BARBARIANS

BARBARIC, CAROLINGIAN AND ROMANESQUE PERIODS

WEEK 4

Ersel Örge
FD Lecturer
erselorge@raffles.edu.my
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19th century portrayal of the HUNS as barbarians.

BARBARIANS
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Routes taken by barbarian invaders, 5th century AD

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Routes taken by Mongol invaders, 13th century

 DARK AGES /400-750 A.D.

AFTER A ROMAN EMPIRE COLLAPSED:

1. A LOT OF PEOPLE GAVE UP READING, WRITING, SHAKING HANDS

2. THERE WAS A BREAKDOWN OF GOVERNMENT, OF THE POWER OF THE CHURCH,
THE CIVIC WAY OF LIFE
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 ROME WAS DESTROYED IN 410 A.D. BY BARBARIANS
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 "Germanic warriors" as depicted in Philipp Clüver's Germania Antiqua (1616)
A barbarian is a human who is perceived to be
either uncivilized or primitive. Barbarians can be
any
member of a nation judged by some to be less
civilised or tribal society, but may also be part of
a certain "primitive"
cultural group like nomads or social class both
within and outside one's own nation.
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In idiomatic or figurative usage, a

"barbarian" may also be an individual
reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike,
insensitive person.
 “In ancient times, the Greeks used it mostly for people of different
cultures, but there are examples where one Greek city or state would
use the word to attack another. In the early modern period and
sometimes later, Greeks used it for the Turks, in a
clearly pejorative way.

Comparable notions are found in non-European civilizations,

notably China and Japan. During the Roman Empire, the Romans used the
word "barbarian" for many people, such as
the Germanics, Celts, Gauls, Iberians, Thracians, Illyrians, Parthias

and Sarmatians.”
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Andre Derenceau depicting Alaric’s sacking of Rome

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Sultan Mehmed II's entry into Constantinople, painting by Fausto Zonaro (1854–1929)
CONSTANTINOPLE
AND CHANGED THE NAME TO
THE TURKS CONQUERED

ISTANBUL
 They tended to wear rough garments made of wool, which they
gathered from native sheep. These garments included thick wool
tunics, crudely sewn at the sides, and heavy wool capes
that were draped over the shoulders.
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 The Celts developed some wool garments with a plaid pattern and are known to have
liked vivid colours. The garments that seemed strangest to the early Romans were the
leg coverings worn by Gauls and Celts: loose leg coverings, called braccae by the
Romans, were like modern-day trousers and the snug-fitting, knee-length pants worn by
the Gauls were called feminalia.
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 "braccae"
Goths warrior of
"Sarcophagus
Ludovisi" with
backless wearing
a "braccae"
baggy
knickerbockers,
first used by
the Celts and
then extended to
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the other
barbarian tribes
 “Feminalia”
Feminalia were
snugly fitting knee-
length pants, or
breeches. Though the
name might suggest
that they were worn
by women, in fact
they were worn most
often by men. They
were called
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feminalia because
the pants covered
the length of the
thighbone, or femur.
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 CELTS /GROUP OF
TRIBAL SOCIETIES
IN EUROPE/
EXTREMELY
SUPERSTITIOUS
AND BELIEVED IN
NUMEROUS MYTHS
AND GODS. THEY
WERE PAGANS
AND USED A LOT
OF ANIMALISTIC
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SYMBOLS

Celtic costumes in Przeworsk culture, third century BC, La Tène

period, Archaeological Museum of Kraków
 The Romans considered both types of leg covering barbaric, and the
garments were even banned for a time in Rome. But Roman soldiers
traveling in the colder northern climate soon adopted these clothes as
part of Roman costume because of their practicality.
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 The garments worn by barbarians have not survived. Barbarians did not
use burial customs that preserved garments, and they left no written
records, paintings, or sculptures.
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 The primary material used for barbarian clothing was animal fur. Observers
commented that barbarians often wore the skins of a large rodent called a
marmot, but deer, ibex (a wild goat), and sheepskin were also mentioned.
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 These furs seemed to have been loosely tied or stitched together to
make overcoats, sleeveless shirts, and leggings, which were held to the
legs with bands of hide, or animal skin.
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 Some barbarians also had the ability to make clothes out of wool, though
it was not the finer woven wool of the Celts and Gauls but a crude form
of felt, which was made from wool that had been beaten or pounded into
a thick fabric.
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 “*****Over the several hundred years of their contact
with Europeans, barbarian garments became more refined.
As they conquered people with more advanced fabric-
making techniques, barbarians adopted woven wool and
even linen garments. Still, the form of the garments
remained quite simple and consisted of trousers, tunic,
and overcoat or cloak for men, and a long tunic worn
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”
with a belt for women.*****
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 “The early barbarians bear a close resemblance to what is known about the clothing
worn by prehistoric humans. In fact, with their dependence on hunting and
gathering for food and clothing, the nomads and barbarians resembled prehistoric
humans more than they did the advanced peoples of Rome and its empire.
Though Europeans in the Middle Ages (c. 500–c. 1500 C.E. ) adopted the woolen
clothing of the Gauls and the Celts, the crude clothing of the barbarians largely
disappeared from human use. Perhaps all that remains of their clothing customs is the

love of fur that has continued in Western dress up to the present day. ”
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 The Germanic peoples were within Roman society –
especially its military society. There were points of
time in which commanding generals for both the
Eastern and Western armies were both Germans. This
influence would rub both ways as the Germans
would become more Romanized and the Romans
would adopt the styles of Germany.
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 Their clothing is also an obvious contrast. Rather than
the flowing robes that are impractical for fighting,
rough terrain, and the manly art of conquering ones
enemies, the Visigoths are seen in leg wraps –
believed to have been originally developed to help
protect the men’s legs from both the moisture and
dense brush common in the parts of Europe from
which these tribes originate.
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 Both men and women would dye their tunics, braid
their hair, bathe regularly, and many digs have found
that most carried a comb with them at all times.
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 The barbarian tribes were equally as invested in their
appearance as the Romans. For many it was a
continuation of a heritage of which they were proud.
For others it was a direct contrast and rebellion
against the norms and trappings of respectability
within the Roman Empire…
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 Summary:

THE MEN WORE BRACCHAE, CLOSE FITTING TUNICS,

SEWN LEATHER STRIPS, PLAIDS, THE MANTLE OF
SKINS OR COARSE WOOL FASTENED WITH A PIN,
VESTS, BOOTS OR LEATHER SLIPPER SHOES
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 Summary:

THE WOMEN LOOKED MUCH LIKE THEIR MEN EXCEPT

THAT THEY WORE LINEN STAINED PURPLE. IN
WARMER CLIMES, THE TUNICS OF WOMEN WERE
SLEEVELESS AND SOMETIMES EXPOSED PART OF
THE BREAST
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 Summary:

ROMAN DRAPERY
ALMOST COMPLETELY
DISAPPEARED!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhQO6giXAnY&list=PLApbkd
yBKHWZ0ZTmN6LVMByecVcoGLfEc
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THE CAROLINGIAN PERIOD

750-1000 A.D.
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752 - 987
PERIOD
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?
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The Accolade is a painting by British artist Edmund Leighton

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 ONE VERY IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT DURING THIS
PERIOD WAS THE CODIFICATION OF THE
LEGCOVERINGS BY RANK
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 BRONZE STATUE OF CHARLEMAGNE, NINTH
CENTURY A.D.

ILLUSTRATES THE SIMPLE HELMET-CROWN, TUNIC,

MANTLE FASTENED ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER,
CLOSE-FITTING BREECHES OR BRACHAE, HOSE
CROSS-GARTERED TO THE KNEE, LACED SLIPPER-
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SHOES
 BIBLE OF CHARLES THE BALD, NINTH
CENTURY A.D.

ILLUSTRATES TUNICS, MANTLES, CLOSE-

FITTING BREECHES /BRACHAE/, GARTERED
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HOSE
 OTTO II, A.D. 983

A FORMAL CEREMONIAL IMAGE. EMPEROR

WEARS A LONG-SLEEWED TUNIC, SQUARE
CROWN, LARGE SEMI-BYZANTINE MANTLE AND
ORNAMENTATION IN THE BYZANTINE STYLE
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 THERE ARE NO MANY VISUAL IMAGES OF WOMEN
DURING CAROLINGIAN PERIOD. TYPICAL COSTUME –
ANKLE LENGTH UNDERGOWN OR TUNIC WITH TIGHT
SLEEVES, OVER WHICH WAS WORN A SECOND TUNIC,
MANTLE, HEAD COVERED BY VEIL, FULLER AND
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LOOSER SILHOUETTE AND LOVE OF COLOR

 THE ROMANESQUE PERIOD
1000-1150 A.D
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 THE GARMENTS WERE CHARACTERISED BY GREATER
VARIETY IN CUT AND IN THE WAY GARMENTS WERE
WORN
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 THE MAIN TREND IN MALE DRESS – A CLOSER-CUT LINE
WITH MORE LACING TO FIT THE FIGURE
BLIAUT – TIGHT-FITTING TUNIC
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 ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON
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TIGHT-FITTING SLEEVES, OPEN HANGING SLEEVE

AROUND THE WRIST
 COLUM-STATUES, CHARTRES CATHEDRAL
THE PLEATED, GOFFERED BLIAUT WORN BY
THE QUEEN REPRESENTS THE NEW LUXURY OF
SILK MATERIALS INTRODUCED FROM THE EAST.
AROUND THE WAIST AND HIPS – CORSAGE.
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THE LONG SLEEVES WERE FREQUENTLY

KNOTTED TO PREVENT THEM TRAILING ON THE
GROUND
 Notable Romanesque/Carolingian
Costume Elements
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WEEK 3 BARBARIC, CAROLINGIAN AND ROMANESQUE PERIODS

REFERENCE:

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org
 THANK YOU J

Beneficial Links:
WEEK 2 HISTORY OF COSTUME

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/?hl=eng
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/project/fashion
http://randomunknownartist.tumblr.com

Ersel Örge
FD Lecturer
erselorge@raffles.edu.my