Nicephorus III and Maria of Alania BnF Coislin79 fol2bis

The ''loros'' ( gr, λῶρος, lōros) was a long, narrow and embroidered cloth, which was wrapped around the torso and dropped over the left hand. It was one of the most important and distinctive parts of the most formal and ceremonial type of imperial Byzantine costume, worn only by the Imperial family and a few of the most senior officials. It developed out of the '' trabea triumphalis'' of the

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

s. There were different male and female versions. Byzantine sources speak of the "''loros'' costume" as the ''loros'' dictated the rest of the imperial outfit. The slightly less formal, and more secular, imperial costume, which was also that normally worn by high officials on official occasions, was the ''

chlamys The chlamys ( Ancient Greek: χλαμύς : chlamýs, genitive: χλαμύδος : chlamydos) was a type of an ancient Greek cloak. The first representations of the ''loros'' are on coins from the reign of

Justinian II Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the ...

(r. 685–695 and 705–711). Until the 10th century, the male ''loros'' was wrapped around the torso in a specific way, following the ancient ''trabea''. However, increasingly from the 11th century, the ''loros'' acquired a new design. The new ''loros'' had a loop that went round the neck and was pulled on over the head. By the

Komnenian dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

, the old ''loros'' was completely abandoned, after a period when both designs are seen. By the 14th century the strip down the front may have been sewn onto the tunic beneath, and the ''loros'' may have been called a ''diadema'' instead. Despite the modifications, the ''loros'' was the most important part of the imperial costume up until the end of the empire in the 15th century. Although in practice it was, according to the ''

De Ceremoniis The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of ...

'' by

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe ...

, worn only in exceptional occasions such as on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

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, sometimes other feasts, and to receive important foreign visitors, the ''loros'' was an integral part of imperial portraiture. In earlier periods it was worn in triumphal processions. The ''loros'' was also worn at Easter by the "twelve dignitaries", holders of the ranks of ''

magistros The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early cent ...

'' and ''

anthypatos ''Anthypatos'' ( gr, ἀνθύπατος) is the translation in Greek of the Latin '' proconsul''. In the Greek-speaking East, it was used to denote this office in Roman and early Byzantine times, surviving as an administrative office until the 9th ...

'', as well as by the Eparch of Constantinople and the '' zoste patrikia'' during the ceremonies of their promotion. It was said to symbolize the winding-sheet of Christ, with the officials as the

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. It is also worn by

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s in

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted u ...

, which spread to medieval art in the West, as they were regarded as the high officials of God. It seems the ''loros''-costume was not worn at the coronation of the Emperor, although he was given it in the course of the ceremony, and when crowned by Christ in art always wears it. From the 13th century the ''loros'' began to be shown worn in imperial portraits of other Orthodox rulers, such those of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

. In the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander, the tsar and his son both wear it.

Female

At first empresses wore essentially the same form as emperors, but from around the 9th century a new style appears. The hanging end was longer and much broader, and after reaching down to the ankles turned upwards to be folded over the left forearm, or fastened or tucked into the belt. The wide end has the appearance in paintings of a round-topped shield tapering to a point, at an oblique angle. In the 13th century this shield shape is no longer seen, and the female form returns to being that of the now modified male one for the last phase of the empire.Parani, 25-26 Empresses also wore a wide jewelled "superhumeral" collar in matching styles to the ''loros'', and perhaps attached to it. This was the distinctive garment of empresses and also worn on other occasions, and copied by other upper-class women; the modified male ''loros'' created much the same effect.

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Notes

References

* * *{{cite book, last=Parani, first=Maria G., title=Reconstructing the Reality of Images: Byzantine Material Culture and Religious Iconography (11th–15th Centuries, publisher=Brill, location=Leiden, year=2003, isbn=9004124624 Byzantine regalia