Peasant Wedding

Accessories Myths

Myth: Peasants do not need to wear a hat, hood, or other form of head covering.

In this image, only the Bride has her hair uncovered, for ceremonial reasons. Everyone else, even the children, is wearing something on his or her head.

During this time frame, it was a "mini Ice Age", so the temperatures were cooler than we are used to, with the greatest loss of heat coming from an uncovered head. In the summers, the sun is still warm, and can still burn the top of your head. There were also religious, legal and social reasons for wearing a head covering.

Notice the wide variety of head coverings for the peasant men. The women appear to wear a linen covering, in different styles.

Peasant Wedding, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1568. Oil on wood, 114 x 164 cm (45 x 64 1/2 in); Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Retrieved on March 5, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Pieter_Bruegel_d._%C3%84._011.jpg