Wear a Roman Tunic at your Imperial Feast

The Roman tunic worn by roman soldier was colored red so their enemies could not see them bleed.

This idea was taken from the Spartans, who were not only hardy but knew that the sight of their blood would give their enemies confidence. It was continued by the British Army who adopted red as the color of their military uniforms, hence the name ‘redcoats’, and the concept was also used by the British navy who painted their orlop red. The orlop was the bottom deck in a sailing ship, frequently used as the surgery during battle, and the red floor hid the blood that covered it.
In fact the tunic could be of any color, and it was only red for soldiers. Mostly tunics would be unbleached and undyed, unless requested in any specific color. Roman tunics were the basic garments over which the garment indicating the status of the wearer was worn. Roman citizens were entitled to wear the toga, but even that had distinctions of class. The so-called equestrian class wore a toga with two thin purple lines running down it, while senators wore two thick purple lines.

The Emperor’s toga would be purple, and he would also wear a laurel wreath on his head. Slaves and freemen would wear only the tunic, and there was little to tell the difference between them. The women’s tunics were fashioned fuller than those of their male counterparts, and were generally worn full length. A Roman soldier’s tunic, as stated, would be red over which he would wear his armor which would be in the form of the lorica which protected his chest and abdomen, and also protection for the legs and arms. The final accoutrement was the Roman helmet that was frequently worn with a horsehair crest or a feathered plume. The feathers would likely be goose feathers in honor of the goddess Juno. (Slightly off topic, Juno, is one of my favorite movies. More to come!)





This just scratches the surface of history about the world of Roman and Greek Helmets. For more information about Roman and Greek war accessories, interesting history articles and museum replica collectibles, visit The Historical Weapons Store