Daily Life of the Ancient Romans by David Matz

Author:David Matz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenwood Press

Clothing

In the recent past American culture has been saturated with movies and parties celebrating the toga, the national dress of the ancient Romans. But their closets would contain more than simply togas, and their wardrobe would exhibit nearly as much variety as any but the most obsessive modern-day clothes horse.

Lacerna. A loose-fitting cloak that could also be thrown over the head, like a hood.

It's all black and white. Martial (4.2) tells the tale of a certain Horatius, who went to the open-air theater on a chilly day, and hence wore his black lacerna; all the other spectators wore white ones. But when snow began falling, it was not long before Horatius's lacerna, too, was white.

Watching the skies. Pliny the Elder (18.25) notes that clothing retailers (vestis institores) set their prices and inventories according to their best predictions-or guesses of future weather patterns. For example, if they thought that the countryside was due for a wet, chilly winter, they would raise the prices for lacernae, just in time for the anticipated demand for winter clothing.

Protect the toga. Sometimes, a lacerna might be worn over the toga to protect it, almost like an overcoat. Juvenal (9.28-31) refers to his pinguis (thick, heavy) lacerna as a munimenta togae, a "protector of his toga." Martial also mentions lacernae utilized for this purpose (14.135).

Don't leave home with it. Suetonius reports that Augustus was greatly distressed one day when he saw people milling around in the forum wearing dark cloaks and other forms of (what he considered) inappropriate apparel. So he issued a decree that henceforth those who frequented the forum must do so wearing the toga, without cloaks. (Suetonius Life of Augustus 40).

Paenula. "A close-fitting, hooded cloak, made of weatherproof material" (OLD).

Let's get ready to rumble! The first century B.C. politician Titus Annius Milo was riding in his wagon (raeda) near his home one day, when he was beset by thugs in the employ of his rival, Publius Clodius. Milo met his assailants by jumping down from the wagon, throwing back the paenula that he was wearing, and unsheathing his sword. His actions were sufficiently intimidating so as to cause his tormenters to flee. (Cicero On Behalf of Milo 29).

Wear it on a trip... Martial observes that Roman weather could be fickle and unpredictable, so a traveler should be certain to pack a cloak even on a day that looks to be warm and sunny. At such times, a leather cloak (paenula scortea) is the recommended choice, especially as protection against rain. Seneca alludes to the leather paenula's protective qualities against hail (Martial 14.130; Seneca Natural Questions 4B.6).

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