A little article on the history of the codpiece…

… I wrote for a newspaper this week. Hope you enjoy!

‘There is no hiddencodpiecememo.’

So says Colin Callendar, executive producer of the upcoming BBC Two drama seriesWolf Hall,denying claims that the size of his stars’codpieceswere reduced beyond the point of historical accuracy to avoid offending or baffling an American audience.

Actor Damian Lewis did indeed describe the black velvetcodpiecethat came with his costume as Henry VIII as a ‘little dinky one.’ But it was Mark Rylance, playing T...