Codpiece

Henry VIII wearing a codpiece

A codpiece (< Middle English codpece = cod 'bag, scrotum' + pece 'piece') is a flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers to provide a covering for the genitals. It would be held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods.

It was an important item of European clothing in the 15th and 16th centuries.

History

At first, the codpiece was entirely a practical matter of modesty. Men's hose were typically very snug on the legs and open at the crotch, with the genitalia simply hanging loose under the doublet. As changing fashions led to shorter doublets, the codpiece was created to cover the crotch. Alternative versions of the origin of the codpiece exist.

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 and snuff. In England in the latter half of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the codpiece and doublet merged into the "peascod" doublet, and the codpiece faded from fashion.

Armour of the 16th century followed civilian fashion, and for a time armoured codpieces were a prominent addition to the best full harnesses. Few of these are in evidence today, though the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City does have one on display, as does the Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts. The armour of Henry VIII in the tower of London has an impressive codpiece.

Renaissance humorist Francois Rabelais wrote a book named "On the Dignity of Codpieces"

Slang

Through the same linguistic route cods became a modern slang term for the male genitaliaand codswallop is an associated term.

Codpieces in contemporary culture

Codpiece was a supervillain who appeared in Doom Patrol #70. He was armed with a mechanical codpiece but was defeated by Coagula, who melted it.

Codpieces are rarely worn publicly today, except in the leather and latex fetish communities. They are sometimes worn as a part of a costume in a performance. Some contemporary performers who have worn codpieces are:

• In Jim Henson's 1980s classic movie Labyrinth, the Goblin King (played by David Bowie) sports a codpiece beneath his riding breeches.

• Ian Anderson, front man for Jethro Tull, wore an oversized codpiece during his performances in the mid-1970s.

• The lead singer of 1980s music group Cameo, Larry Blackmon wore a large, bright-red codpiece in all of his performances.

• Alex and his gang members from Anthony Burgess' book A Clockwork Orange (and later Stanley Kubrick's movie adaptation) wear codpieces.

• The films Batman Forever and Batman & Robin received much publicity over the size of the molded rubber codpieces of the Batman and Robin costumes.

• In 1982's The Pirate Movie, an attempted rock music version of the Pirates of Penzance, the Pirate King, played by Ted Hamilton, wore an enormous jeweled codpiece for comedic effect.

• In the Wachowski brothers's second Matrix movie The Matrix Reloaded, two men can be seen wearing codpieces at the entrance to the Merovingian's nightclub.

• In 1975, Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver tried to reintroduce the codpiece to 20th-century male fashion apparel. His purpose, he said, was to “solve the problem of the fig leaf mentality", arguing that "clothing is an extension of the fig leaf”. Variously called “Cleaver pants”, “the Cleavers”, and ”the Cleaver sleeve”, his designer jeans incorporated a combination codpiece-penis sheath that, according to one description of the accessory, could “accommodate a two-pound linguiça”. His attempt to reintroduce the codpiece did not catch on.

• Shock-rock performer Blackie Lawless, leader of the group WASP, has been known to wear a codpiece that features a saw blade and is capable of shooting out flames and sparks.

• In Babylon 5, Andreas Katsulas' character G'Kar sports a codpiece as part of his Ambassadorial garb for most of the series.

• In one episode of Metalocalypse, bassist William Murderface purchases a diamond encrusted codpiece which is enforced by titanium alloy and is shaped like a horn. Meanwhile, guitarist Toki Wartooth purchases a strap-on dildo, mistaking it for a codpiece. An assassin sent by the mysterious group observing the band Dethklok later trips and falls face first into the codpiece and is skewered.

• At renaissance festivals throughout the United States, tights with built-in codpieces - introduced as ready-to-wear in the late 1980s - are gaining popularity among male performers. A web search for "renaissance tights" provides links to pages with several examples.

• In the 1995 film Se7en, a lust-related murder involves a man being forced (at gunpoint) to don a codpiece with a long blade attached as a pseudo-phallus and have sex with a prostitute, killing the woman in the process.

• In the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the Earth is covered in dust from nuclear fallout. This dust is radioactive and so male characters in the novel must wear lead codpieces to avoid becoming sterile.

• Codpieces are seen as part of the uniform of storm troopers in the Star Wars movie series.

• Heavy Metal singer King Diamond has been known to wear a codpiece as part of his performance outfits.

• Actor Dougray Scott, on his role in Ever After, said, "I had never worn a codpiece before and I don't think I ever will again." --IMDB

See also

• 1500-1550 in fashion
• 1550-1600 in fashion
• Hose (clothing)

References

• Ashelford, Jane: The Art of Dress: Clothing and Society 1500-1914, Abrams, 1996. ISBN 0810963175

• Ashelford, Jane. The Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century. 1983 edition (ISBN 0-89676-076-6), 1994 reprint (ISBN 0-7134-6828-9).

• Edge, David: Arms and Armor of Medieval Knights: An Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages

• Hearn, Karen, ed. Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530-1630. New York: Rizzoli, 1995. ISBN 0-8478-1940-X.

External links

• Time Magazine article
• Contemporary latex codpiece suit
• The Fashion Struggle
• Dandyism.net