The essay aims to analyse the sumptuary legislation which was the result of the legislative activity in the cities of Central-Northern Italy: it began at the end of the thirteenth century with a significant increase in later centuries. Initially, it was a disciplining of expenses mostly related to women’s clothing and accessories, aimed to all social classes. Later, the city governments introduced distinctions based on the socio-economic status of the citizens, creating a hierarchy that was functional for an effective municipal administration entrusted to lawyers, preachers and eminent citizens. Through a comprehensive historical and legal review, the text traces the evolution of regulations that, by imposing restrictions on clothing, ornaments, and expenditures, aimed to control ‘appearances’, to differentiate social strata, creating inevitable inequalities in urban contexts.
University of Perugia, Italy - ORCID: 0009-0007-5018-1195
Titolo del capitolo
Abiti e ornamenti come segni di distinzione/diseguaglianza sociale nella legislazione suntuaria cittadina del Medioevo
Autori
Maria Grazia Nico Ottaviani
Lingua
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0705-8.21
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2025
Copyright
© 2025 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Titolo del libro
Socio-Economic Inequalities during the Conjuncture of the Fourteenth Century
Sottotitolo del libro
Sources and Methods, Dynamics and Representations (Italy and Europe, c. 1270 - c. 1350)
Curatori
Davide Cristoferi
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
458
Anno di pubblicazione
2025
Copyright
© 2025 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0705-8
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0699-0
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0705-8
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0707-2
Collana
Reti Medievali E-Book
ISSN della collana
2704-6362
e-ISSN della collana
2704-6079