What clothes did the late Romans wear after the 3rd century AD?

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

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[@commentfreely5443]

thanks for making so much effort.

[@generalaigullletes5830]

My dream came true. I asked for it, didn't expect this video to come, but you served, MAIORIANVS. Bloody great channel. Probably wasn't by me asking, but still, great gift you've given us today.

[@mrmarmellow555]

HYPE💞

[@samuelkohi4415]

7:25 also Celtic influence after Rome conquered Gaul and Britain

[@colbystearns5066]

It totally makes sense, considering it's hundreds of years between classical and late antiquity which really makes the transition into medieval fashion feel more seamless than just wearing togas one minute before wearing tunics the next. It would be really bizarre if we were still wearing powdered wigs, breeches and petticoats 250 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed after all.

[@henripentant1120]

It kills me to see classical styles on postclassical people and places

[@rgnyc]

I dunno - I mean, doesn't everyone here wear a tuxedo and black silk top hat to baseball games?

[@arthas640]

@hiOOxkr magkis there's some similarities and overlap but many of those predated the middle ages. Early medieval clothing involved robes, breeches, and tunics which were all similar to fashion during the fall of Rome and late medieval clothing, which is during and after Europe had more direct contact with the Muslim world and gained influence from byzantines moving west as their empire collapsed, diverged from early medieval European and Arab fashion with tighter fitting clothing, hose, and low cut dresses. I'm not saying there wasn't influence from the Muslim world westward but early and mid medieval age had more in common with late Roman or with indigenous fashion than it does with the Arabs. The rich seemed to have more influence from the Arab world since they hired eastern trailors or bought imported clothing from the east, and crusaders of course came back with souvenirs and a love of eastern clothing but there doesn't appear to be a really noticeable influence when compared to steady evolution of existing fashion trends

[@pannobhasa]

Well, some modern movies have ancient people with modern hair styles, not to mention modern attitudes.

[@powerdriller4124]

What changed fashions at the end of the 18th Century was the French Revolution, the American Independence War was a secondary contributor, Benjamin Franklin the most outstanding. Napoleon was the one that gave the final kick the fk off to wigs, while George Washington was still wearing one by 1799 when he died. Napoleon never wore those ridiculous mesh things.

[@doppelwaffen]

I guess one reason movies don't get it right is that early Roman props are cheaply available while late Roman props do not exist at all. They could be made though, but late Roman films do not have the budget.

[@landsknecht8654]

I never thought about that. You maybe right.

[@franzhalls2174]

While true, another big fact is that people simple want to see what they want to see, easy to follow stereotypes, that's what sells more

[@BillLaBrie]

True. This also explains why sci-fi shows do more time-travel or “parallel universe” episodes as they run out of budget.

[@HandleMyBallsYouTube]

Yes, but there also has to be some reason why the late Roman props don't exist, which again as others have mentioned comes down to lazyness and recognizable stereotypes.

[@fransbuijs808]

Yeah, I was thinking the same. It's easier to use constumes that you already have and that look recognizable.

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

Imagine setting a movie in modern Britain and having them wear frilled collars

[@MrDesmorto]

more stylish than what we wear today

[@michaellewis7959]

It must be done!

[@VincentTorneyPlus]

Go on...

[@KillaAhmadilla]

If I were a big movie producer I'd be throwing money at you right now.

[@powrxplor69]

new romantic blitz kids from circa 1981 be like frilled collars are the most stylish up to the minute fashion out there right now

[@lacintag5482]

Imagine filmmakers 2000 years from now making a movie about 21st century England but the characters are dressed like the 17th century.

[@BOIOLA08]

That will not happen unless people keep being stupid or lazy. We keep recordar orders of magnitude better. So if e know how dressing evolved in those times e will know it will have evolved 2000y from noite. The thing is lazyness of filmakers matched by equal levels of ignorance from audiences...

[@02_aliftaufiqurrohman98]

Good way to put it I suppose

[@DrTarrandProfessorFether]

Probably 16th Century.. Henry VIii with tanks and Automatic Rifles. “if they had them, they would have used them!”

[@vindolanda6974]

It would be a big improvement over jeans, athleisure, and fleeces.

[@aidanbarrett9313]

Or more likely like Victorians (as this was the "Golden Age of Britain".

[@causantinthescot]

The Late Roman clothing was amazing! It had a blend of Greco-Roman and Germanic fashion.

[@RexGalilae]

Too many loud colours with flamboyant designs I prefer the minimalist early Roman attire

[@bideni408]

And the climate, first roman clothes are designed for heat, late romans for cold, and first middle age ones for frezze......... Why??

[@Phantom-xp2co]

@@bideni408 because the climate became colder.

[@paprskomet]

@@Phantom-xp2co It had nothing to do with climate,fashion simply changed and in a slow gradual and well tracible way.

[@bideni408]

@@Phantom-xp2co shhhhh.. how dare you !! ;)

[@roundninja]

People tend to imagine a much sharper visual distinction between the Roman and medieval worlds than actually existed. If you see a crenellated wall or a half timbered house, it reminds you of the dark ages, but these techniques were already used in some form before Rome existed. I'd love to see a movie that presents Rome in a more subtle and realistic way instead of focusing on the most distinctive stereotypes.

[@flyingisaac2186]

Yes, that's definitely the case. The sub Roman Britons in those towns they still held, like modernday, now deserted Wroxeter or Silchester, plus many very much inhabited places like York, appear to have continued with wood and plaster in a Roman form when brick or dressed stone couldn't be used as spoil (the mortar then used was far easier to remove than what's used now) and the vast old Roman brick and tile kilns had by then long since cooled.

[@MrGibbonici]

Absolutely. History is taught in terms of definitive periods, where each period is its own thing entirely separated from previour periods, when the reality is that it's more of a continuum. Furthermore, as Christianity become dominant in Europe the medieval period became something of a Roman renaissance in terms of social order, especially in northern Europe where looser "barbaric" systems gave way to stricter feudal systems which had more in common with late Roman systems than the more Germanic ones that had dominated the early medieval period.

[@henripentant1120]

Seconded

[@hefipaleburp9543]

Dark age's name is misleading.

[@hebanker3372]

That really depends from the region.In the rather poor Rhine and Danube frontiers,the towns wouldn't be so different from those of the pre roman period,save villas and border towers.But in the wealthy eastern provinces,those of Asia Minor,Middle East and eastern north Africa,almost every town had gymnasia,amphitheaters,aqueducts and massive walls.The reason is rather simple.The urban centers were more important because they carried the brunt of defending the region from the Persians and their vassals,far more sophisticated and organised than the barabarian tribes in the European borders could ever be.

[@polishherowitoldpilecki5521]

Roman medieval wear, actually looks very nice.

[@cathjj840]

The specimens shown here actually reminded me of Slavic designs and motifs.

[@henripentant1120]

Lots more choices for a practical or stylish look in the postclassical wardrobe

[@blumcole]

Right? I wish we would wear cloaks again

[@malfeasance62]

@@blumcole you can wear a mantle, they make really stylish and good ones today

[@histguy101]

@@blumcole You're welcome to, but people might call you Edge Lord

[@erynn9968]

This is golden. I wish they shoot a movie with historically accurate clothes and make people accept it just by declaring that it's historically accurate. People shouldn't deny the truth just for the sake of it. It's just no one made this movie yet.

[@alkazaryyy]

Byzantine is like made for a grand movie, it's basically real life fantasy, with greek fire and all that

[@nikobitan7294]

I agree that accurate late Roman clothing would be nice to see, but if you're expecting movies to be harbringers of "truth", you're in the wrong place.

[@erynn9968]

@@nikobitan7294 well some movies state to finally show the truth among common misconception - and it becomes their valid selling point.

[@countalma9800]

I’ve learned so much about the late Roman Empire from this channel. It’s a period not popularized by movies and novels, and thus not known well by most people.

[@TA-yw7ce]

You shokldnt. This guy is a lying pagan propagandist

[@7164227]

As an Arabian it's interesting seeing how similar traditional Arabian clothings is to the Romans specially the Dalmatica and the white Tunic.

[@TetsuShima]

3:45 "The Fall of the Roman Empire" is a pretty underrated film, to be honest. The way Marcus Aurelius and Commodus were portrayed by Alec Guiness and Christopher Plummer was just superb. It's pretty obvious Ridley Scott took a lot of inspiration from that movie at the time of making "Gladiator"

[@redterrorproductions1373]

Very funny

[@JawsOfHistory]

One of the reasons that Romans often look the same in movies, is that it's the same set design used in other movies and TV shows. These things are incredibly expensive to make for hundreds of people. So it's often just recycled. Ironically enough, considering that this is also how the Roman army itself functioned.

[@EASYTIGER10]

This is fascinating. As you say, many people think of Roman clothes and uniforms as being the same throughout the entire period, but period this covers 600 years plus! It would be like us wearing the same clothes and uniforms as in 1400!

[@felixhaggblom7562]

Precisely. Look at a movie from the 1980s and you can tell that the business suits dont look quite like they do today. And that's just a difference of 40 odd years!

[@costumesbyantonia806]

Excellent presentation, very well researched and interesting. As a costume designer, I have always been fascinating by this period of transition and was always disappointed by Hollywood’s depiction of that historical period. Thank you for posting, I learned a lot!

[@mich722]

Talking about religious clothing, one theory on why Buddhist monks wear 'toga' type garments today is that the style carried over from the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in northern India.

[@flyingisaac2186]

The appearance and style of the the typical depiction of Buddha is heavily based on a Hellenistic style of statues, with one of the most notably early (Batrians and Indo Greeks Yavana were well known as mercenaries) convert, the great Bactrian king Menander I (165-130BC) a generous patron of Buddhism. Indo-Greek culture outlasted the fall of Bactria, whose deserted cities like Ai Khanum have been the scene of aggressive recent looting. The ubiquitous Greek himation (which is a bit like a toga) did gain an association with philosophers which was perhaps how this form of clothing became a costume for the Buddhist monk.

[@michaellewis7959]

Maioranus I cannot get enough of your videos. You capture the very essence of what I find exceptionally fascinating.... namely how the people and culture evolved not just the great battles etc...thank you for your excellent work

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Hello Michael, thanks a lot friend, I really appreciate your kind words :) That is exactly what I am trying to convey with this channel, I always wanted to understand how it must have felt to live back in those days, and there are many more topics that I want to cover, from that fascinating period of the late Western Roman, early Eastern Roman Empire :)

[@mercianthane2503]

Late Roman clothes are outstanding and beautiful.

[@kiirolozanogarcia3003]

ikr! honestly i prefer it far more than the togas from previous centuries

[@andrzejzborowski4920]

It was the same with Latin. Latin of the late Empire was different from Latin of the Julius-Augustus-Tiberius period. While in the 5th century classical Latin was still widely understood, although it was no longer spoken, in the 9th century the spoken language was already considered a separate Romance language.

[@miketaggard309]

That’s a pretty good point. I’m Portuguese and I studied my country’s History. Back then the language was completely different from classical Latin but texts of the time still referred to the language as Latin.

[@Elkarus]

Vulgar latin words are extremely easy as most of them are almost the same. As a Catalan and Spanish speaker I find them really similar.

[@edwardfranks5215]

Well literate people continued to speak Classy Latin as the Romans called.

[@Elkarus]

@@edwardfranks5215 I think at the late W roman empire, classic Latin was only spoken at the Senate, special occasions and writing, but I could be wrong

[@Ekphrasys]

Ninth century? I guess much earlier ….

[@user-yy5xs6xj7r]

I think, that the use of trousers in the Roman Empire deserves its own video. If I remember correctly, there even were laws to forbid wearing trousers in the city of Rome itself (while they already were used in many parts of the Empire).

[@soldiermeyer2790]

What you said is true. At some point during the empire, people wearing trousers were prohibited from entering Rome, because the elites and some citizens considered them barbaric garments.

[@joaoespecial4168]

it depends on much north and wintery you are.

[@tangosmurfen2376]

Trousers were used by people who rod horses.

[@RicardoElCorrazonDeLeon]

I am so thankful for this particular video. I assumed that Roman clothing could not possibly have changed so dramatically from one day to a medieval next day but have never seen anything to corroborate my thoughts. I had suspected that when Roman superiority was on the wane and the city was shrinking dramatically, outside influences HAD t be on the rise, particularly since trousers appear to be so much more practical and comfortable than a toga - though I still do enjoy hearing and speaking the Latin I know, late Latin though it is.

[@silverchairsg]

To my knowledge, during the height of the Empire around Trajan's time, Roman legionaries stationed in colder climates already started wearing trousers under their tunics for practical purposes. This fashion then spread to the core of the Empire in Rome over time and influenced civilians and the aristocracy.

[@RicardoElCorrazonDeLeon]

@@silverchairsg This makes complete sense.

[@1106gary]

Trousers are much more difficult to make than a tunic or a toga. I am disappointed that the tricky upper part of the trousers were not shown.

[@Laurelin70]

@@silverchairsg Throughout the VI cent. the climate changed and became much colder. So the barbarian fashion of breeches and the tunics with long sleeves became suddenly much more appealing.

[@histguy101]

Trousers didn't replace togas. Togas were a civilian ceremonial dress, particularly for aristocrats. Trousers were part of a soldiers uniform. Apples and oranges. Roman trousers were tight, like leggings. Leggings were manly, and still allowed a man to show off his sexy thighs and calfs. Loose, baggy Persian style trousers were barbarian, and seen as feminine.

[@Jazmillenium]

Excellent and well laid out research. It's nice to see a channel focus on the later half of the Roman Empire. Great pictures to go alongside it as well. Been really enjoying your content.

[@stephanleo]

A topic rarely discussed! Thank you, great video! It's the same with movies about the so called dark ages, where you see warriors in 11th or 12th century armor...

[@person-yu8cu]

The late roman clothing looked like it was more suitable to the continental climates of northern and eastern europe, not the subtropical and mediterranean climates of italy and southern europe, showing that it was a foreign influence permeating an empire in decline.

[@histguy101]

Foreign influence doesn't indicate decline. People flooded into the empire and its capitals during all periods. Many styles adopted by the Romans actually came from their own provinces, particularly Illyricum, Thrace, Anatolia, Hellas, etc. Those fashions worked their way up into the mainstream as people's from those regions worked their way up into power as they became Romans over the generations. Fashions also came from places like Persia. It's usually the continental northern and eastern (Germania) neighbors who were adopting Roman fashions, as they were often client states.

[@paulcapaccio9905]

Most people don’t realize this. Too many movies about early imperial Rome.

[@TheLordRichard]

No. Not too many. Just not enough movies about the late Roman Empire period.

[@paulcapaccio9905]

@@TheLordRichard that’s true.

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

And many take place on the fringes of the empire in Judea

[@paulcapaccio9905]

@@jonathanwilliams1065 that’s correct. We need more in Britannia Gaul etc

[@TetsuShima]

"Be harmonious, dress with style, scorn all others" *-Last words of Septimius Severus to his son Caracalla (who was killed surely because of the hideous Gallic robe he always wore)*

[@عليياسر-ك8ف]

Why do the Romans make someone from the Carthaginians like Caracalla and others be the Roman Emperor?

[@belin-teamdjokovic1628]

Not only he wore it, he was [nick]named after it: "caracalla".

[@عليياسر-ك8ف]

@@belin-teamdjokovic1628 He is Carthaginian, his father is from Syria

[@michaelporzio7384]

Compared to the modern day, if one looks at photos of the USA from 100 years ago, almost every man in public was wearing a tie, jacket and hat. In 2022 men are usually out in public with jeans, t-shirts or a track suit. Hollywood always depicts Romans dressing the same way for 600 years. Excellent post Maiorianus!

[@mich722]

Tracksuits are a lot more popular compared to a few years ago.

[@1106gary]

40 years ago in San Francisco only tourists and the UPS guys wore shorts in the city. And both were laughed at. And on Sundays many women wore hats and white gloves. Now nearly everyone wears short and no one knows it is Sunday.

[@stormrider.14]

I never imagined that on a friday night I'd be taught about late Roman's fashion by Arnold Schwarzenegger! What a great video!

[@marvelfannumber1]

I should note that the Toga did survive in the Eastern Empire, albeit only for the Emperor. The Trabea Triumphalis, or Loros was certainly a type of toga that was draped around the body. It was initially used by Late Antique Consuls, but started also being used by Emperors by Diocletian's time. The Loros continued being imperial costume well into the 11th Century, and a modified, simplified version was used until 1453. The Loros also greatly inspired the various vestments of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which are still used to this day. (also, that statue at 5:38 is not of Julian, and it's not even Late Antique, it is dated to the 2nd Century).

[@mich722]

Are you sure that statue is not of Julian?

[@marvelfannumber1]

@@mich722 Yes. It used to be traditionally identified as Julian, because it sort of, kinda looks like his coins. But most recent scholarship dates it to the 2nd Century, you'll struggle to find many academic sources on the topic that still say it depicts Julian. Even the museum that houses it does not label it as Julian.

[@Laurelin70]

@Constantinus VII Well, Justinian and Theodora in the Ravenna mosaics surely don't wear the "classical" roman garments. Justinian wear a tunic that reaches under the knee with long sleeves, not the short tunic with short sleeves; he also wear a cloak pinned on a shoulder, not a toga and not a pallium, and he wears long socks and something alike to closed shoes. Theodora wears also a long tunic with long sleeves and the chest is completely covered; she wears a long colak pinned over a shoulder too; her ladies in waiting wear something alike to the pallium, but it's shorter and more draped. All the tunics and cloaks and veils are very decorated and embroidered, the jewels are very rich and complicated, the crowns encrusted of pearls and gems and they all cover almost completely the body, leaving exposed only hands and faces. So changes weren't so dramatic, but surely they weren't too subtle either.

[@yiannimil1]

@@marvelfannumber1 also Julian tried to bring back the pagan religions. highly unlikely any of his statues would survive christian wrath

[@marvelfannumber1]

@@yiannimil1 Nah, we know he had a few statues in Constantinople that survived until at least the 9th Century. His sarcophagus was also preserved in the Church of the Holy Apostles, and it might even still exist today among the sarcophagi found.

[@curiousinquireror4096]

This was very cool, thanks so much for putting this together! Another related thing I've been very curious about is how would Romans have dressed in the winter when it was snowing? Often depictions show light summery clothing when depicting Romans but we knew they had cities really far up in the north where temperatures were frigid. How would Roman soldiers and civilians have looked on a typical frozen winter day in a large city northern Gaul, Germania, or Brittania?

[@crouserm]

Similarly, one sees "King Arthur" movies that depict 5th/6th Century CE Romano-Britons wearing early 15th Century CE plate armor. Oh, well, one must realize what sells.

[@Eshanas]

I mean…it barely did. 120 mil to make and 200 mil return. If the marketing rule applies, they could had made no profit. I think accuracy is so alien to the masses it’s worth a try.

[@serbancaciula9528]

>CE

[@erynn9968]

heroes of the past deserve the best garments of the past! XD

[@crouserm]

@@Eshanas to be sure, I absolutely would love it!

[@satyakisil9711]

Honestly, people won't even care what kind of protection he is using, so why not go for accuracy anyway? Is leather and pig iron more expensive than steel plates?

[@WillN2Go1]

Good episode. The motivating force in all this? I think it was not just comfort and practicality but specifically: drafts. I always loved my sleeping bag. Twenty years ago I got a sleeping bag liner. Total game changer. This made my winter 'bag' an all seasons bag, and my summer bag a winter bag. Many nights I sleep in one at home - under my regular bedding. Because they are a bag there are no drafts. But your bed doesn't have any? Neither did mine. The liner eliminates drafts we are almost completely unaware of, yet we get a better night's sleep, we feel more cozy, we like it. So trousers, sleeves, tunics, -- I'm sure hats at one point were considered barbaric. Eliminate the draft and people will adopt the style. The ultimate 'clothing' I think is the neoprene wet suit. The first time you put one on, you don't want to take it off. Had the barbarians invented neoprene, all priests would look like scuba divers - actually all scuba divers would look like priests.

[@magical11]

The weather also probably got colder worldwide.

[@Blox117]

where do you live, antartica?

[@grantottero4980]

Your whole worl is really precious! My congratulations. If I do not esxpress my congratulations every single time I follow one of your videos, it happens only because of some sort of laziness (and not to repeat them, becoming monotonous), but you should really deserve them every time...

[@Gorboduc]

The first century focus can be mostly be blamed on Bible epics, which basically go from Tiberius to Nero. Second source is Cleopatra baes.

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

Funny thing is that you don’t really have many common Romans in the Bible epics, so showing Romans wearing the clothing of conquered barbarians

[@gazlator]

Terrific to see you're putting the record straight in terms of fashion & dress, Maiorianus!! More Power to your Elbow.

[@dimplesd8931]

Great video! Never thought about the fact that fashion would change for the Romans as it did for all peoples and cultures over centuries. Now I wish movies/tv would show more fashion accuracy regarding Romans.

[@AndreaBorto]

So interesting. The late roman empire attire is very close to the typical medieval one. Plus, I've learned Castle is from castro - the legion fortress. So, the most middle ages building is an evolution of a roman building. And feudal life started when rich roman left the city with their servants and fortified countryside villas - developing them into the feudal castle and surroundings servant huts.

[@EASYTIGER10]

Something that's always intrigued me - especially regarding Rome and Greece - is how long after defeat by outsiders the culture remained recognisably "Greek" or "Roman". For example. Rome is generally said to have "fallen" in 476 AD. But how long did it still "feel" and "look" Roman? Did it end immediately? Or in 500 AD? 600AD?

[@CaptainGrimes1]

He has videos on that but it changed in different places in different times in Britannia it was quite quick whereas in the Byzantine Empire I would say after the Muslim conquests

[@joaoespecial4168]

quite a long time... i still speak a latin derivative language, as most of western europe does. But on the western europe people stop calling thenselfs as roman by the time the first (sucessor) kingdons were established, despite the fact of continuing speaking they local variation of latin and abiding by basicaly roman laws.

[@EASYTIGER10]

@@CaptainGrimes1 Thanks, I'll check these videos out. I've only recently found this channel, but it looks really interesting. I've always been interested in history, but not just the well-known wars and invasions but how cultures relate to each other and evolve over time.

[@octavian_augustus98]

Your channel really deserve subs and praise .

[@bonnie-gracemacklin1889]

I've been looking for a video on this topic for so long🙌🙌Thank you so much for all your hard work making it! I'm working on a worldbuilding project, with clothing combining elements of the Classical Roman period with 14th-15th century Italy - but I couldn't find any information on the massive transition between eras. This is an invaluable resource, thank you again!

[@sanjivjhangiani3243]

I like these late Roman costumes. They look like a bridge between Classical and Medieval clothing, something out of a Medieval fantasy.

[@tylere.8436]

They basically look like more Eastern style medieval clothing.

[@TetsuShima]

Theodosius: "That Julian dude was a pagan bastard with all the letters...But damn, those clothes he always wore were badass as HELL!!!" 😎

[@joellaz9836]

Those statues of Julian with a toga isn’t actually of Julian. It’s a priest of from the 2nd century apparently. Person in the video made a mistake.

[@eqmoz]

I love this video SOOOOOO goddamn much. Maiorianus is everything that is right and good about KZbin videos. Thank you for this accurate and amazing content!!!!!

[@jdheryos4910]

Good as this in-depth look is. You have ignored the elephant in the room. Sir, you forget the Roman warm period. Climatic change drives civilization as much as any other human factors. This warm climatic period , especially in the Mediterranean basin had an impact on clothing amongst all classes. Beginning approximately around 100 BC and ending before 500 AD, we can see how trousers for instance, would have become a necessity in the cooler Mediterranean seasons other than summer, cultural mixing or transitory fashion.

[@BonanzaRoad]

Thanks for another fascinating and informative video. This is a very interesting, rarely discussed topic. Your insights and research are impressive.

[@delavalmilker]

Interesting video! Especially the part about how movies depict Roman clothes. A Roman of the 1st century A.D. walking around in the Late Empire, would look as strange to the late Romans, as someone walking around today dressed in knee breeches and wearing a tri-cornered hat. Historian Morris Bishop in his book "The Middle Ages" says that trousers were Germanic in origin, and that that "Germanic trousers conquered the World, not only the Romans but also reaching the even the Iroquois and the Eskimos". Why trousers? Because they were more comfortable and protective.

[@cathjj840]

I always wonder if the marked cooling of the climate during the late Roman empire might also have incited people to copy on the barbarians of colder regions. Breeches were also worn by Celtic people in Gaul as well as Germanic peoples.

[@redmi9834]

But the early tousers were put on as two seperrate pieces and then a triangular piece of cloth between to legs all secured on a belt at the waist

[@Katya_Lastochka]

They certainly were not. Trousers were worn by every horse riding culture. The Scythians even have depictions of themselves in gold ornaments and on mosaics in Scythopolis. Im just saying, a historian is just a reader and guesser like any one of us.

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Yes, indeed, a very fascinating transition of style and clothing indeed, that took place after the 3rd century AD in the Roman Empire.

[@gloriathomas3245]

Thank you for this video because there are also misconceptions about the type of clothes Cleopatra wore. Contrary to what we see in art and film, Cleopatra never dressed like an Egyptian but rather Greek.

[@michaelrenper796]

I wouldn't be so sure about this. Cleopatra was famous for speaking Egyptian (Coptic) which hardly anybody in the ruling family bothered to learn and for being fairly populits and popular with the common Egyptians. So she likely dressed in Egyptian Pharaonic for public apperances when travelling to upper Egypt.

[@kedroni]

I always wondered how Romans were not freezing without trousers in winter. 🤔

[@عليياسر-ك8ف]

Damn the Romans, we have the infrastructure, but the Berbers don't, and we're in the Mediterranean

[@meenki347]

I'm glad that you mentioned the survival of ancient pagan fashion in the Catholic Church. However, You missed a few modern examples that still survive. 1- It's hypothesized that the modern Bishop's mitre may have evolved from the Ancient Egyptian pschent crown. 2- The Modern Greek Army's dress uniform still preserves an evolution of the skirt of the Eastern Roman Empire. 3 -Scott's Highlander's still have a formal military Kilt, but with the fibula on the left shoulder. Essentially, a toga because with the kilt it is a single piece of cloth. 4- the modern Indian woman's Sari is exactly the same as a formal Full Highland Scott's dress (male). Though, the Indian sari is also worn with a blouse. During the 19th Century, American Indian's who were able to kill a US soldier would often adopt an article of uniform as a trophy. I could imagine Scott's engaging in the same social phenomena with the clothes of Roman soldiers or even Roman soldiers who went "native".

[@TA-yw7ce]

So stupid. Many cultures have kilt like clothing that doesn’t make them derivatives of the Roman toga.. it’s pretty simple design

[@andrewberrocal2281]

Ngl I like the cape and trouser Style of Late Rome. I’d totally wear it today

[@dayros2023]

Nice video, keep your work on the late Roman empire, it's such a neglected but fascinating period.

[@KarlaHolland]

@4:03 sounds just like how fashion used to be formal for daily use but became more casual as the century changed.

[@shironerisilk]

It's interesting to see that almost all of the older (female) Catholic saints (and even the Virgin Mary herself) are depicted wearing clothes identical to the pictures of the ladies wearing the dalmatica. It makes a lot of sense when you see the hagiographies that set their lives in the late Roman Empire.

[@عليياسر-ك8ف]

Jesus damn do they hate the Middle East

[@dshock85]

makes you realize that the dress going into the middle ages basically started and was developed by the Roman Empire. The way the collapse of the west bleeds into the "dark ages" is more and more fascinating than what we were always ...kind of taught.

[@CaptainGrimes1]

I always see the reign of Diocletian as the start of the middle ages, by the time of Constantine you have all the elements there - a state church, an Emperor appointed by God, serfdom, dukes and counts, forts that are more like castles, heavy cavalry that are like knights, monks etc

[@dshock85]

@@CaptainGrimes1 Right, makes you realize the dark ages didn't just happen, like a light switch turning off. Western Europe was growing darker and darker as the Empire was slowly declining. Dicoletian and the subsequent empires were laying the ground work for the decentralized middles ages as they struggled to keep the empire together.

[@MrAlepedroza]

@@dshock85 The Dark Ages are only called so due to the lack of records, not because life was necessarily worse in all aspects. By many metrics, the lives of people improved a lot after the fall of Rome, starting from the graves in which we find people with far stromger bones and height than the malnourished urban Romans.

[@Tzimiskes3506]

@@dshock85 imagine still using the "dark ages" lol. Such useless 18th and 19th century scholarship that has long since been abandoned.

[@dshock85]

@@Tzimiskes3506 "The 'Dark Ages' were between the 5th and 14th centuries, lasting 900 years. The timeline falls between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. It has been called the 'Dark Ages' because many suggest that this period saw little scientific and cultural advancement."

[@johnmonkus4600]

The latest event where the toga was worn was around 1200 AD in Rome, during a revival of the glories of Rome. Rome at the time was practically a village, on the Campus Martius, whose water supply was entirely underground and was never interrupted.

[@bigorna4875]

Do you know any sources so that i can search this? I would love to know about it

[@gamingchamp6728]

I swear late Roman fashion slowly became more and more…. Balkan

[@richardsmith579]

Most of the late Roman emperors originated in the balkans, but I wonder if the cooler winters that developed in the third and fourth centuries might have had something to do with it.

[@ΚώσταςΡωμ]

More like the other way around.

[@melissacorbett4180]

@@richardsmith579 yes! I was wondering why the end of the Roman Warm period wasn't mentioned as a factor in the change of fashion!

[@MilIMeta]

For the most part Illyrian(pileus, dalmatica), thanks to the influence of Constantine, Justinian, etc.

[@DipityS]

Fascinating and completely new knowledge to me. I feel a little silly now for thinking that the same fashion kept constant over so many hundreds of years and so many vast changes. Thank you for an excellent video and opening my mind a bit more.

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

Traditional Sardinian clothes, some used to this day for parties and events, are not to dissimilar from this.

[@IvannaNukya]

We learn so much from you about the Roman’s. I’m so happy you don’t use byzantine name . Growing up the schools taught of the byzantine empire with very little context . So for years I had no idea that the Roman Empire lasted well past 476AD . It’s fascinating to see how misinformation shapes our understanding and byzantine empire is the worst kind of misinformation.

[@jeantuathail]

If you see this reality, you may be able to understand another, or already be aware of it. When Pope Gregory changed the calendar, he pushed forward the era by or almost by 1000 years. There are many figures from approx. 400-600AD who also appear, identically described but generally in another language and with another date system, around 1400-1600. The old one might be a Latin name, the newer the exact Italian/vulgar Latin derivative, and the characters sharing exact biographies. The year currently can't be more than 1350 from Jesus. I do apologize for the headfuck. But I urge you to prove this wrong. I have been trying for years.

[@Laurelin70]

@@jeantuathail Pope Gregory never pushed the era (wich one?) forward of 1000 years. He only pushed the YEAR 1582 forward of 10 DAYS. What the fuck are you saying?

[@achilleuspetreas3828]

@@jeantuathail what the fuck are you smoking?

[@mikicerise6250]

@@jeantuathail 🤣

[@SiCkMiNiMaLsTyLe]

@@jeantuathail So now we'd be in 1350 AD uh?? Well... the Black Plague was in 1347-48, 2-3 years ago, so...

[@italuswikiano1191]

Excellent video and topic. You forgot to mention an example of an emperor attempting to impose a new dress code on the Romans in Rome, namely one of the Severan Emperors sometime between 190 to 215 AD who introduced and gave to the people pantaloons in the German style. (See the Greek historian Herodian.)

[@Agapimo]

Thank you for another SUPERBLY well researched and detailed description of history with a rich perspective ✅🥳 You hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated 🎉

[@Figgy5119]

Fascinating video! Moreover, I wanted to say your narration is at the perfect speed. There are so many people who will talk too fast so that non-native English listeners struggle, but also others that are so slow you feel you must watch in 1.5 speed. Looking forward to going through the rest of this channel's content! :)

[@vincenzocondorelli4622]

Excellent channel for real. Greetings from Italy.

[@daguroswaldson257]

Thank you for posting this. This has really helped me out for my research of the time of Rome's fall. I'm writting a historical fiction book on the fall of Rome. Gratias!

[@elizabethmorton4904]

Fascinating, thank you! I've always wondered about the evolution of clothing styles in late antiquity, but this is the first time I've found it addressed.

[@estudiantedeespanol263]

I mean, 200 years ago men used to wear high heels, wigs and justacorps. Now we wear T-shirts and blue jeans (working class clothes). A lot can change in a couple of centuries.

[@guillermorivas7819]

Kind of like today in the United States where people only wear suits/tuxs generally for weddings and job interviews. And for everything else it's working class apparel with the occasional dress shirt for a night out during the weekend. When 60 + years ago, almost everyone wore a suit for work and a tux during a night out to a show/movies. Back then only those very low working classes wore pants and t-shirts. Funny that modern US politicians still continue the 1940s-1960s glamorized look to feel/appear like a throwback to a better time. I see that here with the late antiquity Roman senators dressing like their golden years just like today's US politicians dress like America's golden age. Food for thought.

[@stevejohnson3357]

This process can be seen still. When Kennedy was sworn in, it was top hat and morning coat. When Johnson was, it was high quality business suit. I don't know if President Xi has ever worn a Mao Suit (he probably has) and jeans are no longer just casual.

[@cathjj840]

@Suebian Ah, but the elite have to have their jeans just so, suitably massacred or diamond studded by designer hands (recognizable by anyone who counts). $400 holey jeans are obscene.

[@DrTarrandProfessorFether]

We of the LEGIO II AVG portray 1st and 4th Century… Garrisoning Britannia. When I dress Late Roman, with a Pill Box Hat, think we are Eastern Europe… Polish of the 14th Century!! I wear pants, boots, stocking, migration Sword (similar to the Feltwell Sword). RARELY wear amour…

[@JohnLloydDavis]

That's a really good point that seems to be missed when they portray these old empires, fashion. There has always been a fashionable way to dress and it's strange to think it wouldn't change for hundreds of years.

[@lorenzoalbertomedina6753]

50's gladiator movies with oiled Romans are my favorite !

[@talmadge1926]

Oh yes. Sittiing in the front row hoping to see up Steve Reeves skimpy tunic😆

[@puma7171]

Very nice video! Women's fashion would deserve a video of its own, however.

[@redmi9834]

Yes, and include the clothes of the Vestal Virgins also.

[@heliomonteiro4200]

Not to mention that Romans strongly assimilated culture of other peoples. During the Republic and early empire, Romans thought of themselfs as successors of the Greeks and were deeply influenced by their fashion. As times went on they were influenced both by the germanic and the Christians. These influences deeply changed their society, and language.

[@عليياسر-ك8ف]

The Romans, not the Greeks, and the Middle East had an amazing civilization, but Europe did not

[@Nicolesid1]

Something else to keep in mind with movies and the costuming. Often they will reuse costumes to save money, especially in historic pieces as it can get expensive to create garments for hundreds or thousands of extras. This doesn't excuse the dress of more prominent characters but something to keep in mind.

[@industrialvectors]

A point about movies. When they want to be "accurate", it is not uncommon for them to turn to reenacting groups. I've personally known a few of them. It takes months or years for an individual to come up with a complete realistic set. They also usually stick to a time period. I actually had a high school teacher build chain mail from chain links while giving lectures. If you hire 100s of them, they typically come with their gear, so the movie team will usually just show what they have instead of building props for all of them.

[@Xerxes2005]

Since the climate was getting colder during the Late Roman Empire, it's only logical that the Romans would begin to wear trousers.

[@عليياسر-ك8ف]

no

[@grantpenton1850]

I learned this as a boy decades ago, and it makes common sense. Millions of Roman refugees fleeing Germanic psychopaths in the balkans and Gaul certainly would have made an impression on the Italians, and they would have adapted trousers into their regular garb. The militarization, impoverishment, fragility and deep insecurity of late Roman society would have had as much of an impact on Roman fashion as it had on art and sculpture.

[@hazzmati]

germanic psycopaths what 🤣

[@x999uuu1]

"Germanic psychopaths" lol

[@SanjayKumar-jd3bv]

@@hazzmati yes germanic psychopaths .now europe is a continental germania

[@SanjayKumar-jd3bv]

@@hazzmati today europe is fake

[@oiausdlkasuldhflaksjdhoiausydo]

I always wondered about this topic!!! Thanks so much for your work!!!

[@simonmoorcroft1417]

It was not only the fashion of the late Roman period that had a 'medieval' character. It was society and politics too. Late Roman society had a very 'feudal' feel too it. Where personal loyalities and fiefdoms began to replace the Roman state structures. The characteristics of medieval feudal europe did not suddenly appear. The foundations of feudal system and power of the church had already begun to form before the empire fell.

[@sylarstern8382]

Super video and even more important perfect pseudo ! I would like to add some hypothesis. actually, when comes to how the trousers and the tunics are done, it didn’t change dramatically, it is just longer on some parts and done with different materials. So the models are almost the same but the decorations are not. Surely we could say that it comes from barbarian influence, but actually it could even make more sense that it comes from the different northern provinces from the empire as those regions became more and more important from a military point of view starting from the third century and that most of the emperors came from those provinces starting from 250. Those points are not affirmations, but it could also be valid.

[@thecollierreport]

I want to bring this style back

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Hehe, yes, especially the hat, the Pileus Pannonicus, has style :)

[@cathjj840]

@@Maiorianus_Sebastian ?? looks like shorter, dumpier fez

[@redmi9834]

When I was young toga parties were quite the fashion . I made one on my sewing machine that looked really authentic together with a crown of gold coloured laurel leaves. I got a prize for that.

[@_extrathicc]

This is like having a WW2 movie with people dresses like winged hussars and janissaries.

[@johnreed8336]

Thank you for the latest upload. Really interesting to watch this as it is a subject that is almost always ignored .

[@sydneysmith1521]

Very good. You identified some fashion trends that are still around. It makes me wonder if the neck tie is going the way of the toga.

[@lenore6341]

This is such an interesting video, especially Romans eventually wearing trousers. But in 397, Honorius banned trousers in the city of Rome. Does this mean they wore long tunics again?

[@tylere.8436]

No, it most likely meant that Honorius made an unenforceable and ludicrous decree, like how Diocletian tried to dictate minimum prices. The emperor only had so much power, they weren't fully gods

[@paulmentzer7658]

When it comes to movies, one factor is what is in stock. In the John Ford Movie "The Horse Soldiers" which was about Grisson's raid through Mississippi in 1863 (as part of Grant's attack on Vicksburg), the soldiers are all dressed in US style uniforms of the 1880s not the 1860s. Why? because 1880 uniforms were in stock in Hollywood warehouses, 1860 uniforms would have had to be made new. Thus to keep costs low 1880 uniforms were used for such uniforms for they were in stock and had been used for decades in various Westerns. The same with Roman Army armor. Such Armor and Weapons had been used in various movies of the early Empire and late Republic that it was just cheaper to reuse those armor and weapons in movies about the late Empire then make more historical correct armor. Movies are made on a budget and Hollywood tries to reduce costs when they can and in most movies having the wrong dress for the period has little effect on the overall movie. Who cares if the Nazis are using American 1950 Era M48 tanks while the Americans are using 1950 Era light tanks in a WWII Movie. The Nazis had bigger tanks then the Americans and the M48 vs the M41 light tank clearly show the "Nazi" tank being bigger. Making new Panther and Tigers tanks for the Nazis, and Shermans for the Americans was to Expensive when you could use later tanks at a much lower cost. The same with movies of the late Roman Empire, Hollywood has thousand of Roman clothing of the time of Christ, so way spend the extra money on something from the late Empire when clothing from the early Empire is readily avaliable and what people wore had nothing to do with the main topic of the movie? Now, you do have to be careful, such budget concerns can harm a movie if the issue of clothing is a factor. I remember watching a Randolph Scott movie from the 1950s about the first revolvers used in the West. The time period is the 1850s with the first revolvers but every man in the movie was dressed in clothing of the 1880s, right down to carrying 1873 Colt Peacemaker revolvers. If the guns had been single shot pistols, it would clearly have shown the superiority of the first revolvers, but with the men carrying the Colt Revolver that replaced the first revolvers it hurt the movie. I bring it up for it is one of the few times where having the wrong equipment for the wrong time period hurt the movie. In most movies what armor, weapons or clothing people are wearing has no effect on the movie if it is otherwise well directed, written and acted. In most movies about ancient Rome, having armor and weapons of the First Century in the Fourth century almost never effect the story line of the Movie. Thus does it really matter if a movie dress up fifth century Romans as first century Roman's? In most cases the issue it does not, much like A WWII movie has the Germans using M48 tanks instead of Tigers and Panthers rarely has any effect on the story line of the movie.

[@HolyLionProphet]

Focus: Dyes got cheaper

[@pauljohnson1325]

fantastic info I didn't know any of the info you talked about especially the pants worn in second or third century AD

[@emmaaustin123]

The patches on the shoulders were practical to help keep out the rain. The embroidery helped keep the rain off also the embroidery at the base of the sleeve helped with strengthening the material. I am guessing that embroidery along the base of the tunic added weight to prevent it from blowing upwards in winds.

[@Martina-Kosicanka]

Mind-blowing yet makes complete sense

[@francophone.]

In the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, the dalmatic is worn by deacons, in some rare cases, bishops as well (but I don't know if they are visible). The Catholic Church also has Eastern churches that are a part of it, by the way. There is also something called a pallium, worn mostly by archbishops and the Pope, but I don't know if it comes from the Roman one or not. Liturgical clothing has interesting origins.

[@jeromehorwitz2460]

Excellent, informative documentary on Roman dress.

[@jujenho]

Congratulations for a high-quality presentation. The surprising is that the evidence was already well avaliable.

[@Ivan-pr7ku]

I can recommend watching the historical drama Aszparuh (1981), where great attention was given to the set and costume designs, closely matching the 6~7-th century in Eastern Roman Empire... and the only production to use over 50K extras in the battle scenes.

[@miso689]

Something about late roman empire is really fascinating.

[@MichelleVisageOnlyFans]

I love your pronunciation of the word "citizens". LOL! I imagine you're referring to unruly teens with unclear hormonal skin full of pimples! LOL! 3:43

[@ConfortinDEADHORSE]

Great video!!

[@arno-luyendijk4798]

As a member of a Roman 1st century reebactment group, this video comes as a bog support for what we are telling the public when our late Roman colleagues appear together with us: it was BIGTIME different from what we are depicting. Too bad Hollywood never takes the effort or courage to take advice and collaboration of reebactment societies for whatever Roman period. I sincerely hope your video comes as a stepping stone towards a more authentic depiction in these "historical" films.

[@stephenschroeder6567]

Outstanding work as always! Thank you!

[@dogfriendly1623]

This video is brilliant and satisfys my need to know what medeaval Italy was really like. Thank you 😊

[@andrzejmaranda3699]

Maiorianus: VERY INTERESTING & INFORMATIVE video!