Bur, Michel. Suger, abbé de Saint-Denis, régent de France. Paris: Perrin, 1991.
Cartellieri, Otto. Abt Suger von Saint-Denis, 1081–1151. Berlin: Ebering, 1898.
Gerson, Paula L., ed. Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis: A Symposium. New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 1986.
SUMPTUARY LAWS
. As in other countries, towns in France in the late Middle Ages enacted sumptuary
legislation—laws forbidding the wearing of excessively elegant clothing—largely in the
hopes of discouraging the blurring of social distinctions through elegant dressing by the
humbler classes (e.g., prostitutes), but also sometimes for moral and/or economic reasons.
As there is no synthesis to date dealing with this problem, the scholar must consult the
legislation of each town.
Leah L.Otis-Cour
[See also: CLOTHING, COSTUME, AND FASHION]
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1700