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Following are depictions of medieval men wearing coifs. For links to information about this style of headwear, including construction, see these links. It is worth noting that the coif was worn by serjeants-at-law as a mark of their station; hence, we also see coifs in the Court of Wards and Liveries (c. 1560-80), etc.
This coif was sometimes worn as a night-cap, both by men and possibly also by women; see this detail from a scene from life of St. Nicholas from a South Tirolean altarpiece painted in 1514.
Some of the 16th century examples seem to be knit caps.
- August, The Hunterian Psalter (Hunter 229, fol. 4v), c. 1170
- The Fécamp Psalter, c. 1180 (including illustrations for March, June, August, September, October, and December, and the arrest of Christ)
- The coif of Fernando, Infante de Castille, ca. 1211
- 13th century notebook of designs by Villard de Honnecourt (BNF Fr. 19093), fols. 8v, 9v, 23v, and 26v
- Fols. 10v,
14r,
14v,
16r,
16v,
24r,
31r,
38v,
76v, and
96r
in a bestiary (Bodl. 764), 2nd quarter of the 13th century
- Many examples in the Maciejowski Bible, c. 1250
- Several in The Life of King Edward the Confessor (Ee. 3.59), c. 1250-60
- Fols.
34v,
41r,
42r,
43v,
65v,
67v,
69v,
71v,
79r,
the Rutland Psalter (British Library Additional 62925), c. 1260
- December, psalter (Auct. D. 4. 2, fol. 9v), c. 1276
- Boy received into a monastery, Decretum (British Library Royal 10 D VIII, fol. 82v), third quarter of the 13th century
- The Psalter of St. Louis (BNF Lat. 10525), fols.
4r (note black coif!),
11v,
12r,
17v,
18r,
19v,
20r,
22, and
24r
- Man with bellows, psalter (British Library Burney 345, fol. 69), third quarter of the 13th century
- The Cantigas de Santa Maria, ca. 1280: Cantigas 60, 160, 170, 180, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 320, 330, 350, and 390.
- The Picture-Book of Madame Marie (BNF NAF 16251), c. 1285-1290, fols. 65v, 67v, and 72
- Frescoes of the life of St. Francis by Giotto, 1297-1299: St. Francis Giving his Mantle to a Poor Man, The Miracle of the Crucifix, The Renunciation of Worldly Goods (detail), and Institution of the Crib at Greccio (detail).
- December: a baker works at a brick oven, psalter (Douce 49, fol. 9v), end of the 13th century
- A servant and another servant, Supper in the House of the Pharisee by Giotto; seams are visible in both
- Fols. 4r (under a straw hat?), 4v, 5r, 5v, 6r, 6v, psalter (Douce 38, fol. 6v), c. 1300
- Men in two treatises on the care of birds of prey (Canon. Ital. 21), c. 1300
- Several in British Library, Sloane 1977, a compendium of medical texts from c. 1300-1310
- Fols. 77v, 91r, 135r, 206v, 207v, 213v, 224v, 269r, the Maastricht Hours (Brit. Lib. Stowe 17), 1st quarter of the 14th century
- July, psalter (Laud Lat. 84, fol. 7v), 1st quarter of the 14th century
- Several illustrations in a decretum illustrated by the Master of Méliacin c. 1301-1325
- The construction of Noah’s Ark (fol. 13v), Bible Historiale (BNF Fr. 160), first quarter of the 14th century
- Several in a 14th century Bible Historiale (BNF Fr. 152)
- Illustrations in Histoire du saint Graal/Histoire de Merlin (BNF Fr. 105), first half of the 14th century: fols.
11,
21,
58v,
81v,
93v,
96,
108,
115,
162, and
181
- Lots of men wearing coifs in The Golden Legend (BNF Fr. 183), first half of the 14th century
- The Marriage at Cana at Capella Scrovegni by Giotto, 1304-1306
- The Manesse Codex (UBH Cod. Pal. germ. 848), ca. 1300-1330:
Schenk Ulrich von Winterstetten (fol. 84v),
Der von Sachendorf (fol. 158r),
Johann von Ringgenberg (fol. 190v),
Von Trostberg (fol. 255r),
Herr Neidhart (fol. 273r),
Meister Heinrich Teschler (fol. 281v),
Rudolf der Schreiber (fol. 362r),
Meister Gottfried von Straßburg (fol. 364r),
Meister Konrad von Würzburg (fol. 383r),
and Der wilde Alexander (fol. 412r).
- Fols. 80r, 80v, 81r, 87r, 131r, 144v, 153v, 154r, 288v, the Queen Mary Psalter (British Library Royal 2 B VII), c. 1310-1320
- Frescoes of the life of St. Martin by Simone Martini, 1312-1317: The Dream of St. Martin (detail), St. Martin is Knighted (squire detail, musicians detail), and The Miracle of the Resurrected Child (detail).
- Allegory of Bad Government, Roman de Fauvel (BNF Fr. 146, fol 9), c. 1320
- Lots of men wearing coifs in The lives of the saints (BNF Fr. 185), second quarter of the 14th century
- Illustrations in the Holkham Bible (Brit. Lib. Add. 47680), c. 1327-1335, including fols. 10v, 12, 13v, 14v, 21v, 23v, 24, 26v, and 27v
-
Fols. 22v,
37v,
55r,
69r,
159r,
164r,
185v in the Luttrell Psalter (Brit. Lib. Add. 42130), c. 1325-1340
- Peasant man, Romance of Reynard the Fox and Isengrin (Douce 360, fol. 21r), c. 1339
- A king who protects his subjects, Avis aus roys (PML M.456, fol. 6r), mid-14th century
- Dream of Mordechai (note visible seam), Bible historiale (BNF Fr. 159, fol. 256), 14th-15th centuries
- The Ellesmere Chaucer, c. 1410: The illustrator gives coifs to the Man of Law and the Reeve. (See Hodges for a discussion of Chaucer’s omission of the coif in his clothing descriptions for the pilgrims in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.)
- Tacuinum Sanitatis, 15th century (BNF Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673): Beets (fol. 27), Barley-Mash (fol. 51v), Pork (fol. 63v)
- The martyrdom of Isaiah, Bible historiale (BNF Fr. 10, fol. 387), beginning of the 15th century
- Coifs worn by Holofernes while sleeping (fol. 241) and a friend of Job (fol. 255) in a 15th century Bible historiale (BNF Fr. 3)
- A peasant walks into a henhouse at dawn, L’Épître Othéa (British Library Harley 4431, fol. 115v), c. 1410-1414
- October in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1412-1416
- Torture of Justinian II in De casibus (BNF Fr. 226, fol. 250), 15th century
- The dream of Astyages, Les cas de nobles hommes et femmes (Bibl. Sainte-Geneviève MS 1128, fol. 62), second quarter of the 15th century
- A baker in October (fol. 10r) and a butcher in December (fol. 12r) in a book of hours (PML M.358), c. 1440-1450
- Portrait of Dante by Andrea del Castagno, c. 1450
- Scenes from the Life of St. Francis by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1452
- Pinuccio tricks the landlord in the Decameron (BNF Fr. 239, fol. 256v), 15th century
- Dante and the Three Kingdoms by Domenico di Michelino, 1465
- A boy wearing a coif, a book of hours (PML M.1001, fol. 48r), c. 1475
- Portrait of Dante by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1495
- Children and their games, book of hours (Douce 276, fol. 56v), beginning of the 16th century
- The Hours of Anne of Brittany, c. 1500-1508 (BNF Lat 9474)
March (fol. 6) seems to show a red coif worn under a black (fur?) hat
November (fol. 14) shows this style of coif twice -- in red and black -- and one with a hat, one without. The one without seems to show a seam along the top.
- Allegory of Fortune and Poverty, De casibus (BNF Fr. 130, fol. 88), first quarter of the 16th century
- August (fol. 8r) and November (fol. 11r), a book of hours (PML M.632), c. 1520
- Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre asleep with a crossbow by Bernhard Strigel, c. 1520-1521
- Portrait of the Dauphin François, Son of François I by Jean Clouet
- A guard in a painting of the Passion at Sanctuaire Notre-Dame des Fontaines, La Brigue
- Spring by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565
- Detail from The Peasant Dance by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1567
- The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1568
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