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It came up during our latest event; what was the customary length for tunics for citizens, soldiers or slaves? I thought citizen tunics were longer, and that only soldiers and slaves wore them above the knee. There was discussion on that, and someone had a reference that I didn't write down. Any thoughts on this?
Richard Campbell
Legio XX - Alexandria, Virginia
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All evidence points in the direction. However, the question remains open whether this was an iossue of tunic length or the way it was worn (ie belted). Personally, I would go with the assumption that most Roman tunics of the Principate era were fairly long - calf-length or so - and that soldiers and other people who had to do manual labour or move about a lot would belt them high while civilians wore them lower or even unbelted.
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Volker Bach
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Cato (de Agric., LIX) states that tunics for farm workers should be P.III S translated as 1.07m long.
A number of tunics survive intact from the early imperial period which are discussed in the various reports from Egypt, Mons Claudianus and Israel, Nahal Hever.
The only certain measurement for a military tunic is provided by BGU 1564 a papyrus from Egypt, which is an order for clothing and blankets from the army in Cappadocia and that is 1.55m long by 1.40m wide. Roman tunics are generally wider than they are long and yes these are huge amounts of material which must have been adjusted to fit the individual wearer.
Graham
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"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
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While I was using the library at Yale University I looked at a copy of Lillian May Wilson's book "The Clothing of the Ancient Romans". She wrote about the "girt length of tunics" meaning the "belted" length. I wish I had written down the source of her citation, but here goes the gist of it:
For a civilian man, the front should extend to just below the knee, with the back reaching to the middle of the knee. Any longer than that is only fitting for a woman, and shorter is for a "centurion."
This is a rough paraphrase of her citation and I'm pretty certain she was quoting a Roman writer. I do distinctly remember the use of the specific word "centurion" rather than a more generic word like "soldier."
I spent more time taking notes on fabrics used by the Romans and also photocopying information on three different togas, inluding dimensions and draping of same. It is truly wonderful to get one's hands on an academic library, especially one like Yale's, even if it is just for a day!
Marcus Quintius Clavus
aka: Quinton Marcus Johansen
Quinton Johansen
Marcus Quintius Clavus, Optio Secundae Pili Prioris Legionis III Cyrenaicae
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Quote:While I was using the library at Yale University I looked at a copy of Lillian May Wilson's book "The Clothing of the Ancient Romans". She wrote about the "girt length of tunics" meaning the "belted" length. I wish I had written down the source of her citation, but here goes the gist of it:
For a civilian man, the front should extend to just below the knee, with the back reaching to the middle of the knee. Any longer than that is only fitting for a woman, and shorter is for a "centurion."
This is a rough paraphrase of her citation and I'm pretty certain she was quoting a Roman writer. I do distinctly remember the use of the specific word "centurion" rather than a more generic word like "soldier."
I think that was Quintilian, in which case the word 'centurion' makes perfect sense. We are talking upper-class dress advice here. However, there are depictions of Ropmans wearing their tunics longer than this, and while that may have been uncceptable for senators or lawyers, it seems to have been common enough for their equivalent of 'casual Friday'.
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Volker Bach