The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-10-26
Pockets.

Pockets are a modern invention This il
evident from the fact that in all ancient liter
AZURE there is no mention of this luxury. Thu
words that indicate the invention have come
into language in comparatively recent times
Purses preceded pockets. Thus the word cut
purse is older than pick-pocket. The purses
were carried suspended from girdes. Before
men carried money or valuable exchangable
comm ,dties there still existed thieves who
took from travellers their robes-the articles
then OF chiefest worth-and SO gave us our
word robbery, the forcible theft of robes. Thus
it is recorded that the men of Shechem "rob-
bed all who came along" the earliest mention
of professional theft Some kind of pouch
was even then in use.as we learn from the pas
sage in Deuteronomy, where "~ivers weights,
great and small" are forbidden to be carried
in bag" The carrying OF gold in bag is
afterward mentioned by Isaiah, and Solomon
in Proverbs writes, Let us all have one purse
David carried scrip in which he placed the
smooth stone from the brook which in his
hand became so deadly, and scrip or bag was
borne by Judas. Indeed the carrying of q
purse as Ven as a scrip is distinctly mentioned
us among the ordinary provisions for jour
ney in Luke xxi, 50, 36). Still travelling was
infrequent, money of great value, and we may
take it that purses were rarely needed. At
any rate in later days, with more detailed de-
scriptions of costume and more general liter
AZURE, we find no traces of pockets among the
Romans, nor Of the frequent employment OF
purses. A portion of the masculine toga, first
brought round the body, was bound in kind
of knot under the left breast, and the return
formed p.rturbance divided into many folds,
which was named sinus, and occasionally an
swercd the purpose of a pocket. The Roman
matrons similarly concealed valuables about
their persons in the upper part of the stro-
fun, a kind of corset fitting the waist tightly
yet loose at top. They carried, too, a hand
bag similar to and originating the modern ret
cule, which has its derivation in the Latin
reticulum, a little net; making Improbable that
although we find these Roman reticules to
have been commonly of leather, they were
first made from fine network, as our grand
mothers long purses were.
No trace of the use of purses among the
English has been discovered beyond the men
ton by Saxon writers of the money purse and
the leather purse. But neither appears in
Saxon Examinations, and they were presum-
ably closely concealed for security. They were
still seldom used. In the relation by con-
temporary author of the burial of Charlie
magne, valuable account of regal sepulture
in early times which throws much light on
details of dress of that day, it is mentioned
that the kings gilt travelling pouch, which he
used to wear when he went to Rome, as well
as his sceptre, sword, and shield were sus-
pended before him, as clad in his regal gar
ments and wearing holy diadem, he sat in
CHASTITY state upon rich gilt throne, and so
was entombed But from the specific occasion
of which this travelling pouch was used, we
are warranted in concluding that purses were
only worn when expenses were TO be incurred
in travelling. Travelling, we are certain, was
an annual exercise, and pockets were, we may
be sure, comparatively unknown.
With the Normans came into England the
aulmoniere, little purse wherein to carry
aims, hung suspended from the girdle. This
fashion has been revived within q recent per-
iod, although the original purpose of the APP
pendage was disregarded. 1t was in Norman
times, and previously, the practice of ladies of
distinction to regularly distribute food or aims
to the poor. The very title of lady (Anglo-
Saxon hlefdig) denotes to serve bread, and, in |
its original, is literally bread-server. The aul- |
mon1ere was also known as alner and almoner.
They were sometimes of great value; in the ia
nous "Romance of the Rose" is mentioned an
aulmonere of great price. In general use these
hanging purses were known as gipsires or
gipcieres. The Knight in the Prologue to
"The Canterbury Tales" is described as wear