linothorax and other white cuirases

[ValentinianVictrix]

Michael, my own take on this cuirass question is that the armour worn by officers was indeed a muscle cuirasses made from bronze or iron and that was so as to distinguish them from the common soldiery. I also believe that during the Late Roman period the Palatine legionary troops also wore such cuirasses. This would explain why at Adrianople Valens could not be distinguished from the Palatine legionary troops he fled to.