The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-16
The History of Gloves.


The use Of gloves Is Of great antiquity.
for we know that the ancient Persians wore
them, Xenophon mentioning that on one
occasion Cyrus was without gloves In
deed, some writer's have supposed that In
the book of Ruth, when Elimeieck, trans
ferr:ng his land TO Boaz, is said to laks
off his she" glove IS meant
The chief mention of gloves among the
ancients was of those of the pug-iists.
which are referred TO in the ''IEad," and
also frequently in the "Aene.d." As the
Romans become more luxurious IN their
mode of living, the use Of gloves Increased
until, under the emperors. they were made
with fingers (dig:talia), and worn as orna-
ments or on occasions OF ceremony, while
the mitten (ch,rothecae) was for common
use. The fox-gloye, originally folks
glove" turned upside down, is exactly MT
ten shape. These n1ittens the Greeks and
Romans wore TO protect the hands in GER
tain kinds of manual labor. and this seems
TO have been originally their use with all
peoples. Witness the walrus-skin gloves
OF the Eskimos of the present day, and
the leather mittens of the blacksmith and
Of the hedger, as we'll as the hawking
gloves formerly worn 10 protect the wrists
from the sharp talons of the falcons Ho-
mer tells of Laertes at work in his garden,
and describes him as wearing gloves to
protect his hands from the thorns.
The Romans brought gloves into Britain,
where We find mention made of them in
the seventh century, and where Ethelred
the Unready had a tax on gloves made =
portion of the commercial duty paid by
German traders. The bishops, in very early
times. wore gloves of white linen to de-
n+a tn, Dino frafe 0lacfo rt.anl
Glossary we read that the gloves in which
Pope Boniface VIII. was buried were OF
white silk porked with pearls. A pair of
gloves worn by william of wykeham are
preserved at New College, oxford, and are
of red silk. with /. H. S. in gold, surround
ed with a glory. In the churches and ca
thedrals of England gloves are seen on
most of the monumental effigies of kings
and preiates.
The mailed gloves of the Black Prince
hang over his tomb in Canterbury Cathe-
dral and the effigies of Henry II. and
Richard I. mad gloves richly adorned with
jewels, and when, in 1877, the tomb of King
John was opened, gloves embroidered with
gold were found on his hands. The OPEN
ing Of the stone sarcophagus of Edward
the First in 177i revealed the circles OF
gold and precious stones which had adorn-
ed the backs of his gloves. They were
found lying in their places, although all
traces of the material Of the gloves had
disappeared.
The gauntlets used in combats were prob
ably of the same pattern as the iron gloves
used by the knights in the days of hand
to-fsnd fighting, when men were armed
with clubs set with knobs or spikes. In
deed, the glove, now so common an article
of dress, was in the days of knights and
to a comparatively recent time expressive
of facts and feelings, being pledge of af-
fection, token of warranty, symbol OF
defiance, and a sign of amity. Ii IS only
a comparatively short time ago that the
custom of throwing down The gauntlet has
been omitted from the English coronation
rites.
Until the thirteenth or fourteenth CEN
tury, the use of gloves seems to have been
confined wholly to men, and to have been
worn as insignia of office, or protection
against weather, as well as in warfare and
while at work. During the reign of Eliza
beth hand-coverings became universal
among ladies of rank.