Sumptuary Laws
laws intended to repress extravagance, especially in eating and drinking, and in dress. They were common in ancient times, and also SUMPTUARY LAWS assed appear in the old statute books of most modern nations. They were more frequently enacted in ancient Rome than in Greece. After the Twelve Tables, the first Roman sumptuary law was the Lex Oppia (215 B. c.), directed exclusively against female extravagance in dress, jewelry, etc. The other Roman laws of this kind were nearly all designed to suppress extravagance in entertainment.
The Lex Julia (Julian Law), the last sumptuary law, was passed in the reign of Augustus. Sumptuary laws were revived by Charlemagne, and in France various laws and decrees of a similar nature were passed down to the reign of Louis XV. In England these laws were passed from the reign of Edward III. down to the time of the Reformation.
Most of them were repealed by an act of James I., but they were not all expunged from the statute book till 1856. Sumptuary laws were also passed by the ancient Scotch legislature, but they were all repealed, evaded, or neglected. As late as 1883 in Montenegro strong laws were passed against gloves, umbrellas, and non national costumes. Neither in England, Scotland, nor France do sumptuary laws appear to have been practically observed to any great extent. During the World War nearly all the countries engaged enacted sumptuary laws of some description. The most drastic of these were aimed at the liquor traffic. Russia put absolute prohibition into effect, and other countries greatly restricted the manufacture and consumption of liquors. The most remarkable sumptuary legislation put into effect was the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, forbidding the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. See PROHIBITION.