St. Birgitta’s Cap

Description of the Product

This St Birgitta’s cap is made of linen fabric. It is a copy of a surviving 13^th or 14^th C. cap, that has been saved to our day due it being attributed as a relic of St Birgitta, (or St. Bridget), one of the patron saints of Europe. Birgitta was a noblewoman from Sweden, who had religious visions and revelations already from childhood onwards. After her husband’s death she moved to Rome to petition the pope for a new religious order. The permission to found the Birgittines was eventually granted, but Birgitta remained in Rome never to return back north. Her revelations, (even though some were nearly heretical, or were personal attacks on kings and nobles), were written down, popularized and widely respected, and she became an influential figure in 14^th C European politics. The first Birgittine monastery was founded in Vadstena according to her wishes. Birgittine convents can still be found around the world, including Naantali, Finland, and the one in Uden, Netherlands, where the original of this cap is kept.

In the Middle Ages, married women were expected to wear a headdress (hence the German expression unter die Haube kommen, which literally translates to "coming under the bonnet" and is still a common idiom today for "getting married"). In medieval times, there were many different ways for women to cover their heads, for example with a plain or frilled/goffered veil (with or without gorget around the neck), a bonnet, a coif, a barbette and fillet, a schapel (a decorated, crown-like hoop/wreath often worn in combination with a veil), or a wimple.

This type of cap wasn’t worn like regular coifs with the straps tied under the chin. Instead the ties were wrapped around the head to keep the cap in place. Historical illustrations of caps such as this can for example be found in the Morgan Bible (also known as the Maciejowski Bible or Crusader Bible), a picture bible from the 13th century.

Linen textiles are one of the oldest fabrics mankind has used, maybe the oldest. Linen is textile made from flax plant. Wild flax was made into textiles already 36 000 years ago in Europe and the plant was domesticated and extensively grown and used in ancient Mesopotamia.  Linen was the most widely used fabric also in ancient Egypt. The use and cultivation of flax moved northward in Europe and linen clothing was available throughout Europe all the way to the cold north by late Bronze Age. Flax was grown locally in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and linen was an important commercial good. During the Middle Ages Germany was the main hub for growing flax and fabricating linen in almost an industrial scale.

This linen cap is thin and soft to the touch, and it sits beautifully, but is still durable and breaths very well. Linen is naturally absorbent and dries faster than cotton. Baltic linen is grown in the Baltic and Nordic countries where long cold winters around the Baltic Sea make this plant and its fibers strong and durable. Properties that our ancestors appreciated.

Our version of the cap does not have the embroidered open stitchwork of the original piece, as in most illustrations these caps do not show such open embroidery. St. Birgitta’s cap is comfortable to wear, stays on well, and suits many different types of outfit. The cap comes in two sizes, small or large, and in two colors, white or natural linen. The cap can be used by itself, or combined with different veils (available -here-), as shown on the video below. The rectangular veil worn as a gorget on the video is available -here-. The veils can be attached to the cap with brass veil pins, available -here-.

• Our version of a surviving 14th C. cap
• Can be worn by itself, or combined with veils
• Material: 100 % Baltic linen
• Available in two sizes: S/M and L/XL
• Available colors: white and natural linen
• Made by Karhunhammas - Beartooth