The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

C u lt u re o f t h e R o m a n A r m y 155
cloak was the paenula, which was more like a poncho, perhaps oval in shape and
put on over the head, with a split down the front joined by toggles or buttons,
and sometimes equipped with a hood. This would not be a specifically military
garment since its practicality would appeal to everyone who had to work in the
open air in inclement weather. Similarly, the byrrus or birrus was not necessarily
a purely military item, but at least one soldier is on record asking his relatives to
send one (Bishop and Coulston, 1993). In the later third century, the birrus britannicus
was a valued British export, specifically assigned a maximum price in
Diocletian’s Edict on Prices in ad 301. Its waterproof qualities perhaps appealed
to the soldiers as well as the civilians of the nort h ern provi n ce s , and ju d gi n g
from the fact that soldiers could ask for such items to be sent to them, they were
probably allowed to wear clothes that kept them warm and dry even if they were
not reg u l a ti on issu e . Mi l i t a ry of f i cers wore a more decora tive cl oak call ed the
paludamentum, reminiscent of the toga in that it was draped over the left shoulder
and wound round the left arm . The portrait of Ma rcus Favon ius Fac i l i s ,
centurion of legio XX, shows this type of cloak quite clearly. The paludamentum
was assoc i a ted more and more with the em perors after the first cen tu ry ad
(Bishop and Coulston, 1993). Cloaks will have been dyed in various colors, but
the available evidence is too scanty to be certain. Generals often wore red cloaks,
and in the late Republic Crassus was censured for wearing an ill-omened black
cloak (Goldsworthy, 2003a).
Soldiers’ boots (caligae) are almost as distinctive as military belts, as attested
by the terminology of the military records, where the number of soldiers present
is often listed as caligati. The Emperor Caligula derived his name from caliga
because his father had a miniature suit of armor made for him, complete with
m i l i t a ry boo t s , so the soldiers of the legi ons on the Rhine gave him his nickname
Little Boots (Caligula is the diminutive form of caliga). There are fortunately
enough extant examples to elucidate all the details of how the boots were
made. The uppers looked more like modern sandals, being cut away to form the
equ iva l ent of s traps that could be laced toget h er at the front to fit most foo t
s i ze s . The uppers , the insoles, and the outer soles were nailed toget h er wi t h
s tuds arra n ged in patterns that pref i g u re modern training shoes (Bi s h op and
Coulston, 1993). An army marching along a stone-paved road must have created
a considerable clatter, and the studs would have helped to maintain grip in
turf and rough terrain, but they did not serve the centurion Julianus very well in
Judaea in ad 70: he slipped on a paved surface, fell heavily, and was killed before
he could get up (Goldsworthy, 2003a). In order to keep warm, the soldiers wore
socks (udones), which probably had no toes or heels, as shown on a sculpture
dep i cting Praetori a n s . One of the Vi n dolanda let ters contains a request for
udones, and from the same source material it is known that underpants (subliga
re s) were worn under the tu n i c . Cava l rym en on some sculptu re s , e s pec i a lly
on Trajan’s Column, are shown wearing leggings that come down to the bend of