Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries
Te method that has made this synthesis possible is rather unorthodox. At least a dozen disciplines contribute to our acquaintance with expressions of high status. It was therefore necessary not to dig furrows in one and only one chosen feld (say sociology), but to follow various paths. I should immediately point out that the intention was, of course, not to substitute myself for researchers working in this or that sector. It is nevertheless crucial for the comparativist to take into consideration all available knowledge, whatever its origin.
Most likely, many of the brief surveys that will be given here concerning certain aspects, societies or periods will appear succinct to specialists. However, the distance imparted by a broad perspective, encompassing numerous contexts from the Neolithic period to the contemporary world, as well as a wide range of key manifestations of social distinction, begets a wholly diferent sort of competence. When combined with a sound command of all existing theorisations, it allows one to point out the approximations of various conceptual borrowings and to suggest parallels likely to be ignored by experts confned to their narrow felds of research. Indeed, quite often, it turns out that some authors are unaware of the analyses of adjacent disciplines and make pseudo-discoveries.
With that clarifcation, let me now review the main disciplines on which my comparisons are based. Especially in the case of very ancient settings, archaeological discussions are far from being secondary. Tis activity, originally conducted by amateurs who favoured an empirical and rather classifcatory approach used to disdain abstract formalisations. Later, to a certain extent, it was to draw inspiration from ethnology when it came to interpretation. Today it fully takes part in the fundamental debates stirring up the social sciences. Archaeology is important because of the priority it gives to the study of prestige goods (often the only ones whose remains are preserved) in relation to the advent of ‘complex’ societies resulting from a process of institutionalisation of inequalities.3
In view of their keenness to understand non-Western cultures and the relativism this induces, ethnological perspectives valuably widen our horizons. Admittedly, when anthropology (then a more appropriate
designation) pretends to identify so-called ‘structural invariants’, it commands much less adhesion. Fortunately, however, the majority of feld researchers interested in status and ascendancy give due weight to local meanings.4
History will necessarily occupy a primordial place in the chapters that follow; especially the type which helps us to realise how societies of the past are, as is sometimes said, ‘like faraway countries’ with their deeply unfamiliar mentalities. In this discipline, crucially guarding us against anachronism, a number of specialisations (such as cultural history, history of the body, and so forth) prove most relevant when it comes to tracing dynamics and even full reversals. Tat being said, apart from a few monographs and edited volumes treating of the subject, most expressions of social superiority have to be found in books that deal with them only in passing. Te gathering here is akin to a patient search for signifcant elements.
We will see that art history can also be very instructive. Wavering between purely aesthetic perspectives that seek to defne styles and others that apprehend art as a mirror of society, the discipline appears to be particularly fruitful when it deciphers the modalities of elitist staging. Te meticulous studies of portraits (clothing choices, as well as distinguished poses and accessories) allow us to grasp the reasons for many conventions, both in and of themselves, and within representations.
Sociology could justifably be considered a mainstay. However, while its empirical contribution is undeniable, the science of society has been mainly concerned with theorising. Surveys of distinction have tended to be conducted in a deductive way, based on rigid frameworks. Given the rivalries between schools of thought, it is often more a matter of defending one’s favourite theoretical apparatus in the face of competing views than of discovering original dimensions with no preconceived ideas. In this respect, many interpretations that should be hypothetical turn out to be presuppositions. In addition, one witnesses a strong propensity for intellectualism, with investigators increasingly adopting militant postures and reducing most occurrences to explanatory factors pertaining to narrow ‘sociologism’.5 Nonetheless, lots of feld researches abound with stimulating remarks and even in those books where the selected points
have an excessively demonstrative function, noteworthy manifestations of distinction are sometimes described.
Sociological contributions must be supplemented by those of related disciplines. Tus, some socio-economic readings on consumption and marketing prove very useful. Te same is true in socio-linguistics, as we shall see. Psycho-sociology, a branch that focuses on interactions between individuals or small groups, is full of sophisticated analyses that question, for instance, the emulating or destabilising efects of confrontations with people who are more or less well of than oneself. Authors at the junction of geography and sociology also produce works that enrich our understanding of the relationship to space and mobility, among others, all the more so when they are sensitive to cultural aspects. Ten, bearing in mind that parallels with animal behaviour certainly have their limits, some lessons can be drawn from ethology, especially regarding indicators of primacy meant to reiterate hierarchies. Neither should one forget the political science writings examining the vectors of supremacy of those elites that can be defned as political (my other main subject).
Finally, I have not hesitated to draw on fctional works and relevant studies by researchers in literature.6 Many codes of distinction are depicted therein, at times with great discernment. Some novels also revive vanished gestures. Of course, one should approach this type of text with the necessary precautions. It is indeed possible that stylistic constraints alter what is described (a phenomenon well known, for instance, in medieval manuscripts), or that the writer tends to invent and exaggerate. When reading novels teeming with notations on precious objects, ornaments and dazzling ceremonies, one sometimes wonders whether they should be regarded as a credible account of the universe in question, or as a satire? Anyway, it would be wrong to ignore the literary corpus.7
Interpretations
Most of the classical thinkers of social distinction managed to construct their models after much efort of abstraction. Te more abstract the analytical schemes, the more applicable they seem to be to all kinds of cases. On the other hand, when one takes a multitude of empirical studies (with
J.-P. Daloz
their wealth of detail) into consideration, the mass of information gathered may look quite difcult to reconcile with theorising. However, it is possible to reason in a diferent way: not yielding to an almost obsessive quest for features and laws assumed to be permanent (in imitation of the ‘hard’ sciences), but aiming to identify all sorts of confgurations following a perspective much more respectful of the cultural diversity of human societies.
Tis is why what is going to be presented here difers from normative (admirative or condemnatory) essays depicting in a trivial fashion the lifestyle of ‘the rich’, as well as from the illusions of theoretical constructions with universalist pretensions. Tis does not mean giving up analytical ambitions. It means that any serious examination of social distinction can help bring to light a multiplicity of dissimilar scenarios. To be sure, in the chapters to come, we will encounter some trans-cultural and transhistorical patterns, for example in relation to the uses of verticality or distance. Nevertheless, I will also have the opportunity to point out many antithetical logics: eminence being based on extreme visibility or invisibility, playing on quality or quantity, antiquity or novelty, isolation or entourage, ostensible comfort or ascetism, and so on.
What such an approach calls for is a method that gives a lot of importance to the meaning that social actors attach to their representations and practices. Tis is a type of ‘scientifcity’ aimed not at abstract generalisation but at the interpretation of what makes sense (or not) to them. To return to one of the illustrations provided earlier, the excess fabric of the trains may certainly be viewed as an assertion of opulence in some contexts. However, a dress sweeping the ground may depreciate the person wearing it in others. When I come to the issues of ‘elitist hindrances’ (possibly compensated by the intercession of servants), ‘noble domesticity’, precedence, and disputes over who was supposed to hold the ‘tails’ of the ladies at the top of the status pyramid, we will see that the subject can be even more complex.
Here I join the ‘interpretativist’ tradition advocated by Cliford Geertz in continuation of Max Weber’s ‘comprehensive’ method.8 It encourages us to truly penetrate the universes of meaning, as I will do throughout. Tis book is composed of seventeen thematic chapters which will, of course, bring out broad outlines, somewhat counterbalanced by the fact
that multiple cultural disparities will be taken into account. Tese chapters are divided into four parts: a frst one devoted to external signs; a second one to embodied signs of distinction; a third one to vicarious display; and a fnal one to status-related interactions. Each will be preceded by an introduction on, respectively, the properties of prestige goods, the internalisation of superiority, the use of the entourage, and the study of direct confrontations. While it is clarifying to isolate symbolic facets in this way, they obviously often intersect.
Let me add that despite the unprecedented scale and scope of this attempt at synthesis, there is no aspiration for exhaustiveness here. Te intention is above all to present signifcant aspects of how distinction operates in various contexts.
Notes
1. One thinks of the order ‘Look at me when I am talking to you!’.
2. T. Veblen, Te Teory of the Leisure Class, New York, Dover Publications, 1994 [1899].
3. To take an illustration from a recent book, when an archaeologist examining small, enamelled iron-age pins concludes that, due to their reduced size, they could not have held clothes but that their shiny side was likely to attract attention, it enriches my comparisons around the utilitarian/ symbolic dimensions of external signs of distinction. S. Adams, ‘Personal Object and Personal Identity in the Iron Age: Te Case of the Earliest Brooches’, in T. F. Martin & R. Weetch (eds), Dress and Society: Contributions from Archaeology, Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2017.
4. Explaining, for example, how marks of dignity among Polynesians are incomprehensible if the essential categories of mana and taboo are not included.
5. In this respect, Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, reducing perceptions and attitudes to class positions alone, is symptomatic. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, London: Routledge, 1984 [original version in French 1979]. Tis makes sociology the key discipline, but at the price of erasing intercultural diferences.
6. From articles on clothing as a status indicator in Turgenev to the symbolism of cars in Steinbeck, for example. I will come back to this.
J.-P. Daloz
7. Regarding relationships between sociologists and novelists, an extraordinary episode was that of the rivalry between one of the pioneers of feld research on social stratifcation in the United States, W. Lloyd Warner (coordinator of huge investigations, notably in the town of Newburyport) and J.P. Marquand, a famous novelist (Pulitzer Prize winner) from the selfsame Massachusetts town. Te writer claimed to understand the families of the local elite much better than did the social scientist who is bluntly portrayed in one of his fctions (Point of No Return, Boston: Little Brown and C°, 1949).
8. C. Geertz, Te Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, New York: Basic Books, 1973.
Part I
External Signs
On Prestige Goods
Of all the markers of social eminence, the possession of valuable material goods is probably the one that comes to mind frst. Whether as indicators of refnement, reliability, comfort, or in view of their highly desirable rarity, these outward attributes often represent the most noticeable signals of elevated status. Rich in diversity, they ofer an excellent introduction indeed to the complexities and multifaceted logics of distinction. Philosophical writings about the perpetual question of luxury in relation to the ‘real needs’ of Man set aside,1 it is to ethnology that we owe the seminal refections on the subject. Taking their feld observations as a starting point, some investigators have sought to establish lists of the most valued items. Tis has led to the hypothesis of a ‘subsistence goods/ prestige goods’ dichotomy: the latter being mainly used to adorn dignitaries, for rituals, or as bargaining chips. However, such a divide was quickly criticised because the boundary between the two categories was far from clear in many of the communities studied. Te same applies to ‘modern’ societies, especially in times of rapid growth. Historians have pointed out that some consumer goods once considered totally inaccessible to the majority of a population could be taken for granted one or two generations later. Interest in such approaches was revived in the
1970s, again primarily thanks to anthropologists, but also archaeologists and prehistorians, all trying to understand the role that the accumulation of highly coveted items had probably played in the development of hierarchical social structures. ‘Economy of prestige goods’ models, heavily infuenced by Marxist theories, were developed. Tey consider in which ways the monopolisation of certain raw materials, value added through processing work, ostentatious exhibition of the objects produced, and strategic barter with more or less remote communities, may have supported the emergence of inegalitarian systems.
Such a materialistic reading was to be widely challenged by cultural anthropology. Pointing to serious risks of reductionism, the tenants of this latter vein of thought aim to give the importance they deserve to the logics of meaning surrounding prestigious goods.2 Tis leads us to view them from many diferent angles, whether they are ‘pure signs’ or useful artefacts, indivisible or divisible, etc. Following this kind of multidimensional reading, what I am going to propose here, as a preliminary, is a tentative inventory of the properties liable to contribute to social distinction.
Let us start with some inherent dimensions. Prestige goods may be ephemeral or eminently durable, the transience of some resulting from their perishable nature. Fresh fowers constantly renewed in palaces or luxury hotels are a good illustration of a distinctive sign that plays on this criterion.3 We may also think of perfume that must be continually reapplied to the skin. Frequently, ephemerality is related to the fact that the good disappears as soon as it is consumed, the most obvious examples being, of course, food and drink (which may, however, be kept for a longer or shorter time before being ingested). A third form of limited durability concerns rental. If an individual rents a Lamborghini as well as a room at the Burj al-Arab in Dubai, these will indeed remain afterwards, but others will be enjoying them. Tis is a theme quite amenable to receiving sociological treatment.4 Finally, some objects are destined to be used only once (the wedding dress in many cultural contexts), or to be considered debasing because they are out of fashion, which corresponds to yet another scenario. Conversely, there are goods that are passed on from generation to generation, resulting in a kind of eternally renewed
posterity. Here, we enter the realm of distinction through ‘patina’, with venerable wear and tear contributing to status.
Tis brings me to a second sub-theme which is relatively similar: that of solidity versus fragility, both of which can have a distinctive character. Te subject matter is more complex than it might seem, with some robust-like goods being quite vulnerable (to fre, damage, etc.), taking into account their composition or exposure. Tirdly, it is important to think in terms of heavy versus light objects. What is massive and imposing is certainly likely to impress, but it may also prove cumbersome, difcult to move or even impossible to transport. Tese aspects are worthy of interest in that they open up a whole feld of refection on fexibility. Light and small goods have their advantages (in case of a hasty departure, it is preferable to have jewellery than ingots). Tis raises a fnal point, again with regard to inherent properties. Even though some artifacts made of precious materials may have been admirably crafted, the question is whether the attraction to them is frst and foremost related to their components. A beautiful crystal vase, if it breaks, is worthless. On the other hand, it is well known that, in the past, silverware could be melted down to fnance military campaigns. Tis kind of duality leads to two potential types of distinction: one that is primarily sensitive to substance, and the second to other assessment logics. In the latter case, one sometimes observes a predilection for objects that have no intrinsic value but are extraordinarily prized by virtue of purely aesthetic conventions (such as certain bamboo bowls used for the tea ceremony in Japan).
A completely diferent approach to prestige goods consists in considering their origin. Tey may be locally produced, the spoils of war, tributes, acquired through exchange, donation or extortion of subordinates, ordered from a supplier, and so on. An important aspect from a comparative point of view is the extent to which exotic products are very much sought after. Quite frequently, an extreme craze for what is not available at home can be detected. Anthropological research shows that in Polynesia and Central America in particular, some goods seemed all the more endowed with an aura as they were associated with mysterious horizons. Te ability to acquire them presupposed having the means to organise faraway travel and to possess products attractive enough to be bartered.5 Specialists of the late prehistoric period report circulation over
astonishing distances. Exceptional goods were then appropriated by the indigenous elites, the question arising as to whether or not the imported products had vernacular equivalents. What is more, some conquerors proved to be ‘conquered by their conquests’, adopting not only a new lifestyle, but many of the objects encountered.6 However, there are also cases of systematic rejection of almost anything coming from abroad (as with some Chinese dynasties), of goods that seem to be valued only locally, as well as occurrences of deliberate alteration (perhaps with the intention of ‘neutralizing’ the foreign character of what was introduced). As early as antiquity, there have also been objects whose prestige derives from the fact that they previously belonged to famous people, leading to an impressive history meant to refect positively on the current owner. Besides, several cities began to be identifed as producers of artifacts of infnitely superior quality that could be boasted of.7
Tis brings us to take into account other properties of luxury goods, related to their manufacturing, their protection, maintenance and even possibilities of renovation. Some in the past have proven tremendously attractive due to the extreme difculty of obtaining them (e.g. safron, spondylus) or of processing them (ivory). Nowadays, faced with mass production, high-end craftsmanship frms (providing tailor-made creations and imposing long waiting lists) know full well how to exploit a new quest for excellence, scarcity and costliness paradoxically boosting demand.8 Such a perspective prompts to consider what surrounds very expensive objects. What I have in mind is notably the topic of exquisite cases and boxes aiming at intensifying the feeling of distinction, but which, undeniably, may also play a useful protective role. Te issue of the periodic maintenance of particularly delicate or large materials opens up interesting avenues of research as well. Finally, one should not neglect the question of the restoration or even embellishment of prestige goods, some (such as jewellery) lending themselves better to this exercise than others. Here, the objective may be to look for real improvements, but what is primarily at stake is often a desire for restyling according to one’s taste.
To talk of outward signs of superiority9 obviously implies a certain degree of visibility. Tis, however, is a more complicated matter than it seems intuitively. It has been recognised, since at least the writings of
Herbert Spencer, that both exhibition and concealment can express grandeur. Keeping some possessions out of sight is likely to confer on them a kind of aura.10 Te imagined presence of a house completely hidden by high walls may prove as intimidating as the villa of the magnate who had all the surrounding trees cut down in order to show if of. I would also point out that while certain categories of goods are a priori more visible than others, it is sometimes necessary to reason within them. If we take vehicles, for instance, there is quite a contrast between the convertible which allows you to see the driver as well as whoever accompanies him, and the limousine with its tinted windows. In addition, some distinctive details require close observation in order to be truly appreciated. Te fneness of a fan will only be discernible within a few centimetres.
Let me add that the diferentiation between private and public spaces is far from always clear. Indeed, many intermediary areas escape this type of classifcation. For example, private garden squares in some English cities, to which only the owners of the neighbourhood had the keys, did not prevent people from spying on what was going on behind the gates. Likewise, in the past, the bedroom with its stately furnishings could be the room where important visitors were received (the standards of domestic privacy having evolved considerably over the centuries). Tis is why proposing analyses in terms of ‘front’ and ‘back’ stage, as Gofman notoriously did, sometimes proves to be rather unsatisfactory. Troughout this book, we will come across a number of recurring themes related to the issue of visibility: from that of privileged access (opening one’s collections only for the most eminent guests) to that of repetition entailing a sense of implantation (renting, season after season, the same box at the opera), without neglecting, of course, that of meaning—some visual messages being difcult to understand for the general public, which does not prevent them from being impressive.
Among the variables that also caught my attention is the division between quantitative and qualitative demonstrations. Is it more dazzling to have an extremely large wardrobe in order to hardly ever wear the same clothes, or just a few splendid outfts made by very famous fashion designers? It goes without saying that quantity and quality are by no means incompatible. Some people enjoy cellars amply stocked with bottles of great vintages, or precious sets of tableware made up of hundreds of
pieces. Nevertheless, such a perspective invites us to shed light on diferent patterns: from unique objects (possibly endowed with a prestigious name) to those that are rare but reproducible (e.g. manuscripts that could be copied), or acquired in several units for practical purposes (such as those ceremonial tents that were set up in advance at the ulterior stages of an expedition). In addition, examining quantitative distinctions led me to diferentiate between logics of profusion (pyramids of roasted chickens in West Africa), variety (assortment of dozens of dishes) and size. We sometimes observe astonishing attempts to outdo rivals, based on the spectacular staging of abundance, especially when dictated by the requirements of ostentatious hospitality. A recurrent way to play the card of quantitative superiority also involves proclaiming that you do not know exactly what is at your disposal (the number of rooms in your residences, for example).
Although the comparative study of prestige goods does stimulate analytical and typological ambitions, it is inconceivable without seriously taking into account cultural factors. In line with what has been put forward in the general introduction, it is a matter of both arriving at clear theorisations and giving their full place to the universes of meaning. Tis will be my twofold concern in the next fve chapters, which will deal in turn with ornaments, dwellings, vehicles, food, and burials.
Notes
1. Tis literature goes back to the moralising texts of antiquity and continues to be the subject of essays stigmatising luxury in the name of diferent ideals or, more exceptionally, advocating it. We know that the eighteenth century marked an important turning point. Authors such as Mandeville, Voltaire or Hume began to consider luxury with a benevolent eye for economic or civilisational reasons. However, there were precedents as early as the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, in a perspective of glorifcation of God (and his servants) or in the line of Aristotelian theses about magnifcence.
2. Tus, for example, with regard to certain shells highly prized for their colours or their shimmering appearance (which could be both emblems
of status and means of payment), we should not underestimate the symbolic richness with which they were endowed, very often in relation to a whole cosmogony.
3. Queen Alexandra (the wife of Edward VII) had the fowers of hundreds of bouquets changed every morning in her large residence next to Buckingham Palace. P. McNeil and G. Riello, Luxury: A Rich History, Oxford: Oxford UP, 2016, p. 172.
4. Possibly from the point of view of a momentary demonstration of afuence or bravado, which is in line with the theme of the synecdoche, in the sense of investment in a particular feld with the hope of giving a general impression of distinction (I refer to my discussions in this regard in Rethinking Social Distinction, op. cit., Chapter 5), but here from a temporal point of view. Some borrowing strategies follow the same pattern.
5. See especially M.W. Helms, Ulysses’ Sails: An Ethnographic Odyssey of Power, Knowledge and Geographical Distance, Princeton: Princeton UP, 1988.
6. Romans in Greece, Abbasid Arabs in Persia, Crusaders in Palestine, the British ‘going native’ in India, etc. On this theme, cf., for example, the book by J. Irigoyen-Garcia, ‘Moors Dressed as Moors’: Clothing, Social Distinction and Ethnicity in Early Modern Iberia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), which deals with the attachment of Iberian hidalgos to the Moorish ‘game of canes’ equestrian sport, fascinated as they were by the elegant appearance of the Arab riders and their silky outfts.
7. Bronze candelabra from Corinth, for instance, or later, during the Renaissance, Milanese parade armour.
8. See M. Ricca & R. Robins, Meta-Luxury: Brands and the Culture of Excellence, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
9. Te formula signis exterioribus dates back to the theologians of the Middle Ages.
10. Te Principles of Sociology, vol. II/part IV: Ceremonial Institutions, London: Williams & Norgate, 1893.
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Venido el dia de la partida, todas las damas se juntaron en casa de la señora duquesa donde los caualleros vinieron. E de alli partieron todos juntos. Fueron en la caça aquel dia las señoras y damas e caualleros que aqui se nombran. Primeramente la princesa de Salusano con sus damas y el principe su marido, e la señora Candina e su esposo el conde de Muralta, hijo del duque de Traysano. La marquesa de Persiana y el marques su marido. La marquesa de Guariano, e la condesa Dauertino y el conde su marido. Marciana de Seuerin hija de la condesa Daliser. La señora doña Persiana, e la señora Laurencia de Montal, Ricarda de Marian, Violesa Daguster, e Polindora de Marin, e la señora Ysiana e Graciana Desclauer, e la señora Belisena.
De los caualleros el conde de la Marca, el marques Carliner, el prior Dalbano, el marques de Villatonda, el prior de Marian, el duque de Fenisa, Francaluer, el conde de Sarriseno e Yusandre el faborido, Galarino Desian, Esclauian de la Torre, Fermines de Mesana, Francastino de Eredes, Camilo de Leonis, Lisandro de Xarqui. E más los caualleros que arriba ha nombrado.
La señora duquesa salio como suele vestida de negro. La señora Belisena su hija sacó vna saya de raso blanco con muchas faxas de brocado encarnado sentadas sobre pestañas de carmesi, con vn papahigo de raso carmesi e la gorra de lo mesmo con muchos cabos e pieças de oro de martillo, con cintas e pestañas blancas y encarnadas, e la hacanea con vna guarnicion de terciopelo carmesi con franjas e muchos floques negros e blancos encarnados, con vna letra que dezia.
Las tres hazen compañia all alegria.
Sacó la señora princesa de Salusana vna saya de terciopelo negro con vnas cortaduras de brocado morado a manera de vnas escalas, forrada la saya de raso blanco, e vna hacanea con vna guarnicion de terciopelo negro con las mismas escalas de brocado morado con franjas e floques de hilo de plata, con vna gorra rica e papahigo de raso morado, forrada de damasco blanco con muchas piezas e cabos de oro esmaltados de negro con vna letra que dezia:
Nunca jamas subio amor en lugar que estas dos l'an de guardar.
Sacó la señora Ysiana vna saya de raso pardillo con muchas faxas de brocado morado forrado de raso leonado; la gorra e papahigo de terciopelo leonado forrado de raso amarillo e muchas cintas por todo amarillas. Una hacanea con vna guarnicion de terciopelo leonado y raso pardillo, con las franjas y floques morados e amarillos con vna letra que dezia:
A la fin han de tornar lo leonado en pardillo el morado en amarillo.
Salio la señora Candina, hija de la princesa de Salusano, con vna saya quarteada de terciopelo morado e brocado leonado, enrrexados los quartos de vnas tiras de lo vno enlo otro, sentadas sobre pestañas de raso blanco, forrada la ropa de damasco leonado. Una guarnicion de vna mula del mismo damasco leonado, cubierta toda de vnas cifras enlazadas de raso blanco; vna gorra de raso leonado con cintas blancas e unas pieças de oro de martillo esmaltadas de
blanco e morado con vna letra que dezia:
Do passion de amor no afloxa lo blanco da mas congoxa.
La señora Porfisandria sacó vna saya de chamelote de seda leonado, con unos fresos de plata anchos y angostos de tres en tres tiras muy espesos, con vnas pestañas de raso negro en todos ellos e vna gorra de terciopelo leonado con muchas cintas blancas e negras; vna guarnicion de terciopelo negro con franjas de hilo de plata con vnos tormentos de plata sembrados por encima con vna letra que dezia.
La guarnicion os condena y la ropa da la pena.
Sacó la señora Laurencia vna saya de paño amarillo con vnas lisonjas toda cubierta de terciopelo encarnado sobre pestañas de raso azul y en cada lisonja vna de plata estampada, pequeña, puesta en medio de la seda tambien sobre raso azul. Una gorra de raso amarillo de la mesma manera; guarnecida vna guarnicion de vna mula de la
misma manera, con vna letra que dezia.
Lo más porque desespere quien vencer lo blanco espera, las dos porque vaya fuera.
La señora marquesa de Persiana vna saya de brocado carmesi con vnas barras de terciopelo carmesi anchas, sentadas sobre raso blanco cortadas por encima; vna gorra de raso carmesi acuchillada forrada de raso blanco; la saya forrada de raso blanco; vna guarnicion de vna hacanea de oro tirado con floques e franjas de grana y blanco, con vna letra que dezia.
Los dos de la guarnicion goza bien quien las merece, y el enforro quien padece.
Salio la señora Mariana de Seuerin, hija de la condesa de Aliser, con vna saya de terciopelo morado cortada toda con muchas cuchilladas, forrada de raso encarnado, que se descubria por ellas, con vnas madexas de seda encarnada que ataua las cortaduras muy espesas. La gorra de lo mesmo. La guarnicion de la hacanea ni más ni menos, con vna letra que dezia.
No hay esperança en amor donde está estotra color.
La señora Melisena de Ricarte sacó vna saya de raso blanco con vnos girones de terciopelo morado, trepados tan juntos que á la parte de la cortapisa juntauan el vno con el otro, forrada de raso morado. Una gorra e papahigo de raso blanco con pestañas e cintas moradas. Una guarnicion de una mula, de terciopelo morado, con cubierta de vnas matas de plata, con vna letra que dezia.
Si el blanco es tal qual deue, aunque el morado conbata a la fin muere ó se mata.
La señora condesa de Auertina vna saya de raso verde muy claro e de terciopelo verdescuro á nesgas, con vnas alcarchofas de oro bordadas por ella. Una gorra del mesmo terciopelo con las mismas alcarchofas de oro de martillo. Una guarnicion de terciopelo verde con las franjas de seda verde clara con la mesma bordadura, con vna letra que dezia.
De las dos la que es perdida mostrará a vuestras querellas
lo que haueys de coger dellas.
Sacó la señora Angelera de Agustano, vna saya a nesgas de terciopelo negro e raso blanco con vnos estremos cortados de la vna e de la otra seda e guarnecidas todas las nesgas dellos por el contrario. Una gorra de terciopelo negro e papahigo con muchos estremos de plata guarnecidos. Una guarnicion de vna mula de la misma manera, con vna letra que dezia.
Para que se gane gloria destas dos que defendemos menester son sus estremos.
Sacó la señora marquesa de Guariano vna saya de brocado negro, forrada de raso leonado con vnas faxas muy espesas de terciopelo leonado, con una gorra leonada con pieças de oro martillo esmaltadas de negro. Una guarnicion de vna hacanea de terciopelo leonado con muchos floques de seda negra e una letra que dezia.
Del honesto pensamiento se guarnece la guarnicion que parece.
La señora Ypolisandra sacó vna saya de terciopelo verde cubierta toda de vnas ondas de raso negro sobre tafetan blanco, con vna gorra del mesmo terciopelo con cintas blancas. Una guarnicion de vna hacanea de lo mismo con vna letra que dezia.
No me dexa andar sin ellas la misma esperanza dellas.
Sacó la señora Lantoria Dortonisa vna saya entretallada toda á centellas de brocado e raso blanco, con pestañas de tafetan morado. Una gorra de raso blanco con muchas centellas de oro de martillo; vna guarnición de vna hacanea con franjas e floques morados de las mismas centellas con vna letra que dezia:
Es lo blanco quien abrasa de passion á las centellas con la misma color dellas.
Sacó la señora Graciana vna saya de raso azul con vna gelosia encima, de terciopelo azul sobre pestañas de raso blanco, atadas las juntas de la gelosia con vnas lazadas de madexas de hilo de oro, con vna gorra de raso azul e unas pieças de oro de martillo hechas como gelosias. Una
guarnicion de vna hacanea de la misma manera de la saya; la saya forrada de raso blanco con vna letra que dezia:
Do el recelo está doblado lo blanco está bien guardado.
Sacó la señora Violesa de Aguster vna saya de raso blanco e terciopelo morado entretallada a quadros, e de vn quadro de la vna seda sacado vn pequeño e cambiado en el otro con vnas cortaduras de brocado encima de las juntas, cortadas de manera que las sedas e el brocado todo hazia vna obra. Una gorra de raso morado con muchos cabos de oro. Una guarnicion de vna mula de la misma manera, con vna letra que dezia.
El contentamiento haze que vaya d'una manera l'oncubierto e lo de fuera.
Las damas todas salieron vestidas desta manera que haueys oydo, con todas estas letras las quales, á peticion de cada vna dellas fueron fechas.
Salio Flamiano con los atauios que ya arriba deximos. El señor príncipe de Salusana vn sayo de
brocado negro con faxas de terciopelo morado con pestañas blancas. Un capuz morado con vnas tiras blancas de raso. Los moços vestidos de morado e negro con la vna calça blanca y morada, la otra negra; con vna letra que dezia.
Razon me haze que sea qual me manda la librea.
Sacó el marques de Persiana vn sayo de raso blanco con vnas tiras de tafetan leonado, enlazadas por todos los girones con vnas madexas de seda blanca que las añudauan; vna capa de paño leonado con vnas tiras de tafetan blanco trabessadas por todo el capuz; e los moços e pajes vestidos de raso blanco e paño leonado, con vna letra que dezia.
Porque la vna es en vos tan complida mi congoxa es tan crecida.
Sacó el conde de la Marca vn sayo de terciopelo morado con vna capa de paño morado ribeteado todo con vnos ribetes de terciopelo negro puestos sobre tiras de raso blanco. Sacó los
moços e pajes vestidos desta manera, con vna letra que dezia.
Quanto amor más en mi crece, más pasion me crece la guarnicion.
Salió el señor Lisandro de Dixarqui con un sayo de terciopelo negro con vn capuz de terciopelo negro forrado todo de raso blanco con vnas pestañas de tafetan morado que descubrian muy poco entre las dos sedas; los moços e pajes de negro vestidos con guarniciones de raso blanco sobre pestañas moradas con vna letra que dezia.
Tal me tiene lo que veys porque veo que s'encubre mi deseo.
Sacó el señor Camilo de Leonis vn sayo de raso leonado; vn capuz de paño leonado con vnas faxas de terciopelo morado con vnas pestañas de raso amarillo, y los moços y pajes vestidos destas colores, con una letra que dezia.
Harto es grande la congoxa quando amor está en lugar c'aueis de desesperar.
El señor marques Carliner salio todo vestido de terciopelo pardillo forrado de damasco morado guarnecido todo con vnas lisonjas de raso leonado. Los moços e pajes vestidos de leonado e pardillo con guarniciones moradas y vna letra que dezia.
No puede causar en mi menos mal la forradura que muestra la vestidura.
El señor prior de Albano vn sayo e capa de paño amarillo con vnas cifras enlazadas de terciopelo azul e raso encarnado sembrado todo. Los moços vestidos de amarillo con la vna manga azul y encarnada, con vna letra que dezia.
Pues con vuestra condicion mi rezelo va enlazado ya mi mal va señalado.
Sacó el marques de Villatonda vn sayo de raso carmesi con faxas de brocado. Una capa de paño amarillo con vnas tiras de terciopelo carmesi. Los moços vestidos con jubones de brocado e carmesi quarteado, con calças e capotines de paño amarillo e de grana, con vna letra que dezia.
Va ell alegria fengida do desespera la vida.
Sacó el prior de Mariana vn sayo e capuz e jubon de terciopelo morado, passado todo a escaques de raso encarnado, a manera de vn tablero daxedrez; los moços e pajes vestidos de paño morado e raso encarnado con vna letra que dezia.
Todos los males de amor nacen destotra color.
Premines de Castilpana salio todo vestido de verde claro, que es esperança perdida, e los moços de la misma color, porque la dama que seruia sus colores eran dos, verde escuro y claro que son esperança cobrada y perdida. El no sacó mas de la vna con vna letra que dezia.
Pues que en mí toda es perdida ¡quán sin ella está mi vida!
El duque de Fernisa sacó vn sayo quarteado de damasco blanco e bellutado morado, con vn capuz de paño morado forrado de damasco blanco, con vnas cortaduras de raso blanco perfiladas por encima del paño.
Los moços e pajes vestidos de las mismas colores con vna letra que dezia:
¿Que sperará mi ventura del dolor que es mas escuro, siendo el otro tan seguro?
Francaluer sacó medio sajo de terciopelo blanco e medio de raso negro con faxas trocadas de lo vno en lo otro; vn capuz medio de terciopelo negro, medio de raso blanco forrado de lo mismo, cambiado lo vno en lo otro, con una letra que dezia.
Dos contrarios so vn subjeto veo en vuestra castidad: hermosura, honestidad.
El conde Sarriano salio vestido todo de negro con los moços e pajes vestidos todos de leonado con vna letra que dezia.
La tristeza de mis daños da congoxa en los estraños.
El señor Yusandriano salio vestido todo de leonado forrado de raso blanco; los moços vestidos de lo mismo con vna letra que dezia.
Lo cubierto causa en mi aunque s'encubre lo que fuera se descubre.
Sacó el señor Guillermo de Canes vn sayon de raso blanco y raso naranjado e terciopelo carmesi, gironado a puntas con tafetan blanco e naranjado; debaxo las puntas naranjadas vn capuz de paño naranjado guarnecido con quatro tiras de carmesi e raso blanco. Los moços e pajes vestidos de blanco e naranjado con vna letra que dezia.
Salio en blanco mi alegria pues que va desesperada mi porfia.
Salio el conde de Auertino vestido todo de verde escuro con vnos ribetes por baxo del sayon e de la capa de raso verde claro, porque son las colores de la señora condesa, forrado todo de raso carmesi. Los moços vestidos de terciopelo verde e de grana con vna letra que dezia.
Ya's perdida la perdida para quien por vos cobra todo el bien.
Galarino Difian salio a la gineta con vna marlota de brocado
blanco e terciopelo leonado con unos lazos de plata por toda; vn capuz de terciopelo leonado forrado de raso blanco con los mismos lazos guarnecidos, con vna letra que dezia.
La vna es sobrada en vos y la otra en mi por ella y assi sobra mi querella.
Salio Esclauiano de la Torre a la gineta con vna marlota nesgada de raso leonado e azeytuni negro, vna capa leonada toda guarnecida de muchos lazos moriscos de oro e de grana, con vn rico jaez de las colores, con vna letra bordada en torno de la marlota e del capuz, que dezia.
Pues que son vuestras colores
siendo vuestra mi porfia para mi son alegria.
Fermines de Mesano, hecho a escaques de azeytuni leonado y raso blanco con vna P cortada del terciopelo leonado en cada escaque blanco e vna F de raso blanco en el leonado; vna capa de paño leonado con vna cortapisa de las dos sedas por baxo de los mismos escaques del sayo y en
ellos bordada esta letra que dezia.
Es mi fe la que no afloxa la pena de mi congoxa.
De la manera que aqui es dicho, salieron vestidas las damas e galanes, los quales todos con mucho plazer llegaron a la caça. Estando alli a cabo de quatro dias llegó el señor cardenal de Brujas con muchos caualleros que lo acompañaron. Los quales fueron el marques de la Chesta, Francastino de Redes, el señor Alarcos de Reyner, Pomerin Russeller el pacífico, Alualader de Caronis, con otros muchos caualleros que por que no salieron vestidos de colores de inuencion aqui no se nombran.
El señor cardenal vino vestido de negro por cierto respecto que le conuenia; lleuó veynte palafraneros e doze pajes vestidos de terciopelo negro e paño morado con vna letra que dezia:
Es la que menos me plaze la que más me satisfaze.
Vino el marques de la Cehesta vestido todo de amarillo, con los
moços vestidos de la misma color, con una letra escripta en los pechos desta manera que hablava el color, e traya dos R. R. e una A en medio puestas en los pechos, que queria dezir.
Amar y llorar.
Vino Francastil de Redes vestido todo de azul e sus moços vestidos de la misma color con vna letra que dezia:
Mi recelo es que en mi mal no hay consuelo.
Vino el señor Alarcos de Reyner con vn sayo de raso amarillo e azeytuni morado con unas tiras de tres en tres de la vna seda en la otra puestas a escaques por los girones; vn capuz morado forrado de raso amarillo con vna letra que dezia.
Mi pensamiento ha subido lo morado do desespera forçado.
Pomerin traya luto e assi vino vestido de negro sin letra.
Rosseller el pacifico salio vestido de azul e carmesi con vna letra
que dezia:
Aunque yo me visto dellas no tengo porque traellas.
Alualader de Caronis vino todo vestido de pardillo forrado el sayo e capuz de damasco leonado, acuchillado todo por encima lo pardillo, de manera que lo leonado se descubriese, con vna letra que dezia.
El trabajo es quien descubre la congoxa que se encubre.
Otro dia despues de llegado el señor cardenal con todos estos caualleros, la señora duquesa con todas las damas y ellos fueron á caça de monte, e puestos todos en sus paradas como suelen, la señora Belisena con Isiana quedaron en vna parada con Jusander e con otros dos caualleros de casa de la señora duquesa su madre, en la qual parada acudio vn cieruo muy grande e dadas laxas las señoras a sus canes, los caualleros que con ellas estauan començaron a seguirlo. La señora Belisena quedó a solas con Isiana a la sombra de vnas espesas matas, donde a suerte aquella hora Flamiano acudio
impensadamente. El qual viendose en presencia de su señora fue tan atonito e turbado que no sabia parte de si viendo lo que le era seguido; reconocido algo en su juyzio, aunque no sin mucha turbacion, despues de hecho a la señora Belisena aquel acatamiento que ella merecia e su criança dél le obligara e más su apassionada voluntad, informado de la señora Isiana de la causa de su quedada alli a solas, començo con muy temeroso acatamiento a dezir en esta manera a su señora.
DE LAS COSAS QUE FLAMIANO
E BELISENA PASSARON EN AQUEL RAZONAMIENTO
El temor, señora, de los males que cada dia a causa vuestra por mi pasan e padezco, me tienen tan sin razon la lengua, y el sentido tan turbado junto con el gozo de verme en vuestra presencia, que me falta razon para hazeros notorias las sobras de mis passiones, e aun atrevimiento para osaros las dezir aunque no me falta voluntad para suffrirlas. El temor de enojaros me cierra, señora, la boca, y el fuego que mis entrañas abrasa, pronuncia por ella lo que dentro se siente. E assi señora quiero tener atreuimiento para poner mis
