The following paintings I did a few years ago all illustrate some unusual forms of clothing or perhaps body protection. They are naturally open to interpretation but could represent the under armour garment known as a subarmalis.
In appearance they are very similar to designs familiar to medieval students, in particular illustrations by Memling a fifteenth century Flemish artist. There are also some rare surviving examples from the medieval era which again look very similar to what is depicted in these sculptures.
One could argue that they show padded garments and perhaps like some medieval versions some may have metal stud fittings too. Of course if these are under armour garments then one must immediately ask, why can we see them?
An answer can possibly be found in Roman literature. Septimius Severus made the Praetorian Guard parade only in what was described as a subarmalis before disarming them. SHA, Severus, 6.11 If this was done so as not to arouse suspicion, then the Guard must have frequently worn these garments without armour. M. Spiedel suggests that the subarmalis mentioned in the Carlisle writing tablets was a padded garment that could also be worn in training, not an underarm lance as proposed previously by Tomlin. M.P. Spiedel 2007: The Missing Weapons at Carlisle' Britannia 38 p.237-39'
A subarmalis also appears in a list of clothing supplies from a Vindolanda tablet which would seem to support the theory that it is a garment rather than a weapon. Tab.Vind.II,184,iii,38
There are a number of accounts that in medieval times padded garments were worn in action without armour as they provided substantial protection in their own right. Perhaps therefore these garments were seen more frequently than we might at first assume which accounts for the examples below.
Naturally as mentioned earlier the sculptures are all open to interpretation. Out of interest I have shown these examples to textile historians who all agreed they show padded wool or linen garments but it will be interesting to hear what other RATers make of them.
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
Looks padded to me. There are a pair of reliefs, in ivory iirc, that appear to show
a padded garment sticking out fron under the armour of two republican era soldiers, either Spanish or Roman..
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
I will try..as usual, as soon as I mention something, I can never find it again! :evil:
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Quote:There are a number of accounts that in medieval times padded garments were worn in action without armour as they provided substantial protection in their own right. Perhaps therefore these garments were seen more frequently than we might at first assume which accounts for the examples below.
There were two types of padded garment. One was very lightly padded and designed to be worn under metal armour. The other was much more heavily padded and intended to be a standalone defense. Medieval sources don't help much since the terms used are inconsistent. Unless the two types of garment appear in the same document then it is impossible to tell which is being referred to.
Quote:What do you think those padded garments were stuffed with? Wool fiber? Horsehair?
We don't know is the simple yet honest answer. Perhaps one day we will find one and be able to answer it (some claim odd-shaped bits of leather are part of it but that just reminds me of James Curle wondering if the Newstead saddle horns were armoured shoes: a shot in the dark!). The Anonymous' description of the thoracomachus (which might be the same thing as the subarmalis/e) does not actually mention any padding beyond it being made of thick material. This is largely an evidence-free zone: for all we know it could have been woven from strands of angel hair. You could certainly use wool or horsehair if you wanted to make a reconstruction, but that is not the same as saying what was used.
Mike Bishop
You know my method. It is founded upon the observance of trifles
Maybe wool fibers when you have a lot of sheep, horsehair when you have horses and vegetal fibers when you don't have animals at hand.
And thin subarmalis under plate armour, for comfort, and thick under hamata to absorb the blows...
Common sense?
Graham
I enjoyed these depictions
The newly found "horse barding"- cupric discs with rivets- are what I had ascribed the arch of constantine (and others similar) to be when i first saw the photos of it in the links provided on Rat.
However i also am familiar with quilting with squares, lozenges, etc including canlewicking (the dot in the middle?)
so either, I think, are fair interpretations.
In the other photos of the without doubt (probably) quilted garments I always enjoy the shoulder reinforce that reflects late Hellenic tastes and are represented on most Roman musculata depictions.
regards
Richard
Am i lucky to have found a piece of cloth padded just enough to make one. It "linnen"with a filling and stiched in rows so i think i can make something of it.
AgrimensorLVCIVS FLAVIVS SINISTER
aka Jos Cremers
member of CORBVLO
ESTE NIX PAX CRISTE NIX
On methods of construction we only have the following from Caesar
"....magnusque incesserat timor sagittarum, atque omnes fere milites aut ex coactis aut ex centonibus aut ex coriis tunicas aut tegimenta fecerant, quibus tela votarent"
Civil Wars III.44
Translated in the Loeb edition as "....a great dread of the arrows fell on them and to avoid the missiles nearly all the soldiers had made themselves jerkins or other protections out of felt quilt or hide"
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
The soldier on the right wears what looks like a quilted garment. Perhaps this is the one Byron mentioned?
No, unfortunately, it's not! But thanks! Spent over an hour last night scanning through photos and still no joy!
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Quote:Of course if these are under armour garments then one must immediately ask, why can we see them?
An answer can possibly be found in Roman literature. Septimius Severus made the Praetorian Guard parade only in what was described as a subarmalis before disarming them. SHA, Severus, 6.11 If this was done so as not to arouse suspicion, then the Guard must have frequently worn these garments without armour.
In Tacitus works the presence of light auxiliary infantry cohorts at various encounters is frequently mentioned. Since there seems to be no specialised light infantry cohorts in this period and most auxliaries are depicted as heavy infantrymen I suspect that these were soldiers from ordinary cohorts fighting as light infantry when required.
I doubt they had two sets of armour, but wearing just their subarmalis without the heavy mail shirt seems like a good compromise between mobility and protection. The same should be true for other parts of the army.
