Sumptuary law

Sumptuary laws (from the Latin sumtuariae leges) are laws which dictated, amongst other things, what color and type of clothing individuals were allowed to own and wear. This was an easy way to identify rank and privilege. They were usually used for social discrimination.

Related Topics:
Law - Clothing - Rank - Privilege - Discrimination

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Examples of sumptuary laws:

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• In ancient Rome, the Sumtuariae Leges were various laws passed to prevent inordinate expense (sumtus) in banquets, dress. It was considered the duty of government to put a check upon extravagance in the private expenses of persons, and among the Romans in particular we find traces of this in the laws attributed to the kings and in the Twelve Tables. The censors, to whom was entrusted the disciplina or cura morum, punished by the nota censoria all persons guilty of what was then regarded as a luxurious mode of living: a great many instances of this kind are recorded. But as the love of luxury greatly increased with the foreign conquests of the republic and the growing wealth of the nations, various Leges Sumtuariae were passed at different times with the object of restraining it. These however, as may be supposed, rarely accomplished their object, and in the latter times of the republic they were virtually repealed.
• During the Tokugawa period in Japan, burakumin were required to live in special buraku and, like the rest of the population, were bound by sumptuary laws based on the inheritance of social class.
• During the Middle Ages in England, Sumptuary Law dictated what color and type of clothing as well as the types and breeds of dogs that individuals were allowed to own. This was an easy method to distinguish rank and privilege. Individuals who were not part of the Royalty could not wear the Royal Purple without fear of death.
• In Renaissance Europe, courtesans were sometimes limited in their apparel by various sumptuary laws and were restricted in where they could appear at social functions.

Vestiges of sumptuary laws have survived into the modern era; see dress codes, sin taxes.

Related Topics:
Dress codes - Sin taxes

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See also: Law, Discrimination

Related Topics:
Law - Discrimination

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Sumptuary law: List of Sumptuariarum Legum ►