A capotain, capatain or copotain is a tall-crowned, narrow-brimmed, slightly conical hat

Hat

A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...

, usually black, worn by men and women from the 1590s into the mid-seventeenth century in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and northwestern 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...

. Earlier capotains had rounded crowns; later, the crown was flat at the top.

The capotain is especially associated with Puritan

Puritan

The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

 costume in England in the years leading up to the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 and during the years of the Commonwealth

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...

. It is also commonly called a Flat Topped Hat and a Pilgrim hat, the latter for its association with the Pilgrims that settled Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...

 in the 1620s. Contrary to popular myth, capotains never included buckles on the front of them; this image was created in the 19th century.

Further reading

• Ashelford, Jane: The Art of Dress: Clothing and Society 1500–1914, Abrams, 1996. ISBN 0-8109-6317-5
• Arnold, Janet
  Janet Arnold
  Janet Arnold was a British clothing historian, costume designer, teacher, conservator, and author.She funded the Janet Arnold Award to further in-depth study of Western dress, administered by the Society of Antiquaries of London...
  
  : Patterns of Fashion: the cut and construction of clothes for men and women 1560–1620, Macmillan 1985. Revised edition 1986. (ISBN 0-89676-083-9)
• Black, J. Anderson and Madge Garland: A History of Fashion, Morrow, 1975. ISBN 0-688-02893-4

See also

• 1550–1600 in fashion
• 1600–1650 in fashion
• 1650-1690 in fashion
• 1690-1700 in fashion

External links

• 17th century hats