Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Henry VIII wearing a codpiece
Henry VIII wearing a codpiece

A codpiece (from Middle English cod, "scrotum") is a flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers to provide a covering for the genitals. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of In some Male Mammals the scrotum - also 'scrutum' or 'scrootum' - is a protuberance of Skin and Muscle containing the Testicles Trousers are an item of Clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth stretching across A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute It was held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods. It was an important item of European clothing in the 15th and 16th centuries, and it is still worn today in performance costume and in the leather subculture. Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities and Hedonistic Eroticism (" kink "

Contents

History

Metal cod-pieces, 16c
Metal cod-pieces, 16c

At first, the codpiece was entirely a practical matter of modesty. Standards of modesty (also called demureness or reticence) are aspects of the Culture of a Country or people at a given point in time Men's hose (leg coverings) were typically very snug on the legs and open at the crotch, with the genitalia simply hanging loose under the doublet. For contemporary styles see Pantyhose, Hosiery WalterRaleighandson A doublet is a man's snug-fitting buttoned Jacket that was worn in Western Europe from the Middle Ages through to the mid-17th century As changing fashions led to shorter doublets, the codpiece was created to cover the crotch. Alternative theories of the origin of the codpiece exist. [1]

As time passed, codpieces were shaped to emphasize the male genitalia and eventually often became padded and bizarrely shaped. They also often doubled as pockets, handy carrying places for a variety of items such as coins. (In this respect, the codpiece was an early forerunner to the more recently popular fanny pack when worn in front. For the hip-hop group see Fannypack. The fanny pack ( US) belt pack ( US) hip pack ( UK ) In the latter half of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, men's clothing became more feminized; the codpiece became smaller and eventually returned to a simple flap of cloth, at least in England, by the time of Elizabeth's death.

Armor of the 16th century followed civilian fashion, and for a time armored codpieces were a prominent addition to the best full harnesses. A few of these are on display in museums today: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has one, as does the Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts[2][3]; the armour of Henry VIII in the Tower of London has a codpiece. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, The City of New York Worcester (ˈwʊstɚ is a City in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London

In later periods, the codpiece became an object of the derision showered on outlandish fashions. Renaissance humorist Francois Rabelais wrote a book titled On the Dignity of Codpieces. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere

Slang

Through the same linguistic route, cods became a modern slang term for the male genitalia; codswallop ("nonsense") is an associated term. The word codswallop, primarily a British English term meaning " Nonsense " is of uncertain origin

Codpieces in contemporary culture

Leather codpiece.
Leather codpiece. The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities and Hedonistic Eroticism (" kink "

Subcultural Attire

Codpieces are worn in leather subcultural attire to cover and confine the genitals of a man, sometimes while wearing chaps. The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities and Hedonistic Eroticism (" kink " The Clearing House Automated Payment System or CHAPS is a British company established in London in 1984 which offers same-day sterling

Heavy Metal Fashion

The codpiece crossed over from the leather subculture to become an established part of heavy metal fashion performance costume when Rob Halford, of the band Judas Priest, began wearing clothing adopted from the gay biker and leather subculture while promoting the Hell Bent for Leather Album in 1978. The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities and Hedonistic Eroticism (" kink " Heavy metal fashion is the style of dress Body modification, make-up hairstyle and so on taken on by fans of heavy metal, or as they are often called Metalheads The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and dress in general or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people class or period Robert John Arthur Halford (born August 25, 1951) is an English singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in 1970 in Birmingham. The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities and Hedonistic Eroticism (" kink " [1] Notable subsequent uses of the codpiece include:

Pop Music

Codpieces in Film, Electronic Media and Modern Literature

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Kosir, Beth Marie: Modesty to Majesty: The Development of the Codpiece, http://www.r3.org/life/articles/codpiece.html
  2. ^ John Grabenstein, http://www.higgins.org -
  3. ^ David Edge, Arms and Armor of Medieval Knights: An Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages
  4. ^ Because Crotch-to-Air Missiles are Awesome...

References

External links

Dictionary

codpiece

-noun

  1. A part of male dress in front of the breeches to cover the male genitals, sometimes made very conspicuous in former times.
  2. A conspicuous protection for the male genitals in a suit of plate armor.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic