Images: Crowd Scenes

16th Century Crowd Scenes

I kept running across wonderful images showing crowds of people wearing multiple styles of hats, so I eventually had to just make them a page of their own. I've tried to divide them by country. Some of the images depict scenes from up 25 years before their publish dates, so be mindful of that if specific dates are important to you. Most are quite grisly, depicting scenes of historic significance such as executions, martyrdoms, and massacres.

French Crowd Scenes

These images are from a series of forty French engravings and woodcuts, c 1560, by Jacque Tortorel and Jean Perrisine which depict important events in mid 16th century France. All are either crowd scenes or battle scenes, collected as the "Quarante Tableaux". (They are described in detail in a no-longer available book called Graphic History: The Wars, Massacres and Troubles of Tortorel and Perrissin, by Philip Benedict.)

Click here to go check out the "Quarante Tableaux"

What hat does one wear to an execution?

L’ execution d’Amboise, faite le 15 Mars 1560 -by Jacque Tortorel and Jean Perrisine - See more at: http://www.mediatheque.grand-troyes.fr/webmat/content/gravures-numerisees#sthash.unr85QPN.dpuf

Detail from L’ execution d’Amboise

Or to the Deathbed of a King?

La mort du Roy Henry deuxieme aux tournelles a Paris, le X Juillet 1559 -by Jacque Tortorel and Jean Perrisine - See more at: http://www.mediatheque.grand-troyes.fr/webmat/content/gravures-numerisees#sthash.unr85QPN.dpuf

Detail from La mort du Roy Henry deuxieme aux tournelles a Paris, le X Juillet 1559

Or to a Massacre?

Le Massacre fait à Vassy, le premier jour de Mars 1562 - See more at: http://www.mediatheque.grand-troyes.fr/webmat/content/gravures-numerisees#sthash.unr85QPN.dpuf

detail from Le Massacre fait à Vassy

Or to a Conspiracy?

L’entreprinse d’Amboise descouverte les 13, 14 & 15 Mars 1560 - See more at: http://www.mediatheque.grand-troyes.fr/webmat/content/gravures-numerisees#sthash.unr85QPN.dpuf-by Jacque Tortorel and Jean Perrisine - See more at: http://www.mediatheque.grand-troyes.fr/webmat/content/gravures-numerisees#sthash.unr85QPN.dpuf

Detail from L’entreprinse d’Amboise

English Crowd Scenes

The awesome hat engravings of gossiping women!
Although this particular printing was made in the 19th century, the original engraving was made in 1600, (more info here) and it appeared numerous times with different titles. The original version, which I haven't located, was apparently titled "The Severall Places Where you May hear News" (A much less misogynistic title but hey, what can ya do.)
I found this at Look and learn.com and obtained the licence for including this on my website. (And they were awesome to deal with, I might add)

1600 (though I think it's earlier) Detail from Tittle-tattle: the Several branches of gossiping. Best variety of hats in the whole engraving. Man in round topped felt with ladies wearing coifs, one of whom has a pleated or seamed hat over hers.

1600 Detail from Tittle-tattle The lady on the left has on a round-topped felt hat over her coif.

1600 Detail from Tittle-tattle Three ladies at a birth. The one in the center has a flat-topped hat on over her coif.

English Martyrdom

The images below are from John Foxe's The Actes and Monuments, popularly known as Foxe's "Book of Martyrs." Wikipedia describes this as "a work of Protestant history and martyrology by John Foxe, first published in English in 1563 by John Day. "

Click to view the entire text, with woodcuts, of John Foxe's Acts and Monuments

Click for links to just the woodcut illustrations

Woodcut that appeared in the 1563 printing of John Foxe's The Actes and Monuments, popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Wikipedia describes this as "a work of Protestant history and martyrology by John Foxe, first published in English in 1563 by John Day. "

1570 another awesome crowd scene from John Foxe. (called Persecution in Windsore) Link to larger image.

Detail from Persecution in Windsore (John Foxe) 1570. These appear to be the judges in the heretic trial. Way more importantly, ALL their hats are different!

Detail from Persecution in Windsore (John Foxe) 1570.

Detail from Persecution in Windsore (John Foxe) 1570. Many styles, and a woman wearing a round topped felt hat.

Detail from Persecution in Windsore (John Foxe) 1570.

Detail from Persecution in Windsore (John Foxe) 1570. Pikemen all wear the round hats.

John Foxe 1576 burning of M martin Bucers (event occurred in 1557)

John Foxe 1576 burning of M Martin Bucers 1557 detail. Check out the lone flat-topped hat on the onlooker.

John Foxe - Burning of Bishop Ridley and Father Latimer 1563. Link to image.

1570 Detail from John Foxe depiction of burying william wiseman in the fields after he dies in prison. Women with a variety of headwear!

The dudes on the horses in these "burning heretics at the stake" scenes are always wearing particularly nice chapeaux, and one of them often wears a hat with a round central focal point. That's clearly a "THING' that I need to find out about.

John Foxe -burning of M. John Rogers, Vicar of S. Pulchers. in 1563.

1576 John Foxe - burning of John Cardmaker in 1555

Burning of Master Laurence Saunders, 1563 John Foxe. Link to full image.

1576 John Foxe - burning of Thomas Hauke in 1555

John Foxe Burning of M. John Hooper Gloucester (Printed in 1563, showing a scene from 1555) Link to full image.

1563- John Foxe Seven godly Martyrs burned at one fire together

1563 John Foxe -Burning of Doctor Taylour in Hadley (1555) Link to full image

John Foxe - 1563. Burning of John Badby.

An observation:

Although the judges, pikemen, mourners, fire-stokers, and onlookers in these martyrdom scenes wear many different styles of hat, the unfortunate folks being martyred (the burnees) are all depicted wearing exactly the same style of hat ( None.)
Although we might surmise that the heretics' headwear is always removed before the burnings occur, we might instead infer that if one wants to never join the burn-ees one should......always wear a hat.

Spanish Crowd Scenes

These images are from a series of seven tapestries know as the Triumphs and battles of Archduke Albert series which depict the Spanish conquest of Calais in 1596. Archduke Albert is hard to just call "Spanish" as his parentage, education, and nations that he ruled include Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and Brussels, but since I want to call him something, I'll go with Spanish.

There are SO many things I want to point out about these images, starting with the number and variety of hats on the heads of the men not in armor. Coloured feathers! Pleated hats! round and flat-topped pulled felt hats! Pork-pie hats! Wide brimmed hats! Short crowned hats! Little fancy edges on the brims of hats! Blue hats! Hats with oval head openings.

Unlike some pieces, these tapestries are delightfully datable since they were presented to the public on December 10th 1599, with that event being recorded in 1602, so they are remarkably current with the event they depict (not always the case)

Click for a link to zoomable images of many of the tapestries in this series!

The fellow in the tall crowned brown hat on the far left is Don Luis de Velasco, Count of Salazar, who is talking to the Archduke (wearing Cardinal's attire, the museum caption says. ) They have a bevy of staff and nobles standing by.

Tall brown hat man is again Don Luis de Velasco, Count of Salazar, with the Archuke in red on the white horse and his cronies behind him. I love how the hats make them recognizable from tapestry to tapestry.

Green dyed feathers! little brim edges!

Gorgeoud pale flat-topped hat. Not sure if this is blocked or built of fabric over a base.

Love the porkpie top (right) and the front flip-up brim on these matching pink hats! It's interesting to note that the only two hatless fellows in this particular image are the canoneers.

These three dudes are the French, meeting the Archduke in a hat-in-hand gesture of defeat.

I love this uber-flat brim on a pulled felt hat with a clearly depicted oval head opening.

Look at the trim on this hat! both the edge and the hatband are things I swear I could go find at a fabric store today!

Another nice edging and hatband - on a rarely depicted BLUE felt hat!