So whilst painting up my Frankish DBA army i naturally turned to a few online resources to see what i should do re clothing etc. Stripey clothing comes up alot but am not sure where the first reference to it is. Can anyone help me? Also is the stripey clothing thing just a retrospective attachment to the Franks by later writers due to its association with the devil by the medieval church?
Long ago we did dig into this on the forum, but I can't find it at the moment. My recollection is that there is an issue with the word "striped", which means multi-coloured rather than specifically the wide hoops traditionally illustrated. I also recall that it was Duncan's linguistic expertise and source knowledge that led to this, so perhaps he will recall better than I.
Much obliged Anthony and also Duncan in anticipation of anything :)
It's from one of the
Letters of Sidonius Apollinaris (IV.xx):
QuoteYou take such pleasure in the sight of arms and those who wear them, that I can imagine your delight if you could have seen the young prince Sigismer 1 on his way to the palace of his father-in-law in the guise of a bridegroom or suitor in all the pomp and bravery of the tribal fashion. His own steed with its caparisons, other steeds laden with flashing gems, paced before and after; but the conspicuous interest in the procession centred in the prince himself, as with a charming modesty he went afoot amid his bodyguard and footmen, in flame-red mantle, with much glint of ruddy gold, and gleam of snowy silken tunic, his fair hair, red cheeks and white skin according with the three hues of his equipment. But the chiefs and allies who bore him company were dread of aspect, even thus on peace intent. Their feet were laced in boots of bristly hide reaching to the heels; ankles and legs were exposed. They wore high tight tunics of varied colour (versicolor) hardly descending to their bare knees, the sleeves covering only the upper arm. Green mantles they had with crimson borders; baldrics supported swords hung from their shoulders, and pressed on sides covered with cloaks of skin secured by brooches. No small part of their adornment consisted of their arms; in their hands they grasped barbed spears and missile axes; their left sides were guarded by shields, which flashed with tawny golden bosses and snowy silver borders, betraying at once their wealth and their good taste.
Varied colour not necessarily meaning stripey then?
"of various colors, parti-colored" - it does imply more than one colour in a single garment, not that different tunics were of different colours; but not necessarily stripes, no.
Could be spotty or tie-dyed :)
We might note Roman and Byzantine tunics worn by courtiers and soldiers might include coloured embroidered clavi, roundels and square embrodered panels.
Very true and many a Frank had also served in the late roman army
Quote from: Erpingham on Jan 11, 2026, 04:34 PMWe might note Roman and Byzantine tunics worn by courtiers and soldiers might include coloured embroidered clavi, roundels and square embrodered panels.
But they tend not to be 'high and tight'. There seems to be a deliberate contrast between the snow-white tunic and red cloak of the ?Romanised? prince and the barbaric multi-coloured clothes of his followers.
I have been doing a little more digging on this one Dave and, because you are interested in Franks, have looked at Frisians instead :) Given your interest in clothing and natural dyes, I thought this might be of interest
https://www.frisiacoasttrail.com/post/2018/06/01/Haute-Couture-from-the-salt-marshes
It is has plenty on the Early Medieval Frisian cloak industry. These were very popular in Carolingian circles (though Charlemagne hated them). They were notable for being striped and checked.
I also thought about Bernuthfeld Man, an Early Medieval bog body and his extraordinary tunic. Entirely made of reused cloth, comprising 45 pieces from 20 textiles in 9 different weaving patterns. There is a series of blog posts on the subject here https://www.pallia.net/blog/categories/bernuthsfeld-man, including a brightly coloured reconstruction (other reconstructions use a more subdued set of fabrics). Talk about versicolor. I'm not actually suggesting well off Franks used such patchwork clothes, but the idea that they may have worn garments deliberately made of different fabic patterns or colours may be possible.
Very very verymuch appreciated Anthony. Of course when talking about Frisians there is a possibility that they were at least nominally regarded as part of the Frankish hegemony
Taking the example of many pieces of cloth there are a few possibilities as to the origin
That it was due to thrift and reuse of old garments
That it denoted wealth by having access to many different textiles
That it could be a kind of trophy statement with cloth taken from defeated enemies
Quote[ author=Imperial Dave link=msg=127496 date=1768314705]
That it could be a kind of trophy statement with cloth taken from defeated enemies
Trophy dressing rather than trophy wives!
I might do some digging of my own :)
Well, I've had a fun couple of hours looking at how the dress of Franks has been reconstructed over the centuries. Regardless of the inevitable tendency of illustrators to copy one another, there are some interesting trends. A couple of things may be worth considering
19th century illustrations often show Franks with long shields - rectangular, broad oval or hexagonal - rather than the round ones we reconstruct today. Is this simply they lacked archaeological evidence and therefore extrapolated from classical art or is there a source somewhere for Frankish long shields?
Another question is hairstyles. The Franks (and others) were very sensitive about hair styles. Royalty grew their hair very long. Their subjects apparently had to cut their hair shorter. Some older illustrations show a style shaved at the back but left long at the front, looking like one of the early forms of tonsure. Is this based on a written source?
For an interesting discussion of the politics of Early Medieval hairstyles, this article is an interesting read
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/scissors-or-sword-symbolism-medieval-haircut
Finally, I believe this image may have been quite influential in developin the wargames image of the Frankish warrior
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/98/e7/78/98e77806755a42a74f9195d60457381d.jpg)
This is a Funcken illustration from Arms and Uniforms Vol 1 : Ancient Egypt to the 18th century from 1967. It claims no. 1 and 2. are drawn from descriptions by Sidonius Apollinarius and Agathius. Illustration 2 is actually a pretty straight copy of a 19th century print but with added fur miniskirt.
Add : Agathius' writings on the Franks can be found here
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24300155?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Discussion of hair on p.106, weapons and appearance on p.109. Greek scholars have the luxury of reading these in Greek :)
Quote from: Erpingham on Jan 14, 2026, 12:31 PMFinally, I believe this image may have been quite influential in developin the wargames image of the Frankish warrior
Donald Featherstone mentioned it.
Image from his Wargames through the Ages Vol 1. Illustration by William Randell.
(https://image2url.com/r2/default/images/1768400305594-d8b1ee2e-f64b-4418-a619-17deb4a1f1d3.jpg)
Nice spot David. I'd forgotten him. Note he has acquired the lionskin cloak and headress from figure no.4. Where Frankish infantry sourced their lion skins is another mystery :)
I have researched further and believe we can identify the miniskirt as made from the skin of a spotted sheep. Current European spotted sheep are a modern variety but there may have been a medieval ancestor.
Quote from: Erpingham on Jan 14, 2026, 02:54 PMNice spot David. I'd forgotten him. Note he has acquired the lionskin cloak and headress from figure no.4. Where Frankish infantry sourced their lion skins is another mystery :)
I've always assumed it was wolfskin - figure 4's is grey. He's obviously had a Byzantine Greek POW reading Polybios to him and thinks he's a Republican
veles.
Quote from: Duncan Head on Jan 14, 2026, 03:45 PMI've always assumed it was wolfskin
More logical, though I would note wolves have pointed snouts, which this doesn't. Why might also note the Saxtorph version of No. 4 (labelled a Burgundian) has a brown skin, which brings a bear in as a possibility. Other than velite re-enactment, do we have any evidence for Franks having animal headdresses? Or, like the winged helmets 19th century illustrators wish on all manner of barbarians, is this a piece of Romantic dreaming?
Thanks both....I may resist the temptation to do too much funky colouring