So in my readings of threads long past, I have seen many times the lament that the ubiquitous fantasy leather jerkin is nowhere to be found in the historical record before the 16th century. I think I am not alone in considering the world of Middle-earth to have the aesthetic of cultures much earlier in the timeline.The jerkin is a defining piece of Ranger kit in the average person's mind and many folks here and in other places simply retain it in their kit as one of the pieces that signify "fantasy ranger." Historically speaking, we just can't justify it.
Or can we?
I would like to present the Globa - a late Roman leather jerkin.
Truthfully, I do not recall where I first stumbled across the mention of this garment but I remember perking up at the description - a thin leather covering worn under the armor or by itself, primarily for protection from the elements and in the case of being worn under the armor, extra padding.
There are two main references for the globa -
"XVI – Presenting the Thoracomachus.
Among all the inventions for military use made by the ancients in their foresight for their posterity, they made against the weight and rubbing of the armor, the thoracomachus, surprisingly convenient to relief the body. This kind of garment, made in felt to fit and protect the human chest, has been conceived both inspired by fear and with an impressive ingenuity from soft wools. When worn it first avoids the cuirass, the mail armor or their equivalents to hurt weaker body parts with rubbing caused by weight, and it also helps the fighter other limbs to endure hardships through such a relief, among the dangers of war and bad weather. To avoid the said thoracomachus, beaten by rain, to become a burden, it is convenient to array it with Libyan skins, well made to fit the said thoracomachus. When as we have said, he would have done this thoracomachus – whom take its name from the Greek expression for the body protection – and would also have don “socks†that are boots and greaves, cap his helmet, hold tight his shield or sword and grip firmly his spears, the soldier will be fully armed to face the fight on foot.â€
Anonymous,
DE REBUS BELLICIS. Late 4th century (Jouffroy, Frézouls and Groupe de recherche d’Histoire romaine de l’Université des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg, 2004). Translated from French by the author.
Now, as with many things from this time period, there are no surviving examples of the globa and the references are limited to the two above. Rather thin, I'd agree. In addition, the DE REBUS BELLICIS is known to present innovations and not actual objects at times."Book I, 12, 3-6: In time of peace, they (the soldiers) wore skin garments hanging from shoulders to legs; they decorated them with what is called podeones – the location of paws. They called those garments ’globae’, that is ‘spoils’, for spoiling is globare in Latin. 4. The custom was that not only the soldiers but also the generals to dress like this. 5. Today’s soldiers copy the barbarians, whom in return try to copy them; the only exception are the palace guards – whom are called excubitores, ‘awaken guards’ in Latin; Tiberius Caesar was the first after Romulus to use this system. That equipment was kept from the time of Romulus, its origin coming from Aeneas.â€
Jean Lydus,
DE MAGISTRATIBUS. Mid-6th century (French translation Michel Dubuisson) (Carney, 1971). Translated from French by the author.
I took my questions about the Globa to Facebook and asked around in a pretty nifty group called "The Authenticity Office" which is a rather rigorous group that fact checks and answers questions about various re-enactorisms. Most of the information and all of the photos here comes from two wonderful members - Flavius Stilicho and Benjamin Franckaert. They are both involved in Late Roman reenacting and focus specifically on the Brittany area of France when it was the British territory of Armorica. They provided a great writeup in this Academia article.
A putative portrayal of a 5th century centenarius from Britain. Benjamin Franckaert, association Letavia, October 2017.
To quote the relevant section -
Two things to note- as with most things this old, there is some debate on what exactly Libyan hide is and if that is in fact referring to the globa. And in the case of the second quote definitely referring to the globa, most people assume it was made of goatskin.No complete example of this protective garment is known but they often seem to have been depicted on contemporary iconography. Most often we find depictions of pteryges or podeones, the bands covering arms and thighs. These figures help us to get a general idea of the garments shape. They are not depicted on the Vergilius Romanus and so other sources had to be used.
The reconstructed thoracomachus was made from two layers of felted wool inside two layers of crude off white linen, giving a total thickness of about 1cm. Vertical stitching and one horizontal band (an interpretation of the 3rd century tombstone of Severius Acceptus) were then added. A roundish neck opening was managed, further strengthened by a band of sheep leather. The garment bottom has a U shape in front to cover the whole abdomen and cover the sacrum on the back. Shoulder pads in linen padded with wool were stitched to the main garment. Two layers of felt pteryges, lined with thin white diamond wool twill were stitched to a linen band, itself stitched inside the main garment. A single row of pteryges was added to protect the upper arms. It is made from felted wool lined with thin white diamond wool twill. These were stitched at their base and at four points to short linen sleeves. The goal was to be close to figures showing pteryges all around the upper arms, allowing for a better protection. A lot of thoracomachus reconstructions have loose hanging pteryges that are not evidenced in most late Roman iconography and which offer only light protection if any. The overall impression was to be close to that of Herod’s and other armoured characters’ representations depicted on the Santa Maria Maggiore church mosaics (c. 430 AD), from a depiction of Pontius Pilate on a sarcophagus from Arle’s museum and also representations of the V Macedonia soldiers on an ivory from Trier museum.
The globa worn on top of the thoracomachuswas made of sheep skin. It also had added shoulder pads. The leather was dyed with red ochre and neatsfoot oil. The smaller U shaped podeones are part of this garment and are edged with a band of goat or sheep skin dyed black with iron oxide.
Thoracomachus and globa have only one side opening, on the left for the first and right for the second. The lacing system has been based on a possible fragmentary protective garment found in a Nubian burial, of probable Egyptian origin (D’Amato and Sumner, 2005).
So what does all this mean for Middle-earth? Well, discounting my personal theory of post-Roman British culture being a very very rough analogue of the Dunedain, I like to think that for at least a brief period in the late-classical/early medieval time, they were aware of the idea of wearing a leather garment on its own to protect from the elements. Innovation or not, they were thinking it. Since it was also referred to in the DE MAGISTRATIBUS, that lends a little more weight to the theory it was an actual garment. And as also we see in DE MAGISTRATIBUS, it was popular with the militaristic crowd and their "barbarian" counterparts in both war and peace. For a historically based Middle-earth, I think that's just about a solid enough base to include it as one of the historically inspired bits. As long as we keep in mind it is a "reconstruction proposal" where we think of it as a possibility, and not the complete truth.
Thanks. Please let me know what you think!