Dress According to Statute. 175 



schortnes, and for his straungeness and disgisines, and for the 

 superfluite, or for the inordinat skantnes of it; alias ! many 

 man may sen as in oure dayes, the synfal costlewe array of 

 clothings and namely in to moche superfluite, or elles in to 

 disordinat skantnes. 



" As to the firste synne in superfluity of clothing, which 

 that makid is so dere, to harm of the poeple, not oonly the 

 cost of embrowding, the guyse endentyng or barring, swan- 

 dyng, palyng, or bendying, and semblable wast of cloth in 

 vanite ; and ther is also costlewe furring in here gounes, so 

 mochil pounsying of chiseles to make holes, so moche diggyng 

 of scheirs, for with the superfluite in lengthe of the foresaide 

 gounes, traylinge in the donge and in the myre, on hors and 

 eek on foote, as wel of man as of womman, that al thilbe tray- 

 ling is verraily (as in effect) wasted, consumed, thredbare, and 

 rotyn with donge, rather than it is geven to the pore, to gret 



damage of the forsaide pore folk, and that in sondry wise 



To speke of the horrible disordinat scantnes of clothing as ben 

 these cuttid sloppis or anslets, that thurgh her schortnes ne 

 covereth not the schamful membre of man, to wicked intent." 



It seems that the tightly-fitting dress was considered to be 

 very wicked ; the same was thought of a practice in vogue, by 

 which the clothing of the body was party-coloured, being half 

 of it red and the other blue, or of any other colours. The 

 ' c Persone" is not less severe with women than with men : 

 cc Now, as of the outrageous array of wommen, Grod wot, that 

 though the visage of some of hem seme ful chaste and debo- 

 naire, yit notifye they in here array of attyre, licorousnesse 

 and pride." 



An anonymous writer on the corruption of public manners 

 in the reign of Henry VI., begins his poem by an address to 



" Ye prowd galontfces hertlesse, 

 With your hyghe cappis witlesse, 

 And your schort gounys thriftlesse, 

 Have brought this londe in gret hevynesse. 



" With youe longe peted schone, 

 Therefir your thrifte is almost don, 

 And with your long here into your eyen (eyes), 

 Han brought this land to gret pyne." 



Though these attacks were made from time to time on the 

 extravagance and folly of the day, no legislative action was 

 taken for a hundred years after the passing of the first sump- 

 tuary law. From the pulpit the clergy denounced those 

 habits which they believed would call down the wrath of God 

 upon the land, and less extensively, by means of written books, 

 they warned the people ; but the law already in the statute- 



