When
Charles the Fifth entered Antwerp, the most beautiful maidens of
the city danced before him, in nothing but gauze, and were
closely contemplated by Duerer, as he told his friend, Melancthon.
(B. Ritter, "Nuditaeten im Mittelalter," _Jahrbuecher fuer
Wissenschaft und Kunst_, 1855, p. 227; this writer shows how
luxury, fashion, poverty, and certain festivals, all combined to
make nudity familiar; cf. Fahne, _Der Carneval_, p. 249. Dulaure
quotes many old writers concerning the important part played by
nude persons in ancient festivals, _Des Divinites Generatrices_,
Chapter XIV.)
Passek, a Polish officer who wrote an account of his campaigns,
admired the ladies of Denmark in 1658, but considered their
customs immodest. "Everyone sleeps naked as at birth, and none
consider it shameful to dress or undress before others. No
notice, even, is taken of the guest, and in the light one garment
is taken off after another, even the chemise is hung on the hook.
Then the door is bolted, the light blown out, and one goes to
bed. As we blamed their ways, saying that among us a woman would
not act so, even in the presence of her husband alone, they
replied that they knew nothing of such shame, and that there was
no need to be ashamed of limbs which God had created. Moreover,
to sleep without a shift was good, because, like the other
garments, it sufficiently served the body during the day.
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