Sumptuary Law Dbq

A sumptuary law is a law that regulates what a person does that may or may not offend the beliefs of the community (Arena 463). The sumptuary laws of Rome were put into place beginning third century BC and continued from there on; these laws were made by multiple people and separated into two main categories: clothing and food. Not only were these issued within the Republican period, but they were issued under the Augustan Principate (Arena 463). These Roman laws may have been distinctly different, but their main purpose was to limit the amount of choices the people of Rome could have, even within their private lives. There were many specific laws on clothing, a few detailed laws on food, many people who opposed these laws, and there were many …show more content…
Some of the people that opposed these laws made speeches to inform people about how unfair the laws were. Out of the many citizens that opposed these laws, many of them happened to be women. This is probably because the laws women had when it came to clothing were much more restricting than the laws made for men. Not all women opposed these laws, but those who did tried to make sure that their voices were heard. It was said that women created two different and yet powerful reasons why they deemed these laws unconstitutional. The women argued that, although these laws set limits on where they are allowed to go and what they are allowed to wear, they also allowed for the rich women to spend their money a little wiser, allowing them to “excel and stand out” (Arena 470). Many of these women were have thought to view the Lex Oppia as an enemy, so they were instead looked at as needing to be defeated since these laws were made to “enforce limits on their behaviors” (Arena 470). Valerius Maximus was also against these Roman sumptuary laws. Within his excerpts, he went on to say how he had made a variety of deeds that did not alter the style or even the “distinguishing eloquence” of any people, and how when he makes laws he rarely ever needs to alter them because they are fine from the start (Maximus 1, preface). He was basically saying that if he were to create a law, it would not be unjust as the ones created in Rome at the time. One other person in particular who may have been more in favor of the sumptuary laws than against was Cato. Although he was not opposing these laws, an interesting quote made by Cato was one that stated “…no law is entirely convenient for everyone” (Arena 473). He then goes on to explain how it will do no good to change the laws that effect people within their private homes just because a few citizens disagree with them. With Cato