The colour of power
QUESTION Did an Elizabethan law restrict the colour of clothing depending on rank?
the sumptuary laws, which regulated social rank, stem not from elizabeth I, but her father, henry VIII.
Limiting who could wear what helped to keep the poor and middle classes in their place.
Under henry VIII’s laws, introduced during his first Parliament in 1510, the Acts of Apparel prohibited anyone beneath the rank of Knight of the Garter from wearing crimson or blue velvet.
Wearing velvet of any colour was prohibited below the rank of knight, except for the sons of judges and certain other dignitaries.
the Acts were extended in 1514, 1515 and 1533 to cover more items of clothing.
Only the Royal Family could wear cloth of gold and only members of their household could use gold thread.
the laws were further graded according to rank, with dukes having more privileges than earls and marquesses.
Any expensive fabric, such as silk, satin or damask, was forbidden to be worn by the majority of the population, who were limited to wool and linen.
elizabeth I extended the laws laid down by her father and her sister Mary to include ruffs, hose and the length of swords. enforcement of the laws included the confiscation of the garment, which could represent half a year’s wage. Fines were also imposed.
these laws travelled across the Atlantic to the American colonies and there are records of sumptuary laws being passed in Massachusetts as late as 1651.
As social changes resulted in the laws being generally ignored, they eventually passed into history.
Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
QUESTION Why do we call an umbrella a brolly, not a brelly?
ACCORDING to the Oxford english dictionary, brolly is a ‘clipped and altered version of umbrella’. the etymology of umbrella is from the Latin umbra, meaning shadow. the diminutive ending -ella creates umbrella — a little shadow. We are thought to have borrowed the word from the Italian ombrella, which is similar to the Spanish umbrela and the French ombrelle. there never seems to have been anything but an ‘e’ in the word. the abbreviation brolly is thought to date back to the 1870s. there is evidence that brelly was in use at this time, but was superseded by brolly, which may have been a northern variation. nicknames for umbrella have changed over time. Ones we have sadly lost include roundtop, shower stick, blubblub and bumbershoot. My favourite is gamp, from charles dickens’s novel Martin chuzzlewit, which featured Sarah Gamp, who carried a large umbrella which was ‘in colour like a faded leaf, except where a circular patch of a lively blue had been dexterously let in at the top’.
Howard Bonner, Leicester.
QUESTION Is there any basis for the saying ‘rain before seven, clear up by 11’? How accurate are other weather proverbs?
RAIN before seven, clear up by 11 has only a passing accuracy. Our weather tends to be variable and blows through the country quickly, due to the prevailing westerly airflow off the Atlantic.
this means that a low-pressure front can move through in a morning.
As befits our national obsession, there are hundreds of weather proverbs. Perhaps the most famous is: ‘Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.’ An early version can be found in the Bible, attributed to Jesus: ‘When it is evening, ye say, fair weather: for the heaven is red. And in the morning, foul weather today for the heaven is red and lowering.’ (Matthew 16:2-3)
A red sky appears when dust and small particles are trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure. this scatters blue light, leaving only red light to give the sky its distinctive hue.
A red sky at sunset means high pressure is moving in from the West, so the next day should be dry and pleasant.
Red sky in the morning means the highpressure weather system has moved east and the good weather has passed, probably making way for a wet and windy low-pressure system.
One my father used to use was ‘Mackerel sky and mare’s tails make tall ships carry low sails’. this relates to how sailors could predict the weather from cloud patterns. A mackerel sky is associated with altocumulus clouds — grey, puffy masses — while mare’s tails refer to cirrus clouds, which are delicate and wispy.
Both are known to presage a change in the weather, which would lead to the lowering of the ship’s sails. Altocumulus clouds appear when there is a high level of moisture in the air, suggesting rainfall is approaching.
cirrus clouds often form in advance of a warm front, where the air masses meet at high levels, indicating an imminent change in the weather.
A classic piece of weather lore states that when cows lie down, rain is on the way. One theory is that cows can sense increasing air moisture and will plop down to preserve a dry patch of grass.
Another theory is that cows lie down to ease their stomachs, which are supposedly sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure brought on by rainfall.
In truth, it probably means they are tired or relaxing and chewing the cud.
One that is grounded in fact is: ‘Pine cones open when good weather is on the way.’ A pine cone is a good weather barometer. Under dry conditions, the outer parts of the scales dry more than the inner parts, causing the cone to open. dry, calm weather provides a good environment for seed dispersal.
In wet weather, scales absorb moisture and swell shut, protecting the seeds.
Brian Ringrose, St Davids, Pembs.
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