418 



COSTUME. 



this garment in front, indicated, by its breadth, 

 whether the wearer was of senatorial or equestrian 

 rank. Over this, was worn the distinguished gar- 

 ment of the Romans, the toga. It has been dis- 

 puted by antiquaries, whether the form of this gar- 

 ment was round or square. Mr Hope thinks it 

 was semicircular. Beckmann says, that the Roman 

 weavers made each piece of cloth just of the pro- 

 per size for a toga, so that when it came from the 

 loom it was ready for use, and probably had no 

 seam. It was a loose robe or cloak, extending 

 from the neck to the feet, closed below the breast, 

 but open above, and without sleeves. It was am- 

 ple, flowing, and graceful ; and gave a dignified and 

 majestic air to the wearer. 



The materials used by the Romans in the manu- 

 facture of their garments, were chiefly linen and 

 wool. The toga was woollen, and generally white, 

 though mourners wore it black. Silk began to be 

 imported in the latter days of the republic, nor did 

 the Romans at first understand the manufacture of 

 it. Afterwards they began to weave it, intermix- 

 ing woollen thread. The fabric thus formed, was 

 called vestes COCK, as it was invented in the island 

 of Cos. It was very thin, like muslin or gauze, 

 and is spoken of by Seneca as " woven wind." The 

 term bombycina, undoubtedly the origin of our word 

 bombazine, derived from bombyx, a silk-worm, was 

 applied to this fabric. 



The Romans commonly went with the head bare 

 or only covered with the toga, except at sacred 

 rites or festivals, on journeys, and in war. At the 

 Saturnalia, they wore the pileus, or woollen cap, 

 which was never permitted to be worn by slaves. 

 They probably assumed it particularly at this fes- 

 tival, as a mark of distinction, because slaves dur- 

 ing the Saturnalia were allowed almost unlimited 

 license, and needed something to admonish them of 

 their real condition. Roman travellers, like Greek 

 travellers, wore the petasus. 



There were various coverings for the feet. The 

 calcei were somewhat like our shoes, and covered 

 the foot entirely. They were provided with strings 

 or lacings, which sometimes covered the ancle. 

 Senators wore on the top of the calceus, a gold or 

 silver crescent, as a mark of their order. The 

 shoes of men were usually black ; those of women 

 were white, red, yellow, or of other colours. 

 Buskin? were also worn, covering only the sole of 

 the foot and laced above. Soldiers wore boots 

 reaching as high as the ancle. The legs were pro- 

 tected by bands of cloth wound round them from 

 the thigh downwards. 



The distinguishing marks, in the costume of the 

 Greeks and Romans, were elegance, majesty, and 

 grace. Their robes were loose and flowing. They 

 were never intended to display the form, but to 

 hang loosely around it, suggesting grace and beauty 

 to the imagination, while they actually concealed 

 the work of nature. The dress of these nations 

 had a good effect upon the art of sculpture. In 

 their costume, form was of much more consequence 

 than colour; and it could therefore be perfectly re- 

 presented by the marble. The sculptor at the pre- 

 sent day is embarrassed in the representation of his 

 hero. The modern costume, which, especially 

 with military men, depends as much for its effect 

 on colour as on form, and perhaps even more, can- 

 not he_ adequately represented by marble ; and 

 the artist must clothe his statue in some foreign or 

 imaginary garb, which every one knows he never 

 wore. The Greek sculptor, on the contrary, found 



in every man he met a model, which he miglit 

 study to advantage. And the immense variety of 

 arrangement, which the ample robe allowed, must 

 have constantly suggested to him some new idea 

 with regard to the arrangement and flow of 

 drapery ; a subject of sufficient importance to oc- 

 cupy one chapter in Flaxman's admirable volume 

 of Lectures. We can now do no more than hint 

 at the effect thus produced on one of the fine 

 arts. 



We must hasten on to the dress of modern ages. 

 The dress of the different Christian nations of 

 Europe has not greatly varied in the same century; 

 and the description of the costume of one nation 

 may be taken as a specimen of all. We shall, 

 therefore, give an account of some of the most re- 

 markable costumes of England. The dress of the 

 Anglo-Saxons consisted of shirts; tunics both long 

 and short ; surcoats, or sleeved gowns ; cloaks or 

 mantles; conical or Phrygian bonnets ; shoes open 

 in the middle, or on each, side, and stockings. The 

 legs were protected by breeches reaching to the 

 knee. The hair was parted on the middle of the 

 head, and hung down on each side, and the forked 

 beard was worn. Women of the same era wore 

 under-tunics with sleeves; upper-tunics like gowns; 

 mantles or cloaks; kerchiefs or hoods; high-quar- 

 tered shoes, and stockings. 



But our readers will form a better notion of the 

 Saxon dress from the following description, than it 

 is possible to convey by our dry details. We 

 quote from Scott's picture of Cedric the Saxori. 

 " His dress was a tunic of forest green, furred at 

 the throat and cuffs with what was called min- 

 ever ; a kind of fur inferior in quality to ermine, 

 and formed, it is believed, of the skin of the gray 

 squirrel. His doublet hung unbuttoned over a 

 close dress of scarlet, which sat tight to his body ; 

 he had breeches of the same, but they did not 

 reach below the lower part of the thigh, leaving 

 the knee exposed. His feet had sandals of the 

 same fashion with the peasants, but of finer ma- 

 terials, and secured in front with golden clasps. 

 Behind his seat was hung a scarlet cloth cloak, 

 lined with fur, and a cap of the same materials 

 richly embroidered, which completed the dress of 

 the opulent landholder when he chose to go 

 forth." 



Such was the general outline of the costume 

 worn in England from the beginning of the tenth 

 century. Some changes became visible in the 

 fourteenth century. The head-covering for men 

 assumed a great variety of forms, some of them 

 very fantastic. They might be seen in all the 

 variety of wreathed, turban-shaped, flapped, rolled, 

 skull-capped, brimmed, with projecting ends, coni- 

 cal and cylindrical with or without brims, night- 

 capped, tied under the chin, sometimes tongued 

 over the head, escalloped, or simple bandages round 

 the hair, &c. Spencers were also worn, buttoning 

 in front and without sleeves. The shoes were 

 long-pointed, and were joined to the stocking so as 

 to form but one garment; and were differently 

 coloured on each leg. The shirt, in the time of the 

 Saxons and Normans, formed no ostensible part of 

 the dress ; but, at a later period, when tunics be- 

 came doublets or waistcoats, they were made more 

 open upon the neck and bosom, so as to display the 

 shirt collar, which was richly embroidered. 



In the fifteenth century, the costume became 

 still more fanciful and grotesque. The doublets 

 were cut and slashed, and nearly disjointed at the 



