News:

Welcome to the SoA Forum.  You are welcome to browse through and contribute to the Forums listed below.

Main Menu

Migration-era Germanic clothing

Started by Duncan Head, September 25, 2015, 10:43:30 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

aligern

Yes and didn't Attila have several wives? The  sewing one was putting embroidery on to one of his x pkain white tunics, no doubt. However, My reading of the wives of the top barbarians who enter the Empire is that they would be above making clothes, but into having airs and graces about precedence at the bath. Its not likely to be the only style worn, but aren't barbarian wonen's graves
Back to the colourful picture to which you first referred us, I , like yourself,  I think, questioned the depiction of a tunic with mid length sleeves over an under tunic or should we say shirt? I imagine that if a short sleeved tunic were worn it would be on its own, perhaps summer wear. I respect Simon's line of logic, but it looks to me as though all the depictions of barbarians show long sleeved or short sleeved tunics, I am unaware of any that show a combination and the short sleeved stuff is Dacian. What barbarians wear is an important codification of identity.
I could buy the idea that the Burgundians are Romanisers either by some true descent or more likely by claimed identity, if there is an example of Romans in Gaul or surrounding area wearing such tunics with the embroidery done in the same way then I'll buy in to the possibility, though the likelihood is that they are wearing something which is more like tge belt buckle in the Bargello ir the soldiers on Maximian's chair. If wearing Romanised costume I'd expect single colour long sleeved tunics, possibly with claves breeches and gaiters, or tight trousers  , but only because that is what is illustrated.   But then, of course , there is a tiny amount of illustration that survives, much of it, like most of the actual clothing, from Egypt. 😀

Duncan Head

Just as a postscript: I think https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/cc/b3/1f/ccb31f62dfd268d0e714a6d8210a0128.jpg (or via  https://www.pinterest.com/nivlheimr/historical-clothing-reproduction/ if you have a Pinterest login) may show the very same reconstruction red tunic from the Musee des Temps Barbares on which Simon MacDowall based his red-tuniced Burgundian, and which he described on TMP as "conjectural and is an attempt to depict one step removed from Roman style but still following the fashion of the day". And, although it is wide-sleeved and worn as an overtunic, the sleeves are wrist-length, not the shorter 3/4-length sleeves that we were uncertain about in his illustrations!
Duncan Head