Linen Leg wraps

[Primvs Pavlvs]

When your wrapping you puttees always wrap them the outside of your legs.

[Marcus Mummius]

I tried leg wraps this weekend and they worked very nice. I did a fair amount of walking and they didn't slip down. I used strips of hand woven wool from Cezary.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y233/Marc ... gwraps.jpg

I apologise for the link, I still don't know how to post an image directly in my post...

Kind regards,
Jef

[tlclark]

In lots of Byzantine/late period examples, the leggings appear not only to be wrapped, but almost woven.

This is not the best example, since it's late, but I've seen other examples.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/eus ... .324.3.htm

How would you do this? Is it like a may pole in reverse?

Anyone tried this method? Does it help holding the leggings up?

I want to try to wrap mine this way.

Travis

[GaiusAquiliusBritannicus]

I have not had the opportunity to wear leggings yet, but I was at an event this weekend and I watched a person who wears them as part of an 8th century finnish kit. She began by placing one end midway up the inside of her calf, holding it in place as she then wrapped the legging under the arch of her foot, over the top of the foot, around her ankle, then back over the top of the foot, going under the foot one more time, then around the ankle again, and only then starting the progressive wrapping up and around the shin and calf. When she made it up to the top of her calf, she used a fibulae to pin it in place.

She said that if she didn't have a fibulae, she would have started the inside piece higher up and used it to tie off the two ends. She also said it was important to keep the foot flexed 'up' towards the sky when wrapping, otherwise it won't work right.

When I asked why she wrapped it under the foot, she said for arch support. She said it provided *great* arch support when fighting and marching in armor and at the end of the day, her feet are much happier than if she had not wrapped the sole.

I thought this was good, practical advice for people wanting not only the look and protection of the wrappings, but also need a little more arch support to get them through the day.

Uale!

Britannicus

[Tarbicus]

Nice mosaics with leg wraps:
[url:18fcc5h3]http://www.alfamodel.it/Sezioni/Evo_Antico/Storia/vestiario.htm[/url]

[Graham Sumner]

Hi

Just for the sake of clarity a textile historian told me the following:

Leggings = the square piece of material wrapped around the leg. For example the surviving piece from Denmark.

Leg bindings= The puttee type. The thin strips of bandage like material.

In early imperial times these were seen by some Roman writers as suitable for invalids and Augustus always susceptible to illness wore many layers of clothing and leg bindings as well. However Galen mentions that soldiers in his day wore them and the emperor Alexander Severus is known to have always used them. Fashion tastes had probably changed by that date but there is a possibility that we have evidence first century soldiers may have worn them too, after all I guess we all know it is common sense to do so at times.

Firstly some bandage like material was found at Vindolanda. Could be bandages, toilet paper or even leg bindings.

Secondly two surviving pay accounts of cavalryman including the one found at Masada mention fascia next to the soldiers boots in the deductions for clothing. Could be something to do with lacing for the boots or once again leg bindings.

Graham.

[Lvcivs Commodvs Cicero]

I was also warned off of linen as leg wraps as they don't have any stretchyness.

Dave