Fillet (clothing)

A fillet was originally worn in classical antiquity, especially in cultures of the Mediterranean, Levant and Persia, including Hellenic Culture. At that time, a fillet was a very narrow band of cloth, leather or some form of garland, and they were frequently worn by athletes. It was also worn as a sign of royalty and became symbolized in later ages as a metallic ring which was a stylized band of cloth.

Ancient Egyptian Crown from 17th Dynasty

Relief of Amenhotep III Wearing Fillet Crown

Procession of Officials from reign of Ramses III at Medinet Habu

Charioteer of Delphi, wearing a fillet headband, bronze statue (478-474 BCE).

Later, in medieval times, a fillet was a type of headband worn by unmarried women, in certain monkhoods, usually with a wimple. This is indicated in the sign language of said monks (who took oaths of silence), wherein a sweeping motion across the brow, in the shape of a fillet, indicated an unmarried woman.

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