As we take a look outside this festive season, we know to reach for our coats, hats and scarves to keep us warm. When we think about the Roman soldiers of old we have trouble picturing them in anything different than their typical sandal like boots, tunics and armor. In this edition of Tribe History, we take a look at what the Romans used to wear in the cold weather all those years ago!
Yet we do know that Romans did not hibernate or only roamed where the weather was sunny and warm. So how did they protect themselves from low temperatures, snow, ice and rain?
We do know, that the normal Roman soldier had two types of cloaks available: The paenula and the sagum, which could be made of very heavy and warm cloth. The paenula also sometimes featured a hood
What is less generally known is, that Romans actually knew socks and they were pretty common! More than that, they used leg bindings or puttees to keep their legs warm. They also knew scarves and although technology has made leaps and bounds since the day of the Roman soldier, this concept has changed little to not at all.
The Romans also knew about wearing layers, so they wore several tunics or togas at a time to keep them warm. They most likely also made use of hats, trousers, on the other hand, were the sign of Barbarism but it might have gotten so cold that a soldier could have opted for warmth over fashion.
Thank you for reading this edition of Tribe History, we hope you enjoyed. We look forward to sharing more interesting history with you, next month. Until the, stay warm!
