So the turn came to the clothes of Byzantium - the Third Rome: the last heiress of the culture of Ancient Rome, an empire in which religion dictated the canons of fashion, and fashion helped the triumph of religion …
Clothing culture. We continue the theme of the history of clothing. And today we finally have Byzantium, which had a huge impact on the civilization of our ancestors, gave us its religion and culture and … sunk into oblivion, as if it never existed at all.
Kingdom between West and East. In theory, it was supposed to absorb all the best, both on the one hand and on the other. But it remained "by itself" and then perished, despite all its wealth and high culture. However, the question of why this happened is beyond the scope of our topic. Today our story is dedicated to the clothes of the Byzantines and their appearance, which many of our legendary princes had to admire.
So, what were the traditional clothes of Byzantium, which fully inherited the traditions of Roman culture after 476?
Traditional clothing
And it so happened that the Byzantines' Roman clothes were soon supplemented by luxurious oriental motifs in decoration patterns, designs, in a variety of colors and in shiny fabrics. Although, we note that the decoration necessarily contains Christian symbols, patterns, and ornaments.
Luxurious varied finishes began to cover the entire surface of the garment. And besides, it should be supplemented with pearls and precious stones sewn onto it. Interestingly, the arrangement of the trim was dictated by the fashion for straight vertical and horizontal lines, which gave the impression of the rigidity of the whole suit.
Why it was so is understandable.
The clothing culture of Byzantium, like, in fact, its entire culture, was strongly influenced by the church. And she in Byzantium declared human nature sinful, and any beauty called to serve God! The most beautiful, naturally, were the lines of the divine cross. And, accordingly, it was the cruciform arrangement of the pattern lines that began to be considered the standard of all clothing.
Consequently, any nakedness, so characteristic of antiquity, was also declared sinful. In Byzantium, the body was hidden in every possible way, for which the shape of the clothes served. And, likewise, whatever the body hid was approved.
That is why the Roman loose tunic was in use, although its name has changed. Now she was called Dalmatian, and toga began to correspond to kasula - a wide cloak with a hood. At the same time, the dalmatic was often supplemented with a shoulder and an apron on the belt.
A long shirt-skirt, like a Greek chiton or a Roman tunic, became the main component of the Byzantine costume. At the same time, she also acquired new forms. So, its surface has lost folds, sleeves were sewn to it, often long and narrowed at the wrists. The cut of the same tunic was very simple - in the shape of the letter T, with various lines of patterns sewn on it from a multi-colored braid.
Pants (as a kind of clothing) were borrowed by the Byzantines from the East.
Here they looked like two separate trousers, fastened to the belt with ribbons. The length of the pants ranged from short (knee-deep) to long (ankle-length). But leg-fitting stockings with a full toe part were also known.
That is, the Byzantine clothing of the early Middle Ages was a fusion of the traditions of Roman and Oriental costume.
Well, and information about how the Byzantine clothes looked like, we get from the surviving mosaics and icon painting of Byzantium. By the way, there is also a fashion for certain facial features. Thus, an elongated oval, large eyes and a small mouth become characteristic of the "Byzantine face".
Women's and men's clothing
As for women's clothing, it is multi-layered. The long, foot-length lower table tunic with narrow, fitted sleeves, decorated with a border on the wrist, is covered by the upper one, with wide open sleeves. The hard cape complements the suit and gives the figure a static, triangular shape. The cloak is overlaid on the shoulders at the back, and the ends are crossed at the front and thrown back. The decoration is rich in ornaments and decorative elements - signs of class distinctions.
The Roman penula with a slit for the head is also found in the clothes of noble women of Byzantium. The head is covered with a maforium headscarf, which is a symbol of the Mother of God and is often found in icon-painting images of saints.
The lower classes in Byzantium tried to follow the upper ones. But it is clear that the clothes were sewn from cheap fabrics, the patterns were the simplest, and they were shorter in length.
But the outer clothing of the emperor and the nobility was exceptionally rich. First of all, it included a cloak-mantle with a brocade fastener on the shoulder, with rich decoration and a quadrangular emblem of the highest power - tablion (a piece of expensive brocade sewn on the cloak in front and behind). The nobility applied purple tablions. And the edges of the cloak were decorated with a lush decorative border.
An amice is a round collar, richly embroidered with precious stones, worn over the head and was also an important element of the royal attire. This element of the tsarist costume later became characteristic of the Russian boyars and tsars.
The costumes of the Byzantine court are displayed on the magnificent mosaic of the San Vitale temple in Ravenna, preserved from the middle of the 6th century. BC NS. to the present day.
Empress Theodora is depicted on it with her retinue during a ceremonial exit. The empress's crown is adorned with gold, precious stones and long propendulas - pearl pendants. The lower white table is decorated with a rich border. The cloak is made of purple fabric, the hem is decorated with gold embroidery. And her shoes are also trimmed with gold. By the way, purple and green colors of shoes in Byzantium were allowed only for the nobility.
The fabrics used were very different, but their beauty was simply stunning.
Brocade and silk were covered with geometric patterns, stars, circles and stylized images of plants and animals. Well, and, of course, without Christian symbolism, too, could not do.
The fabrics were dense and heavy, which was necessary in order to emphasize the static character of the figure. Crosses, angels and Christian monograms were inscribed in circles and squares, just like lions, eagles and peacocks, so that the surface of clothes made of such a fabric looked like one continuous bright carpet.
Such costumes were typical of the later period of the Empire. But animals such as the bull and the eagle were usually the prerogative of the clothes of the emperor. The symbol of his power was a purple cloth.
But the white color in Byzantium for some reason was considered mourning.
At the same time, the colors of the clothes of the Byzantines also depended on which party of the hippodrome they belonged to. And there were four of them: prasyns ("green") and venets ("blue"), which were considered the main ones, and also Rusii and levkas ("red" and "white"). And to show their commitment to their party, they brought its color into their clothes.
In Byzantium, there were large enterprises that produced military armor and weapons according to uniform models. Therefore, the equipment of both infantrymen and horsemen from the Byzantines proper was, in fact, standardized. Whereas the mercenary units fought dressed and armed in their own way.
Jewelry Fashion and Armor
Moreover, it was interesting to reproduce works of art from earlier eras with historical accuracy - an approach that was especially manifested in the creation of so-called archaeological jewelry (jewelry based on excavations from antiquity),the production of which reached its climax just in the middle of the 19th century.
Jewelry made during this period spanned the Etruscan, Ancient Roman, Early Christian, Byzantine and Medieval styles. The Castellani firm in Rome pioneered and dominated the production of such archaeological jewelry. Founded by Fortunato Pio Castellani in 1814, the company was run by three generations of the family until it closed in 1927. Her products gained immense popularity in the highest circles of European society, and her success prompted many jewelers to work in a similar historical direction.
The horsemen used a kasis helmet with a chain mail aventail and metal earpieces. The name klibanion was borne by a shell made of metal plates sewn onto the skin and worn over the chain mail over the head. Halcotubes - leggings, were made of narrow metal (copper) plates, also sewn onto the skin.
Often, on top of all this, the riders also wore a quilted colored epilorikion caftan, which was a kind of prototype of the uniform.
The horses of the riders of the Klibanophoros were also covered with armor made of felt and bone or metal plates.
Shields in the shape of an inverted drop were characteristic of Byzantium and from here spread throughout Europe and the Arab East.
Well, mercenaries from Europe - Catalonia and Italy, as described by their contemporary in the same 15th century, were dressed in "bluish steel".
