![]() In addition he ordered the nobility fighting with him to do the same thing. He ordered a huge codpiece for his armor both as a way to enhance his crown jewels and intimidate the enemy. While Edward III, the king of England from 1327-1377, was fighting the Hundred Years War, he thought that strength and prowess correlated with his male endowment. By the end of the 16th century, the codpiece fell out of fashion. The warrior’s armor was measured for its intended wearer, and the codpiece was prominently placed. The codpiece carried over into the design of armor both for ceremonial and sports jousting as well as warfare. Renamed, the lead-lined gonad protector is useful protection from x-rays and other radiation. Today the codpiece is still in use on occasion by scientists and researchers in the lab. They were protective devices as well, keeping swords, daggers and hard purses hanging from the belt to inadvertently bang into the testicles. In addition to serving as a private, protected penis space, the owners might use them as pockets to carry around what ever small objects which might be useful. The owners like to decorate their pieces with metallic thread, satin tufts, bows and other trimmings. In the late 1590s, it evolved into a more stylish protruding penis sheath that might be padded. A range of men and boys from age 8 years and upward wore the codpiece.Īt its earliest appearance in manly fashion, the codpiece was simply a flap of fabric. Since there was one hose for each leg, they were tied around the waist leaving the unprotected gonads open to public view–thus the codpiece came into use. Henry VIII was admired by many across Europe for the curves of his legs particularly his calves. The new fashion leaned away long tunics and breeches to closely fitted vests, short doublets and hose to reveal the shapely men’s legs. In the late fifteenth century there was a trend toward longer individual hose and shorter doublets. The Renaissance world looked to Italy for new fashion concepts. Some scholars propose that the codpiece might have disguised the underlying diseased penis. Holbein’s portrayal of the lusty King shows the epitome of the aggressive male stud his broad shoulders with his arms posed commandingly, and his groin thrust forward with the codpiece prominently in view. The portrait of Henry VIII by Holbein certainly might indicate this conclusion. ![]() Some museums and art galleries speculate that the codpiece was both a statement of virility and an advertisement of the available services for any interested females. ![]() However there is a theory that codpieces also protected men suffering from syphilis, and the codpiece can be linked with the syphilis epidemic of the 16th century. ![]()
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