Did Legionaries Wear Underwear?

[Kολοσσός]

Did they have some sort of underwear under their skirt or were the genitals simply hanging loose?

This is the question that has been troubling me this week.

[konny]

As far as I know, people were wearing some kind of hughe diaper - at least, that's what it looks like.

[Kολοσσός]

As far as I know, people were wearing some kind of hughe diaper - at least, that's what it looks like.

I can imagine in combat a diaper would be quite useful especially when under missile fire.

[NEver]

They wore chain mail underwear in the days of the republic then gradually the imperial reforms brought about the more effective and less heavy plate underwear. Although the legionares usually complained about the lack of movement those allowed

[Megas Pyrrhos]

ehh....lorica genitata anyone?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Yes, they had undies, probably either shorts or y-fronts.

[antisocialmunky]

I believe you saw someone's blue underpants in Dacii... in one of the links from the Historical Battle thread. Intentional, I dunno.

[Centurion Crastinus]

ehh....lorica genitata anyone?

Dude, I laughed myself silly when I read your post.

[Megas Pyrrhos]

I was surprised no one had said it before I did.

[antisocialmunky]

Yeah, but imagine your stuff getting pinched by the mail/ plat undies.

[Megas Pyrrhos]

Then one had better have balls of steel...or at the very least, balls of bronze. Constant movement would keep em' from rustin'.

[Gebeleisis]

like zipping your pants when you dont have undies and catch the tip of it


in a battle,your oponent falls down,you can have the finishing move,when you raise your hand and move your leg in order to get the best position to strike you get your balls between the chainmail,you start to scream from pain.
At least your oponent died...from laughter


Geastae FTW!

[Hax]

Balls of Mithril, of adamant?

Diamant, perhaps. Let's work the entire schematic of substances, people

Imagine...balls of uranium, of helium, balls of carbon dioxide.

[antisocialmunky]

You could have balls of balls which would be related to 'Beard of Grapes' which is caused by a translocation of what's known as 'Panettone Key' in the 13th Chromosome.

Its throught to be inherited from the Mother's side.

[Watchman]

Mail shorts - braies d'acier, lit. roughly "steel shorts/breeches" - are known from Medieval times anyway. Solidly padded of course, and one would assume normal loinclothes or whatever it now was were worn under those, but ought to give you some impression of just how complete protection the knights could seek.

Anyway, back in Rome didn't the later professional legions at least adopt knee-lenght breeches ? I would assume something was worn to cover the privates under the earlier tunics too, but then again didn't some sources comment on the "indecency" of the characteristically short Samnite tunics...?

[Reno Melitensis]

Did they have some sort of underwear under their skirt or were the genitals simply hanging loose?

This is the question that has been troubling me this week.

Very simple answer my friends. the next time to see a legionary, dive under his legs and run, or you will be next to try his Genitalia Centuriata.

Cheers.

[unreal_uk]

I for one wouldn't want to catch my gladius in my mail.

Ahem.

[Fenrhyl]

Mail shorts - braies d'acier, lit. roughly "steel shorts/breeches" - are known from Medieval times anyway. Solidly padded of course, and one would assume normal loinclothes or whatever it now was were worn under those, but ought to give you some impression of just how complete protection the knights could seek.

This kind of implement saved the traitorous count of Flanders after he was captured by Pierre des tourelles at the Bouvines battle. A french militia man, angered at his betrayal, tried to gut him (more precisely, his intent was to cut his genitals off, a most humiliating death since the count's horse was killed under him the same way) by striking him under his mail coat with a long knife. He failed miserably because he could not bypass the armour the count was wearing. He was then seized and disarmed : the king wanted him alive and, in those times, killing a prisonner was a murder and thus, a sin (mercenaries were excommunicated, so they were killed on the spot).

Such war attire was most probably used by the richest.

[HFox]

Most bought their underwear from Markus et Spencerius.......

[unreal_uk]

Ah, I see that you are wearing Calvinus.

[Cyclops]

Well in 300 they were wearing leather athletic supports aka jockstrappoi.

You'd say any horse-riding people would be wearing some kind of protection. Obviously your Iranian types wore trousers but whatb about skirt-wearing Greeks and Romans? I think they had little short-shorts on under they pteryges.

I believe Thucydides says "...it is only lately that their rich old men left off the luxury of wearing undergarments of linen..." so linen undergarments were known prior to our period.

I for one wouldn't want to catch my gladius in my mail.

Ahem.

Keep your gladius in your vagina where it belongs.

What? No really, thats what Romans called their scabbards.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Ah, I see that you are wearing Calvinus.

I wouldn't want to wear Calvus Parvus, really.

[Intranetusa]

Did they have some sort of underwear under their skirt or were the genitals simply hanging loose?
week..jpg/800px-Balliste_fireing.jpg

Judging from the 2nd century lorica segmenta, I'd say ya, the legionaries definitely had undies by then...

[Ymarsakar]

Some archeological work done in Britain uncovered letters from a Roman garrison concerning many things, including families sending soldiers underwear.