ABSTRACT
Disguising is bad. It is bad in a very complex, almost total way, which invests many of the cornerstones of Christian morals and society. It is bad according to the Old and according to the New Testament, according to the Church Fathers and according to contemporary theologians and preachers. Arguments against disguise and masking, although particularly frequent in English writings, appear in other contexts as well. The passages from the 'Homily against excesse of Appareil' and the other texts quoted show that the prescriptions against cross-dressing (and, more generally, against all kinds of disguise) were considered absolute. Although impostures and lies were the principal tools of the trade of (professional) beggars and although confusion through apparel was not the only kind of disguise which beggars performed, need was more often than not at the root of their frauds.
