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Balteus
Last Updated: 3-15-08
Galea, Lorica: Segmentata, Lorica: Hamata, Tunica, Subarmalis, Balteus, Gladius, Pugio, Caligae, Marching Pack, Tools, Cold Weather Gear
The Roman military belt, commonly refered to as the Balteus, is a non standard peice of equipment. During the Republic
is was common for soldiers to wear two belts. One to hold the gladius and the other to hold the pugio. Sometime
during the first century AD the army went from a standard two belts to a standard one belt. This was probably due to
the lorica segmentata coming into the army. It is commmonly believed that the belt was a item that was personally made
instead of made in workshops. We beleive this because the plates, studs, terminals, etc... could be plain, ornate,
colorful, tinned, etc... The plates for the balteus can be made of brass or bronze and can be cast or sheet metal
and are usually tinned or silvered.
Usually when you hear the Roman military belt being described you hear how they are either narrow or wide. This
refers to the belt plates themselves being narrow or wide. Narrow plates are usually seen with Republican legionary
but are seen with soldiers wearing hamata. The wide plates are more commonly seen with soldiers wearing segmentata.
The narrow plates can range in width from one (1) to one and half (1 1/2) inches and length from two (2) to two
and half (2 1/2) inches. The plates are attached to the belt by rivets threw holes in the plates or rivets soldered
to the back of the plates.
The wide plates can range in width from one and half (1 1/2) to two (2) inches and length from one and three-fourths
(1 3/4) to two and half (2 1/2). These plates are a lot of times sheet metal but can be cast. Typically they
are attached to the belt by rivets threw holes in the plates. One difference in appearance with these plates, beside
the size, is that the ends are usually rolled up which can accommodate the frogs and buckles.
Construction:
Before you rivet the plates to the belt you want to prepare the leather. You want to get three (3) to six (6) ounce
leather, if you get the leather too thick if will not be able get the leather through the buckle. ***Make
sure you oil the belt with neatsoil before you work on it or afterwards.***
I) First find a peice of leather that will fit around
you with three (3) to six (6) inches left. Tandy Leather Company's blank leather belts without studs are probably your
best bet. Just be careful because there belt blanks are at least an eighth (1/8) off of their stated width,so buy big.
II) Then cut out your strap to tighten the belt.
You can leave the access leather on either side of that strap on for decoration.(this was beleived to the how the belt apron
started.)
III) Then you want to dye the belt. You don't have
to dye the belt but over time the neatsfoot will turn it a dark brownish red color. You can dye the belt red, blue,
black, etc...
IV) Now you want to pre set your plates
to make sure you have everything will fit. Then you want to mark the holes for the rivets, a pen or permanent marker
will do fine. Then cut your holes.
V) Then rivet your plates on and have fun.
Here is what “Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome” by M.C. Bishop &
J.C.N. Coulston has to say about the balteus.
Although traditionally known as the cingulum militare (or militiae), there is good reason
to believe that the Roman military waist-belt of the 1st century AD was actually simply called a balteus. The
term cingulum is hardly ever found before the 3rd century AD; Varro stated that cinctus was a belt worn
by men, cingillum that worn by women. Papyri and literary sources suggest that balteus is the more
correct term, for in a letter of AD 99 Terentianus' sister Apollonous wrote to him in Greek that 'I understood from Thermouthas
that you obtained for yourself a pair of belts [using the Greek Baltion, equvalent to the Latin balteum], and I was much gratified.'
Another fragmentary letter of the early 2nd century AD, written by Claudius Terentianus to his father Claudius Tiberianus,
includes the phrase balteum militare. The Tiberianus archive also has a letter from one Tabatheus
to Tiverianus which refers to the fact that a relative 'sent your son Isidorus to you so that [he might take to you]
you belts (baltea).' Pliny the Elder shed more light on this terminlolgical problem when he discussed the soldiers'
habit of silvering military equipment, moting that 'their scabbards ring with silver links and their belts (baltea) with silver
plates'. Tacitus recorded that when Vitellius needed to raise money for his attempted usurpation in AD 69, soldiers
handed over their belts (the word 'baltei' is used) in lieu of cash. Isidore of Seville simply stated that
'the balteus is the military belt'.
 Apron:
The apron to the balteus is often called a sporran or groin-guard, but through living history demonstartions it is found
that it can case more harm than good! It is believed that the apron came about by having the split ends of the belt
hang and eventually caught on all over the empire.
The apron can be made up of four (4) to eight (8) leather strips ranging in width from three quarters (3/4") to one (1")
inch wide, and length be from six (6") to twelve (12") inches long. The leather for the aprong should not be thicker
than the belt itself. How ever long you make it, it should not hang below the bottom of your tunic.
On each strip of the apron there where studs attached to it. These studs can be cast with a peg on the
back to serve as a rivet or have a metal disc and solder a rivet to the back of the disc. You can also cut a disc out
of brass, punch a hole in the disc and rivet that to the strip. These studs can be a circle, square, or rectangle in
shape as well as have designs carved or cast in them.
At the end of each strip there was a terminal that always had dangly on it. This dangly can be a simple disc or
a disc with its own dandly, a tear drop, or even a cresent moon. They are attached by two (2) rivets on the leather
strip. These are cut from thin sheets of metal and can have simple designs stamped into them.
Here is what “Roman Military Equipment: From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome” by M.C. Bishop &
J.C.N. Coulston has to say about the apron.
It is commonly held that the 'apron' (also sometimes erroneously called the 'sporran' a Gaelic word for purse), as it
has become known, orginated in the elaboration of the belt terminals with studs each. This process, it is said, can
be seen on the sculptural evidence. The tombstone of the aquilifer Cn. Musius from Mainz shows the end of his
belt divided into four straps, each with terminal pendant, three of these hanging freely, the fourth passing through the buckle
and thus appearing shorter. Two reliefs from Pula are also pertinent here. One shows a Pompeii-type sword and
belt, complete with belt-plates, to which it is evidently attached. At the opposite end to the buckle, the belt is divided
into two straps, each of which is studded, with a lunate terminal. The other sculpture shows a dagger attached
to a belt (again with belt-plates) which ends in four straps with crude representations of terminals. The arch at Orange
represents plated belts with terminals. Finally, the fragmentary tombstone relief from Cassacco shows two crossed blets,
the ends of which hang freely as an apron.
Care must be exercised, however, because the bulk of the representational evidence can be dated only very approximately.
In fact, it could equally well be argued that different 'apron' traditions developed in different areas, or that a range of
forms were in use at the same time.
Suppliers:
Soul of the Warrior has a very nice belt that has the wolf and twins on them, it is a bit on the heavy side but of sound construction!
They also have three other belts coming on line soon.
Albion Swords has a limited supply on some very nice Hod Hill belt plates. They are no longer making them and are available
in the moat sale section.
CLANG Armory has a growing selection of plates, apron studs, and terminals. You may can choose from bronze, brass, or
nickel silver.
Replik Online has a very nice selection! Belt plates from the Teutoburg Forest, Vindonissa, and Porto Vecchio. The prices are
a bit high, especially with the shipping from Europe, but worth the price! They also have a nice line of other Roman
artifacts.
La Wren's Nest offers loose parts for belts, mainly loose Deepeeka parts.
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