Puttees

[Tarbicus]

My Grandfather used to wear "Fußlappen" from time to time, since he was used to it from WWI. (Yes, he was quite old, born in 1899)
He started in the middle, as Faventianus explained.

Yes, I'm sure, but as I explained I don't think it's necessary. What's happened is that it's become a 'given way of doing things' based on 20th C military apparel. If you're doing WW1 or WW2 re-enactment then it should be so, but the fact is that consistently nobody has managed to recreate anything that looks like the subject of the thread. If someone has then please let us know.

I suggest you try something different and not be so set in your ways, like using two strips instead of one per leg.

Sorry guys, but what I usually see looks like it comes from WW1 or WW2.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well, Jim, I have to say I think he is right, and that is the way I envisioned doing it. Just didn't make myself clear at corbridge, and will have to try it myself....how wide are the strips to be, either for late or early?

[tlclark]

It's easy actually. It helps to have some slightly stretchy material though and you don't start at one end but at the middle.

But the center of your strip behind the knee (or under the foot if you want to go up, both work) and they wrap both around the front making sure to always cross the same direction, left over right and keep going til you reach the end and then tie and tuck in. You should have nice horizontal bands across the back and cross patterning in the front.

Like most things, if you think about it too much, it's a mess. It's easily replicated though with a simple method and mechanical repitition.

I only know this because it's exactly the way that late-antique mummies are wrapped.

[Graham Sumner]

Speaking of Mummies as an experiment has anyone done this up the entire length of the leg not just covering the lower leg? Is it practical? Can you move your knee etc... any benefits over bracae?
Graham.

[FAVENTIANVS]

Another key factor might be not wrapping directly onto the leg, but onto a legging which helps keep them in place.

That's absolutely true!

[Caballo]

"Another key factor might be not wrapping directly onto the leg, but onto a legging which helps keep them in place."

100% agreed- day one at Corbridge I wore puttees over feminalia- stayed up all day, no bunching or any problems.
Day two- wore them directly on the leg, and while the knots held, the underlying leg muscle moved the wraps, making gaps (very scruffy) when on display.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

And I got walloped by Centurio! hock: :? roll:
Boy, what ever happened to justice.....oh yeah, Roman justice... :lol:

[Caballo]

"And I got walloped by Centurio!"

Avoiding the Centurio's punishment is possibly one of the most realistic parts of re-enactment- part of every soldier's duty down the ages! (Btw, I quietly slipped the puttees off behind the ballista during the cavalry display....).

Mind you, I got the full Centurio fustis impact when I dropped my hasta on parade the previous day....fair enough, really...
:oops:

Cheers

Caballo

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I thought he only hit those with segs!!!! hock:

Ow, glad I don't wear hamata! :lol:

This lends more weight to me being sabotaged by a battyvian! :evil:
It was , after all, a pugio loaned by a Battyvian.....
Perhaps the punishment should have gone to the owner, not me, the innocent victim of marsh-dweller malice! :twisted: :roll:

Poor, sweet, innocent me!!!! :?

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Its all about technique. I can put my puttees (wickelgamaschen) on in the morning, and they will stay up all day. As for the criss-cross look, this is commonly seen in WW1 French photos.

[Andrew Yamato]

I figured out from reenacting WWII Japanese how to achieve that distinctive "woven" puttee pattern. You only need one strip per leg, and it's not very complicated once you know what to do. It is, however, kind of hard to explain, so bear with me:

Start at the bottom and give it a couple straight ascending winds around (depending on the width of your puttee) until you start getting to the curvature of your lower calf muscle. This curve, if you continued winding around your leg, would mess up the angle of the puttee, leaving either a) gaps showing skin between winds if you kept the fabric flush to your leg, or b) loose flaps in the puttee if you kept the winds even.

The way the Japanese (and apparently late Romans) got around this is by FOLDING OVER (or down) the puttee at approximately a 30 degree angle as it passes over the shin. This reverses the angle: instead of ascending slightly from the shin centerline, the fabric descends slightly, until you wrap it around again and the natural curve of the calf brings the puttee to an ascending angle again, at which point you can fold it over again--etc., etc.--until you get over the calf muscle and finish off with a couple strait winds and a tie/tuck on top.

Contrary to appearance, there's really no "weaving" or crisscrossing involved. The idea is that you use both sides of the puttee to end up with a neat, tight, flush and (relatively) simple wrapping around your leg which will also stay up much better than a straightly wound puttee will.

Hope that helps,

T. Aelivs Vvdicvs
(AKA Andrew Yamato)

[Crispvs]

Thanks Andrew,

I might try that next time I wear mine (though I normally use the Germanic style leg wrappings).

Just to be a fly in the ointment though, when I was taght to bandage, we were taught to wind straight around for a couple of rounds (to lock down the end) and then to wind the bandage up the limb in such a way that you brought the bandage round in a slightly downwards motion in one round and in a slightly upwards motion in the next and so on, before tucking the end under the second to lat round, which created a very similar effect to what is being talked about here. Now obviously this was with crepe bandages rather than woollen or linen leg bindings but I hold it up as another possibility (which I acknowledge I have not yet tried with bindings, although I may have a go tonight).

Crispvs

[Mithras]

Andrew, you know that is a technique I tried last year. I even took a photograph:

[Caballo]

Apparently the mid/ late Saxons used a stitched on hook like this to keep puttees in place, like this


Here is a reconstruction

http://www.historicenterprises.com/cart ... tail&p=647

I am just wondering whether any similar items had been found on Late Roman (or even Early) sites and possibly mis interpreted?

Cheers

Caballo

[aitor iriarte]

Our experiment at Prima Gallica

Unless perfectly made, I agree on better wearing them over leggings to avoid the ugly gaps... 8)

Aitor