Clothing
To get an idea of what Byzantine clothes were like,
you only have to take a look at icons and wall paintings of saints in Greek
Orthodox churches. Most of these scenes describe the life of Christ, who lived
long before Byzantium.
However, the people who painted them would naturally have copied the fashion of
their times. Besides, in the early Byzantine period costumes did not differ
much from those of the Romans. So in icons we see men in tunics like baggy
dresses reaching down to their knees or ankles, with a sash tied tight around
the waist. The length of a tunic often depended on a person’s
job. St. George is a warrior, so he is shown with a short tunic under a metal
breastplate. Other people in icons wear short, plain tunics, tied with a rope around
the middle – they are ordinary people, peasants, who do all kinds of jobs and
so need comfortable clothes that give them freedom of movement. On the contrary,
most saints wear long tunics (robes that reach down to their feet), just like
the ones worn by the Byzantines on special occasions, or by those belonging to
the upper classes or the clergy.
Women always wore long, loose-fitting tunics with wide
sleeves that completely covered their hands; at that time women were required
to cover their body fully, otherwise they were regarded as immoral.
People in icons are also shown wearing additional pieces
of
cloth.
Some of these fall
freely, such as
cloaks worn
over the shoulders and fastened in front with a brooch, while others are like
long vests or coats. Women
also
wear
shawls
and
long scarves to cover their heads. Very few have loose,
uncovered hair, like May Magdalene.
In some cases you may see men wearing long woolen or
cotton underwear below their tunics, covering the legs from the waist down to
the ankles like long-johns. These are easy to spot on farmers – they have short
tunics, so their underwear looks like the trousers we wear today. Others
wear
long
knitted
socks,
though soldiers protected their shins with greaves (shin guards). Those few who
covered their heads wore tight fitting hats like caps.
Making clothes was an extremely difficult and time-consuming
job in those days. People made their own starting right from the basics, like
spinning thread (in the case of cotton, wool or silk), colouring it with
natural dies, and weaving cloth on the loom. Then they sewed by hand, using
small stitches, as sewing machines didn’t exist back then. As can be expected,
poor people who had to work hard in the fields or elsewhere did not have much
time for luxuries. So women (not men) wove simple fabrics, without decorative
motifs, using materials that were easy to find and not too expensive. However,
the richer who could afford it made more colorful sets of clothes, with
elaborate decorations that were either weaved into the fabric either
embroidered with gold and silver thread. Obviously they did not make their
clothes themselves, but had them made by skilled professional tailors.
Of course, the Emperor, members of his family and
everyone who lived with him in the palace (the royal courtiers) had the most
impressive outfits. Indeed, there was one dark red or purplish dye used only by
the king, as his privilege. This was called porphyra, and came from a very rare
kind of seashell. The word Porphyrogenitus was used in order to show that
someone was a descendant of kings. It is even said that when the empress was
ready to give birth, she was taken to a special room in the palace that was
called Purpura (the Purple Room). For this reason, Emperor Constantine VII (VII
is the number seven in Latin, counting upwards: I = 1, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4, V =
5, VI = 6, VII = 7) was also called Porphyrogenitus. In general, the higher
people’s social status and financial standing were, the more beautiful clothes they
owned, so that dress in Byzantium
became a way of telling a person’s origin, rank, social class and profession or
job.
Byzantine clothes were rich and earthy, in colours
like brown, ochre (mustard yellow), green any grey, since they were made of natural
materials. White symbolized purity and modesty, in a way that has survived
until now in the white usually worn by brides. In contrast, black was
considered the color of sorrow - it was worn by both women and men who had lost
someone close to them, as well as by the clergy. Those who had chosen the
monastic life (nuns, monks) wore black not just because they were in mourning
for the sins of world, but also because they had dedicated themselves to God
and had given up the pleasures of a worldly life.
The way the Byzantines dressed stayed more or less the
same for most of the Byzantine period; conservatism was obvious in their
clothing, as in other things. The patterns, types and tailoring used did not
change easily. It took several centuries for that to happen, and it was only in
the last period of Byzantium that new features imported from the West caught on,
like hats, men’s jackets and tighter fitting clothes.
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