Braccae
Braccae were trousers known among different peoples of ancient Europe and also used in the Roman army. The Latin name does not refer exclusively to one short Roman pattern: leg length and construction varied.
Roman writers could use trousers as a marker of foreign dress. This attitude does not imply a continuous empire-wide ban on wearing them. Military images show both shorter and longer trousers; their use should be considered by date and place.
Leather trousers from Valkenburg, Netherlands, first–second century CE.
Braccae,Kunstpalast Museum,Dusseldorf,inv. no. 12754,1-2 century AD
Braccae,Kunstpalast Museum,Dusseldorf,inv. no. 12754,1-2 century ADThe wool trousers from Thorsberg and Damendorf are important finds for northern European dress. Their long legs do not prevent comparison with ancient descriptions of trousers, but do not make the surviving garments standard Roman legionary clothing.
Twill describes a weave, not the ethnicity of its wearer. Plain weave does not necessarily mean linen: wool can also be woven that way. Fibre, weave and cultural context must be distinguished.
Modern cutting diagram of Damendorf trousers, reconstructing a northern European Roman Iron Age garment.
Trousers from Damendorf, northern Germany, Roman Iron Age. A northern European comparison for garment construction.
Modern cutting diagram of Damendorf trousers, reconstructing a northern European Roman Iron Age garment.Soldiers wearing trousers appear on Trajan’s Column and the reliefs at Adamclisi. These images establish use in their particular settings, not one leg length for every legionary or auxiliary.
For reconstruction, check length, fit, folds at the knee and the combination with tunic and footwear. Surviving northern textiles help explain seams and fabric, while Roman images show the visible costume. Neither kind of evidence replaces the other.
Soldier wearing trousers. Detail of the Column of Antoninus Pius, second half of the second century CE.
Trousers depicted on Trajan’s Column, early second century CE.Literature and sources
- Margrethe Hald. Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials: A Comparative Study of Costume and Iron Age Textiles. National Museum of Denmark, 1980.
- Karl Schlabow. Textilfunde der Eisenzeit in Norddeutschland. 1976.
- Margrethe Hald. Olddanske tekstiler. 1950.
- Graham Sumner. Roman Military Dress. 2009.
- NESAT XII: studies of Iron Age trousers in the Schloss Gottorf collection — conference programme and abstracts.
Related topics
Legionary,Auxiliaries,The Praetorian Guard,Germanic Peoples,The Celts
Damendorf trousers, rear view; illustration after Margrethe Hald.
Damendorf trousers, front view; illustration after Margrethe Hald.
Drawing of the Damendorf trousers and their cloth, Roman Iron Age.
Trousers from Thorsberg, northern Germany, third–fourth century CE; comparative evidence, not securely Celtic dress.
Trousers from Thorsberg, northern Germany, third–fourth century CE; comparative evidence, not securely Celtic dress.
Trousers from Damendorf, northern Germany, Roman Iron Age. A northern European comparison for garment construction.Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
