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For a stunning picture of a (European) woman in full mourning for her husband see the book cover of a collection of essays, *Grief and Gender* edited by Jennifer Vaught. I bought it in a Cambridge bookstore at the Spenser conference and was bowled over by its spookiness. The cover doesn't do it full justice, but that's one veiled woman (the veil is white, which I gather was as useful in mourning as in weddings). It is a bit late for Spenser, but still . . . I have no idea what Milton's dream-wife fresh from her churching would have looked like. Riding while fully veiled might be tricky, though--like shopping in a Burka. Anne > The dispute probably had to do with > churching of women," a highly contested matter in 17th c. Laura Gowing's > "Common Bodies" is a place to start. > > Boyd M. Berry > English Department > Virginia Commonwealth University > P. O. Box 842005 > Richmond Va. 23284 2005 > 804 828 6785 > Fax 804 828 8684 > > > On Mon, 6 Sep 2004, James W. Broaddus wrote: > >> Are there descriptions or illustrations of the veils that sixteenth >> century English widows wore in church? I have reference to the 1654 OED >> citation under "veil": "A Byshop that suffered a woman to syt without a >> vayle in the Church among other wydowes." Were such veils 16th century >> versions of the medieval wimples, the illustrations of which I have seen >> did not cover the face. Were they, in effect, wimples that were pulled >> over the face so as to completely hide the widow's face? >> >> What I have in mind, of course, is Una's "vele." (Prescott) >> >> Is Una's face completely hidden until she throws away her "widow-like >> sad wimple . . . Wherewith her heauenly beautie she did hide" (xii.22)? >> In Una's initial description, her whiteness is hidden by a "vele, that >> wimpled was full low" (i.4). When separated from Redcrosse, Una, "far >> from all mens sight: / From her fayre head her fillet she vndight, / And >> layd her stole aside." At which point, "Her angels face / As the great >> eye of heauen shyned bright . . . Did neuer mortall eye behold such >> heauenly grace" (iii.5). (Hamilton annotates "fillet" as the head-piece >> with its veil.) Later, Sans Loy "snatcht the vele, that hong her face >> before; / Then gan her beautie shyne, as brightest skye" (vi.4). >> >> Jim Broaddus >> >> >> emeritus, Indiana State University >> Route 3 Box 1037 >> Brodhead, KY 40409 >> 606-758-8073 >> [log in to unmask] >> >