Codpiece
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| - | When [[Christianity]] became the state religion of the Roman Empire in the [[fourth century]], gladiatorial games were soon abandoned, and the Christian view of post pubescent nudity as a [[sin]] took root. This view spread with the spread of Christianity, until it became [[Norm (sociology)|normative]]. | + | A '''codpiece''' (from [[Middle English language|Middle English]] ''cod'', "[[scrotum]]") is a covering flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's [[trousers]] and usually accentuates the [[genital]] area. It was held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods. It was an important item of [[Europe]]an [[clothing]] in the 15th and 16th centuries, and is still worn in the modern era in performance costumes for rock music and metal musicians and in the gay [[leather subculture]]. |
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| - | However, until the beginning of the [[8th century]], Christians in Western Europe were [[baptism|baptised]] naked, emerging from the water like Adam and Eve before the fall. "The disappearance of baptism by [[immersion]] in the Carolingian era gave nudity a sexual connotation that it has previously lacked for Christians" (Rouche 1987 p. 455). About the same time it became common to represent Christ on the Cross wearing a long tunic, the ''colobium''. | + | |
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| - | In the [[6th century]], Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]] advised the monks in his [[Benedictine Rule|Rule]] to sleep fully dressed in the dormitory. | + | |
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| - | European men wore long tunics until the [[15th century]], when [[codpiece]]s, [[tights]] and tight [[trousers]] gradually came into use; these all covered the male [[genitals]] but at the same time drew attention to them. | + | |
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A codpiece (from Middle English cod, "scrotum") is a covering flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers and usually accentuates the genital area. It was held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods. It was an important item of European clothing in the 15th and 16th centuries, and is still worn in the modern era in performance costumes for rock music and metal musicians and in the gay leather subculture.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Codpiece" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
