…WELLINGTON was a version that had tassels. The NAPOLEON hat was a BICORNE with a tricolor cockade. BIGGIN ( big in ) - ( der. Fr. BEGUINE, a cap worn by nuns ) A coif like cap, with ties under the chin, 16c. and 17c. BIRCAGE - Hat of stiffened veiling, shaped like a birdcage. BIRETTA ( bi ret ah ) - Since…

…garment of linen or silk formerly worn by women, so folded as to envelop the head, chin, sides of the face, and neck: now retained in the dress of nuns. Also gen. a veil. Used loosely in early glossaries as a rendering of L. anabola, cyclas, peplum, ricinum. a1100 Aldhelm Gloss. I. 4296 (Napier 112…

…garment of linen or silk formerly worn by women, so folded as to envelop the head, chin, sides of the face, and neck: now retained in the dress of nuns. Also gen. a veil. Used loosely in early glossaries as a rendering of L. anabola, cyclas, peplum, ricinum. a1100 Aldhelm Gloss. I. 4296 (Napier 112…

…cloth draped across the throat, cheeks and chin, leaving the face exposed. The illustration shows a wimple worn with a headveil. Certain orders of nuns still wear the wimple. In 14c., the cloth wimple worn without a veil, pinned over coils of hair on either side of the head was known as a GORGET. In…