

Names for the parts

Each piece of a chaperon had its own word. The long tail was a tippit or liripipe in English and a liripipe or cornette in French. The cape was a patte in French, or a cockscomb when cut in fancy shapes. The padded ring was a bourrelet, also called a rondel. At the Burgundian court in the 15th century the French terms were the usual ones. Italian speakers used foggia, becchetto and mazzocchio instead. Chaperon itself is a small form of chape, from Late Latin cappa, which could mean cap, cape or hood.

Colours and politics

In France and Burgundy a chaperon's colour could announce a man's politics, and the factions themselves were sometimes given the garment's name. When King John II of France was held in England in 1356, Parisians who rose against his son wore two-coloured chaperons, red for Paris and blue for Navarre, backing Charles of Navarre's claim to the throne. Citizens of Ghent wore white ones in 1379 against Philip the Bold of Burgundy. White appeared again in Paris in 1413, worn by opponents of the Armagnacs while Charles VI was unwell.

In paintings

Early Netherlandish painting shows more men in chaperons than in any other headwear, which is why the garment is so familiar to historians of dress. The calendar pictures of the Très Riches Heures put the old hood shape on field workers and huntsmen, and the new hat on some courtiers, though the Duke and his greatest lords go bare-headed. Members of the Order of the Garter appear in them in William Bruges' Garter Book of 1430 to 1440. A Florentine example of 1515 is recorded as taking sixteen braccia, more than ten yards, of cloth.

How Chaperon is kept

A man pulled the hood over his head, or fastened it at the front, and if it grew warm he pushed it back so the cape stayed round his shoulders. After about 1300 the face opening went over the crown instead, so the tail and cape hung from the top. A padded ring was then worn round the head, with the tail and cape tied, looped, tucked or left loose in various arrangements. In church, or before someone of much higher rank, it came off the head and rested on the shoulders.

When and where

The hood form was in use before 1200 and lasted to the end of the Middle Ages. The hat form appeared about 1300, was most fashionable in the middle of the 15th century, and faded in the late 1400s. It was not tied to any date in the calendar.

It was worn in all parts of western Europe. The most elaborate versions belonged to the Burgundian and French courts. In England it appears on members of the Order of the Garter. In Italy and France it belonged more to merchants and lawyers. In Spain, Portugal and the Holy Roman Empire it was less common and worn lower down the social scale.

What Chaperon means

By its colour a chaperon could show which side a man took in a quarrel, and in France and Burgundy the rival factions were even called chaperons themselves. Taking it off in church, or in front of a much greater lord, was a mark of respect. The word also drifted from the hawk's hood and the head covering into chaperone, the person who accompanies and guards another.

Questions people ask about Chaperon

See also

Vyshyvanka DayAn annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDirndlA fitted dress with apron from the German-speaking Alps, worn for festivals and weddings.KynodesmeA cord ancient Greek athletes tied around the foreskin to stay modest in public.KiltA pleated knee-length skirt in tartan wool, worn as Scottish Highland dress

Good reading and sources

• Chaperon (headgear) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-12.