Braccae
Definition: Somewhat loose, woolen trousers worn by the ancient Celts and Germans which were usually tied with a leather drawstring at the waist and ankles. Although initially panned by the Romans as a staple of the "barbarians", some later adopted them to wear under their everyday tunics, accelerated by growing familiarity with the Near East where trousers had long been worn by the Persians, Medes, Parthians, Saka and Sarmatians. Romans living in the new northern provinces found them useful in protecting against the cold, but they were never common in the south. By the early Middle Ages, the common term was "braes".
Period: Pre-Roman Germanic and Celtic, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, early Middle Ages. The Romans gradually began to wear braccae during the 2nd century AD.
Etymology: Likely Transalpine Gaulish in origin.
Other terms: Anachurides/ἀναχυρίδες (Greek), bracae (alternate Latin spelling), braes (early Middle Ages)
Related terms:
- Coccineae: Crimson braccae worn by Roman emperors. Honorius (emperor from 395-423) outlawed them in the city.
- Feminalia: Tight, woolen trouser worn by the ancient Celts and Germans and adopted by the Romans. Called "feminalia" because they covered the thigh (femur in Latin, pl. feminis), ending at the knee or upper calf.
- Periscelis/περισκελίς: Probably similar to feminalia.
- Periskele/περισκελῆ: See - Periscelis.
- Periskelia/περισκέλια: See - Periscelis.
- Periskelion/περισκέλιον: See - Periscelis.
- Poikilai/ποικίλαι: See - Virgatae.
- Virgatae: Striped trousers, often with the weft woven in various colors. The Greeks called them poikilai/ποικίλαι but never wore them.
Period: Pre-Roman Germanic and Celtic, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, early Middle Ages. The Romans gradually began to wear braccae during the 2nd century AD.
Etymology: Likely Transalpine Gaulish in origin.
Other terms: Anachurides/ἀναχυρίδες (Greek), bracae (alternate Latin spelling), braes (early Middle Ages)
Related terms:
- Coccineae: Crimson braccae worn by Roman emperors. Honorius (emperor from 395-423) outlawed them in the city.
- Feminalia: Tight, woolen trouser worn by the ancient Celts and Germans and adopted by the Romans. Called "feminalia" because they covered the thigh (femur in Latin, pl. feminis), ending at the knee or upper calf.
- Periscelis/περισκελίς: Probably similar to feminalia.
- Periskele/περισκελῆ: See - Periscelis.
- Periskelia/περισκέλια: See - Periscelis.
- Periskelion/περισκέλιον: See - Periscelis.
- Poikilai/ποικίλαι: See - Virgatae.
- Virgatae: Striped trousers, often with the weft woven in various colors. The Greeks called them poikilai/ποικίλαι but never wore them.
In context:
"At Caecina, velut relicta post Alpis saevitia ac licentia, modesto agmine per Italiam incessit. ornatum ipsius municipia et coloniae in superbiam trahebant, quod versicolori sagulo, bracas [barbarum tecgmen] indutus togatos adloqueretur. uxorem quoque eius Saloninam, quamquam in nullius iniuriam insignis equo ostroque veheretur, tamquam laesi gravabantur, insita mortalibus natura recentem aliorum felicitatem acribus oculis introspicere modumque fortunae a nullis magis exigere quam quos in aequo viderunt."
- Histories by Tacitus, II.20. Ca 100-110 AD. |
"Caecina, who seemed to have left his cruelty and profligacy on the other side of the Alps, advanced through Italy with his army under excellent discipline. The towns and colonies, however, found indications of a haughty spirit in the general's dress, when they saw the cloak of various colors, and the trews, a garment of foreign fashion [braccae], clothed in which he was wont to speak to their toga-clad citizens. And they resented, as if with a sense of personal wrong, the conduct of his wife Salonina, though it injured no one that she presented a conspicuous figure as she rode through their towns on horseback in a purple habit."
- Histories by Tacitus, II.20. Ca 100-110 AD. |
Examples: