In Republican and Imperial Rome, the paludamentum () was a cloak or cape fastened at one shoulder, worn by military commanders (e.g., the legatus) and rather less often by their troops. As supreme commander of the whole Roman army, Roman emperors were often portrayed wearing it in their statues and on their coinage. After the reign of Augustus, the paludamentum was restricted to the Emperor.Hertha Sauer, "Paludamentum", Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft 18.3, (1949). Children would also wear it sometimes, when there was bad weather and they needed protection.
The paludamentum was generally crimson, scarlet, or purple in colour,Historical accounts of colors and dyes, and their usage by different military ranks, vary. See: or sometimes white.(1919.) "The Encyclopedia Americana". Encyclopedia Americana Corporation, page 220. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. It was fastened at the shoulder with a clasp, called a fibula, whose form and size varied through time. Putting on the paludamentum was a ceremonial act on setting out for war.Roman Tribune: "." Retrieved on August 16, 2010
Etymology
According to Varro in De lingua latina L VII,37:
Notes