Roman Military Clothing (1)
100 BC- AD 200

Men-at-Arms 374
By Graham Sumner
Colour Plates by the author
Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2002
ISBN 1-84176-487-6
48 pages.

Reviewed by John Prigent

To the best of my knowledge there’s nothing else in print about what the Roman legions wore when they weren’t in armour, at least not in English, though bits and pieces of information are scattered around in various books.  That, by itself, makes this an essential reference for figure modellers!

The various tunics, cloaks, and other clothing (even socks but no, not underwear) are covered with their changes over the years, and military boots are here as well.  There’s a simply splendid eleven-page analysis of the best evidence for the colours actually used on military clothing, based on ancient documents, surviving textile fragments, Roman and other ancient paintings, and the remaining traces of paint on sculptures, and not least in usefulness is a section on the dyes available to the Romans.

The illustrations are a splendid selection from contemporary sources, with the addition of modern photographs of surviving items, and the author’s colour plates are simply superb.

I cannot recommend this book too highly to anyone interested in the Roman armies – and of course much civilian dress would have been similar.