Fillet (clothing)

A fillet was originally worn in classical antiquity, especially in cultures of the Mediterranean, Levant and Persia, including Hellenic culture. At that time, a fillet was a very narrow band of cloth, leather or some form of garland, frequently worn by athletes. It was also worn as a sign of royalty and became symbolized in later ages as a metallic ring which was a stylized band of cloth.

Later, in medieval times, a fillet was a type of headband worn by unmarried women, in certain monk hoods, usually with a wimple or barbette. This is indicated in the sign language of said monks (who took oaths of silence), wherein a sweeping motion across the brow, in the shape of a fillet, indicated an unmarried woman.

Gallery

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  Crown of Nubkheperre Intef, pharaoh of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt

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  Relief of Amenhotep III, pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, wearing a filet crown

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  Procession of Officials from Medinet Habu of Ramesses III, pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt

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  Charioteer of Delphi, wearing a fillet headband, bronze statue (478–474 BCE).

See also

• Diadem
• Tainia
• Wreath