After about 1550, the pompous law was reformed in China. It had been ineffective for a long time. [16] The consumption of luxury goods had increased in previous centuries, and by the time of the European Industrial Revolution, Chinese consumption of luxury goods such as tea, sugar, fine silk, tobacco, and kitchen utensils was comparable to that of major regions of Europe. [16] Sumptuary laws were also used to control the population by prohibiting the wearing of Indigenous clothing and hairstyles, as well as the prohibition of other cultural customs. Sir John Perrot, Lord Deputy of Ireland under Elizabeth I, banned the wearing of traditional woollen coats, “open coats” with “wide sleeves” and native headgear, and forced people to dress as English “civilians”. [53] In feudal Japan, pompous laws were enacted with a frequency and precision unmatched in the history of the Western world. In the early 11th century, for example, an imperial edict regulated the size of houses and imposed restrictions on the materials that could be used in their construction. During the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), lavish laws regulating the smallest details of personal life were enacted in a disconcerting abundance. Roman censors had a duty to control morality and extravagance in personal and political spending.
[10] The censors published details of the crimes in the nota censoria, which listed the names of all those convicted of a luxurious lifestyle; A very large number of such cases are registered. Towards the end of the Roman Republic, laws were passed against the political corruption of Roman magistrates, forbidding their participation in banquets of candidates or their agents. [11] During the period of transition from republic to empire, such antisumptuary laws, which may still exist, were virtually ignored by most. In the period of sumptuous luxury that marked the heyday of the Roman Empire, the laws governing the wearing of Tyrian purple were rigorously enforced. The violation of this prohibition was treason, i.e. punishable by death. [12] In England, which was typical of Europe in this regard, from the reign of Edward III in the Middle Ages until the 17th century,[2] pompous laws dictated what color and type of clothing, furs, fabrics and trimmings were allowed to people of different ranks or incomes. In the case of clothing, this was intended, among other things, to reduce spending on foreign textiles and to ensure that people did not dress “above their position”: in the early 17th century. In the nineteenth century, lavish laws were repealed, but new protectionist laws were enacted, prohibiting the purchase of foreign silk and lace. [42] The prohibitions were related to rank and income and continued to be largely ignored. This attracted the anger of the noble classes, who saw it as an affront that the peasants could wear the same clothes as them.
Thus, while the clergy directed their laws to the wealthy elite, the nobility directed their laws to the lower classes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the merchant class became increasingly powerful as its wealth began to surpass that of the ruling shoguns. As a result, the merchant class began to wield considerable power, which it used to take advantage of changes to the lavish laws that bound it. A good example of this is the concession of the shogunate, which allowed merchants to carry swords. Corporations have used lavish laws for a variety of purposes. They have been used to regulate the trade balance by restricting the market for expensive imported goods. They facilitated the identification of social rank and privilege and, as such, could be used for social discrimination. [2] They could also be used to prevent or at least reduce opportunities for political corruption. This blog is subject to the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything you post.
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The oldest laws of Rome, the laws of the twelve tables, forbade extravagant expenses at funerals. These included pouring wine over ashes during cremations (which, however, seems to have been an immutable practice), the use of smooth wood at the stake, and “excessive” mourning. [13] In times of economic upheaval (such as the years during and after the Black Death), the lower classes sometimes became able to buy more expensive clothes and fabrics.