Medieval Hair Fashions
In the medieval period, Europe maidens wore their hair uncovered, flowing, while married women wore their veils. Since, the late medieval period hairstyles have been greatly influenced by changing fashions.
During the thirteenth century the Phrigan cap was popular. It was a round felt cap that up to a point in the front or had a "stalk" (a point) in the center. It was originally found in Anatolian but was seen in Europe from early times into the medieval times. The skullcap was popular from the beginning to the end of the Middle Ages. It was a small hat with no brim or hole through, but sometimes a tail was on the hat instead. A version of the skullcap, the biretta had changed into a stiff square shape. The biretta was worn by academics. The conical hat which was popular in the ancient times remained present through the middle ages. Women often wore hats that had jewels or embroidery of rich fabrics to decorate their plaited or coiled hair.
In the 15th century, ladies wore a headdress called a henin. It was a hat that was shaped either in a cylinder or a gentle cone shape. The hat contained wires to hold it up. The henin had certain names such as the Butterfly Henin. It had a veil that was transparent. There was also a shorter version of the hat. It was beaded into a diamond shape. The ladies wore ear cauls to make their veils puff out.
A page about cauls:
Cauls Truncated and Butterfly Henins and theories
A page about Butterfly Henins:
Cauls Truncated and Butterfly Henins and theories
A page about Cone-Type Headdresses:
Cauls Truncated and Butterfly Henins and theories
A great page about medieval hats where you can take a quiz about who wore which hats.
The Middle Ages -- Clothing Medieval Hats
Patterns for hats are here:
Some Clothing of the Middle Ages - Hats - 6 Piece Cap
Here are some mens hats from the Middle Ages: