Button and Loop fasteners on Paenula Cloak

[Crispvs]

Brian,

We have been over this a number of times before, but here it is again. We can be confident that button and loop fasteners were involved in sword suspension. I mentioned examples of evidence above. We do not know precisely how they were employed, but with them positioned on the belt either side of the scabbard with the 'buttons' on the outside and the 'loops' on the inside it makes sense to think that a strap or thong may have been passed through the loops. This makes even more sense when you consider that this strap or thong could also pass through all four of the scabbard's suspension rings. The strap may have been secured by a small buckle, and that may explain the presence of the buckle and the double looped fastener which was found with the sword and belt from Vindonissa. Thus the strap would secure the scabbard to the belt and the button and loop fasteners would prevent it from shifting from side to side along the belt.

The idea is not mine. Eckhardt Dreschler-Erb proposed the strap years ago and the method involving the fasteners is illustrated in Christian Miks' book on Roman swords.

Anyway, this is off topic, so let us return to clothing.

Crispvs