US WURK LXIV (2015), p. 71 [0923] Cloth as Currency: Clothing and the Naked in Old Frisian Law Daan Keijser 1. Introduction Poverty and nakedness have been equated throughout the Middle Ages. In Matthew 25, eternal life (in heaven) is granted to those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take strangers into their home, and clothe those who are naked. 1 This theme recurs in various saints’ lives, most famously in that of Saint Martin of Tours. Saint Martin encountered a naked poor man (pauperem nudum ) and split his own cloak in two with his sword to give half of it to the naked man. 2 According to surveys of many cultures, the truly natural state of human beings is dressed, 3 and the association of nakedness and poverty might reflect the assumption that such an unnatural state as nakedness is only assumed reluctantly, by those who truly cannot afford clothes. Clothing, on the other hand, is often associated with wealth, as is shown by Margaret Rose Jaster, who treats the late-medieval and early-modern conviction that extravagant attire drained the realm of its wealth, thereby impoverishing the population. 4 The economic connotations of clothing and nakedness were widespread during the Middle Ages, but the context of their symbolism differs widely – from the context of Christian charity in Saint Martin’s case, to the justification for apparel legislation treated by Jaster. The present article will discuss an economic meaning given to clothing and nakedness that similarly relates clothing to economic means and nakedness to poverty, but is 1. Matthew 25:31-46 (Argyle (1963) 192). 2. Philine Helas, ‘The Clothing of Poverty and Sanctity in Legends, and their Repre- sentations in Trecento and Quattrocento in Italy’, in: Kathryn M. Rudy and Barbara Baert eds., Weaving, Veiling, and Dressing: Textiles and their Metaphors in the Late Middle Ages , vol. 12 (Turnhout 2007), 247-8. 3. Anne Hollander, Seeing through Clothes (New York 1978), 84. 4. Margaret Rose Jaster, ‘“Clothing Themselves in Acres”: Apparel and Impoverishment in Medieval and Early Modern England’, in: Robin Netherton and Gale R. Owen- Crocker eds., Medieval Clothing and Textiles , vol. 2 (Woodbridge 2006), 91-95. Us Wurk, jiergong 64 (2015), s. 71-89. US WURK LXIV (2015), p. 72 informed differently still. In some medieval societies, cloth was used as a form of currency, especially within the legal system. 5 It is this economic significance of cloth that informs a broader symbolism of clothing in Old Frisian law, and illustrates the inconvenience of impecuniousness and its legal implications. I will therefore explore the symbolism of clothing that relates clothes to economic means and nakedness to poverty, and look at the legal use of this symbolism. The medieval Frisian law codes contain an intricate economic symbolism of clothing, that is tied to the protection provided by clothes and the role of cloth as a means of payment within the legal system. Further ties between clothing, property, and financial means inform the figure of the blata , literally ‘naked one’ (NOM sg. and pl. blata ). He is said to be naked, because he lacks the financial means and property clothes represent, which has serious legal implications. The economic symbolism of clothing and nakedness will be treated in detail, followed by a discussion of the blata and the legal significance of the symbolism surrounding him. 2. Protective Function As clothing protects against the elements, the cold, and other detrimental forces from the outside, it is likened to the protection provided by a house through various analogies. This was not only because of their shared pro- tective qualities, but also because they were both seen as essential forms of property, which is a first indication for the economic connotation of clothing. The function of clothing to protect against the elements and the cold, in particular, is most eloquently described in the third exception to the second Landlaw in the Fivelgo Manuscript. 6 The second Landlaw forbids the sale of the property of an underage child by his widowed mother. If she decided to sell his property nonetheless, the child, once no longer a minor, could rightfully demand back his possessions. Nevertheless, there are some exceptional circumstances under which a guardian was allowed to sell these possessions, the third of which concerns the present investigation: 5. See Michèle Hayeur Smith, ‘Weaving Wealth: Cloth and Trade in Viking Age and Me- dieval Iceland’, in: Angela Ling Huang and Carsten Jahnke eds., Textiles and the Me- dieval Economy: Production, Trade, and the Consumption of Textiles, 8th–16th Centuries (Oxford/Philadelphia 2015), 23-40. 6. Other redactions of this regulation can be found in manuscripts E1, H, J, U, and D. US WURK LXIV (2015), p. 73 Thio thredde ned is: Sa thet kind is stocnakend jeftha huslas and thenna ti thiuster niwel- and nedcalda winter and thio longe thiustre nacht on tha tunan hliet, sa faret allera monna hwelic on sin hof an on sin hus an on sin warme winclen and thet wilde diar secht thera birga hli and then hola bam, alther hit sin lif one bihalde. Sa waynat an skriet thet vnierich kind and wepet thenne sine nakene lithe and sin huslase an sinne /feder, ther him reda scholde with then hunger and then niwelkalda winter, thet hi sa diape <and> alsa dimme mith fior neilum is vnder eke and vnder ther molda bisleten and bithacht. Sa mot thio moder hire kindis erue setta and sella, thervmbe thet hiu ach ple and plicht, alsa longe sa hit vngerich is, thet hit noder frost ne hunger ne in fangenschip vrfare. 7 The third necessity is: when the child is stark naked or homeless, and when the dark, misty, and ice-cold winter, and the long dark night spread over the fences, then each man heads to his yard and his house and his warm room; and the wild animal seeks the shelter of the mountain and the hollow tree, in which it can save its body. Then, the underage child cries and moans and beweeps his naked body, his homelessness, and his father, who would save him from hunger, and the cold, misty winter; and that his father is so deep and so dark, by four nails, covered under oak and under earth. Then his mother is allowed to pawn and sell the child’s inheritance, because she has the care and duty to make sure that it does not die from hunger or cold as long as it is a minor. The child’s naked body is threatened by the ‘dark, misty, and ice-cold winter’, as well as the ‘long dark night’. The circumstances bring about a need for proper clothing that is dire enough to allow an exception to the second Landlaw. The child’s mother even has the ‘care and duty’ to sell part of the inheritance, which was strictly forbidden for her to sell otherwise, in order to ensure that her child would not die from hunger or cold. The sale of the inheritance is necessary, because the cause of the nakedness and home- lessness is poverty in the first place. A garment would quickly solve the most prominent problem of the child being naked. The passage makes a telling comparison to this effect, that underlines the idea that clothing is meant to protect against outside threats: the safety, comfort, and warmth provided by clothing are compared to those of a house. In the passage above, the child is explicitly said to be in danger because of its nakedness and homelessness. Cover and safety is sought and 7. L24 , F IV no. 2 (Buma, Ebel (1972) 42). US WURK LXIV (2015), p. 74 found in one’s own yard, house, and warm room; the homeless mother is obliged to provide her child with the same protection through clothing. Han Nijdam has pointed out that clothing was likened to a house elsewhere in the laws as well. A burglar needed to break through three doors in order to penetrate into the heart of a house; likewise, three pieces of clothing were to be cut through before a woman’s skin showed. 8 Furthermore, the tariff lists and other legal texts show the inclination to treat offenses pertaining to clothing, for instance theft of garments, alongside offenses concerning the house, such as trespass and burglary. 9 The symbolism is clear: clothing and housing protect the body from the cold and the elements. But there is another symbolic message in this passage, one that is of great interest to the remainder of the present investigation. Whereas the mentioned yard, house, and warm room signify realty, as do the other mentions of house and home discussed above, clothing, a moveable good par excellence , signifies personalty. As will be further elaborated upon, the protective house and clothing symbolize property. Like the pitiful child in the passage above, one who is without home and clothing is without any property at all. The protective function of clothing encompassed more than just protection against the elements and the cold. The following passage from the Statutes of Magnus shows that clothing provided protection against violence as well. The mentioned Frisians are naked, which stresses their vulnerability when faced with the Roman enemy. That they have to fight ‘with their hands’ shows that their nakedness indicates an unarmed state. A close reading of the passage also reveals a connection between being naked and being without wealth. Tha thet strid vphewen warth twisc Romera heran and thene kening Kerl, tha brochtma tha nakene Fresan alles afara, hu se erst alle forslain worde. Tha nethtend tha Fresan mitha liwe and efter bifuchten hiat mithta hondum, thet se Rome wonnen an thredda tyd thes deys, tha Romera heran ouer hiara mose weren.