Red mantles in Asterix albums
People of importance wear a red mantle in the Asterix albums. The most notable three are of course chief Vitalstatistix, druid Getafix and bard Cacofonix. Why Vitalstatistix wears a red mantle is obivous, and why Getafix gets to wear a red mantle doesn’t surprise us either. The story behind why Cacofonix gets to wear a red mantle is a bit more complicated.
Assurancetourix

Cacofonix’ French name is Assurancetourix, which comes from “assurance tous risques” or “comprehensive insurance“. He is the last insurance policy for the village if the magic potion fails. He has also been named the secret weapon by fans. We have of course seen him in action in Asterix and the Magic Carpet and Asterix and the Secret Weapon, not to mention the movie adaption of Asterix and the Mansions of the Gods. In the older albums the mantle of Cacofonix is sometimes white and sometimes blue.
Vitalstatistix

The fearsome chief of the Gauls can be spotted wearing a different color mantle in older albums. On the introduction page he can be seen wearing a blue mantle. In Asterix and the Golden Sickle in one panel he doesn’t seem to wear his mantle at all, while in another panel he wears a mantle that is white on the inside and blue on the outside. In that same album Cacofonix wears a white mantle. This was fixed in later editions of the albums.
Other chiefs

Chief Whosemoralsareelastix in Asterix and the Chauldron is a Gaulish chief who is seen wearing a pink mantle instead of a read one. I think this signifies that he isn’t quite the leader he should be. On the other hand in Asterix and the Big Fight we see that chief Cassius Ceramix does wear a red cape, but we do have doubt about his Gaulishness.
In Asterix and the great Divide both chief Cleverdix and Chief Majestix wear red mantles. As does Cleverdix’s son, Histrionix. Another noteworthy wearer of a red cape is Tragicomix, the fiancé of Panacea, in Asterix the Legionary and Asterix and the Actress. I am not sure what his status is, but he must be a man of some importance.
When the villagers start making money in Obelix and Co. they start wearing mantles, but none of them dare to wear a red one.
Chiefs abroad
The chiefs in Britain and Belgium seem to follow the Gaulish dresscode. They all wear red mantles as well. Chiefs from other cultures we meet seem to have their own dresscode, most of them don’t seem to wear mantles at all. Norman chiefs seem to prefer light blue mantles.
Wannabe chief
Codfix in Asterix and the Great Divide is obviously a wannabe chief. The inside of his mantle is red, but the outside reveals how dark his plans are.
Druids

That not every druid is as important in his village as Getafix is, might be evident from the many different colors of mantles we see them wearing in Asterix and the Goths. In the album we spot them wearing blue, green and yellow mantles. On the other hand, in Asterix and the Black Gold the druid turned spy, Dubbelosix, does wear a red mantle.
Roman mantles
On the Roman side we see Caesar wears red mantles as do the centurions and other generals. Some higher ups in the Roman army are seen wearing blue mantles. Dubius Status in Asterix the Legionary is an instructor, Crustacius in Asterix and Obelix all at Sea is an admiral and Nautilus a vice-admiral are all seen wearing blue mantles instead of red. Back in the 80s the Playcould series had two boxes with centurions. Platypus wore a blue mantle and Nefarious Purpus wore a red mantle. Not sure why people with the same rank wore different uniforms.
Mantle gallery












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