The term "scarlets" appears twice in the Book of Mormon describing expensive clothing worn by rich and powerful European gentiles of the great and abominable church more or less contemporaneous with the Age of Discovery (1492 - 1783)
1 Nephi 13:7-8. Sumptuous apparel is mentioned many times in the text in multiple time periods (
2 Nephi 13:23,
Mosiah 10:5,
Alma 1:29,
Alma 4:6,
Helaman 6:13,
Ether 9:17,
10:24). Scarlets, though, are only associated with the gentile nations of Europe at the time of Columbus and the establishment of New World colonies. This subtle detail is corroborated historically. Scarlet is the color worn by Roman Catholic Cardinals. In Western Civilization, it has traditionally signified power, luxury, and wealth. Purple was reserved for royalty, but scarlet was worn by the various classes of nobility.
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| "Portrait of a Young Man" by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) |
Soldiers often wore red, but military officers wore the more brilliant scarlet. The British House of Lords opened new sessions of parliament dressed in scarlet robes.
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| "Queen Anne in the House of Lords" by Peter Tillemans (1684 - 1734) |
It is no coincidence that scarlet is also associated with immorality per
Revelation 17:4 and the great and abominable church is the mother of harlots
1 Nephi 14:17 and the whore of all the earth
2 Nephi 28:18. Scarlet and crimson are sometimes used interchangeably as in
Isaiah 1:18.
The formula for brilliant scarlet dye was a secret closely guarded by Venetian guilds for generations until Mexican cochineal became available in large quantities beginning in 1523.
Color symbolism in Renaissance Europe precisely and accurately fulfilled Nephi's prophetic use of the term "scarlets" in
1 Nephi 13:7-8.
