Mantle (clothing)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Woman's dolman mantle, front and back views. Harper's Bazaar, November 1871

A mantle (from

garment usually worn over indoor clothing to serve the same purpose as an overcoat. Technically, the term describes a long, loose cape-like cloak worn from the 12th to the 16th century by both sexes, although by the 19th century, it was used to describe any loose-fitting, shaped outer garment similar to a cape.[1] For example, the dolman, a 19th-century cape-like woman's garment with partial sleeves is often described as a mantle.[2]

In English, the idiom "to take up/pick up/assume the mantle" is from the

2 Kings 2:13, where Elisha takes up Elijah's mantle (Hebrew
: אדרת ’addereṯ).

Mantelets

Mantelet, French, 1895

A variation on the mantle is the mantelet (also spelled mantelot and mantlet), typically describing a short version of the mantle. The term appears as early as 1386, in "The Knight's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the 18th century, a mantelet was a woman's short cloak, and in the early 19th century, it was an ornamental scarf that crossed over the chest and tied behind, usually made of fur or lace.[1] By the end of the 19th century, a mantelet was a woman's shoulder cape with elongated ends in front, sometimes held in position by a belt at the waist.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ .
  2. .
  3. ^ "What Does Take Up the Mantle Mean?". Writing Explained. Retrieved December 12, 2018.