In the 17th and 18th centuries, wigs became a significant symbol of status and fashion throughout Europe, particularly among the aristocracy and court circles. Yet, this rising trend was not without its detractors, and among the most vocal opponents was the Roman Catholic Church. The Church’s “war on wigs” highlights a broader conflict between spiritual values and societal trends, which were seen as frivolous or morally questionable.
King Louis XIV of France largely attributed the popularity of wigs, or perukes, in Europe by adopting the style to conceal his balding head. This fashion rapidly spread across European courts, becoming a symbol of wealth, power, and sophistication. These wigs were carefully made and often had extravagant styles, which required a significant amount of money to create. They were not only fashion statements but also markers of social distinction.
As wigs became more widespread among the upper classes, they grew increasingly elaborate. By the late 17th century, the powdered white wig had become a universal emblem of status, signalling the wearer’s societal importance. Certain Church leaders became concerned when even religious order members began wearing wigs.
The Roman Catholic Church viewed this trend with a mix of moral outrage and suspicion. Its objections rested on several key concerns:
The Church denounced wigs as symbols of vanity, contradicting the values of modesty and humility upheld by Christianity. Church leaders feared that this emphasis on outward appearance fostered pride, distracting from the spiritual life.
Wigs were seen as a defiance of God’s natural creation. By covering their heads with extravagant false hair, individuals were, in the Church’s eyes, rejecting the bodies God had given them. The Church saw the artificiality of wigs as a form of deception, implying that people were concealing their true selves behind an elaborate façade.
The Church also associated wigs with licentiousness and moral decay. European courts, where wigs were most popular, were often viewed as centres of decadence, luxury, and loose morals. Clergy feared that by adopting courtly fashion, people were also adopting the moral laxity that came with it.
Some clergy members, particularly in France and Italy, had started to wear wigs themselves, sparking internal Church debates. Church leaders argued that this was unbefitting of those who had devoted their lives to piety. A man of God, they contended, should be concerned with the salvation of souls, not with fashion.
A pivotal moment in the Church’s opposition to wigs came in the early 18th century when Pope Clement XI issued a decree in 1705 banning clergy from wearing wigs. His papal bull, In Coena Domini, explicitly forbade priests from donning wigs, reinforcing the Church’s position that religious figures should eschew vanity and worldly excess.
The decree underscored the notion that clerics, as spiritual leaders, were to remain distinct from secular society, both in their behaviour and appearance. It was an attempt to curb what was seen as creeping secularism within the Church itself. While the Pope’s declaration was largely adhered to, there were pockets of resistance from clergy who had already embraced the trend.
The Church’s stance against wigs was not merely about fashion; it was emblematic of a broader tension between religious authority and the cultural shifts of the time. The early modern period witnessed increasing secularisation and the rise of Enlightenment ideals, which often conflicted with traditional religious values.
To the Church, the wig represented more than just a fashion choice; it symbolised a society drifting away from spiritual values, increasingly focused on materialism, individualism, and worldly pleasure. The Church’s opposition to wigs was part of its larger effort to reaffirm its moral authority in a rapidly changing world.
By the late 18th century, wigs began to fall out of favour. The French Revolution and its associated cultural upheavals dismantled many traditions of the ancien régime, including the elaborate wigs that had once signalled aristocratic excess. As more egalitarian values spread across Europe, the perception of wigs as relics of a bygone era increased.Though the wig’s decline was driven more by political and social changes than by the Church’s influence, the Church’s “war on wigs” was part of a broader cultural battle. It reflected the Church’s ongoing efforts to resist what it saw as the moral decay of European society, standing firm against vanity and excess even as the world around it shifted.
The Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to wigs may seem peculiar in hindsight, but it provides a fascinating insight into the cultural and moral dynamics of early modern Europe. The Church’s concerns about vanity, artificiality, and moral decay reflected a deeper struggle between the spiritual and the secular, the eternal and the temporal. Though wigs are no longer a point of contention, the Church’s resistance to this trend offers a glimpse into its ongoing battle to maintain faith and morality in the face of societal change. Indeed, similar tensions continued into the 1960s with the advent of the mini skirt!
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