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The ''loros'' () 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 The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...
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 (; genitive: ) was a type of ancient Greek cloak. It was worn by men for military and hunting purposes during the Classical, Hellenistic and later periods. By the time of the Byzantine Empire it was part of the state costume of the ...
'' costume. Underneath either the ''loros'' or the ''chlamys'' were worn the ''divetesion'' (), a long silk robe, and a tunic.


Male

The first representations of the ''loros'' are on coins from the reign of
Tiberius II Constantine Tiberius II Constantine (; ; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, proclaimed him ''caesar'' and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying ...
(r. 578 - 582 AD). Other examples can be seen on coins minted by emperors like
Justinian II Justinian II (; ; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" (), was the last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Like his namesake, Justinian I, Justinian II was an ambitio ...
(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 The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. Th ...
, 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 or (fully ) 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 the Order of the Palace"), taken from the work' ...
'' by
Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...
, worn only in exceptional occasions such as on
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
,
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...
, 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 (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...
'' and ''
anthypatos ''Anthypatos'' () 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 century. Thereafter, an ...
'', as well as by the Eparch of Constantinople and the ''
zoste patrikia ''Zōstē patrikía'' () was a Byzantine court title reserved exclusively for the woman who was the chief attendant and assistant to the empress. A very high title, its holder ranked as the first woman after the Empress herself in the imperial c ...
'' during the ceremonies of their promotion. It was said to symbolize the winding-sheet of Christ, with the officials as the
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
. It is also worn by
archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...
s in
Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of 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, decline of western Rome and ...
, 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 , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...
. In the
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander, the tsar and his son both wear it. Westwards, a mosaic in the
Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio The Church of St. Mary of the Admiral (), also called Martorana, is the seat of the ''Parish of San Nicolò dei Greci'' (), overlooking the Piazza Bellini, next to the Norman church of San Cataldo and facing the Baroque church of Santa Cate ...
shows King
Roger II of Sicily Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...
wearing "the raiment of a Byzantine emperor", including a ''loros''. The ''Stola'', a 14th-century garment in the
Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, C ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, was made to be worn like a ''loros'', but misinterpretation caused later generations to wear it in the manner of a priest's stole, although it was too long for the purpose.


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.


Gallery


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