Murder in the Garden of God by Eleanor Herman Page A

sleeves. Some popular color combinations might seem strange to us – scarlet with gray, brown with pink, turquoise with orange.
    Slashed clothing was still popular for men and woman after its introduction in the late-fourteenth century in Venice, where sumptuary laws were passed to restrain outrageously bright colors. Venetians duly abided by the edict to wear dull-colored outer garments, but had their tailors “slash” them, creating openings in the material to show the gaudy colors of garments below, which were pulled through the slashing. This style quickly spread throughout Europe.
    The 1570s and 1580s saw a continuing increase in a gown’s girth. Skirts became enormous, billowing over bum rolls, farthingales and hoopskirts. This fashionable swelling proved to the world that the family could afford yards and yards of exquisite material that served no purpose. It also benefited the men who paid for it because – similar to stiletto heels or imperial Chinese foot binding – their women could not run away from them, at least not very fast. Wearing such a gown, a woman could only muster a measured, stately tread, showing the world that she, to the great honor of the family, had no need to hurry, and indeed couldn’t hurry if the house was on fire. Some sixteenth-century brides were so loaded down with heavy material, furs, and jewelry that they literally could not walk down the aisle; they had to be carried by a muscular man.
    And for every sumptuous gown, Vittoria would need matching belts, shoes, purses, cloaks, head pieces, and perfumed gloves. It was not unheard of for some wealthy families to spend forty percent of their annual income on clothes, including the expensive livery of their servants. Sixteenth-century clothing prices were weighted heavily towards the materials, while the labor costs of stitching a gown or a pair of shoes was comparatively quite small.
    Perhaps Vittoria daydreamed mostly about the jewels, which were not only beautiful and prestigious but were also thought to have magical properties. Pearls, fished out of the Persian Gulf, were the favorite gem of the Renaissance and were believed to increase marital fidelity. Looking at Renaissance paintings, we can well understand why so many men decked their wives out in pearls. Cultured pearls were not invented until the early twentieth century, which meant that earlier pearls were often not quite spherical. A necklace of perfectly round, matched pearls was so costly that usually only queens possessed them and proudly wore them in their official paintings. It is also possible that queens, married to vile in-bred husbands for political reasons, needed that extra boost of fidelity that only pearls could provide.
    Coral, thought to be a sea plant that turned to stone when it hit the air, was found off the coasts of Italy and was believed to stanch bleeding and keep away evil. In ancient times, Romans had begun carving it into charming cameos, which women wore on chokers and bracelets. Emeralds from Columbia, where Spaniards had discovered the mines in 1558, were thought to improve eyesight and increase wealth. Unearthed in India, diamonds were useful in reconciling enemies and ensuring chastity.
    Sapphires, found in Ceylon, also kept a wife faithful and increased her piety. Rubies from Burma promoted good health and dried up excessive lust, which could explain why some men refused to give their wives rubies. Amber was picked up on the North Sea beaches of Germany and Poland where entire prehistoric forests had been swallowed up millions of years earlier. Those pieces containing insects were highly prized.
    Because they were hand cut, even the largest gemstones were somewhat misshapen and dull with crooked facets, hardly the sparkling machine-polished gems we have today. But they were mounted in stunning gold and silver settings and surrounded by pearls. The overall feel of sixteenth-century jewelry is of solidity, stateliness, and balance.
    As Vittoria