Elena Miramontes Seijas. Latin Lexicon of Textiles: Clothes, Adornments, Materials and Techniques of Ancient Rome (English, Ancient Greek, and Latin Edition)

Lexicographic publications in classical history and archaeology are quite rare. Elena M. Seijas' book, Latin Lexicon of Textiles: Clothes, Adornments, Materials and Techniques of Ancient Rome (English, Ancient Greek, and Latin Edition), does exactly this and gives an overview of the most important terms that refer to techniques and materials used during the Roman period. While defining these terms, the author compares the information offered by narrative sources with archaeological finds. The book's introduction notes that the main objective of this part is to define a vast corpus of Latin terms that refer to textile, accessories, and personal care. By reading this book, we can form a visual impression of changes in Roman fashion through the centuries. The book presents terms from a vast time frame: the period of the Republic (the third century BCE) until the Late Empire (the fourth century CE).It is important to note that the author does not present the terms referring only to Roman culture; instead, she gives an important place in her research to the clothing items typical of certain provinces. Thus, we learn about particular clothing items worn by the people of Dacia, Dalmatia, Germania, and Gaul. Using preserved sculptures, the author offers a description of the clothes of members of certain indigenous communities within the Roman Empire. Descriptions of the fashion choices of certain communities are followed by quotations from Graeco-Roman authors (Caesar, Ovid, Virgil, Livy, Pliny the Elder, Hieronymus etc.). The lexicon offers a detailed description of almost every indigenous group.In this book, Seijas focuses not only on classical Roman clothing items such as toga, palla, stola, subligacula, solea, soccus, calcea, caliga, sagum, and so on. She also clearly underlines which clothing items were taken over from the provinces' indigenous population by the Romans. The dalmatic, a clothing item from the province of Dalmatia, is an interesting example. By the end of the second century, Commodus introduced the dalmatic into Roman fashion. In the third century, this T-shaped tunic with specific sleeves was worn by the men and women of Rome, while under Sylvester I, the dalmatic was an item of formal clothing for church deacons, who still wear them. The Romans took over manica (a type of sleeve) from the Germans and bracae (a type of woollen pants) from the Gauls, as well as certain textile materials from the Egyptians, such as linen and papyrus used for making ropes and some types of shoes. Sandals, one of the symbols of Roman fashion, were taken over from the Hellenes. There are many such examples in the book.Apart from clothes, this lexicon also mentions other examples of objects that the Romans took over from other cultures and used to improve their cosmopolitan civilization substantially. By analyzing garments, we get an insight into the diversity of the Roman way of dressing. As in all cultures, clothing was subject to numerous factors. It could differ by geographic position, class, sex, and age and shaped a certain fashion expression. It is reasonable to assume that the Romans who lived in the Alpine foothills did not wear the same clothes as the Romans who lived in Lazio and that upper-class members could afford luxurious clothes of high quality, unlike the lower classes. We can assume that this is a universal phenomenon.As in all older cultures, we are most familiar with the way the upper class dressed because the elite made the most effort not to be forgotten after their death (dominatio memoriae). The clothes of Roman emperors, who wore different clothes depending on the occasion, were described in detail. The ruler had to dress differently for each function: military leader, political leader, religious leader.Elena M. Seijas wrote an important synthesis of Latin and Greek terms referring to clothing items, materials, adornments, and techniques. The book is based on a good knowledge of Roman civilization. Through analysis and descriptions of certain terms, we can conclude that the Roman civilization absorbed a wide spectrum of different traditions of dressing from the communities that accepted the Roman authority.