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blemeninEngland.AtthattimeEdwardStafford,DukeofBuckingham37wasthe
onlyEnglishduke.Thenumberofbaronsdidnotexceedthirty,andtherewereno
morethantenearls.WhenHenrydiedin1547therewerefifty-onenoblemen,that
istenmorethanathisaccession.38DuringthereignofHenryVIII,peersattempt-
edtoconsolidateandsecuretheirposition.Theydeclaredthemselves“ennobled
inblood,”andsuggestedthatnopeeragecouldbeextinguishedexceptbyanAct
ofParliament,upontheextinctionofallheirstoit,oruponforfeiturefortreasonor
felony.Thegrowingsenseofidentityamongthepeeragewasreflectedandenhanced
byagrowthofceremonialwhichemphasisedtheirpersonalstatus.Peersweredis-
tinguishedfromeachotherandtherestofsocietybyhavingcertainprivileges,for
instance,thewearingofspecificclothes,havingaspecificnumberofdishesorbeing
assignedtoamess.
Thesumptuarylegislation39wassetouttoregulatetheconspicuousconsumptionof
individualsduetotheirpositioninsociety,especiallybymeansofpersonalclothing.
InthefourteenthcenturyParliamentinvesteddukeswithcoronets,capsandgowns.
Bytheendofthatcenturyscarletrobeshadcomeintoexistencewiththreebandsof
furfordukesandearlsandtwoforbarons.Thedukeswerepromotedtofourbands
offurinthefifteenthcentury.InEngland,asinothercountries,SumptuaryLaws
dictatedwhatcolourandtypeofclothing,furs,fabrics,andtrimswereallowedto
37
EdwardStafford,thethirdDukeofBuckingham(14781521)wasthesonofthesecondDuke
ofBuckinghamandtheformerLadyCatherineWoodville,daughterofthefirstEarlRiversand
sister-in-lawofKingEdwardIV.OnEdwardStaffordseeB.J.Harris,EdwardStafford,Third
DukeofBuckingham,1478–1521(Stanford,California,1986),esp.pp.45–75.
38
HenryVIIIshowedhimselfwillingtomakepeers,withnoneofthereluctanceexhibitedbyhis
daughterElizabethaswellasbyhisfather.Ofthethirty-fourbarons,sixteenweremenennobled
andonemanrestoredtothepeeragebyHenryVIIIhimself.Oftheseventeenpeersoftherank
ofviscountandabove,onlysixwerenotennobledbyHenry.J.H.Round,StudiesinPeerage
andFamilyHistory(London,1901),pp.330–366.
39
ThefirstEnglishSumptuaryLawsorActsofApparelwerepassedduringthereignofEdwardIII
(1327–1377)andprovidedthefirstnationalsumptuarylegislationonrecord.Statuteswere
passedbyParliamentin1336,1337,1363,1463and1483.SixSumptuaryActswerepassed
between1483and1539,andfortherestofthecenturyfrequentroyalproclamationsreinforced
thelegislation.In1517,HenryVIIIissuedaroyalproclamationwhichregulatedthenumber
andcompositionofdishessuitableforanumberofimportant“personsspiritualandtemporal.”
Atthetopofthehierarchywas“acardinal”whomighthave“ninedishesathisownmessatone
meal.”Archbishopsanddukeswereallowedseven.Thesamenumberofdisheswasalsoallowed
tomarquesses,earls,andbishops.SixcourseswereassignedforalordofParliamentandthree
foracitizenwithayearlyincomeof£500.ForviolatingtheEnglishSumptuaryLawsharshpen-
altiescouldbeimposedfromfinesthroughthelossofpropertyortitletodeath.TudorRoyal
Proclamations1(TheEarlyTudors[1485–1553]),ed.P.L.HughesandJ.E.Larkin(New
HavenandLondon,1964),81,pp.128–129.SeealsoF.E.Baldwin,SumptuaryLegislation
andPersonalRegulationinEngland(Baltimore,1926),p.167.
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