CONSPICUOUS
CONSUMPTION? BRING BACK SUMPTUARY LAWS
A
Senate decree passed in Venice 1515 noted:
·
There is such gross
and unnecessary expenditure on meals and banquets, on the adornment of women,
and on the decoration of houses, that fortunes are squandered and a bad example
is set to those who seek to live modestly.
·
To
correct that trend, the Venetians passed laws to limit conspicuous consumption. at
WEDDING BANQUETS, for example, no more than three kinds of meat could be
served. Wild birds and animals, Indian
cocks and hens, and doves are strictly forbidden. Oysters may be served only at
private meals for up to twenty persons.
·
To
control personal adornment, women wanting to wear pearls must register them, declaring the number, weight and quality.
·
In
Florence anyone wanting to wear gold,
silver, pearls, precious stones..or cloth of silk brocade had to pay an
annual tax. Married women could wear two rings tax-free.
· The
rationale of sumptuary legislation in Florence: to restrain the barbarous and irrepressible bestiality of women who
force men to spend money on them. On
account of these unbearable expenses, men are avoiding matrimony.
I
think we need laws like that men aren’t force into unbearable expenses and
avoid dates, or maybe just to put brakes on NICK PATERAS, whose second date
went like this.
·
He
needed something to make the blood rush
to his heart. No, not falling in love. Something more exciting. So he and
date drove to the airport, where they sprinted from desk to desk to find a
flight to -- somewhere. They ended up spending the weekend in Port of Spain.
·
When
they got back, they looked at each other
in awe. Right. Isn’t conspicuous consumption an awesome thing?
·
Now
www.blog.westjet.com invites your comments. I suggest sentencing the couple to
40 hours of community service, but I doubt that’s what West Jet has in mind.
(Info on Renaissance sumptuary laws comes
from The Society of Renaissance Florence
and Venice: A Documentary History.)
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