The Renaissance Faire is a peculiar event that sprouted from a high school history project in Southern California during the early 1960’s. It has grown into a sub-culture that spans across the United States, Canada and Europe. Some events are solid historically based events, others are hysterical spectacles of flesh and fantasy, clinging to a thread of Renaissance history…
Perhaps, just perhaps…Renaissance Faire locations in America
have a historical basis in reality…as Elizabethan clothing went where only the
buffalo roam…
In the last decade of the 16th Century, New Mexico was
about as remote as you could get. Very few Europeans had explored
it...much less seen it and you were very likely to be killed by Indian arrows
before you returned to tell the tale. In 1598, Don Juan de Onate was
given the green light to lead an expedition of conquest, settlement and
civilization into the unknown reaches of Nuevo Mexico. Much can be said
about the Onate Expedition, and about Onate himself, and debate still abounds
around this historic event, such as whether the first Thanksgiving in America
occurred whilst the settlers were camped on the Rio Grande outside of what
became El Paso Texas, to Onate punishing local Native Americans by cutting off
feet or just toes. What intrigues me though, is the clothing that upper
class members of this adventure brought with them as they forged a new life in
the wilds of Spanish America. On top of that, when you see the inventory of the
expedition, it dispels the myth of Spaniards running around in dour, heavy,
black and smelly everyday dress.
The Spanish, in fact, were leading influencers of European
contemporary fashion before the French took that mantle. Spanish
influence in garb even wormed its way onto the streets of London (Phillip II
was the King of England for a few short years, so that makes perfect sense,
just don’t bring it up in Elizabeth’s Court). From the lists that follow,
you will see the Spanish wore colorful clothing in their everyday lives…except
in the Royal Court and Church (and apparently, everyone portraying a Spanish
lady or gent at your local renaissance faire). Historically, these venues of
respect and worship were reserved for the dark, black, hot, sweaty clothes and
it’s why you don’t want to hang out with the Spanish chicks on a hot day at
Faire…
So let’s dive into what 16th century Spaniards really wore
when they weren’t genuflecting...
Captain Alonso de Quesada lists his clothing for the 1598
expedition…and I’m wondering how many wagons it took to haul his finery into the
middle of nowhere.
4 suits: 1 of purple velvet with a cloak of green Castilian
cloth, 1 of coarse plain grey Castilian cloth, 1 of fine monk’s cloth lined
with yellow damask, trimmed with braids of silver, 1 of plain greenish cloth
4 hats: 2 expensive and 2 plain
4 doublets – 2 of silk and 2 of linen
2 buff doublets (probably leather)
4 pairs silk stockings - various colors
4 pairs of woolen stockings
10 linen shirts
4 pair of linen breeches
3 towels
3 pairs of sleeves
3 pairs of garters
2 under waistcoats for coats of mail
100 cakes of soap
10 pair of Cordovan leather shoes
3 pairs of cordovan buckskins boots and some white boots
2 pairs of calfskin boots
6 pairs of calfskin shoes
This is pretty impressive, and it demonstrates what
upper-class individuals were wearing in Mexico at this period. I’m
confident that this varied and colorful garb was worn in Spain and the rest of
Spanish Colonial America as well.
But wait, it gets better…
A secondary, back-up reinforcement expedition was sent North
in 1600 after the original colonists had settled and founded what would become
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here’s what Captain Antonio Conde de Herrera
brought:
His Wife, Children, In-laws…the kitchen tub…
Along with…
5 horses with complete armor (I’ll assume there was
only 1 set of complete, plate horse armor…he may have had 5 sets, 1 for each
horse…but I doubt it)
1 coat of chain mail
1 plate bevor (neck armor)
1 plate helmet
1 harquebus and accessories
2 gilded swords
1 dagger
1 leather shield
3 sickles (this is a lance with a sharp sickle head)
½ an arroba (1 arroba equals 25 pounds) of
gunpowder
17 men’s suits of wool mixture course cloth and silk
3 fine hats
18 pairs of cordovan shoes
2 pairs of buskins (thick-soled laced boots)
4 pairs of cordovan boots
some additional buskins (more shoes…because you can
never have enough, Imelda)
2 pairs of house slippers
4 pairs of fine woolen stockings
2 pairs of taffeta garters
But wait…there’s more…
1 woolen field tent with ridge pole/1 camp bed/8 small
chairs/1 Michoacan table/2 large water barrels/1 tub for washing/1 barrel of
wine of 2 arrobas…another of vinegar/2 jars of olives, 1 of lard and 1 of
honey/1 arroba of sweetmeats/1 arroba of sun-dried raisins/ ½ an arroba of
almonds/500 walnuts/10 boxes of a confection of nuts and honey/1 kettle of
refined sugar/2 carts, one very large, both covered in sackcloth/22 draft oxen
And it gets better…
Dona Francisca Gallindo, Antonio’s wife…brought…
9 dresses: 2 of brown and green cloth, trimmed - another of
velvet adorned with velvet belts and gold clasps - another of black satin with
silk gimps - another of black taffeta, trimmed - another of green coarse cloth
with sashes embroidered in gold - another of crimson satin embroidered in gold
- another of red satin with red satin with sashes and gold trimmings - another
of tawny color with a white China embroidered skirt
2 silk shawls with bead tassels
4 pairs of thin wool sleeves
1 damask and velvet hoopskirt
4 ruffs
4 gold coiffures
12 plain bonnets
3 pairs of fancy cuffs
1 necklace of pearls and garnets, with a large gold cross
1 headdress of pearls with a gold image of Our Lady
rings set with rubies
2 pitchers
1 small pot and saltcellar of silver, with 6 small spoons
and 1 large spoon
3 pairs of new clogs
8 pairs of slippers
2 pairs of high shoes
1 bedspread of crimson taffeta trimmed with lace
8 sheets
6 pillows
2 fine women’s hats with gold ribbons
many other things suitable for the adornment of women and
the home
…and a partridge in a pear tree.
Remember, these things were brought for life on the
FRONTIER. I find it fascinating...the Spanish were just as extravagant on
the fringes of civilization as they were in Madrid or Mexico City.
One last thing…in the 1600 reinforcement expedition a hat
was sent North to Onate’s son, Don Cristobal, who had accompanied the 1598
expedition. This was a fine brown hat, with braid of gold, large pearls,
set with stones of various colors and brilliancy…it was 130 pesos worth of
haberdashery.
It was good to be a wealthy Spaniard in late
16th century Santa Fe…at least until the Pueblo Revolt, but that’s another
story for another day…
