ABSTRACT
Perhaps few other women were looked at so intently by Byzantine men as were the brides of 1420. This chapter examines the variants, and suggests questions that might be considered, even if they prove ultimately unanswerable. For example, to what extent was what these men saw and said influenced by the fact that Sophia of Montferrat and Cleofe Malatesta of Pesaro were not Greek; As Italian women of the early Renaissance, they brought with them manners and dress quite different from those expected of upper-class Greek women. These women were so visible because they were so differently dressed, and their dress made more of them visible than Greek dress would have. In the simplest distinction of dress, Byzantine dress concealed as much as possible of a woman's hair, neck, and shape, while Italian dress bared the neck, emphasised the bosom, and favoured ornate, up-swept hair.
