Sumptuary Laws
- Entry
- Reader's Guide
- Entries A-Z
- Subject Index
-
The laws that, since medieval times, were created to limit the consumption of specific commodities were called sumptuary laws. These laws were mostly used to regulate the consumption of clothes. In many cases, and especially in the Middle Ages, they also included precise limits on how much people of different social classes could legitimately spend on ceremonies, especially important family rituals such as weddings and funerals. A second feature of the sumptuary laws was that they regulated not all types of consumption, but only those that were deemed to be excessive or superfluous (“sumptuous”) or not suitable to the social status of the consumer: their overall aim was to curb and control any manifestations of excess.
It might appear strange to us that for centuries ...
-
-
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- Z
-
164863- Loading...
Similar content on SAGE Knowledge
Loading content...Also from SAGE Publishing
- CQ Library American political resources opens in new tab
- Data Planet A universe of data opens in new tab
- Lean Library Increase the visibility of your library opens in new tab
- SAGE Journals World-class research journals opens in new tab
- SAGE Research Methods The ultimate methods library opens in new tab
- SAGE Stats Data on demand opens in new tab