“There is no hidden codpiece memo.” So says Colin Callender, executive producer of the forthcoming BBC Two drama series Wolf Hall, denying claims that the size of his stars’ codpieces were reduced beyond the point of historical accuracy to avoid offending or baffling an American audience.
Actor Damian Lewis did indeed describe the black velvet codpiece that came with his costume as Henry VIII as a “little dinky one”, but it was Mark Rylance, playing Thomas Cromwell, who provided a possible reason, claiming that “modern audiences, perhaps more in America” might “not know exactly what’s going on down there”.
So what exactly is this controversial garment? The codpiece is buttoned or tied with strings to a man’s breeches. It takes its name from the