Codpiece - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A codpiece is a covering flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers

Trousers

Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...

and usually accentuates the genital area. It was held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods. It was an important item of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an clothing

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

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 leather subculture

Leather subculture

The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities. Wearing leather garments is one way that participants in this culture self-consciously distinguish themselves from mainstream sexual cultures...

History

From the ancient world there are extant depictions of the codpiece; for example, archaeological recovery at Minoan

Minoan civilization

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...

Knossos

Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...

on Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

has yielded figurine

Figurine

A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...

s, some of which wear a codpiece. Most of what is objectively known about the cut, fit, and materials of Renaissance clothing is learned from realistic portraits, clothing inventories, descriptive receipts for payments of artifacts, or tailors’ cutting guides. In the 14th century, men's hose

Hose (clothing)

Hose are any of various styles of men's clothing for the legs and lower body, worn from the Middle Ages through the 17th century, when the term fell out of use in favor of breeches and stockings. The old plural form of "hose" was hosen...

were two separate legs worn over linen drawers

Drawers

Drawer or Drawers may refer to:* Drawer * A person who engages in drawing pictures* Payor, a person who draws a bill of exchange* Undergarment, underwear* Drawer test, a test used to detect rupture of the cruciate ligaments in the knee...

, leaving a man's genitals covered only by a layer of linen. As the century wore on and men's hemline

Hemline

The hemline is the line formed by the lower edge of a garment, such as a skirt, dress or coat, measured from the floor.The hemline is perhaps the most variable style line in fashion, changing shape and ranging in height from hip-high to floor-length...

s rose, the hose became longer and joined at the centre back but remained open at the centre front. The shortening of the cote or doublet

Doublet (clothing)

A doublet is a man's snug-fitting buttoned jacket that is fitted and shaped to the man's body which was worn in Western Europe from the Middle Ages through to the mid-17th century. The doublet was hip length or waist length and worn over the shirt or drawers. Until the end of the 15th century the...

resulted in under-disguised genitals, so the codpiece began life as a triangular piece of fabric covering the gap.
As time passed, codpieces became shaped and padded to emphasize rather than to conceal, reaching their peak of size and decoration in the 1540s before falling out of use by the 1590s. Armor of the 16th century followed civilian fashion, and for a time armored codpieces were a prominent addition to the best full harnesses. A few of these are on display in museums today: the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

has one, as does the Higgins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

; the armour of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

in the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

has a codpiece. In later periods, the codpiece became an object of the derision showered on outlandish fashions. Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

humorist François Rabelais

François Rabelais

François Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...

jokingly refers to a book titled On the Dignity of Codpieces in the foreword to his book The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel

Gargantua and Pantagruel

The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father and his son and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein...

.

Through the same linguistic route, cods became a modern slang term for the male genitalia.

In contemporary culture

Subcultural attire

Resembling codpieces, jock straps made of leather can be worn in leather subcultural

Leather subculture

attire to cover and confine the genitals of a man, sometimes while wearing leather chaps

Chaps

Chaps are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers they have no seat and are not joined at the crotch. They are designed to provide protection for the legs and are usually made of leather...

. Rather than accentuating the male genitalia through exaggeration of the size of the wearer's endowment, attention is drawn through decorative adornment such as metallic studs.

Heavy metal fashion

The codpiece crossed over from the leather subculture

Leather subculture

to become an established part of heavy metal fashion

Heavy metal fashion

Heavy metal fashion is the style of dress, body modification, make-up, hairstyle, and so on, taken on by fans of heavy metal, or, as they are often called, metalheads or headbangers.-Origins:...

performance costume

Costume

The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...

when Rob Halford

Rob Halford

Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...

, of the band Judas Priest

Judas Priest

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...

, began wearing clothing adopted from the gay biker and leather subculture

Leather subculture

while promoting the Hell Bent for Leather Album in 1978. Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson (musician)

Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...

, front man for Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull (band)

Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

, wore a codpiece during his performances in the mid-1970s. Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...

of the American Rock Band Kiss

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

often wore black and silver costumes with codpieces. Shock rock

Shock rock

Shock rock is an umbrella term for artists who combine rock music with elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.-History:Screamin' Jay Hawkins was arguably the first shock rocker...

performer Blackie Lawless

Blackie Lawless

Blackie Lawless , is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band W.A.S.P..In an interview, Blackie claims to have been born in the kitchen of the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Hollywood,...

, leader of the group WASP, wore a codpiece that features a saw blade. Heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

singer King Diamond

King Diamond

Kim Bendix Petersen , better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond...

has been known to wear a codpiece as part of his performance outfits. Electric Six

Electric Six

Electric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded...

lead singer Dick Valentine can be seen wearing a brightly flashing codpiece in the music video for the band's 2003 hit single Danger! High Voltage

Danger! High Voltage

"Danger! High Voltage" is a song by Electric Six, released as a single on 6 January 2003 through XL Recordings. It was the band's debut single, and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and was named Single of the Week by the NME. It was also released on the band's debut album Fire .Jack White...

. Metal singer Till Lindemann

Till Lindemann

Till Lindemann is a German musician, actor and poet who is the frontman for the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.-Biography:...

of Rammstein

Rammstein

Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...

occasionally wears codpieces on stage.
Black metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

musician and Satanist Infernus wore a codpiece as part of his attire during the Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

- Credits :Musicians:* Gaahl – vocals* Infernus – guitars* King ov Hell – bass* Frost – drums Other personnel:* Mixed by Gorgoroth and Herbrand Larsen in Bergen....

era of Gorgoroth. William Murderface from the cartoon series Metalocalypse

Metalocalypse

Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...

also wears a codpiece on several occasions. Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

regularly wears bright red codpieces in concert. GWAR

GWAR

Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...

front man Oderus Urungus

Oderus Urungus

Oderus Urungus, played by Dave Brockie, is the lead vocalist of the Metal band Gwar. He appears as an intergalactic humanoid barbarian with devil horns and a meaty looking face, and always carries around a long sword named "Unt Lick"...

wears a codpiece called The Cuttlefish of Cthulu.

Pop music

Tom Jones

Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

wore codpieces during concerts and the lead singer of 1980s music group Cameo

Cameo (band)

Cameo is an American soul-influenced funk group that formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from Ohio Players, another group from that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded several...

, Larry Blackmon

Larry Blackmon

Larry Ernest Blackmon is the lead singer and frontman for the funk and R&B band, Cameo. He came to Cameo from the band, Black Ivory....

, wore a large, bright-red codpiece in all of his performances, which was his trademark. Cameo's frontman sports a codpiece in his videos "Word Up" and "Candy." Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose wore a codpiece for most of the Appetite tour.

In film, electronic media and modern literature

In Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...

's novel A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....

(and later Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...

's movie adaptation), Alex and his gang wear codpieces.
In William Tenn
William Tenn
William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass , a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements.-Early life:...

's novella The Masculinist Revolt (1965), the codpiece becomes the symbol for an antifeminist movement.
In the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick first published in 1968. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids, while the secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-normal intelligence who befriends some of the...

, the Earth is covered in radioactive dust, also known as nuclear fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...

, so male characters must wear lead codpieces to avoid becoming sterile.
The films Batman Forever
Batman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...

and Batman & Robin received much publicity over the size of the molded rubber codpieces of the Batman and Robin costumes.
In Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...

's movie Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...

, the Goblin King (played by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

) sports a large codpiece beneath his riding breeches
Breeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...

.
In The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie is a 1982 musical and comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol. The film is loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The original music score is composed by Mike Brady and Peter Sullivan...

(1982), a rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

version of the Pirates of Penzance, the Pirate King wore an enormous jeweled codpiece for comedic effect.
In Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...

, G'Kar, played by Andreas Katsulas
Andreas Katsulas
Andrew "Andreas" Katsulas was a Greek-American actor known for his roles as Ambassador G'Kar in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, as the one-armed villain Sykes in the film The Fugitive , and as the Romulan Commander Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation...

, sports a codpiece as part of his Ambassadorial garb.
In one episode of Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...

, Murdering Outside the Box bassist William Murderface purchases a diamond-encrusted codpiece, which is long and sharp enough to kill someone who accidentally fell on it (while another band member also claims to have bought a codpiece, it was, in reality, a vibrating strap-on).
In the 1995 film Se7en, a lust-related murder involves a man being forced at gunpoint to don a codpiece with a long blade.
In the video games Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...

, Izzy Sparks' main costume features a skull-shaped codpiece.
Codpiece was a supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

who appeared in Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...

#70. He was armed with a mechanical codpiece.
In the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

sitcom Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...

episode "The Archbishop" the eponymous anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...

Edmund wears a "Black Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n" codpiece.
In the movie From Dusk till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...

the character "Sex Machine" wears a black leather codpiece, with a concealed firearm attached.
In the sitcom The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...

, an episode is called "Codpiece Topology" because the story includes a Renaissance fair.
In the video game Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IX
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the ninth title in the Final Fantasy series. The game introduced new features to the series like the 'Active Time Event', 'Mognet' and a unique equipment and skill system.Final Fantasy IXs...

, the main antagonist Kuja wears a metallic codpiece.
The video game No More Heroes
No More Heroes (video game)
, is an action video game for the Wii video game system. It was directed by Goichi Suda , developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Marvelous Entertainment Inc., Ubisoft and Rising Star Games...

features a boss named Destroyman whose codpiece shoots laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

beams.
In the British comedy/sitcom Red Dwarf, Lister can often be seen wearing a codpiece masturbation device while playing virtual reality video games.
Codpieces figure prominently in the six Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

movies. Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

, Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

, and the Imperial Stormtroopers wear codpieces as part of their armour.
At Renaissance Festivals, some male actors will wear codpieces as part of their outfits. However, as most Renaissance Festivals are set during the mid-to-late reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

, this is not strictly historically accurate.
Thanks to his crotch straps in the famous "Mission Accomplished" aircraft carrier photo-op, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

became known as "Commmander Codpiece."

External links

Time Magazine article

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

In contemporary culture

Subcultural attire

Heavy metal fashion

Pop music

In film, electronic media and modern literature

Further reading

External links