Author Archives: tiresias91

I thought making a replica of legionary outerwear and armor would be a fun project. I just had no idea how fun.

The standard tunic was the easiest part, and probably the most accurate portion of my replica. A real Roman tunic would be made of wool, but in this case, muslin was much more easily available and cost-effective, not to mention an appropriate color to represent un-dyed wool. The neck was made by cutting a slit, and ‘sleeves’ were simply gaps in the stitching. “Many tunics were made with much longer neckslits” in a real legionary’s tunic, “so that for heavy work the right arm could be slipped out.” (Amt) However, I couldn’t foresee any ‘heavy work’ being done during the presentation, and I wanted the tunic to stay on securely, so the neck of my tunic was more fitted.

I was able to make the armor fairly accurate as well, and it was by far the most enjoyable part of the project. Strips of poster-board lined on both sides with duct-tape simulated 1st century “lorica segmentata:” plate armor clearly depicted on Trajan’s column. Ancient armor would have been steel bands “fastened to internal leather straps” which “surrounded the torso in two halves, being fastened at the front and back by means of brass hooks, which were joined by leather laces.” (Wikipedia contributors) But for ease of transportation and presentation, I chose to make my armor in one piece, rather than have to construct and deconstruct it and waste class time.

I was concerned that the armor might not fit perfectly, but I realized that not many soldiers could have afforded custom-made armor. “Some pieces of armor” that have been found and salvaged bore inscriptions of “The names of two, three, or even four men, generally successive owners.” A new recruit may have bought armor from a veteran, inherited it from his father or grandfather, or had it issued to him by the “custos armorum,” (MacMullen) so it makes sense that it wouldn’t be a perfect fit.

The sandals and helmet were the least accurate parts of my presentation, and the only parts I bought rather than constructing myself. Images from Trajan’s column don’t shed much light on Roman military footwear, only showing the occasional ankle strap or visible sole of a shoe. Fashion wasn’t really the column’s focus, and it didn’t help that many Romans seemed to go barefoot at times. Sources varied on whether legionaries wore sandals, or more boot-like leather shoes. All agreed that often “hobnails were hammered into the sole for added strength. Similar to the modern cleat.” (Wikipedia contributors)

Soldiers from the time of the Dacian wars depicted on Trajan’s column generally wore ‘Montefortino’ helmets, “named after the region of Montefortino in Italy,” where one such helmet was uncovered. Rather than the plumed crest of the costume piece I purchased, the average soldier’s helmet would have had “a raised central knob, and a protruding neck guard” Instead of the thin half-guard of the costume helmet. A Montefortino helmet also had “cheek plates to protect the sides of the head,” Not the stylized face-guard of the helmet I presented. (Wikipedia contributors)

All in all, each piece gave me a good jumping-off point to describe a Roman soldier’s typical outerwear, regardless of its relative authenticity. And while duct-tape armor may not hold up against a sword – or even a particularly heavy rain – I learned quite a bit, and had a lot of fun making it.

Used with permission, Copyright Peter Rockwell

Amt, Matthew R. “Tunic.” LEGIO XX ONLINE HANDBOOK. larp.com, 18 mar 2011. Web. 12 Apr 2012. <http://www.larp.com/legioxx/tunic.html&gt;.

MacMullen, Ramsay. “Inscriptions on Armor and the Supply of Arms in the Roman Empire.” American Journal of Archaeology. 64.1 (1960): 23-40. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

Wikipedia contributors. “Montefortino Helmet.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 01 Feb 2012. Web. 12 Apr 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montefortino_helmet&gt;.

Wikipedia contributors. “Roman military personal equipment.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 08 Apr 2012 . Web. 12 Apr 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_military_personal_equipment

((Primary source is image from Trajan’s column))

Many of us have seen the movie A Knight’s Tale, the story of William Thatcher’s adventures revolving around his impersonation of a knight named Ulrich Von Lichtenstein. But what few know is that ‘Ulrich’ wasn’t just a nom-de-guerre created for the Columbia Pictures Organization, but a real person.

Ulrich Von Lichtenstein was a “Prominent member of the nobility in Styria who was especially active in politics and poetry in the middle third of the thirteenth century.” (Heinen) He “was born in 1200 in… Present-day Austria,” but the rest of his life is not so easily ascertained by historians. His most famous work is the “supposedly autobiographical poetry collection Frauendienst” (Wikipedia contributors) which “Describe[s] a journey he made dressed as the goddess Venus, during which he took part in innumerable jousts and tournaments, all for the unrequited love of his lady.” (Prestwich)

Few can forget the image of William Thatcher bravely tilting against nobles and royals and winning the hand of the fair Jocelyn, but I’m sure the real Ulrich Von Lichtenstein (or at least his literary alter-ego) cut an even more memorable figure with a crowned Venus, “wield[ing] a red arrow and a flaming, red torch… ‘rid[ing]’ on [his] helmet as he rides on his horse, triumphing over him” even as he bested other knights. His choice of clothing represents not only his love for his chosen lady, but the metaphorical triumph of Venus over Mars, of love over warfare. That the power of Venus often bested even “Hercules, Paris, Achilles, Troilus, Aeneas, Samson, Tristan, and Lancelot.” A knight had his duties to his superiors and his code, but all were “overcome by a triumphant Venus at one point or another.” (Baldwin).

Ulrich von Lichtenstein, from the Codex Manesse, 1305

Baldwin, Robert. “SocialHistoryofArt.com.” German, Poet-Knight [Ulrich von Lichtenstein] Rides into Battle Under the Crest of Venus, from the Codex Manesse, ca. 1300 . Robert Baldwin, 02 Mar 2012. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&sqi=2&ved=0CD4QFjAD&url=http://www.socialhistoryofart.com/Baldwin%20%20The%20Knight%20of%20Love%20in%20the%20Manesse%20Codex.doc&ei=Z7yAT5K4CorjiAKEqeWIAw&usg=AFQjCNFj-CrFrax1BQuXc0Gt-F9TeOb29A&gt;.

Scholar: Heinen, Hubert. “Ulrich von Lichtenstein: “Homo (il)litteratus” or Poet/Performer?.” Journal of English and Germanic Philology. 83.2 (1984): 159-172. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27709309&gt;.

Prestwich, Michael. Knight the Medieval Warrior’s Unofficial Manual. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2010. 83. Print.

Wikipedia contributors. “Ulrich von Liechtenstein.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 04 Mar 2012. Web. 5 Apr 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_von_Liechtenstein

((Primary source is my image.))

Trajan’s column stands “34 meters high to the top of the statue base and… tell[s] the story of Trajan’s victories in the Dacian wars of AD 101 to 106” (Lancaster). The outside of the column is carved with a winding frieze, whose “scenes depict mostly the Roman army in military activities.” However, battles aren’t the only part of the wars depicted on the column; many of the segments portray glorious send-offs and returns of armies to towns and forts, and several scenes of civilians, from prisoners to nobles, “showing about 2,500 figures in all.” (Wikipedia Contributors)

What struck me about the scenes in the column depicting civilians was the number of children. In most stories of military victories, one wouldn’t expect to find women or children, but many of the scenes on Trajan’s column that depict towns or the aftermath of battles portray women, children, and even what seem to be elderly people.

John Hungerford Pollen explains one such scene in detail, describing “a stronghold, in which the old, the women, and children of the enemy have taken refuge” while “an old man tries to escape with a child.” Women in the scene “carry their infants with them in the effort to escape,” though “The emperor… is giving assurance of protection to the women and children.”

It’s unclear whether this is attention to detail, some kind of propaganda, or merely an artistic preference of the sculptors, but children – not just Roman children, but Dacian and ‘Barbarian’ children as well – show up in nearly every civilian segment. Often they look slightly disproportionate, or are held up at impossible or dangerous angles, but they seem to add a sense of realism and a richness of detail to the piece.

Scene 39 Subjugated Dacians. Used with permission, Copyright Peter Rockwell http://www.stoa.org/trajan/buildtrajanpage.cgi?441

Lancaster, Lynne. “Building Trajan’s Column.” American Journal of Archaeology. 103.3 (1999): 419-439. Print.

Pollen, John Hungerford. A Description of the Trajan Column . London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1874. Web. <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/Trajans_Column/John_Pollen/Description/22*.html&gt;.

Wikipedia contributors. “Trajan’s Column.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 02 Mar 2012. Web. 6 Mar 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan’s_Column&gt;.