focale
{{Short description|Roman military scarf}}
File:018 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel XVIII.jpg
The focale (plural focalia), also known as a sudarium ("sweat cloth"),Jason R. Abdal, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2tcxjgEACAAJ Four Days in September: The Battle of Teutoburg] (Trafford, 2013), pp. 166-167. was a woolen or linen scarf worn by ancient Roman military personnel. It protected the neck from chafing by the armor and was used for warmth.Nic Fields[https://books.google.com/books?id=tZphvgAACAAJ , The Roman Army of the Principate 27 BC-AD 117] (Osprey, 2009), p. 25.{{Cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Glenys |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTaCAgAAQBAJ |title=Greek and Roman Dress from A to Z |last2=Llewellyn-Jones |first2=Lloyd |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-58916-6 |pages=73 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Ermatinger |first=James W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rI6CgAAQBAJ |title=The World of Ancient Rome: A Daily Life Encyclopedia: A Daily Life Encyclopedia |date=2015-08-11 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-2908-6 |pages=289 |language=en}} The focale is depicted widely in military scenes from Roman art, such as the relief sculpture on the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman ForumRichard Brilliant, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-ZLAAAAYAAJ The Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum]," Memoirs of the American Academy 29 (1967), pp. 139, 142, 155, 156, 158, 184, 186, 190, 197, 203, 210. and Trajan's Column.John Hungerford Pollen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_zr8C6LE_BIC A Description of the Trajan Column] (London, 1874), p. 111. It is shown loosely knotted in the front, but is sometimes visible with the ends tucked inside the cuirass.
In Latin literature, focale is a general word for a scarf or wrapping for the throat.Antoine Mongez, "Recherches sur les habillemens des anciens," Histoire et mémoires de l'Institute Royal de France 4 (1818), pp. 295–295. A focale was one of the gifts that might be given for the December festival of Saturnalia, according to Martial.Martial 14.137 (142). In one of his satires, Horace lists focalia among the "badges of illness" (insignia morbi).Horace, Satires 2.8.255; article on "Dress," A Concise Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, edited by F. Warre Cornish (London, 1898), p. 259. In describing the correct attire for public speaking, Quintilian advises against wearing a focale, unless required by poor health.Quintilian [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Quintilian/Institutio_Oratoria/11C*.html#3.144 11.3.144.] Legwarmers (fascias quibus crura vestiuntur) and earmuffs (aurium ligamenta) are likewise to be avoided.
Although a sudarium often is used as a handkerchief, it can be worn like the focale as a neckerchief.Mongez, "Recherches sur les habillemens des anciens," p. 295. When Suetonius describes the overly casual attire of Nero, the emperor is barefoot, unbelted, and dressed in evening wear (synthesis), with a sudarium around his neck.Suetonius, Nero 51; Mongez, "Recherches sur les habillemens des anciens," p. 295. The sudarium may be the precursor to the focale.{{Cite book |last1=D'Amato |first1=Raffaele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWngAwAAQBAJ |title=Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier: From Marius to Commodus, 112 BC–AD 192 |last2=Sumner |first2=Graham |date=2009-09-17 |publisher=Frontline Books |isbn=978-1-4738-1189-8 |language=en}} In late antiquity, orarium (Greek orarion) might be synonymous with focale, as in the description of military attire in the Vision of Dorotheus, and in a papyrus (dated 350–450 AD) listing military clothes.SB VI.9570.5; Jan Bremmer, "An Imperial Palace Guard in Heaven: The Date of the Vision of Dorotheus," Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 75 (1988), p. 86. From the sudarium derives the name of the Near Eastern sudra, a similar piece of cloth with various functions over time.{{Cite book|last=Aaron Michael|first=Butts|editor-first1=George Anton |editor-last1=Kiraz |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/9781463240028/html|title=Latin Words in Classical Syriac|date=2018-12-06|publisher=Gorgias Press|isbn=978-1-4632-4002-8|series=Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies|volume=19|page=134|language=en|doi=10.31826/9781463240028|s2cid=239370393 }}
The focale is sometimes seen as one of the precursors of the necktie.Daniel K. Hall, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dSVdXRp_lLYC How to Tie a Tie: Choosing, Coordinating, and Knotting Your Neckwear] (Sterling, 2008), p. 8. Cesare Vecellio (1530–1606) mentions the focale, calling it a cravata (cravat), as worn by Roman soldiers in his book on the history of fashion.Oscar Lenius, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QgCejwEACAAJ The Well-Dressed Gentleman] (LIT Verlag Münster, 2010), p. 93. It has been compared to the amice (amictus) worn by Roman Catholic priests, which is depicted from the 6th century onward, as in the Ravenna mosaics.Charles Panati, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AUMCPwAACAAJ Sacred Origins of Profound Things] (Arkana, 1996), [https://books.google.com/books?id=8xKkiDz4qCwC&dq=focale+roman+soldier&pg=PT146 n.p.]; Mongez, "Recherches sur les habillemens des anciens," p. 296.