Cod History

There is no sign of Kirsten Dunst or Sofia Coppola in the museum shop at Fontainebleu, the French don’t like the film Marie Antoinette: they booed during and after its debut at last year’s Cannes film festival. Coppola’s modern mis-en-scène, the punk music soundtrack, what some called “history for the MTV generation”, was thought superficial.




Here Tom caught the superficial bug: became interested in the cod-pieces of the Swiss Guards. In England the fashion was dying out, the Cod-piece merged into the peascod…

”because it is by that merrie French writer Rablais [On the Dignity of Codpieces] stiled the first and principall piece of Armour, the Switzers do weare it as a significant Symbole of the assured service they are to doe to the French King in his Warres…

the originall of their wearing of codpieces and partie-coloured clothes grew from this: it is not found that they wore any till Anno 1476 at what time the Switzers tooke their revenge upon Charles Duke of Burgundie, for taking from them a Towne called Granson with the Canton of Berne, whom after they had defeated, and shamefully put to flight, together with all his forces they found there great spoyles that the Duke left behind, to the valew of three millions, as it was said. But the Switzers being ignorant of the valew of the richest things, tore in pieces the most sumptuous Pavilions in the world, to make themselves coates and breeches; some of them sold silver dishes as cheape as Pewter, for two pence half-pennie a piece, and a great Pearle hanging in a jewel of the Dukes for twelve pence, in memorie of which insipid simplicite, Lewes, the eleventh King of France, who the next yeare after entertained them into his Pension, caused them to bee uncased of their rich clothes made of the Duke of Burgundies Pavilions, and ordained that should ever after weare Suites and Codpieces of those variegated colours of Red and Yellow. I observed that all these Switzers do weare Velvet Cappes with Feathers in them, and I noted many of them to be very clusterfisted lubbers. [a clumsy clownish fool]…”As for their attire, it is made so phantastically, that a novice newly come to the Court, who never saw any of them before, would halfe imagine, if he should see one of them alone without his weapon, hee were the Kings foole…”