 |
|
|
Needless to say, the Catholic Church did not approve. But who cares about the Church, right? Aristocrats certainly didn't, for a while anyway. Eventually however, under increasing pressure from the Church, and increasing bouts of syphilis (which made the prominent phallus, um, significantly less enticing), aristocrats gave in and started covering up too. Of course, lengthening their skirts would be too easy. So instead, they adopted the codpiece. The benefits of the codpiece were many: in addition to placating the Church, it was also a sexual enticement for ladies (and gentlemen!), a panacea for syphilis (as a decorative, protective covering for the medicated bandages that lay underneath), and an intimidation device for enemies. (Legend has it that Edward III, king of England from 1327-1377, on hearing that a man's strength on the battlefield was supposedly proportional to the size of his, uh, sword, outfitted his army with metal codpieces of startling proportions.) Later monarchs, such as Edward IV and Henry VIII, continued this erogenous exposé well into the 15th century. In fact, even when doublet hemlines lowered to the knees, as they did during Henry VIII's reign, the codpiece still enjoyed center stage (a center pleat in the doublet allowed the codpiece to project forth). But all things must come to an end, and the codpiece reached its climax (and dénouement) in the late 16th century. Perhaps too much of a good thing, the codpiece was swallowed up into the folds of a looser, billowing doublet that contained a hidden vertical slit for easy access. |
Bring on the enemy! Armored codpieces kept the jewels safely vaulted (author's illus.). |
|
Although the codpiece enjoyed a prominent place in history for two centuries, today it is nothing more than a sex shop novelty item. For some, this may be a welcome departure, but for others, such as Codpiece International, a website which seeks to "Bring Back the Codpiece!", a revival would occur not a moment too soon. So just in case you thought that women were the only victims of fashion's caprices, think again the next time you open your sock drawer... Bibliography -Codpiece International. "So...what
exactly is a codpiece?" Codpiece International. http://www.teleport.com/~codpiece/definition/index.html
(17 July 2000). |
|
