Welcome to the first “TANGENT DU JOUR” post: fairly regular pieces of rapid but rigorous online research on random topics, to produce Top Ten Internet Hits on said topic.
I do like a nice codpiece. They have been somewhat lacking of late. That is, over the last couple of hundred years or so. Is this something else to blame on those Dreadful Victorians?
Were the codpiece to regain its dominance, would the world be a better place? Had it not disappeared from view, would — but no, alas, The Facts of Medieval and Early Modern history prevent any reasonable connection between The ‘Piece and halcyon harmony.
Be that as it may. What with assorted padded garments and undergarments around for women, this prejudice in fashion seems hardly fair. I was therefore heartened and delighted to note that there is such a thing as the Bring Back the Codpiece Campaign. And that NASA deems it a vital part of spacesuits. And now for the Top Ten Pieces of Codpiecery Online proper:
Beth Marie Kosir, c/o The Richard III Society, American Branch
The Hendricks’ Codpiece History
There’s a blog called Codpiece Hagiography (albeit sort of dormant currently)
Purple Unicorn: proud purveyors of our delectable item
A page dedicated to that great eponymous Vertigo Comics villain
And one to the Grand Codpiece of Retaining
New words to the tune of Greensleeves …
… and a useful and instructive video on emergency codpiece substitutes.
Juliet O’Brien 
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