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Extreme Weather Apparel
#1
Avete,<br>
<br>
The legionary attire that I am familiar with is very practical and effective... ...in warm climates. If forced to fight in unfavorable conditions, how were the Legionnaires dressed during subzero temperatures? Were they issued new gear? Did they have to fend for themselves and manufacture their own, trousers, boots, gloves, socks, etc. out of available materials?<br>
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On the opposite end, what about Legionnaires in NordAfrika? Were there any special changes in their adornment? The Legionnaires seem better fitted for extreme heat than extreme cold.<br>
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Valete,<br>
<br>
-Spatha <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=spatha190>Spatha190</A> at: 2/23/05 3:22 am<br></i>
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#2
I would not expect legionaries were usually forced to make their own winter clothing (or summer clothing, for that matter), though some may of course have done so. Certainly there would have been local supplies of suitable clothing available, and while this could have led to problems with shortage in the short term, over time the supply could certainly have been managed. On actual campaign I'd expect troops to be kitted out with whatever they could lay hands on, anyway.<br>
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Northern Italy can get pretty cold in winter so almost everything Gaul, Germany or Britain had to offer in terms of cold they would have had an established answer to, anyway. I visited an SCA event in Finland this January and spent some time outdoors dressed in linen undertunic, woolen 'Gallic coat' (like a wide, ungirt tunica manicata), sagum, woolen socks and cabartinae (with rubber soles glued under, I admit - they didn't alow hobnails on site). Temperatures were between 0°C and -8°C and I was quite comfortable even without leg wraps. Yes, for prolonged marching or rough sleeping I would have wanted a bit more, but I'm sure a second, thicker tunic, good leg wraps and a cap would have done the trick. All these things were familiar to the Romans from home, and I see no reason why the legionaries couldn't have had them. From Gallo-Roman contexts we also find paenulae and a kind of chest-length hood (often referred to as a 'cucullus' - I'm experimenting with a reconstruction based on the 'Orkney hood' at the moment). These would have served nicely in rain and snow (everyone who has ever worn a medieval hood outdoors must wonder why we don't still use them). Roman soldiers are sometimes depicted with a hoodless short shoulder cape which could also have given them extra warmth.<br>
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Truly extreme cold (which the Romans would have encountered more on the Danube frontier than the Rhine or Britain) would be a problem, and I suspect they didn't really have an answer to it any more than other Europeans had until the 19th century. I would certainly hate to brave a night of -35°C in Roman dress, mittens or no mittens.<br>
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Hot weather clothing can't have been too much of a problem for the Romans, familiar as they were with the weather in Sicily. Rome did not extend much into the Sahara, and the climate of coastal Morocco or Libya is Mediterranean, if unpleasantly hot. I suspect linen must have become very popular with the troops there, but the 'generic Romano-Hellenistic hot weather clothing' of tunic and mantle should do fine. I would certainly much rather go about in it than in bermuda shorts and khaki shirt.<br>
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I suspect the most annoying part of service must have been having to carry woolen cloaks all day so as to sleep in them at night, but like the legionnaires of a later date, the III Augusta must quickly have found it is better to sweat in daytime than freeze at night.<br>
<br>
Volker <p></p><i></i>
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!

Volker Bach
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