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Cloak Question.
#1
Is their any evidence of legionnaires wearing a cloak that was rectangular with a hole to put their head through? Kind of like a one piece poncho with no hood and no seems or did they just wear the hooded cloak?
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#2
Mobile enim ad minim.
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#3
Like the paenula, you mean?

http://www.thorsberg-miniatures.de/img/rom-mil-4.jpg

I researched Roman military dress in the early principate a few years back, and it seems this was the typical cloak for soldiers of that period (read it in "Die Legionen des Augustus", by Marcus Junkelmann) The image above is from the Cancellaria relief (90 AD), showing praetorians.
Jenny Dolfen

My illustrated novel project: [URL="http://darknessovercannae.com/"]Darkness over Cannae[/URL]
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#4
Is their any evidence of legionnaires wearing a cloak that was rectangular with a hole to put their head through? Kind of like a one piece poncho with no hood and no seems?

Not really.

Most of our evidence for cloaks rests on interpretations of sculpture and guesses are made as to what the shape of the original garment may have been based on what is seen in the sculpture. There are also some ancient descriptions of cloaks which add further details and a few fragments of actual clothing. Fortunately this does include some cloaks.

From this we can say that the paenula came with a hood. The surviving cloaks with hoods are semicircular.

did they just wear the hooded cloak?

The paenula style was popular in the first century AD. However the sagum a rectangular cloak became the main type of cloak worn by soldiers. There are other rectangular cloaks worn by the military but it is hard to tell them apart from the sagum type just by interpreting the sculptures alone.

If you want more information on cloaks or clothing in general not to mention the tricky topic of clothing colour you may be interested in my book 'Roman Military Dress', available via the link on my website gsillustrator.co.uk

Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.

"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.

"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
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