Fillet (clothing)

Last updated
A bronze reconstruction of the Diadumenos ("The Fillet-Bearer"), a statue by Polykleitos (5th century BC), depicting a youth binding his head with fillets Diadumenos pushkin.jpg
A bronze reconstruction of the Diadumenos ("The Fillet-Bearer"), a statue by Polykleitos (5th century BC), depicting a youth binding his head with fillets

A fillet is a type of headgear. It was originally worn in classical antiquity, especially in cultures of the Mediterranean, Levant and Persia, including Hellenic culture.

Contents

At that time, a fillet was a very narrow band of cloth, leather or some form of garland, frequently worn by athletes. It was also worn as a sign of royalty and became symbolized in later ages as a metallic ring which was a stylized band of cloth. Greeks called it diadema (διάδημα).

Julius Caesar refused to wear a diadema when Mark Antony offered it to him, and the Roman emperors who came after generally followed this practice until Constantine I, the first to Christianize the Roman Empire, who adopted the Greek emblem of royalty. Thereafter the diadem was worn by the Roman emperors as a symbol of sovereignty.

Earlier, it was used as a head-dress by Roman women. [2]

Later, in medieval times, a fillet was a type of headband worn by unmarried women, in certain monk hoods, usually with a wimple or barbette. [3] This is indicated in the sign language of said monks (who took oaths of silence), wherein a sweeping motion across the brow, in the shape of a fillet, indicated an unmarried woman. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharaoh</span> Title of Ancient Egyptian rulers

Pharaoh is the vernacular term often used for the monarchs of ancient Egypt, who ruled from the First Dynasty until the annexation of Egypt by the Roman Republic in 30 BCE. However, regardless of gender, "king" was the term used most frequently by the ancient Egyptians for their monarchs through the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom. The earliest confirmed instances of "pharaoh" used contemporaneously for a ruler were a letter to Akhenaten or an inscription possibly referring to Thutmose III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown</span> Form of headwear, symbolizing the power of a ruler

A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, particularly in Commonwealth countries, as an abstract name for the monarchy itself as distinct from the individual who inhabits it. A specific type of crown is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classical antiquity</span> Age of the ancient Greeks and Romans

Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known together as the Greco-Roman world, centered on the Mediterranean Basin. It is the period during which ancient Greece and ancient Rome flourished and had major influence throughout much of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitre</span> Liturgical headdresses worn by Christian bishops and abbots

The mitre or miter is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mitres are worn in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, for important ceremonies, by the Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and also, in the Catholic Church, all cardinals, whether or not bishops, and some Eastern Orthodox archpriests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunic</span> Simple T-shaped or sleeveless garment, usually unfitted, of archaic origin

A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin tunica, the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome, which in turn was based on earlier Greek garments that covered wearers' waists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uraeus</span> Ancient Egyptian upright cobra motif signifying authority and divinity

The Uraeus or Ouraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diadem</span> Ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty

A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lappet</span> Hanging part of a headdress or garment

A lappet is a decorative flap, fold or hanging part of a headdress or garment. Worn in a pair, or as a singular long strip giving a symmetrical drape, lappets were a popular form of women's headwear until the early twentieth century, and are still a feature of religious garments. Examples of lappets are to be found on the papal tiara and on the nemes headdress of the kings of ancient Egypt. The same term is also used for similar-looking anatomical features on some animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headband</span> Hair accessory

A headband or hairband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both fashion and practical or utilitarian purposes.

The study of the history of clothing and textiles traces the development, use, and availability of clothing and textiles over human history. Clothing and textiles reflect the materials and technologies available in different civilizations at different times. The variety and distribution of clothing and textiles within a society reveal social customs and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tainia (costume)</span> Headband or fillet of Ancient Greece

In ancient Greek costume, a tainia was a headband, ribbon, or fillet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothing in the ancient world</span> What people wore in antiquity as inferred from archaeological and historical evidence

The preservation of fabric fibers and leathers allows for insights into the attire of ancient societies. The clothing used in the ancient world reflects the technologies that these peoples mastered. In many cultures, clothing indicated the social status of various members of society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemes</span> Formal headcloth worn by the kings of Ancient Egypt

Nemes were pieces of striped head cloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt. It covered the whole crown and behind of the head and nape of the neck and had lappets, two large flaps which hung down behind the ears and in front of both shoulders. It was sometimes combined with the double crown, as it is on the statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The earliest depiction of the nemes, along with a uraeus, is the ivory label of Den from the 1st Dynasty. It is not a crown in itself, but still symbolizes the pharaoh's power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pileus (hat)</span> Felt conical or half-egg-shaped cap, worn in Ancient Greece, Rome and by ecclesiastics

The pileus was a brimless felt cap worn in Ancient Greece, Etruria, Illyria, later also introduced in Ancient Rome. The pileus also appears on Apulian red-figure pottery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wreath (attire)</span> Headdress made of leaves, grasses, flowers or branches

A wreath worn for purpose of attire, is a headdress made of leaves, grasses, flowers or branches. It is typically worn on festive occasions and holy days and has a long history and association with ancient pageants and ceremonies. Outside occasional use, the wreath can also be used as a crown or a mark of honour. The wreath most often has an annular geometric construction.

This timeline of ancient history lists historical events of the documented ancient past from the beginning of recorded history until the Early Middle Ages. Prior to this time period, prehistory civilizations were pre-literate and did not have written language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothing in ancient Greece</span>

Clothing in ancient Greece refers to clothing starting from the Aegean bronze age to the Hellenistic period. Clothing in ancient Greece included a wide variety of styles but primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys. Ancient Greek civilians typically wore two pieces of clothing draped about the body: an undergarment and a cloak. The people of ancient Greece had many factors that determined what they wore and when they wore it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman hairstyles</span> Hairstyles in ancient Rome

Hairstyle fashion in Rome was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period there were a number of different ways to style hair. As with clothes, there were several hairstyles that were limited to certain people in ancient society. Styles are so distinctive they allow scholars today to create a chronology of Roman portraiture and art; we are able to date pictures of the empresses on coins or identify busts depending on their hairstyles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headgear</span> Any covering for the head; element of clothing which is worn on ones head

Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for religious or cultural reasons, including social conventions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronations in antiquity</span>

Historical ceremonies of introducing a new monarch by a ceremony of coronation can be traced to classical antiquity, and further to the Ancient Near East.

References

  1. Anna Anguissola, "Remembering the Greek Masterpieces: Observations on Memory and Roman Copies," in "Memoria Romanum": Memory in Rome and Rome in Memory, American Academy in Rome (University of Michigan Press, 2014), pp. 121–122, citing Pliny the Elder, Natural History 34.55.
  2. Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Diadema
  3. 1 2 Netherton, Robin; Gale R. Owen-Crocker (2005). Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Boydell & Brewer. p. 49. ISBN   9781843831235 . Retrieved 2010-12-27.