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At what point did it begin to matter what you wore? Ulinka Rublack looks at why the Renaissance was a turning point in people’s attitudes to clothes and their appearance
http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/ulinka-rublack/renaissance-fashion-birth-power-dressing
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The male dress style of the higher classes of European society was revolutionised in the early years of the Renaissance. The codpiece was introduced into the male tunic. The codpiece had proportions that were at times grotesque, and so extreme that the question of the purpose of its use arises. Art gallery guides speculate that the codpiece represented a statement of the virility of the individual and could be looked on as a sex promotion object. This is clearly the impression gained from, for example Holbein’s portrayal of Henry VIII, arms akimbo, broad shouldered, groin thrust forward, the very epitome of a lusty male. The codpiece, however, may have been a disguise for underlying disease. Italy was the leader in many concepts of the new fashions in the Renaissance. For men, there was a change from the narrow-waisted vertical line to the more horizontal. Among the wealthier, the trend in the very late fifteenth century appears to be towards longer hose and shorter doublets leading to a space in which the male genitals may have been exposed if not covered. In Italy, assuming that paintings of the time accurately reflect the dress of the day, artists included the display of the codpiece as a dramatic element of male costume. In Italy, the codpiece was called a sacco and in France, a braguette. 
Italian researchers have discovered tiny letters on Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa portrait, which they believe will shed light on who the model was. Silvano Vinceti of Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage explained in interviews that the letters can easily be seen with a magnifying glass and can be seen on her eyes.
1494 Ludovico Sforza of Milan invites the King of France, Charles VIII, to invade Naples
The beliefs of the man who painted some of the most famous Christian images are shrouded in mystery. Alex Keller coaxes Leonardo da Vinci’s thoughts out of some little-known personal writings. http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/alex-keller/was-leonardo-christian
Malcolm Oxley on how the Christmas story was co-opted into politics and social aspirations in Renaissance Florence. http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/malcolm-oxley/medici-and-gozzolis-magi
Donald Weinstein examines the career and context of the extraordinary millenarian friar who held a puritanical sway over Renaissance Florence in the last decade of the fifteenth century. http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/donald-weinstein/savonarola-preacher-and-patriot
David Abulafia reassesses the life and motives of a notorious ruler and the complex web of Renaissance diplomacy involving him which led up to the Italian wars. http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/david-abulafia/ferrante-naples-statecraft-renaissance-prince
Richard Cavendish remembers the events of May 23rd, 1498 http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/richard-cavendish/execution-florentine-friar-savonarola
Lucy Wooding introduces a highly significant, but often much misunderstood, cultural force. http://historytoday.prod.acquia-sites.com/lucy-wooding/christian-humanism-renaissance-reformation
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