Customer Reviews

Roman Military Dress

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If you are one of the rare individuals who has a particular interest in the clothing of Rome's soldiers, this book is going to be your Bible. And really, anyone with a particular interest in Roman military history in general - especially those reenactors who strive for great accuracy - need to buy this book.

To a point this is a much longer and more thorough version of the three volumes that Graham Sumner published for Osprey's men-at-arms series several years ago. But here in this much larger book he has room to give lengthier discussion and present very nearly all the evidence we have, literary and archaeological, for fabrics, colors, etc.

Even on a visual level this book is a gem - in addition to numerous photographs and line drawings the author presents us with sixteen paintings he has done of Roman soldiers, ranging from the days of the Samnite wars all the way down to the era of Justinian, and these are a beauty to look at besides adding clarity to the actual appearance of Rome's fighting men through the centuries.

This title does much to destroy the overdone stereotype of all Roman legionaries being clad in loricas and red tunics and cloaks - it reveals the diversity of style, fabric, and color that existed in the Roman Army, and the influence other cultures had on Roman dress. I imagine this title would be especially valuable for an artist, reenactor or wargamer needing to get their depictions of Roman clothing as accuracy as possible.

This is a wonderful work on Roman military clothing. Sumner breaks the subject down into basically six chapters:
1. Tunics
2. Cloaks
3. The Clothing industry (clothing industry and cost)
4. The Clothing indsutry (dyeing industry)
5. Evidence for the color of military clothing
6. Other garments

Sumner ranges from the Republic to the Late Empire, and illustrates the volume copiously with examples of sculpture, painting, artifacts, drawings of artifacts and some reconstructions in color plates.

I expect this will become the reference volume on the subject.