How the word ‘cravat’ came from the battlefields of 17th century Europe : NPR
Men dressed in traditional 17th-century uniforms queue during a ceremony marking “Tie Day” in central Zagreb, October 18, 2011.
Hrvoje Polan/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Hrvoje Polan/AFP via Getty Images
For many in the business world, returning to work after winter break will mean donning the dreaded suit and tie once again. Corporate ties are the everyday counterpart to the traditionally more luxurious necktie – a voluminous scarf that conjures up images of opulent dinners aboard a yacht sailing through the Mediterranean.
President Abraham Lincoln wore ties, as did Hollywood actor Cary Grant and extravagant entertainer Liberace. More recently, the garment was popularized in the American mainstream by Madonna and the late Diane Keaton.
American pianist Liberace (Władziu Valentino Liberace, 1919-1987) waves as he descends the stairs of his plane during a visit to Britain, at London Airport, March 30, 1960.
Evening Standard/Getty Images/Hulton Archives
hide caption
toggle caption
Evening Standard/Getty Images/Hulton Archives
In this episode of NPR’s “Word of the Week” series, we trace the origins of the “necktie” (borrowed from the French “tie”) to the battlefields of 17th-century Europe and explore its connections to the modern necktie, patented in New York more than 100 years ago.
“Scarves worn around the neck existed long before, but the history of the tie really begins during the Thirty Years’ War, when it gained greater recognition in Europe,” explains Filip Hren, a military historian at the Croatian Catholic University in Zagreb.
Hren refers to the 1618-1648 conflict between Catholics and Protestants known as Europe’s last religious war.
The word “tie” first appeared in French to describe the military attire worn by Croatian mercenaries renowned among their enemies for their brutal combat prowess.
“The Swedish king said they were the new devil tribe,” says Hren.
The “swift, swift and deadly” Croats, who went to war in the service of the Holy Roman Empire, wore distinctive red scarves around their necks. Made of silk or cotton, this fabric would have been used to protect their faces from the cold and smoke during battle, as well as to treat wounds.
“Wounded soldiers could use the scarf as a bandage, but it also had a symbolic meaning,” explains Vladimir Brnardić, a historian and journalist who has written extensively on Croatian military history.
“There are legends that young women and wives of soldiers would tie the scarf around the necks of their loved ones to show them their trust and love and to signify that they would be waiting for them when they returned,” he adds.
The French army noticed the Croats’ fighting skills – and their sense of fashion – and recruited large numbers of them into elite cavalry regiments that would become known as the Royal Ties.
Around 1661, King Louis XIV of France (1638 – 1715), king of France from 1643. He was known as the “Sun King”.
Getty Images/Hulton Archives
hide caption
toggle caption
Getty Images/Hulton Archives
“The scarves took their name from the Croatians. They were tied in the Croatian way, or in French – Croatian style“, explains Filip Hren.
King Louis XIV introduced the tie to French fashion, and from Paris it quickly spread throughout Europe.
“King Louis
The first use of the English version “cravat”, according to the Oxford English Dictionarywas recorded in 1656 in the writings of the English antiquary and lexicographer Thomas Blount.
In the 19th century, the rise of bourgeois society as part of the industrial revolution saw the arrival of the tie. Historians say this accessory became a symbol of professionalism and social discipline, “especially in men’s clothing.” In the 20th century, it entered commercial, diplomatic and political culture and “became a means of personal expression”.
In French and many other European languages, the word “tie” still retains an etymological link with the words “Croatian”.
“Krawatte” in German. In Spanish, “corbata”. “Cravatta” in Italian and “gravata” in Greek.
The tie as we know it today was patented in New York in the early 1920s by tailor Jesse Langsdorf.
American actor Robert Downey Jr. attends the premiere of Iron Man at Warner Moderno cinema on April 23, 2008 in Rome, Italy.
Villa Elisabetta/Getty Images Europe
hide caption
toggle caption
Villa Elisabetta/Getty Images Europe
“Langsdorf created a revolution when we talk about ties. He designed it in such a way that it retains its [form] and not be soft like a pure silk scarf,” explains Igor Mladinović, co-founder of the Cravaticum museum in Zagreb, which houses among its exhibits a “bulletproof” tie made in Thailand and another sewn with the skin of a dead snake.
New patterns, colors and fabrics have defined its evolution, often reflecting new fashion trends and social and economic changes. This was especially true after World War II, when the invention of polyester fabric made ties more affordable to make and buy. The designs also became brighter and more colorful.
“The tie has changed in terms of material and pattern, but the way it is produced has remained unchanged over the last 100 years,” adds Mladinović.
Over the years, the tie has become a symbol of success, sophistication and status, but has also been criticized by some as a symbol of power, control and oppression. In this way it perhaps partly echoes some of the early 17th century origins of its ancestor, the cravat.
