Paenula

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

Salvete,

Do we have any evidence for the colour of the paenula? I see most reenactors with light to dark brown, but is there any source?
I've already done a search but haven't found anything yet. Maybe this is a silly n00b question, but I'd be glad if you could give me an answer.

Valete,

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Sander

Do we have any evidence for the colour of the paenula? I see most reenactors with light to dark brown, but is there any source?

Try and get hold of a copy of my 'Roman Military Clothing vol 1' published by Osprey. It should be quite easy to get copies.

I listed as many references to military clothing colour that I could find.

Graham.

[M. Demetrius]

There is a mosaic that shows paenulae being worn by some troops and they are colored sort of light yellow. Unwashed wool, still "in the grease" as they call it, being filled with lanolin (and very waterproof) is more yellow than unbleached wool. Maybe they are attempting to color things that way.

Once the wool is warm-washed (as if for dyeing) the lanolin floats off, and the color changes. Of course, all that assumes the wool comes from "white" sheep. There are other colors: browns, greys, and black. In theory, a paenula that is intended to be waterproof could be woven from any of those colors of fiber, and still be full of lanolin.

[Tarbicus]

Best paenula I've seen so far:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... 9800#99800

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

There is a mosaic that shows paenulae being worn by some troops and they are colored sort of light yellow. Unwashed wool, still "in the grease" as they call it, being filled with lanolin (and very waterproof) is more yellow than unbleached wool. Maybe they are attempting to color things that way.

Once the wool is warm-washed (as if for dyeing) the lanolin floats off, and the color changes. Of course, all that assumes the wool comes from "white" sheep. There are other colors: browns, greys, and black. In theory, a paenula that is intended to be waterproof could be woven from any of those colors of fiber, and still be full of lanolin.

So it would be correct to make a grey, semi-circular (according to the Legio XX handbook) paenula?
I'm going to be a monitor on a "summer camp" this summer, and the theme will be the Middle Ages. (We will be sleeping in the HOME in Eindhoven for 4 days! 8) P )

Edit: something else. Would this make an acceptable pattern, regarding the neck hole?

[M. Demetrius]

It would probably "work", but realize that the neck hole you've drawn is not in the center of the circle that describes the edge of the cloth. That will make the front hang down further than the back. This gives the appearance of the cloak being "too short" in the back, or if you make it long enough there, the front will drag the ground.

The dynamics of the body's shape is that the neck does not come straight out the top, it leans a little forward (or in some cases a lot forward), making the upper back a longer line than the chest, measured from the shoulder down to the knee. Of course, if we had perfect posture, shoulders back, spines straight, chins up, military "attention" style, all the time, the distances would be more nearly equal. In other words, the back needs to be cut a little longer than the front. The cloak, if it's a paenula, ought to be at least knee length. If you're in a cold climate (you are, at least part of the year, right?) maybe mid calf would be a better length.

With the making of your beautiful subarmalis, you already gave away the fact that you can sew. If you have to make the garment from two pieces, with a seam at the top, running down the arm, be sure to capture the edges of the wool so it will not unravel at the critical seam. The ones I make from blankets require this, and I also turn under about 4 or 5 cm down the front center, and up over the front of the hood. This gives a nicer finished look, and removes a little width from the front panel. I compensate for this by putting a pleat at the top center, under the hood, thus adding some needed fullness over the shoulders. Pictures of explanation available on request.

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

That pattern is meant for a semi-circular paenula, not for a full circle. That way, you would use a fibula at this point:

(that triangle is meant to be cut away)

Would that be correct and possible to do? It should remove some "weight" of the cloak, stopping it from suffocating the wearer if it would hang at the back completely.

I got this idea from a website which tries to reconstruct the costumes of the Lord of the Rings. Here is a page on the "Fellowship-cloak":
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Thi ... attern.htm

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

A picture of myself in my paenula. Don't forget the hood! It is a dark gray colour, but I also have a brown one, they are excellent for keeping warm, sleeping etc.
But the hood is a simple rectangle, so to speak, the neck hole IIRC is simply an open slit to which the hood is attached, to put it simply. Although there are some who have the front stiched shut to about mid chest.

You can just see a brown one on the extreme right of the picture.

[Matthew Amt]

In the depictions that I've seen (of the cuculus as well as the paenula), the front edge is basically a straight line from the top of the hood to the hem. A semicircular cloak with a semicircular neck opening (and hood attached to that) makes that shape very nicely, but a neckhole set back from the edge, or a keyhole-shaped neck opening, will not. You're going to have extra fabric bunching up at the throat, and it won't look right. Also, a half-circle neck opening is made to fit the neck, whereas a head hole set back from the edge has to be rather larger to allow your head to fit through.

Valete,

Matthew

[M. Demetrius]

Absolutely correct, Matt.



Adding to what I said above, the hem at the front center runs straight up from the bottom, around the hood, and down to the other bottom front. And the hood should be really bigger than you think, since you might want to wear it over your helmet.

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

Thanks for your kind replies.

So the center of the circle should be at the lowest part of the neck opening, and not in the 'middle' of it? So it's actually a little bigger than half a circle? Or am I wrong here?


GJC, which shape has yours?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hmmmm, I did describe mine as I remembered it, but now I am going to have to wait to get home next friday to double check.....
It is as they say, the half circle, but I think the neck opening is just a simple slit from the straight edge, the hood is attached to there , it wraps narually around the neck....I'll let you know for sure though.

[Graham Sumner]

Hi folks

I have seen a number of original semi circular cloaks of paenula type none of which have any circular holes. There does not appear to be any need for them. However if anyone has a source for them please let me know.

Otherwise I think you are inventing something which did not exist, although having said that there is always a chance something like that will be dug up next week or discovered in a long forgotten museum storage chest! :roll:

Graham.

[M. Demetrius]

To show you where the center of the circle should be, take a regular Tshirt, lay it flat on a surface, with the shoulder seam at the very top. You'll notice there is a much bigger hold at the front than the back. The center of that circle (or any other shirt pattern I know of) is always toward the rear (or lower, in your sketch) of the circle. But cloth bends. For a cloak, the circle is made by the flexibility of the cloth at the straight line neck slit.

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/cloak.html

(If I may be so bold, Matt) has your semicircular idea expressed in a slightly different fashion from your drawing. But it's very exactly correct, as far as we know. In this drawing, there is no neck hole at all. As you can see from the one with the hood attached, the front edge of the semicircle runs straight up the front, around the hood and back down the other side to the bottom hem.

I generally make mine from two single-bed-sized wool blankets, as a piece of wool large and heavy enough to make a good width is more than my pocket can stand. Consequently, mine have a shoulder seam where the two parts of the blanket come together, and look more like the long oval in the drawing on the left. I can cut the hood out of the pieces that cut off from the corners. And I have enough of that trim left over for a pair of wool socks...and not very much goes into the trash.

I could take a picture, if that would help. If you decide to make a cloak like you first drew, we'd be interested to see how it comes out. A word of warning, though, what Matt Amt said about the big bunch of cloth at the throat is true. And the closure will be much different from what I think your desired effect is. A cut hole only will work if you're using a different shape, like a "Mexican poncho". And they use a slit, too, not a circle hole, same as the Middle Eastern "Aba". Must be some reason pretty much every culture does it the same way, eh?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

A very rough idea of a paenula, hopefully makes my explanation a little clearer?
The hood is just a rectangle of material sewn to the slit and a seam to close the other side....