Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-01-09
The HISTORY OF GLOVES.
EARLY ORIGIN OF THE CUSTOM OF
WEARING THEM.
Iron Gauntlets Used in the Days of
Chivalry-Shakespeare ON Gloves
signs of Good VIII and
Protection.

transferring his land to Boaz. is said to
take off his shoe" a glove is meant.
The chief mention of gloves among the
ancients was of those of pugilists. which
are referred to in the 'Iliad." and also fire.
quently in the "Aeneid." AS the Romans
became more luxurious in their mode OF
living, the use of gloves increased, until,
under the emperors, they were made with
fingers (digitaiia1, and worn as rs ,9a IAN gits
foxgiove, originally 'folksgiove." turned
upside down. is exactly. mitten shape.
These mittens the Greeks and Romans
wore to protect the hands in certain kinds
of manual labor, and this seems to nave
Witness the walrus-skin gloves Of the
Eskimos of the present day, and the leath-
er mlttens of the blacksmith and of the
hedger, as well as the hawking gloves
formerly worn to protect the wrists from
the sharp taIons of the falcons. Homer
tells Of Laertes at work in his garden.
and describes him as wearing gloves to
protect his hands from the thorns.
Gloves In Britain.
The Romans brought gloves into Britain.
where We find mention made of them In
the seventh century, and where Ethelred
German traders. The bishops. in very
so dsno 5Im eurit ToT 1n F FloHfa Of aEe %hasf ainsa
which Pope Boniface VIII; was buried
were OF white silk, worked with pearls.
ham are preserved at New College, Ok
ford, and are of red silk, with Il. H. S."
in gold, surrounded with a glory. In the
gloves are seen on most of the monumental
efflgies of kings and prelates.
ha The o mal'f his s TONES i Gf c tha StaHS e cathee
dral. and the efflgies of Henry II. and
Richard l.. had gloves richly adorned with
King John was opened. gloves embroidered
with gold were found on his hands, The
opening OF the stone sarcophagus Of Ed,
and precious stones which had adorned
the backs of his gloves. They, were found
lying in their places, although, all traces
peared.
Knights' Gauntlets.
The gauntlets used in combats were prob
ably of the same pattern as the iron gloves
hand fighting, when men were armed with
clubs set with knobs or spikes. Indeed.
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 a pledge of af;
IF dfc defane q t sna a Sign St w "a amiiy. I i y ohiS
u comparatively short time ago that the
custom of throwing down the gauntlet
has been omitted from the English coron-
alton rites.
Until the thirteenth or fourteenth CEN
tury the use Of gloves seems to nave been
I'LL "IlOlly " IlCls ain = udNS DCCu
worn as insignia of office or protection
against weather. as well as in warfare
and while at work. During the reign Of
among ladies of rank. Elizabeth was very
fond Of wearing perfumed gloyes-those
robe must have been as well stocked
with gloves as with gowns. since wher-
ever She went she was presented with
e etGSeS' w snfn s sI "a and Gai siive Of Sw a apa Gloye 81
perfumed gloves of Spanysshe leather" and
| so on.
The Progresses of Queen Elizabeth re-
gloves with fower dozen buttons of golde.
by fS.' ta dye M slSs g Sydney. one pelr per.
fumed gloves with xiii smalle buttons Of
geide.i; etc.
sh~nkespeare's Mention of Gloves.
Shakespeare makes frequent mention Of
s s1oyss tb Hero co,n says ssnt to me- be tbe : are Those II use
excellent Perfume" and Romeo longs to
be "a glove upon that hand" A very in
preserved in England, in the Walden SAT-
from museum. 1t is a glove presented by
her to a member of the Dayrell family.
in whose possession it remains. 1t Is Of
light buff-colored leather, worked in an
elaborate pattern of roses and birds. while
the cuffs lined with crimson satin, are
with gold lace.
A record in 1880 shows that. in some
cases. at least. gloves were expected to
er: Owen Lloyd to William Pryse.-De-
sires him to send sixteen pairs Oxford
pair. of double ChevriIle. six for women.
six for men. and four for very ancient and
grave men. spiritual" About the end Of
sylke'. were brought from Holland to Lon
DON. At this period gloves also made Of
chicken skin were thought to impart a pc
culiar delicacy to the hands. especially If
worn at night, sleeping in gloves having
been introduced by Henry. Ill. of France,
and practiced by men and women alike.
Poisoned Gloves.
There are many traditions of death from
Pa,sGnsid ElG IN Fra ductn and III 1sal %id IL Is. h bsW.
ever. doubtful whether there Is proof Of
such evil doing. In feudal times, the chal-
aid bearing a glove. Shakespeare makes
Henry v. on the eve Of the battle Of
Agincourt, exchange gloves with an OPP.
should both survive the battle.
But the glove also figured as a sign Of
good will and protection; Tenure of lands
and in 1894 1.-The Earl of Flanders, by the
delivery Of a glove to the king of France
g GSnor up If fh E,s good to toyn Of Fiands5S;s whs
held by the annualp payment of lone pound
Of cummin seed, a steel needle; and two
on the altar as a pledge. and in 1853 the
Earl OF Shrewsbury vowed a church to
st. Peter. and sent a glove to the mon
astery as a token of good faith. As is
well known. lovers EXCHANGED gloves. and
iao knifba ea;dags airf n t. his The hslm wars G1o wore ue his
also a medium of bribery, being presented
to judges and lined with gold" to insure
a favorable decision. 1t is recorded that
Sir Thomas More refused a pair LINED
with forty gold pieces and presented by
a grateful client. All judges were not
scrupulous. however. and a Portuguese
proverb. He wears no gloves" expresses
q mans perfect integrity.
White Kid Gloves.
In the rural districts of England the GUS
tom of laying a pair of white gloves on
the coffin of a young maiden is still OBJ
still presented by the sheriff to the judge
when there are no criminal cases to be
tried at the assiZes.
Saint Anne. the mother of the Virgin
Mary. IS asserted by French tradition to
nave been a knitter of gloves: she is,
therefore, the chosen patroness of glovers
in FRANCE. and her fete day is celebrated
The glove manufacture in the United
Gioversville. n. =. It is estimated 3"t that al
from the 14O glove factories located there
more than two-thirds of the gloves made
in this country are sent out. Buckskin,
and Grenoble are the headquarters of
glovemaking in France. and Worcester in
England. In one specialty-"dog skim
really made from sheep skin-English MAX
ers nav no competitors. A large quantity
of cheap and useful gloves are manufact-
ured in Belgium, while thread gloves are
largely exported from the North Of Ire