A laugh-out-loud visual history of the strangest piece of men's
clothing ever created: the codpiece.
The codpiece was fashioned in the Middle Ages to close a revealing gap
between two separate pieces of men's tights. By the sixteenth century,
it had become an upscale must-have accessory. This lighthearted,
illustrated examination of its history pulls in writers from Rabelais to
Shakespeare and figures from Henry VIII to Alice Cooper. Glover's witty
and entertaining prose reveals how male vanity turned a piece of cloth
into a bulging and absurd representation of masculinity itself. The
codpiece, painted again and again by masters such as Titian, Holbein,
Giorgione, and Bruegel, became a symbol of royalty, debauchery,
virility, and religious seriousness--all in one.
Centuries of male self-importance and delusion are on display in this
highly enjoyably new title. Glover's book moves from paintings to
contemporary culture and back again as it charts the growing popularity
of the codpiece and its eventual decline. The first history of its kind,
this book is a must-read for art historians, anthropologists, fashion
aficionados, and readers looking for a good, long laugh.