My friend and I were discussing hair styles and head coverings. Her persona is English.. I think about 14th century. My persona is more around the late 1100s and Irish. I've read somewhere a description of an early Irish woman whos hair was loose and flowing. I've read in another source that hair was often uncovered, but styled. Then there is the 'normal' period head coverings and the many period reasons for doing so.
My friend suggests that my hair would have been covered since it is after christianity arrived and the expectation of covering your head (for a woman) came with it. (I should mention that my persona is also married, but travels and makes her way as a lower-class bard in search of news regarding her husband who hasn't returned since joining the effort against the Norman invasion. My persona's excuse for being unattached and a 'bard'.
) My rebuttal to her argument is that although christianity was predominate at that time, Irish woman were not as controlled by their men as the English women were. I've read that Irish women could hold office, own land, and basically still have opinions back in the day. I have also surmised that many (not all) Irish ways of life were maintained during this particular time in history, regardless of who thought they ruled them.After all of that explanation, my question to you all is if you have any opinions on hairstyles during the early middle ages in Ireland. I prefer to leave my hair long or braided, but would like to be accurate my portrayal of an Irish woman in that time period.
thanks!
~ fionnuala
