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James I's Sumptuary Law Confirms that Printed Textiles Exist in Europe

1234
Jaume I Palma

Portrait of King James I of Aragon. A 16th century copy of a medieval altarpiece located in the city of Palma,

In 1231 James I the Conqueror, King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier, promulgated a "sumptutary law" forbidding certain groups of the population from wearing "estampados" or printed fabrics. This is the earliest documentation that printed textiles existed in Europe.

Carter, Invention of Printing in China 2nd ed (1955) 198, footnote 8.

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