Ovid advises a lover to make himself agreeable by holding his mistress's Parasol:—
"Ipse tene distenta suis umbracula virgis"
Ov. Ars. Am., ii., 209.
[Footnote: "Yourself hold up the umbrella spread out by its rods">[
This shows that the Umbrella was of much the same construction as ours.
A very common use for it was in the theatre, whenever, from wind or other cause, the velarium or huge awning stretched over the building (always open to the air) could not be put up:—
"Accipe quæ nimios vincant umbracula soles,
Sit licet, et ventus, te tua vela tegont."
—Mart., lib. xiv., Ep. 28.
[Footnote: "Take this, which may shield you from the sun's excessive
rays. So may your own sail shield you, even should the breeze blow.">[
By tua vela is to be understood "your own Umbrella." And elsewhere the same writer gives the advice:—
"Ingrediare viam coelo licet usque sereno
Ad subitas nunquam scortea desit aquas."
—Man'., lib. xiv. Ep. 130.
[Footnote: "Though with a bright sky you begin your journey, let
this cloak ever be at hand in case of unexpected showers.">[
It will be noticed from the above extracts that the Umbrella does not appear to have been used among the Romans as a defence from rain; and this is curious enough, for we know that the theatres were protected by the velarium or awning, which was drawn across the arena whenever a sudden shower came on; strange that this self-evident application of the Umbrella should not have occurred to a nation generally so ingenious in the invention of every possible luxury. Possibly the expense bestowed in the decoration of the umbraculum was a reason for its not being applied to what we cannot but regard as its legitimate use.
After the founding of Constantinople, the custom of great people carrying an Umbrella seems to have arisen, but in Rome it appears only to have been used as a luxury, never as a mark of distinction, Pliny speaks of Umbrellas made of palm-leaves, but from other sources we may gather that the Romans—at all events in the days of the empire—lavished as much splendour on their Umbrella as on all the articles of their dress. Ovid (as above quoted) speaks of an Umbrella inwrought with gold, and Claudian in the same way has:—
"Neu defensura calorem
Aurea submoveant rapidos umbracula soles."
—Claud., lib. viii., De. iv. cons. Honorii, 1. 340.
[Footnote: "Nor to protect you from the heat, let the golden
umbrella ward off the keen sun's rays.">[