11th Century Byzantine Clothing Construction
By Lady Ariadne Karbonopsina
© January 2013
In the Early Byzantine period (pre-8th c.) the fashions were still heavily influenced by Roman fashions, and during the Late Byzantine period (13th-15th c.) the styles in the Empire were influenced by the surrounding areas of the Empire due to increased trade and political relations.
This handout will focus on the court fashion of the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Byzantine period (8th-12th c.). This period of Byzantine fashion history is unique in that the styles of the capital were distinctly Byzantine - a contrast to both the Early and Late periods. I will be focusing on the court dress of Constantinople because its style is most appropriate for this year’s Chieftains’ high persona theme of 11th c. Byzantine. To finish out the survey of 11th c. Byzantine fashion I will also be discussing the borderland fashions which were influenced by the surrounding Georgian, Armenian, Arab, and Bulgarian cultures.
The purpose of this handout is to give a brief overview of what it was like to dress Byzantine during the 11th century, what the clothing pieces looked like, examples of fabric materials, designs, and colors, period images of clothing, and also cover the patterning of these garments so you can make your own Byzantine clothing!
Unlike several other areas of historical clothing, there is still a lack of adequate information regarding Byzantine clothing. Some of what I present here on Byzantine clothing is based on conjecture using my limited knowledge of the surrounding areas’ clothing, such as Persian and Russian. Another important thing to note about Byzantine clothing research is the myriad of terms used to refer to the same articles of clothing. This is due to the use of Greek terms, or their Latinized alternatives. In order to reduce this confusion I have chosen to primarily use Jennifer Ball’s terminology, though I list some of the other terms you might see while researching.
Things to Know About Dressing Period Byzantine
When looking at images of Byzantine clothing one of the first things you will notice is the modesty of its cut. Garments often have crew necklines and long hems, without a focus on flattering or exposing the body shape. You see an example of this in the above image of Saint Eudokia, with her straight garments and almost androgynous figure. During the Middle Byzantine period there is no defined waist in the clothing - this definition was achieved by belting the garments at the natural waist. The generous coverage of fabric also conveyed wealth.
When dressing as a member of the court, it is important to remember that your extremities would never be exposed. For men and women, this means that long sleeves were always worn, at least for the innermost layer. This also meant that garments reached the floor as a sign of modesty, especially for women. For men wearing a shorter tunic to mid-shin, he most certainly would have covered his legs with pants or hosen.
Another important feature to remember is finishing your garment. This often helps the clothes hang correctly. For seams that do not show, a simple seam finishing is good. For seams that show, this is more appropriately done with a lining, especially if you have wide sleeves that hang open. A lining also provides more body to the garment to make it look stiffer, and thus more expensive, since heavy silk brocade is outside of most people’s budgets. It also serves as a means of protection for the back side of all your embellishment and beading.
And finally, layers! Wearing multiple layers has some major benefits. First, it allows for better body temperature regulation since you can add or remove garments easily. Second, your less expensive fabrics absorb sweat and body oils, protecting your heavily embellished and more expensive top layers. Lastly, layers convey more wealth since they added to the overall weight of your wardrobe.
Fabrics
During the Middle Byzantine period one’s salary was paid both “in kind” with materials such as bolts of fabric or new garments, as well as with money. As a result, you displayed your salary and status through your clothing and its weight. You wanted to wear as much of your wealth as possible, so multiple layers of heavily lavish fabric were worn. If you could not afford the silk brocades of the elite you would wear patterned fabric or apply embroidery and appliqued fabric to your garment to make it look more expensive.
Materials
When choosing fabric, silk was the first choice as it was the most obvious display of the Empire’s wealth, and your standing as an individual. These would be heavily patterned brocades with geometric patterns, figurative designs of animals or religious scenes, or floral and abstract designs influenced from the Arabic and Islamic fabric industries. Silk could also be in solid colors and of a fine weave. Although natural silk usually has some imperfections, there would not be the large slubs found in raw silk or dupioni.
Linen and fine wool were also used during this time since they were less expensive materials. Fine linen is appropriate, as is fine suiting weight wool with a nice finish. The wool would not have been scratchy, rough, or coarsely woven. They could then be embellished to look more sumptuous like their more expensive silk cousins. Cotton was not as common during this period since Egypt was no longer part of the Empire and the cotton trade had thus declined.
Embellishment was added with embroidery or appliqued fabric/embroidery. Trim on the neckline, cuffs, and hems was used to finish the look. Pearls and gems were used to embellish the body of the fabric. More was better during this time, thus it was not crucial that all of your precious gems matched throughout your garment. If you could not afford precious gems and pearls, glass ‘gems’ were also used to give the impression of expensive gems.
Colors
There were very few restrictions on the colors that could be worn in the Byzantine Empire. Imperial purple, its dye made from the sea crustacean murex, and gold were often reserved solely for the Imperial family. The Imperial purple was extremely precious and valuable because “approximately 12,000 shells were required to produce only 1.4 grams of pure dye, which would color the trim of the average garment.”
Popular colors of the day were red, blue, green, and yellow, with all the other colors imaginable worn with less frequency. Evidence of clothing in red, ochre, yellow, orange, white, lavender, natural, tan, light and dark brown, gold, pink, maroon, light and dark blue, cobalt blue, slate blue, aqua, light and dark green, yellow-green, coral, purple, raspberry, rose, and black.
Although they wore an array of colors, make sure that when choosing your fabric you select colors that are not too bright. Vegetable dyes give clear color, especially when dying silk, but they are not neon. Select colors that are in line with those worn in
the Near East, Middle East, and Central Asia because this is where some of the clothing and fabric was produced that the Byzantines wore. You see in the image to the left of the Sebastocrator Kalion and his consort, Dessislava that they wear a variety of colors, all of them highly saturated and akin to what many would associate as “Middle Eastern” in hew.
Designs
A multitude of designs were available to the Byzantines. They were quite fond roundel designs and this is the most frequently seen design in the artwork and literature. Back-to-back animals, birds, and humans in roundels or squares were popular motifs.The image to the right is of the 12th century shroud of St. Potentien, displaying phoenixes and griffins in a variegated weft yarn and a single colored warp yarn. Consort Dessislava divetesion in Image 2 displays roundels as well, their scale adjusting so that they would all appear of the same size when viewed at a distance. We also notice roundels on her chlamys, emphasizing their popularity.
Another popular geometric pattern was lozenges, lattices, diamonds, stripes, or argyle. The image below of Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates and Courtiers displays this wide use of geometric and repeating patterns, along with a range of design sizes. When selecting geometrically patterned clothing look for small- to medium-sized, repeat patterns with a historical flare that would fit the scale of a human body.
Although Byzantine fashion is often known for its use of geometric designs, non-geometric patterns were also popular due to their influence from the Near East and Middle East. Some of these patterns included vines, rosettes, and leaves. We see examples of vines in Image 2 on the Sebastocrator Kaloian’s divetesion.
Despite the multitude of patterns available to the Byzantines, it is important to remember that paisley was not an option. Paisley is a late period Turkish style and only appropriate for clothing post-1500, which coincides with the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
Woven in fabrics are the most desirable as these give a more period look; however, printed patterns are also permissible since these technique was also sometimes used in period.
Patterning with Modern Fabric
Entire garments could be woven on looms during this time, including the neckhole, leaving only the side seam left to sew. Because our modern technology generally offers us with only 45” (silk, cotton) or 60”
fabric (linen, wool), we much adjust how we pattern our Byzantine garments to account for the presence of seams somewhere in the sleeve - either at the armseye or by adding fabric in the forearm to make the sleeves long enough.
Garments in the 11th c. Byzantine Wardrobe
Tunics
Kolobion - sleeveless tunic
Kondomanikion - short sleeved tunic
Chiton, himation, sticharion - all general words for tunics
Sticharion - might have been a striped tunic
Tunica and stola - also seen in some research to refer to a tunic, either short or long sleeved
In general we see long sleeved tunics whenever there is visible evidence of them. The sleeves were close fitting and went to the wrist. The neckline was crew or boat, and the color was opaque if worn as the only layer and white otherwise. It is assumed that the tunics were full length though thought this is hard to know for sure. 
We see a disappearance of the clavii and segmentae/roundels used in Early Byzantine period tunics. These were replaced by an addition of decorative bands at the neck, around the arms, and hem. The 1078-1081 image to the left of Emperor Nicephorous Botiniates between St. John Chrysostom and Archangel Michael show different hints of embellishment around the cuffs and hems.
Divetesion
The divetesion is sometimes also called a dalmatica or colobium.
It was a long sleeve garment with sleeves long enough to cover the wrists, other examples show them coming to mid-forearm. The sleeves were moderately-wide to wide. In the image below of the “Representation of the Icon of the Virgin Hodegetria,” we see examples of the mid-forearm and moderately wide sleeves. Later within the Middle Byzantine period we see the women’s sleeves become more bell shaped, emulating the Western European fashions.
The divetesion was full-length and there are generally no slits in the divetesion, though we see some rare examples of there being a slit in the men’s version, going up to the knee, like in Image 5 of Emperor Nicephorous Botiniates. The men’s divetesion was sometimes shorter to mid-shin, exposing the hem trim on the tunic. Women’s divetesions never had slits and were always floor length as a sign of modesty.
Silk brocades were most common for this garment. The fabric could be heavily jeweled to further increase its splendor. Decorative bands at the neck, around the arms, and hem were use; a scroll-work pattern popular being quite popular. We see examples of this kind of trimwork in Image 5 on Emperor Nicephorous Botiniates’
outfit. Image 6 illustrates a later style of armbands, which have become wider and more embellished. Purple and gold were reserved for the Imperial family. References are seen of courtiers wearing blue, red, and white divetesions.
Caftan
The caftan was similar to the divetesion in that it was a full-length garment with long sleeves that could be narrow to moderately wide. Where it differed from the divetesion and array of tunic styles was that it opened down the front, either partially or completely. It was then fastened with closures, and could have slits on the sides to aid in horseback riding.
Unlike the variations of tunics and divetesions, the caftan was not of Byzantine or Roman origin. Rather, it was influenced by the surrounding Armenian, Georgian, Bulgarian, and Arabic cultures. It is important to remember that caftan is often a broadly defined term to mean a tunic with a front opening. In Arabic fashions it is called a qaba.
Above to the right we see a Byzantine example of a caftan in this “Portrait of the High Admiral Apocaucos,” characterized by
the use of stiff brocaded fabric with a roundel design.
To the left is an example of a North African Arabic style caftan, with its straight construction to allow for better air flow.
To the right is an example of the Middle Eastern/Syrian style, being more flowy and knee length.
Chlamys
The chlamys is a descendent of the earlier Roman styles, called the paludamentum. Similar to the Roman styling, the chlamys could be either a half circle or rectangular cloak. Knee-length versions were worn by soldiers and laborers, with full-length cloaks being worn for all other occasions, especially formal courtwear.
To wear the chlamys it was fastened with a brooch on the right shoulder, though sometimes it was worn fastened in the center of the chest, like the courtiers in Image 4 with Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates.
Insignia and a tablion often adorned the chlamys, signifying the wearer’s station and status. Below to the left Saints Prokopios, Demetrius and Nestor are each wearing a chlamys with different designed tablion. The Empress Saint Theophono, in the image to the left, displays a very different looking chlamys that lacks a tablion and is made out of a patterned fabric, rather than a solid-colored fabric.
Headdress
Round, flat-topped hats without brims
Conical caps of Phrygian style
Turbans - seen in the borderland fashions
Large upright fan headdresses - worn only by women
Maphorion - veil worn by women
The image below shows the “Dance of Miriam with the Israelite Women” and is an excellent example of the fan-shaped hats worn by women. It also depicts the variety of embellishment found in the headdress and clothing.
Pants
Leggings/hosen - close fitting, sometimes cross-gartered by the shepherds
Pants - looser style of Frankish origin, sometimes cross-gartered
Footwear
Slip on flat shoes
Ankle boots
Calf-high boots for laborers and soldiers
Accessories
Codices, kerchiefs, whips, batons
Belts - jeweled, garments could be worn belted or unbelted
In Image 12 of the Dance of Miriam we see wide, decorated belts worn at the natural waist, with one long end that hangs down. In Image 7 of the High Admiral we see a very narrow belt, which is also worn at the natural waist but does not have a long end that hangs down.
Additional Garments Worn by the Imperial Family
Loros (sometimes also called pallium) - long, highly embellished and bejewelled piece of fabric
Tzangia - highly embellished and bejewelled shoes
Crown/stemma/diadem - characterized by pendulia, which were long strands that hung down in front of the ears and were usually made of pearls.
The image to the right of “Christ Crowning Michael VII Doukas (relabeled Nikephoros III Botaneiates) and Maria of Alania” shows two styles of the loros as well as two styles of crowns.
Building Your Outfit
Constantinople
|
Borderlands
| |
Under Layer
|
Tunic
|
Tunic
|
Middle Layer
|
Divetesion
|
2nd Tunic (add ease), or Caftan
|
Top Layer
|
Chlamys
|
Caftan
|
Headdress
|
Caps, fan hat, maphorion
|
Turban
|
Footwear
|
Slip on flats, ankle boots
|
Slip on flats, ankle boots, shin boots
|
Accessories
|
Codices, kerchiefs, whips, batons, belt
|
Belt
|
Tunica Pattern
Measurements Directions
Shoulder to Floor : 1.) Take all of the measurements - all of them are standard and
Head Circumference : straightforward. To measure the stride take a full step forward on a
Chest : measuring tape - this measurement equals half of your total hem.
Waist : 2.) Chalk out all of your pattern pieces. You will have 2 body
Hips : panels and two sleeves. Do not forget to add seam allowance.
Stride : 3.) Sew shoulder seams.
4.) Cut and finish neckhole using head circumference.
Sleeve Length : 5.) Attach armseye end of sleeves to the body panels. This will
Armseye : create a t-shaped flat garment.
Duck Hand : 6.) Sew side seams and seams of sleeves, starting at the cuff.
7.) Finish all hems and seams.
Divetesion Pattern
Measurements Directions
Shoulder to Floor : 1.) Take all of the measurements - all of them are standard and
Head Circumference : straightforward. To measure the stride take a full step forward on a
Chest : measuring tape - this measurement equals half of your total hem.
Waist : 2.) Chalk out all of your pattern pieces. You will have 2 body
Hips : panels and two sleeves. To determine your cuff measurement add
Stride : (Duck Hand) + 2(Armpit to Waist) OR (Duck Hand) + 2(Armpit to
Top of Hip), depending on how wide you want your sleeves to be.
Sleeve Length : Do not forget to add seam allowance.
Armseye : 3.) Sew shoulder seams.
Duck Hand : 4.) Cut and finish neckhole using head circumference.
Armpit to Waist : 5.) Attach armseye end of sleeves to the body panels. This will
Armpit to Top of Hip : create a t-shaped flat garment.
6.) Sew side seams and seams of sleeves, starting at the cuff.
7.) Finish all hems and seams.
** It is helpful to line the divetesion since the underside and sleeves will be exposed.**
Caftan Pattern
Measurements Directions
Shoulder to Floor : 1.) Take all of the measurements - all of them are standard and
Head Circumference : straightforward. To measure the stride take a full step forward on a
Chest : measuring tape - this measurement equals half of your total hem.
Waist : 2.) Chalk out all of your pattern pieces. You will have 2 body
Hips : panels and two sleeves. To determine your cuff measurement use
Stride : your armseye measurement - this will make a straight sleeve. Do
not forget to add seam allowance. Also remember to add extra
Sleeve Length : seam allowance for the opening down the middle.
Armseye : 3.) Sew shoulder seams.
Duck Hand : 4.) Cut and finish neckhole using head circumference.
5.) Attach armseye end of sleeves to the body panels. This will
create a t-shaped flat garment.
6.) Sew side seams and seams of sleeves, starting at the cuff.
7.) Finish all hems and seams.
** It is helpful to line the caftan since the underside and sleeves will be exposed.**
Chlamys Pattern
Measurements Directions
Shoulder to Floor : 1.) Take all of the measurements - all of them are standard and
Width of Fabric : straightforward.
2.) Chalk out a half circle, using your Shoulder to Floor measurement or the Width of Fabric. If your fabric is narrower than your shoulder to floor you can add a trim of fabric to make up for the extra length. Do not forget to add seam allowance.
3.) Cut out chlamys.
4.) Cut and finish neckhole using head circumference.
7.) Finish all hems and seams.
** It is helpful to line the chlamys since the underside will be exposed.**
Bibliography
Books
Ball, Jennifer L. Byzantine Dress: Representations of Secular Dress in Eighth- to Twelfth-Century Painting. (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005).
Boucher, Francois. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1965).
Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997).
Houston, Mary G. Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume. (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1947).
Kalavrezou, Ioli. Byzantine Women and Their World. (Cambridge: Harvard University Art Museums, 2003).
Rice, David Talbot. Art of the Byzantine Era. (London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1963).
Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997).
Articles
Bruhn, Jutta-Annette. Coins and Costume in Late Antiquity. (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1993).
Elphinstone, Megan (MKA Sharon Rust-Ryburn). "Early Byzantine Clothing, Ornamentation and Accessories: Eastern Roman Empire, 5th - 6th Century". (March 2006). http://www.srclink.net/users/Meghan_Elphinstone/MeghanByzantineClothing.pdf.
Tauna, Black. “A Clothing How-To for Garments of the Byzantine Empire”. http://blacktauna.tripod.com/byzantineclothinginfo.html.
Vukson-Van Beek, Dawn. "Byzantine Costumes". http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01181/Byzantine%20costume.pdf.
Websites
Fashion Encyclopedia. http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Early-Cultures-The-Byzantine-Empire/index.html.
Kingdom of Atlantia A&S Sources for Byzantine Clothing. http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/index.php?action=displaycat&catid=330.
Loose Threads: Yet Another Costuming Blog. http://cathyscostumeblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Byzantine.
Romanesque and Byzantine. http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Costume_History/romanesque.htm.
Sofya La Rus: 13th - 14th Century Medieval Russian Life. http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Russia/index.html.
Images
Image 1: "Icon with Saint Eudokia." Early 10th c. Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997). pg 42.
Image 2: "The Sebastocrator Kaloian and his consort, Dessislava." 1259. The Resurrection."Rice, David Talbot. Art of the Byzantine Era. (London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1963). pg 189.
Image 3: “Pseudo Kufic script in medallion on Byzantine shroud of Saint Potentien 12th century.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudo_Kufic_script_in_medallion_on_Byzantine_shroud_of_Saint_Potentien_12th_century_rotated.jpg.
Image 4: "Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates and Courtiers." From the Homilies of John Chrysostom. ca. 1071-1081. Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997). pg 208.
Image 5: "The Emperor Nicephorus Botiniates (1078-81) between St John Chrysostom and the Archangel Michael." The Homilies of St John Chrysostom. Rice, David Talbot. Art of the Byzantine Era. (London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1963). pg 123.
Image 6: "Representation of the Icon of the Virgin Hodegetria." Late 14th c. Kalavrezou, Ioli. Byzantine Women and Their World. (Cambridge: Harvard University Art Museums, 2003). pg 114.
Image 7: "Portrait of the High Admiral Apocaucos." ca. 1342. Rice, David Talbot. Art of the Byzantine Era. (London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1963). pg 248.
Image 8: "Dioskorides Presented with Copies of His Book." De materia medica by Dioskorides. 1229. Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997). pg 430.
Image 9: "Abu Zayd before a Judge in the City of Merv." Maqamat of al-Hariri. 1222-1223. Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997). pg 429.
Image 10: "Saints Prokopios, Demetrius and Nestor." Rice, David Talbot. Art of the Byzantine Era. (London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1963). pg 131.
Image 11: "The empress Saint Theophono, first wife of Leo VI." Menologium of Basil II. Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997). pg 465.
Image 12: "The Dance of Miriam and the Israelite Women." 1058-1059. Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997). pg 206.
Image 13: "Christ Crowning Michael VII Doukas (relabeled Nikephoros III Botaneiates) and Maria of Alania. Illustration from the Homilies of John Chrysostom. Evans, Helen C. and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843 - 1261. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997). pg 182.
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