Roman views of \'Barbarians\'

[Theodosius the Great]

Sure, but the point is that the magnate (probably the owner of the villa) and his retainers do wear trousrs, a hunderd years before Honorius.

We can't easily gauge popularity of styles of clothing by looking at mosaics.

I'm sure trousers probably became socially acceptable in civilian circles by the mid-3rd century AD. But were they the dominant fashion ? Honorius's law would seem to suggest that trousers had recently become very popular by his day, at least in the City of Rome. Perhaps the Romans (i.e. the people of the Capital) were more conservative in their dress than the provincials like the Sicilians in your mosaics and had been the last civilians to adopt trousers so readily. Certainly by Honorius' time the civilians had greater exposure to barbarians than ever before.

Do you have a counter theory as to why Honorius enacted his ban on trousers ? The ban was limited to the City of Rome.

Here is a contemporary mosaic from Honorius' time which shows Senators bare-legged. So, trousers were not 'all the rage' with the upper classes or Honorius' ban was successful :lol: :wink:

As to the barbarian origins - why?

As a style of dress, yes. The only other culture, afaik, who permitted trousers were the Persians. I know of no depictions of Greco-Roman civilian men covering their legs before the 3rd century AD.

In earlier times, Quintilianus says that leg wrappings were suitable only for invalids. To cover one's legs was considered effeminate in earlier times - only women did that. Hence, the embarrassment inflicted on soldiers being disciplined by their officers confiscating their belts which allowed their tunics to fall to their ankles- like a woman's :lol:

Tacitus found it remarkable that one of Vitellius' commanders (Caecina) took to wearing 'parti-coloured plaid and trousers'.

Dio Cassius also speaks of Septimius Severus who "filled the city [Rome] with a throng of motley soldiers, most savage in appearance, most terrifying in their talk, and most uncultured to associate with."

And I wonder if trousers may have been seasonal apparel for Roman civilians in the Late Empire.

Explain?

Just that. Civilians may have worn trousers during the winter months. I hear that Rome can get pretty hot in the summer, so ditching one's trousers would be a great relief, I would think. There are mosaics from the same period which show bare legs and while others show trousers.

~Theo