Chapter 3 2. The devil in striped clothes-2

striped fabric, bad fabric Why such a ban?Why not trust Stripe?Why is there a stigma attached to people who wear stripes? Some scholars in the 19th century believed that the robes of the Carmelite monks felt like oriental robes, Muslim robes, like the striped hooded robes that can still be seen in Islamic countries today.Christians are notorious for wearing robes that look like non-Christians, and decades ago, King Frederick II pissed off all Christians by living and dressing like "Saracens" in his palace in Palermo ?Furthermore, from the 18th century onwards, the Carmelites themselves sometimes explained that their "hateful robes" in the past were imposed on them by the Muslim authorities in Syria, who forbade Christians to wear white because according to the teachings of the Qur'an , white is a symbol of nobility and excellence [10].The almost positivist historical account may not be entirely wrong, but it is not complete.This explanation is limited to the aspect of simple racial or religious signs, but in fact there are deeper cultural issues involved.

In fact, the case of the Carmelite monks is not an isolated case.In the west, other groups, other individuals have also suffered because of striped clothing.Therefore, the origin and origin of the Carmelite robes are not important.Important and with a history all its own: whether stripes appear on the clothes of believers or the robes of charlatans, the tight trousers of crown princes, the sleeves of prostitutes, even the walls of classrooms or the fur of animals People stay away or talk about it. Now let us look at the situation in the field of clothing.From the end of the Carolingian period onwards, the sources emphasizing the discriminatory character of the stripes are abundant, and indeed, in this regard, the material concerning the Carmelites in the second half of the thirteenth century is the richest, but, from earlier (or A few words from the later) article can be seen: how unseemly it was to wear striped clothing in the medieval West.

The first was the repeated decree of the Diocesan Synod, the Diocesan Synod, and the Synod, forbidding priests to wear two-coloured garments, whether half-coloured (vestes partitae), striped (vestes virgatae), or checkered (vestes scacatae). ). This prohibition was reiterated again in 1311 at the Synod of Vienna, which established many rules for dress. [11] But the constant repetition only proves that the prohibition was not observed, although in many dioceses violators suffered greatly.For example, in Rouen in 1310, a cobbler named Colin Doryhill, said to be a priest, was sentenced to death because of his marriage and "being caught wearing a striped garment" [12].Throughout the monastic community, war on the stripes has since been waged.Especially brightly colored stripes, such as red, green or yellow, give it a gaudy look.In the eyes of those prelates who make laws, there is nothing more indecent than such stripes [13].

Second, the customs, laws and regulations of secular societies mandate that certain categories of socially excluded and God-forsaken persons must wear two-color or striped clothing.In the first half of the Middle Ages, Germanic dress codes and the famous Saxon Spiegel (a collection of Saxon law compiled between 1220 and 1235) such clothing was imposed or reserved for illegitimate children, serfs and prisoners[14].Likewise, in the restrictive luxury laws and dress codes that prevailed in southern European cities at the end of the Middle Ages, sometimes prostitutes, sometimes charlatans and jesters, sometimes executioners, were required to wear striped clothing: for prostitutes, shawls, long skirts or sash, the trousers or hood of the executioner, the tunic or bonnet of the charlatan and clown, in order to impose an intuitive symbol to distinguish them from decent people confused.Moreover, mainly in German cities, similar regulations were directed against lepers, invalids, "Bohemians", pagans, and sometimes, but less often, Jews and all non-Christians [ 15].

The role of these restrictive luxury and dress laws—to be argued by historians[16]—is of course ethical and economic, but also and above all ideological and social: it involves differentiation by clothing, everyone Clothes should be appropriate to their gender, identity and status.In such a discriminatory system, stripes seem to be the most distinctive mark, the most striking and prominent to emphasize the disruption of the social order (in one name or another).It is not a shape, such as the gold or silver circles, stars, or circles of metal sometimes worn by Jews and Muslims, but a structure.In the sensory and symbolic systems of medieval people, structure almost always took precedence over shape and color.Stripes, whatever their shape and color, are more prominent—and therefore more “effective”—than yellow pointed hats or “halved” tinsel. [17]

Finally, a third category of evidence is provided by literature, where villains or villains are often marked or donned in striped clothing.The Latin literature of the Carolingian era has proved the application of this method, but its development is mainly reflected in the articles, martial arts songs and especially erotic novels written in popular language in the 12th and 13th centuries.Unfaithful knights, usurping stewards, adulterous women, disobedient sons, treacherous brothers, murderous dwarfs, greedy servants, all may have stripes on their collars or clothing.Stripes appeared on their collar patches, banners, armor, saddles or just on their tunics, tunics, slacks, and headdresses[18].They are people with slashes on their bodies. As long as the slashes are mentioned, readers will know what kind of person they are.These infidels, portrayed in literature from the mid-13th century onwards, resemble a series of famous traitors and social outcasts who have long been portrayed in striped garments in portraiture.