Roman Lifestyle . What People Wore

       
Women wore sleeveless tunics made from linen or cotton ,or if they were very rich silk.They wore coloured shawls over their tunics and as much jewellery as they could afford.

       
Men wore togas - loose robes made from the best wool if they were rich or from coarse cloth if they were poor.Togas could be any colour but officials usually wore white togas decorated with a coloured stripe to show that the wearer was an important person.

Roman School

Only the children of rich parents went to school,starting at about the age of seven. They left primary school at the age of twelve.Boys went on to secondary school but girls,who were allowed to marry at the age of twelve,usually stopped going to school or had a home .
Lessons  were  dull  with lots  of  copying and learning by  heart. Schoolmasters  were  very strict and some beat  their  pupils. 
Math was  taught with an abacus. Pupils wrote on wooden boards spread with wax. They wrote in the wax with the point of a bronze or wooden stilus and rubbed  out  mitakes with the  flattened end. The wax  was  smoothed and  used  many times.  

       The school began at dawn and lasted about six houres, with a mid-day break for the pupils to eat their picnic lunch. As the Romans had no weekends,the pupils had to work for seven days before they had a day off for market day.

       School were very small,just one teacher with a class of ten pupils.Young children learned reading,writing and maths. Older children learned grammar, history, geography and how to speak well in public.

ST GEORGE

ST GEORGE - PATRON SAINT

OF ENGLAND
ST GEORGES DAY - APRIL 23RD
      Every nation has its own ‘Patron Saint’ who in times of great peril is called upon to help save the country from its enemies. St George being the patron saint of England.
Very little is known about St. George’s life, but it is thought he was a high ranking officer in the Roman army who was killed in around AD 303.
      It seems that the Emperor Diocletian had St. George tortured to make him deny his faith in Christ. However despite some of the most terrible torture even for that time, St George showed incredible courage and faith and was finally beheaded near Lydda in Palestine. His head was later taken to Rome where it was interred in the church dedicated to him.

       King Edward III made him the Patron Saint of England when he formed the Order of the Garter in St. George's name in 1350, and the cult of the Saint was further advanced by King Henry V, at the battle of Agincourt in northern France.
       King Henry himself, who was both warlike and devout, was thought by his followers to possess many of the saint’s characteristics.
       St. George’s Day is still celebrated, and his flag flown, on his feast day, April 23rd all over  England.

The Romans legacy
     It is important to remember  that the Romans brought many good things to Britain. They improved trade and the quality of life for many  Britons.
      Roman towns showed the Britons that life could be comfortable and pleasant.
     Roman laws meant  that arguments could be settled peacefully. Some of our  modern laws are based on Roman laws.
      The Romans brought milestones to Britain. This drawing shows a stone milestone from Hadrian’s reign. Originally it would have stood 2-3 metres high. The letters ‘MPIIII’ mean ‘four miles from...’
Other things the Romans brought  to Britain

 Lead pipes  

Roof tiles 

Cats        

Wigs       

False teeth 

Cabbages

Carrots 

Peas

Cherries 
 

Plums 

Roses 

Pansies 

Poppies 

Stinging nettles



 

Many  of our words are based on Latin  words. The Romans gave us the names of all our months.
JANUARY    named after the Roman god JANUS. He could look both ways at once because he had two faces, and was the god of gateways
FEBRUARY  named after the Roman festival of FEBRUA
MARCH  named after MARS, the Roman war god
APRIL  from the Latin word APERIRE  meaning ‘to open’ – because of the unfolding of buds and blossom in spring
MAY  named after MAIA, the Roman mother goddess
JUNE  named after JUNO, wife of Jupiter, King of the Roman gods
JULY named after  JULIUS Caesar, who decided that the year should begin in January. Until  then it had begun in March.
AUGUST  named after the Roman Emperor AUGUSTUS
SEPTEMBER  from the Latin word SEPTEM, meaning ‘seven’. It was originally the seventh month of the year
OCTOBER  from the Latin word OCTO, meaning ‘eight’. It was originally the seventh month of the year
NOVEMBER  from the Latin word NOVEM, meaning ‘nine’. It was originally the ninth month of the year
DECEMBER  from the Latin word DECEM, meaning ‘ten’. It was originally the tenth month of the year