tMMUr R e 1 0miW&S^&m B x ¿Höö I öVotf M MONASTIC AND ECCLESIASTICAL. COSTUME. BY SIR GEORGE F. DUCKETT, BART.,' F.S.A. Reprinted from Vol. XXXVIII. of the Sussex Archceological Society's Collections. - FAR COMBE 4 CO., LEWES. EREATA. Page 3, lines 12, 11, 10 from bottom, for 638; dea Posses; Paris ; read 543 ; sur-Loire; Angers. 4 Oegcfejill BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. BY S I R G E O R G E D U O K E T T , BART., K N I G H T OP THE O R D E R OF M E R I T OF SAXE COBURG-Q-OTHA ; O F F I C E R OF P U B L I C INSTRUCTION IN F R A N C E ; AND CORRESPONDING M E M B E R OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF NORMANDY. IT is scarcely supposable, with the mass of monastic and ecclesiastical literature dispersed throughout our great libraries, that any very material, or even additional information can be imparted on the subject of church-robes or the clothing of monks, beyond what may be found among the authorities and evidences of different public collections. But the highest authorities are not always at hand, so that in addition to pointing out those sources1 chiefly tending to elucidate the question of such vestments, we will draw up a few brief notices for the benefit of those of the Sussex Archaeological Society who may not happen to be familiar with the topic. Much has been said of late in certain quarters on conventual and ecclesiastical dress, and as the matter has not to our knowledge been hitherto canvassed in the pages of these Collections, that fact alone would make it desirable to refer to it. It would be, as a rule, a very grave error to associate too closely the monastic and ecclesiastical dress of former days ; a wide distinction must be drawn between them. The dress of the cloister and that of the choir are not i Some of -the chief authorities are the following :—Mabillon, " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti;" "Bibliotheca Cluniacensis;" Quicherat, "Histoire du Costume en France;" "Specimen Monacholigise;" Maillot, "Costume des Français;" " Stevens's Dugdale's Monasticon ; " Strutt, " Dresses of the People of England ; " Fosbroke, "British Monachism;" Fosbroke, "Encyclopedia of Antiquities;" " Catholic Dictionary " (Addis and Arnold). 2 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC to be indiscriminately mixed up together. The last has been handed down unchanged almost to the present day. The vestments of the priest officiating at the altar are the same in number, more or less so in form and shape, and quite so in name with the robes ordained in the twelfth century, to be reserved for the clergy and the celebration of mass. There can be no danger of incor-rect denomination in respect of them. Very different, however, appears to be the correct appellation of the several parts of the monastic habit. It is not that modifications of succeeding ages contributed thereto, but the nomenclature in respect of many articles of monastic dress amounts to a misnomer, and is highly perplexing where great exactness is essential. To quote a few instances only—the cowl is simply prima facie the "hood" or head-covering attached to the monk's cloak; but it is equally the appellation of a gown with large loose sleeves, and reaching to the ground, with the same hood attached to it. What can be more contradictory? Then, again, the word tunic is equally misleading. As an under-garment worn next the skin, to which it is applied in monkish dress, it is equivalent to a narrow linen or woollen shirt; but it is also under the same name applied to a long cloth garment worn over such shirt or under-garment, and tied with a thong; in fact, the term occurs so much in monastic costume as an inner article of dress, and in such different shapes and material, that it is difficult to determine precisely in conventual dress what was or what was not a tunic. As a vestment of the priest it is like the dalmatic, but worn under that garment, and here the name is equally, if not more, misleading and ambiguous. As a part of military dress it was worn in the origin under the armour, but in respect of the subject under notice, the word tunic of itself appears to have no limited meaning. We point to these among other anomalies, because they are produc-tive of ambiguity and inexactness. The church-robes appear, from Du Cange, to have been deposited and kept in the sacristy (secretarium), and there the priest vested before saying mass. The AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 3 vestments of the monks were probably kept elsewhere, and nearer to their dormitory. The great order of St. Benedict, which for upwards of fourteen hundred years bears the name of its saintly founder, was notably that from which most of the religious orders in Europe sprang. It may, therefore, be regarded as the prototype of all monachism in the West, in the same way that St. Anthony had equally so been two centuries before that time, for the monachism and religious life in the East. The first and most important branch of the Benedictine order for that reason, if for no other, was the congrega-tion of Cluny, founded in 902; following which, after the lapse of nearly a century, came that of Citeaux, founded in 1098 by St. Robert of Molesme. These com-munities followed in the main the rule of St. Benedict, though the last of the two did so with greater denial and austerity, and though custom and time have allowed them to be styled different "orders," they were religious associations in both cases, following and bound by the same rule, modified as respects the last in the way observed. The like may be said of orders, concurring also in the main in the rule of St. Benedict, but in some cases with more rigorous austerity, such as the order of Chartreuse. The first Benedictine monastery was founded in France in 638, during the lifetime of St. Benedict, viz., that of St. Maur (St. Maur des Fosses), in the diocese of Paris; and about 782 St. Benedict of Anian established the Benedictine monastery of Saint Sauveur (d'Aniane) in the diocese of Montpellier, the Emperor Charlemagne taking it under his special protection. First, as to the colour of conventual costume, for the vestments of the different orders differed in colour, and in many respects in shape also. Black, grey, and white were the colours of the prin-cipal orders. The first was the adopted colour of the Benedictines, and thus "the black Benedictine habit" and the " black cowl of St. Benedict," are familiar and proverbial expressions. White was the colour of the 4 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC Carthusians, the Premonstratensians, and of the Augus-tinians.- The second order was known as "the White Canons." The Cistercians, having at first adopted woollen garments in their natural or undyed colour, employed the resulting one of white or grey, according to the wool or fleece, but in process of time they chose white as the sole colour for the dress of their professed monks, whilst grey was then alone confined to the novices. Hence this last order was known as the "White Monks" [les moines Manes'], in the same way that the term "White Friars" was par excellence applied to the mendicant order of Carmelites; whilst the Bene-dictines were designated " Black Monks" [les moines noirsl, as in like manner the Dominicans, another mendicant order, were known as the "Black Friars." 2 These fundamental colours of the chief orders did not prevent the assumption of even green and dark blue3 by the monks of some other congregations. Next to colour we come to the several parts of the monastic costume, and these must be taken (in respect of their denomination) with some degree of latitude. Neither in mediaeval Latin, nor among French or English writers, is there that precise and definite form in their nomenclature which ought to exist, the same term often doing duty for three or more separate articles of dress. According to Quicherat,4 the first article of the Bene-dictine monk's dress was a long narrow linen tunic, with sleeves, worn next the skin; but according to the climate, when colder, was then worn under an upper garment of the same cut, but without sleeves, an upper tunic of wool (or even of far), for the material varied at the discretion of the abbot, according to the climate and time of year. The former was la gonne or etamine of the French monks ; and the latter le pelison. After this came the scapular, an upper-garment worn always by the monk when at work [scapulaire, lat. scapulare, a The term "friar" was applied to the mendicant orders of the thirteenth century, viz., the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites, and the Augus-tinians. » Quicherat, p. 168. 4 Quicherat, p. 168. AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 5 scapularium]. This garment was a sleeveless tunic, fitting somewhat close to the body; it had arm-holes at the sides, and covered the shoulders down to the knees. The so-called scapular of the church is different. Over this came the cowl [cuculle, coule, goule; lat. cucullus],5 a gown with large loose sleeves, nearly synonymous with the froc of the French monk, but whereas the cowl and the frock were often confounded, there is an ambiguity about this article of dress, especially as to being with or without sleeves. The cowl was the. special and characteristic garment of the professed monk, whereas the lay brothers, to whom it was not allowed, wore a scapular somewhat larger and fuller than ordinary. The last, or uppermost garment [qui tos les autres garde] was the mantle or cloak [chape; lat. chapaj. Such was apparently the Benedictine dress, and will be found to coincide with the extracts from Mabillon's Benedictine Annals. The Cluniac monk added to these articles of clothing, breeches, socks, and boots, but these names are to be taken as modifications of the sort now in use. The Cluniac rule specifies also shoes tied with thongs, and gives the monk a head covering, or cap, and gloves when journeying or going far beyond the convent's precincts. The Benedictine nuns had similar habits, but pilches, veils, and wimples were of course their special attributes. The wimple or wimpel \_guimpe; lat. wimpla] took its origin from the scapular, and was a habit coming close up to the chin, neck, and sides of the face, and covering the bosom. The pilch (i.e., petticoat), one of the two robes talaires, which she wore down to the heels, is said to be derived from pellicium, a garment of lamb-skins. Except in some few orders, the nun's habit was more or less the same. In the earliest ages the nun was allowed to retain her hair; she was not, however, allowed to plait it or to 5 The distinction, according to Du Cange, between the cowl [cucullus, coule] and the frock [floccum, froc] consisted in the former being a ' ' habit long and full, without sleeves," whereas the frock [froc, floccum] was the same, but "withlong and wide sleeves." 6 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC braid it in any way, or even to let it show. Afterwards the Cistercian rule obliged the nun to deprive herself entirely of this female ornament, and by degrees the loss of her hair, or entire tonsure of the head,6 became an essential requirement of the professed nun of all the orders.7 The twelfth century, with its changes and innova-tions in every direction, tended to alter somewhat the uniformity of monastic dress, and this departure from the rule originated with the monks of Cluny, for whom, after a lapse of time, no material or stuff was too fine, and whose monastic vows of austerity and denial agreed very little with their adopted precautions both against the rain and the cold. Their rivals regarded them on that account as effeminate and voluptuous Sybarites, and notably the Cistercians were foremost in that respect. This congregation had seceded from that of Cluny, and the principal feature in their rule was greater rigour, denial, and austerity. Its founder proscribed the use of many of the Cluniac vestments. The inner tunic next the skin was no longer of linen, but of coarse cloth. The legs of its monks were also left bare, with the exception of socks and open shoes. The rules of comparative cleanliness, however, observed by the Cluniac monk, was totally disregarded by the Cistercian, and banished entirely from the statutes of Citeaux. It is affirmed that a pious chevalier, for whom this congregation had peculiar attractions, for a long time hesitated before making up his mind to embrace the order, on account of the vermin forming an integral feature in its dress. It is supposed that he eventually overcame these scruples, took the leap, and assumed its habit,8 becoming a comparatively happy mortal notwith-standing. During the time of Peter the Venerable, in the twelfth century, the Benedictine dress underwent modification, and his statutes on that head (given further on), show the changes then made from the primitive rule; after 6 Quicherat, p. 170. » Quicherat, p. 170. 8 Quicherat, p. 169. AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 7 which time no farther innovation seems to stand on record, though doubtless others may have occurred (especially in the last days of the order). These remarks are substantiated by the ensuing quoted extracts, and it may be well to commence with the earliest records in elucidation of the subject. The first quotation is taken from Mabillon in his "Annals of the order of St. Benedict," and refers to the dress of the Benedictines from the sixth to the eighth centuries. Vestes, tunica et cuculla duplex cum cingulo; scapu-lare loco cucullse ad laborem manuum, quod tunicam a sordibus protegeret, ad genua usque protensum, et ligaculis constrictum ad utrumque latus; minor cuculla, nonnunquam dictum. Cuculla et scapulare, passim ex nigro ; tunica seu toga ex albo (quanquam de colore non admodum curabat sanctus Legislator) utraque duplex, tum ad lavandum, tum ad decumbendum; nam absque tunica et cuculla jacere in lecto religio erat. Tunica ad cutem tum demum nigra fieri csepit, postquam interulse lanese in usu esse coeperunt, tametsi serius. Siquidem albus tunicarum color diu perseveravit post concessas interulas stamineas, quarum usus jam sceculo octayo inyaluerat. ["Annales ordinis S. Benedictini," by Mabillon and Martene I., p. 57 (1703-1739, 6 Vol. fo.).J In the second volume of Mabillon's same Benedictine Annals, we have the monastic dress of the order in the tenth and eleventh centuries, viz., that of the monks of Fulda (in the Electorate of Hesse-Cassel), the cele-brated foundation of St. Boniface in the eighth century (A.D. 744).9 Qualis fuerit per ilia tempora (viz., of Charlemagne), nostrorum habitus tum apud Casinates, tum apud Gallos et Grermanos, etsi ad mores non omnino pertinet, haud tarnen ab re est investigare. Casinatium formam habitus 9 This renowned abbey, one of the chief seats of learning towards the end of the eighth century, numbered among its abbots the celebrated Raban-Maur, the first theologian of that day. He was archbishop of Mayence, and of such erudite reputation that in Germany and elsewhere, when anyone at that period and afterwards was extolled for his knowledge, he was styled " as learned as Raban," "doctus ut Rabanus." 8 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC in primo Annalium tomo exhibuimus, sed posteriorum temporum, id est soeculi undecimi (S. Engraving by Mont-faucon). Propius ad prima ilia tempora accedit yestium monasticarum descriptio, quam refert Theodemarus in epistola ad Carolum Magnum. Earum formam imitati sunt Fuldenses, qui Sturmium abbatem in Italiam misere ad rimandos Casinatium, aliorumque ejusdem regionis monachorum ritus et habitus, quos semulari cupiebant. Atqui Candidus, Fuldensis primorum illorum temporum monachus, Fuldensium priscum ilium habitum in quodam membraneo codice adumbravit, sub duplici forma priori quidem in habitu ad laborem composito, scilicet cum toga et parva cuculia seu scapulari, ubi Candidus ipse et Modestus dissertantium inter se ritu componuntur : posteriori vero cum habitu solemni seu chorali, cum ampia, scilicet cuculia, quali induti reprsesentantur Ful-denses monachi, qui ad Ludovicum Pium imperatorem impetrando novo post abjectum Ratgarium, abbati destinati sunt. Utriusque habitum ex Broweri antiqui-tatibus Fuldensibus hic proferre juvat. Paullo diversus, nec omnino uniformis erat Gallicanorum monachorum habitus ; nam parva eorum cuculia, non consuta sub brachiis, ut Fuldensium, sed vittis subligata erat, qualem tomo I exhibuimus; et major cuculia absque manicis, vittis similiter redimita, usque ad talos defluebat, saltem apud Faronianos nostros, ut in Otgerii et Benedicti imaginibus hic expressis observare licet. Non dubito quin idem quoque fuerit habitus Meldicensis pagi monachorum, quod ex icone S. Agili Resbacensis abbatis intelligitur. Quod spectat ad Anglicanos monachos, eorum quidem habitus formam in Monastico anglicano habemus, sed recentiorem de Hispanicis illorum tem-porum, nihildum comperti habemus. Ad colorem quod attinet, antiquitus albi coloris erat toga talaris, parva et ampia cuculia subnigri. [ " Annales Benedictini," II., Preface, SV.] In the fourth volume of Mabillon's "Annals" we are furnished with further particulars of the Benedictine (or Cluniac) costume in the eleventh century, or that preceding the century (the twelfth), in which the greatest AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 9 changes and innovations took place in dress. The monks of Farfa (in the States of the Church),10 having adopted in the beginning of the eleventh century the Cluniac rule, what now follows is essentially descriptive of the Benedictine habit at the same date. De vestimentorum mensura apud Farfenses. Vestimenta fratrum mittit sanctus Benedictinus in prudentia abbatis, ut sint mensurata. Qualis autem sit ilia mensura secundum patrum diffinitionem, quantum possumus, indagamus. Cuculia, quae nostro singulariter convenit ordini, quod vestimentum antiquitus vocabatur colobrium, id est, tunica sine manicis, tantum debet habere latitudinis, ut ambobus convenienter aptetur cubitis; longitudinis vero tantum antea quod ad collum pedis usque pertingat et sit apta corpori, ut sit ex omni parte rotunda. Capellum ipsius praeter limbum integrum, virilis pedis ex omni parte quadratam debet continere mensuram. Apertura superior habeat cubitum usque ad pollicis summum; inferior cubitum integrum et trium digitorum in ante appareat latitudo cucullse capitio. Similiter autem subtus circa pedes, tunica debet esse rotunda qualitate mensurata ; sagittas vero vel gerones tantum habeat, ut iter gradientes vel superfluitate vel parcitate non impediat, cujus manicse debent ex utraque parte ad secundos digitorum nodos usque pertingere. Staminea talem debet mensuram habere, ut possit collum pedis cincta pertingere, similiter autem, sicut cucullse, subtus apertura cubito terminetur. Capitium habeat pedem integrum, similiter et manica parte latiori ; contra manum vero, quo manere solet, angustior, e radice pollicis usque terminum indicis extendatur. Corrigia qua cingitur staminea, postquam fuerit bene extenta, latitudinem in se pollicis habeat. Cultellum, inter ferrum et manubrium, trium adjecta latitudine digitorum habeat pedem dimidium. Femoralia, quae S. Benedictus 1 0 This celebrated abbey of the order of St. Benedict was founded in the sixth century by St. Laurent, surnamed the " Illuminator," Bishop of Spoleto, in the neighbourhood of that place. It is said to have, been destroyed by the Lombardi, and was re-established by St. Thomas towards the end of the same or beginning of the next century. 10 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC concessit iter agentibus, quantum temporis incertum est quo vel quali tempore foris mittantur, omnibus conce-duntur, taliter mensurentur, ut in longitudine corporis possint convenienter aptari : latitudine vero pars utraque, sicut esse solet dupla, Gubitum usque ad pollicem habeat jam consuta. At vero caligai pedem integrum superius habeant jam consutse, quae fiant etiam longse, ut secundum staturam hominis, quod in omnibus procurandum est vesti-mentis, cruribus convenienter aptentur, quae de summo usque ad pedem taliter constringantur, ut cum superius pedem habent integrum, inferius dimidium. Cesta caligse cum fuerit assuta, debet esse tarn longa, quo possit intra pugnum fieri constricta calceo altitudine praeter limbum qui assuitur, altitudine habeat pedem dimidium ; anteriori vero parte latitudine digitorum nodos. Pedules similiter mensurati, ut possint pedibus sufficienter aptari. The order of Cluny having been founded prior to the above date, the dress recorded in the foregoing was that of the community of those centuries. [ " Annales Benedictini," Vol. IV., pp. 701-702.] The reformed order of Cluny, under its ninth Abbot, Peter the Venerable,11 ushered in some modifications in the monastic dress of Benedictine monks. He drew up a new or reformed code, and his statutes on the subject of dress have reference, therefore, to the twelfth century. His reformed rule is given in the Bibliotheca Cluniacensis (Martin Marrier and André Duchesne, Paris, 1614), and commences at column 1353 of that volume. At column 1359 (Art. XVI.), is the following :— [Sancti Petri Mauricii, dicti Venerabilis, abbatis Clu-niacensis IX., statuta congregationis Cluniacensis.] Statutum est, ut nullus fratrum nostorum pannis, qui dicuntur galabruni,12 vel isembruni vestiatur, nec iis qui vocantur scalfarii, vel frisii,13 exceptis Anglis vel Anglise aifinibus monachis, neque illis qui appellantur agnelini,14 1 1 Pierre de Monboissier, surnamed the Venerable, was abbot of Cluny between 1122 and 1156. 1 2 Sort of cloth called galebrun in old French ; approaching to linsey-woolsey. 1 8 Possibly coarse woollen cloth'with a " nap" on one side ; sort of frieze. M Of lambs' wool. AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 11 exceptis Theutonicis, et iis adjacentibus monachis : hac tamen conditione, si magis religioni congruentes nigri colons vestes in regionibus suis inyenire non potuerint. Causa instituti hujus fuit supra quam dicere velim, sicut et ipse vidi; talium vestium notabiliter inhonesta, et turpis curiositas, qua olim multi nostrorum, non aliter quam seculares homines, sericis variis vel grisiis vestium generibus se comebant : et electo ad intimam cordis humilitatem designandam, humiliore cunctis coloribus nigro colore, ipsa repugnante natura ornare se, velut sponsi procedentes de thalamo, summo studio contende-bant. Versa res jam erat in habitum, nec in iis delinquere se, csecati usu longissimo, sentiebant. XVII. Statutum est, ut nullus fratrum Cluniacensium, cat-tinis,15 sive aliis, quibus usi solebant, peregrinis pellibus induatur, nec prorsus quibuslibet, exceptis arietinis, sive agninis atque caprinis pellibus,16 et ad cooperioria facienda solummodo, sicut hoc magis placuerit, puto-siorum (pole-cats), et juxta aliorum linguam, vesonum Qfoumarts] pellibus. Causa instituti hujus fuit, multa, ut supra de pannis dictum est, cattinarum, sive aliarum pellium, notabilis et damnabilis curiositas, quae in tantum, ut ipse novi, pro-cesserai, ut Gallicanorum cattorum pellibus contemptis, ad Iberorum vel Italorum cattos, religiosorum hominum curiositas transmigraret. Nil se habere non parva piorum, eisque adhserentium multitudo putabat, nisi ex pilosis illis et condensis, Numantinorum, hoc est juxta modernos, Amorensium cattorum pellibus contexto multi pretii coopertorio, lectus et muniretur pariter et orna-retur. Quod malum paulatim succrescens, ad hoc jam pervenerat, ut fere centum solidis empta coopertoria ; addito quoque vestium non mediocri pretio, ditiores domos congesto multo alieni seris debito, non parum gravarent, pauperiores pene omnino pessumdarent. 1 6 Cat-skin fur. 1 6 G-oat skins. 12 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC XVIII. Statutum est, ut nullus scarlatas aut barracanos yel pretiosos burellos,17 qui Ratisponi, hoc est apud Raines-bors [_Ratishon or Regensburg~\ fiunt, sive picta quolibet modo stamina habeat, sed solummodo18 cilìcìum (Col. 1360), superjectis tantum duobus mediocris pretii pannis, qui albi et nigri, et ex utroque mixti coloris sint; et qui non duplices aut quadruplices, seu multiplices, ut a quibusdam fieri solet, sed simplices fratribus supponantur. Causa instituti hujus fuit, ut in aliis vestium generibus, damnata curiositas etiam a lectis moiiachorum remove-retur, maxime cum ante tempora S. Hugonis, non nisi cilicio superposito, tantum uno et simplici panno aliquis uteretur. . . . XXVIII. (Col. 1362). Statutum est, ne calciarios cum corrigiis, quia inutiliter laboriosum erat, sabbatho abluant. Causa instituti hujus, quia olim ubicumque necessitas occurrebat sub divo operantes, et pluviis et lutosis diebus, monachi calciarios suos, ipsa operis necessitate cogente, luto plerumque infectos, ad claustrum revertentes, lavabant. Inde super-stitio descendens, cum illi hoc ex necessitate facerent, et illos qui per annum et biennium de claustro nusquam procedentes, sua et mundissima et nova calciamenta lavare quidem, quia necessarium non erat, non compelle-bat, sed duorum tantum digitorum extremis summitatibus duabus aut tribus, aquae guttulis infundere imperabat. XXIX. Statutum est, ut fratres equitantes froccum, simul et cappam, ferre non compellantur, sed aut frocco simplici, aut cappa tantummodo, si yoluerint, induti iter faciant. (Col. 1363.) Causa instituti hujus fuit, vestium ipsarum munditia, ne, ut fieri solebat, fratrum claustra ingre- 1 7 Coarse woollen stufE of greyish red or russet colour, known as bure, bureau in France. 1 8 Penitentiary hair-shirt, worn next the skin, with a view to mortify the carnal affections and worldly desires ! AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 13 dientium frocci et tunicse luto, pluviis yel lutosis diebus contracto, infecti ac sordidi apparerent ; et insuper labor itineris allevaretur, et antiquus de hac re utiliter institutus, modus reformaretur. XXX. Statutum est, ut morem veterem, quo sine involucris crurum leuga plus una equitare prohibebatur, tènere, si yoluerint, non cogantur. Causa instituti hujus fuit, quia nulla ratio apparebat qua cogerentur absque necessitate, quibuslibet involucris crura involvere, et quod necessitatis tantum causa per-missum fuerat, sine ulla necessitate portare. . . . XXXVI. (Col. 1364). Statutum est, ut nullus etiam ex concessione futurus monachus, regularibus usque ad XX. annos vestibus induatur. Causa instituti hujus fuit, immatura nimisque celer infantium susceptis, qui antequam aliquid rationabilis intelligenti se habere possent, factae religionis vestibus induebantur, et admixti aliis puerilibus ineptiis omnes perturbabant ; et, ut qusedam taceam, et multa breviter colligam, et sibi nihil pene proderant, et aliorum religio-sum propositum non parum, immo quandoque plurimum, impediebant. Such was the dress ordained by Peter the Venerable, and it may be taken as the latest record on the subject of Benedictine costume. The vestments of monks of whatever order were few, and resolve themselves into the following:—The "mantle," or "cloak" [chape, lat. chapa] ; the "cowl," in the sense of gown with hood attached [coule (cuculle, goule) ; lat. cucullus] ; but in the sense of the hood only [capuchon];ia the "scapular" [scapulaire; lat. scapularej; the " tunic" (next the skin, whether of linen or of wool) [gonne or étamine] ; the same under the name of the 1 9 The cowl is also clearly the superpelliceum or grand capuchon of the monks of some orders, reaching to the ground (Du Cange). 14 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC | stamin" (or woollen tunic next the skin) [ol. estamine; lat. staminea]; the "frock" [froc; lat. floccum], sometimes confounded with the cowl (See Du Cange "cucullus"); " breeches," " filibeg," " drawers " [braies, caleçons ; femoralia, infirmitates] ; socks, sometimes with leathern feet [chaussons ; lat. talaria] ; stockings [bas ; lat. pedules; tibialia] ; leathern boot-stockings ; sort of gaiter [trébus ; trabuques; lat. tibrucus; tubrucus, tibracaj; boots; buskins [brodequin ; bottes ; house ; ossa ; housellusj. As regards ecclesiastical dress, the rules established in respect of the robes of priests officiating at the altar, were laid down in the very same (the twelfth) century. The different vestments or robes were fixed at the same number, and have undergone no material change to the present day. They are sufficiently numerous, and have, in many cases, an allegorical meaning. The alb [aube; lat. alba].—White linen vestment, worn over an under-garment ; used by the priest in saying mass, hence " albas gerere," or " esse in albis," is said of priests so officiating. Sometimes we find it embroidered in colour [aube brodée ; lat. alba parata]. This vestment is tantamount to the surplice. The amice [amict, m. ; lat. amictus ; superhumerale]. —The oblong piece of fine linen which the priest who is to say mass rests for a moment on his head, and then lets fall over the shoulders; typical of the "helmet of salvation." The stole [étole ; lat. stola; orarium].—Narrow vest-ment worn round the neck, of the same material as the chasuble. This vestment is said to be symbolical of " the yoke of Christ." The maniple [manipille, m. ; lat. manipula ; fano].— Of the same colour and stuff as the chasuble; its use is restricted to sub-deacons in the Roman Catholic church.20 The chasuble21 [chasuble, f. ; casula, psenula, planeta]. —This is the chief vestment worn by the priest who celebrates mass, being a large round mantle, covering 2 0 That of Thomas à Becket is still in the cathedral of Sens. The chasuble of Thomas à Becket was of green silk, and the original is still preserved in the cathedral of Sens (Quicherat, p. 171). AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 15 the celebrant on both sides down to the knees, and worn oyer the other yestments. It is said to be emblematic of " charity." In form it resembles a hollow truncated cone. A specimen of this vestment in green silk exists still, and is preserved in the cathedral of Sens, belonging once to Thomas á Becket. (Quicherat, p. 172.) The pallium (or pall) [ pallium; lat. pallium].— A band or collar of white lamb's wool encircling the shoulders, with two pendent ends falling down the back and front, ornamented with red crosses. It is conferred by the Pope on all patriarchs and archbishops as a symbol of their ecclesiastical power.22 This ornament is worn over the chasuble. The dalmatic [dalmatique; lat. dalmatica].—An epis-copal vestment, and especially of the deacon; open on each side, with wide sleeves. The rochet.—Linen garment, resembling a surplice, but different in length, with tight sleeves; proper to bishops [rochet; rochette; sarrau ; lat. rochetum]. The cope, is both a monastic and an ecclesiastical vestment, but not used in the celebration of mass [chape; cape; manteau á capuchón ; lat. capa]; (capa pluvialis, etc.) The surplice [surplis; lat. superpellicium] was both a monastic and a sacerdotal vestment. The biretta [barrette; béret; lat. barretum, baretta, birettum].—The sacerdotal cap of priests. To these may be added, the "mitre" and the "pastoral staff" [crosse] or crozier of bishops, the indispensable adjuncts of the episcopal costume. The parts of the mitre [mitre, f.; mitra] were the two " horns," indicating the " two testaments." The two plates formed to a point are in French named les pans de la mitre; lat. cornua. Pendent from the mitre are the "strings" \_fanons; lat. pendilia, fasciae], symbolic of " the spirit and the letter" The mitre of the twelfth century is characterized by the comparative lowness of 2 2 The pall is a charge in the armorial bearings of the sees of Canterbury, Armagh, and Dublin. 16 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC the horns. That of Thomas k Becket is still preserved in the cathedral of Sens. The " crozier," or pastoral staff of bishops [crosse, f.; baculus pastoralis, pedum, cambuta],—Symbolic of the authority with which they rule their flocks. The other objects of episcopal costume or dress, are the gloves, sandals,28 and ring [sandalia episcopi], [gants, the "stockings"] [caligse, tibialia]. The origin of the bishop's gloves, as part of his liturgical dress, has direct connection with the feudal system. When ecclesiastical benefices were conferred by a sovereign or reigning prince, the custom was to invest the recipient or give him possession by a pair of gloves. The practice dates from the eleventh century, and many examples are still extant, discovered in the coffins of bishops and mitred abbots.24 This symbolic allusion acquired thus a significance and importance, which the Church well knew how to turn to account. Another emblem of the episcopal dignity in the early days of the church, was the superhumeral [super-humerale], a large richly brocaded collar, of the nature of a pallium, or sort of ephod. Its use did not continue as an episcopal ornament. The amice is said to have replaced it. The foregoing observations may be supplemented by a few historical data, on the antiquity and origin of some portions of liturgical costume and monkish dress. It was under the first Merovingians in the fifth century in France, and about the era of our own Saxon Heptarchy, that we have the original traces of actual sacerdotal costume in the West. The clerical costume, properly so-called, dates to the fourth century, the only absolute requirement for the priesthood being that among 3 3 At p. 157 of " Quicherat's History of French Costume is given a representation of the sandals worn by bishops in the time of Louis le Gros. 2 1 Bishops as well as kings and abbots were at one period interred in their regal and ecclesiastical dress. Gervais, who assisted at the obsequies of Thomas a Becket, states how he took part in clothing that prelate with the very same robes which he wore during life in celebrating mass. It occurs constantly now in lifting the flooring or pavement of ancient churches, that some portion of episcopal costume or other ornament is thus brought to light (Quicherat, p. 176). AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 17 the existing robes of that era, the officiating clergy should invariably adopt the most ample and most flowing. It became in due course understood, in respect of their costume, that all dress, so long as it was white, long and flowing, and not that of common or every day usage, was admissible. To this ride exceptions are to be found, for during the whole time of his apostolate, St. Martin celebrated mass in black; and we find towards the middle of the fifth century, that the bishops of the Visigothic kingdom of Narbonne, officiated pontifically in dyed and embroidered robes.26 In the celebration of the mass, the first vestment adopted from the earliest times was the alb, named " linea," from its linen texture, and " alba" from its colour. Next came the orro or ovarium, which at a later period became the origin of the stole; indeed, in the ninth century, both were synonymous terms. An outer vestment, or large round mantle was worn over the alb, and this sacerdotal garment was first known under the names of "penula," " casula," and "planeta." It was so termed casula, because it encased the priest as it were like a house on all sides; and planeta, because, like a planet, it was never stationary or at rest, but waved and oscillated around his body. The term casula was the original derivation of our chasuble, the vestment in question. In the sixth century the so-called pallium (pall) was adopted, as a distinctive mark of metropolitan costume; and the dalmatic in the fourth and fifth century, was assigned as a chief vestment to deacons. The uppermost vestment, the cope (cappa), or la chape of the French, had its origin long before it came into general use in the seventh century, but not altogether as a sacer-dotal vestment. All ecclesiastics from the fifth century down, or from about 418-752 (the Merovingian period), had adopted the tonsure, the circle of hair round the head being kept as small as possible; and in this respect the secular clergy and monastic orders had no material difference. The 2 8 Quicherat, pp. 101-106. 18 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC clerical tonsure had become common and universal in the fifth and sixth centuries. The large communities of monks, dating as they did from the first centuries, followed more or less a code of their own, the rule of St. Basil being generally adopted; but in the sixth century the advent of St. Benedict changed entirely the character of monachism, and his rule (as we have already observed) was that of all the caenobitic life of the West for several succeeding centuries. After that time monachism became reduced to some degree of uniformity; each community had before that period followed its own course, both in dress and other observances. Of these primitive communities, the monks following the Egyptian rule, as were those of Marseilles, and those following the Greek rule of St. Basil, had many distinguishing features in their dress. The latter had adopted the " pallium," and this custom was taken cognizance of at the council of Orleans in 511, in the time of Clovis, King of the Franks. The institution of monks, or monasticism, goes back to the fourth century. Great abuses in dress, as well as in other parts of monastic life, found their way after a certain time into both the monastic and clerical calling, and a few obser-vations chiefly gleaned from Quicherat (at one time Director of the French Ecole des Chartes),26 will eluci-date the innovations of different periods down to the eighteenth century. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the statutes which regulated both the dress of the clergy and that of the monastery, were greatly infringed. The magnifi-cence of a dignitary of the church in the former century knew no bounds, and this departure from the relative simplicity of dress at the beginning, was very much to be traced to the then existing abuse, that many ecclesiastics united with their spiritual charge the civil and temporal functions of great impropriators and beneficiaries, and those who care to enter into the question of the church revenues of those days will find corroborative evidence of the fact. 2 6 " Histoire du Costume en France." AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 19 Many parts of the sacerdotal dress were uncere-moniously dealt with and altered at that period. The " alb" underwent a change in shape; and equally other vestments. It was towards the end of the fifteenth century that the " chasuble" assumed the form by which it is now known. The monastic institutions fell, about that time, into the same state of irresponsibility and laxity. The Benedictine (Cluniac) monks of the fifteenth century adopted all manner of innovations of dress, in total defiance of their rule; and the Cistercians, their rivals, who at one time set themselves up as a pattern of austerity and denial, became for that reason the most flagrant infringers of the two. Their professed monks changed the colour of many parts of their habit, whilst their lay-brethren entirely put aside their statutory grey habit, and dressed, if one may so say, in all the colours of the rainbow, altering, in addition, both the cut and form of their clothing. The state of the nunneries was no better at the same period. About A.D. 1413 the lady abbesses not only dressed themselves according to the then prevailing female fashion, but tolerated the same departure from their rule in the sisters of the convent. Their veils were made to show the face instead of concealing it, and these superioresses, when called upon to redress the scandal, simply pleaded the existing fashion of the day. It is probable that these excesses overdid themselves, for records tend to prove that the then existing monastic eccentricities were eventually redressed. It may be stated here, whilst on the subject of nunneries, that the " wimple" [wimple or guimple; guimpe; lat. wimpla], dates to the eleventh century. Writers mention it under the head of theristrium or theristum, a head-dress also very analogous to the Spanish mantilla. The question of hair and the "beard" has given rise to much scandal in the church, and opposition more than once, and has often been the cause of downright ridicule. This was especially the case in the following century. 2 0 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC When Pope Clement VII. allowed his beard to grow, as a sign of grief after the taking and sack of Rome in 1527, the seat of his episcopal chair, the French clergy took it into their heads to adopt the fashion, and caused considerable disturbance and agitation at the time. An anecdote is told of a certain bishop of Clermont (Guil-laume Duprat) who had been nominated to . that see whilst under age. This prelate went in 1535 to take possession of his cathedral, and was possessed at the time of perhaps the finest beard of any man in France. On presenting himself for that purpose, the dignitaries of the chapter met him at the entrance of the choir, and with all due deference obstructed his entry, offering him on a silver salver a pair of scissors, and at the same time pointing to the rule in their statutes, " de barbis radendis." The sequel was, that although highly indignant and opposed to the measure of curtailing his beard, the bishop-elect had to give way. But on the same subject earlier instances should have been before mentioned, and equally ridiculous. About the beginning of the twelfth century, when Henry I. was on the throne of England, the subject of the beard and hair disquieted the minds of the clergy of that day. Both had been discarded fifty years before, in the reign of Henry I. of France. Now the mode had again crept in. The church urged against the fashion the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, " That if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him," and declared the custom quite incompatible with the then prevailing usage of pilgrims, prisoners, and penitents. Not this only, but the two most illustrious prelates of the day, Yves, Bishop of Chartres, and Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused the sacraments to those of their diocesans, who did not conform to the rules of the church in respect of hair. The Council of Rouen fulminated equally in 1096 a denunciation throughout Normandy to the same effect. One of the bishops of that duchy, Rathbode of Noyon, denounced the custom as one of the chief causes of the then prevailing epidemic. This had its effect, for more than a thousand persons thereupon presented themselves AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 21 to be operated upon in consequence; and it is said that the keen-eyed prelate, observing that their tunics were also too long, applied his scissors equally to shorten them. Serlon, Bishop of Seez, did the same thing. Henry I. of England and his whole court, amongst whom was the Comte de Meulan, underwent the same operation in the church of Argentan at the hands of that bishop. Serlon had been instrumental in bringing over the King to Normandy, to restore the order and confusion into which the duchy had been thrown by the neglect and supine-ness of Robert Courte-Heuse. He took the opportunity of first inveighing against the practice in a sermon, and then applied the actual remedy to Henry and his whole suite. The former tendered his head to be so operated on with all possible humility.27 But this quotation only exemplifies the matter partially as regards ecclesiastics. The like practice continued among the clergy, and reappeared at intervals. In 1561, during the reign of Henry II. of France, the prelates of the church, who were opposed to shaving, placed their chins under the protection of the King,2? by gevting him to enforce the measure, and intimidate the chapters. The celebrated Pierre Lascot (Alasco), when at) one time (towards the middle of the same century) elected to a canonry in the cathedral of Paris, experienced every possible difficulty in being installed in consequence of his beard. The chapter consented to admit him under the circumstances (possibly because he had abjured Catholicism), so long as it should not be taken as a precedent. It was more or less about that date that Protestant ministers having also adopted long beards, scruples on that question were again raised among Catholics. The subject was discussed at Sorbonne29 in 1561, and although the decision arrived at was against the practice, the whole of the churches of the West at that time tacitly permitted it. How, in fact, 2? Quicherat, p. 158. ® Ibid, p. 369. 2 9 This society of ecclesiastics attained great reputation on questions of theology, and their judgment was frequently appealed to down to nearly the end of the eighteenth century. I t had been founded by Robert de Sorbonne in 1252, and was dissolved about 1789. 22 BBIEF NOTICES ON MONASTIC could it have been otherwise, for all the Popes of that day followed the same custom of ignoring the razor ? The dress of the clergy in everyday life was regulated in the sixteenth century, and black was the colour assigned to it. The French ecclesiastics resisted the clerical dress or uniform, if one may so term it. It consisted of the cassock (soutane) and a square cap, at first the colour of which was arbitrary. The introduction of black was the original idea of Cardinal Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan. He ordered the whole of the clergy of his province to adopt that colour in 1565, but it was not till 1583 that the French clergy, who resisted the Italian innovation, fell in with the custom. Throughout all Europe, about that time also, clerics began to wear a skull-cap [cale, calotte] under their other head covering. A distinctive mark of the bishop's dress at that time, also, was the capette, a short mantle which was worn over the camail. Prelates of that day were not restricted to black as the rest of the clergy, neither had violet then been adopted as their distinctive colour. Most of the paintings of that epoch show light blue to have been the prevailing colour. The domino, or hood under that name, was also one of the bishop's attributes in winter.80 Wigs, again, which came into fashion in the following century, especially at the time of Louis XIV. and our own King Charles II., were productive of the same scandal in the church, and of similar scenes to those caused by beards. The abbé de la Rivière, the intimate associate of Gaston d'Orléans, son of Henry IV., and bishop of Langres, was the first to adopt the peruke. It was probably about 1620 that it was first worn in France, but became common in England in 1660. The junior members of the clergy were not long in following his example. There arose on the subject a sort of com-promise, that such false hair should be taken off by the celebrant at mass, and never worn at the altar, and thus for a while it was tolerated. But perhaps the 3 0 Quicherat, p. 430. A French bishop of Sisteron, says Lestoile, when at the point of death, asked for his domino, because, said he, "Beati sunt qui moriuntur m Domino." The story is too good to be true ; it must have been said for him. AND ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUME. 23 most flagrant matter on this question arose out of the licentious character of that age. The abbés (or as they were styled " abbés perruquets "), rather than officiate at mass in consequence of the above rule, never went near their churches at all, so that to conform to their tastes a smaller peruke came into mode for their especial use, which went from that time under the name of " perruques d'abbé."3* We now close the subject, and leave it at the above date, for to continue further, and pointedly comment on recent Anglican church-innovations, might possibly cause us to infringe Rule (No. 1) of this Society. 8 1 Quicherat, p. 514. The quantity of hair contributed by the dead and living towards making these wigs was enormous, so much so, that Colbert threatened to prevent its further importation into France, but then, as now, the French holding the first place in matters of taste, the fact that wigs of their manufacture were highly prized in England, Spain, and elsewhere, the revenue was vastly benefited ; and so the matter dropped. FARNCOMBE A CO., PRINTERS,