kurtedwr Posted November 9, 2006 Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 I'm new here, and I'm all about ancient history. I got a question... What did the Romans wear in their sleep? Did they have sleepwear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germanicus Posted November 9, 2006 Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 Welcome kurtedwr. As to your question, I can't say I know. I suspect some wore sleepwear after a fashion. And many probably didn't. But then, considering many slept on hay and reeds, or matresses stuffed with the same, I'd imagine that they probably needed at least a tunic to avoid unpleasant scratching during the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_Warrior Posted November 9, 2006 Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 In the military they probably slept in their clothes (well, tunics). My completely uneducated guess would be that poorer individuals would sleep either in their clothes or in some sort of sleep-tunic for the reason Germanicus mentioned. The more well off who had better bedding may have slept in the nude (Romans definitely didn't have a huge problem with nudity!) or perhaps they just had better sleepwear. It would also depend alot on climate. I'm willing to bet that in the mountains, or in the colder regions, or in the winter, they were not sleeping nekkid. However, in the summer, in sweltering heat, with no air conditioning and very little wind, it's a very big possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted November 9, 2006 Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 I don't really have a description but a Latin word for night clothes was Vestimentum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted November 26, 2006 Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 I understand that sleeping naked was not unusual, at least in warmer times and climes. Common sense dictates that blankets and such were employed where necessary and poorer people simply slept in their clothes if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted November 26, 2006 Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 In "Daily Life in Ancient Rome" -reviewed here : http://www.unrv.com/book-review/daily-life.php There is a section suggesting the use of a tunic as the all purpose day and night attire of the ordinary plebian, its mentioned in the context of "so what did they have for breakfast or did they have a tough commute and have to get out of the house/apartment quickly?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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