Byzantine OriginsIt is relatively simple to claim to be a part of this chain of power, but how can a ruler visually connect himself to these abstract ideas? In the Middle Ages, costume was frequently used to visually tie the identity of the ruler with his symbolic source of power. In this period, the terms “Roman” and “Christian” became closely associated, so utilizing Roman costume also took on spiritual significance.[1] Byzantine rulers took advantage of this as they used textiles to connect themselves to the power of the Church. In Byzantine imperial fashion, this can be seen in the use of two particular types of Roman robes which were selected and adapted for imperial symbolism.
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The first type of robe, called the loros, was reserved specifically for the emperor and became heavy with religious symbolism. According to Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, these robes were given to the Byzantine emperors by Christ and they symbolized Christ’s burial shroud in the way that they crossed over the body.[2] Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos also says that this type of robe should not be worn by any other country’s rulers, but that it was specifically meant as a gift to the Byzantines.[3] As such, they were only worn on the holiest days of the year including Easter when the emperor represented the risen Christ.
The other type of Roman robe that became part of Byzantine imperial fashion was the chlamys, originally a soldier’s cloak used by the later Roman emperors to signify victory and prosperity. New Byzantine emperors received a chlamys and other insignia at their coronations,but the chlamys was considered less holy than the loros and was allowed to spread to other nations who wished to copy Byzantine fashion. The chlamys, a long cloak fastened over the shoulder, appears in imperial Byzantine images such as the famous mosaic of Justinian in the San Vitale in Ravenna (above) and in western images like the ivory portrait of Otto II now in Paris (right). As the Byzantine imperial robe with the widest influence, the chlamys became a symbol of divine imperial power throughout the Christian world. The rulers of the Holy Roman Empire strategically used this garment to depict themselves as the divine appointed successors or equals to Roman and Byzantine Empires. |
[1] Michael Moore, “The King’s New Clothes: Royal and Episcopal Regalia in the Frankish Empire,” 114.
[2] Ball, Byzantine Dress, 17; Woodfin, “Presents Given and Presence Subverted,” 42.
[3] Woodfin, “Presents Given and Presence Subverted,” 42.
[2] Ball, Byzantine Dress, 17; Woodfin, “Presents Given and Presence Subverted,” 42.
[3] Woodfin, “Presents Given and Presence Subverted,” 42.