Clothing – A Mark of Noble Identity in Early Modern Transylvania (I)

"‘It is not the coat that makes the man’, the proverb says nowadays. However, for along time, it was the garment that gave the person individuality. Once the costume was lost, theidentity was lost. Clothing is, therefore, one of the essential markers of social convention, witheach part of the population being assigned a specific role and place, easily recognizable by shapeand color. For several generations, the merchant has been recognized by his attire, the priest andthe monk by the color of their tunic, the nobleman by his cut and color. Hence, clothing was themost prominent instrument of external representation. The symbolism of clothing articles, with avery different cut and color range, could immediately be interpreted by the contemporaries. Formodern research, the knowledge of the specific characteristics of garments and their wear can bepossible – to a considerable extent – only with the help of written sources and images. Therefore, thestudy aims to examine the role of status indicator, or the social role of clothing from the end of thesixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth century, based on the documents of last willof the Transylvanian nobility. The first part is dedicated to the feminine costume."