Changes

In fact a tentative argument could be made that all of the illustrations from the 11th century that show a faced neck hole are actually trying to depict a square neck. As with any statement like this there is always some images for which this is not true. Two English sources seem to contradict this theory. The first is the unusually large round necked facings adorning the neck holes depicted in the Hereford Troper c.1050AD (British Library MS Cotton Caligula A XIV). A similar shaped neck hole to that seen in the Hereford Troper can be seen on the seated figure in fig.7. This manuscript can however be dismissed as showing typical English garb as it appears that the artist has copied Romanesque models from German and Flemish art [BROWN 2007:p.133]. If this is indeed the case then the garments would be more likely to be seen in main land Europe where the Ottonian fashion had more in common with that of Byzantium [MAYER-HARTING 1999:p.210]. The other image source is the Bayeux Tapestry, dated to c.1076AD. This seems to show a similar style of neck hole facing as that seen in the Hereford Troper with the facing being depicted around a round neck hole and sometimes flaring out wider over the shoulders. In fact what we may be seeing here is the introduction of a European proto-Romanesque fashion. Some authors argue that the Bayeux Tapestry may even be a Norman creation [GRAPE 19971994:p.54] and if this is indeed the case then its ability to accurately represent English fashion of the time could be suspect. <br>