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42 Pearls.
gold
rings, set with precious stones and Pearls, worn on the neck and arms,
and in the ears. The women interwove gold thread or strings of Pearls
in their hair, and bound fillets round their heads, which were often
richly decorated with precious stones and Pearls. The embroidered
borders of their robes and their shoes too were richly worked in Pearls.
The
12th and 13th centuries, the age of chivalry, were particularly
luxurious, and the coats of arms worn by the knights were made of- gold
or silver stuff, velvet or silk, and embroidered in gold, silver,
Pearls or precious stones.
Pearls
were used so extravagantly, not only by the nobles, but also among the
middle classes, in rich towns, that certain laws were passed to put a
limit to their use ; Philippe le Bel of France, (born 1268; died 1314
A.D.) forbade the burgher classes to wear ornaments of gold, precious
stones, or Pearls. The Council of Zurich, held in 1411, published an
order forbidding women or girls to wear more than one Pearl head-band,
which was not to weigh more than 6 oz. Many noble families having been
ruined by their excessive expenditure on clothes, a council of knights
was called before the 28th great Tournament at Würzburg, which decided
that no gold or Pearl ornaments should be worn, unless hidden from
view! Women also were not to have their
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