Paenula color

[Arminius Primus]

Ave,

We are trying to get an element of the Vth Legion reestablished here. I have been encouraging our recruits to make their own gear and to only buy what can not be made locally. One of our recruits has started to make his Paenula. The base material is a heavier weight wool, dyed a deep dark red with two horizontal black stripes woven in.... One towards the top and one towards the bottom of the fabric. These are usually described as wall hangings or blankets when you find them in the market and can be found in the villages and throughout the region.

I did a quick RAT search on Paenula color and did not turn up much info. It seems that most paenulla used by the reenactment community are in shades of brown or gray. What about a dark red? What about the stripes? These things are relatively plentiful and most of all affordable by our folks. The weave looks period and the weight of fabric will keep a person warm without a lot of weight.

I am just concerned about the color, Would the community accept red paenuli?

Regards from the Balkans, Arminius Primus aka Al

[Graham Sumner]

I did a quick RAT search on Paenula color and did not turn up much info

Hi

I do not know how to link you to the relevent posts but there are plenty of them on this very topic here on RAT. Even if you just search for 'Paenula' you should find them.

There are also 3 books of mine already on 'Roman Military Clothing' which should also help you for most clothing related topics. Even more evidence for coloured garments will appear in a new book 'Roman Military Dress' which will be published in a matter of weeks.

With regards to Paenula colour the most accurate and popular colour in Roman times based on the surviving evidence is a yellow brown colour. In Britain this would be called yellow ochre. A wall painting from Pompeii shows a yellow brown paenula with thin black clavi. I think a surviving garment from Egypt which is yellow brown in colour might also have thin black clavi. So you have pictorial as well as archaeological evidence for this.

There are certainly illustrations of blue paenula and documentary evidence for white ones too. There are certainly paintings which show other red cloaks so red paenula are probably likely as well.

The material that you have access to sounds like it will be very good for tunics as well. Measurements for accurate sized tunics are given in volume 1 of 'Roman Military Clothing' and 'Roman Military Dress'.

Hope this helps.
Graham.

[M. Demetrius]

I wonder if the yellowish color is related to the high lanolin content in "raw" sheep wool, and the paenula's having been woven "in the grease" as weavers say. Dyeing the wool in very hot water will "boil out" some of the lanolin, and reduce the water-repellency of the yarn, of course, but there's no reason not to think they dyed paenulae just like other wool. It also will make thicker cloth and/or shorter yarn length as the fibers contract.

I can't find anyone who will weave a large enough piece of wool with the lanolin still in it to make a paenula for less that the price of a good used car, so I won't know for quite some time if that's all true.

[Arminius Primus]

Ave Graham et al,

Thanks for the encouragement, I was searching using too many terms. The simple term " paenula" turned up more hits. I feel much better about this issue with some references to the different colors.

Are Clavii always vertical? Could they be horizontal? The colors on two of these "Wall Hangings" could maybe be matched up so that you could use the material with the stripes in a vertical fashion but that makes everything more difficult and then there will be left over fabric and I am thinking it will rapidly get beyond the skills of our guys. Reenacting is a whole new concept here, my recruits need to stay busy and have a lot of small victories in the creation of equipment and clothing area. I don't want to complicate things.

I will have to find the book references on line so that I can order them, as we do not have English language book stores here. . ...

Once again, Thanks for the assistance.

Regards from the Balkans, Arminius Primus aka Al