It's Black History Month · 9:28pm Feb 9th, 2021

So let's talk about the history of the color black!

An achromatic color that is the total absence of light, black has long been associated with the darkness & the unknown, therefore it is often shown in myth as being affiliated with the wild, chaotic, mysterious side of nature, & after widespread agriculturalism and values based on laws rather than clan identity, it became associated with evil. However, it has since become associated with civilization & culture, starting with the Industrial Revolution, due to the hefty uses of coal during that time & the popularity of black clothing around that time.

Its earliest uses in art were in the neolithic cave paintings, which was achieved with charcoal. Much like today's art, black was mostly used to draw outlines of the animals rather than to properly color them.

It later started popping up in Ancient Egypt, where it was actually associated with fertility, due to the dark color of the Nile's soil. Perhaps it was this strong association with life that it actually became associated with the god of the dead, Anubis, for he protected the dead & permitted life to them.

However, such positive connotations were not present in Roman culture: for them, black was associated with evil & death, the opposite of everything comfortable. The Latin word "ater" is actually the root word for English word "atrocious". As such, emperors & soldiers never wore it, but rather craftsmen, & it was also a color used for funeral attire.

For the ancient Germanic tribes, their relationship with the color black was far more complicated, as unlike the Egyptians, it was not associated with life, nor was it associated with evil like the Romans. Rather, they associated it with the night & unknown, & thus in their religion, the deepest parts of the spirit world, so black became a prominent color for both good & evil in their worldviewpoint. As such, both Odin & Nótt, who they worshipped, were affliated with black, but so was Hel, the goddess of death that they feared.

When the Roman Empire fell & was taken over by many Germanic kingdoms, heralding what is often called "the Middle Ages", they still left much of their cultural legacy behind, resulting in the Germanic kingdoms having a more consistently negative attitude towards the color black. As a result, the Devil was depicted as a black monster. However, due to such negative connotations, it became a color of humility, so it was worn by Benedictine monks while the nobles wore red. This association with monks would lead to an association with power, to the point that the Holy Roman Empire's flag was a black eagle.

However, that is just the western history of the color black. The East also had a history with this opposite of white. Rather than assign any kind of moral charge to the color, it was used to symbolize frugality, especially during winter, as well as glory & authority, hence their police uniforms are black. It was also used to write on parchment, because it contrasted the best with white. To write on paper, this required an ink based on soot, terpentine, & walnut oil.

As the West continued its exposure to China over the years, it adopted similar means of using black ink & dyes, as well as similar cultural associations. These plus how much more expensive the new black dyes were gave black a status associated with legal authority. This was eventually picked up by the highest nobility, beginning in northern Italy, where it was worn by the Duke of Milan. Afterwards, one by one, this phenomenon took other countries by storm, including France, England (famously worn by Philip the Good), & then finally Spain.

But something happened in the 16th century: The Reformation. The Protestants avoided the bright colors of the Catholic church, resulting in a push for dark colors, such as the black worn by John Calvin. However, after the Protestant movements were largely supplanted, black largely disappeared as a fashion color.

For a while...

...Then the 1800s came along. With them, came coal, which made black the symbol of success, industry, & progress. With even better black dyes available, it became the color of wealth & formality, & to this day, black is the color associated with these.

& that is black history!

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