Fringes, threads and partings, passementerie and weaving in the Florentine clothes in the 14th century

The Florentine State Archives preserve traces of the Florentine sumptuary law of 1343 (a document no longer extant) in the form of a long and detailed list of over 7000 items of clothing which were subject to government taxation. Using this precious text for the history of costume, the author proposes to explore a particular type of ornament ribbon - which, from the second half of the thirteenth century began to be severely prohibited by communal legislation. Deriving from Byzantium, ribbons which border the hem, neckline, sleeves or are placed at shoulder or waist level had adorned clothing of the Middle Ages as well as provided decoration for ecclesiastical garments (in the latter case the ribbon was called a freggia). Lexical analysis of the description of approximately 120 items of clothing allows the author to clarify various types of ornament, sewing and cloth - the materials used for making fourteenth century Florentine women's clothing more precious.