At the bottom of this post is a link to a fascinating piece about the place costume has in a society - specifically, the shoes of children and even infants, found on the sites of Roman military institutions. Many know, but many do not - the name "Caligula" was not a formal given name for a particularly infamous Roman emperor; it was a nickname, meaning "Little Boots."
The Roman military shoe (they are generally referred to as boots, but might appear like sandals to a modern viewer) was called the caliga, and its diminutive form was caligula. Famously, the emperor, son of Germanicus, was dressed as a very small child in boots exactly like those worn by his father's armies. Thus the name by which we all remember Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.
Apparently, he was far from the only one - and, like most costuming, his boots were meant for talking. This is what they said.
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2 comments:
The title so drew me in! Love MM.
Eeeeevery now and then I actually come up with a good title. So far this decade, there's "The Ax and the Vase" (which may get changed for me upon publication, because that's how the ball bounces in the industry) and this one. GO ME!
(You *would* love him ...)
;)
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