In
Ancient Roman regalia
Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...
, a ''laticlave'', or ''clavus'', was a broad stripe or band of purple on the fore part of the
tunic
A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...
, worn by
senators as an emblem of office. The name ''laticlavia'' translates to "broad nail" and figuratively "broad stripe", in contrast to the "narrow stripe" (''
angusticlavia
In ancient Rome, an ''angusticlavia'', ''angusticlavus'', or ''angustus clavus'' was a narrow-strip tunic (''tunica'') with two narrow vertical Tyrian purple stripes (''clavi''). The tunic was typically worn under the toga with the right side s ...
'') which appeared on the tunics of lower social ranks.
This ornament, according to some, was called ''clavus'' ("nail") as being set with little round plates of gold, or silver, like the heads of nails.
Cantelius maintained that the clavus consisted of a kind of purple flowers, sewn upon the cloth.
The garment is mentioned in
Suetonius, as citizens singing songs of disapproval against
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
for him having offered the opportunity for Gauls to "put on the laticlave" as imposter/foreign members of a traditionally "Roman" Senate.
References
*
*''Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary'', 1913.
Regalia
Roman-era clothing
{{Clothing-stub