Codpiece
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:HenryVIII.jpg A codpiece (Middle English codpece: cod, bag, scrotum (from Old English codd, bag) + pece, piece) is a flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers to provide a covering for the genitals. It would be held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods.
It was an important item of European clothing in the 15th and 16th centuries.
History
At first, the codpiece was entirely a practical matter of modesty. Men's hose were typically very snug on the legs and open at the crotch, with the genitalia simply hanging loose under the doublet. As changing fashions lead to shorter doublets, the codpiece was created to cover the crotch. Alternate versions of the origin of the codpiece exist.
As time passed, codpieces were shaped to emphasize the male genitalia and eventually often became padded and bizarrely shaped. They also often doubled as pockets, handy carrying places for a variety of items such as coins and snuff.
Armour of the 16th c. followed civilian fashion, and for a time armoured codpieces were a prominent addition to the best full harnesses. Few of these are in evidence today, though the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City does have one on display. [Source - this paragraph: Arms and Armor of Medieval Knights: An Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages - David Edge]
Codpieces in contemporary culture
Codpieces are rarely worn publicly today and then usually as a part of a costume worn in a performance. Some contemporary performers who have worn codpieces are:
- In Jim Henson's 80s classic movie Labyrinth, the Goblin King (played by David Bowie) sports a codpiece beneath his riding breeches.
- Ian Anderson, front man for Jethro Tull, wore an over-sized codpiece during his performances in the mid-70s.
- The album cover Up For The Down Stroke by Parliament depicts a man in an armoured codpiece.
- The lead singer of 80s music group Cameo, Larry Blackmon, famously wore a large, bright-red codpiece in all of his performances.
- Alex and his gang members from Anthony Burgess' book A Clockwork Orange (and later Stanley Kubrick's movie adaptation) wear codpieces.
- The films Batman Forever and Batman & Robin featured much publicity over the size of the moulded rubber codpieces of the Batman and Robin costumes.
- The January 7th 2001 Simpsons episode HOMЯ saw Homer give his friend Karl a codpiece, and eventually had it returned with the epithet "I can't feed my family with a codpiece!"
- In 1982's The Pirate Movie, an attempted rock music version of the Pirates of Penzance, the Pirate King, played by Ted Hamilton, wore an enormous jeweled codpiece for comedic effect.
- In the Wachowski brothers's second Matrix movie The Matrix Reloaded, two men can be seen wearing codpieces at the entrance to the Merovingian's nightclub.
- In the 1980's comedy serial The Black Adder, several of the characters including the eponymous hero wear codpieces. These are sometimes used for comedy value, and the title song proclaims "black his codpiece made of metal".
- In 2005 Michael McLoughlin popularized the term without knowing the rich history behind the word
- In the Philip Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, dust is radioactive, and male characters in the novel wear lead codpieces to avoid becoming sterile.
In 1975, Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver tried to reintroduce the codpiece to 20th-century male fashion apparel. His purpose, he said, was to “solve the problem of the fig leaf mentality," arguing that "clothing is an extension of the fig leaf.” Variously called “Cleaver pants,” “the Cleavers,” and :”the Cleaver sleeve,” his designer jeans incorporated a combination codpiece-penis sheath that, according to one description of the accessory, could “accommodate a two-pound linguica.” His attempt to reintroduce the codpiece did not catch on. The following web sites provide information concerning Cleaver’s foray into male fashion:
http://www.time.com/time/archive/printout/0,23657,913426,00.html http://www.emptybottle.org/glass/2002/07/some_amusing_crap.php http://www.providencephoenix.com/archive/pj/98/05/07/pj.html http://www.listten.com/article.cfm?id=5