Throughout history, certain colors have been strongly associated with royalty, nobility, and great wealth. The rarity and cost of certain pigments, dyes, and fabrics helped reinforce these connections. Purple, for instance, was long considered the color of emperors and kings in many cultures. Gold and ermine fur also conveyed luxury and status. Over time, sumptuary laws even dictated who could wear which colors as a way of maintaining class hierarchies. So what are the key colors that have signaled royalty, nobility, and affluence over the centuries and across societies?
The Color Purple
The color purple has perhaps the longest and most storied association with royalty and immense wealth. In the ancient world, Tyrian purple dye derived from sea snails found off the coast of Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) was prohibitively expensive to produce. As a result, purple garments became a status symbol among Byzantine emperors and elites across the Mediterranean. The association between purple and imperial power continued in Europe throughout the medieval and early modern periods. British royals incorporated purple into their coronation robes, for instance.
More broadly, purple has signaled nobility, regardless of whether the specific individual currently holds royal office. Bishops and cardinals wear purple vestments to announce their station. Hereditary peers in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords historically wore purple robes when their chamber was convened. The linkage between purple, aristocracy, and privilege persists today in symbols ranging from the purple heart medal to the color’s popularity among historically black sororities and fraternities.
The Cost and Difficulty of Producing Purple
What made purple so expensive in the ancient world was the painstaking process of gathering tiny mollusks known as Murex or Purpura to extract minute amounts of purple dye. It could take thousands of shells just to dye a yard or two of fabric. As a result, purple cloth could cost its weight in gold. The elite wore purple as a display of wealth and to set themselves apart from the masses. Ancient sumptuary laws even prohibited commoners from donning purple garments. The color purple telegraphed not just affluence but also political influence and proximity to the emperor.
Purple Retains its Regal Reputation
While synthetic dyes have made purple much more affordable to produce, the color retains its exclusive regal connotations. Visual mediums like film and television routinely use purple to convey nobility, royalty, or extravagance. Think of the styling of British period dramas, the Wicked Witch’s dress in The Wizard of Oz, or Prince’s entourage. Luxury brands from Cadillac to Crown Royal incorporate purple into their logos and packaging. And descriptions of extravagant interiors, from palaces to penthouse suites, often emphasize purple accents. So whether on garments, banners, thrones, or walls, purple still signals privilege and majesty centuries after mollusk-based dyes fell out of use.
Cloth-of-Gold
Cloth woven with metallic gold or silver thread was another ostentatious display of wealth frequently associated with medieval and early modern European royalty. Also known as goldwork and silverwork, cloth-of-gold was made from silk embroidered with strips of real gold that created a shimmering finish. The incorporation of such precious metals made cloth-of-gold even more expensive than typical purple garments. Consequently, sumptuary laws also restricted its usage to royalty and the highest levels of nobility. Kings, queens, and consorts donned cloth-of-gold at coronations, weddings, funerals, and other major state occasions. Less frequent usage by lower ranking nobles demonstrated they had the king’s special permission to dress so splendidly.
The Fabric of Medieval Pageantry
Cloth-of-gold announced its wearers were not merely wealthy but very intimate with royalty. The fabric was well suited to the pageantry and spectacle of medieval courts. In an era without electric lighting, cloth-of-gold reflected candlelight and firelight in a dazzling fashion, especially when worn head to toe. The fabric also complemented bold colors like purple and crimson favored by medieval nobility. European rulers gave gifts of cloth-of-gold to consorts, vassals, and foreign diplomats as a projection of power. Kings and knights wore cloth-of-gold, often embroidered with royal crests and coats of arms, as a badge of fealty.
Decline and Revival
As medieval pageantry faded, cloth-of-gold became less fashionable in everyday royal dress. Other luxurious fabrics like silk, velvet, and ermine increasingly assumed its role. Cloth-of-gold remained in use for special state robes and ecclesiastical vestments, however. The fabric underwent periodic revivals in line with changing tastes. It flourished among 18th century aristocracy and returned in the late 19th century with the popularity of medievalism. While no longer limited to monarchs alone, cloth-of-gold remains associated with extraordinary wealth and opulence.
Ermine Fur
For centuries, ermine fur trimming has signified nobility, royalty, and high judicial office across Europe. The ermine, also known as the stoat, is a type of weasel with fur that turns white in winter. Difficulty sourcing enough fur and crafting ermine garments made them a conspicuous display of wealth. By the medieval period, sumptuary laws regulated the wearing of ermine to royalty and certain high nobility. Ermine came to denote noble status on par with precious metals and stones. It remains a symbol of authority, dignity, and luxury.
Royalty and Privilege
European kings and queens donned ermine for portraits, pageants, and royal ceremonies. The furs conveyed legitimacy, majesty, and might. For instance, the coronation robe of British monarchs is trimmed with ermine because the fur signified sovereignty across medieval Europe. Ermine furs also featured heavily at major state occasions like coronations along with silk, velvet, and cloth-of-gold. Similarly, nobles wore ermine during presentations at court as a display of rank. The size of ermine trimmings and garments sometimes correlated to the wearer’s position in the aristocratic hierarchy.
Jurisprudence
Beyond royalty, ermine signified judicial authority in Europe as well. Judges and senior legal officials adopted ermine trimmings on black or purple judicial robes. The precious fur represented the dignity and righteousness of their station. Ermine remains part of the ceremonial dress code for judges and peers in the House of Lords across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. The chief justices of Canada and Australia have ermine robes, as does the Lord Chancellor, who presides over the House of Lords.
Sable Fur
Alongside ermine, sable fur was another extravagant status symbol among medieval European elites. Sable comes from a species of marten valued for its lush, deep black fur. The finest sable pelts came from Russia and commanded extremely high prices in medieval markets. Like ermine, sable featured heavily at royal and imperial courts. It also came with sumptuary restrictions codifying sable garments as the province of emperors, kings, and lofty nobility. Sable continues to signal luxury today, though modern fur farming has made the pelts more attainable.
Marten Pelts from Russia
Medieval European nobility coveted the dense, jet black fur of Russian sables. Princely gifts of sable pelts from Russia kickstarted the fur’s elite associations in the West. The trouble and danger of trapping wild sables in Siberia, combined with export restrictions, constrained the available supply. Tailoring the tiny pelts into a full garment required immense skill and labor. As a result, sable ranked among the most opulent furs. Sumptuary laws restricted commoners from wearing it. The exclusivity surrounding Russian sables persists in the form of luxury branding. Fashion houses market lines of sable coats and accessories as some of their most extravagant offerings.
Dark Luxury
The deep black color and soft texture of sable fur made it synonymous with luxury and nobility. European kings and nobles incorporated sable trimmings, linings, and garments into their wardrobe as symbols of status. Black ermine was less common and too similar to poor churchmen’s plain black coats, so sable stood apart. The striking contrast between white ermine and black sable made clothing like heraldic tabards especially bold and regal. Sable mantles and trimmings remain part of royal and imperial dress in Europe today.
Gold
Gold threads and fabric were expensive to produce, inherently precious, and brilliant to behold. For these reasons, gold has been intimately bound up with notions of majesty, status, and wealth since ancient times. Gold announced proximity to rulers, divinities, and sacred powers across many societies, including ancient Egypt, China, and the Americas. The metal retains these elite associations today. Gold conveys luxury across various contexts from jewelry and fashion to architecture and technology.
Divine and Earthly Glory
Gold long served dual functions as a sacred metal embodying divine properties and as an unambiguous marker of worldly power and fortune. The ancient Egyptians considered gold “the flesh of the gods” and associated it with the sun god Ra as well as royalty. Chinese emperors slept on gold beds and sat upon gold thrones. The rulers of ancient Chimor in Peru clad themselves in gold discs reflecting the sun. Through these symbolic connections, gold threaded together earthly and heavenly authority. It conveyed stability, incorruptibility, and wisdom.
Opulence Across Cultures
Secular applications of gold as an unequivocal marker of wealth and status also emerged early on. Jewelry made from gold signaled affluence and privilege across many ancient cultures from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greece, Rome, and the Americas. Gold funerary masks, linens, and ornaments accompanied deceased kings and nobles into the afterlife. In medieval societies, gold thread in brocades and embroidery visually reinforced class hierarchies. The wealthy bedecked themselves and their environments with golden furnishings, accessories, and architectural details. This phenomenon continues today in the form of luxury vehicles, electronics, and designer goods flaunting gold accents, often literally.
Scarlet
Scarlet fabric in medieval and early modern Europe conveyed privilege and power. The bright red color ranged from crimson to a more orange-tinged scarlet strictly defined as kermes. Dyed with costly kermesic acid derived from scale insects, scarlet garments broadcast immense wealth. While sovereigns like British monarchs wore purple, scarlet became associated with princes of the blood, ranking nobles, and cardinals. Scarlet robes formed part of royal livery across Europe. The vibrant color continues to signify leadership and prosperity.
The Kermes Scale Insect
Kermesic acid provided rich red and scarlet dyes starting in antiquity across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asia. For centuries, these dyes came from the dried bodies of kermes insects harvested from Mediterranean oak trees. It could take tens of thousands of insects to dye a yard or two of fabric. The labor-intensive process made kermes scarlet extremely expensive, so sumptuary laws limited it to elites. Some kermesic dye was falsely marketed as more exotic “Chinese red” cochineal dye to inflate its prestige. The rarity of scarlet garments led to their reservation for royalty and nobility.
Scarlet Symbolism
The eye-catching color made scarlet ideal for pageantry and ceremonies, complementing purple and ermine fur. In England and France, scarlet robes formed part of royal livery. English princes received scarlet court dress at their investitures. The purple-clad emperor’s sons wore scarlet in the Byzantine court. Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church donned scarlet robes and galero hats to stand out among other clerics. Military officers in many European armies wore scarlet uniforms or scarlet facings on uniforms to denote elite status as well. Beyond garments, “scarlet woman” became shorthand for a prostitute in reference to biblical Babylon and the Book of Revelation.
Conclusion
| Color | Historic Symbolism and Usage |
| Purple | Royalty, emperorship, nobility across ancient Mediterranean, Byzantium, medieval Europe |
| Cloth-of-Gold | Medieval kings, queens, nobles, ecclesiastics |
| Ermine | European royalty, nobility, and judiciary |
| Sable | Medieval European royalty and nobility |
| Gold | Wealth, divinity, royalty across ancient cultures |
| Scarlet | European royalty, nobility, cardinals |
Certain colors have conveyed royalty, nobility, and immense wealth across cultures and eras through their production cost and visual brilliance. In the medieval world, purple, cloth-of-gold, ermine, and sable carried sumptuary restrictions codifying them as the province of monarchs and the highest elites. Ancient civilizations linked gold with divine status and earthly fortune. Scarlet kermes dye achieved its elite symbolism through staggering expense. While the methods of producing these colors have changed, their cultural associations with privilege and luxury remain strong today.