Caliga

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Caliga in the Landesmuseum Mainz
Heel of a caliga from Qasr Ibrim in the British Museum
Top and bottom of caliga soles ( Alicante Archaeological Museum )

The caligae (singular: caliga ) were the marching boots of the Roman military, which were worn by legionnaires from the Roman Republic until the high Roman Empire . Caligae are often described as a kind of sandal , but in contrast to the typical sandal, they did not consist of a sole held on the foot with straps , but of a multi-perforated upper that firmly encloses the foot, which is made from one piece together with the uppermost layer of the sole has been. The origin of the name caliga , first documented by Cicero , is unclear, even if various assumptions have been made. Isidore of Seville suspected that their name was derived from the hard leather (callus) or from the fact that they were bound (ligare) .

The word also generally referred to a boot reaching to the end of the shin or a half-boot, the sole of which was studded with nails in common people . In a figurative sense , it stood for the "service of a common soldier".

construction

The upper leather of the Caligae was made from a piece of leather, the central area of ​​which formed the top layer of the sole, which was surrounded by a complicated system of tabs . This pattern was sewn to the heel and closed over the top of the foot with a strap that was pulled through the perforated ends of the tabs. The great uniformity of the found caligae and the fact that the pattern for the upper leather enabled efficient use of the leather for several copies with little loss of material, suggest that the shoes were designed for mass production and possibly manufactured according to issued templates.

The sole was reinforced by two additional layers of leather to a total thickness of around eight millimeters. The underside of the sole had no profile or heel , but was studded with 80 to 90 iron nails with hemispherical heads ( clavi , singular clavus ). For this purpose, the soaked sole was fixed on an anvil and the nails were driven in from the underside in such a way that they bent when they hit the anvil and held the sole together like a hook. The clavi strengthened the sole, protected it from wear and tear and were arranged in such a way that they ergonomically supported the foot. Each legionnaire received a fixed number of nails after a certain distance, which were used as "spare parts". This kept the Caligae functional. In total, a pair of caligae weighed around 1300 grams.

Suetonius mentions in his imperial servants a caliga speculatoria that was worn by the Praetorians . Since nothing more is known about these shoes, some modern authors have suspected that they could have been a light variant for scouts (speculatores) , for which there is no clear evidence.

Finds and ancient representations

Numerous Caligae were recovered at sites from the 1st century, particularly on the Limes . If the soil conditions are good, both its leather and metal components are preserved. Impressions of the nailed soles are preserved on clay tiles. In addition to the finds, there are numerous pictorial representations of Caligae, for example on the Trajan's Column . On grave monuments of Roman soldiers, the ridge created by lacing the caligae over the dorsum of the foot is often the only modeled element, while the rest of the shoe was probably originally painted on and is not preserved today.

  • Caligae soles in the Saalburg Museum

  • Caligae on Trajan's Column in Rome

  • Imprint of the sole nails of a caliga on a brick of the Legio X Gemina ( Museum Het Valkhof )

  • Caligae on the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome

  • Caliga on the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome. The laced ridge above the back of the foot can be seen here.

  • Caliga on the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome (close-up)

  • Fragment of a statue from the Vatican Museum ; the foot is shod with a sandal, possibly with a caliga

  • Base of a bronze equestrian statue with caliga

commitment

Reconstructed caliga
Sole of a reconstructed caliga

Caligae were the standard footwear for the team ranks of the legions as well as the higher ranks up to the centurion . The tribunes and legates , however, wore traditional, closed boots ( calceus ). In addition to the legionaries, the foot troops and the cavalry of the auxiliary troops also carried Caligae. In the Roman cavalry , the caligae could be equipped with additional spurs. Towards the end of the first quarter of the 2nd century, the classic caligae seem to have fallen out of fashion, at least in the northern provinces, and to have been replaced by closed-toe shoes. This could have been a result of their less suitability for cooler climates or the time-consuming putting on of shoes. Correct creation of a Caligae pair in the experiment took three to four minutes.

In experimental archaeological experiments , Caligae have proven to be robust and give the foot good support. The lacing on the front made it possible to adapt the Caliga to a certain extent to the shape of the foot and the needs of the wearer. The open construction allows dirt and water to penetrate, which can just as easily leave the shoe again, while the good ventilation prevented the accumulation of sweat and thus the formation of blisters . On the one hand, the sole nails protected the leather sole from wear and tear, and on the other, similar to the studs of modern shoes, they gave a firm hold on soft or uneven ground. On very hard ground, however, Caligae did not protect the foot from shocks, which could be partially compensated for by an adapted walking style with the ball of the toes placed in front of the heel. The nailed sole offered little grip on hard, smooth ground and posed the risk of slipping. Flavius ​​Josephus describes how the Roman centurion Julianus slipped on the ground during the siege of the Jerusalem temple and was then killed by the Jewish rebels.

While the Caligae kept the foot warm enough when marching, when resting or standing guard, especially in cold climates, further protection of the foot with gaiters or stockings was necessary. Such aids are shown, for example, on Relief A of the Cancelleria reliefs ; their use is proven from ancient literature and from soldiers' letters. For cavalrymen, additional protection was particularly desirable because, on the one hand, their less moving foot froze faster, and on the other hand, the unprotected shin was more sensitive to injuries when riding.

During long marches, the soldiers received a pay bonus known as a clavarium to replace used sole nails. Depending on the quality of the nails and the condition of the roads, a set of nails was used up after 500 to 1000 kilometers, whereby the service life could be increased by moving heavily worn nails to less stressed areas. The shoes themselves were probably rarely repaired, but rather replaced, which, in addition to the rare finds of repaired copies, also point to documents that report three pairs of shoes per year for a soldier.

In addition to its use as a marching shoe, the nailed sole of the Caligae probably served to intensify the effect of kicks on the opponent's shin or against fallen opponents.

Cultural reception

Bust of the Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar, known as "Caligula"

Already in antiquity, the caligae were perceived as characteristic pieces of equipment of the Roman soldiers and various terms relating to military service take up caligae as a characteristic of the soldiers. The team ranks were designated as milites caligatae and the higher ranks resulting from them as milites ex caliga . In his third satire, Juvenal characterizes soldiers with their nailed soles among the various people he meets in Rome and describes here and later, when he speaks of military service, the painful contact with the nailed soles of soldiers. In a scene from the novel Satyricon by Titus Petronius Arbiter , the narrator tries to pretend to be a soldier, but betrays himself through his white shoes. Caligae are also the origin of the nickname “Caligula” ('little soldier's shoe , little soldier's boot', so little Caliga ) of the Roman emperor Gaius Caesar , who alludes to his childhood in the camp of his father Germanicus , where the boy made a miniature version of the regular soldier's clothing should have worn. Even later, according to Suetonius, he is said to have preferred the caliga speculatoria of the Praetorians.

By the 4th century at the latest, the term caligae no longer seems to have been understood exclusively to mean the classic military boots , because in the maximum price edict of Emperor Diocletian , shoes without nails for farmers and muleteers with a maximum price of 120 denarii and also ungagged shoes for soldiers with 100 are under this name Denarii listed. It is not known whether these shoes were otherwise constructed like the classic Caligae. The term caliga also appears in medieval texts such as the clothing rules for monks, but another change in meaning may have taken place here, so that it is often unclear whether it refers to footwear or forms of underwear. Later the stockings are called caligae , which together with pontifical shoes formed the footwear of bishops and abbots at the pontifical office .

In the 20th century, the caligae were perceived as a characteristic feature of historical films playing in antiquity , which is reflected in the generic term " sandal film " (also English : sword-and-sandal and Italian : sandaloni ). Caligae also appear anachronistically in epochs and regions in which they were not worn, for example in the historically barefooted Spartan hoplites in The Lion of Sparta (The 300 Spartans) from 1960. Based on the ancient Caligae, there are also various Versions of modern sandals are referred to as "Roman sandals", but their construction cannot be compared with ancient Caligae.

literature

Web links

Commons : Caliga  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Alois Walde , Johann Baptist Hofmann : Latin etymological dictionary (= Indo-European library. Department 1: Collection of Indo-European text and handbooks. Series 2: Dictionaries. 1). Volume 1. 3., revised edition. Winter, Heidelberg 1938, p. 138 ( digitized version ); see also Michiel de Vaan: Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages. Brill, Leiden 2008, p. 83.
  2. ↑ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae 19, 34.
  3. ^ Karl Ernst Georges : Comprehensive Latin-German concise dictionary . 8th, improved and increased edition. Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1918 ( zeno.org [accessed April 7, 2020] dictionary entry “caliga”).
  4. ↑ See Florian Himmler: These boots are made for walking Berlin 2011, p. 197 and Ross Cowan: Römische Legionäre . Siegler, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-87748-658-0 , p. 26 .
  5. ↑ See Florian Himmler: These boots are made for walking. Berlin 2011, p. 197.
  6. ↑ See Ross Cowan: Roman Legionaries . Siegler, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-87748-658-0 , p. 26 .
  7. ↑ a b c See Marcus Junkelmann: Die Legionen des Augustus Mainz 1991, p. 158.
  8. ^ A b Suetonius, Caligula 52 .
  9. ^ Frank Russel: Finding the Enemy: Military Intelligence . In: Brian Campbell, Lawrence A. Tritle (Eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-971955-6 , pp. 486 .
  10. ↑ See Norma Goldman: Roman Footwear Madison 2001, p. 123.
  11. ^ A b Graham Sumner: Roman Military Clothing: 100 BC - AD 200 . Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2002, ISBN 978-1-84176-487-0 , pp. 40 .
  12. ↑ See Michael Simkins: The Roman Army . Siegler, Sankt Augustin 2005, ISBN 978-3-87748-646-7 , pp. 33 .
  13. ↑ See Norma Goldman: Roman Footwear. Madison 2001, p. 123 and Marcus Junkelmann: Die Reiters Roms (= cultural history of the ancient world. Volume 53). 4th edition. Part III: Accessories, riding style, armament. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-1288-2 , p. 128 f.
  14. ↑ See Marcus Junkelmann: Die Legionen des Augustus Mainz 1991, p. 159.
  15. ↑ See Marcus Junkelmann: Die Legionen des Augustus Mainz 1991, p. 159 f.
  16. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus, Jüdischer Krieg 6, 85.
  17. ↑ Joseph Löffl: The Roman expansion. Frank & Timme, Berlin 2011, p. 331.
  18. ↑ Peter Knötzele: Roman shoes: luxury on your feet. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, pp. 66-68
  19. ↑ See Marcus Junkelmann: Die Reiter Roms. Part III: Accessories, riding style, armament (=  cultural history of the ancient world . Volume 53 ). 4th edition. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-1288-2 , p. 128 f .
  20. ↑ See Marcus Junkelmann: Die Legionen des Augustus Mainz 1991, p. 160.
  21. ↑ Juvenal, Saturae 3, 248 and 16, 24 f.
  22. ^ Titus Petronius Arbiter, Satyricon 82.
  23. ^ Karl Ernst Georges : Comprehensive Latin-German concise dictionary . 8th, improved and increased edition. Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1918 ( zeno.org [accessed April 7, 2020] dictionary entry “caligula”).
  24. ↑ Pat Southern: The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 978-0-19-532878-3 , p. 155.
  25. ↑ For a detailed explanation of the statements of the highest price edict regarding footwear, see Peter Knötzele: Römische Schuhe: Luxus an den Füssen. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, p. 39.
  26. ↑ See Norma Goldman: Roman Footwear Madison 2001, p. 122.
  27. ↑ See Simon Tugwell: Caligae and Other Items of Medieval Religious Dress: A Lexical Study. In: Romance Philology. Volume 61, 2007, pp. 1–23, here: p. 1
  28. ↑ See Konstantinos P. Nikoloutsos: Reviving the Past: Cinematic History and Popular Memory in The 300 Spartans (1962). In: Classical World. Volume 106, No. 2, 2013, pp. 261–283, here: p. 275
  29. ↑ Roman sandals: Straps conquer the world at Spiegel Online
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on February 25, 2020 .