Clothing: Wimple

In most tomb effigies of the Medieval era, including those of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Berengaria of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile, or even portraits of noble women such as Margaret Beaufort, they look almost nun-like with veils and wide collars surrounding their faces.  This collar and veil combination was known as a wimple.  No well-dressed woman went anywhere without it.  And, yes, it does survive today in the habits of nuns.

In the Middle Ages, it was considered inappropriate and almost shameful for a married woman to be seen without a head covering.  Convention dictated that a woman's body was covered with the exception of hands and face.  For well-to-do women, the effect was achieved with a linen covering that surrounded the head and face, covered the neck and over the shoulders in a wide collar effect.  Wimples, as these garments were called, took a wide variety of forms.  They were made of linen, and served a dual purpose of modesty and cleanliness, keeping hair oils off other garments, including the more expensive fabrics used for veils.  The older or more pious a woman became, she often adopted a more austere style of dress, with the wimple becoming more veil-like in its own right. 

A common form of piety for well-to-do women of the period was to provide charity to religious foundations, such as orders of nuns.  Royal and powerful noble women often sponsored orders of nuns and some spent their final years living as a nun even if they did not take vows.  Because many orders of nuns trace back to the Middle Ages, their habits reflect the styles of dress of that time period, including generous white wimples.  Now, a wimple is a sign of poverty, humility and the monastic life.  At the time, it was a status symbol, as only wealthy women could afford the linen cloth it was usually made of.