Notes from the lily pad
Musings of a renaissance tailor
“The Sea-man with his Thrumb doth stand”
The Ballad Of the CAPS 1669
Sailors bonnets and caps throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Schiffmann-1568 by Jost Amman
Starting at the dawn of the Age of sail in the late 15th century the sailors of Europe would begin to distinguish their dress as this new era of sea faring people began to populate the oceans.
In this article we’ll explore the styles of bonnets worn by the Mariners of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The term “bonnet” is used here for any soft cap made of knit or fabric. Felt headwear such as blocked hats are another topic for another time. The terms bonnet and cap will be used to talk about the soft knit and cloth hats worn during this period. These are the most commonly used terms in English period sources.
The rigors of life at sea require protection from the elements in almost all extremes. Frigid waves in a midnight tempest might turn to sweltering days of windless doldrum. It is this extreme environment that shaped the clothing and headwear of the people that sallied forth into unknown waters. Among the necessary items taken to sea at the time, caps would be crucial to protecting oneself from the elements and leading a comfortable existence.
Jona is thrown overboard by the sailors, Crispijn van de Passe (I), after Maerten de Vos, 1580 - 1588
starting in the 14th century, Europe had entered into what is known as “the little ice age”. This was a period of global cooling that greatly impacted Europe by causing crop failure, famine, and other plagues as a result of the temperature shift. Starting in the 1570s a more dramatic cooling plunged Europe into a hundred years of hardship. Longer colder winters and shorter wetter summers caused fashion to become layered for protecting against the ever falling temperatures of the period.
The climatic elements made warmer more protective headwear a must. This was supported by sumptuary laws as well. In 1571, to bolster wool trade in England, Elizabeth I decreed that boys above the age of 6 on Sundays and holidays should wear “upon their head one cappe of woll knytt, thicked and dressed in England…” (1) Such a statute may have been placed because knitters and finishers in places like Bruges served as fierce competition for cap making trade in England. In the statute above “thicked” and “dressed” refer to different parts of the cap making process.
To make a cap or Bonnet is the job of the “Capper”. He would purchase raw wool most likely already carted and sorted. English wool was most desirable as the short staple was perfect for a fine raised nap on the finished cap. (2) The wool would be sent to the spinner and spun into yarn, then sent back to the capper who would supply knitters with the yarn to produce knit caps in various styles.
The plain knit hats were then dyed or left in natural russets. Many sources on mariners describe a wide variety of colors of bonnets. Period artwork reinforces this: showing red, yellow, green, and blue caps in a dazzling display of color and variety. Red is undoubtedly the most common color found throughout Europe. One Spanish Florida Inventory from 1570 describes a total of 120 “red Toledo bonnets”.(3)
Once knit, most caps would undergo “fulling” or being “Thicked” as reference earlier. This is a process in which the hats are washed in hot water, urine, and other additives such as fullers earth in order to shrink and interlock the fibers of the knitted hat. Beating or agitating the wool while washing in this mixture would felt the fibers and create a dense, water resistant surface. This process also shrinks the knitting itself, creating a denser knit by closing the spaces between the stitches.
Finally, the Cap would be “dressed”. This was done by raising the nap with a fullers teasel, a plant cultivated since roman times to use as a natural comb for raising the fibers of fabric. Brushing the surface would raise the short hairs of the English wool, creating a soft and fuzzy finish. This would sometimes be further trimmed to unify and refine the surface of the knit cap. This process can be seen in Jost Ammans Hueter “hatter” (right)
Woollen caps worn by Dutch whalers, anonymous, c. 1650 - c. 1700 Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum
The fine fulled and raised nap of some of these whalers caps from the 17th and early 18th century demonstrate the smooth finish necessary to shed water and keep the wearer warm. These caps also demonstrate the bright and vivid color palette that mariners bonnets in the period could be.
A decent cap could be quite an investment for a sailor. For one Spanish sailor in 1526, his cap would have cost the equivalent of 30 days of pay. (4) Of course, the used market and cheaper new hats provided affordable caps as well. In the 1640s an English sailor may only have to spend a weeks worth of wages on a cap.(5) Caps were a necessary expense, more valuable than a shirt or linen breeches. (6) Imported felt hats, leather caps, and imported knitted styles were often far cheaper than English made caps. (6) However the origin and quality of wool was the biggest factor of cap price, for example Leominster caps cost almost double than those from Cotswold. (6)
The knit variety of caps have already been discussed, but this leaves out a whole other method of cap making. Caps and bonnets could also have been made of pieces of cloth sewn together. It is somewhat difficult to distinguish in period artwork between a fulled knit and sewn cloth bonnet. Inventories rarely go into detail about the exact type of hat (knit or cloth) or its style. Still, from the rare period images where seamlines can be seen, we know that cloth bonnets were in fact made and worn. Additionally surviving cloth bonnets are not uncommon. They share the color and style variations of knit caps, and often the prominent styles are made in both knit and cloth. Flat caps are the most common example in the archeological record. The hat of Matyas Corvinus, made between 1500-1550 and housed at the Viener Neustadt Stadtmuseum is sewn of cloth, yet very similar versions can be found in the museum of London in both knit and felted constructions.
Almost all bonnet styles grow out of this simple skullcap. among these, there are two main styles of sewn cap. The first is what I call a “panel cap” made of 4 pieces. these are a skullcap style that sits close to the head, sometimes with an upturned brim. The second is the “bonnet” style which is usually flatter with a wide brim. On the wreck of the Vasa, which sank in August of 1628, many examples of sewn panel caps are to be found. These examples have both upturned brims and no brims at all.
Woolen panel cap from the Vasa Wreck-1628
In a portrait of Albrecht Dürer the Elder, father of the artist-1490
he can be seen wearing what appears to be a sewn panel cap. This demonstrates the longevity of the style which can still be seen in many traditional naval hats today such as the “dixie cup hat”
Starting in the late 15th century sailors are already defining their fashion by wearing striped outfits. Matching hoods, with liripipes can be seen on French sailors of the late 15th century as well as simple caps. The caps, with and without upturned brims, can be seen in use throughout the century in both knit and sewn varieties. Following the styles of fashion, coif-like and flat cap styles can be seen at the beginning of the 16th century. In an image from the 1530s the coif and brim style caps are worn by Spanish sailors and galley slaves.
‘Sailors and galley slaves’ from the “Stibbert MS. Sternsee Album”, fol. 46.
As the century progressed and flat caps became more popular starting in the 1530s, the use of such a style increased among mariners. In Christoph Weiditz’s Des Trachtenbuch, the Prince of Melfi, dressed as a sailor wears a flat cap with another. On the Mary Rose, an English ship that sunk in 1545, several flat caps in knit have been recovered as well. But the style would fall out of use with sailors by the end of the century.
Now unmentioned until this point is quite possibly, the most quintessential style of sailors cap:
The Thrum Cap
This cap is a knit cap which has small bits of either roving or spun yarn pulled through the stitches. this creates a shaggy surface which can be felted together to form a moplike corded exterior. These caps are incredibly warm and water resistant, and the felted “thrums” mimic animal fur by shedding water readily rather than soaking it in. While extant thrum caps exist from possibly the 14th century, the use of this style among sailors can be seen by the early 16th century. An English sailor in The Embarkation of Henry VIII at Dover, c. 1520-40 is seen wearing a white thrum. By the later mid century, 1560 and onward, the thrum had become so synonymous with sailors that almost all formal depictions of sailors displayed the thrum proudly. Worn across the western world, the thrum can be found on the heads of German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and English sailors.
Variations on the thrum cap consist of either high or low crown heights and a variety of colors such as yellow, green, and red. Sheep’s colors like brown, grey, and black russet were likely quite common as well. The thrum cap could be worn in conjunction with a hooded cassock or sea gown for layered protection.
Below is a selection of images showing thrum caps being worn throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Simple caps are undoubtedly the most common with sailors. Known by many today as a Monmouth cap, these simple rounded caps in varying heights and brim styles are essential to the look of the early modern sailor. The use of simple caps can be found in period imagery as well as in written records.
On Sir Francis Drake’s voyage to the West Indes in 1596, he ordered 432 Monmouth caps. Monmouth caps also appear on English naval slop contracts throughout the 17th century. (7)The most basic version is a short, close fitting, rounded cap with no brim. Variations on this are sometimes more coif-like and cover the ears. A notable variation on the style is seen on Italian and Spanish sailors throughout the 16th century, a cap with an upturned split brim. A knit example was found at the 16th century Basque whaling station at Red Bay in Labrador. After the 1550s, the caps grew taller. In Spain where they were called “bonetes”, the caps grew to resemble a “Phrygian cap” or “barretina” which is a tall, slumping, and often red headpiece. This style is forever tied to revolt and revolution and is famously represented on the 17th century Italian fisherman-rebel Masaniello. Out of this taller, crowned version grows what some call a “brimmed Monmouth”. Defined by a wide brim and tall crown, this hat would compete with the simple cap for popularity among sailors throughout the 17th century since the brim offered a level of protection from the sun that other styles of caps and bonnets lacked. 
There are of course many local and temporal variations of the cap, but a notable Dutch style of the 16th century is what we will call the “button bonnet”. This hat is first seen in the late 15th century, with appearances throughout the 16th century. This cap is first depicted on poor laborers, as so much of sailor fashion is. Close fitting and covering the ears the cap features two earflaps that button beneath the chin, or alternatively upon the cap itself. The button bonnet stems from a tree of styles that started with the simple coif. The ear flaps develop from ties and transform into a button closure. By the mid-16th century the hat is depicted on fishermen and fishmongers. By the 1570s, Dutch sailors had adopted the style and are depicted in variations of the same cap through the remainder of the century.
As the general styles of bonnets grew taller, so did the button bonnet. The association with the sea and this style is solidified in its use to symbolize Zebulon, the biblical merchant-sailor son of Israel. The utility of this cap is obvious when worn, as one can pull the strap down under their chin to more firmly secure it. In the late 16th century this aspect seems to become vestigial, as the hat straps seems to curl too far behind to be useful as a chin strap. A reconstruction made by Sally Pointer confirms this, but this may be a misinterpretation of the evidence. This reconstruction revealed however that the straps could be pulled over the wearer’s ears to better warm them and fit the hat. The warmth and security features of the cap ultimately make it perfect for life at sea with frigid storms and turbulent waters.
Worn by both captains and laborers, the button bonnet has been truly underappreciated for its unique tie to sailors fashion.
The button bonnet was the inspiration for this article, a strange variation on the sailors bonnet that appeared over and over while researching. Almost always appearing in the company of the sea and her people, it was Geertgen Tot sint Jans 1490 painting Legend of the Relics of St. John the Baptist that provided clues on the hats being of knit. Digging deeper reveled increasing evidence that this style was predominantly knit, treated in the ways discussed previously.
As far as I knew when I began to research, only one reconstruction of this cap style existed. It had been made by a close friend, but was constructed of sewn cloth rather than of knit. Determined to pursue a more accurate reproduction, I collaborated with Sally Pointer, aiming to construct two knit button bonnets in both a short and a tall style. Wearing both for the first time, I realized that this could very well be the first time in 400 years that someone has worn this style of hat.
Through experimental archeology and using the objects of the past, we as researchers can continue to gain a deeper understanding of their function and use. I look forward to spending more time utilizing the button bonnets and seeing how they function in different conditions and seasons.
Below are a selection of bonnet reconstructions representing some of the major styles worn by sailors… An essential part of a sailors kit, a tool for survival, a key element of the look of the sailor, and a place to show sartorial distinction and display wealth. Bonnets should not be overlooked.
In the words of Shakespeare in Hamlet
“Put your bonnet to his right use, 'tis for the head.”
NEW DISCOVERIES:
When writing this article I had no knowledge of any extant button bonnets, but that has since changed… Thanks to Sally Pointer who reached out to share an Image from the National Museum of Ireland. I laid eyes on an extant version of the cap I had puzzled over and thought about for years. The details are unclear but the cap was found alongside a jacket, trews, a cloak, and leather shoes within a bog in Kilcommon. Dated to the late 16th century not much is known about the cap. I will try and reach out to the museum and maybe find out more details on the cap. But for now this is all we have.
Kilcommon button bonnet
Britain., Great. “The Statutes of the Realm : Printed by Command of His Majesty King George the Third, in Pursuance of an Address of the House of Commons of Great Britain. From ... V.4 Pt.1.” HathiTrust. Accessed June 27, 2021. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915519&view=image&seq=645.
Malcolm-Davies, Jane, and Geeske Kruseman. “Erasmus' Bonnet.” Kostuum. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://www.academia.edu/40168789/Erasmus_bonnet.
Lyon, Eugene, and 40 40. Essay. In Richer than We Thought: the Material Culture of Sixteenth-Century St. Augustine. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1992.
Emilio, Pérez-Mallaína Bueno Pablo, and 119 119. Essay. In Spain's Men of the Sea: Daily Life on the Indies Fleets in the Sixteenth Century. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
Blakemore, Richard J. “Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight: Seamen's Earnings and the Venture Economy of Early Modern Seafaring†.” The Economic History Review 70, no. 4 (2017): 1153–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12428.
Table 5
Buckland, Kirstie, and 7 7. Essay. In The Monmouth Cap. Leeds: Printed by W.S. Maney & Son, 1979.
Special thanks to:
Sally Pointer
without whom, my head would be bare and cold.