‘Marry, here's grace and a codpiece; that's a wise man and a fool’ - King Lear, act III, scene 2

Men’s hose was a surprisingly complex garment to make – especially the leg-hugging version worn throughout the 16th century

Jane and Ninya examining extant fragments of hose in Innsbruck in 2015 (with thanks to Beatrix Nutz)

The lower leg and foot from an extant pair of bias-cut woollen hose from Groningen, Netherlands (inventory number 15T7) thought to be early 16th century

The new full-size patterns for Plain bias-cut footed hose and Slashed bias-cut footed hose are available in larger and smaller sizes

The Tudor Tailor’s slashed Almain style codpiece with pluckings-out inspired by original sources makes a fine novelty pin cushion

Plain bias-cut footed hose with codpiece was worn for most of the 16th century even after more fashionable styles became popular

Jane and Ninya displayed a selection of codpiece styles during their last visit to Jamestown, Virginia, in 2018