Civic Livery in Medieval London

I have found learning about different elements of civic dress really interesting and I wish more was written about it in particular.

In medieval times ‘livery’ was the dispensing of food and clothing to servants and so in turn livery came to be used for the clothes themselves. The quality of the livery dress denoted the status of the household. By 1300 one could distinguish the household of the servant by the livery they were wearing. Serjeants served Mayors and Aldermen and their rank in time became that of a gentleman. Their job was to run messages, summon people, collect taxes etc. They also accompanied the civic officials, clearing the way for processions, whilst carrying a mace. In modern times this role has continued ceremonially and is called ‘mace-bearers’. These maces were distinctive and identifiable to their role so that in this Sithfield Decretals illustration the rabbit is instantly recognisable as a serjeant by the mace he carries. The maces themselves were used to illustrate power and became elaborate and costly. In 1354 Edward III therefore ordered that serjeants were to be limited to maces of iron, brass or tin, apart from in London and York, where visitors to the cities would see the cities wealth.

The Mayor’s office emerged in the 1190s and they had civil serjeants who took an oath before them and were paid 40s a year. They ate at the mayor’s house, were given houses, had their own servants and would expect a pension. The mayor also supplied them with clothing from his own pocket. It is natural that the mayor would want the serjeants attending him to wear a distinctive and uniform livery. In 1377 a new order was granted that meant that serjeants received a gown and hood for summer at Pentecost and a gown and hood for winter at Christmas.

There are no records before the mid-15^th century of what the livery dress was like. It is possible they would be red and white, the ancient colours of London or what is more likely is they would wear ray (striped) cloth, which was a popular cloth throughout the 14^th and 15^th centuries. This definitely labelled the wearers social status and is described as a ‘visual straightjacket’ and serjeants would try and adapt their cloths, for instance lengthening it to show they were above running messages and clearing processions. In 1486 however this had to be rebuked as the length of their livery was getting in the way of their duties.

I really enjoy research and I feel that learning more about the whole picture of being a Mayor, including their serjeants is important and beneficial.