Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: codpiece

  • Codpiece evolution: From function to fantasy

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Pretty personal palaces for penises”– Zaria Gorvett, in Smithsonian A codpiece (from Middle English cod, meaning bag or scrotum) was a triangular piece of cloth covering the male genitals, held in place by buttons or ties that attached to the man’s hosiery. In fourteenth-century Europe, men’s hose consisted of two separate legs,…