Elizabethan head coverings, Part 1- The Caul

Now I will show you the head coverings women wore during the Tudor and Elizabethan era.

If you weren't a young girl and wore your hair loose or wore it up (in a bun or in plaits) decorated with curls in the front and pearls or threads, you wore it under some kind of covering.

The Caul

(source: http://www.patternsoftime.com/products.asp?cat=14&pg=20)

The Caul is a hair net that covered the hair in the back. You could either put the hair loosely in it, as a plait or bun. There are different kinds of caul's. The one in the picture is made of netted cord and decorated with pearls. Others were out of fabric which was then decorated with netted cord and pearls.

( source:http://lynnmcmasters.com/hairdo.html)

Here are some more pictures.

 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronzino)

The woman in the portrait is Eleonora di Toledo. It was painted by Agnolo di Cosimo( mainly known as Bronzino or Agnolo Bronzino) in 1544-1545

(source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/434527064018222206/)