With men performing physical daily tasks glimpses of the male sexual organs became commonplace and a general outcry prompted Edward IV in 1482 to introduce legislation. The law, which forbade persons below the rank of lord to expose their private ‘sinful’ parts by wearing short doublets, was at first ignored as sewing the hose together would make necessary front access almost impossible. Later, the first three-cornered fabric codpieces – cod meaning ‘scrotum’ or ‘bag’ in Middle English – were tied or partially stitched over the gap in the front of the hose.
