The Montero: the seventeenth century soldier's answer to the balaclava.
They needed something to keep their heads and necks warm through cold nights: they needed a brim to keep the rain off, and in summer, to keep the sun out of their eyes. As they travelled everywhere by foot, they also needed to carry the minimum of equipment, so one hat that would double up as winter and summer wear was vital. Felt hats were made by qualified artisans, and were expensive and hard to come by. On the other hand, every woman of that period could sew, and fabric was made locally, so fabric hats were obviously the way to go. A final benefit was that hats could be made from offcuts of the uniform cloth, thus not only avoiding wastage, but allowing instant reigmental identification.
There are several references, in literature of the time, to the Hunters' Cap: that being a peaked cloth cap that could be pulled down around the neck.
We are currently considering offering Monteros again: 20 years ago we originated an authentic replica Montero within the ECWS (English Civil War Society), and it became the standard soldiers' headgear of that time, along with Scotch Bonnets, which we also made, and knitted Monmouth Caps (which we hated).
Here are a pair of our original Monteros in action: they were widely copied, both in the ECWS and in the SK (Sealed Knot), as they were particularly popular with Musketeers, being a hat that sat snugly on the head and was not easily dislodged by the wind, or by careless shouldering of muskets, in the way that a felt hat often was.
In fact, looking at pictures of re-enactment today, they are still being copied and made to this day, although they seem to have lost some style over the years.
This picture is a close-up of part of a Jan Steen painting called The Rhetoricians, clearly showing a fabric hat with several folds of fabric around the head, and with the front point folded upwards. This shows what we think of as the "proper" way to wear a montero. The crown of the hat appears to be rounded, and if you look at any good reproduction of the painting, it can clearly be seen to be made in several panels.
Both hat and lining appear to be a murky brown colour, which may be due to the age and condition of the painting. We choose to line our Monteros in calico, on the basis that woollen cloth next to the skin was not generally acceptable, then or now: we line our clothes and wear underlayers, as they did at that time.
This one, on the other hand, shows another brown fabric hat with many folds and an upturned front peak, albeit rather floppy: it is a detail from a painting by Arent Diepraam and this time the crown of the hat is much higher off the head, and more of a square shape.
In the interests of authenticity, we are thinking about offering Monteros of both styles: Round Top have smoothly rounded crowns, similar in feel to a modern baseball cap, which have the benefit of feeling familiar. Square Top Monteros have the Diepraam shape, and are not as well-fitting. Your choice! If you have any opinions on this subject, we would be interested to hear from you.
If you have any queries, you are most welcome to read through the Frequently Asked Questions , and if by any chance that does not help, do feel free to Email us.
