Spanish ladies wearing the mantilla during Holy Week in Seville, Spain.

A mantilla is a lace or silk veil or shawl worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb, popular with women in Spain.^[1] It is now particularly associated as a pious religious practice among women in the Roman Catholic Church.^[2]

  History

The lightweight ornamental mantilla came into use in the warmer regions of Spain towards the end of the 16th century, and ones made of lace became popular with women in the 17th and 18th centuries, being depicted in portraits by Diego Velázquez and Goya. In the 19th century, Queen Isabella II of Spain actively encouraged its use. The practice diminished after her abdication in 1870, and by 1900 the use of the mantilla became largely limited to formal occasions such as bullfights, Holy Week and weddings.

  Peineta

A peineta, similar in appearance to a large comb, is used to hold up a mantilla. This ornamental comb, usually in tortoiseshell color, originated in the 19th century. It consists of a convex body and a set of prongs and is often used in conjunction with the mantilla. It adds the illusion of extra height to the wearer and also holds the hair in place when worn during weddings, processions and dances. It is a consistent element of some regional costumes of Valencia and Andalusia and it is also often found in costumes used in the Moorish and Gypsy influenced music and dance called Flamenco.

  In Roman Catholicism

  Laura Bush wearing a silk lace mantilla at a meeting between her husband George W. Bush and Pope John Paul II at Castel Gandolfo

Based on an interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, it has been traditional in many countries for women to wear some form of Christian headcovering in church. The light mantilla was often preferred to the more cumbersome hat. The custom is rarely observed today.

Mantillas are still often worn by ladies, especially Catholics, when received in formal audience by the Pope. On such occasions, black mantillas were worn by Laura Bush in 2006, members of Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg at the papal inauguration of 2005, and Michelle Obama in 2009.^[3] By contrast, Irish President Mary Robinson,^[4][5] Soviet Union First Lady Raisa Gorbachev, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all met popes without wearing mantillas. Others who have worn black mantillas include Yulia Tymoshenko, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, first ladies from Malaysia, Jordan, Iran, and Lebanon and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. In accordance with what is known as the privilège du blanc, whereby Catholic female monarchs and the consorts of Catholic monarchs wear white when meeting the Pope, while black is traditionally, though now only optionally, worn by others, Queen Sofia of Spain wore a white mantilla at the requiem mass for John Paul II and at the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

  In popular culture

In the British television soap Hollyoaks, Catholic character Carmel Valentine wore a mantilla while in mourning for her deceased sister, Tina Reilly. Mimi Maguire from Channel 4 drama-comedy, Shameless, also wore one. Lady Gaga wore a mantilla in the video for her song, Alejandro.

  See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: mantilla

• Christian headcovering
• Shawl

  References

  External links

• Historia de la mantilla y forma de uso
• Origin in Muslim Purdah - Al-Andalusia/Spain