Sorry, I buggered up the spelling, it's chlamys. Well, I anglicized the spelling I suppose.hoo wrote:So please, tell me 'Cadia', what is it ? What are you wearing ?[/i]
The relevant book is called Medieval Dress and Fashion by Margaret Scott; ISBN 0712350675. In that book she explains fashion history using illustrations from Medieval manuscripts. Really interesting book.
So the chlamys is a cloak with a split in the middle. It used to be worn with the slit over one arm, so that you could wield a sword with the other arm, but at some point A Bright Person (or a fashion iconoclast) around the middle of the 10th or 11 century, turned it a new way so that the slit was at the front, leaving the arms somewhat pinned under the cloak and making the person resemble a beetle. In Greek, the genus for beetle is also chlamys, hence the name. I'm not sure if the word became attached to the genus of beetle before or after the cloak. I think after since the word means "mantle." In any case people look like beetles when the cloak is worn with the opening at the front.
Here is a snap from the book showing a Byzantine emperor wearing it the regular way and then some of his officials wearing it the "new" way. They do look like beetles.
Now, one would think cloaks were cloaks, but there are all kinds of different ones with different cut of cloth. I hauled this book out when I got my playing cards of the Kings and Queens of England, who are depicted wearing many types of cloaks.
Here is an online article entitled The Ubiquitous Cloak that you might find interesting.
http://www.revivalclothing.com/article-pencloaks.aspx
I think I'm playing to the wrong crowd with textile history, but I persist in trying to bring meaning and depth to this forum.
[Edited to add relevant graphic and pertinent blather about beetles.]
