# What the hell is King Henry IV wearing on his head in this painting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118 "2009-05-30T04:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/1 "2009-05-30T04:32:31Z")
As many of you may know, I love looking at old portraits from antiquity, especially Medieval and Renaissance England. The Kings of England generally have fairly consistent headwear in their portraits, if you look at them chronologically. Basically from William the Conqueror all the way up to the early Renaissance, the kings wear the stereotypical crown. During the Renaissance, it changes to cloth caps. Then from James I onwards, bare-headed is the style. There is only one outlier here, but it’s a major one: [King Henry IV.](https://www.myartprints.com/kunst/english_school/portrait_king_henry_iv_englan_hi.jpg) What in Christ’s name is he wearing on his head? WHY is he wearing this? What is the explanation for this bizarre fashion statement amidst the otherwise un-interrupted traditions of conventional crowns and caps? Is there some significance to the fact that he’s the only king of England to wear such a hat? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/2 "2009-05-30T04:41:32Z")
Is it a [chaperon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaperon_(headgear))? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/3 "2009-05-30T04:45:05Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Is there some significance to the fact that he’s the only king of England to wear such a hat? “I wore an onion in my belt, as was the style at the time.” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/4 "2009-05-30T05:27:21Z")
And what’s with his fingers? ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/5 "2009-05-30T05:35:29Z")
I don’t know, but I couldn’t stop laughing at it. It looks like a tablecloth with pearls. And he’s holding a lollipop. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/6 "2009-05-30T05:42:30Z")
Henry IV is definitely the silliest-looking English king. [King Stephen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_Stephen_from_NPG.jpg) is the most terrifying-looking English king. [Edward IV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Edward_IV) is the most Christopher Walken-esque English king. [James I](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_Hilliard_020.jpg) is the dandiest-looking English king. [Francis I](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francis1-1.jpg) is the most Jewish king of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/7 "2009-05-30T05:47:17Z")
Stephen is _cross-eyed_. He made me laugh too. Some kings make 80s fashion look tame. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/8 "2009-05-30T05:53:04Z")
_A wop bop ba doo-wop, a good god damn!_ Here’s [Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Benjamin_von_Block_001.jpg) in all his glory. Fashions of Renaissance monarchs never cease to amaze me. I still would love to know if there is a technical term for Henry IV’s hat. It really doesn’t look much like those “Chaperons” linked to earlier, except superficially. It seems more distinct and more extravagant - looks like it belongs on the head of some Middle Eastern or Indian potentate of old, not an English king. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/9 "2009-05-30T06:19:11Z")
I just want to say to **Argent Towers** that I really enjoy looking at the links to antique portraits you post! I also love looking at Medieval and Renaissance portraits, especially of women. If you have any more favorites or interesting ones, please post. Oh, and I have no idea what that strange hat is. The pearls on the edge make it look really feminine. But otherwise he is a pretty nice looking guy. Oh and to the person asking about his hand, I believe he is holding a flower with it, with the stem between his thumb and index finger. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/10 "2009-05-30T07:02:12Z")
Thank you; I am utterly fascinated by Renaissance fashion and especially armor - my goal is to be rich enough someday to become involved in museum curation (I do have a B.A. in history but I think I would have to go for a PhD for that.) Who knows. But I never get tired of looking at it. I even drew a [portrait of myself](http://www.geocities.com/argenttowers/) in Tudor-era armor. You can see hundreds of amazing Renaissance-era paintings just by clicking through Wikipedia a little bit. [List of English Monarchs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_monarchs) is a great place to start; [Dukes of Saxony](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electors_of_Saxony#Albertine_Dukes_of_Saxony) is a good starting point for looking at the German styles. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/11 "2009-05-30T07:27:22Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I still would love to know if there is a technical term for Henry IV’s hat. It really doesn’t look much like those “Chaperons” linked to earlier, except superficially. It does look more like [this](http://scribalterror.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/27/chaperon.jpg), though. And, of course it’s more ornate and extravagant. He’s king. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/12 "2009-05-30T18:49:05Z")
Henry IV (or Henry The Silliest) seemed to be wearing, as a hat, a rather ornate pair of trousers, borrowed from a dwarf who’s a very snappy dresser. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/13 "2009-05-30T19:31:35Z")
More chaperon stuff: > **[Kats Hats - Made by Nobility, for Nobility](http://www.kats-hats.co.uk/chaperon.shtml)** They do claim: > [@](#): > > Throughout the reigns of Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI and Edward IV men wore the “Chaperon.” It also notes that involved arrangements of the idea became stylish in 1377. It was probably still very much “in” when Henry IV (b. 1367) was a young man. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/14 "2009-05-30T19:35:59Z")
A nappy headed Hank? You want to be careful sayin’ things like that. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/15 "2009-05-30T20:14:48Z")
[Here’s another painting of Henry IV wearing a big napkin or small tablecloth on his head.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry4.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/16 "2009-05-30T20:17:28Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > [Here’s another painting of Henry IV wearing a big napkin or small tablecloth on his head.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry4.JPG) That’s the same picture, just cropped. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/17 "2009-05-30T20:23:05Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > That’s the same picture, just cropped. No it’s not. In the second picture, Henry’s moustaches are pointed, in the first one, they’re not. In the second picture, Henry has a goatee, in the first, he has a full beard, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/18 "2009-05-30T20:45:09Z")
Well fuck me, you’re right! Never mind. :o It does look to be the same hat, though. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/19 "2009-05-30T22:34:16Z")
It might be the same hat. Often, multiple paintings were made based upon one particular painting that became the “official” portrait of the monarch. This way, a monarch didn’t have to sit for multiple portraits, and could have one particularly “good” painting pose be the standard. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118/20 "2009-06-01T10:15:45Z")
One problem in interpreting this painting is that none of the known versions can be dated earlier than the late sixteenth century. Indeed, it cannot even be assumed that any panel portrait of Henry ever existed from about the time he actually lived, as panel portraits, although not unknown, had still been freakishly rare in early fifteenth-century England, even in court circles. This portrait type of Henry IV was almost certainly developed in the late sixteenth century to make up sets of portraits of English kings. [The ‘Hornby Castle’ set, now at Montacute, is one such group and it includes an early version of this portrait](http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait-list.php?search=ap&set=28;The+Hornby+Castle+set+of+early+Kings+and+Queens). At worst, the Henry IV type was just invented in the late sixteenth century. In which case, it tells us more about how a late Tudor artist imagined how Henry might have dressed than about any actual early-fifteenth century fashions. Or it might have been based on a lost source. In which case, it might not have actually shown Henry. Or, in using such a source, the artist might have misunderstood what he was copying. Complicated, archaic fashions often confused copyists. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-king-henry-iv-wearing-on-his-head-in-this-painting/498118.md?page=2)