With the smoke of war hanging in the distance, the Landsknecht are never far away...
Germany ; First half of the 16th Century.
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"One chronicler remarked that the devil refused to let Landsknechte into Hell because he was so afraid of them." - Unknown
Germany ; First half of the 16th Century. "Accustomed to degrees to be overmatched and worsted in many engagements, they [The Gauls] do not even compare to the Germans in prowess." - "The Gallic Wars", Book 6, Julius Caesar.
Current-Day Germany ; First half of the 1st Century AD. Location: Germany Date: Approx. 1st Century AD Culture: Roman-Period Germanic Estimated Social Class: Possibly Middle Class Garment Type: Tunic While later finds such as the Thorsberg clothing seem to give us a generally decent understanding of how later Roman-Period Germanic men may have dressed, we have a staggering lack of earlier finds to go off of. As a result of this, there are many, often inaccurate, representations of the men from this period. With this in mind, we are going to look at one of the existing tunic finds from the period and detail how it was made, worn, and possible origins. Finding concrete primary information on the tunic has proven to be a daunting task, as many of the books and observations of the tunic that were written at the time of its discovery in the early 20th Century have been lost to decades of war and struggle, and general mismanagement. As a matter of fact, the tunic itself seems to have disappeared altogether, so observing it in the flesh is likely an impossible endeavor. As a result of this, we are having to go off of the very basic information we have, and hope that it is still accurate. Luckily for us, the tunic itself was quite basic, so not a whole lot of observation was/is needed, aside from general shape and dimensions, seam treatments, and how the textile itself was woven. Most other cultural theories can be undergone by us in the modern period. Interestingly enough, our best information on the tunic and its design comes to us from the "Jahrbuch des Provinzial-Museums zu Hannover", from April of 1909 through March of 1910, as well as an artist's rendition of the tunic and observations on seam treatments and fabric weave, of whom we are unsure this work belongs to at this point. The Original Tunic According to the "Jahrbuch", the tunic is large and rectangular, with a slit-like neckline and armholes, as well as slits at the bottom, and consists of a front and back piece, which are sewn at the sides and shoulders. The tunic measures approximately 109cm wide and 96cm long, with the top being almost divided equally into three sections; the head hole and two shoulder seams. According to other observations, the arm holes and lower slits are both are approximately 25cm in length, with the remainder of the sides being sewn up. It appears all of the seams on the tunic are of the same design; being sewn together, likely with a running stitch variant, and then treated by being roll-hemmed and then overcast-stitched down. This is a very common technique on many Northern European and Germanic finds, and is a trend that continued to be used well into the Medieval Period, and is extremely durable, especially when compared to the Roman method of single-row stitching and flat-felling seams during the same period. The textile the tunic is made from was noted as having a dark warp and a lighter weft, and is woven as a 2/2 twill. Sources indicate that it was likely dyed, however, studies at the time also seem to have yielded the dye was very basic, and still retained a brownish hue, meaning the two varying shades of thread were probably dyed using different mixtures of walnut dye to achieve this effect in a manner that makes economic sense. The Reconstruction In staying with the aforementioned information, recreating the Marx-Etzel tunic was a rather easy, if not time consuming, task. The reconstruction was easy because of the simplicity of the cutting pattern and measuring of the garment, however, roll-hemming and overcast-stitching every hem and seam does add up the hours. To begin, as noted above, the tunic is rectangular in shape, being slightly wider than it is long. We stuck with all of the original measurements for this recreation to see how these dimensions may stand up to being worn by a modern individual, which appear that the original owner was not much shorter or wider than a 150lb. 6-foot tall modern male. Once the overall shape and size has been determined, so then should the head hole, arm holes, and side slits, all of which also remained the same as the original measurements determined. The head hole is approximately 35cm wide, with the remaining shoulder seams being 37cm a piece. As mentioned above, both the arm holes and the lower slits are about 25cm in length, with the remainder of the side sewn up. Once all of this has been assembled, the seams are then treated in a manner consistent with the majority of Iron Age Germanic (as well as later Northern European) clothing finds; the hems and seam allowances are roll-hemmed, meaning they are rolled under themselves twice so that the raw edge is encased inside itself, which is all then overcast (or sometimes referred to as whip) stitched down. While many sources do not note this particular aspect, I personally try and only put the binding thread or yarn through a couple of the outer threads (akin to a prick-stitch) so these stitches are not often visible on the outside of the garment. Again, this is rarely mentioned in notes on garments of this type, but it is a personal preference which does make the overall look of the garment more professional and clean. And lastly, the textile itself. As noted before, the weave of the textile is a 2/2 wool twill, with a dark warp and light weft, likely dyed using walnuts of differing consistencies. Our reconstruction is also built using this information from handwoven and hand-dyed wool from Mikhail Starikov in Russia. The wool yarn used to sew the tunic matches that of the light weft threads. In Conclusion In conclusion, a clear and evident Roman influence can be seen on this tunic, as its overall cut and shape mimics that of Roman Tunicae in an almost identical manner. From the baggy, oversized cut to the slits for the arms and head. Whether the tunic was simply a civilian adoption of Roman fashion, or is part of a larger Germanic-Roman Auxiliary Panoply yet to be discovered in the area will likely be unknown to us. What will also be unknown to us is the manner in which the tunic was worn. Could it have been worn in the Roman fashion of one arm put through the head hole for working purposes? Was it only worn for special occasions to show a German-Roman relation in good standing? Was it actually belted up over the waist like a Roman Legionary? Or left to hang loose in an altogether different fashion? These are all questions that will need to be explored at a later date. Despite all these questions, one thing is clear about this piece; which is the very interesting combination of Roman and German techniques and influences. While the piece's cut is unarguably Roman, the seam treatments, fabric weave, and even presence of slits at the sides are very characteristic of Germanic fashion, all coming together to create a wholly unique article of clothing. Photo & Information Sources
"It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." - Julius Caesar
Rhaetia, Roman Province ; 1st Century AD. "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." - Marcus Aurelius
Rhaetia, Roman Province ; 1st Century AD. |
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