The cod piece is a garment that covers the groin region and can be made of various materials. It was initially designed for discretion but became a symbol of masculine power. It was popular in Renaissance Europe and also used in armor for protection and ornamentation. It saw a resurgence in the 20th century in subcultures and entertainment.
A cod piece is an item of traditionally menswear that covers the groin region and is designed primarily for understatement or exaggeration. It can be made of fabric such as silk, leather, or even metal and can be part of a larger ensemble or meant to be worn without other clothing. Once a garment was born out of necessity and discretion, the cod piece became a sign of masculine power and eventually an item of clothing used in different subcultures and various genres of entertainment. A cod piece can also often be seen as part of complicated or metallic armor, both for protection and to allow more freedom of movement.
A few examples of cod pieces have survived in artwork and statues from the ancient world, but most modern views and depictions of them come from Renaissance Europe. In the 14th century, men wore a hose on their legs that consisted of two separate pieces of cloth that were attached around the waist. This style of garment left a man’s groin covered only by a single layer of linen and little else. As fashions changed, leggings became a single piece left open in the front, and while other garments could cover a man’s groin, ownership soon demanded more coverage.
The cod piece was designed at the time to be a cloth covering that would provide greater discretion to a man and allow him to more easily maintain decency. This initial, functional design soon led to somewhat more gregarious designs that served less to cover up and more to enhance. The cod pieces were fashioned from materials other than cloth, such as leather, and were made to cover a man, while also serving to emphasize his virility and suggest further physical endowment or ornamentation. The 16th century saw the height of the craft of the cod piece during the Renaissance and the eventual disuse of the garment.
Fashions in men’s armor traditionally followed fashions in clothing, and metal armor was soon fashioned with pieces of hard metal that could protect, and sometimes emphasize, a man’s groin. These pieces were functional to protect a sensitive area from attack, and the metal could be used to enhance or draw attention to a man’s endowments for festivals or honor sports. Throughout the 20th century, there was a resurgence in the wearing of cod pieces among some groups, such as homosexuals who wore cod pieces as a way of attacking the traditional fashion sense of the time and identifying as openly gay. The cod piece also found its way into heavy metal fashion, as well as cinematic depictions of futuristic armor and fashion, as illustrated by movies like the Star Wars movies and A Clockwork Orange.
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