ANST - Purple, Black, & History

[Mike C. Baker]

---j'lynn yeates <jyeates at bga.com> wrote:
> On 25 Feb 98 at 13:45, ldaude at ns.vvm.com wrote:
> > Purple is wonderful.  Purple is great!  Think purple!
> > Remember purple is the highest frequency of visible light for us
> > poor humans.  As SCA'ers we always strive for the highest level in
> > anything we do;  sooooo dear mouse brother strive for the purple!
> purple is the color of talking, immature t-rex's ... 
> 
> BLACK! 
> ...one of the most difficult colors to dye properly and a color
> reserved for Irish royalty (per the Brehon Law code) 
> 'wolf

... wherein I believe the extended form also preserves one of the
earliest documentable sumptuary *systems* (as opposed to scattered,
specific strictures). Made it easier to determine a persons status
upon first seeing them, certainly (from oft-faulty wetware memory:
seven or more colors in simultaneously worn in attire = highest
royalty or ollamh/ollave, six for lesser kings, five for clan
chiefs, etc., down to maximum of two for the absolute scum
prisoner-slaves...) 

"Imperial purple" is, of course, also extremely limited, due to
scarcity, difficulty, and decree. Just a different cultural
epoch-area (very few keltoi left in Byzantium by then, and not of
the branch that kept the Brehon Law as I understand things...)

===
Adios -- Amra / Pax ... Kihe / TTFN -- Mike
(al-Sayyid) Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra  /
Kihe Blackeagle (the Dreamsinger Bard) / 
Mike C. Baker: My opinions are my own -- no one else would want them!
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8661
Alt. e-mail: KiheBard at aol.com, MikeCBaker at aol.com

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