Research confirms inadequacy of codpieces in TV version of Wolf Hall

Cambridge conference hears proud history of 16th-century phallic accessories – and is told adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels belittled its heroes’ prowess

• The rise and fall of the codpiece - in pictures

The codpieces in the adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall are “definitely too small”, according to a Cambridge academic who has been researching the 16th-century accessory through the literature and paintings of its time.

Victoria Miller, who is due to give a paper on codpieces at a Cambridge University conference on 30 April, concurred with actor Mark Rylance, who plays Thomas Cromwell in the adaptation and who said late last year: “I think the codpieces are just too small. I think that was a directive from our American producers, PBS. They wanted smaller codpieces.”

Related: The rise and fall of the codpiece - in pictures

Continue reading...