Here are some different styles and ways to wear the hennin. I tried to find the largest variety along with some exemples that we dont see really often and that aren't typical...
Covered with a thick white canvas and toped with a veil
A wimple instead of a chinband. A similar style is often associated with the truncated hennin because of some famous paintings. The veil covers only the hennin not the coif
Veil to the ground. Note the nice iron pleats, which suggests that the silk was ironed folded like our grand-mas' used to do for bed sheets!
Veils dangling from the tip of hennin (note the brooch on image 9 and also her medalion falling on her placket)
Image 9 & 11 are wearing a veil pined to the lower part of the hennin covering the whole face.
Veils dangling from the tip of hennin
(same color and fabric as hennin)
Flat tip with ornament
(not quite a crown), I would say ; Baronness or countess
Pearled hennin toped with a knob, worn over loose hair
Pearled hennin toped with a knob, worn over loose hair
Hennin worn without a coif over loose hair
(note the brooch and crown-like knob)
Colored and patterned hennins worn over a white veil without a turnover (note the big pearl on top)
The veil covers the whole hat
Verry slim hennins with a veil under the coif
Veil covering only the hennin and showing the hairline
No worries, they simply wore their crown over the whole thing !
(note that the coif seems to be pined to the partlet)
Tight brim with brooch in the front
Hennin worn over a veil (creating a brim) and loose hair. Another veil is worn over the hennin
Very slim hennin. The brim is trimmed with gold. (Note the nice pin and the "V" shaped loop)
Black coif worn over a white one. The veil covers only the hennin
White veil over white hennin (note the long collar tab over the belt)
Note the nice chain-belt in addition to the large one
References for Burgundian costuming
Hennins and related headdresses
On this page you'll find various types of headdresses worn by nobility through out the second half of the 15th century.
Image one is from a manuscript called "passion of christ"
Image 2 represents Jean de Saintré, from his own book of hours
Image 3 is from the french manuscript "Tristan de Léonois"
Image 4 is from Froissard's Grandes chroniques de FRance (isabel de france arriving at the city)
Image 5 is from "Histoires de Troye"
Image 6 is from the manuscript "Renaud de Montauban" at the Arsenal library
Image 7 is from Christine de Pisan's city of ladies
Image 8 is from René of Anjou's tournament book
Image 9 is from "Homage à Jean de Montfort"
Image 10 is from "Histoire du chevalier Tondal"
Image 11 is from "Le roman de la Violette"
Images 12-13-14-15-16-17-18 are from "Augustine, La Cité de Dieu" illuminated by maître François
Image 19 is from ; Histoire de Jehan de Wavrin
Image 20 is from "Augustine, La Cité de Dieu" illuminated by maître François
Image 21 is from "Histoires de Troye"
image 22 is from Christine de Pisan's Othea
Image 23 is a portrait of Mary of Burgundy
Image 24 is from the book of hours of Mary of Burgundy 1480
images 25 is a painting by Hans Memling called "Diptych with the Allegory of True Love"
Image 26 is from Boccace's "de casibus (trad-laurent-de-premierfait)
Image 27 is from Margaret of York's book of hours
Image 28 is from "Histoires de Troye"
Image 29 is from John Gower's "Confessio amantis" 1470
Image 30 is from Giovanni Boccaccio's "Le livre des cleres et nobles femmes (the harp player)
Image 31 is from the manuscript MS-Douce-208 f-1 at the Bodleian-library (the midwife doctor)
Image 32 is from Evrard de Conty's "Les échecs amoureux" 1496-98
Image 33 is a border miniature from "Le chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu" (the heart-shape book) Savoie 1475
Image 34 is from the Master of the Legend of St-Ursula (before 1479)
Image 35 is a background detail from "Madonna with Donor and St-Mary-Magdalene" (unknown artist) 1475
Image 36 is from Pierre le Baud's "compilation des chroniques & histoires des bretons 1480
Image 37 is from David Aubert's "Renaud de Montauban" at the Arsenal library
Image 38 if from Ovidius's "Metamorphoseon libri" (Elene's kidnaping)
Image 39 is a portrait of Isabelle de Boubon
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Like image 25, the brim falls most extremely low in the back
A veil cover the hennin and a second small veil apears to be pined at the lower part of the hennin to cover the face
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The veil covers the whole hennin and face and falls as a shade
The brim appears to be rigidely supported and the front peak seams to be closed. Nice gold beads around the brim as well
A single wire or a "V" shape wire seams to be supporting the veil. The pin is also very obvious !
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Hennin seams to be covered by a gold net. Note the trim around the brim
Worn with a white wimple and over a white coif
Color hennin with a different color brim
The brim has a color lining
A cord or liripipe is dangling from the tip
Bliss' No Right Clicking
But with this kind of fashion going on, what did royalty do ?
Extant crown made to fit on a hennin, too small for a human head. (Gold, diamands, stones, pearls, enamel and porcelaine)
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Image one is the extant Crown of Margaret of York 1461-74 (England or Netherlands)
Images 2 & 3 are from the manuscript "Histoires de Troye"
Image 4 & 5 are from the manuscript "Augustine, la cité Dieu" illuminated by maître François
Image 6 represents Cleopatra but I'm not sure from which manuscript
Image 7 is from the french manuscript "Tristan de Léonois"
Hennins still worn with transition gowns
When I say "transition gown", I relate to the fashion that made think between the end of the middle-ages and the begining of the renaissance. The particularity of the transition gown is the square neckline. This is the bridge to the year 1500.
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Image one is from Evrard de Conty's "Les échecs amoureux" 1496-98
Image 2 was taken from "Hours of the cross"
Image 3 is a portrait of Mary of Burgundy
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Nice pleats in the veil. The headband can be sean
The veil is dangling from the tip. Another one is worn underneat. Could be the same one comming out at the other end but that's just a theory.
A sharp seam can be sean in the center. the veil is folded-up to reveil the face. Note the in-cut in the headband.
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