| A Basic Clothing How-To for Garments of the Byzantine Empire |
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| Written by Mephiston | Wednesday, 25 August 2010 09:23 |
Men'sMen's costume in Byzantium didn't change too much over the centuries. It consisted of the tunica, the dalmatic, the cloak and shoes or boots. The shapes of the garments were consistent throughout the classes, only the quality of the fabric and trimming distinguished them. TunicaThe tunica was the basic article of clothing in Byzantium. For the lower classes, it was the everyday working garment. For the upper classes, it was the underlayment for some of the richest clothing in history. The tunica was a derivation of the ancient Roman tunica talaris, or tunic to the ankles. They were trim in the sleeve and mostly loose in the body. The more active wearer would gird it up to the shins or knees with a thin belt. The sleeve length would change according to the class of the wearer and the weather. The most well known tunic of this type is the coptic tunic. Some dock workers still seemed to be clad in a himation which is an ancient type of tunic made of rectangles pinned at the shoulders and belted at the waist. This was definately a lower class way of wearing your clothes.
DalmaticThe dalmatic was the over robe worn by the upper classes and on special occasions, by the common people. An early (6th -10th cent.) type of dalmatic is characterized by the one worn by Emperor Justinian in the Ravenna mosaics. It has long tight sleeves and comes down to the knees. This would be worn over a tunic or shirt and was usually belted. The dalmatic would mostly be of a solid base with trim applied in specific areas.Trim would be lavish, but restricted to neck, cuffs, hem, upper arm seam, side slits and occasionally medallions above the knees. This trim could be more tapestry woven strips and medallions or embroidery encrusted with pearls and gems. The color schemes would parallel the schemes on the tunicas. For the lower classes, it was usual for these decorative strips to be cut from scraps or short lengths of expensive brocades. This practice carried up into the northern cities as well.
SuperhumeralThis was the imperial decorative collar. It has been difficult for me to determine whether any but royalty wore the collar. It is, however, one of the most recognizable parts of Byzantine clothing. It could be of cloth of gold or similar material, then studded with gems and/or immense amounts of embroidery. The decoration was general divided into compartments by vertical lines on the collar. The edges would be done in pearls of varying sizes in up to three rows. There were occasionally drop pearls placed at intervals to add to the richness. Rarely was the base fabric distinguishable after the decoration was applied. The collar would come over the collarbone to cover a portion of the upper chest. The collar was also a part of the ecclesiastical pallium.The men's version of the pallium was wide and rectangular. The back portion of the pallium would be cut fairly long so that it could be wrapped about the body and hang gracefully over the left arm. This is a distinct hold over from the Roman toga. Sometimes it looks as if the collar was being worn over a jeweled tabard. It is impossible for me to say whether they were attached or not. The superhumeral was worn throughout the history of Byzantium.
PantsLeg coverings of some nature were worn by almost all Byzantines. Breeches makers are shown in Diocletian's Edicts of Prices, so they were available from the beginnings of the Eastern Empire. Those who worked outdoors left the legs bare. Shepherds are shown with wrappings on their legs from the ankle to the knee. Dock laborers are shown with totally bare legs. Justinian wore hose. Frankish breeches were seen in areas where contact between the cultures occurred. During the early 12th century they were looked down upon as unmanly, but by the end of the century they were already being widely adopted. Hose seem to be the choice of the upper class and they came in rich colors. Trousers were wildly patterned and they fit fairly loosely. They seem to have what amounts to a drawstring waist, then they narrow down to a reasonably slim ankle.
ShoesNot too much is seen for shoes in Byzantine Art. The Ravenna mosaics show the men wearing what appears to be sandals with white socks. I am not certain how to interpret that. Emperor Basil II is shown wearing knee high red boots, embroidered with pearls. Other Imperial portraits show only the tips of the shoes. In Houston, there is shown a shoe from the Imperial regalia of the Holy Roman Emperors. It is a short boot, only to the ankle, which is cut to allow many different sizes to be accommodated. This shoe is lavishly decorated. Lots of pearls and gems give a very regal look. There is gold scrollwork on the sides and over the toe of the shoe. Outside laborers would either have sandals or be barefoot. The sandals follow the Roman model of straps over a thick sole. Some examples of the Roman cuculus or military boot are also seen on shepherds. Red sandals marked the Emperor; blue shoes, a sebastokrator; and green shoes a protovestiarios.
CloaksThe semicircular cloak seemed to have been the most popular. Emperor Justinian wore one as well as his guards. The length usually fell to about the hips or buttocks and on each straight side there might be a tablion. The tablion was a decorative spot sometimes used to show the rank of the wearer by the type of embroidery and jewels that were used. The imperial cloak of the Holy Roman Emperors is still in existence and is a fine example of the Byzantine style. Each element of the cloak is outlined in pearls and embroidered in gold. Sometimes an oblong cloak would be worn. This was more of a military cloak and not generally worn for court occasions. Cloaks would be pinned on the right shoulder for ease of movement.
HatsThere were very few styles of hat for men in Byzantium. A small type of Phyrgian cap was seen in the earliest times, (before the 9th century). Mostly, men went bareheaded. In the 12th century, Emperor Andronikos Comnenus was seen wearing a smoke colored hat shaped like a pyramid. In 1159 Prince Reynald of Chatillon was seen with a tiara shaped felt cap, embellished in gold. An Iberian wide brimmed felt hat came into vogue during the 12th century and the turban also began to be seen more frequently. In the northern reaches of the Byzantine sphere, small caps with or without fur brims were seen.
Women'sWomen's costume in Byzantium didn't change too much over the centuries either. It basically consisted of the tunica, the stola, and shoes. The lower classes still wore basically Roman clothes. These had lots of drape and movement, so the ladies could get on with their work. The upper class women wore the more stiff, jeweled garments that we are familiar with.
TunicaThese were the basic underclothes for every class and every time period. It would only vary in material by class of the wearer. It was long and had tight sleeves that were trim to the body. The neck would be cut either in a boat style or in a regular round configuration. This garment could be of fine wool, as in Roman times, or of linen or silk. Generally it was the sole garment of the lower classes. It could be plain or have trimming. The trimming would be around the foot of the garment, the neck, and the wrists. Clavii would also be seen, in varying lengths. The most common would be clavii to almost the hem, but these would not have the trimming at the foot. As underclothes, it would have invariably been of a fine white linen. In the summer, women of the working classes would be seen in classical tunicas. These have no sleeves and were sometimes pinned at the shoulders. If it was the sole garment, it could be done in colors and it seemed to have been undecorated. Slate blue, raspberry, yellow and red are shown in paintings.
StolaThe stola varied only slightly over the time of the Empire. In the early years, ladies continued the classical Roman style of tunica, stola and pallia.
SuperhumeralThe superhumeral is a decorative collar worn over the stola. It is nearly exactly the same as the men's version except it was generally scaled down to fit no lower than the top of the collarbone and no wider that the tip of the shoulder. There are exceptions to this but, in general the collar was fairly narrow and usually without the front and back dependant portions. A superhumeral with those portions is called an ecclesiastical pallium and was generally worn only by the priesthood and the Imperial family. The superhumeral would be edged with pearls and covered with goldwork and jewels. It was decorated in all respects just like the men's version. Only the Empress seemed to wear the full superhumeral, however the smaller jeweled collar was worn by the upper classes throughout the time Empire.
ShoesSince most gowns sweep the ground, there is little pictorial evidence concerning women's shoes. Empress Theodora has small pointed toed slippers as do her ladies. In other portraits, small black pointed toes peek from underneath the robes. Simple flat, slightly pointed shoes should be correct enough until more information comes to light.
HatsThese were also rare for ladies. There is the small roll with the veil which appeared early in the history, (around the 5th Century) and also the small Russian cap. Generally the scarf or palla was draped over the head when there was need for it. The palla could also be done like a small scarf and used to cover the hair. Since Byzantium followed in the steps of Rome and it's fashion for large and elaborate hairstyles, coverings are not very common. In the northern climates, the chin scarf and the wimple were common headcoverings.
CloaksCloaks were semicircular from the early centuries. After the 6th century, the cloak was worn symmetrically. The straight edge was worn over the head like a scarf. Sometimes, though they would be pinned in the center with a big brooch or they wouldn't fasten at all. Up until the 12th century, the rectangular cloak was still worn by the working classes. Empress Ariadne wore a full length semicircular cloak with a picture of her son embroidered in pearls in the tablion. The cloak was also edged with a double row of truly large pearls. The tablions were reserved for the Empress alone, but the cloak shape was worn by all classes.
Ornamental styleIn general, pictorial evidence suggests that most Byzantine decoration was geometric in nature. Popular non-geometric trim motifs were: vines, back to back animals in roundels, heads of Dionysius in roundels, birds and animals in squares or roundels, and rosettes. Knotwork also appeared on clavi. Fantastic creatures, dots, leaves and crowns were also incorporated into the designs. Fake Kufic script began to be seen around the 12th century with the availability of tabriz fabrics from the Muslim lands. Intricate and elaborate overall patterns were the best.
How to construct your own Byzantine clothingByzantine clothing is of a very simple cut, but do not be fooled. Just because the patterns are simple, doesn't mean the clothes are easy. The beauty of the clothes comes from the skill in cutting them out, the types of fabrics used and the skillful overuse of decorations.
FabricsThe best fabrics for the job are Ecclesiastical Fabrics. You can but these from some regular fabric stores, but they are limited in scope and color. The best place to find them is from a specialty store. Look in your area phone book for fabric merchants and see if any are willing to special order for you. Be aware that these fabrics are generally exceedingly expensive. Also, they are generally acetate so they can get hot in the summer. The redeeming feature of acetate, however, is that it is very easy to clean and can be thrown in the washing machine. (I do this with all my Byzantines) It also has the look and feel of a period fabric, even though the fiber content is not period. If you find fabric like this in silk or cotton, grab as much and as fast as you can. The effect will be like none you have seen.
TrimmingThere are numerous good commercial trims. These are good for use as clavii on Dalmatics and Coptics. Make sure that everything is pre-shrunk before attaching. Nasty surprises can occur when the fabric and the trim shrink at different rates. When choosing a trim, the only metallics should be silver and gold. The rest of the colors should be vibrant but not neon. There are several pattern examples here and in the books in the bibliography. Geometrics are the easiest to get. For the adventurers among us, you can use card weaving to make really period trim for your clothes. Doing your own tapestry weaving is possible as well. I have done this and found that lack of space is a very big consideration. The effect is great, though, and worth the effort.
JewelsYour jewels are the most visible and expressive part of your Byzantine outfit. The best types of jewels to get are the cabochon types with the sew on backings. NEVER ever use hot glue on your clothes!!! It never gives a satisfactory appearance nor is the glue period or long lasting. The jewels that need to be set are the best looking but also the hardest type to get. You will have to check around your area to see what you can find. For a somewhat inferior, but still good choice, some of the craft stores have the jewels that have a collar setting that have the prongs on the inside of the garment. Sometimes these are the more preferable type of jewel to get. Do not use this type on damasks and brocades; they will slide right out of the fabric. There are also jewels that are put into settings with the prongs that are on the outside. These are also fine to use, however, do not hot glue them into the settings and then glue the settings onto the fabric. They look very stiff and the glue will crack. Also, don't forget to make sure that you flatten out the prongs! Make the prongs as smooth to the jewel as possible. It will catch on everything if you don't. My trick is to surround that type of jewel with small pearls. It is nice looking and the pearls keep fabric from getting caught. The next best are the commonly found type of sew on jewel. There is some debate about the appropriateness of faceted jewels. Diamond cut, like modern jewelry is not appropriate, however, the sew on type of jewels are in a 'rose' cut and are fine. Make sure that the colors of the jewels are appropriate. Do not use the 'aurora' gems that are so popular and all over the place. They are not from this period. The heraldic colors are good. I don't use the clear, rose, turquoise or other pastels. I don't think they look real enough. I have also seen someone use chips from a gem chip necklace for thier jeweling. It looks a bit rough but seems correct enough.
TechniquesWhen cutting the garment, I tend to be very frugal. I have gotten a good feel for why things were cut in certain ways in period by doing this. Look at the cutting layouts I use for dalmatics, tunics and the rest of the parts. Notice that you can extend the sleeves as well as get a hat out of the stuff most people throw away. If you're really careful, you can get a pouch out of what's left. We have been spoiled by $1.00/yd fabric. Cut your clothes like the fabric costs $100.00/yd. Measure yourself carefully before cutting. Try to cut the armhole as small as you can and still get easy movement. If this is too big, the garment will look clunky along with making you look fat. Small diamond shaped or square gussets will solve a too small armhole. Do not cut the underarm area as a sharp corner. It never turns cleanly if you do. Instead mark the sharp turn, then draw a smooth curve along the line. The length should fall to just below the ankle bone. Any lower and the novice will rip out the hem, any higher and it would be incorrectly short. Short tunics will fall just above the knee. Trousers should be somewhat baggy but don't let the crotch get too low. A low crotch makes you look dumpy and will get ripped out faster than a properly fitting one. Also a low crotch allows your thighs to rub together in a most uncomfortable way.
BibliographyThese are excellent books to look at if you want more information regarding the clothing and ornaments of the Byzantine Empire. However since my last updating of this tool in 1995, more extant garments have been uncovered and more work published. I'll see what I can do about getting more resources listed.
Author: Black Tauna blktauna @ shawstudios.com. Last Updated: Mon, Nov. 6, 1995 http://www.blacktauna.com/sca/ Please read the Archival Disclaimer regarding this document. |
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