Penula, pileus, udons and caligi or what did the ancient Romans wear in the cold?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The ancient Romans considered pants to be barbaric clothing. It was not customary to wear this. The first images of Roman soldiers in "barbarian" trousers appear only in the 2nd century AD. The same was true for warm robes. And here a reasonable question arises: how, in this case, did the warlike inhabitants of sunny Italy dress in bad weather or during the northern campaigns?

After all, in some Germany, Gaul or the British Isles it could be extremely cold.

For a long time, the notion of signitas was a "scary" thing in Rome. Translated from Latin, this word means "dignity". However, for the ancient Romans, "Dignitas" is also a cumulative concept of moral, ethical and social concepts about how a citizen is allowed to act and how not. For a long time, the Romans were terrible xenophobes.

Suffice it to mention that most of the indigenous population of Italy was not considered Romans back in the era of the Allied Wars at the beginning of the 1st century BC (which is very ironic and stupid, since all Italians by that time were already 100% Romanized). Dignitas, on the other hand, was one of those things that drew a divide between the Romans - citizens and "every conquered peasant." He determined, among other things, what can and cannot be donned.

However, both Roman soldiers and Roman citizens refused to stoically endure the cold, and therefore independently invented a variety of, including warm clothes.

1. Caligi and Calcea

Depending on the weather and the time of year, the Romans could wear caligi on their feet - sandals or calcea. The latter resembled boots made of leather. They wore such clothes, as a rule, in bad weather or cold seasons. Calcei were not as comfortable as caligi, but they protected the leg from getting wet. However, sandals could also be worn in cold weather. In this case, the Romans supplemented them with woolen socks.

2. Udons and fascia

For many it will be a discovery, but in ancient Rome they knew very well what socks are. This means that along with the problem "Carthage must be destroyed" the sons of Mars faced the problem of the "second sock" in the morning. They sewed udons from wool. The Romans made socks very dense, which is why they perfectly protected the feet not only from the cold, but also from dampness. All strata of society wore socks, but first of all the soldiers. Since udons and kaligi were the best pairing during long marches.

The Romans called fascia not only the lictor bundle, but also woolen leg wraps. In cold weather, the fascia was wrapped around the shins to the knee and tightened with leather straps.

3. Tunic

The main item of clothing for the Romans. With some external similarity, one should not confuse the Latin tunic and the Greek chiton. By the way, against the background of most chitons, antique tunics are just a "bag with a slot for the head." Tunics could be made from a wide variety of fabrics, however, everyday and military samples were usually made from the same wool.

Wool has amazing thermoregulatory properties, protects well from rain, and keeps warm well. In cold weather, the Romans could wear two or even three tunics, which were tied with belts or belts. The tunic is a great example of the fact that everything ingenious is simple.

Also, the Romans used togas, which were always worn over tunics. True, not everyone relied on them. Only citizens had the right to wear a toga in Roman society. Moreover, only the most senior members of society, primarily senatorial fathers and citizens in certain government posts, were entitled to certain colors of togas.

4. Penula, lacrna, sagum

Very often, the Roman tunic was used with some kind of road cloak. The children of Venus had a representative number of types of cloaks. The simplest and most popular option is a penula, a shepherd's cloak made of leather, wool or felt with fasteners and a hood. Legionnaires often used marching cloaks without hoods - lacunae. There were also small sagum cloaks and long paludamentums.

5. Pileus

"The cap of a freedman", as it was called in ancient Rome. Despite its name, literally all segments of the population wore the pileus. In fact, this is an ordinary shepherd's hat made of felt. The Romans appear to have brought the pileus from Greece or the Balkans when they conquered the Faction in the 2nd century BC.

In addition, the Romans used several types of removable hoods to cover the head that were not fastened to the rest of the clothing. A small cockle and a large hood that covers all the shoulders of a puul (not to be confused with a Caucasian pakul hat).