linothorax and other white cuirases

[Renatus]

This thread seems to be going round in circles, so let us see if we can cut the Gordian Knot (if I'm not mixing my metaphors). The core of the problem is that there is a genre of Roman reliefs (I'm thinking principally of tombstones, generally of centurions or other junior officers) that shows the subject wearing what appears to be a musculata cuirass but with extensions over the shoulders and upper arms. It is common ground that, if the cuirass were of metal, the subject would not be able to raise his arms and would thus be seriously impeded in battle. Two solutions are offered:

1. That what is depicted is a cuirass not of solid metal but of mail.

2. That the cuirass is made of linen or other non-metallic material that is sufficiently flexible as not to impede movement.

There are objections to both of these:

1. The cuirass shows features (pectoral muscles, nipples, navel) that are not compatible with its being of mail.

2. If the cuirass were of, say, linen and were to be effective as armour, it would be too thick and rigid to have the required degree of flexibility or, indeed, any flexibility at all.

Nevertheless, there is a sufficient number of these reliefs to demand that they be taken seriously and not simply dismissed as artistic licence or incompetence on the part of the sculptor. What I offer below is an attempt to address this problem. I acknowledge immediately that I am building upon a suggestion put forward in another thread by Nathan Ross but which, as far as I can tell, has attracted little or no attention.

It would appear that the musculata cuirass was considered in the Roman world as being the badge of the military officer. Centurions, as officers, would aspire to be seen as wearing such a cuirass. However, I anticipate that a musculata made of metal would be an expensive item and beyond the means of the average centurion. The solution for him might be to disguise his standard armour (mail or, possibly, quilted textile) to give it the appearance of musculata. This could possibly be achieved by covering his armour with a layer of comparatively flexible leather, worked to simulate musculata. Nipples could be metal discs rivetted to the leather and the navel could be worked into it. Pectoral muscles could be simulated by either working the leather over pads of hardened leather or other material glued to the under-surface, or by sewing to the outer surface muscle-shaped bags of soft leather stuffed with, say, rags to give them substance. The whole could be waxed to make it water-proof and to give it a shine. The result would be that the centurion would have the protection of his basic armour but would give the superficial appearance of wearing musculata.

I hasten to add that this is entirely speculative and would have to be tested by experiment to see if it worked in practice. If it has merit, it is that it seeks to explain a phenomenon that seems to have defied reasonable explanation and which, so far as this thread at least is concerned, seems to have generated more heat than light.