most ancient from the cathedral of Chartres; they all have long hanging sleeves, an upper tunic, with a petticoat underneath. The ladies' hair falls in long plaits, while that of the men is short, and they have neither beard nor moustache. Several others are given from the abbey of St. Denis. It is supposed they were executed about the time of Clovis, but the dress is much changed from the description we have given above. One of the kings (said to be Clovis) has a long mantle reaching to his feet, falling back from his shoulders, and fastened in front; his tunic has tight sleeves, and is confined at the throat by a band of jewels and a brooch. Round his waist is a girdle, apparently of leather, from which is suspended an escarcelle. The tunic and mantle are jagged round the bottom. The shoes are very neat, and are open in front, with a latchet over the instep. Several other figures are represented with the tunic and chlamyde.

For many years the same dress appears to have been worn by the ancient French. The first change in the costume which we meet with is visible in two statues of Charlemagne, copied by Montfaucon. The first has moustaches, but neither beard nor whiskers, a very short tunic, that does not reach to the knees, and a chlamyde, fastened on the right shoulder, and ornamented with a broad border; the legs are wrapped with fillets, bound crosswise, called lingettes. other statue is habited in a garment that very much resembles a modern surtout. It has large wide sleeves, with deep cuffs, turned back, and a square collar. But the most remarkable part of this dress is that it is trimmed down the front with large round buttons. This is very extraordinary, as buttons are supposed to

The

have been unknown in these early days, and are not seen on any other statues of the same period.

There is a portrait of Charles the Bald, in which that monarch is dressed in a blue tunic, embroidered in gold, a purple chlamyde, adorned with jewels, and a red cap under the crown. By his side is his wife, habited in a red tunic, ornamented with a gold band; her hair is concealed under a large blue veil, that falls upon the back and shoulders, but leaves the face exposed.

The two attendants have the short tunic and chlamyde, and their heads are bare.

On

a statue of the same king we find a shoe which is very curious, being barred in a lozenge pattern.

The French appear from the earliest ages to have understood the art of shoemaking, for as soon as shoes were worn their shape was very good, at least those we perceive on the statues of the men; the women's long tunics completely conceal their feet.

Girdles also appear to have been generally worn those of the women were richly ornamented, and had long ends falling to the feet.

The dress of the French continued much as we have described it for many years. The first novelty that we meet with in head-dresses is the capuchon of Charles le Bon, which has no cape, and the tippet is bound

tight like a cord, and twisted round the head. The hanging cuff which appears in the reign

of Louis VII. continued in fashion for many years. The Comtesse de Dreux, from a portrait of whom we have copied it, wears a robe like a chemise, and a hood. Veils were much worn at this time, and were called couvrechefs.

In the same reign the fashion of emblazoning the robes was first invented. Louis appears in a tunic and mantle, covered with fleur-de-lis. Geoffrey Comte de Maine is strangely habited. His cap resembles the Phrygian bonnet, the point being bent forwards; he wears an embroidered tunic, with tight sleeves, and a vest which reaches to the knees, confined at the waist by a broad girdle. The mantle is splendid, and lined with vair.

In the illuminations of the reign of St. Louis, his sons appear in variously shaped habits. This gives reason to suppose that Fashion was now beginning to exert her power. Prince John has hanging sleeves over the tight ones of his tunic, and he holds a glove in his hand. Another of the princes has a cap upon his head, and wears a garment like a surtout, laid back in front so as to shew the vest underneath. A third appears in a hat of quite a modern form, and his emblazoned robe is trimmed round the bottom with a deep fringe.

The costume of the daughters of this king also presents various novelties in form and shape. The robes are so immensely long all round, that they lie in large folds at their feet. Under sleeves, tight to the wrist, are seen, with wider /

ones over them. The capuchons have more the shape

of caps, being confined by a narrow band across the forehead, and a côte-hardi of ermine is first seen. The shoes of both men and women are excessively pointed at this period.

St. Louis himself is represented as habited in a tunic, which leaves his throat quite bare, and over it a super-totus, with long sleeves, trimmed with fur. This upper robe is brown, embroidered with red flowers. The hair is quite short, the face closely shaven, and a red velvet cap is placed on the top of the head. In another picture his majesty has red stockings and black shoes; the sleeves of the furred robe hang to his knees, and have a slit down the front part, through which the arms, covered with tight sleeves, are passed. Across the shoulders is a deep cape of fur, gradually narrowing to the front, which is ornamented with fur, sewn on to resemble deep fringe.

The coiffure of a lady in the reign of Philip the
Bold is curious. Her capuchon is

formed like a plate on the top of the
head, and the veil, as usual, falls in
folds over the cheeks and back. Wim-
ples, which were wrapped round the
head and throat, were much worn;
and in this reign a gorget, or cheve-
sail, first appears. Women of the

middle and lower classes now wore grey shoes, whence it is said is derived the word grisette. Some authors assert that the pointed caps came into fashion in this reign, but Montfaucon does not mention them for some years later.

The ladies continued to wear their long shapeless

garments, pendent sleeves, hoods, and gorgets, through this reign. The only exception is that of a lady, who astonishes us with a small waist and a kind of pointed tippet, the ends of which fall much below the waist. The cuffs of the under sleeves are now frequently ornamented with buttons, and the long cuffs, instead of hanging from the wrist as before described, are made like a long narrow bag, slit open from the elbow to the shoulder, where they are fastened into the robe; the arm passes through the opening, and the rest of the sleeve falls to the ground, and even trails upon it. The frightful gorgets concealed every thing but the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the hood fell over them. The men still wore long or short tunics, capuchons, and shoes, tied across the instep; the face was shaven, and the hair fell scarcely as low as the ears.

The capuchon of Jeanne, Comtesse de Champagne, is remarkable for its form, being pointed

in front, with a jewel hanging upon the forehead. Instead of enveloping the

face so as to conceal the hair, the ends merely hang down behind, and curls are seen beneath the folds.

In the reign of Philip of Valois, we find the dress much altered. The men

appear in chaussées and doublets,-some with long, some with very short skirts, scarcely reaching below the waist. The sleeves are generally rather larger, the shoes very pointed, and the hats much like those now worn. Red, blue, and green, were the prevailing colours for the garments. A curious appendage to the hats is a long piece of black stuff, which is fastened to one side of the hat, the other end being