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    Sumptuary Laws - ( Good Grief !! )

    Kitkat
    Kitkat
    Kitkat

    • Post n°1

    :book: Sumptuary Laws - ( Good Grief !! )

    Post by Kitkat Tue 16 Jul 2019, 16:37

    From The Free Encyclopedia (Article of the Day)

    The sumptuary laws (from Latin sumptuāriae lēgēs) are laws that attempted to regulate consumption; Black's Law Dictionary defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures in the matter of apparel, food, furniture, etc."[1] Historically, they were laws that were intended to regulate and reinforce social hierarchies and morals through restrictions, often depending upon a person's social rank, on their permitted clothing, food, and luxury expenditures.

    Societies have used sumptuary laws for a variety of purposes. They were used as an attempt to regulate the balance of trade by limiting the market for expensive imported goods. They made it easy to identify social rank and privilege, and as such could be used for social discrimination.[2]

    The laws frequently prevented commoners from imitating the appearance of aristocrats and also could be used to stigmatize disfavored groups. In the Late Middle Ages, sumptuary laws in medieval cities were instituted as a way for the nobility to cap or limit the conspicuous consumption of the prosperous bourgeoisie. If bourgeois subjects appeared to be as wealthy or wealthier than the ruling nobility, it could undermine the nobility's presentation of themselves as powerful, legitimate rulers. This could call into question their ability to control and defend their fief, and inspire potential traitors and rebels. Such laws continued to be used for these purposes well into the 17th century.[2]

    readmore  https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Sumptuary+laws
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    Kitkat
    Kitkat
    Kitkat

    • Post n°2

    :book: Re: Sumptuary Laws - ( Good Grief !! )

    Post by Kitkat Fri 30 Aug 2019, 11:59

    More Sumptuary Laws ....

    Tyrian purple is a purple-red natural dye that was highly prized in the ancient world because it did not fade from weathering and sunlight but instead became brighter and more intense.  Excreted by the hypobranchial gland of certain molluscs of the genus Murex, Tyrian purple was expensive and a status symbol tightly controlled by sumptuary laws.  In Byzantium, it was restricted to colouring silks for imperial use.  How is the dye substance used by the sea snails that secrete it?  More ... (from The Free Encyclopedia)
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