The Barbarous & Inhumane Proceedings

Against the Professorsof the Reformed Religion within the Dominion of the Duke of Savoy Aprill the 27th 1655. As Also A True Relation of the Bloody Massacres, Tortures, Cruelties, and Abominable Outrages committed upon the Protestants in Ireland……….Which began October 23 1641.

Printed in London 1655

WARNING! Some of these images may cause distress! This book pulls no punches in its anti-papist propaganda, but there are some really good original costume images here, so I hope you’ll forgive the sensationalism from 4 centuries ago.

First of all a pictorial representation of a small part of what became known as the massacre of 1655 in the Dukedom of Savoy, part of modern Italy. The soldiers drawn may be from Europe but the clothes are definitely English in style, simply cut coats and breeches, plain boots and shoes together with broad brimmed hats. I’ll gloss over what exactly is going on in the picture, I think you can read that for yourself.

The next three images show the bloudy Masacer (sic) in Ireland 1643. Notice here how the short waisted doublets and tightly cut doublets of the Papists (left) create a long, slim outline. The officer with the pistol wears a diagonal scarf tied at the hip, and the good guy on the right has a wide falling band trimmed with lace. Spot also the smoke rising from the burning match held by the musketeer extreme left.

Nice image here of an older couple in their house before a roaring fire. The wife seems to have dressed hair and the master of the house a lace edged day cap on his head. Sadly no costume details on the children.

I’ve seen several woodcuts of children on pitchforks,, but there are sone top details in this one. The child in the foreground in his/her smock, the back view of the women’s coifs (coives?) and the full beard on the musketeer frame right.

Charles Cavendish

Born at Chatsworth in Derbyshire, Cavendish was a the second son of William Cavendish second Earl of Devonshire and served as prominent officer in the royalist army. He was killed in battle in 1643. He is painted by an unknown artist as very much the high status officer with buffcoat and breastplate armour. His breeches and doublet sleeves are almost completely covered in braid, and although he has a very plain falling band and shirt cuffs, the tassels on his bandstrings are very fancy. His red scarf is tied horizontally across his waist, the standard manner for buffcoat and armour. The original hangs in Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

Sir Simon Fanshawe

Painted by Dobson, Sir Simon was a royalist who was captured during the war and spent the rest of the 1640s in exile in France. He was also an associate member of the Sealed Knot during the interregnum.

Sir Simon wears a sleeveless buffcoat with pointed waistline, spirally laced and rather similar in style to the one held in Kensington Palace, reputed to belong to the King. Here’s a link to a blog post about it. The sleeves are embroidered or maybe laced (meaning braid), and may be part of a doublet or may just be attached to the lining of his leather coat. He has a falling band which is half linen/half lace and matching, though not identically coloured breeches. The colour of the breeches suggest that the sleeves are not part of a doublet/breeches combination but attached to his coat. He also has an almost impracticably long sword baldrick, which is fringed with metallic threads that match the decoration on his sleeves.

The portrait hangs in the Valance House Museum in Dagenham Essex.

The Manner of His Excellency

Sir Thomas Fairfax, and the Officers of His Armie sitting in Councell. Also from September 1647 and following on, this is Fairfax’s side of the story and is a collection of his letters sent to various parliamentarians following the Putney Debates. Frontispiece is this image of Sir Tom and his council. Ignoring the fact that the artist has made the general look twice as big as his officers, this is a fly on the wall picture of the army council in session. They are mostly (apart from the guy in academic gown in the foreground) dressed in tabbed doublet, plain band and tall hats. No scarves in evidence but to a man they have thin cross sword belts/baldricks. I wonder what the bell on the table was used for?

John Belasyse

Painted by Gilbert Jackson, sometime between 1640 and 41 we think. The royalist officer is painted in a splendidly fashionable doublet and breeches, falling band that is almost completely cutwork, two layers of the same on his cuffs and a nice pair of soft boots with matching boot hose. The sword he is holding will hang from the matching embroidered baldrick when he puts it over his shoulder.

Sir Hardolph Wasteneys

The 2nd Baronet Sir Hardolph Wasteneys (1612-1673) painted in 1638. He looks rather smug, but wouldn’t you with all those nice accessories? Check out the lace on his band, the detailing on his baldrick and the buttons on his doublet and breeches.