Roman shoes and their social indications An important reality in Roman society and later post Roman societies is that people were obligated to wear what amounts to a uniform. If you were a humble freedman, what you could wear was limited by law. It didn’t matter whether you could afford it or not, you simply couldn’t wear the clothes of a cultural superior and if you were silly enough to wear it and you were caught, the consequences were dire. So, let’s have a look at just one aspect of Roman attire; shoes. Calceus /Calcei: a formal closed shoe only worn outside while formally dressed. Different types were worn by different people of different social standings. Calceus senatorius: were red and as the name implies were worn only by senators. Calicae equestres: the edict of Diocletian differentiated between these and the senatorial calceus, however I am unaware of a description of them. Calcei patricii: boots for Roman nobles which had closed uppers and a long tongue (as described in the Edict of Diocletian). They were bound to the leg with four thongs (corrigiae), two on each side attached between the sole and the uppers, front and back. The thongs tied around the upper ankle and the middle of the leg. Patricians wore the sole part in untanned leather and the four straps in black. Calcei muliebres are boots worn by women and made of thinner softer leather in a wide variety of colours. As you can see, calceus were worn by the upper classes. Caliga/Caligae: A type of Calcei, with a single piece upper and a separate inner and outer sole. Soldiers and laborers wore special stoutly made half boots called Caligae with heavily nailed soles, the uppers being made of a separate piece of leather thongs which left the toes free but bound the ankles and the foot in a web of leather. There seem to have been a variety of nail-patterns in the soles. Caligae muliebres: without hobnails and intended for women. Carbatina/Carbainae: a shoe very similar to the Caligae but without a sole or innersole. They were made from a single piece of leather. This general type of shoe was among the earliest of shoes among the Greeks, Romans and early Celtic peoples. It continued to be worn well into the Middle Ages into 1000 AD, and in certain areas was worn into the 20th century. Solea/Soleae: a simple sandal not unlike a pair of thongs. They were worn only indoors when worn with a tunic. It was considered the height of bad manners to wear them during meals. The host and guests would wear them to the dining table and when the men had reclined at table the slaves would remove them before the meal had started. The phrase soleas poscere (fetch my sandals) came to mean "I am preparing to leave." This is just brief glance at the footwear of the Romans. However it shines a light on a complicated stratified society and is unfortunately not as complete as we would like. Footwear in roman times is complicated and intended to satisfy by imperial edict the footwear of every class of citizen and non citizen alike. I need to acknowledge the work of Marc Carlson who I have borrowed much of this information from. Steve Close .