From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 13th Duchess of Alba wearing a mantilla, portrait by Goya

A mantilla is "a lightweight lace or silk scarf worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb, by women in Spain and Latin America" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000).

Etymology: Spanish, diminutive of manta, cape.

The lightweight ornamental mantilla came into use in the warmer regions of Spain towards the end of the sixteenth century, and ones made of lace caught the fancy of some elegant ladies in the following century, as seen in some portraits by Velázquez. However, the ladies of the court and the upper echelons of society did not take to it until the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, Queen Isabel II (1833-1868) actively encouraged its use.(History and types of mantilla). The practice diminished after her death, and by 1900 the use of the mantilla became largely limited to special ceremonies, such as bullfights, Holy Week and weddings.

Queen Sofia of Spain meets Pope John Paul II without wearing a mantilla.

Perhaps due to the promotion of the mantilla by Queen Isabel II, it became traditional for ladies to wear a mantilla when received in audience by the Pope, though other head coverings for women prevailed before it and for a time after it. In the second half of the twentieth century its use declined markedly, though it is not completely out of use. Irish president Mary Robinson, Soviet Union First Lady Raisa Gorbachev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all met popes without wearing mantillas. Though Robinson's decision not to wear a mantilla (and to wear dark green rather than black) was condemned by a controversial Irish Catholic priest then studying in Rome, the Holy See indicated that no offence whatsoever was caused by her decision. Queen Sophia of Spain has also opted to not wear a mantilla when visiting the Vatican once (as a Catholic Queen she is entitled to wear white instead of black). However, at the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI and the Requiem Mass for John Paul II, she and the Belgian Queen used a white and a black mantilla. Likewise did Laura Bush while visiting the Holy See. During the inauguration festivities the Luxembourg grand duchess and many other women used (black) mantillas too.

• Christian Headcovering

• Historia y uso de la mantilla
• History, Use, and Different Kinds of Mantillas Spanish-type mantillas
• Historia de la mantilla y forma de uso