Roman clothing, legionaries

Due to the long history, Roman clothing was anything but consistent. Not only did the clothing vary by period, but influences from, for example, the Gauls and Germans had a significant impact on Roman fashion. In this blog, we delve into the clothing of Roman legionaries from the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century AD. 

Until the Edict of Caracalla in 212 AD, legionaries were recruited exclusively from Roman citizens with citizenship rights. Other inhabitants of the Roman Empire could serve in the Roman army as auxiliary troops. The majority of the population of the Roman Empire did not have citizenship, which meant that only a small part of society could produce legionaries.

Military personnel preferred a tunica with less fabric. More fabric symbolized wealth but became cumbersome when wearing armor and engaging in warfare.

Military personnel liked to wear trousers and socks. Among the Romans, there was a kind of taboo against wearing trousers. This traditional attitude has a clear Mediterranean origin and was very inconvenient for legionaries in colder regions of the empire. Therefore, legionaries began to wear trousers, and tunics got sleeves. Initially, these trousers were preferably worn inconspicuously under the tunic. But as the 'cultural exchange' between Gaul-Germany and the Roman legions progressed, the taboo on wearing the trousers began to diminish. This tradition was very persistent. Emperor Honorius (395 - 423 AD) and Theodosius II banned the wearing of trousers by men in Rome. 

In conducting historical research, one is limited to the available sources. Reliefs were made at someone's commission, and the commissioners (or their family) naturally wanted to present themselves as beautifully as possible. Laws can also be enacted against wearing, for example, trousers, but if there is a need for them, it is likely that people still took the trousers out of the closet. This may apply to all garments mentioned in this blog. Exceptions are also known. Emperor Aurelian (270-275 CE) adapted his tunic with long sleeves, which was against Roman fashion.

In 258 tomb portraits from the Northwest of the Roman Empire, which historian Anique Hamelink examined, it appears that the well-known toga is almost never depicted. Instead, Gallic clothing or a mix of Gallic and Roman clothing was popular. Additionally, Roman evening wear for festive occasions was often depicted. Accessories were frequently a combination of Roman and Gallic items. 

In the 3rd century AD, there were various causes that led to major changes in the Roman Empire. This period can be seen as the beginning of the Migration Period. The change in clothing style (and warfare) occurred because the Romans increasingly came into contact with enemies who used different methods of warfare. Styles and techniques were adopted, including clothing. In this blog, we limit ourselves to the period before the 3rd century AD. 

We approach the clothing up to the late Principate from head to toe. 

The earliest mentions of the pilos can be found among the Etruscans and the ancient Greeks . The pilos is a small cap worn by both military and civilians of the Roman Empire. For legionnaires, the pilos also served as a form of head protection to absorb blows. The helmet protected against stab or cut wounds and fatal injuries, but without a pilos, it did not protect against a concussion. The pilos was often made of felt, sometimes they were glued directly into the helmet.

Most of these liners and similar caps have been found by archaeologists in Egypt, although it cannot be stated with certainty that they were all specifically used as head protection in the helmet. Among the finds is a cap of green felt and a cap of triangular pieces of red, green, and yellow fabric. Both finds are dated to the early 2nd century AD. An interesting example is a cap from Didymoi with ear flaps, which repeats the shape of the helmet, providing evidence for its use as arming cap.

The focale (Latin: focale) was a Roman scarf designed to protect the neck from body armor such as the lorica hamata or lorica segmentata. It prevented the armor from pressing or chafing the neck while walking. The focale was preferably wide to protect as much of the shoulders as possible. It may also have been a fashion accessory and provided protection against the cold. Evidence of this can be found in a relief where the worker Apinosus is depicted wearing a long scarf. This suggests that this garment was used not only by legionaries and auxiliaries but also by military officers and ordinary citizens of ancient Rome. These scarves were made of wool or linen. 

The Romans had different words for cloak including sagum, caracalla, byrrus, and paenula. It is often unclear which type of cloak these words refer to, and it is often difficult to identify which is which in art.

The sagum was a woolen cloak worn by Roman legionaries and officers. It was typically fastened to one shoulder with a fibula. Unlike the paenula, the sagum had a simpler design: it was a rectangle, not a half-circle, and had no hood. The cloak could be adorned with embroidery along the edges or corners, and sometimes the fabric was frayed at the bottom into a small fringe. The sagum may not have been very popular among legionaries and auxiliae; they more often used the paenula because it was more practical. The sagum was more typical for officers and was most frequently depicted on centurions. Various archaeological finds and reliefs show sagums. Cloaks similar to the sagum were also found among other ancient peoples, notably the Celts and the ancient Greeks, and were possibly mainly worn by military personnel. The Romans wore cloaks in various colors, such as red, brown, gray, and blue, with the imperial colour purple, although emperors more often wore the paludamentum. The typical colour of a cloak for auxiliae was green. Celts would choose shades of gray, blue, and green, while Greeks often chose red, gray, and terracotta.

The paludamentum closely resembles the sagum, with the difference that it was rounded at the bottom. They were worn in similar colors to the sagum and were also fastened to one shoulder with a fibula. Other cloaks could include a hood, as depicted on a relief of a farmer in Trier. This was the precursor of the later chaperon. 

The tunic was the most important garment for Roman men. Every man, from slave to emperor, wore a tunic. The tunic was a long, sleeveless tunic that had a rectangular shape with openings for the arms and head. This type of clothing varied in length and width: the tunics of legionaries reached above the knees. Wide tunics covered the shoulders, creating a kind of sleeve that reached to the elbows. The tunic was a simple garment without seams or fit, and it was adjusted to the wearer's body using belts and buckles. It was also common to wear multiple tunics at once; an under-tunic served as an ancient equivalent of modern underwear, providing warmth in colder weather conditions. This style of clothing was most widespread in ancient Rome and Greece.

During the Roman period, tunics were usually made from sheep's wool, with linen as a less common material due to the higher production costs.

A higher social status allowed someone to wear a tunic with clavi—two thin vertical stripes that ran down from the collarbone. The most common combination was a white base color (the colour of undyed wool) with red stripes. In preserved images, craftsmen and gladiators are depicted wearing such tunics. Senators could wear a special tunic—the tunica laticlavia with wide purple stripes, emphasizing their high social status and wealth. The poorer class sometimes had two dark (natural tones) clavi on the tunic.

The military tunic differed from the civilian tunic by its shorter length—with belts, it fell just above the knees. Centurions are often depicted in the shortest tunics. Military tunics were usually plain, with even contrasting stripes being much less common. According to preserved reliefs, legionaries did not wear striped tunics, although it is possible that the stripes were simply not depicted to simplify the artwork.

Today, legionaries are often depicted in a red tunic, mainly due to our modern imagery. There was no such thing as a universal colour. Legionaries wore tunics in various colors such as red, ocher, blue, gray, and brown. Green was popular with auxiliae and undyed fabrics (white cream, gray) were often used.

The lower class did not wear belt over the tunic. In images found in Pompeii, men are depicted such as tavern-goers, gamblers, or just men on the street buying bread, for example. They did not wear belts over their tunic. 

The tunic was originally an undergarment where the cloak was the main garment. However, over time, an undertunic was worn under the tunic. In the 1st century BC, there are some references to the undertunic. In art, the undertunic is never depicted; it was a garment that was not meant to be seen. Possibly, this garment was created for extra warmth and so that the tunic needed to be washed less often, thereby preserving the colour longer. In the 2nd century AD, it was acceptable in the northwestern provinces for the undertunic to be visible at the neck. The undertunic is also visible in some 3rd-century portraits from Egypt. Sometimes an undertunic with long sleeves was worn under the tunic, but this was not really an undertunic, as the purpose was for the sleeves to be visible. These were often decorated. 

Despite the taboo, trousers (braccae) were very popular. The Romans were terrified of appearing effeminate. Therefore, a man simply had to endure the cold as a hardship. In warmer climates, this was feasible, but in the rest of the Empire, such barbaric braccae came in handy. The length of the braccae was just below the knee, which distinguished them from the trousers of the barbarians, which reached the ankles. Archaeological finds of woolen and leather braccae have been made in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. On Trajan's Column and the Adamclisi monument, legionaries and auxiliaries can be seen in braccae, but there are also examples of praetorians. The braccae offered the same advantages from the crotch to the knee as a trousers. But it was not visible, so it seemed as if you, as a dignified Roman with civil rights, did not wear a trousers.

However, woolen trousers found in Damendorf and Thorsbjerg cannot be considered braccae, as they reached the ankles and belonged to the clothing of barbarians, for example, worn by Celts and Germans. Additionally, the trousers were not made of linen. There are also many visual sources. From the second century AD, the braccae begin to appear in Roman fashion, and not only in the northern regionss. Around this time, the trousers was even accepted by the Romans.

The invention of trousers is related to horseback riding, as they protected the lower abdomen, groin, and genital area from cold and horseflies. The trousers was probably brought to Europe around 3500 BC by the Proto-Indo-European steppe herders from the Pontic-Caspian steppe. A variant of chausses was already worn in earlier times in Europe and has been found with the ice mummy Ötzi. The oldest known trousers was found in the Necropolis of Yanghai in the Xinjiang region in northwest China, where in ancient times the Indo-European Tocharian language was spoken by a Semi-Nomadic people of Indo-European descent.  

In the 1st century, trousers were absolutely not worn by Roman urbanites. Instead, the lower legs, and possibly also the upper legs, were wrapped with woolen flaps that were provided with laces at the top and bottom. It is quite possible that around this time leg wrappings (known among the Vikings as winingas) made their appearance. Possibly, these were also attached to the upper legs in some cases, as a satire by Juvenal (satire 6.263) seems to describe.

Socks are not often mentioned in classical antiquity, but they were gladly worn. They offered protection against cold feet, blisters, and injuries. Socks not only provided comfort but also had an aesthetic role, often being decorated with various patterns and dyed in bright colors.

The closest Latin term that has come down to us is impilia, which refers to felted stockings or soft shoes. However, there is a theory that the modern English word "socks" originates from the Latin word soccus, which described a type of shoe without a heel worn by actors. In turn, this Latin term comes from the Greek word sykchos.

The oldest known socks found by archaeologists were discovered in Egypt and date from the 5th-3rd century BC. These socks were made of wool and were worn in combination with sandals, as evidenced by finds from places such as Vindolanda in Britain. In some sandals discovered during excavations, remnants of wool were found, indicating the use of socks in open sandals.

Socks in antiquity were made in various ways. One of these methods was nalbinding, but felted socks were also worn. 

Caligae were open Roman footwear. Caligae covered the foot from the sole to the shin and were primarily worn by Roman soldiers during the Republic and the Principate. They were most often worn by legionaries, auxiliary troops, and lower and middle-ranking officers. Caligae were especially popular in the eastern part of the Empire due to the warm and dry climate, where sandals were widely worn by the civilian population for the same reason. In the northern provinces, a more popular closed shoe, the calcei, was widespread.

Caligae were leather sandals with a thick sole. The upper part of the caligae consisted of interwoven leather straps that covered the ankle and foot. The straps were usually tied around the soldier's ankle, leaving the toes exposed. The thick sole of the caligae, adorned with small nails, provided comfort and prevented rapid wear. The use of nailed soles was also common in calcei, where they served both practical and decorative purposes, forming aesthetic patterns on many finds. Thus, the construction of the caligae provided lightness, durability, and comfort during long marches, while allowing the foot to breathe.

Archaeological discoveries have shown instances where caligae were worn with socks or wraps, providing cushioning and warmth for the feet in cold weather.

In the 1st century AD, caligae were widespread throughout the entire Roman Empire and became a symbol of the soldier's profession. However, from the 2nd century AD and into the early 3rd century AD, they gradually disappeared in the northern regions of the Empire, likely replaced by warmer calcei. This shift can be attributed to various factors, such as climate change, the practical advantages of closed footwear, fashion trends, and other less significant factors.