ta r* (](]R dft =^ pfeai& caff Jaift : attfr : fe&m mbccdxxix yr^ f](]Rdfe <^»; 7?6 bzbitatib ai saint : ratijta Contents. EtttrtrtWCttOtt. England, "the island of Saints" : — The beauty and costliness of the ancient Church of England vestments : — The irregularity of the ex- isting Church of England use : — The modern Ro- man sequence : — " The Durham Book " : — General outline of the work pp. i — 8 CHAPTER I. Cf)e ancient JHosatC use. The divine command :— Table of the Levitical vestments :- — Josephus upon the linen vestment and girdle : — St. Jerome upon the number of the vestments : — Walafrid Strabo, ditto : — Honorius, ditto : — The Patriarch Symeon, ditto : — The shape of vestments differed in differ- ent ages : — The number of the Levitical colours : — The symbolism of number five : — Its influence upon the system of the ancient Church : — The use in the time of Solomon pp. 9 — 17 CHAPTER II. 2Tf)e use in ti)t first centurg. Testimony of Josephus : — The blending of the Old Dispensation into the New : — Crake upon early ritual worship : — Litur- gical arrangements of plan in the Early Christian Church : — Liturgical uses of the Early Christian Church : — The vision of the Apocalypse : — The Bishop of Lincoln's notes thereon : — Saint John robed like the Priests of old : — The ancient introit for St. John's Day pp. 18 — 31 CHAPTER III. £f)e use in ttje second centurg. The persecutions necessitated a simplicity of ritual : — The modern b VI CONTENTS. theory refuted, that white was " the colour " of the vestments in the Early Christian Church : — The alleged testimony of St. Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian : — What they allude to : — The modern theory refuted, that the ecclesiastical dress was similar to the civil dress : — Christian art is to be contradistinguished from pagan art : — The ecclesi- astical dress, in like degree, is to be contradistin- guished from the civil : — Rock upon the toga and pall : — Usage of the Jewish Christians at Pella : — Testimony of Polycrates pp. 32 — 42 CHAPTER IV. Wtyt use in t|)e t|trtJ centurg. The usage during the great persecutions : — Fleury upon the reserve re- specting the Mysteries : — The primitive Liturgies : — Rubric in the divine Liturgy of St. Clement : — The mural paintings in the Catacombs do not de- pict Eucharistic vestments pp. 43 — 47 CHAPTER V. Cf)f tt!Se in tt)t fourth centurg. Christianity favoured by the State : — Developments in the externals of Religion : — Testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea : — Testimony of Theodoret : — The same vesture was often used for Baptism as for Holy Communion in the Early Christian Church : — Testimony of St. Jerome pp. 48—53 CHAPTER VI. Cf)e um W tf)e ftfflj century. The heresiarch Pela- gius:— St. Jerome adv. Pelagius :— The use of the purple altar-cloth in the ancient British Church : — Testimony of Gildas :— The traditional use of white vestments at Eastertide: — Bequest of Saint Remigius : — Easter the only season which had its distinctive colour: — Vestments were worn by St. Leo PP. 54—59 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER VII. Cf)f USC tit tf)C Siltf) Cf nturg. The origin of the use of black in the ecclesiastical system : — Black not used for the sacrificial vestments : — Developments in the use of black : — The Ancient Gallican .fHic. edited by Martene : — The mitre was worn in the ancient British Church : — The vision of St. Samson : — Tes- timony of St. Gregory the Great : — The signification of the mystic colours both under the Old Dis< pensation and under the New : — St. Gregory of Tours mentions the Abbess who cut up a purple altar-cloth to deck out her niece : — Expositio Brevis Liturgiae Antique : — The scarlet of the Christian Church double-dyed pp. 60—67 CHAPTER VIII. Cfje anglo-jcaion use in tfje sebentl) eentutg. Our St. Augustine of Canterbury : — Colour of the archi- episcopal pall : — St. Augustine's revised Liturgy : — Excepting the woollen pall St. Augustine did not introduce any fresh vestments into this country : — The purple chasuble was worn in St. Augustine's time : — The Acts of the fourth Council of Toledo : — The ancient chasuble of St. Regnobert : — The vestments found upon St. Cuthbert : — The contro- versy about St. Cuthbert's relics : — Baring-Gould upon St. Cuthbert's relics pp. 68 — 80 CHAPTER IX. ZAyt langlo^ajion use in tfje etgj&tf) eenturg. The Anglo-Saxons were fond of gay colours in their dress : — The reform in the monastic dress brought about by St. Cuthbert : — The illuminations to the Durham Book : — Origin of the use of green in the system of the ancient Church of England : — Green not used at this period for the sacrificial vestments : — Developments in the use of green : — Testimony of the Ven. Bede : — Purple a favourite colour with Vlll CONTENTS. the Anglo-Saxon Clergy : — The mitre worn in the Anglo-Saxon Church : — The testimony of Germa- nus of Constantinople : — The shape of the chasuble in this age was similar to that worn in still earlier times pp. 81—87 CHAPTER X. Cfje HnQlo=^a.ron use in tf)e nintf) eenturg. Wala- frid Strabo upon the sacred vestments : — The vest- ments in monastic use were based upon the Levi- tical system, as were those in diocesan use : — The purple pall given by Michael to Pope Benedict III. for St. Peter's at Rome pp. 88 — 91 CHAPTER XI. Cije anglo-^aion use in tfje Unify eenturg. The 24 copes provided by Abbot Egelric for his Minster : — The chasubles bequeathed by Bishop Theodore : — The chasuble of Saint Oswald : — The vestments provided by Abbot Leoffin for Ely : — The distinc- tion between the episcopal mitre and the abbatical : — " Leofric's Missal " : — The old illuminated ittp. Vesp. A. VIII. Mus. Brit. :— The Benedictional of St. ^Ethelwold pp. 92 — 101 CHAPTER XII. Cfje anQlo^aion use in tfje elebentf) eenturg. The old illuminated £&,£. Arundel. 155. Mus. Brit: — The purple altar-palls presented by Bishop Leofric to Exeter : — The illuminated iH^. Lansdown. 431. Mus. Brit. : — The illuminated fH;c. Tiberius. C. VI. Mus. Brit. : — The illuminated itt^>. Cotton. Claudi- us. A. III. Mus. Brit. : — Rock upon Anglo-Saxon vestments pp. 102 — 106 CHAPTER XIII. Cfje anglo^Xorman use in tf)e elebentf) eenturn. The Norman Conquest : — The spoliation and robbery of CONTENTS. ix Church property at the Norman Conquest : — Vest- ments filched by the Conqueror from Ely and Waltham : — Foreign Churchmen came into Eng- land to beg for vestments : — Saint Osmund : — The origin of " the Sarum use " : — St. Osmund did not introduce any fresh colours into the Church of England : — St. Osmund's rite does not touch upon the colour of the episcopal vesture : — The Salisbury jfHic. : — De habitu chori per totum annum : — The dress of the Secular Canons : — No sequence of co- lours in the ancient Sarum use : — Rock upon the shape of the chasuble : — The testimony of Saint Ivo of Chartres : — The colour scarlet typifies cha- rity pp. 107—125 CHAPTER XIV. €i)e lEnglisf) use in tf)e ttoelftf) century. Neale and Marriott upon the religion of the age : — The in- fluence of the religion of the age on Cistercian art : — The evil influence of the lives of some of the Anglo-Norman Bishops : — The colours green and black used by some Bishops in their Mass vest- ments : — The illuminated JH^. Calig. A. XIV. Mus. Brit. :— The illuminated M£. 10. A. XIII. Mus. Brit. : — The episcopal mitre of the period : — The illuminated JH£. Nero. C. IV. Mus. Brit. :— The cope presented by Prior Conrad to Canterbury : — The present of vestments from Abbot Robert to Adrian IV pp. 124 — 152 CHAPTER XV. t ISngltsf) use in tije sixteenth eenturg. Rubric from the Sarum Missal of A.D. 1500 : — The yellow for Confessors' Days an innovation : — The Lincoln inventory of A.D. 1536: — The Benedictional of Bi- shop Longland : — Inventory of " olde aulbes," St. Martyne's Priorye, Dover : — The Lenten use at St. Frideswide's, at Oxford : — Rock upon the Lenten curtain, &c. : — The Lenten usage of our ancient Church : — The linings of our old English vest- ments pp. 165 — 175 CHAPTER XIX. 2Tf)e use in tfje time of King dfctotoarti tfje &ixti). " The ornaments rubric " : — The Lincoln inventory of^.D. 1553: — The raid upon the Lincoln vest- CONTENTS. XI merits, circa A.D. 1540 : — The commencement of the Reformation movement, with regard to vestments : — The Stanford inventory of A.D. 1553 : — The Ed- wardine Commissioners : — The green vestments be- longed mostly to Cathedrals, few were used in our Parish Churches pp. 176 — 183 CHAPTER XX. Cfje use in tfje time of J3tsf)0p <£osht. The 30th Ca- non of A.D. 1603 : — Is the use of the five mystic colours of "the Law" retained in the Reformed Church of England ? — The Auckland inventory : — Bishop Cosin a true Reformer : — The inscription upon his Prayer Book pp. 184 — 192 CHAPTER XXI. Ci)e modern use of tfje <£i)uref) of 1-vome. The Se- quence : — Throughout the Middle Ages the use of Rome differed from that of England : — Rock upon the modern Roman chasuble : — Rock upon the modern Roman stole : — Rock upon the modern Roman archiepiscopal pall : — Rock upon modern Roman burial : — The use at Soissons Cathedral at Eastertide: — The parallel between Ultramonta- nism and Protestantism pp. 193 — 199 CHAPTER XXII. Cije modern use of tfjc <£f)uref) of 3£ng(anti. The use of the Church of St. Thomas, Oxford: — The modern Church of England usage : — The use of the black chimere : — The use of the black stole and cassock : — The use of the violet frontal : — The infidelity of the age : — The Sarum use the one best suited to this age : — Table of colours according to Sarum use : — The colour for Christmas Day : — The colour for the Circumcision : — The vestments anciently worn at a funeral : — The use of the scarlet cassock : — The use of the sacerdotal girdle : — The use of orthodox coloured stoles : — Episco- Xll CONTENTS. pal robes : — Altar-cloths and frontals : — Our mo- dern embroidery should be of orthodox colour : — Funeral palls pp. 200 — 217 CHAPTER XXIII. (ftcmcluiston. The Law of God is of more importance than any ordinance of man : — The numerical de- velopment in things ecclesiastical : — The testimony of Nature : — Hulme upon the colour of wild flow- ers : — The harmonies between the spiritual world and the natural : — Vincentius upon the " genuine Catholic" pp. 218—227 $nttabnition. While engaged in tracing out the influence of the great doctrine of Sacrifice upon the formation and development of the mouldings, &c., of ancient Gothic art, my attention was drawn to the colours of the sacrificial vestments in use in the ancient Church of England. For a time I have put aside the former subject, in order to study and prepare notes upon the latter. Like everything else that is truly orthodox in the system of the Catholic Church, her use of colours for sacrificial vestments is derived from the use of the ancient Mosaic Church : a use which was instituted, not by man, but, by God Himself. In olden time, England was called " the island of saints." It was the great orthodoxy of the old Church of England which gained for our country this honour- able distinction. Our forefathers were pre-eminently orthodox among the nations of Western Christen- dom ; and our grand old Liturgies and noble Gothic Churches, as well as all the mystic ritual of our an- cient worship, testify to the pure and holy faith they held. If England did not produce Churchmen with mighty intellects, like the Dominican friar St. Thomas Aquinas, she did produce men, who, in saintliness of life, and devotion to the Catholic Faith, were not sur- passed in any age or country. In olden time, the Church of England was also most rich in vestments. The most precious materials that could be procured were used without stint to beautify the earthly sanctuary. Cloth of Tars, and silk of China ; baudekin, ciclatoun, and all other kinds of most beautiful cloth of gold ; samit and satin ; as well as all kinds of most choice and lovely silks ; — these, and other rich fabrics, of mystic ortho- B INTRODUCTION. dox colours, were sought for by our pious forefathers for the sacrificial vestments of the Clergy. The needle of the embroideress, plied with exquisite skill, added additional lustre to vestments, the very materials of which were often most beautiful. We may infer, in- deed, from what has been said upon the subject by old ecclesiastical writers of other countries, that in Anglo-Saxon times there were no vestments in any part of Christendom to compare with ours, in ma- terial, in embroidery, or in orthodox colour. But of this more will be said in due course. In the Catholic-revival now going on in the Church of England, the subject of the colour of the sacri- ficial dress of the Clergy, and of the vestments of the Altar, does not appear to have received that study and attention which has been devoted to many other things. Hence it is that at the present time the ut- most license and irregularity prevails throughout the Church of England. In one church you may find some indescribable colour used, called by the name of " Sarum," which would very much astonish St. Osmund if he could appear among us again ; in an- other, some green colour, painful to the eye to look upon, as untrue to Nature as to the ancient traditions of our Church. And so on. The error appears to be that we do not look deeply into these matters, as did the old Churchmen. They allowed all individual taste and fancy to be subservient. They went right to the fountain-head, and based their use of colours upon reason ; their reason upon authority ; their au- thority upon REVELATION. In the present state of things in the Church of England, it is not altogether surprising that many of her most zealous Clergy fall back upon the au- thority of the Church of Rome in these matters. But this is to be regretted for many reasons. In the first place, there is a great difference between the ancient Church of England use and the modern Roman use. It is not building up our beloved branch of the Church upon her old foundations to adopt a usage so materially different to that of INTRODUCTION. the ancient Church of England, as is that of the modern Roman Church, in this respect. Enough harm has already been done to the Church of England in past centuries, through the introduction of foreign influences and schools of thought, external to her own true system. It would be wise to take warn- ing from the past, and, in this matter, for English Churchmen to stick to their old Church of England colours. Then again, the modern Church of Rome, in her sequence of colours, is not orthodox. If we apply the triple crucial test of reason, authority, and re- velation to that use, it fails as regards the latter. The use of the five Roman colours — red, white, jpgen ^violet, and black-) - is consistent enough, as regards reason or common sense ; it is also based upon as good authority, as aught that is compara- tively modern can be ; but there the matter rests. It is not supported by revelation : the ancient use of the Church of England was. That is the one great distinction to be drawn between the modern hyper- developed use of the Church of Rome, and the an- cient use of the Church of England. What a grand thought it is, that from the earliest period of her history, right up to the times of the Re- formation, aye, and in the early years of the Refor- mation, our English branch of the Catholic Church maintained in her system the five true sacrificial colours of the one true Church of God upon earth. "There is but one Church of God from the be- ginning of the world to the end," writes Dr. Words- worth, the learned Bishop of Lincoln. If, therefore, there is but one Church of God in all time, there must of necessity be certain marks, which, from time immemorial, indicate the true principles of her ritual worship. They are to be met with in the system of our grand old Church of England, — in the colours of her sacrificial vestments, as in all else which affected her holy worship. The scheme of this work is to prove the truth of this, by evidence extracted from ancient sources. B 2 ■ ■ 7 ; - : : : : ::■:<: r: :<: rta \z \ ~ : ' ~. ' :.- : ~ : ~ :\ .- -;-:. \ -y '.'. - ' :: ; " : : ' : ." ' :o : : .: : may -.;;- : Clerg] EEsfa: OanrcfL - ■ : : - ■ ■, --cctxvm awl more d - • " - '-:.":--: : \:-\- -:-■;•':- ::j ■■■.• ± c- vhich affect the - .".:■ 7 : ; - - ' .... fl .... . ... ; - ■ ^ " . • - : - ■ ■ . ; .5 ': • ±'i r .:: - i : \ . \ : : : : li : ' :_: ; - " :S~- \ • \-l -'.-..:-■ ~ z :~ \ : - : • - ±e ase ?t the Prfmfti : _"-_■;: ■-.::. : ' : a : .1 - : : .: : 5r.::i.: _".:_;_: f -> .-.--- V ■ - - ■ • : _ . : : -: • " : r " . -. r . : ■ ■ ; ' - . ■ • : • - B at - • : ] '. - . : : '. 1 - ■ : • ■ - . : I [ ■■.'.. i Ltura ■ " . ' - - ' " - - - - : - . ■ ■ : i •- ; ."-.-;.: ;:;-•.:---;>:' -.■.;- : """ : •: 3xs£ i re : : I ' ! ....... . . - .. _ : • ■ .earn. a<: "-■.-. • : : ~ ;-::■: err s 7 - : :. ; " " ai HL= iov :.:: i ;=.-;- INTRODUCTION. ; place in the British Museum, in order to perceive the high degree of perfection to which the eccle- siastical art of the period was then carried. It was my privilege, one morning upon the fes- tival of the Ascension, to carefully study the illu- minations of this priceless codex. It is most mar- Nell, -.'.sly well written by Bishop Eadfrith, St. Cuth- bert's successor in the see of Lindisfarne : and illuminated in the very highest style o\ Anglo- Saxon art by the monk Eth« In refinement, beauty, and accuracy of finish, the writing and illu- minations of this /H~. are scarcely surpassed by any jB~. of the middle a.,.-. They are the out- ie, like our thirteenth-century Gothic art, of a great Catholic revival in the ancient Church of England. The mission of St. Augustine was the origin of the id the rise of the Cistercian order was. per- haps, the gin Fthe < ther. What mingled feelings of emotion s - the mind airing o\ old illuminated 491&,) which - now called "the Durham Book." One naturally thinks of the great St. c, to whose menu tten ; of the holy Churchmen of this land, who so beautifully wrote and illuminated it ; and of the deep veneration in which we know the book was . by the Benedictine monks of Durham all through the middle ages, for the love of God. and ol him ay lay in the shrine alose by. One thinks also of the dangers and trials to which the Church of England has been exposed since the time it was written, from and amidst ch she has in and again been sc providentially preserved. And then comes the thought, that God will also as- suredly preserve our Church in her present □ - s, and raise her up again to be once more pure and holv, as in the days - St. Cuthbert and the Yen. The late Anglo-Saxon use. as regards the colours of the sacrificial vestmei ts . Bered in respect from the early use. It was apparently at this period that the colours e -en and black were first used for INTRODUCTION. processional vestments. We find these two colours then used for copes, but not for chasubles. There is a clear distinction to be drawn between the cope and the chasuble. The ritual uses of these two vest- ments in the ancient Church of England were quite distinct, and remained so until the times of the Re- formation. The cope was the processional vestment : the chasuble, the sacrificial. This is the tradition of our Church. The early Mediaeval use follows the Anglo-Saxon. This period is an important one in the history of the Church of England. The Conquest, although it so disorganized the English Church by the intrusion of foreign divines into her sees and benefices, brought about no material change in the colour of the sacri- ficial vestments, save that the colours black and green were now no longer used for copes only, but also for chasubles. This was the first decline in the Church of England system. With this exception, the late Anglo-Saxon use was simply retained. We gather this also from St. Osmund's treatise De officiis, of which an ancient ittic. copy is still existing in the Salisbury library. It should be borne in mind, that the early Sarum use was only a development of the Anglo - Saxon. That which we now call by the name of " Sarum" was, therefore, the main stream of Catholic deposit in the mediseval Church, with re- gard to matters of ritual. And that is the one great reason why it should be most deeply revered by English Churchmen at the present day. The late Mediaeval use of colours became much disorganized. The five true colours continued in- deed to be used, but in addition to them, various other colours, and combinations of colours, crept into use. Innovations gradually crept into the Sarum ritual; other English uses suffered in like degree; and in this respect, as in others, the late mediaeval Church of England became overladen with ritual, and corrupt. There was need of a Reformation ; but the true work of reformation has never yet been thoroughly accomplished. Those, nowadays, INTRODUCTION. who use incongruous colours for the vestments of Priest or Altar, are simply perpetuating the errors of the late mediaeval Church. The early Reformation use follows next in order. We find from old existing inventories, that the five mystic colours of the Law — gold, blue, purple, red, and white — were still used for sacrificial vestments in A.D. 548, " the Second Year of the Reign of King Ed- ward the Sixth." Consequently, their use is right and lawful now, in every sense of the word, in the Reformed Church of England. The use in Bishop Cosin's time is next referred to. This is most important, following so closely upon the 1662 Prayer-Book. We find from an old in- ventory, that the five mystic colours of the Law, and these five colours only, were re-introduced by Bishop Cosin in the vestments and hangings of the Auck- land Chapel, circa A.D. 1668. This of itself is suf- ficient to indicate the mind of one of our Reformers upon the subject. The following chapters treat of the modern Roman and modern Church of England uses, with a view to shewing that both these hyper-developed uses are opposed to the ancient traditions of the Church. The concluding chapter touches upon the testi- mony of Nature, in the colour of wild flowers, and the like. There is the most perfect accord between the Bible, the ancient ritual use of the Church of England, and the Book of Nature, in this matter. The same most perfect mysticism is observed in one and all. The ancient ritual use of our Church vies, indeed, with the Bible, and the Book of Nature, in bearing witness to the ONE TRUE FAITH. This is a general outline of the work. Many of the notes upon which it is based were prepared at the British Museum and the Bodleian, from a study of old illuminated manuscripts, and other works, preserved in those libraries. Much information has also been culled from the late Dr. Rock's " Church of our Fathers" ; from the " Monasticon Anglicanum" ; and from the works of other antiquarian writers. 8 INTRODUCTION. In conclusion, I 'must express my thanks for the courtesy and assistance which I have invariably re- ceived from the officials at the British Museum and the Bodleian Library. My best acknowledgments are due also to His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, for the loan of his most valuable Anglo-Saxon £&£>., " the Benedictional of St. ^Ethelwold," from which I have been able to obtain some reliable evidence with regard to the Anglo-Saxon use in the tenth century. Also, to the Rev. B. H. Wortham, for the loan of his transcript of the Bassingbourne inventory. Also, to those who assisted me with the translations which are appended to the Latin quotations. I am not a classical scholar, but simply an antiquary ; where, therefore, it has been necessary to allude to a classical author, I have had the assistance of graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. Following the example set by Mr. Ruskin in the " Fors Clavigera," a wide margin is left to each page to enable notes to be written. CHAPTER I. ®Ij£ Jtncmtt fftamk M&t. The twenty-eighth chapter of the Book of Exodus contains the one Revelation from God to man of the colours of the sacrificial vestments to be worn in His Church upon earth. In every pure age of the Church this one Revelation, made once for all, has materially influenced her holy ritual worship. In the fifth verse of this chapter, the Divine com- mand is clearly given : "And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen," wherewith to make the vestments for those about to minister in the sacerdotal office. No doubt has ever yet been expressed by any commentator, that the "fine linen" implies other than a white material (*). Thus it is manifest that materials of these five colours were to be used in making the sacrificial vestments, viz. gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and White, — and of these five colours only. And, as if to avoid the pos- sibility of a mistake or misunderstanding upon the subject, the Divine command is again repeated in detail in the sixth verse, and again in the eighth, and again in the fifteenth. — "And they shall make " the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scar- " let, and fine twined.^linen, with cunning work. . . . ft And the curious girctte^of the ephod, which is " upon it, shall be of the same, according to the " work thereof ; even of gold, of blue, and purple, " and scarlet, and fine twined linen. . . . And thou " shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cun- " ning work : after the work of the ephod thou shalt ( l ) Josephus and Philo Judaeus I See also the Vest. Christ., p. 7, imply that this material was white. I foot-note 16. 10 THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. " make it ; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of " scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it." This repetition of the same command, in the four verses alluded to, shews indeed how great was the importance of making the sacrificial vestments with none other materials and colours than those spe- cified. God's will has been most clearly revealed. It would appear impossible to lay more emphasis upon this ritual command, than is laid in the sacred canon of Scripture ; and it is ordained, as the last verse in the chapter states, as " a statute for ever." The faithful manner in which Moses and the chil- dren of Israel carried out God's will, with regard to the colours of the sacrificial vestments, is referred to in the thirty-ninth chapter of Exodus. This clearly proves the ritual use of the Church of God, B.C. I49i.( 2 ) We gather from the Bible that the following vest- ments were worn in the Levitical Church : — Vwtmmtti. raom ig Colour. The ephod. The high-priest. Gold, blue, purple, scarlet, & white. The girdle. The high-priest. Gold, blue, purple, scarlet, & white. The breastplate. The high-priest. Gold, blue, purple, scarlet, & white. The robe. The high-priest. Blue. The broidered coat. The high-priest. White. The mitre. The high-priest. White. The holy crown. The high-priest. Gold, & blue. The coats. The priests. White. The girdles. The priests. Blue,purple,scarlet, & white. The bonnets. The priests. White. It is somewhat difficult, from the wording of our authorized version of the Bible, to understand the ( 2 ) This is Archbishop Ussher's Chronology. Miss Frere, in her work on "Typical Chronology," with a preface by the Bishop of Lincoln, dates the Exodus at B.C. 1436. THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. II exact number of the sacred vestments. It would appear from the twenty-ninth chapter of Exodus, which gives the Divine command with regard to the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the Priest's office, that the official sacrificial vestments of the High-priest were five in number, to which must be super-added the two forming his head- gear, making in all seven, [see verses 5 and 6]. Also, that the official sacrificial vestments of the Priests were three in number, [see verses 8 and 9]. It would appear, therefore, from this chapter, that the linen "breeches" were not looked upon by God as a part of their official vesture ; and I have con- sequently omitted the mention of this part of the Levitical dress in the foregoing table. There are two things specially to be noted with regard to the colours of the Levitical vestments. First, that the combination of the five sacred colours appears to have existed only in the vesture of the High-priest. Secondly, that there is an entire ab- sence of gold in the Priests' vesture, — the three colours only, viz. blue, purple, and scarlet, being super-added to the white. In the Christian Church, gold has been super- added to the other sacred colours, in the sacrificial vestments of her Priests, for reasons which will be given in the Venerable Bede's own words, when we come to consider the early Anglo-Saxon age. This forms one of the main distinctions to be drawn be- tween the use of colours under the Old and New Dispensations. In the Levitical vestments, the hem of " the robe of the ephod" consisted of an ornamentation of bells and pomegranates. These also were wrought of gold, and of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and white linen ; the same five mystic colours. One other important point to note is the entire absence of any^gieeji ^or black colo ur in the sacri- ficial vestments in question. GocTTias clearly in- dicated in the Bible that His Priests, ministering before Him at the Altar, are not to appear in sa- 12 THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. cred vestments made of a green or black material. The Bible affords the most clear and positive evi- dence upon this point. It is stated again and again, as already pointed out, that such and such colours are to be used in making the sacrificial vestments for the Church of God. In this case, therefore, omission would certainly appear to imply prohi- bition. Thus did Moses and the children of Israel understand it : and thus did the early Churchmen also. The sacrificial dress of the Levitical Priest was, without doubt, mainly white. His long white tunic, or "coat," reaching to the feet, very closely cor- responded to the white alb of the Christian Church. His girdle [see Exodus xxviii. 40] was even more important and beautiful than our authorized version would lead us to imagine. It differed from " the curious girdle of the ephod" worn by the High-priest, in that it had no gold interwoven. Josephus de- scribes it thus : — " Over this he wore a linen vestment, " [speaking of that which the Bible calls the coat] " made of fine flax doubled ; it is called cJietJione, and " denotes linen, for we call linen by the name of che- " tlwne. This vestment reaches down to the feet, and " sits close to the body ; and has sleeves that are tied " fast to the arms ; it is girded to the breast a little " above the elbows, by a girdle often going round, " four fingers broad, but so loosely woven, that you " would think it were the skin of a serpent. It is " embroidered with flowers of scarlet and purple and " blue, a^d fine twined linen, but the warp was no- " thing but fine linen. The beginning of its circum- " volution is at the breast, and when it has gone " often round, it is there tied, and hangs loosely there " down to the ankles." — [ Winston's translation of Josephus, vol. i, p. 187.] Josephus also seems to imply that a Levitical Priest wore but three vestments, as he appears to take the "coat" [chethone] and the "girdle" [abaneth] as one and the same, the latter as an appendage to the former. But St. Jerome speaks of them as four THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. 1 3 distinct vestments. He says: — "These four vest- " ments, viz. the drawers, the linen tunic, the girdle " woven with purple, scarlet, fine linen, and blue, and " the cap just described, are in use by priests and " high-priests alike." — [Marriott's translation, Vest. Christ., p. 15.] Then again with regard to the High-priest's mitre, it is difficult to understand whether " the mitre " and " holy crown " may be considered as parts of one and the same thing, or as two separate things. Josephus appears to speak of the golden crown, with its veil of blue, as an appendage, or ornament, to the High- priest's mitre. St. Jerome, on the other hand, treats of them separately, as of two distinct things. The foregoing table is mainly prepared from what we gather from the sacred canon. It indicates that the High-priest probably wore seven distinct official vestments ; and a Levitical Priest, three. This is, however, to some extent conjectural ; and the cir- cumstance, that Holy Scripture is not quite clear upon the subject, has enabled Churchmen to regulate the number of the sacrificial vestments of the Chris- tian Church to the exigencies of the age. We find, as a matter of fact, that the purer the religion of the age or country, so much the more closely did the number of the sacerdotal vestments of that age har- monize with those of the Mosaic period. Walafrid Strabo, writing in the ninth century, says : — " What is signified by each of the vestments " worn in our own day, those who have preceded me " have sufficiently shewn. But in respect of their " number they correspond with the vestments of the " old law" ( 3 ). Honorius, a writer of the first half of the twelfth century, mentions that the minor orders, in his day, below the Sub-deacon, wore three vestments : the Sub-deacon, five : the Priest, seven : and the Bishop, seven, — additional to those he wore as a Priest, making ( 3 ) See the Vest. Christ., p. 109. 14 THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. in all fourteen episcopal vestments. Honorius was not an English Churchman, so that what he writes upon the subject does not prove the Church of Eng- land use of that period. But it shews the general tendency of the age as regards the Western Church. The Eastern Church appears to have been much more orthodox in the later middle ages than the Western Church, in this respect. The Patriarch Symeon, writing as late as the fifteenth century, speaks of but seven sacred vestments being peculiar to a Christian Bishop, and five to a Priest ( 4 ). A comparison of this with the foregoing table, shews how closely, even in late mediaeval times, did the vestments of the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church correspond with those of the Levitical Church, as regards their number. Then again with regard to shape ; although so much stress is laid in Scripture upon the colour of the sacerdotal vestments, their shape is so given as to leave a wide margin for conjecture. In all pure ages, the Catholic Church has ever shewn her unison with the sacred canon, as regards the colour of her vest- ments : while at the same time, she has used a wise discretion with regard to their shape and form, in order to accommodate them to the ritual of her holy worship. This coalition of things new and old is a feature in the true system of the Christian Church. We read in the Book of Wisdom, — " God doeth all things in number, and measure, and weight." [Wisdom xi. 20.] To the good old Churchmen this text was a reality. Knowing thereby that Almighty God de- signs and regulates His works upon certain nume- rical principles, they were led on, from a considera- tion of those principles, to a knowledge of the science of the symbolism of numbers. This old science of the Saints teaches us the doc- trinal import of the number of the colours in the Levitical vestments. The mystic number five, the ( 4 ) Seethe Vest. Christ., pp. 168—174. THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. 1 5 number of the colours ordained by God for the sacrificial vestments of His Church upon earth, is one of the most important of the symbolic numbers. In the language of numerical symbolism it typifies "sacrifice." We gather this, primarily, from the Bible. All through the Bible, from the Book of Genesis to the Revelation of St. John, there is again and again a play upon the mystic number five in connection with the subject of sacrifice. In many cases the thing is not so clear at first sight, espe- cially to a casual reader. The symbolism often underlies the sacred text, and is perceptible only to those who meditate, as well as read. For ex- ample, in the account of Abraham's sacrifice, before the giving of the Law, it may not have struck some readers of the Bible, that there are but five things specified; but it is so. "And He said unto him, Take me an [i.] heifer of three years old, and a [ii.j she-goat of three years old, and a [iii.] ram of three years old, and a [iv.] turtle dove, and a [v.] young pigeon." [Gen. xv. 9.] And again, when we read, "And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen," it may not have struck all readers that there is this mystic play, so to speak, upon the number five, underlying the sacred text. But it is so. And so on throughout the Bible the same mysticism may be remarked. Upon the ancient ritual and ecclesiastical art of the Catholic Church, the influence of this number five was so great that it cannot be overrated. It appears to have had an even greater influence upon the ritual and art of the Church of England, than upon that of the coeval Church of Rome and Italy. This mystic number has, indeed, exercised a most surprising influence upon the entire system of the ancient Church of England. The symbolic groups of the five crosses which occur in Leofric's Anglo- Saxon missal, now in the Bodleian Library, as also the same mystic groups of five crosses which occur in the Sarum canon of the Mass, [denoting where the Priest should five times in succession make the holy l6 THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. sign] afford one of the many indications which exist of the association of this number with the doctrine of sacrifice, in the minds of the old Churchmen of this land. But upon our ancient Church of England ecclesias- tical art, its influence was even greater than upon her ritual. In all cases the symbolism is, as it were, underlying the work : forming its very essence and guiding principle of design ; but yet not apparent to the world at large. The world does not under- stand, when it gazes with admiration upon those grand old Cathedral piles, which are the glory of England, that not only their ground-plans, but even their minutest details, are materially influenced by a play upon this number five, to dogmatize the great doctrine of sacrifice. Durham, Chester, York, Ro- chester, Worcester, and all our other old Cathedral Churches which are erected on foundations dating either from Saxon times, or from the latter half of the eleventh century, indicate that the internal length of each was originally just about five times the internal width. When people in this age praise and admire the beautiful proportions of our English Cathedrals, they altogether overlook the doctrinal import of their parts. It is because all this symbolism underlies the work, that, in this restless and superficial age, people will not give themselves the leisure to look deeply enough into the matter to see it. It is only by studying carefully, as true Churchmen, such beautiful work, for example, as that of Prior William de Hoo at Rochester Cathedral, that we perceive how the number five has influenced not merely its ground- plan, but its whole design : and how that from floor to roof, all the features and details of this beautiful and symbolic work of art, round about where stood the High-altar of this Benedictine Church, speak to us of SACRIFICE, by reason of the mystic play upon the number five which underlies the whole design. The science of the symbolism of numbers en- ables us, therefore, to form some idea of the im- portance of the sacrificial vestments of God's Church THE ANCIENT MOSAIC USE. 17 upon earth being made up of five sacred colours, and five only. And it is worthy of note, that although the Church of Rome has deviated from her early traditions as regards the actual colour of the vest- ments, she still retains the orthodox number, in her modern sequence of colours. We pass on now to the use of the Levitical Church in the time of Solomon. Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem circa B.C. 956. Detailed particulars of this Temple and its orna- ments are given in the Second Book of Chronicles, and elsewhere. We read — "And in the most holy " house he made two cherubims of image-work, and " overlaid them with gold. . . . . And he made the " vail of blue y and purple, and crimson, and fine " linen, and wrought' cherubims thereon." [II. Chron. iii. 10, and 14.] So that the same mystic colours were used in and about the Temple of Solomon, as were used in and about the Tabernacle of Moses. It would appear from the Bible narrative that the Priests did not put on new vestments, of any new shape or colour, on the occasion of the dedication. Although many other things are mentioned with precision, the pattern of which was revealed to David by God, and afterwards shewn by him to Solomon [I. Chron. xxviii. 11 J, yet there appears to be no further Revelation with regard to the sacrificial vest- ments, or their colour. There is reference made to some of the singers " being arrayed in white linen," but that is all we can gather from the Bible narrative upon the subject. We may therefore reasonably in- fer that both High-priest and Priests, at that glori- ous dedication-festival, were arrayed in vestments of precisely the same make and colour as those, the pattern of which was revealed to Moses during the forty days he was in the Mount with God, learning His will with regard to the ceremonial worship of His Church upon earth. CHAPTER II. ®fc Its* in t\u first fatra^. When our Blessed Lord came upon Earth the five sacrificial colours were maintained in their integrity in the ritual worship of the Jewish Church. Josephus, the great Jewish historian of the age, clearly proves this. In his valuable writings we find allusion made not only to the ancient ritual of the Jewish Church in the time of Moses, but also to the ritual which was in vogue in his own time. He was born in A.D. 37, and appears to have been descended from the High- priests on his father's side ; and he was by profes- sion a Pharisee. From the circumstance of his family connections, his testimony is therefore of especial value, as regards the ritual worship of the Jews in the age in which he lived. He has written as follows. — "Now all those of " the stock of the Priests that could not minister by " reason of some defect in their bodies, came within " the partition, together with those that had no " such imperfection, and had their share with them " by reason of their stock, but still made use of " none except their own private garments ; for no- " body but he that officiated had on his sacred gar- " ments : but then those Priests that were without " any blemish upon them went up to the altar " clothed in fine linen. They abstained chiefly from " wine out of this fear, lest otherwise they should " transgress some rules of their ministration. The " High-priest did also go up with them ; not always, " indeed, but on the seventh days and new moons, " and if any festivals belonging to our nation, which " we celebrate every year, happened. When he of- THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 19 " ficiated, he had on a pair of breeches that reached " beneath his privy parts to his thighs, and had on " an inner garment of linen, together with a blue " garment round without seam, with fringe-work, " and reaching to the feet. There were also golden " bells that hung upon the fringes, and pomegranates " intermixed among them. The bells signified thun- " der and the pomegranates lightning. But that " girdle that tied the garment to the breast was em- " broidered with five rows of various colours of gold, " and purple, and scarlet, as also of fine linen and " blue, with which colours we told you before the " veils of the Temple were embroidered also. The " like embroidery was upon the ephod ; but the " quantity of gold therein was greater. Its figure " was that of a stomacher for the breast. There " was upon it two golden buttons like small shields, " which buttoned the ephod to the garment : in " these buttons were inclosed two very large and " very excellent sardonyxes, having the names of " the tribes of that nation engraved upon them : on " the other part there hung twelve stones, three in " a row one way, and four in the other ; a sardius, " a topaz, and an emerald ; a carbuncle, a jasper, " and a sapphire ; an agate, an amethyst, and a li- " gure ; an onyx, a beryl, and a chrysolite ; upon " every one of which was again engraved one of the " forementioned names of the tribes. A mitre also " of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied " by a blue riband, about which there was another " golden crown, in which was engraven the sacred " name [of God] : it consists of four vowels. How- " ever, the High-priest did not wear these garments " at other times, but a more plain habit ; he only " did it when he went into the most sacred part of " the Temple, which he did but once in a year, on " that day when our custom is for all of us to keep " a fast to God." — [ Whistoris translation of Josephns, vol. v, p. 387.] A comparison of this description by Josephus of the sacrificial vesture of the Jewish Church in the C 2 20 THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. I. st century of the Christian era, with the testimony of the Book of Exodus, shews how faithfully God's ancient people had conformed to the tradition of the Church as regards the colour of the sacrificial vest- ments. Precisely the same colours were in vogue when our Saviour came upon Earth, as were in vogue in the days of Moses, about fifteen centuries back. It is clear that no addition or omission whatever had been made to them. Our Blessed Lord's own words — " Think not that am come to destroy the law, or the prophets-* — " I am not come to destroy but to fulfil" — usher in the New Dispensation. We may infer from the Bible itself, and from the lives and writings of the Saints of old, that it is the greatest possible mistake to imagine the principles of the ritual worship of the Christian Church are dia- metrically opposed to those of the ritual worship of the ancient Jewish Church. It is well known that when our Lord was upon the Earth founding His Holy Catholic Church, He was continually in the Temple with His disciples, joining in the Temple ritual. Even after His Ascension, and after the de- scent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, the faithful continued daily, as before, to frequent the Temple services, [see Acts ii. 46]. " The first Christians, [writes the Rev. A. D. Crake] " in the very plenitude of Pentecostal illumination, " frequented the ancient worship as they had per- " haps never done before. In the brief Golden Age " of the Church, while the disciples continued sted- " fast in the Apostles' doctrines and fellowship, and " while they even had all things common, they were " 'continually in the Temple praising and blessing " God.' Nor did they go there to offer their devo- " tions apart ; for we are told that ' Peter and John " went up together into the Temple at the hour of " prayer, being the ninth hour,' — that is to say, the " time of offering the evening sacrifice. And as it THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 21 " was at the beginning, so it remained to the end. " The last time that the Holy City appears on the " scene shews us St. James and the Elders declaring " that of the thousands [or more literally, of the 'tens " of thousands '] who believed, all were ' zealous of " the Law.' [Acts xxi. 20.] " The two Dispensations — the Old and the New — appear mysteriously to have blended, the one into the other, in their systems of ritual worship. That is almost all we can gather from the New Testa- ment. The new system appears to have been devel- oped from the old : growing out of it : like as the full blown rose grows out of the bud. — "The Reli- " gion of Jesus is the flower, of which the Jewish " Church is the bud, and the Patriarchal the stem." [Hutchings' Lectures on the Person and Work of the Holy Ghost, p. 53.] • We know but little of the ritual worship of the Christian Church at the Eucharist in the I. st century. " The primitive simplicity, [writes Mr. Crake] with " which the Eucharist was naturally and of neces- " sity celebrated in the earliest instances, by de- " grees yielded to a more ornate rendering, as Chris- " tians possessing wealth yielded to the natural im- " pulse of honouring the Lord with their substance. " Probably the upper chamber wherein they had re- " ceived the gift of the Comforter was the scene of " the earliest Eucharistic celebrations, alluded to in " Acts ii. 46, wherein they are said to have broken " bread, kclt oIkov, ' at home,' as it is rendered in the " margin of our English translation. But when the " elaborate system of the Temple ritual was, as we " have seen, finally swept away, much which had " seemed peculiar to the splendour of the ancient '* ritual was added to the ritual of Christian wor- " ship." — [History of the Church, p. 52.] The absence in the New Testament of any clear testimony, with regard to details of the ritual wor- ship of the Early Christian Church at the Eucharist, is a thing which cannot fail to strike any careful reader. It is only when we come to the last book 22 THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. of all, the Revelation of St. John, that we find some further light thrown upon the subject. It has been considered that the IV. th and V. th chapters of the Revelation describe " the Celebration " of the Holy Eucharist, as it was celebrated in the " early ages of the Church, and as it is still celebrated " in the East." — [An. Bk. of Com. Pray., p. xlix.] This indirectly proves that the five mystic colours were worn by St. John, and by the Bishops of the Early Christian Church, — i.e. by God's High-priests of the New Dispensation — when offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar. To enable the reader to un- derstand this clearly, it will be necessary, in the first place, to say something about the primitive Churches, and the mode of celebrating the Eucharist in the early ages of Christianity. We learn from ancient writers, that the good old Churchmen were wont to consider the body of the Church as typical of the Earth, but the Sanctuary itself, the place wherein the Holy Mysteries of the Faith were celebrated, as typical of Heaven. — That in the West it was always the custom, in the Early Christian Church, to screen off the Sanctuary by cancelli and gates : and in the East, by the iconas- tasis with its three doors. — That the earliest Sanc- tuaries, both in the East and West, were apsidal on plan. — That around the apse, against its wall, were stone seats for the Clergy. — That the central seat was the Bishop's throne, which was raised above the rest, and approached by a flight of steps. — And that upon the chord of the apse, and immediately in front of the Bishop's throne, stood the Altar. The Bishop, therefore, sat at the extreme east end of the Sanc- tuary, where in later ages the Altar itself stood, and had his Clergy ranged in a semicircle upon either side of him. (') ( l ) This primitive arrangement I wich Cathedral, that the Bishop's prevailed in the ancient Church of England longer than at Rome itself. There are indications, in Bishop Herbert's apse at Nor- throne, with its stone steps, still stood in his days [circa a.d. 1091 — 1 1 19] beneath the central arch of the apse, with stone benches THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 23 We learn also from other sources, that the most ancient ritual worship, at the celebration of the Holy Mysteries of the Faith, was accompanied with the burning of seven lights : ( 2 ) — with incense : — with the Trisagion, which is traceable in all the primitive li- turgies : — and with reading the Book of the Gospels, upon which the mystic emblems of the four Evan- gelists [the winged man, the winged lion, the winged ox, and the eagle] were wrought in work of art, both upon the covers of the sacred volume, and upon its pages, as in the celebrated " Durham Book," before alluded to. Then again, we learn that it was a pious belief in the Early Christian Church that the Angels were present worshipping round about the Altar, when the Holy Sacrifice was offered up, and more par- ticularly the Guardian Angels of the faithful there congregated : — a pious belief which many Church- men hold still. If we bear in mind these venerable traditions of the Holy Catholic Church, it aids us in understand- ing the sacrificial and liturgical character of the two chapters of the Revelation, alluded to above. The IV. th chapter sets before us our Blessed Lord, as THE GREAT HIGH-PRIEST of His Church upon earth. While in a secondary sense it appears to typify the ritual worship of St. John's age — a Metro- for the Clergy extending round derful beauty cast with exquisite the apse on either side of it. skill." — [Plights Glossary.} Gervase, the monk of Canter- The Anglo-Saxon use of plac- bury, mentions also that in his ing seven lighted candles in a row time [latter end of XII. th century] upon the floor before the Altar, the Archbishop, on all chief festi- when a Bishop celebrated, implied vals, used to sit upon his primati- the same liturgical use, in another cal chair, which stood full east of form. the High-altar. In this ancient i These, and all other ritual uses, liturgical position, therefore, sat ' which are based on Revelation, our St. Thomas of Canterbury. and not the mere ritual invention ( 2 ) In the life of St. Benedict of , of man, are doubtless the traits of Anianae, we read — "Before the ! the one true Church of God upon Altar seven lamps hung of won- | earth. 24 THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. politan in the midst of his Suffragans, about to cele- brate the Sacred Mysteries of the Faith. " After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened " in heaven : and the first voice which I heard was as " it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, " Come up hither, and I will shew thee tilings which " must be hereafter! 1 If we paraphrase St. John's figurative language, and read the vision thus, — After this I looked, and, behold, a door [of the iconostasis or screen] was opened in Heaven [i.e. in the Sanctuary, which typified Heaven,] — we at once perceive its liturgical character. Dr. Wordsworth, in his notes upon the Greek Tes- tament, says, with reference to this verse — " These " words connect this Vision with St. John's age : " whence it appears that the Four-and-twenty El- " ders and Four Living Creatures do not represent " the Church Triumphant in that future heavenly " glory, which will not be consummated till the end " of time." The testimony of this most learned Bishop of our Church, founded as it undoubtedly is upon the word- ing of the original Greek, is a matter of very great importance. Like the old Churchmen, he associates the vision with St. John's age ; and proves it to be a vision, not of the heavenly worship of the Church Triumphant, but, of the Church Militant. "And immediately I ivas in the spirit : and, behold, "a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throjie." If we again paraphrase, and read the vision thus — and, behold, a [Bishop's] throne was set in Heaven [i.e. in the Sanctuary], and one sat on the [Bishop's] throne — we again see its application to St. John's age, and to the ritual worship of the Early Church. The Great High-priest, or Metropolitan Bishop, here set forth, appears to typify the Celebrant of the Eucharist. In the natural order of things, a Metro- politan, in the midst of his Suffragans, and about to offer up the Sacred Mysteries, would be the Cele- brant. THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 25 There is also one other thing to remark, in order to throw light upon the subject. The Bishop's throne, in olden time, was raised by several steps to a little above the level of the top of the Altar, as we may- infer from the Church of Torcello, in the Venetian Lagune, where the ancient Bishop's throne and stone seats for the Clergy around the apse still remain. The Altar itself stood on the chord of the apse, as before remarked. So that to a person standing in the body of a Church, and looking straight before him through the open door of the screen, the first thing that would meet his eye would be the Altar, [" I looked . . . and, behold, a throne was set "] while beyond this would be seen the Bishop's throne. But in the perspective, the one sitting on the Bishop's throne would have the appearance of sitting on the Altar, — the throne itself being raised to a little above the level of the top of the Altar. In paraphrasing the figurative language of the passage, we may there- fore imagine the word " throne" to mean either the Altar, upon which in the perspective he seemed to sit, or the Bishop's throne, upon which he actually sat. "And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper " and a sardine stone : and there zvas a rainbow " round about the throne, in sight like unto an eui- " erald." This is the most important verse of the chapter, with regard to the subject of the colour of sacri- ficial vestments. That the whole passage is typical and figurative is most clear. We know that under the Old Dispensation the High- priest wore upon his head a crown of gold : and that under the New, the crown of gold still continued to be worn by God's High-priests — i.e. by the Bishops of His Holy Catholic Church — as Polycrates of Ephesus, writing in the II. ucl century, Informs us. We may therefore reasonably infer, especially as all the Bishops in the next verse are described with crowns of gold upon their heads, that the Great High-priest, or Metropolitan Bishop, 26 THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. alluded to in the passage, had also upon his head the golden crown. Dr. Wordsworth says, in allusion to this verse — "Jasper was of various colours, purple, blue, green, " and distinguished by its brilliancy and beauty, and " almost always veined with white." And again — " The sardine stone is red." The figurative language of St. John, when para- phrased, appears therefore to resolve itself into this — the vesture of him that sat on the throne was to look upon like GOLD, and BLUE, and PURPLE, and RED, and WHITE — of great " brilliancy and beauty." Observe also that white and gold, two of the or- thodox sacrificial colours, are the prevailing colours in the vesture of the four-and-twenty Bishops. Now if we bear in mind the mystic colour of their sacred garb, together with that of him, the Cele- brant, who "was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone"; and that all the Bishops are de- scribed as in the act of sitting around the apse of the Sanctuary, twelve, as it were, on the one hand of the Metropolitan, and twelve on the other, the whole group forming the arc of a circle ; we are the better able to understand the mystical lan- guage of the passage — "and there was a rainbow " round about the throne, in sight like unto an em- " erald." u And round about the throne were four-and-twenty "seats: and upon the seats I saw four-and-twenty " ciders sitting, clotJied in white raiment ; and they " had on their heads crowns of gold? The fact of the " Elders " being crowned with gold, indicates that they are Bishops, and not merely Priests : for in no age of the Christian Church has one of the second order of the Ministry ever assumed or worn the crown of gold. "Observe also, [says Dr. Wordsworth] the Twenty- " Four Elders are represented as sitting on thrones " even by the side of the Triune God. They have " therefore a divine character. And yet they are " represented as falling dozen and casting their THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 2J " crowns before His Throne. They have therefore " also a human element." Have not Christian Bi- shops a divine character, by virtue of their com- mission, and a human element combined ? "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and " lliunderings and voices : and there were seven lamps " of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven " Spirits of God." Here we may see allusion to what we know was a practice of the ancient Christian Church — the burning of seven lights before the Altar, at the ce- lebration of the Sacred Mysteries of the Faith. "And before the throne tliere was a sea of glass "like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, " and round about the throne, were four beasts full " of eyes before and behind. And the first beast 'was " like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and " the tliird beast had a face as a man, and the fourth " beast was like a flying eagle!' Dr. Wordsworth tells us that "Living Creatures" would be a better rendering of the original than the word " beasts," which occurs in our English Bibles: also — "The Four Living Creatures repre- sent the Four Gospels." Here then we may see allusion to the Book of the Gospels, which was carried with so much ritual pomp, and played so important a part in the cere- monial worship of the ancient Christian Church, at the Holy Eucharist : and upon which was anciently represented in work of art the emblems of the four Evangelists, [the winged man, the winged lion, the winged ox, and the eagle,] as before pointed out. " A nd the four beasts had each of them six wings " about him ; and they were full of eyes wffilin : and " they rest not day and night, saying, — Holy, holy, " holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and " is to come!' " The thrice Holy [says Dr. Wordsworth] is an " Eucharistic ascription of Glory to the Ever-Blessed " Trinity, and is derived from the Ancient Church " of God, and is adopted by the Christian Church, : thi 7 vthef:: ; : 77 hich uses it in the 7. sagi it the Holy Eu- Th: :".-.;: ::' : - :the:n being ::"ceable in all the primitive liturgies tends the rest, to in- dicate the liturgical ; tei - s a g ; And the :'.;: - : . .: :hc an: heir :- .'■.:''. ■"- -- :":::.: :"::•: ancient Church :' God, and adopted by the Chris- tian Church, is add I >nal proof that the principles of the ritual worship of the latter are derived from .-'-.' : :.': -' and honour ■■ .;•;.;" :";.;'. •'".' :: ':;"-: :':.'.: sat r. :':: :.-;■;:. :, '.: .";:.;" md - - :- ;• ciders fall :. ':_-'/ : him that sat m the :'.-':-.:. ami :.: - ■ .' ' • ". ' : :'--'..;.-'. fr :: ;-*■ .:..;' . : :-. .;-;.:' .-.:.-; v~" i'l . r. Thou art !:">::\ : : glory and honour and all things, and for ' ■ - . - jeer/.; :: y : the elaborate ritual with which, in very e it times the reading the Book of the G Sspels s a : rompanied. May the good time come when her ancient ritual, in reading the Book of the Gospels, will be restore the Church ' " . ;: isf ::-.:■ :: :h; V. ;' . nder : :;::.;:. etc ir.t links .". ::::= :h.v" :";...';:;;. _".-: :.- ::.; IV ;7.;:.: :::ay ':; ;:.:i :; 5;: ':.:' :: ;;~ a mystic vision of the Great High-priest: so, the chapter in question may g : us a mys- tic vision of THE - ;ar. Eccle- - ..- rically speaking, the one chapter may be alluded to as setting forth "the Ordinarv ;"' and the other, "the Canon." . . :. . -" . -'.at sat on side, . 'I, and, lo, in st&ft if rajts, a?: I --':.. : :: THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 29 " slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are " the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. " And he came and took the book out of the right " hand of him that sat upon the throned It must be remembered that the Altar, in the Early Christian Church, stood in the midst of the seats surrounding the apse. And anything which was upon it, would therefore naturally appear as if in the midst of those who occupied the seats. " Christ [says the Ven. Bede] is here represented " as a Lamb according to His suffering Manhood, " taking a roll from the right hand of God." "The Lamb, [says Dr. Wordsworth] who is Christ, " in His Human Nature .... He is represented as " having been slain, and as standing." Here, then, we seem to have set before us a mys- tic vision of the Sacrifice of the Christian Altar — of the Lamb, who is Christ. The Apocalyptic vision teaches, what our Holy Mother the Church has ever taught, that Christ Himself is present in the Blessed Sacrament. This is the Catholic Faith. " And when he had taken the book, the four beasts " and four -and -twenty elders fell down before the " Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden " vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." Here we may see allusion to the liturgical use of incense in the Early Christian Church, as an ac- cessory of her holy ritual worship. Dr. Wordsworth renders the passage thus — "hav- " ing each of them a harp, and vials [broad and " shallow bowls] of gold, full of incense, which " [bowls] are [i.e. signify] the prayers of the saints." It is a pity this rendering is not given in our Eng- lish Bibles, as it tends to bring out more clearly the sacrificial and liturgical character of the passage. "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many " angels round about the throne and the beasts and " the elders : and the number of them was ten thou- " sand times ten thousand, and thousands of thou- " sands; saying with a loud voice, — Worthy is the " Lamb that zuas slain to receive power, and riches, 30 THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. " and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, " and blessing." And in this manner the chapter concludes, with the adoration of Saints and Angels ; — beautifully illustrating the ancient teaching of the Catholic Church, that Angels are ever hovering about the Altar, when the Holy Sacrifice is offered up. ( 3 ) How far this ritual worship of the Early Christian Church, as set forth in the vision vouchsafed to St. John in Patmos, had developed in the I. 8 * century, we cannot positively say. But there is evidence to shew that it had at least developed in part be- fore the death of St. John, based as it is upon the principles of that more ancient system of ritual wor- ship, which was revealed to Moses. It is a singular thing that St. John is the only Evangelist who records those words of our Lord — " Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and " drink His Blood, ye have no life in you." [John vi. 53.] The other three Evangelists, who had writ- ten and died before the vision of Patmos, do not give them. St. John, who wrote his Gospel after his re- turn from Patmos, does. It would almost seem as if he were inspired, by the glorious eucharistic vision which had been vouchsafed to him, to record in his Gospel those memorable doctrinal words, which tally with the vision, and are the teaching of our Blessed Lord Himself, but which the other three Evangelists do not give. We may picture to ourselves the aged Saint, on his return from Patmos, gathering around him, as Metropolitan of Asia, his Suffragans, and with them celebrating the Sacred Mysteries of the Faith. We may well imagine that he was, when standing at the ( 3 ) The divine Liturgy of St. Chrysostom runs thus at the Little Entrance — ' ' Master, Lord, and " our God, Who hast disposed " in heaven troops and armies " of Angels and Archangels, for " the ministry of Thy glory : " grant that with our entrance " there may be an entrance of " holy Angels, ministering to- " gether with us, and with us " glorifying Thy goodness." THE USE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 31 Christian Altar, "to look upon like a jasper and a "sardine stone" — with the golden mitre upon his head, and the other mystic sacrificial colours visible in his vesture. Nor is this simply idle fancy. Ancient and mo- dern writers testify to its truth. We read — " Hither- " to [alluding to St. John] it had been his custom to " minister, as an early writer informs us, robed like " the Priests of the olden dispensation, with the " mitre on his head, and the inscription on the plate " of gold, ' Holiness to the Lord,' thereby indicating " clearly that the whole spiritual possessions of the " olden covenant, save those by nature transitory, " had fallen to the inheritance of the truer Israel, the " Church Catholic." — [Crake's History of the Church, p. 49.] Then again the old Church of England introit for St. John's Day appears to allude to the mystic sacri- ficial vesture of this great Bishop and Theologian of the Apostolic-band. " In the midst of the Church " did he open his mouth ; and the Lord filled him " with the spirit of wisdom and understanding. He " clothed him with a robe of glory." ( 4 ) This completes the evidence of the use in the I. st century of the Christian era. When we consider the centuries that have intervened between St. John's age and this, a period of time but little short of two thousand years, and the vicissitudes through which the Church of God has passed, it is providential that we have even as much evidence as this. ( 4 ) I find in the "Missal for is still retained in the Church of the Laity" that this introit for St. 1 Rome. May the good time come John's Day, which was anciently I when it will be again re-used in used in our Church of England, | our Church of England. CHAPTER III. ®Ij£ W%£ in tljt ^ttanh QDintttrg. The persecution under Domitian, which had ban- ished St. John to Patmos, had barely concluded, ere a fresh persecution arose under the Emperor Trajan, about the commencement of the II. nd century. It was amidst trials and difficulties such as these that the infant Christian Church had to struggle on, in the period we are now about to consider. The Imperial power of Rome extended over the whole civilized world, and these bitter persecutions, set on foot by a pagan power to try and stamp out Chris- tianity itself, were co-extensive with the Empire. How then was it possible under such circumstances for the Early Church, at all times and in all places, to honour God with an ornate ceremonial of ritual worship ? The thing was impossible. And hence the simplicity of so much of the worship of the age, about which so many in these days make so much boast. It is partly in consequence of this enforced sim- plicity of worship in the Early Church, in the II. nd and I i I. rd centuries — the age of the great persecutions — that a theory has been originated, with a view ap- parently to condone the use of the white surplice and to discourage the use of coloured sacrificial vestments in the Church of England, that white was the colour worn in the Christian Church at the Eucharist, during the first four centuries of the Christian era. This theory, like many others arising in the same THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. 33 school of thought, contains a half-truth : and it is therefore the more difficult to refute. The use of that little word the converts into a false theory, that which would otherwise be a true one. To say that white was the colour then worn, implying as the words naturally do that it was the only colour, is untrue, and unsupported by any clear and positive evidence whatever : whereas, to say that white was a colour then worn, is most accurately true, and supported moreover by historical evidence. The theory, there- fore, is in one sense a difficult one to grapple with. The author of the Vestiarium Christianum appears to favour this plausible modern theory. He says — " On every ground, then, we may accept without " hesitation a conclusion, in which all the best au- " thorities on the subject are agreed ; and hold that " white was the colour appropriated in primitive " times to the dress of Christian ministry." — [ Vest. Christ., p. xxxiv.] These " best authorities on the subject " I shall have occasion to refer to. The author in question gives them a few pages earlier in his work. He says — " The witnesses of chief importance for this " period of four hundred years, are St. Clement of " Alexandria, Tertullian, and St. Jerome." — [ Vest. Christ., p. xxii.] We will now consider the writings of the two wit- nesses who lived in this century, — St. Clement, and Tertullian. To St. Jerome I shall also have occa- sion to refer in due course, later on, to prove from his writings the very reverse of the theory, that white was "the colour" appropriated in primitive times to the dress of Christian ministry. It is a singular thing, that St. Clement of Alex- andria and Tertullian should have been quoted as two of the best authorities upon this subject, when they neither of them appear to have written about any kind of ecclesiastical garb whatever, of Bishop, Priest, or Deacon. It only shews upon what a feeble basis this modern theory rests. In order to understand what St. Clement and Ter- D 34 THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURV. tullian really do say and mean, we must bear in mind the times in which these two men lived. St. Cle- ment lived during the latter half of the II. nd century, and died A.D. 220. Tertullian appears to have lived about the same time : we are told he was born A.D. 1 50, and died A.D. 220. At this period the pagan Roman world was one huge vortex of vice and dissi- pation. Both men existed in the atmosphere of this vortex of Roman civilization, in an age of luxury and corruption. The use of brilliant colours and costly fabrics in the female dress of the period was the natural outcome of the luxurious living of the age, and tended in itself, in no small degree, to foster the immorality and vice then prevalent in all grades of society. It was this extravagant dress in society that St. Clement and Tertullian wrote and protested against, and which caused the former of these two great men to say — " I honour that ancient Lacedaemonian peo- " pie, who allowed none but harlots to wear gar- " ments wrought like unto flowers, and ornaments " of gold." The author of the Vestiarium Cliristianum, himself acknowledges that there is a difficulty of this sort, in dealing with St. Clement. He says, alluding to the writings of this Saint — "But it may be objected " to the relevancy of all this, and of much else to " the same effect which might be quoted, that he is " speaking of these brilliant colours as worn in ordi- " nary life, not of any such when consecrated to " the service of the Christian sanctuary. Most true." [ Vest. Christ., p. xxiii.] After this admission, it is I think needless to add anything more, with reference to the writings of St. Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. There can be no doubt whatever that white was one of the colours worn at this period. Dr. Rock, in writing upon this subject, says — "That in the ear- " Her ages all the clergy — the bishop, the priest, the " deacon, and the rest of the ecclesiastical order — " along with their distinctive robes, wore one kind of THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. 35 " white garment when they ministered at the holy " sacrifice, is quite certain. Such a ceremonial ves- " ture, common to every rank of clerks, could have " been no other than what we now call the alb." \Church of our Fathers, vol. i, p. 386.] It has before been pointed out that the long white alb, worn by Bishops and Priests of the Catholic Church, has many points of resemblance to the long white tunic, which was worn by both High -priest and Priests of the Levitical Church, and designed by God Himself. And as it is admitted by all that white vestments of some sort were worn in the Early Church, the only question in dispute being whether white was "the colour" or "a colour" then worn, it is here unnecessary to say more upon the subject, in proof of white having been worn in the age we are now considering. Another modern theory has been started, with re- gard to the ecclesiastical garb of the Early Church, which it may be well to refer to here. It is argued that the official dress of the Clergy in the Early Christian Church, even at the Celebration of the Sacred Mysteries, was derived from, and similar to, the civil dress worn by persons of distinction on oc- casions of state. We read, — " In the Primitive Period, of about 400 " years, the dress of Christian ministry was in form, " in shape, in distinctive name, identical with the " dress worn by persons of condition, on occasions " of joyous festival, or solemn ceremonial." — [Vest. Christ., p. iii.] Again, we are confronted with what may be termed a half-truth. It is clear to those who have examined the earliest examples of decorative art, which throw any light upon the subject, that there were certain points of resemblance between the civil and eccle- siastical garbs of the Primitive Period. But to say the two were identical is to go far beyond all re- cords of antiquity. To infer, also, that the official dress of the Clergy, at the Celebration of the Sacred D 2 36 THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. Mysteries of the Faith, was identical with any official civil dress, is unwarranted by any historical evidence whatever. What is true of the ecclesiastical art of the Primi- tive Period, is true also, in a degree, of the eccle- siastical dress. The Early Christians did not originate an entirely new style of art, in constructing their Churches. They simply utilized, or, so to speak, christianized the canons of pagan classic art, which they found existing in the civilized world. They appear to have preferred to utilize and remodel them upon doctrinal principles to dogmatize the Catholic Faith, rather than cast them aside altogether, and strike out an entirely new and original style of Christian art. We see this clearly from the old Romanesque art of the Primitive Period. Take, for example, the case of the two famous Basilicas of Trajan and an- cient St. Peter, at Rome. ( l ) The design of the lat- ter, which was erected in the time of Constantine for Christian worship, did not materially differ in its style from the older Basilica of Trajan, which was erected for pagan purposes before Christianity was recognised by the Empire. We may gather that the style of the two buildings — the one pagan, the other Christian — did not so materially differ, as a Gothic Church in later ages differed from both. And yet there was a difference in their style. It consisted mainly in the numerical symbolism in- fused into the design of St. Peter's. It was the science of the symbolism of numbers exercising its powerful influence upon this Basilican building, which ennobled its art beyond that of its pagan predecessor in the style. Its style of construction was not radically changed, or the old pagan canons of art wholly repudiated. But what the Early Chris- tians did in building ancient St. Peter's, and their other Churches, was this, — they simply christianized (') For plans and description | see Fergusson's History of A re hi- of these two Basilican buildings, | tecture, vol. i, pp. 317, 411. THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. 37 the Romanesque art of the period by a play in their designs upon the mystic numbers which have ever symbolised the fundamental doctrines of the Faith. We may indeed trace out the influence of these doc- trinal numbers in the Christian Romanesque art, but not in any like degree in the pagan Romanesque. Thus was art christianized in the Primitive Period, without material change of style, and made a grand exponent of the Catholic Faith. Just so does it seem to have been with the eccle- siastical dress of the period. There were points of resemblance between the civil and the ecclesiastical dress, as between Christian and pagan art. And yet there were points of difference ; the one being a de- veloped or christianized form of the other. ( 2 ) Then we must bear in mind that the Clergy, in the II. nd century and during other times of persecu- tion, by wearing a garb somewhat similar in kind to that worn by the civil power, rendered themselves less liable to imprisonment, torture, and death. For Christian Bishops and Priests to have constantly worn a distinctive ecclesiastical garb during the times of the great persecutions, or even to have kept the same in their possession, would frequently have been to sign their death warrant, and to aid the enemies of the Faith in extirpating Christianity. Hence it was that the tunica talaris, the toga, and the pallium, or ( 2 ) It is curious to observe that 1 Maximianus, in a very ancient the science of the symbolism of j mosaic, in the Church of St.Vi- numbers, which exercised so great , talis at Ravenna, has one cross an influence in christianizing an cient pagan art, aided in like de- gree in christianizing the old Ro- man toga, in its conversion into the archiepiscopal pall. The same figured on it. [See Vest. Christ., Plate XXVIII. ] St. Gregory the Great is afterwards depicted in ancient art wearing a pall with three crosses figured on it. [Plate doctrinal numbers were played XXV.] While the very beautiful upon in both instances, to dog- \ XIII. th century figure of" an Arch- matize the Catholic Faith, and bishop in a J#l£. in the British hallow to the service of God that : Museum [2. A. XXII.] shews the which had been applied to secu- | pall with five crosses figured on it. lar uses. For example, the pall J And so on. shewn to be worn by Archbishop 3$ THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. some modified form of these civic vestments, first came into ecclesiastical use. ( 3 ) And when Christianity was at length recognised and supported by the state, the official dress of the Clergy appears still to have had some points of re- semblance to that of civic jurisdiction. The learned antiquary, Dr. Rock, whose writings I have occa- sion so frequently to allude to, gives the following reason for this— "As the official dress of the civil " functionaries shewed at first glance the rank of its " wearer, so, we may warrantably presume, it was '* deemed but fitting that his position, in the hier- " archy, of the ecclesiastical superior should be " pointed out by some mark upon his sacred gar- " ments. But as the old toga, through all its changes, " had always been looked upon as the everywhere- " known and honoured token of high authority and " magisterial jurisdiction, a new, though slight, mo- " dification of this Roman emblem of power was " adopted by the Church, as a badge of that higher, " because ghostly, prerogative to which archbishop, " primate, and the supreme pontiff himself — each " according to his degree — is uplifted over those " beneath him. To such a sacred ornament, from " its first use in the sanctuary, the name of ' pall ' " has been given." — [C/iurc/i of our Fathers, vol. ii, P- I33-] Thus, there were points of resemblance between the ecclesiastical and the civil dress of the Primitive Period. This is a totally different thing to saying the two were identical. The long white tunic of the Early Church may, indeed, be said to have more af- finity to the long white tunic of the Levitical Church, than to the tunica talaris of the Empire. But the early archiepiscopal pall was undoubtedly a deve- ( 3 ) "I need only add that where " Greek dress prevailed, the pal- " Hum, in its fuller and more dig- " nified form, occupied the same "place relatively, as a dress of " ceremonial, as did the toga in " Rome itself, and in those parts " of the Roman world which ad- " hered to Roman usage." — [ Vest. Christ., p. xv.] THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. 39 lopment, or christianized form, of the old Roman toga. While the earliest kind of chasuble was also a development, or christianized form, of the ancient Eastern pallium. ( 4 ) We learn from history that the Emperor Corn- modus, towards the close of the II. nd century, wrote to Albinus, who was then in Britain in command of the Roman forces, giving him license to wear a scarlet mantle [pallium coccineum], and purple, but without gold — i.e. without golden embroidery worked thereon. If the theory, before alluded to, be correct, viz., that " in the Primitive Period, of about " 400 years, the dress of Christian ministry was in " form, in shape, in distinctive name, identical with " the dress worn by persons of condition, on occa- " sions of joyous festival, or solemn ceremonial " — a theory which is not correct, and which cannot be accepted without very considerable qualification — it follows therefrom that the colours of the vestments worn by the British Hierarchy in the II. nd century were, at all events, scarlet and purple. But the theory is so unsatisfactory, and so derogatory to the true dignity of the Catholic Church, that I will not attempt to prove the use of the colours, scarlet and purple, in the ancient British Church, by this means. It is worth while to observe how these modern theories contravene each other. Take, for example, the two alluded to ; — [first] that white was "the co- ( 4 ) The chasuble appears to come originally from an Eastern rather than from a Western source. In like manner our Church of England liturgy comes to us, by a stream of Catholic deposit, from an Eastern source — the Church of Ephesus. In like manner the germs of our English Gothic art are de- rived from an Eastern rather than from a Western source. A mo- dern antiquary writes — "Both " the Lombard and the Norman " may in a technical point of view, "be considered mere modifications " or varieties of the Byzantine ; ' ' certainly few examples of the " Romanesque out of Italy were " not derived, directly or indi- " rectly, from Constantinople, or " Byzantium, as it was previously "called'' \_Worniim's "Analysis of Or?iametit ,, ~]. All these things shew the affinity of the Church of England to the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church. 40 THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. lour" of the vestments worn by the Clergy in the Primitive Period ; [secondly] that the ecclesiastical vestments, at that period, were identical to those of civic jurisdiction. We find, indeed, that the one theory itself disproves the other, when the two to- gether are carefully considered : while both are di- rectly opposed to the ancient traditions of the Holy Catholic Church. The modern use of a plain white surplice at the Eucharist, when worn either alone or with a black stole, is clearly opposed to the ancient use of coloured sacerdotal vestments, both under the Old Dispensation, and under the New. And it is the effort, often made from seemingly right and con- scientious motives, to support the modern use of the white surplice, as the liturgical garb of the English Clergy — opposed though it be to the teaching of the Bible, to the traditions of our Church, and to the ru- brics of our Book of Common Prayer — which has un- happily led, of late years, to many such theories as those alluded to. ( 5 ) In speaking of the Early Church, in the time of Trajan, just at the commencement of the II. nd cen- tury, Mr. Crake says — " The Church had now fully " emerged from the Synagogue, and the Catholic " Faith was emancipated from the shackles of the " Mosaic Dispensation, which it had superseded. ( 5 ) The use of white only as the distinctive colour of the mi- nisterial dress is essentially a mo- dern theory. Russian religious fanatics seem to prefer this colour, in order apparently to shew there- by the superiority and purity of their rites to those of the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church in Rus- sia, which sanctions coloured vest- ments. We read— "Another sect ' ' belonging to this category is the ' ' Jumpers, among whom the ero- "tic element is disagreeably pro- " minent. Here is a description " of their religious meetings, which "are held during summer in the " forest, and during winter in some " outlying house or barn : — After " due preparation prayers are read " by the chief teacher, dressed in " a white robe and standing in the ' ' midst of the congregation. At " first he reads in an ordinary tone " of voice, and then passes gradu- " ally into a merry chant. When "he remarks that the chanting " has sufficiently acted on the hear- " ers, he begins to jump. The ' ' hearers, singing likewise, follow " his example." — [ Wallace's Rus- sia, vol. i, p. 461.] THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. 41 " Nevertheless the Jewish Christians, who had found " refuge in Pella during the siege, [i.e. the siege of " Jerusalem] clung fondly to their ancestral rites " and usages ; and, under the name of the Church " of Jerusalem, retained such portions of Jewish dis- " cipline and ceremonial as could be in any wise in- " corporated with Christian worship." — {History of the Church, p. 56.] We may well imagine how fondly these Early Christians, who had escaped from Jerusalem just before the siege and found refuge in Pella, clung to the use of the five mystic colours of the Law in the sacrificial vestments of the Christian Priesthood ; save in those times of open and bitter persecution, when the doctrine and ceremonial attending the Holy Eucharist had to be carefully veiled. Polycrates of Ephesus, in writing to Victor, Bishop of Rome, about the close of the II. nd century, alludes thus to the golden plate, or mitre, which was worn by St. John the Divine : — "Yea moreover, John also, " he that reclined on the Lord's breast, and became " a High-priest wearing the golden plate, and a Wit- " ness, and a Teacher, he, I say, now sleepeth in " Ephesus." ( 6 ) Knowing how St. John's memory was revered in the Early Christian Church, we may reasonably infer that if a mitre of gold was worn by him, about which there can be no shadow of doubt, it was worn also in the II. nd century by the Bishop of Ephesus, his suc- cessor, when the above passage was written. And if gold was then worn in the Bishop's vesture, as of yore, it is indirect evidence that the other mystic colours of the Law were worn also, save when per- secution hindered. The question may also be asked, from whence did St. John the Divine, and the Bishops of the Early Christian Church, receive their use of gold in the ( 6 ) The original Greek of the in the Vestiarium Chrisiianum, passage is given by Marriott j p. 38. 42 THE USE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. episcopal vesture ? Manifestly from the ancient ves- ture of the ancient Church of God, as there is not a word of command upon the subject recorded in the New Testament. By parity of reason, therefore, if one colour of the ancient vesture was retained, the other colours, mystically linked together with it, must have been so also. CHAPTER IV. ®Iji> te in tire tltjirir (Kfltitoro. The III. rd century was pre-eminently the age of persecution. The infant Christian Church had still to struggle on against this and the other difficulties which beset her. From A.D. 202 to 302 there arose no less than six out of the ten great persecutions. It is most obvious that under such circumstances a high ritual in celebrating the Sacred Mysteries of the Faith was not often possible. Ritual had then to be suppressed, not by choice, but, of necessity. There appears to be very little evidence whatever of the ritual worship of the Church in this age. Christians worshipped where and how they could — in the catacombs, in deserts, and in secret places, known only to the faithful. It is not surprising, under such circumstances, that we learn so little of the official dress of the Clergy at the Holy Eu- charist during this period. The primitive Liturgies are, as a rule, very reti- cent upon the subject. They neither prescribe white, or any other colour, to be worn by the officiating Clergy. It is therefore not unreasonable to assume that some fixed type of sacerdotal dress was so generally worn, save in times of persecution, and the like, as to need no rubrical directions in the Liturgy. And beside this, a good reason has been assigned for this reticence of the primitive Liturgies upon the subject. M. L'Abbe Fleury, in speaking of the re- serve respecting the Mysteries, says — " They were " concealed, not only from unbelievers, but also from 44 THE USE IN THE THIRD CENTURY. " Catechumens. They not only refused to celebrate " them in their presence, but they would not venture " to give an account of their attendant ceremonies to " them, nor utter in their presence the solemn words, " nor even speak to them of the nature of the Sacra- " ments. They wrote about them still less ; and if " in some public discourse, or in some writing which " might fall into profane hands, they were obliged " to make reference to the Holy Eucharist, or to " some other Mystery, they did so in obscure enig- " matical language. . . . This discipline lasted through " several centuries, even after the freedom of the " Church." — [The Manners of the Christians, p. 74.] This again accounts for the silence of the primitive Liturgies upon the subject of the official dress of the Clergy. If the early Christians thought it expedient to keep all unbelievers, and even the Catechumens, in complete ignorance of their ceremonial worship, they would naturally not commit to writing that mystic ceremonial which they desired to screen. But we must bear in mind that all these primitive Liturgies clearly bring out the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. In the divine Liturgy of St. Mark, the Priest prays — " Fulfil also, O God, this Sacrifice " with Thy heavenly blessing, by the coming down " on it of Thy most Holy Ghost." (*) Again, in the divine Liturgy of St. James — " Lord our God, " incomprehensible Word of God, consubstantial, co- " eternal, indivisible, with the Father and the Holy " Ghost, receive the pure hymn, in Thy holy and " spotless Sacrifice," &c. ( 2 ) Again, in the divine Liturgy of St. Chrysostom — "strengthen, with the " might of Thy Holy Ghost, me that have been " endued with the grace of the Priesthood, that I " may stand by this Thy holy Altar, and sacri- " fice Thy holy and spotless Body and precious " Blood." ( 3 ) And so on. (') Translations of the Primitive I (") Id. p. 58. Liturgies, Neale&Littteda/e, p. 21. | ( 3 ) Id. p. 106. THE USE IN THE THIRD CENTURY. 45 Then again we must bear in mind that reference is again and again made to the ritual use of lights and incense in these primitive Liturgies, thus indicating the continuity of the Church's system in the primi- tive age, and the unison of the Christian system of worship with the Levitical. For example, in the di- vine Liturgy of St. Mark, the Priest is directed to offer incense with these words — " Incense is offered " to Thy Name. Let it ascend, we pray Thee, out " of the poor hands of us sinners, to Thy super- " celestial Altar, for a sweet-smelling savour for the " propitiation of all Thy people. For to Thee is due " all glory, honour, worship, and giving of thanks, " the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and " ever, and to ages of ages." ( 4 ) And again, in the divine Liturgy of St. James — "We thank Thee, God " and Saviour of all, for all the good things which " Thou hast bestowed on us ; and for the partici- " pation of Thy holy and spotless mysteries. And " we offer to Thee this incense, praying Thee to keep " us under the shadow of Thy wings," &c. ( 5 ) If, therefore, the Eucharist was looked upon in the Early Christian Church as a sacrifice ; and incense and other accessories of divine worship were retained and in use, as under the Old Dispensation ; — it is not difficult to understand the absence of any rubrical di- rections about the colour of the sacerdotal dress, in these ancient and venerable Liturgies. When they were compiled, the continuity of the sacrificial sys- tem of the ONE TRUE CHURCH OF GOD UPON EARTH was maintained : the Christian ritual worship was looked upon as the natural development of the Le- vitical : and the clear and positive instructions in the Sacred Canon, with regard to the sacrificial colours to be worn by the Priesthood of the Church, rendered no rubric, on this point, necessary. On no other grounds can we satisfactorily account for the reticence of most of the primitive Liturgies upon the subject of vestments. If white vestments ( 4 ) Id. p. 12. ( 5 ) Id. P . 62. 46 THE USE IN THE THIRD CENTURY. only were then worn, as some nowadays affirm, surely white would have been prescribed in one or the other of them, considering that no directions for wearing only white are given either in the New Testament, or elsewhere. The divine Liturgy of St. Clement differs some- what from the other primitive Liturgies in having an ancient rubric which refers to the splendid vestment worn by a Bishop during the time of the Anaphora. The rubric is as follows — " When, this is done, let the " Deacons bring the gifts to the Bishop at the Altar ; " and let the Priests stand on his right hand, and on " his left, as disciples by their Master. But let two of " the Deacons on each side of the Altar hold a fan " made up of thin membranes, or peacock 's feathers, or "fine cloth, and let them silently drive awry flies and " gnats, that they may not fall into the cups. TJien the " Bishop, after having prayed secretly, [and likewise " the Priests,] and having put on his splendid vest- " nient, and standing at the Altar, and signing him- " self with the sign of the Cross upon his forehead, let " him say" ( 6 ) This ancient rubric tends to confirm what has al- ready been proved, that in the matter of sacrificial vestments the Christian use of the Primitive Period was in principle based upon the Levitical use. In the Levitical Church it was the High-priest who wore the splendid vesture. That of the Priests was quite secondary to it in beauty and adornment. So too we perceive, from the above, that it was the Bishop [the High-priest of the New Dispensation] who wore the "splendid vestment": the dress of the assisting Priests and Deacons being manifestly less ornate. If it be thus proved that in general principles the two uses were identical, it helps to demonstrate that in the matter of colour they were so also. The divine Liturgy of St. Clement has been as- signed by antiquaries to an early period of the (*) Translations of the Primitive Liturgies, p. 76. THE USE IN THE THIRD CENTURY. 47 III. rd century. ( T ) The rubric in question appears to be original and not interpolated. An effort has been made by those who disapprove of coloured vestments to try and get over the difficulty which this rubric presents, by asserting that it must be an interpolation. Dr. Littledale gives a cogent reason why it is unlikely to be so. He says, with reference to it — " This very ancient rubric establishes the use " of a special Eucharistic robe at an exceedingly " early date. It is unlikely to be an interpolation, " because there is no trace of this Liturgy having " ever been actually employed in public worship." [Translations of the Primitive Liturgies, p. 76.] Some of the mural paintings in the Catacombs are probably of this date — the III. rd century. They do not, however, throw any light upon the subject of Eucharistic vestments. The Celebration of the Eu- charist appears to be a subject the Primitive Chris- tians hesitated to depict in art ; probably from feel- ings of deep reverence ; and from the desire to keep secret from the profane world, and even from Ca- techumens, the mystic ceremonial of the Church. We meet rather with such subjects as these : — our Lord as the Good Shepherd : or our Blessed Lord seated with His disciples, as in the Cemeteries of St. Agnes and St. Callixtus : or events from the Old and New Testament, pointing to the ideas of Pardon, Regeneration, and Resurrection. Hence these early mural paintings do not teach us any- thing about the matter in question, a Celebration of the Eucharist being nowhere depicted. ( 7 ) See the Vest. Christ., p. xxxii. CHAPTER V. (Tljr 8ts* in tijt jfmirtlj (frntorn. This era Is one of the most important in the his- tory of the Catholic Church. Up to the time of stantine the Great, the Empire of Rome had done its utmost to suppress Christianity. From the time of Constantino, or rather from about the time of the Council of Nicaea, A.P. $25, this state of things was reversed. The State no longer per- secuted the Christians: it rather favoured and en- couraged the Religion of Jesus Christ. [ ider this regime, so favourable to the Church, we rind that the development in many of the ex- ternals oi Religion was rapid : — Churches were built; foremost amongst which may be named the ancient -:lica of St. Peter at Rome: — Dioceses were re- l ) : — Councils were assembled: — and the a emony and pomp of ritual worship was advanced accordingly. The chief authorities o( this age who treat of the latter subject, with regard to vestments, are, Euse- bhis [ esarea, Theodoret, and St. Jerome. We shall find that their concurrent testimony agrees. I.. the senr. hich was pronounced Eusebius of Caesarea, at the opening of the great C) "It is very likely therefore : from the reign of Constan- " tine, the local boundaries of each C ese throughout the Christian " world were made to coincide, as "near as possible, 'with those of '' civic jurisdiction, so that every ■ should have its own bishop, ' ' even- pre-\-ince its archbishop, . every large tract of country rrimate." — [Church of cur . . vol. ii, p. 133.] THE USE IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. 49 Basilican Church at Tyre, after the public recog- nition of Christianity by Constantine, there is allu- sion made to the sacerdotal dress. A modern writer says in reference to this sermon, — "the leading " thought that pervades it is that of a comparison " between the magnificent Church, for the consecra- " tion of which they were assembled, and the Temple " of Solomon." A comparison between the Christian and the Levitical system forms, as it were, the key note of all. In this strain, Eusebius addresses the assembled Clergy as " Friends of God, and Bishops, " clad in the holy vesture that reacheth to the feet, " and with the heavenly crown of glory, and with the " unction of inspiration, and the priestly vesture of " the Holy Spirit." — \_Euseb. H. E. lib. x, cap. iv] This passage is an important one, as regards the use of the IV. th century. Taken in connection with its context, it is clear that the idea which was run- ning through the orator's mind was the resemblance of the episcopal vesture then worn to that of olden time. "The holy vesture that reacheth to the feet," and "the heavenly crown of glory" on the head, would apply equally to a Christian Bishop or a Levi- tical High-priest : and the passage certainly sir that the vesture of the former harmonized, in a de- gree, with that of the latter, at this particular period. The next authority is Theodoret. Mention is made by Theodoret, who lived A.D. 393 — 457, a little after Constantine's time, of the vestment which that Em- peror sent to Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem. "The " Emperor Constantine, of famous memory, as a mark " of honour to the Church at Jerusalem, had sent to " Macarius, then Bishop of that city, a sacred robe, " made of threads of gold, which he should put " upon him when performing the office of holy "baptism." f) It is argued that the passage "proves nothing " about Eucharistic vestments at all, for Constantine ( 2 ) The original Greek is given in the Vest. Chrizt., p. 42. E 5o THE USE IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. " sent it to be worn in the administering of holy " baptism." ( 3 ) The author who penned this argument forgets that in the Early Christian Church the same vestment was used, apparently, for Holy Baptism as for Holy Communion, in order to give dignity to the former of these two great Sacraments. Of this we have positive evidence. ( 4 ) Even if we consider the matter from a common sense point of view, [which I must, however, admit is not a right mode of dealing with these matters] it seems most unreasonable to assume, if a vestment embroidered with gold thread was deemed fitting for the sacrament of Baptism, that a plain white vest- ment was then worn for the greater and more ex- alted sacrament of the Eucharist. We now pass on to the testimony of St. Jerome, "the most learned of all the Latin Fathers." His is the most important of all. St. Jerome's letter to Fabiola, written at Bethle- hem A.D. 396 or 397, treats of the sacrificial vest- ments worn by the Priesthood of God's Church upon earth. It. enters very fully into detail upon the subject. St. Jerome first of all alludes to the vest- ments of Levitical use ; pointing out those "common to Priests and to High-priests alike"; and those which exclusively belonged to the High-priest only. In this he follows the Sacred Canon ; and shews clearly that the five colours — gold, blue, purple, ( s ) See the Vest- Christ., p. xxxi. ( 4 ) It would appear from some writers that in the East the same coloured vestment was worn for the sacrament of Baptism as for the sacrament of the Eucharist, Germanus, the Patriarch of Con- stantinople, writing in the VIII. ,h century, says — " In th e phenolion " [i.e. the vestment of the Eastern Church which corresponds to the chasuble of the Western Church] •' we may see the scarlet robe which " those ungodly ones, in mockery " ofjesus, didputuponHim. And " this serveth also as the robe of ' ' Baptism. " [ Vest. Christ. , p. 85]. In the Western Church it would also appear that the chasuble was sometimesworn at the ministration of Baptism even as late as the IX. th century ; as may be seen by an illuminated Latin fHS. of this date, now in the Library of S. Mi- nerva at Rome. See also the Vest. Christ., plate xxxvii. THE USE IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. 5i scarlet, and white — were used for the vestments of the Levitical Church ; and these five colours only. In the latter part of the letter St. Jerome refers to the vestments of the Christian Church. He writes, vetus lex nova congruit [the old law agreeth with the new] ; and concludes thus — Lamina aurea rutilat in fronte : nihil enim nobis prodest omnium rerum eruditio, nisi Dei scientia coronemur. Lineis in- duimur, ornamur hiacyn- thinis, sacro baltheo cin- gimur,dantur nobis opera, Rationale in pectore poni- tur : accipimus veritatem, profert sermo doctrinam : imperfecta sunt uni versa, nisi tarn decoro currui dignus quaeratur auriga, et super creaturas Creator insistens, regat ipse quae condidit. Quod olim in la- mina monstrabatur, nunc in signo ostenditur crucis. Auro legis sanguis Evan- gelii pretiosior est. Tunc signum juxta Ezechielis vocem gementibus fige- batur in fronte : nunc portantes crucem dici- mus ; Signatum est su- per nos lumen vnltus tut Domine Jam sermo finitur, et ad superiora retrahor. Tanta debet esse scientia et eru- ditio Pontificis Dei, ut et gressus ejus, et motus, et universa vocalia sint. Ve- ritatem mente concipiat, E " A plate of gold glit- ters on the forehead, for theknowledge ofall things is of no profit to us unless we be crowned with the knowledge of God. We are clothed in linen, we are adorned with blue vestments, we are girt about with the sacred belt, worked vestments are given unto us, the rational is placed upon the breast : we receive the truth, our discourse brings forth doctrine: — but the whole of these are imperfect unless a cha- rioteer sufficiently worthy be obtained for so beau- tiful an equipage, and the Great Creator, presiding over His creatures, Him- self governs the things which He Himself hath founded. For that which in times past was shewn on the golden plate is now shewn forth in the sign of the cross. The blood of the Gospel is more precious than the gold of the law. At that time the sign, according to the word of Ezekiel, 2 52 THE USE IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. et toto earn habitu reso- net et ornatu : ut quid- quid agit, quidquid loqui- tur, sit doctrina populo- rum. Absque tintinnabu- lis enim et diversis colo- ribus et gemmis floribus- que virtutum, nee Sancta ingredi potest, nee nomen Antistitis possidere. — [S. Hieronymns. Epistola ad Fabiolam de veste sacer- dotali.~\ was fixed on the forehead of the mourners : but we, who now bear the cross, say — 'The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us.' Now my discourse is drawing to a close, and I return to those matters I have been speaking of above. Such should be the wisdom and learning of a Bishop of God, as that his walk, and carriage, and everything connected with him, may be within the hearing of men. Let him conceive truth in his mind, and let it be pro- claimed by every garb and adornment : so that what- ever he does, whatever he speaks, may be the doc- trinal edification of the people. FojL_without the bells, and the different_col ours f and the gems, and the flowers of virtue, hejieither can enter the Sanc- tuary, nor assume to himself the name of Bishop." ( 5 ) The testimony of this great Doctor is especially valuable when we consider that he had been pri- vileged to ascertain by personal observation what was the ritual worship of the Church in that age, in every part of Christendom. In his youth he had studied at Rome. After being baptized he went into Gaul, where he must have become acquainted with the use of the British Church, — the Gallican and British uses being identical, as will be proved elsewhere. We afterwards read of him travelling into Thrace, Pontus, Bithynia, Galatia, and Cappa- docia. After this he retired into a desert in Syria. From thence he went to Jerusalem : from thence to Constantinople : and in the following year, A.D. 382, back again to Rome. This latter journey was 5 " Antistes, properly one in " foremost place, and hence occa- sionally used by classical writers "of heathen priests, and frequent- "lyin Christian literature of bi- ' ' shops. "—Marriott. THE USE IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. 53 undertaken about fifteen years before the letter to Fabiola was written. So that before writing the above, St. Jerome had travelled East and West, and joined in the ritual worship of the Church in almost every Christian land. This makes his testimony of such great value. He mentions no diversity of use in any land ; but says simply, with regard to the liturgical vestments, for without the different colours he neither can enter the Sanctuary, nor assume to himself the name of Bishop. St. Jerome is the last of the three witnesses " of chief importance " whom the author of the Vestia- rium CJiristianum alludes to in order to endeavour to support the modern theory " that white was the " colour appropriated in primitive times to the dress " of Christian ministry." The other two — St. Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian — have already been dealt with. I now leave it to the reader to decide, whether St. Jerome's testimony is for, or against, this modern school of thought. CHAPTER VI. ®hi> to in the fifth The heresiarch Pelagius was a British Monk. He must therefore have been very familiar with the ritual worship of the ancient British Church. He appears to have left his native land about A.D. 400. In Jerusalem he met St. Jerome ; and for a time, until the latter became aware of his heretical opi- nions, these two men — the sinner and the saint — lived on friendly terms. St. Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers, when writing his History of Synods, A.D. 358, took the opportunity of congratulating the British Bishops on their sted- fastness in the Faith, the while so many Bishops in other parts of Christendom had embraced Arianism. The Faith of the British Church, and the ortho- doxy of her ritual worship, — the natural outcome of stedfastness in the Faith — would appear to have been instrumental in disclosing some of the poison- ous rancour which festered in the heart of Pelagius. His unbalanced mind was unable to appreciate, or even to tolerate, the othodox coloured vestments then worn in his own native land, as elsewhere. St. Jerome boldly confronts him upon the subject, with these words : — Unde adjungis gloriam " Hence you go on to vestium et ornamentorum say that the splendour of Deoessecontrarium. Quae vestments and ornaments sunt ergo inimicitiae con- is a thing contrary to God. tra Deum si tunicam ha- But what offence is there THE USE IN THE FIFTH CENTURY 55 bueromundiorem : siepis- copus, presbyter, et dia- conus, et reliquus ordo ec- clesiasticus in administra- tione sacrificiorum Can- dida veste processerint. [S. Hieronymus, lib. prim, adv. Pelagium, op. torn, ii, p. 185.] shewn towards God, if I wear a handsome tunic: or if, in the administra- tion of the sacrifices, Bi- shop, Priest, and Deacon, and the rest of the ec- clesiastical order, shall walk in the procession robed in white." (*) There is nothing new under the sun. Those, now- adays, who contend against the splendour of vest- ments and ecclesiastical ornaments, are but follow- ing in the footsteps of the once British Monk, the heresiarch Pelagius. It is written in Exodus, — "And of the blue, and " purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to " do service in the holy place, and made the holy " garments for Aaron : as the Lord commanded "Moses." [Ex. xxxix. 1.] Thus, besides being used in making the sacrificial vestments for the Priest- hood, these mystic colours — blue, purple, and scarlet — were used also in making the cloths of service for the holy place. The earliest tradition we have of the use of Altar- cloths in the ancient British Church is directly based upon this more ancient tradition of the Church of (') It is in reference to this pas- sage that Dr. Rock writes — " That " in the earlier ages, all the " clergy — the bishop, the priest, " the deacon, and the rest of the " ecclesiastical order — along with ' ' their distinctive robes, wore one " kind of white garment when " they ministered at the holy sa- " crifice, is quite certain." St. Jerome appears to be here alluding to the procession of the Little Entrance, or else to that other procession of the Great En- trance. It was the custom in the Early Church, as we learn from the divine Liturgy of St. Clement, for the celebrant to put on his sacrificial dress after these ritual processions, at the com- mencement of the "anaphora," or "canon of the mass," as it is termed in the Western Church. We may, therefore, reasonably infer — as the sacrificial vestment of the celebrant was put on after- wards — that the clergy in these ritual processions walked in white robes. It is to this, apparently, that St. Jerome alludes. 56 THE USE IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. God. In the Church of England, it was invariably the custom, in British and Anglo-Saxon times, to have a purple pall overspreading the Altar ; while upon this, one or three white linen cloths were spread, when the Holy Sacrifice was offered up, — in the earliest ages one, and in later times three. The same custom prevailed in the mediaeval Church of England, though other colours besides purple were then used as well. Even in the early days of the Reformation, as will be seen when we come to consider the latter years of Edward the VI. th 's reign, the same custom — the use of a purple Altar- cloth — prevailed in our Church of England. Thus was the mystic colour purple used in this land about the Altar, " to do service in the holy place as " the Lord commanded Moses," from the earliest ages of Christianity of which we have any authentic records. One of the earliest of these records, in regard to the use of Altar-cloths, dates from the V. th century, the age we are now more particularly considering. Gildas, the most ancient of our native historians, who lived at this period, indirectly mentions the subject, in these words : — Sub sancti abbatis am- phibalo, latera regiorum tenerrima puerorum, inter ipsa ut dixi, sacrosanc- ta altaria nefando ense hastaque pro dentibus la- ceravit [Damnoniae tyran- nicus catulus Constanti- nusj, ita ut sacrificii cae- lestis scdem purpurea ac si coagulati cruoris pallia attingerent. — [Epistola Gildce, ed. Stevenson, p. 37-J " Dressed in the vest- ment of a holy Abbot, he [Constantinus, the ty- rannical whelp of Dam- nonia] tore the most ten- der sides of royal youths, before the most sacred Al- tar itself, with cruel sword and spear, as it were with teeth, so that they stained the seat of the heavenly sacrifice with a purple pall, as it were, of clotted gore." The passage clearly indicates that a purple pall, as a covering to the Altar, was used in the ancient THE USE IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. 57 British Church : and this is supported by other evi- dence, which will be referred to in due course. Another tradition of our Church, of equal anti- quity, is the distinctive use of white vestments for Eastertide. In the British Church, in the Anglo- Saxon, and in the Mediaeval, this use was followed ; the other sacred colours being subordinate at this particular season, probably embroidered only on the white. The reason why the old Churchmen preferred white as the distinctive colour of Easter is given in an ancient Gallican i^^., of the date of the VI. th century, to which reference will presently be made. It is therein stated that white vestments were to be worn at Easter, because the Angels at the Tomb on the morn of the Resurrection were seen in white. We meet with the following bequest of St. Re- migius, who flourished just at the latter end of the V. th century : — Futuro episcopo sue- " I leave to the future cessori meo, amphibalum Bishop, my successor, a album paschalem relin- j white Easter chasuble." ( 2 ) quo. — [Test. S. Rcmigii Rcmensis, apud Gallandium.] Dr. Rock says, with reference to this very ancient Gallican use — "a practice which then obtained in " Gaul, was no doubt followed, during the same " epoch, throughout this island by the British priest- " hood." ( 3 ) Of this there can be no doubt, if we bear in mind the intercourse between the two Churches, and the similarity of their Ephesine Liturgy. It must not be imagined, because white was the distinctive colour for Eastertide in the ancient British Church, that at this early period other seasons of the Christian Year had their distinctive colours also. It was not so. Easter appears to have been the only ( 2 ) "Of course, the reader is [ " one planeta, is only another one " aware that the ancient word ■ "for the chasuble." — Rock, '■'■amphibalum, like the modern I ( 3 ) Ch. of our Fa. , vol. ii, p. 258. 58 THE USE IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. festival which then had its distinctive colour to mark the season. There was no such thing in the more ancient Levitical Church, nor yet in the ancient British Church, as a sequence of colours to mark the differ- ent seasons of the ecclesiastical Year. That is a de- velopment of late mediaeval growth. Even in St. Osmund's time, in the early days of our incompara- ble Sarum use, there was still no such thing as a sequence of colours, in the sense in which the term is now ecclesiastically used in the Western Church. But this is anticipating. In the year 440, Sixtus Bishop of Rome died. He was succeeded by the great St. Leo ; and under his pontificate Rome made very important advances towards that supremacy which she afterwards so fully attained. It is reported of St. Leo, that when Attila the " scourge of God " was advancing upon Rome with his victorious Huns, he freely exposed his life for the safety of his flock, and embraced the resolution of eroinar out clad in his sacred vesture to meet the conqueror face to face. "The pressing eloquence " of Leo, his majestic aspect and sacerdotal robes, " excited the veneration of Attila for the spiritual " father of the Christians." — [Crake's History of the Church, p. 469.] It is said that Attila withdrew from marching upon Rome, and retired beyond the Danube. We may form some picture in the mind's eye of this venerable Bishop, clad in his sacred vesture, going out boldly at the imminent risk of his life to meet the terrible Attila and his barbaric hordes. His gait and vesture must have been as imposing as that of God's High-priests of old, for it appears to have struck the foe with a superstitious awe. By the providence of God, this action of St. Leo, in hesitating not to go out to meet these barbarians in his sacerdotal robes, probably saved Rome. And although the incident does not throw any light upon THE USE IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. 59 the colour of the Bishop's vesture, it nevertheless tends to shew that imposing vestments were then worn by the Bishops of the Church, as by the High- priests of old. This completes the evidence of the use in the V. th century. I venture to think it is quite sufficient to supply the required link in this chain of evidence. There can be no doubt whatever that the same use prevailed in this century as in the IV. th and VI. th ; and in both these ages the ancient use of the Ca- tholic Church is well defined. CHAPTER VII. $!}£ Wist in tlj£ ^istlj €mtnrQ. The great St. Benedict, the illustrious founder of the black monks, lived in this age. To his Bene- dictine Rule we may trace the origin of the use of black, in the system of the Catholic Church. It appears to have been originally used for the mo- nastic habit, just as were other sombre colours in later times, in contradistinction, as it were, to the coloured sacrificial vestments of the Clergy. There is not a particle of evidence to indicate that in British or Anglo-Saxon times any sort of black vestment was worn at the Holy Eucharist, at any season of the Christian Year. Our ancient and vene- rable Church of England was too orthodox to sanc- tion any such use, in connection with the service of the Altar, either in British or Anglo-Saxon times. The original use of black in the ecclesiastical sys- tem was orthodox enough ; and its early develop- ment in use no less so. After its adoption as the colour of the distinctive habit of the Benedictines, it came in course of time to be used also for the cappa, or outdoor processional vestment of the Clergy. These early copes were always provided with hoods, and in this respect they corresponded to the monas- tic dress, which had also its cowl or hood. A clear distinction was drawn in olden time between the use of the chasuble and the cope. As before remarked, the former was always looked upon as the sacrificial vestment, the latter as the processional. It is only, indeed, when we get to mediaeval times that we find THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. 6l the cope used indoors. Then the hood was not al- ways provided, but its outline was simply embroi- dered upon the vestment itself. The cope was never used in the Church of England up to the times of the Reformation as a liturgical vestment : this must be distinctly borne in mind. We have, therefore, little or nothing to do with the cope, as regards this work. But the point is this : — that the use of the colour black was orthodox enough when confined to the monastic habit, or the processional vestments of the Clergy, or the like : to which usage it was confined in the more ancient Church of England. But that its use was not orthodox, but rather a corruption of the ecclesiastical system, when this colour came in course of time to be used for sacrificial vestments. There is an ancient Gallican jfHio. edited by Mar- tene, which this antiquary dates from about the middle of the VI. th century. It proves the use of white vestments at Eastertide, and thereby harmo- nizes with the bequest of St. Remigius, referred to in the last chapter. The following is an extract from it : — Pallium in pascha cum tintinnabulis Eucharistia velatur, instar veteris tes- tamenti ubi tonica [i.e. tunica] sacerdotis plena tintinnabulis, signans ver- ba prsedicationis, ostendi- tur. Praecinctio autem ves- timenti candidi, quod sa- cerdos baptizaturus prae- cingitur, in signa sancti Joannis agitur, qui prse- cinctus baptizavit Domi- num. Albis autem ves- " In Eastertide at the Eucharist let the pall (') be fringed with little bells, after the manner of the Old Testament, where the robe of the High -priest, with many little bells, signifying words of prophesy, is so shewn. Moreover, the girding on of a white vestment, with which the Priest about to baptize is girt, is done in token of ( x ) Probably the episcopal pall is here alluded to. 62 THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. tibus in pascha induetur, secundum quod angelus ad monumentum albis vestibus cerneretur. Albae etenim vestis exaltatio- nem significant. Casula, quam amphi- balum vocant, quod sa- cerdos induetur, tota uni- ta, per Moysem legiferum instituta primitus demon- stratur. Jussit ergo Do- minus fieri dissimilatum vestimentum, ut talem sacerdos induerit quali indui populus non aude- retur. Ideo sine manicas, quia sacerdos potius be- nedicit quam ministrat. Ideo unita prinsecus, non scissa, non aperta : quia multae sunt Scripturae sa- crae secreta mysteria, quae quasi sub sigillo sacerdoti doctus debet abscondere, et unitatem custodire,non in haeresi vel schismata declinare. — [ Vest. Christ., p. 204.] St. John, who when girt baptized the Lord. More- over, he [the Priest] at Eastertide will be clad in white vestments, because the Angel might be seen at the Tomb in white garments. And moreover white vestments signify dignity. ( 2 ) The chasuble, which they call ' amphibalum,' with which the Priest will be clothed, being all one, is proved to have been in the first place appointed by law-giving Moses, because God ordered a dissimilar vestment to be made, so that the Priest might put on that which the people might not dare to be cloth- ed with. Moreover with- out maniples ; because the Priest blesses rather than ministers. More- over whole, not divided, nor open ; because many of the sacred Scriptures are hidden mysteries ; which he, taught as it were under the seal of the Priesthood, ought to hide, and to keep together ; so as not to turn aside into heresy or schism." This ancient Gallican jHEiS?. goes on to say : — " Moreover, the sacerdotal vestments are woven to- " gether with threads, since God commanded Moses, " in the Book of Numbers, that the children of Israel ( 2 ) The festival of Easter in dignity excelling all others of the Christian Year. It is most likely that red vestments were worn at other seasons, in contradistinction, as it were. THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. 65 " should make threads at the four corners of their " vestments [palliorum], so that the people of the " Lord might bear a mark of God's commands, not " only in their work, but also in their vesture." This has reference, as the context of the passage clearly shews, to the rationale or breastplate of the High- priest, which was " foursquare," and made " of gold, " of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of " fine twined linen." The author thus compares the threads of which the vestments in his day were made, to those of which the Levitical vestments were made. Thus we have every reason to believe that in the Gallican Church in the VI. th century, as also in the parts of Britain where Christianity survived, the five orthodox colours were still used for sacrificial vest- ments, and those only. It is certain that in the British Church, as in the Anglo-Saxon, our Bishops wore the mitre. It was looked upon both in the Levitical and Early Chris- tian Church as a part of the sacrificial garb, and the insignia of high office. The ancient British Church was pre-eminently orthodox in this respect, for the mitre then worn by her Bishops closely corresponded to that worn by the Levitical Priesthood. We read in the life of our British countryman St. Samson, a holy Bishop who lived about the middle of the VI. tu century : — Sanctus Samson ad- mirabilem vidit visum. Ouadam nocte circum- septari se a delicatis, ac " Holy Samson saw a wonderful vision. On a certain night he perceived himself to be surrounded densissimis candidatorum by a distinguished and turbis cernit, et tres epis- great number of persons copos egregios diadema- dressed in white ; and tibus aureis in capite or- three renowned Bishops, natos, atque holosericis having their heads adorn- ac pulcherrimis amictos ed with golden crowns vestibus in faciem sibi ad- and clothed with vest- sistere. — [ Vita S. S aviso- ments all of silk and very 64 THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. nis, apud Mabillon, AA. I beautiful, stood before SS. B., torn, i, p. 165]. I him." The passage affords us a glimpse of the episcopal vesture of the British hierarchy in the VI. th century; and indicates that the gold mitre was then worn, as of old. Dr. Rock conjectures that the writer must have lived but a very short time after St. Samson. We turn now to the testimony of St. Gregory the Great, to whom Western Christendom, and the an- cient Church of England in particular, is so deeply indebted. This great luminary of his age has written as follows : — Unde supernae quoque vocis imperio in utroque humero sacerdosvelamine superhumeralis astringi- tur : ut contra adversa ac prospera virtutum semp- er ornamento muniatur : quatenus juxta vocem Pauli, Per arma justitiae a dextris sinistrisque gra- diens, cum ad sola quae anteriora sunt nititur, in nullo delectationis infimae latere flectatur. Non hunc prospera elevent, non ad- versa perturbent, non blanda usque ad volupta- tem demulceant, non as- pera usque ad despera- tionem premant : ut dum nullis passionibus inten- tionem mentis humiliat, quanta in utroque humero superhumeralis pulchri- tudine tegatur ostendat. Quod recte superhumer- ale ex auro, hyacintho, purpura, bis tincto cocco, " Whence, by the com- mand of the divine voice above, the Priest is vested upon either shoulder with the vestment set thereon, that he may ever be armed both against adversity and prosperity, by the adorn- ment of the virtues : so that, as says Saint Paul, ' walking with the armour of justice on the right hand and on the /eft,' while stri- ving towards the things only which are before him, he may be led astray by none of the lower plea- sures that do beset him. Such a man prosperity would not elate, nor ad- versity confound : the blandishments of pros- perity would not lead him away into pleasure, nor the hardships of adversity drive him to despair : so that, while he debases to the thrall of none of his THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. 65 et tota fieri bysso, prae- cipitur, ut quanta sacer- dos clarescere virtutum diversitate debeat, de- monstretur. In sacerdo tis quippe habitu ante omnia aurum fulget, ut in eo intellectus sapien- tise principaliter emicet. \Divus Gregorius Papa. Pastoralis Cura, pars ii, cap. iii, p. 1 1 87.] passions his mind's firm bent, he may shew how beautiful is the garb with which he is covered on either shoulder. And rightly is it ordered that this vestment should be wrought of gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet double dyed, and brilliant white, that it may be shewn with what variety of virtues the Priest should be resplendent. Note too, that in the Priest's vesture above all other the gold is conspicuous to signify that in him the knowledge of wisdom should shine forth preemi- nently." St. Gregory then proceeds to give reasons why blue and purple and scarlet and white are blended with the gold in the sacrificial vestments, and to state the virtues which these mystic colours signify. Under the Old Dispensation the mystic colours of the Law had a different signification to that which they had under the New. This was so in the na- tural order of things : because everything under the New Dispensation was christianized, so to speak. We gather from Josephus that four of the mystic colours were looked upon in the Jewish Church as typical of the four elements : while the gold was looked upon as typical of " the splendour by which all things are enlightened." St. Jerome, also, in his Epistola ad Fabiolam refers to this ancient Jewish tradition. But from the writings of St. Gregory the Great, and the Venerable Bede, we gather the sig- nification which was given to these colours in the Christian Church. What they have written on the subject seems to imply that the signification of know- ledge, aspiration, endurance, charity, and abstinence, was taught by their use in the Christian Church. And thus were the colours christianized, as it were. That which formerly typified splendour, typified, to 66 THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. these ancient Churchmen, the knowledge of wisdom, [intellectus sapientiae]. And so on. The following table indicates the signification which appears to have been given to each colour in the Levitical Church, and in the Christian : — Colour. HebtttcaU 0!f)rii3ttan. Gold Blue White [linen] . . splendour .... the earth .... knowledge . . . aspiration .... endurance .... charity abstinence . . . It has been pointed out in the preceding chapter that the Altar itself, at this period, was overspread with a purple pall, usually made out of rich silk and elaborately embroidered in gold. The same use pre- vailed both in Gaul, and in those western parts of the Isle of Britain, where Christianity still survived. Writing towards the end of the VI. th century, " St. " Gregory of Tours says the Abbess of the monastery " of St. Radegund had been accused of cutting up " one of these purple silk palls, and stripping off " its wreath of gold leaves, to deck out her niece "on her wedding-day." — \Church of our Fathers, vol. i, p. 265.] A liturgical writer who lived somewhat before the time of Saint Gregory of Tours, probably about the middle of the VI. th century, throws some additional light upon the subject. We read :- Corporalis vero palla ideo pura linia est super quam oblatioponitur,quia corpus Domini puris lin- teaminibus cum aromati- bus fuit obvolutum in tu- mulo. Coopertumverosa- cramentorum ideo exor- natur, quia omnia orna- " But the corporal, in- deed, upon which the oblation is placed, is of pure linen, because the Body of our Lord in the Tomb was enveloped in pure linen clothes with sweet smelling spices. But the pall of the Blessed THE USE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. 67 menta praecellit resurrec- tio Christi, vel camara caeli quae nunc Dominum teget ab oculis nostris. Siricum autem ornatur, aut auro, vel gemmis, quia Dominus Moysae in taber- naculo fieri velamina jus- sit ex auro, iacinto et pur- pura, coccoque bis tincto et bysso retorta: quiaom- nia ilia mysteria in Chris- ti praecesserunt stigmata. \_Expositio B rev is Litur- gies Antiques, apud Mar- tene, Thes. A need. torn, v, P- 95]- Sacrament has adorn- ments, because the Re- surrection of Christ ex- cels all ornaments, even as the vault of heaven, which now conceals the Lord from our eyes. In- deed the silk [of which it is made] is ornament- ed either with gold or precious stones, because God ordered Moses to make the veils in the Ta- bernacle of gold, blue and purple, and scarlet double dyed and fine twined lin- en : because all those mys- teries went before as emblems of Christ." It will be seen that this ancient liturgical writer speaks of the scarlet as double dyed. So also does St. Gregory the Great, in the passage before alluded to. A reason for this does not appear to be given. But we may infer, " red being the colour of blood," that it has reference to the Blood-shedding of the Lamb of God, which had as it were mystically re- dyed and re-sanctified this colour, in the sacrificial system of the Church. F 2 CHAPTER VIII. We come now to the Anglo-Saxon period when our St. Augustine sat in the primatial chair of Can- terbury. He had been sent over to this country A.D. 596 by Pope Gregory the Great, and the com- mencement of the VII. th century found him installed as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. When St. Augustine first commenced his mission labours among the Anglo-Saxons he had not re- ceived episcopal consecration. It was only after the great success which attended his mission, and after the conversion and baptism of Ethelbert, King of Kent, that he was ordained Bishop. It is worthy of note, as shewing the intimacy which existed be- tween the Gallican and British Churches, that he repaired to France, not to Rome, and received his consecration from the hands of ^Etherius, the Arch- bishop of Aries. And the Pope afterwards sent him the archiepiscopal pall. Of the colour of this pall we are not informed. But we know from other sources that the palls which were worn at this period were woven of plain white lambs' wool, and marked with crosses coloured almost always purple, though occa- sionally red. (') It is also worthy of note that St. Augustine did not introduce the Sacramentary of St. Gregory, the Liturgy of Rome and Italy, into the Anglo-Saxon Church. He simply revised the use which he found ( l ) See the Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, pp. 127 — 141. THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. 69 here, upon the lines of the ancient Liturgies of Bri- tain and Tours, both of which were of Ephesine origin. Thus we have another indication of the close relations which existed between the Churches of Gaul and Britain, and of the common lines of truth which pervaded both, as regards ritual worship. Save the archiepiscopal pall, there is not a par- ticle of evidence to shew that St. Augustine intro- duced any fresh sacerdotal vestments into the system of our ancient Church of England. There is every reason to believe that the vestments in use in St. Augustine's time were similar both in shape and colour to those which had been in use in Gaul and Britain in the earlier ages. We meet with the following passage, written about A.D. 656, which shews that a purple chasuble was worn in the Anglo-Saxon Church at this period : — Ei [S. Livino] casulam I " The pious Father [St. purpuream auro gemmis- | Augustine of Canterbury] que composite ornatam, j gave over with affection- et stolam cumorario gem- , ate love to his dear dis- mis pretiosis auroque ful- ciple on the very day of gido pertextam in ipso his ordination, as a pledge die ordinationis suae pro of eternal charity, a pur- fcedere seternse charitatis j pie chasuble handsomely pius magister [S. Augus- j adorned with gold and tinus Cantuariensis] di- j gems, and also a stole lecto suo discipulo devoto | with a maniple covered amorecontradidit. — [Vita j all over with precious vS. Livini and. Bonifacio j gems and shining gold." cocevo. apud Mabillon, AA. SS. B. torn, ii, p. 436.] It is indeed a very ancient tradition of the Church that a Priest should wear both stole and maniple at the Holy Eucharist. The old VI. th century Gallican £&£., alluded to in the preceding chapter, refers thus to the use of the maniple : — " Moreover, it is " the custom to vest Priests with maniples " this small vestment, which is not used in any other " way except in performing the Sacrifice, ever signi- " fies that our hands must not be burdened with the " honours of the world," &c. JO THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. The acts of the fourth Council of Toledo, held under the presidency of St. Isidore of Seville, a.d. 633, tend also to shew that the planeta, or chasuble, was then the distinctive vestment of a Priest : — Episcopus, presbyter, I " Should any Bishop, aut diaconus, si a gradu Priest, or Deacon, be un- suo injuste dejectus in justly deposed, and in secunda synodo innocens \ a subsequent Synod be reperiatur, non potest es- found innocent, he cannot se quod fuerat nisi gra- be what he had previously dus amissos recipiat co- been unless he receive ram altario de manu epis- again, from the hand of copi ; [si episcopus] ora- ; a Bishop before the Al- rium, annulum et bacu- : tar, the rank he had lost, lum : si presbyter, orari- If a Bishop, he must re- um et planetam : si di- ceive a stole, a ring, and aconus, orarium et al- j a staff : if a Priest, a stole, bam : si subdiaconus, pa- : and a chasuble : if a Dea- tenam et calicem : sic et con, a stole, and an alb : reliqui gradus ea in re- if a Sub-deacon, a paten, parationem sui recipiant \ and a chalice: and so also quae eum ordinarentur are the other minor or- perceperunt. ( 2 ) ders to receive, with a view to their restoration, what at the time of ordina- tion they originally received." Although the planeta is not here mentioned as the vestment of a Bishop, it is manifest that every Bishop must have received his planeta, or chasuble, at his ordination as Priest, which as a matter of course he continued to wear when officiating at the Altar as a High-priest ; just as did the Priest his white alb, which he received at his ordination as Deacon, al- though the alb is not here expressly named as the vestment of a Priest. These acts elsewhere state that " not even a Bishop, " or a Priest, is allowed to wear two stoles ; how much " less a Deacon, who is their attendant minister. The " Deacon, therefore, must wear one stole, as befits " his office, and that on the left shoulder. But the ( : ) See the Vest. Christ., p. 75. THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. 7 1 " right side should remain free, so that he may hasten " to and fro in the duties of sacerdotal service. The " Deacon, therefore, from this time forth, must not " wear his stole double. He should wear but one, " and that plain, not decked out with any colours or " with gold." From this it is clear that the Deacon's stole at this period was altogether less elaborate than those worn by Bishops and Priests ; and that the latter were wrought with " cunning " work in gold and mystic colours. The next vestment to be considered is, I believe, the most ancient chasuble existing at the present time in Western Christendom. It is the chasuble of St. Regnobert of Bayeux, which is still preserved in the Cathedral Church of that city. The shape of this old chasuble is similar to that of the vestments worn in this country in Anglo-Saxon and Mediaeval times. Its distinctive colour is blue ; and it is orna- mented all over with spots of white, arranged in little triangular groups of three. Its ancient lining was red. Thus were the mystic colours — red, white, and blue — used in combination in this old vestment. St. Regnobert was alive A.D. 630 : so that the vest- ment is at least as old as the first half of the VII. th century. Dr. Rock conjectures, though without giving his reasons for so doing, that tradition may be incorrect as regards the age of St. Regnobert's chasuble : and that it may indeed never have been worn by this Saint, as tradition affirms. He assumes the vest- ment to be XI. th century work. Upon this point I entirely disagree with him, for the following reason among others. One of the distinctive features of St. Regnobert's chasuble is the ornamentation alluded to, viz. the spots of white on the blue ground, which are grouped together in threes all over the vestment, and make it as spotted looking as a leopard's skin. This crude symbolism typifies the doctrine of the Trinity of the Godhead, and its repetition shews the devotion paid ?2 THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. to this dogma of the Faith at the time the vestment was made. Just as the three entwined fishes of Early Christian art, or the trefoil of Mediaeval art, are each the symbols of their respective periods of devotion to this dogma : — so, the crude form of three little spots placed thus Sh> appears to have been the symbol in vogue in the VII. th century. Precisely the same symbolism may be observed in the fGLS. of St. Cuthbert's Gospels, written by Eadfrith Bishop of Lindisfarne at the close of the VII. th century. Throughout this most beautiful Anglo-Saxon i^^., the devotion of the Churchmen of that age to the doctrine of the Trinity is shewn by the three small dots mystically grouped together in the centres of the illuminated capital letters. This symbolism oc- curs again and again on every page of the Durham Book : and it reminds us how that the thought of God was ever present with those old Churchmen in the VII. tTl century. Thus the symbolic detail of the Durham Book exactly harmonizes with the symbolic ornament upon St. Regnobert's chasuble, and tends to confirm the tradition which for many centuries has assigned the vestment to St. Regnobert's age. Then again, another mistake has been made by some modern antiquaries, by alluding to the lining of this old chasuble as violet in colour, as if that was the colour of its ancient lining. As there is not the slightest evidence of the use of violet at this period in the system of the Catholic Church, I was much puzzled for some time to account for this. It then occurred to me to write to the Bishop of Bayeux, as this is a vestment of so much interest and note, to ask if he could kindly give me any further infor- mation about it, and more particularly about the old colour of its lining. I ventured to point out to his Lordship the coincidence of symbolism which I had observed in the jHir. of St. Cuthbert's Gospels, and in the ornamentation to St. Regnobert's chasuble, which tends to confirm the tradition of the Gallican Church with regard to the venerable age of the latter. I also ventured to state, that as there is no evidence THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. ?$ whatever of the use of the colour violet at this period [the VII. th century] in the system of the Catholic Church, the violet lining of the vestment described by modern writers must, in my opinion, have been added at a much later period, or else, have been originally purple in colour, but now so faded by age as to be mistaken for violet. The Bishop of Bayeux most courteously acknow- ledged the receipt of the letter, and at the same time expressed the pleasure the subject afforded him. He also deputed Canon Laffetay of Bayeux to examine into and write to me on the subject. The following is a translation of the part of the Canon's letter which refers to the lining of the old chasuble : — " Agreeably with the orders of his Lordship, I went " directly to the Vestry of the Chapter where the " chasuble which bears the name of St. Regnobert is " preserved with the greatest care. After having un- " folded it, I discovered that the vestment is lined " with a silk material of a lighter colour than the or- " nament : this lining is of a violet colour, without " any embroidery. The Sacristan, who from his in- " fancy has been attached to the Cathedral, was sent " with me. He affirms without hesitation that the u lining has been renewed long since ; that the old " lining was red, but that the colour was faded, that " is to say, it had lost its freshness. It was replaced " because it was worn out and was falling in tatters. " At the same period they laid down in the tissue of " the ornament some threads of silk which are still " to be seen. It is at present in a satisfactory state " of preservation. Therefore, Monsieur, your con- jectures w r ere w-ell founded, and I am happy to be " able to confirm them." It is thus proved beyond all doubt that the ancient lining of this ancient chasuble was red in colour ; and that the orthodox colours, red and white and blue, were selected by the old Churchmen of the VII. th century for this vestment ; not, violet and white and blue, as some modern writers seem to imply. The Altar-cloth in vogue at this period was, as before 74 THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. pointed out, a purple pall embroidered with gold. Again therefore we may perceive, that the five colours — gold, blue, purple, red, and white — were still used in combination for the sacrificial vestments of the Sanctuary, and these five colours only. We pass on to a subject of even greater interest to English Churchmen than the venerable chasuble of St. Regnobert, the most ancient existing vestment in Western Christendom though it be, viz. to the vestments worn by St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, to whose holy memory this work is dedicated. St. Cuthbert died A.D. 687. His body was ex- humed eleven years after, in 698, and found to be incorrupt. So that it was probably in one or other of these two years, most likely in the former, that the richly embroidered purple dalmatic was placed upon him, which was found when his shrine was opened in the XII. th century, and which is described by Reginald, the Monk of Durham, who writes thus : — Christianorummorepon- | "In accordance with tificum, post haec tunica ! the custom of Christian et dalmatica indutus est ; quarum utrarumque ge- nus ex precioso purpuras colore et textili varietate satis venustum et permi- rabile est .... Cujus dal- maticse fines extremos limbus deauratus instar aurifraxii alicujus, undi- que perambiendo circum- luit Qui ad men- suram palmae virilis lati- tudine distenditur ; cujus operis industria satis ar- titiciosa fuisse videtur. Si- mili modo in utriusque manicae finibus postremis, de quibus prodeuntmanus vel brachia gloriosi pon- Bishops, after these, [re- ferring to what has gone before] he is vested in a tunic and dalmatic : either of which is beau- tiful and very much to be admired, on account of the precious colour of the purple, and also its textile variety. . . . The border of this dalmatic is ornamented with gold down to its extreme edges, and by running round encircles it on every side, giving the ap- pearance of one clad in gold Which [bor- der] measures the width THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY / b tificis. Circa collum vero ubi caput emittitur lim- bus aureus priore latior, opere et precio etiam in- comparatior esse videtur. Qui permaximam humeri utriusque partemtam pos- teriorem quam anterio- rem obtegit, eo quod ex alterutra regione palmi ac pene dimidii plenitu- dine latior sit. — \B.eginal- dus Dunelmcnsis, pp. 87, 88.] of a man's hand : the workmanship of which ap- pears very artistic. In like manner this gold bor- dering is upon the ex- tremity of either sleeve, from which sleeves the hands or arms of the re- nowned Bishop protrude. But around the neck, where the head comes forth, a border of gold is seen wider than the former, and even more valuable in point of workmanship and costliness. It covers over both behind and before the greater portion of either shoulder, so that it may be wider on either side by a span and a half." There can be little doubt that this beautiful purple dalmatic described by Reginald, portions of which are still preserved and shewn at Durham, was worn by St. Cuthbert, in his lifetime, in offering the Holy Sacrifice. ( 3 ) In the Anglo-Saxon Church, as in the Levitical, much importance was attached to the girdle. Among St. Cuthbert's vestments are preserved the remains of his sacrificial girdle. Dr. Raine thus describes it : — " Of the girdle, or cingulum, the portion which we " were enabled to preserve measures twenty - five " inches in length ; its breadth is exactly seven- " eighths of an inch. It has evidently proceeded from " the loom ; and its two component parts are a fiat- " tish thread of pure gold, and a thread of scarlet silk, ( 3 ) The custom for a Bishop to wear a dalmatic at Mass, in addi- tion to his chasuble, is a very ancient one. We find the pri- vilege of wearing the dalmatic granted by St. Gregory the Great to Aregius, the Bishop of Gap. [See the Vest. Christ., p. 67.] We also meet with a still earlier instance than this at the Church of St.Vitalis, at Ravenna, where is a mosaic of St. Ecclesius [circa A.D. 547] in the vesture of a Bi- shop, and wearing the dalmatic. The colour of this dalmatic is purple, like that of St. Cuthbert's. 76 THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. " which are not combined in any particular pattern, " save that, at a very short distance from each sel- " vage, there run two or three longitudinal lines, " which serve to break the uniformity of the whole." [Raine's St. Cuthbert, p. 209.] Again, we perceive that materials of orthodox colour only were used in the girdle of this holy man. And there is every reason to believe that in his " Mass vestments " there was a combination of the five mystic colours of the Law, and of these colours only. Although we may conjecture the dalmatic and girdle found at Durham to have been worn by St. Cuthbert in his lifetime, it is very doubtful indeed whether the bones found with them in 1827 were the true relics of the Saint. It is impossible in this work to enter at any length into the controversy, but a few facts may interest the reader, as the work is dedicated to his memory. The main facts are these. St. Cuthbert died A.D. 687 ; and his holy body was then buried on the right side of the Altar at Lindis- farne. Eleven years after the monks of that place exhumed the body, in order that they might place his bones, which only they expected to find, in a shrine. To their astonishment they found not merely the bones, but the body of the Saint incorrupt and perfect, " more like a. sleeping than a dead man," as the Ven. Bede tells us. They very reverently laid the incorrupt body in a coffin already prepared, and placed it in its shrine. It is not necessary to follow Bishop Eardulph and his monks in their flight from Lindisfarne in 875, carrying with them the coffin of St. Cuthbert and the sacred treasure it contained. The coffin accom- panied them in all their wanderings, and at length found its resting place at Durham. In 934 the shrine there appears to have been visited by Athel- stane, on his way to Scotland : he offered many rich gifts, including a beautiful stole and maniple, still preserved. There is no record of any further ex- THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. yj amination of the body until the year 1104. At that time the shrine was opened in the presence of Prior Turgot and others, and we know, on the authority of the monk Reginald, that the Saint's body was again found to be incorrupt and perfect " The Lives of the Saints," by the Rev. S. Baring- Gould, records the horrible profanation which the holy body and sacred relics of the Saint were sub- jected to, in the early days of the Reformation movement. We there read : — "After many translations, the body of St. Cuthbert " found repose in Durham Cathedral, where it rested " in a magnificent shrine till the reign of Henry " VIII., when the royal commissioners visited the " Cathedral with the purpose of demolishing all " shrines. The following is a condensed account of " this horrible profanation, given by a writer of the " period, or shortly after : — " ' The sacred shrine of holy Cuthbert was defaced " at the visitation held at Durham, by Dr. Lee, Dr. " Henly, and Mr. Blithman. They found many valu- " able jewels. After the spoil of his ornaments, they " approached near to his body, expecting nothing but " dust and ashes ; but perceiving the chest he lay " in strongly bound with iron, the goldsmith, with " a smith's great forge hammer, broke it open, when " they found him lying whole, uncorrupt, with his " face bare, and his beard as of a fortnight's growth, " and all the vestments about him, as he was accus- " tomed to say Mass. When the goldsmith perceived " he had broken one of his legs in breaking open the " chest, he was sore troubled at it, and cried, ' Alas ! " I have broken one of his legs ;' which Dr. Henly " hearing, called to him, and bade him cast down " his bones. The other answered, he could not get " them asunder, for the sinews and skin held them " so that they would not separate. Then Dr. Lee " stept up to see if it were so, and turning about, " spake in Latin to Dr. Henly that he was entire, " though Dr. Henly, not believing his words, called " again to have his bones cast down. Dr. Lee an- 78 THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. U swered, ' If you will not believe me, come up your- " self and see him.' Then Dr. Henly stept up to " him, and handled him, and found he lay whole ; " then he commanded them to take him down, and " so it happened, that not only his body was whole " and uncorrupted, but the vestments wherein his " body lay, and wherein he was accustomed to say " Mass, were fresh, safe, and not consumed. Where- " upon the visitors commanded him to be carried " into the revestry, till the King's pleasure concerning " him was further known ; and upon the receipt " thereof, the Prior and monks buried him in the " ground under the place where his shrine was " exalted.' " Harpsfield, who flourished at the time, and who " was a most faithful and zealous Catholic, gives a " similar account ; he, however, does not say that " the leg bone was broken, but that the flesh was " wounded ; and that the body was entire except " that ' the prominent part of the nose, I know not " why, was wanting.' And he adds that, ' a grave " was made in the ground, in that very spot pre- " viously occupied by his precious shrine, and there " the body was deposited. And not only his body, " but even the vestments in which it was clothed, " were perfectly entire, and free from all taint and " decay. There was upon his finger a ring of gold, " ornamented with a sapphire, which I myself once " saw and handled and kissed. There were present, " among others, when this sacred body was exposed " to daylight, Doctor Whithead, the president of " the monastery, Dr. Sparke, Dr. Tod, and William " Wilam, the keeper of the sacred shrine. And " thus it is abundantly manifest, that the body of " St. Cuthbert remained inviolate and uncontamin- " ated eight hundred and forty years.' "In May, 1827, the place which these and other " authorities had indicated as that where the body " of St. Cuthbert w T as buried, was very carefully " examined, and the coffin and a body were ex- " humed. The Anglo-Saxon sculpture, and every- THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. 79 " thing about and within this coffin, left no doubt " that what was discovered was the ancient coffin, " the vestments, and relics which had accompanied " the body of St. Cuthbert. But the body by no " means agreed with the minute accounts of St. " Cuthbert. There was evidence that it had not " been uncorrupt when buried, and there was no " trace of any injury done to the leg-bone. Hence " it is difficult not to conclude that the garments " and shrine were those of Cuthbert, but that the " body was not his, but was one which had been " substituted for it. And when we remember that " the incorrupt body was left in the Vestry under " the charge of the Prior and monks till the King's " pleasure could be ascertained as to what was to " be done with it, there can be little doubt that " they who so highly valued this sacred treasure " substituted for it another body, which they laid " in the pontifical vestments of Cuthbert, which was " buried as his in his coffin. Where the Prior and " monks concealed the holy relics, if this conjecture " prove true, it is impossible to state. That there " is ground for this conjecture may be concluded " from the existence of a tradition to this effect, " and it is said that the true place of the interment " of the Saint is only known to three members " of the Benedictine Order, who, as each one dies, " choose a successor. Another line of tradition is " said to descend through the Vicars Apostolic, now " Roman Catholic Bishops of the district. This is " the belief to which reference is made in Marmion." [Lives of the Saints, Vol. March, pp. 357 — 359.] It is the opinion also of other learned men that the bones exhumed in 1827 were not those of St. Cuthbert. In this opinion, the late Dr. Rock, and other eminent modern antiquaries, have concurred. Others there are of a different opinion, who consider the bones to be the true relics of St. Cuthbert. It is but fair to say of the latter that they are com- pelled to ignore some very important facts, which have not yet been disproved. There is, for example, So THE USE IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. the fact of the leg bones of the skeleton found in 1827 being perfect; which is irreconcilable with the injury said to have been done to St. Cuthbert's body in breaking open the shrine. Then again, there is the tradition of the concealment to be disposed of, which dates at all events from the XVII. th century, — that is to say, about 140 years before the 1827 exhumation took place. Then again, there is the fact that for upwards of eight centuries and a half the body, though exposed again and again to atmos- pheric influences, had, upon the most reliable chain of evidence, never seen corruption ; which is also irreconcilable with the state and condition of the remains found in 1827. Then again, should we not consider this. Does it augur well for our Church of England, to say that the body of St. Cuthbert saw no corruption up till the times of the Reformation, but since then has gone to corruption ? Surely no Churchman who believes the English Church to be, what she is, a true Branch of the Catholic Church, can in any way reconcile such a thing as this ? May we not, therefore, venture to think, that He, Who for the eight centuries and a half suffered not the body of His Saint to see corruption, has again permitted loving hands to lay him tenderly to his rest ? And that in years to come, when our English Branch of the Church is again pure and holy, as a beacon-light in Christendom, like as in days of yore, — the incorrupt body of the Saint will again be found by the faithful, and with a translation, more glorious and magnificent in its ritual pomp than any preceding it, be restored to its hallowed shrine ? CHAPTER IX. (Sigljtlj Cmturj. In the preceding chapter allusion was made to ancient uses of the Anglo-Saxon, the Gallican, and the Spanish Churches. The historical traditions of the three countries— England, France, and Spain — afford a most complete chain of evidence as regards the colour, the shape, and the distinctive use of the chasuble, at this period. All three Churches are members of the Ephesine family, as regards litur- gical worship ; for the Mozarabic rite links on the Spanish Church to the other two. In the acts of the fourth Council of Toledo, we perceive the chasuble referred to as the distinctive vestment of a Priest ; i.e. of one who offers the Sacri- fice of the Altar. In the chasuble of St. Regnobert we perceive the general shape of this vestment, [pre- cisely the same as that in vogue in St. Osmund's time,] also the use of the mystic colours, red, white, and blue. While in the dalmatic and girdle of St. Cuthbert, we perceive also the use of the colours, gold, purple, and scarlet. The traditions of the three countries taken together amount therefore to this : — the chasuble was looked upon as the distinctive sa- crificial vestment of the Priesthood : its shape was the same as that in later ages : and its mystic colour, gold, blue, purple, red, and white, or one or other of them. Before proceeding with the testimony of the Ven. Bede, one of the witnesses of chief importance in the G 82 THE USE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. VII I. tu century, it is desirable to add something more of St. Cuthbert, and of the times in which he lived. The Anglo-Saxons were exceedingly fond of gay colours in their dress. This taste for gay colours effected even the monastic life. It was felt by St. Cuthbert that gay clothing was ill suited to those who professed to forsake the world, and live the life of a monk. His great sanctity of life enabled him to overcome the predilections of his countrymen, and to effect a great reform in the monastic habit of the Anglo-Saxon Church. It is thus alluded to by a modern writer : — " But his great desire was the strict " observance of the rule when once established ; and " his historian boasts, as one of his most remarkable " victories, the obligation he imposed for ever upon " the monks of Lindisfarne of wearing a simple and " uniform dress, in undyed wool, and thus giving up " the passionate liking of the Anglo - Saxons for " varied and brilliant colours." — [Lives of the Saints, Vol. March, p. 343.] Thus St. Cuthbert, at Lindisfarne, followed closely in the footsteps of St. Benedict the Great, at Subiaco. And the former effected for the Church of Eng- land, what the latter had previously done for the Church of Italy. We may perhaps conjecture some of the motives which actuated them. Apart from the instinctive feeling that a habit of gay and brilliant colours is unsuited to a confraternity of monks, we may picture to ourselves the effect of a dress of this sort, when the monks were assembled in choir and about to join in celebrating the Holy Eucharist, made up as the Anglo - Saxon dress was of materials of red and white and green and blue, and such like. These brilliant colours worn by a choir of monks would naturally mar the effect of the coloured sacrificial vestments of the Altar, and detract from the dignity of the ritual worship. Such a scene may be better imagined than described. It would almost appear as if it was to guard against this, and give dignity to the sacrificial vesture, that sombre colours were THE USE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. 83 used for the dress of the religious. It is however certain that in Italy, from the time of St. Benedict, and in England, from the time of St. Cuthbert, sombre colours, such as black, brown, grey, and the like, have been in use for the habits of the different monastic orders. And this was doubtless to give dignity and preeminence to the mystic coloured vest- ments of the Altar. In the ordinary dress of the Anglo-Saxons, the colour green was freely used together with other gay colours. St. Cuthbert's judicious reform appears to have affected only the dress of the monastic orders ; at least in his time, and for long after. It appears that the secular Clergy, in their ordinary dress, and also the Bishops in theirs, continued to wear these bright colours, for which it is well known the race had such a passionate liking. The illuminations to " the Durham Book," done by the monk Ethelwald, about the commencement of" the VHI. th century, tend to illustrate this. At the commencement of each Gospel is a figure of a scribe, or rather of the Evangelist, in the act of writing. And as it was the custom in illuminated manuscripts to indicate the ecclesiastical dress of the period when the illumination was executed, we may infer that these figures of the four Evangelists shew the ordinary garb then worn by dignitaries of the Anglo-Saxon Church, i.e. by the Bishops of the age. The figure of St. Matthew is well drawn in a purple tunic edged with yellow, and a green toga orna- mented with scarlet. St. Mark is drawn in a tunic of blue ornamented with scarlet and yellow, and a purple toga ornamented also with blue, scarlet, and yellow. The other two figures of St. Luke and St. John are treated in a very similar manner. The former is drawn in a light red tunic, and purple toga : and the latter in a green tunic, and purple toga. All these drawings well illustrate the fondness of the Anglo-Saxon race for gay and brilliant colours in their dress, even in the ordinary dress of the Clergy. To this very cause we may trace out the origin of G 2 34 THE USE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. the use of green in the ecclesiastical system of the ancient Church of England. At first, just as we see of the colour black, its use was orthodox enough : it was only in after ages, when the use of green was extended and developed, that it became unorthodox, and at variance with " the Law." It must be dis- tinctly borne in mind that there is not a particle of evidence of the use of green, as a sacrificial colour, in the Anglo-Saxon Church. To sum up. The use of this colour in our ancient ecclesiastical system appears to have originated in the every day garb of the Anglo-Saxon Clergy. From this its use was extended to copes ; at that time the outdoor processional vestment of the Clergy. So far its use was right enough. But sooner or later — it may be about A.D. iooo, though I think it more likely that it was after the coming of that motley and servile set of foreign Churchmen with William the Conqueror — the colour green, surreptitiously as it were, crept into use in the sacrificial system of the English Church. We now proceed with the testimony of the Ven. Bede, who died A.D. 735. He has written upon the colour of sacrificial vestments, as follows : — Cuncta autem hunt de auro preciosisque color- ibus : quia nihil vile ac sordidum in sacerdotis ore vel opere debet ap- parere sed cuncta quae agit, universa quae loqui- tur, omnia quae cogitat, et coram hominibus prae- clara et in conspectu in- terni arbitrii oportet esse gloriosa. De auro videlicet et ante omnia in habitu sa- cerdotis intellectus sapi- entiae principaliter emi- cet. Cui autem hyacin- " And also all vest- ments are made of gold and precious colours : be- cause nothing base or mean ought to appear on the person of the Priest, or in his work ; but all he does, every word he speaks, and each thought he conceives, should be alike most splendid in the sight of men, and glori- ous to the eye of the in- ner conscience. From the gold, indeed, especially in the vesture of the Priest, the know- THE USE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. 85 thus, qui aerio colore re- splendet, adiungitur ; ut per omne quod intelli- gendo penetrat non ad favores infimos sed ad amorem coelestium sur- gat Quamvis, ut su- perius saepe dictum est, in purpureo colore possit ipsa effusio sanguinis pro Christo, vel diversarum tolerantia pressurarum in- telligi. Ipsa enim est crux, quam sequentes Do- minum, quotidie ferre ju- bemur. Unde merito ta- lis species inter alios hu- mero sacerdotis refulget ut ipsum ad patienda ad- versa semper doceat esse paratum. — [Beda, De Ta- bernaculo, lib. iii, cap. iv, Op. torn, iv, p. 1245-6.] ledge of wisdom princi- pally shines forth. While to this, [that is, to the gold] blue is added, re- splendent with the hue of heaven, to signify that all knowledge gained by the understanding may con- tribute to raise him, not to earthly honours, but to the love of heavenly things. . . . Although, as is often before remark- ed, by the purple colour can be signified the very shedding of the blood for Christ, or the endurance of manifold oppressions. For there is the cross it- self, which we are bidden, in following our Lord, to bear daily. Rightly therefore does this sign, amongst others, shine resplendent on the shoulder of the Priest, that it may ever teach him to be ready to suffer adversity." ( l ) Purple was a very favourite colour with the Anglo- Saxon Clergy. Even apart from its use in the more ancient system of the Church of God upon earth under the Old Dispensation, it is no wonder that it found favour with such Churchmen as the Saint Cuthbert and the Ven. Bede, for, " besides being the " kingly colour, purple betokens blood, and therefore " is well befitting the altar, the place of sacrifice, the ( J ) I feel sure that the Ven. Bede follows in the footsteps of the older Churchmen who had gone before him, and says some- thing also about the mystic co- lours red and white, to which no direct allusion is made in the fore- going. The fact is, this latin ex- tract is copied from the " Church of our Fathers ;" and not having the Ven. Bede's own works to refer to, I can only give as much as Dr. Rock there gives, and leave it to the reader to follow the subject up, by looking to the passage in Beda, De Tabernaculo. 86 THE USE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. " throne of Christ." — \Church of our Fathers, vol. i, p. 266.] The mitre continued to be worn by Anglo-Saxon Bishops at this period, and is referred to by the Ven. Bede, in these words : — Sive ergo coronulae fu- erint aureae, claritatem perpetuae lucis signifi- cant : sive fuerint bys- sinae, ipsam nostri corpo- ris immortalitatem quae perennis futura est, figu- rate denunciant. Et recte sacerdos cum stolis bys- sinis coronas superadditas gestatur, etc. — [Beda, De Tabernaculo, lib. iii, c.viii, op. torn, iv, p. 1263.] "Whether, therefore, the mitres were of gold, they typify the brightness of perpetual light : whether they were of white lin- en, they signify figurative- ly the very immortality of our body, which is to be everlasting. And with good reason the Bishop often wears the mitres in addition with the white linen stoles." ( 2 ) This passage seems to imply that the white linen mitre with its corona of gold was worn in the VIII. tb century, by the Bishops of the Anglo-Saxon Church, as in olden time, by the Levitical High-priests. And this is also Dr. Rock's opinion. It is quite certain, that for the first thousand years of the Christian era, the golden mitre was invariably worn by a Christian Bishop. We may, indeed, trace out this ancient use from the days of the Apostles to the time of our St. ^Ethelwold, who lived at the latter end of the X. th century. A change in the episcopal mitre was brought about soon after A.D. 1000, which will be referred to in due course. The colour scarlet was looked upon as one of ( 2 ) The stole here referred to by the Ven. Bede were probably the lappets which hung down from the mitre behind, and which were anciently worn by Bishops, as we may see by the illuminated figure of St. Gregory the Great, in that early XI. th century {t-Ii. in the British Museum [Claudius. A. III.] : or again, by the illumi- nated figures of the three Bishops, upon fo. 34, in that XII. th cen- tury JttS. in the British Museum [Nero. C. VI.] : or again, by the illumination of the consecration of Archbishop Eadulf, in that XIII. th century JilS. in the British Mu- seum [Nero. D. I.] THE USE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. S7 great dignity and importance, in the Holy Ortho- dox Eastern Church, at this period. Germanus, the Patriarch of Constantinople, writing early in the VIII. th century, says: — "The vesture of the priest " accordeth with the long tunic of Aaron, being an " outer garment worn by priests, reaching down to " the feet, and of highest honour. The colour thereof " is as of fire, according to the word of the prophet, " Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers " a flaming fire. And again, Who is this that cometh "from Edom? For this word ' Edom ' is by inter- " pretation either ' earthy,' or ' elect,' or ' scarlet in " colour.' And then he addeth, The redness of his "garments is of the vineyard of Bosor. Why are thy "garments red, and thy vesture as from the treading " out of the grape ? By this is signified the vesture " of Christ's flesh, dyed red with blood on His im- " maculate cross. And again, because in His pas- " sion Christ was clothed with a scarlet robe, in this " too do His chief priests shew what manner of High- " priest He is under whom they serve." — [Vest. Christ., p. 83.] The shape of the planeta, or chasuble, worn in this age was precisely similar to that worn in the VI. th century, and in still earlier times. A comparison of the vesture of Archbishop Maximianus, in the VI. th century mosaic to the Church of St. Vitalis at Ra- venna, illustrated upon plate XXVIII of the Vestia- rium Christianum, with that of is. C. S. Cornelius Papa, an VIII. th century fresco at Rome, illustrated also upon plate XXX, shews this most clearly. CHAPTER X. W$t Jtttglfl-^ajOTt Use in tfyt liintfj Cntitorir. There does not appear to be much evidence of the use of the ancient Church of England in this age. But we may infer, from what has been written in the preceding chapter, and from the evidence of the X. th century use which will be given in the next, that precisely the same usage prevailed in this cen- tury with regard to the colour of the sacrificial vest- ments. Our ancient Church was pre-eminently pure and holy in the Anglo-Saxon age (') : and there is no evidence to prove that any other than the five mystic colours of the Law were used in the IX. th century for her sacrificial vestments. ( a ) "Among the Anglo-Saxons there is not the slightest trace of the 'Hail Mary.' In his letter to Archbishop Ecgberht, Beda speaks only of the ' Our Father,' and the 'Belief,' as those prayers which all lay- folks were to be taught to say morning and evening We get now to the time of the Anglo-Normans ; yet still there : is no mention of the ' Hail ; Mary.' Up to the year ' 1 212 the ' Our Father,' but no 1 ' Hail Mary,' was said before ' each of the canonical hours, ac- 1 cording to Lincoln use ' In the year 1237, we light up- ' on the first formal mention of 1 the ' Hail Mary ' in England." [Church of our Fathers, vol. iii, part I, p. 316—318.] But it must not be imagined, because there is no " Hail Mary " to be met with in the system of the Anglo-Saxon Church, that the old Churchmen of that age paid no honour and reverence to the Blessed Virgin. On the contrary, they paid her the highest honour, [save that which is due only to the Creator,] ranking her before the Archangels, as the following, from an Anglo-Saxon litany in Ecgberht's Pontifical, will shew : Sea Maria or* See Michel or 3 See Gabriel or' Omnis ehorus ang'lor ora pro nobis. THE USE IN THE NINTH CENTURY. 8 9 Walafrid Strabo, who flourished during the first half of the IX. th century, and whose writings upon the sacrificial vestments of that period have come down to us, was a pupil of Rabanus Maurus, who was a pupil of our countryman Alcuin, who was a pupil of the Ven. Bede. We are thus enabled to trace back the theology of Walafrid, who was himself of German birth, to an Anglo-Saxon source. He has written thus : — Statutum est autem Concilio Bracarensi, Ne sacerdos sine orario cele- bret Missam. Addide- runt in vestibus sacris alii alia ; vel ad imita- tionem eorum quibus ve- teres utebantur sacerdo- tes, vel ad mysticae sig- nificationis expressionem. Quid enim singula desig- nent, quibus utimur nunc, a prioribus nostris satis expositum est. Numero autem suo antiquis re- spondent : quia sicut ibi tunica superhumeralis, li- nea, superhumerale, ra- tionale, balteus, femina- lia, tiara et lamina, sic hie dalmatica, alba, map- pula, orarium, cingulum, sandalia, casula et pal- lium. Unde sicut illo- rum extremo soli Ponti- fices, sic horum ultimo summi tantum pastores utuntur. — \De Rebus Be- clesiasticis, cap. 24.] " Now it was deter- mined at the Council of Bracara, ' no Priest shall celebrate the Mass with- out a stole.' In regard to the sacred vestments, various additions were made by different people, either to imitate those which the ancient Priests used, or to express a mystic meaning. For the signification of each of the vestments in present use is made sufficiently clear by those who have gone before us. Now in number they answer to the Levitical vestments ; for as there was then, the robe of the ephod, the linen garment, the ephod, the breastplate, the gir- dle, the drawers, the mi- tre, and the gold plate ; so there is now, the dal- matic, the alb, the mani- ple, the stole, the girdle, the sandals, the chasuble, and the pall. And just as the last in the first list was used by the High-priest alone, so the last in the latter list is used solely by our highest Dignitaries." 90 THE USE IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Walafrid appears to make no allusion to the co- lour of the vestments worn in his time ; but may we not reasonably assume, if a stress was then laid upon the Christian vestments corresponding in number to the Levitical vestments, that they corre- sponded in colour also, especially as the evidence of earlier times indicates this ? It is somewhat difficult to reconcile Walafrid's testimony with that of some other writers. We know for example that a mitre was then worn by Bishops in the Anglo-Saxon Church, as in the Le- vitical Church, and yet there is no mention of this vestment in Walafrid's list. The omission may per- haps be accounted for from the fact of his being an Abbot [Abbot of Rosenau in the Diocese of Constance], and not a Bishop : and Abbots did not then assume the mitre, as in later times. He may therefore have written of the sacred vestments in monastic use, rather than of those in diocesan use, so to speak. The mention made of sandals tends also to confirm this. There is nothing in the Levitical system that corresponds to the san- dal. W 7 e know that sandals were from an early period worn by the religious : but it is not equally certain that they were worn at this period by the secular Clergy. The inference, therefore, to be drawn from Wala- frid's testimony is this : — that he treats of the vest- ments of the Priesthood in monastic use, and that these were in a measure based upon the Levitical system, as were those in diocesan use. In the East, as in the West, a purple pall for the Altar continued to be used. We read of the Greek Emperor, Michael, sending to Pope Benedict the III. [circa A.D. 855 — 858], among some other gifts for St. Peter's Church : — Vestem de purpura im- periali munda super al- tare majus ex omni parte cum historia et cancellis, " A vestment of pure imperial purple to be placed upon the High- Altar, richly adorned in THE USE IN THE NINTH CENTURY. 91 et rosis de chrysoclavo magnae pulchritudinis de- ornatam. — \Liber Pontifi- calis, in vita Benedicti iii.] every part with imagery, and trellis work, and ro- ses of a golden colour of great beauty." It would appear from this, and from the evidence derived from other sources, that up to this time a purple altar-cloth was invariably used to vest the Altar at all seasons of the Christian Year. This seems to have been the use of the Anglo-Saxon Church, and of the Churches in the East also. CHAPTER XI. ®mtlj Cmtarjj. By this date, at all events, if not in the IX. th cen- tury, the colours green and black were used for pro- cessional vestments in the Anglo-Saxon Church. To the orthodoxy of this use I have before alluded. We have been reminded by Dr. Rock that the Abbot Egelric provided for his Minster, towards the latter end of the X. th century, some red, white, green, and black copes : — Dedit [abbas Egelri- cus] et choro viginti et quatuor cappas, scilicet sex albas, sex rubeas, sex virides, et sex nigras, [versus A.D. 984]. "He [Abbot Egelric] gave also to the choir twenty-four copes; viz. six white ones, six red, six green, and six black, [about A.D. 984]." We read, also, that " Theodore, Bishop of London, " bequeathed, circa A.D. 962, white, yellow, and red " chasubles to different friends." The will is given at length by Blomefield. [County of Norfolk, vol. iii.] A comparison of Bishop Theodore's gift with the Abbot Egelric's tends to prove, what has already been stated, that the colours green and black were used for processional vestments before ever they came to be used for sacrificial vestments. The yellow chasuble alluded to was doubtless of cloth of gold ; a material so much in vogue in the ancient Church of England. So that all the chasubles were of orthodox colour. The colour of the copes also was perfectly orthodox, considering they were not THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 93 used, or looked upon by the old Churchmen of this age, as liturgical vestments. It is easy enough to understand that when Church- men became more lax, in the latter years of the XI. th century, the colours green and black, previously used for processional vestments only, came to be used also for the sacrificial vestments ; not indeed generally, but here and there, by some of the foreign divines introduced by the Conqueror and his Successors ; — divines, who were altogether of a different stamp to the Anglo-Saxon Clergy whom they supplanted, many of them being more skilled with the sword than with the mass-book. " Before leaving the cope, we should remember " that the Church, especially in the western parts of " Christendom, has, ever since she adopted this robe, " looked upon it preeminently as her processional, " in the same manner as she has always deemed the " chasuble her sacrificial vestment." — \Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 44. J St. Oswald, Archbishop of York, left behind him, A.D. 992, a magnificent purple chasuble adorned with gold and precious stones, which he had worn in his lifetime. This was preserved for some centuries in the Beverley Minster. It was still there in the year 1360. The English Dominican friar, Thomas Stubbs, saw it there at that time, and writes of it, that it was then as beautiful as ever. It is recorded of Leoffin, one of the Abbots of Ely, who lived about the end of the X. th century : — Hie [Leoffinus, abbas Eliensis] insignia orna- menta ecclesiae suae con- tulit, videlicet albam prae- claram cum amictu et su- perale cum stola et mani- pulo, ex auro et lapidibus contextis, atque infulam rubeam mirando opere " This person [Leoffin, an Abbot of Ely] brought most valuable ornaments to his Church, forsooth, a renowned alb, with the amice and its apparel, to- gether with a stole and maniple, made out of gold and precious stones 94 THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. quae subtus et desuper floribus retro extensa, velut quodam tabulatu gemmis et auro muni- tur. — [Acta S.EtJiddredce, auct Thoma Elien, apud AA. SS. B. Junii t. iv, p. 530-] woven together ; and also a red mitre of wonder- ful workmanship, which is broidered underside and on the top with flowers, continued on the back, like as something storied with gems and gold. It seems from this, that at the end of the X. th cen- tury, if not earlier, the Anglo-Saxon Abbots had as- sumed the mitre. Dr. Rock mentions that the mitre was worn by some Anglo-Saxon Abbots. ( x ) But I cannot find in his writings any distinction drawn between the mitre of an Anglo-Saxon Bishop, and that of an Abbot. It seems there was a difference. For instance, this Ely mitre was red ; — a colour never used for a Bishop's mitre in the ancient Church of England, nor yet in the Church of Rome, to the pre- sent day. Gold and white [enriched most probably with blue embroidery, though this latter is conjec- tural] were the mystic colours of the episcopal mitre : whereas red as well as gold and other colours were in use for the abbatical mitre. In other words, the episcopal or diocesan use of the Anglo-Saxon Church, in this matter, was directly based upon the traditions of the Levitical Church : and the abbatical or mo- nastic use also, but in a secondary degree, to give dignity and preeminence to the episcopal vesture. All these things indicate how truly orthodox the Anglo-Saxon system was. The codex known as "Leofric'sMissal,"written circa A.D. 969, and now preserved in the Bodleian Library, indirectly throws some further light upon the sacri- ficial colours in vogue in our ancient Church at this period. ( 2 ) The commencement of the canon is writ- ( J ) Vide Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, pp. 93 and 112. (*) In this old Anglo-Saxon Missal there is at fo. 50 a draw- ing of the Devil ; a grim figure, which occupies nearly the whole of THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 95 ten in letters of gold upon a purple ground, and its mystic crosses are coloured red. The use of these three colours in combination in this old canon of the Mass shews clearly enough that they were still looked upon by the Churchmen of the age as sacrificial colours. But we have not this evidence alone to rely upon. Another Codex, in the British Museum, [Vesp. A. VIII.] throws still further light upon the subject. In this very beautiful X. th century illuminated fi-tjj. of Anglo-Saxon art, which is written throughout in letters of gold, there is a full page illumination of a king adoring our Blessed Lord. Our Lord is drawn in a vesica of gold and is surrounded by adoring angels. Underneath is the king with his head and hands raised in adoration : while upon either side of him stand a virgin and a saint. The drawing is done upon purple vellum, and the whole illumination is very rich and beautiful. Our Blessed Lord is here represented as the Great High-priest, clad in sacrificial garb, and seated upon the Mediatorial Throne. His tunic is coloured blue, shaded with white ; and his toga or supervest- ment gold, shaded with lines of white and purple : while his nimbus is coloured white and scarlet upon a gold ground. So that in the vesture of this figure of the Great High-priest the five mystic colours are indicated — gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and white — and these five colours only. The ground at his feet is coloured green : but there is no green indicated in his vesture. The whole design is indeed most sym- bolic and beautiful. the sheet. He is shewn with what 1 cloth or skin. As the Anglo-Saxon appears to be a wound in the Churchmen attached a deep mystic breast, just above the region of meaning to all they did, they had the heart. He has the traditional | some good reason for introducing pair of horns ; very elongated j this grim figure. But what the ears ; talons to his fingers and | motive was, I am quite at a loss toes ; and a tuft of hair growing | to understand. There can be no out of knees, elbows, and heels : j doubt the drawing is as old as the about his loins he is girt with a ! £B.2s, 9 6 THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. But although in the vesture of the Great High- priest only the five mystic sacrificial colours of the Law are depicted, it is not so with regard to the vesture of the other figures. The garb of the saint and virgin, who are probably intended to typify the worship of the faithful in the Church Militant, give us some idea of the varied and rich colouring which was still a characteristic of the ordinary dress of the Anglo-Saxons. In the draperies to these figures green and brown colours are very freely introduced, together Avith scarlet and blue. The discrimina- tion shewn by the artist, and the absence of any green colour, or the like, in the mystic vesture of the Great High-priest, shews both the orthodoxy of the age, and the minute accuracy of the illumination. We have next to consider one of the most beau- tiful specimens of Anglo-Saxon art in existence — the Benedictional of St. /Ethelwold. The codex now belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. By the cour- tesy of his Grace, I was enabled to carefully study and take notes from it, for the purposes of this book. This was the ancient Benedictional of the see of Winchester. ( 3 ) It was written by the monk Gode- mann for St. ^thelwold, who received the monastic ( s ) "It was an ancient custom " for the Bishop, before he re- " ceived the Eucharist in the sa- " crifice of the Mass, to bless the " people in a form of prayer ap- " propriate to the feast of the " day. This solemn obsecration " was made on the fraction of the " host, and as that was the time " at which a blessing was asked " for the living, so also was it " the special moment, when, ac- " cording to the Anglo-Saxon " Mass for the dead, on the day " of the burial, the deceased was " prayed for, by name " That this blessing was given originally by the imposition of hands, appears in the passage cited from St. Augustine, which is confirmed in certain pas- sages from St. Ambrose and St. Jerome At a later age, the ceremony of imposi- tion of hands was disused, and the sign of the Cross alone accompanied the benediction of the people The English custom of episcopal benediction on the fraction of the host in the Mass, is set forth in the Sa- rum Manuale printed at Rouen in 1 501." — [Archizologia, vol. xxiv, p. 1 — 17.] THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 97 habit from St. Dunstan at Glastonbury ; was after- wards Abbot of Abingdon ; and afterwards Bishop of Winchester. In consequence of the great sanctity of his life, his name was afterwards enrolled in the calendar of English saints. He was Bishop of Win- chester from A.D. 963 to 984. It was during this period that this Benedictional was written, for the use of the good Bishop in his see of Winchester. And there is every reason to believe that it was once held in the venerable hands of St. Dunstan himself, when, on the 20 th day of October, A.D. 980, as Archbishop of the province, he dedicated the new Cathedral at Winchester which St. yEthelwold had just rebuilt, in the presence of King Ethelred, and almost every " duke, noble, and abbot," then in England. The iHic. is written in letters of gold, and red, and one other colour, which I imagine was originally purple, but is now so faded that it is difficult to say whether it was purple or black. The faded colour now looks more like brown, than either purple or black, which would rather indicate that the colour was originally purple ; because the tendency of the colour purple is to turn brown with age ; as e.g. we may see in the case of some of St. Cuthbert's vest- ments, which we know were purple on the authority of the monk Reginald. The iftHS* has moreover a great number of most beautiful illuminations executed in the best style of Anglo-Saxon art. Upon fo. 1. there is a group of Confessors in chasubles and palls. This first page has had more wear than the rest, so that the colours are not quite so distinct as could be desired, owing to the wear and rubbing of centuries. There is, however, sufficient to shew that gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and white, were the colours of the sacrificial vesture of the group. Upon fos. 3 and 4 are groups of figures intended perhaps to represent the twelve Apostles. They are drawn on four pages, three to a page [3 + 3 + 3 + 3]. This is one very ancient mode of symbolizing the H 98 THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Incarnation. ( 4 ) These figures are not drawn in li- turgical vestments, but in the ordinary ecclesiastical dress of dignitaries, as may clearly be seen ; and the colours green and black are here freely used with others. In many of the magnificent illuminations that follow, which depict the Annunciation, the Nativity, &c, there are also no sacrificial vestments drawn. Upon fo. 1 8 is represented a fine drawing of the stoning of the Deacon, St. Stephen. His dress con- sists of a scarlet tunic, and a blue toga or super- vestment ; and he has also a gold nimbus about his head. Gold, red, and blue, are the only colours used. Some of the stones in the air, thrown at him, are coloured green ; but there is no green in his vesture. All the beautiful illuminations that follow cannot be here described. There is upon fo. 20 a full page figure of St. John, as a scribe in the act of writing, and in his ordinary dress. His tunic is gold, but his supervestment it would be difficult to describe accurately as regards colour, it being more of a neutral tint. Again, in the discrimination shewn by the artist in all these illuminations, in the colouring of the two kinds of garb, — the ecclesiastical every- day garb, and the sacrificial — we have another in- dication of the orthodoxy of the age, and the minute accuracy of this work of art. Upon fo. 35 is drawn the subject of the Presenta- tion of our Lord in the Temple. Here the Altar, which is drawn foursquare, thereby corresponding to the altar of the Levitical Church, is covered with a golden pall. This would indicate that cloth of gold, as well as purple, was sometimes used for the altar-pall at Winchester at this period [the X. th cen- tury]. The same use was probably followed in other important Cathedral Churches. Immediately following the vigourous drawing of ( 4 ) 3 [the Creator] x 4 [the creature] = 12 [the Incarnation.] THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 99 the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost upon fo. 68, is a drawing upon fo. 70 of our Lord, as the Great High-priest in Heaven, on the Mediatorial Throne. His tunic is gold ; and his toga or super- vestment blue ; while upon his head is the mitre or broad band of gold, worn, as we know, by the Bishops of this age, as in the Levitical Church. These appear to be the only colours of his vesture — gold, and the celestial blue. Upon fo. 98 we may see a full page figure of an Anglo-Saxon Priest in his Mass-vestments. ( s ) He is drawn in the act of giving the benediction in ac- cordance with the tradition of the Western Church, with three fingers upraised and two bent athwart the palm. From the fact of there being no ring on his finger, or pastoral staff in his hand, or mitre on his head, I think it is clear that a Priest and not a Bishop is here represented. It tends to indicate that Priests as well as Bishops were privileged to use this symbolic form of blessing in the Anglo- Saxon Church. ( 6 ) This Priest's vesture is coloured ( 5 ) Whether there was any dis- tinction between the colour of the Mass-vestments in diocesan use and those in monastic use — I mean whether a red chasuble e.g. was worn by the Seculars, and a blue chasuble by the Regulars — is not clear. It is most likely that there was some sort of differ- ence, just as there was a differ- ence in the colour of the epis- copal and abbatical mitres. All our ecclesiastical traditions have an affinity to Eastern usage. And as red was the colour mostly worn by Priests in the diocesan use of the Eastern Church, as pointed out by Germanus, and as it was the colour mostly worn by the Sarum use of the MedijevalChurch, it is but reasonable to assume that it was the colour mostly worn in the diocesan use of the Anglo- Saxon Church. ( 6 ) This ancient act of ritual, like all others of a similar nature, is apparently to dogmatize the doctrine of Sacrifice, and empha- size more strongly the sacrificial nature of the Holy Eucharist. It is, in fact, a sacerdotal, rather than an episcopal act. And it is one of the many scholastic forms of sym- bolism which we meet with so often in the ancient system of the Catholic Church. The number five, ecclesiastically speaking, ty- pifies Sacrifice. But the most scholastic form of this symbolism is the subdivision of the mystic number five into 3 + 2, or I + 3 + I. It was this the old Churchmen loved ; and for this good reason. The number three, ecclesiastical- ly speaking, typifies the Divinity of Almighty God, or the Blessed Trinity, as we in these days are the more wont to consider. So H 2 100 THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. thus ; — his chasuble, blue, with gold orphrey ; and his alb, stole, and maniple, cloth of gold only. These appear to be the only colours of his vesture — gold, and blue. ( 7 ) Upon fo. ioo is another full page figure of a Bishop or Abbot in sacrificial garb. His head is encircled with the episcopal mitre of gold. His chasuble is purple : his dalmatic cloth of gold : his alb white, with red lines to the cuffs of the sleeves, which would indicate embroidery : and his sandals gold and blue. In his hand he holds an Abbot's mitre — purple and gold — just as if he was in the act of laying it aside, his head being encircled with the episcopal mitre of gold. I feel sure that this figure, almost the last in this beautiful J5fli£., 1S in- tended for St. ^thelwold himself. He was at one time Abbot of Abingdon ; but eventually laid aside the abbatical for the episcopal mitre, on his elevation to the see of Winchester. The mystic colours, gold, blue, purple, red, and white — the five colours of the Law — are shewn in his vesture, and none other. We may therefore infer, that such was the use of the Bishops of Winchester, with regard to the colour of their sacrificial vesture, in the X. th century. There is one other drawing in this old Jfti&. that throws light upon the subject. It is the last, upon fo. 1 1 8. Here again is shewn a Priest celebrating the Eucharist. His chasuble is blue ornamented with gold : his alb is white with gold apparels : and his that the number five, which, in the ecclesiastical system, reminds us of Sacrifice, teaches also, when it is scholastically subdivided into 3 + 2, the Divinity of the Sacrifice. Hence, the Priest at the Altar, with his three fingers upraised and two bent athwart the palm, reminded the faithful in the body of the Church not only of the Sacrifice of the Mass, but, of the Divinity of that Sacrifice. It is marvellous what an influence this scholastic symbolism had upon the ritual and art of the ancient Church of England. ( ; ) The probability is that gold was sometimes the predominating colour of the vestments worn in the Anglo-Saxon Church on the greater festivals. " By the usages " of the Cluniac monks, an alb " of cloth of gold was worn by " the Priest who sang the High " Mass on the greater festivals." [C/i. oj our Fathers, vol. i, p. 431.] THE USE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 101 stole and maniple of cloth of gold. Gold, blue, and white, are the three mystic colours of his vesture. The Altar, again drawn as if foursquare, is covered with a purple pall with gold ornamentation ; just such a pall as is described by the old writers. And we may reasonably infer, that if the altar-pall is thus correctly drawn, of which we have plenty of evidence to prove, — the colours of the vestments in this old jfHi&. as faithfully indicate those which were in use in the Church of England, at this particular period. CHAPTER XII. ®I}£ Jtitgla-^oson Wizt in tlfa (Bkimttlj Cmtnrn. We have now come to the last epoch of the Anglo- Saxon age. I have endeavoured to prove that up to this time, for the first thousand years of the Chris- tian era, none other than the five mystic colours of the Law were used for the sacrificial vestments of the Church of God in this land : and that the same pure stream of symbolic testimony, which was de- signed by God Himself, and which had flowed throughout the course of the Levitical Church, had also flowed on and on down the course of the Chris- tian Church, as pure as at the fountain head. There is evidence that the same usage prevailed in our Church of England up till the times of the Conquest. In an old Psalter in the British Museum [Arundel. 155] we have an indication of this. This Psalter dates from the early part of the XI. th cen- tury. Like many other early manuscripts it has but one illumination. In this JH,S>., the illumination is of especial value as a work of art. It consists of a magnificent figure of St. Benedict, upon fo. 133, in abbatical vesture. The holy Abbot is drawn in a very beautiful cope of cloth of gold, fastened together with a morse of red material. His tunic is coloured purple, and or- namented with devices in gold. Below the tunic is an alb of white linen, which is shewn at the arms. Upon his head is a mitre of blue bound about with white ; upon which are the words TIMOR DEI. These THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 103 are the five colours of his vesture — gold, blue, purple, red, and white. And although this figure is that of an Abbot, the fact of these five colours being used in combination in his vesture, indicates that they were then still looked upon as those of highest dig- nity in the system of the Anglo-Saxon Church. (*) Then again, there is evidence that the ancient use of a purple altar-pall prevailed in our Anglo-Saxon Church up till the times of the Conquest. We read that Bishop Leofric presented to Exeter Cathedral "v paellene weofod sceatas," ( 2 ) i.e. five purple altar- palls. Leofric was the Bishop of Exeter circa A.D. 1046 — 1 07 1. This shews that the purple pall con- tinued in use, as heretofore, as a covering to the Altar. Then again, the Anglo-Saxon Psalter [Lansdown. 431. Mus. Brit.] written circa A.D. 1064, or about two years before the Conquest, indirectly throws further light upon the subject. In this £B,£>. the letters and figures of the calendar are written in red and blue and gold. And throughout this Psalter the capital letters are written in these three colours. An illumi- nated capital letter occurs at fo.85, in which is drawn the coronation of the Virgin. Our Lord is placing the crown upon her head. She is habited in blue and red and white drapery. All this, and much else to the same effect, tends to shew how these mystic colours were revered by the Anglo-Saxon Church- men up to the times of the Norman Conquest. (!) As the Church of England system gradually developed after about a.d. 1000, the tendency was for the abbatical vesture to encroach more and more upon the episcopal, until at length there was scarcely any difference dis- cernible between them. Dr. Rock writes — "To understand tho- " roughly what great privileges " came with the precious mitre, " the reader should know that " complaints had been often and " justly made that, while sitting " in council, the mitred Abbot " could not be, as he ought, dis- " tinguished in anything from " the Bishops of the Church." [Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 117.] (-) Codex Dip. Anglo-Saxonum, t. iv, p. 275. 104 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Moreover the colours green and black continued to be used at this period for the processional vest- ments, together with others. There is indeed a slight indication, but not reliable, that green was adopted by a few Churchmen for the chasuble, or sacrificial vestment, soon after A.D. iooo. In a Psalter in the British Museum [Tiberius C. vi.] there is an illumina- tion upon fo. 1 8 shewing two Bishops in vestments. They appear to be vested in green chasubles and purple dalmatics. There are four other figures of angels &c. in this group, in the draperies of each of which a good deal of blue is introduced. I think there can be no doubt that the artist has coloured these two chasubles green for the sake of contrast and effect. They are edged and shaded up in an odd manner with blue, which may perhaps be intended to signify that the vestments were to be considered as blue, though coloured green for artistic effect, in contrast to the blue draperies of the angels. What other construction can be put upon the blue out- lining and shading to the green ? It is certainly an unnatural bit of colouring. To my mind it looks as if the artist had observed his error in colouring the chasubles green, and to rectify the mistake had edged and shaded them up with blue. These are the only two figures in sacrificial vestments in the iH5». The evidence is not at all reliable : but may be con- sidered rather as the exception which tends to prove the rule. It shews we cannot always take the colour- ing of a single illumination, more especially after about A.D. iooo, as an infallible guide in this matter. In dealing with the vestment question, as regards the evidence of our illuminated manuscripts, all we can do is this, to consider their evidence as a whole. By so doing they afford a very reliable chain of evi- dence, an exception tending only to prove the rule, as in every thing else. The only two exceptions which I have observed in our illuminated manuscripts of Anglo - Saxon art, which might tend to indicate that the colour green had, before the Conquest, crept into use for sacrificial THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 10$ vestments, are the illumination alluded to, and a less important one in another §SLSb- m tne British Mu- seum, [Cotton. Claudius. A. iii.]. But these excep- tions are not sufficient, in the face of other evidence to the contrary, to prove that the Anglo-Saxon use of the early part of the XL th century differed from the orthodox use of previous times, with regard to the colour of the sacrificial vestments. Further and deeper research may possibly produce evidence to throw further light upon the subject : until that be forthcoming, the orthodoxy of our ancient Anglo- Saxon Church may be said to be untarnished. ( 3 ) The grand old system of the Church of England in the Anglo-Saxon age was indeed a perfect one. There never was a time when the vestments for the Sanctuary were more aesthetically beautiful and ec- clesiastically correct. This is the testimony of Dr. Rock, who had so deeply studied the matter: — " Whether the Anglo-Saxons, the Normans, or the " English ruled, it mattered little ; our island home, " the while Catholicism spread throughout its length " and breadth, was quickened by the one same un- " dying wish to make the House of God, the Church " — and the Throne of Christ, the Altar— more glori- " ous than the houses of men, more dazzling with " beauty than the thrones of earthly kings. The " brightest of our national worthies, those who gave " us our lofty birthright as freemen, the framers of " our wisest, soundest laws, our incomparable Alfred, " our holy Edward the Confessor, deemed it not " beneath them to provide splendid vestments for " the Church's ministers ; and our royal Anglo- " Saxon dames, our yElfflaeds, our Emmas, our Mar- ( 3 ) We must also bear in mind that there is no documentary evi- dence whatever to prove that any but the five mystic colours of the Law were used for sacrificial vest- ments in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Whereas authority upon autho- rity, in age after age, have been quoted to shew that these five colours were in use. The testi- mony of our illuminated manu- scripts must be taken in connec- tion with this written testimony : and when so considered, the evi- dence adduced thereby is most conclusive. 106 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. " garets, busied their minds and bethought them- " selves how they might procure the most beautiful -' sacerdotal garments for the service of the Altar. . . . " Italy herself could shew nothing to be compared " with some of our vestments ; and a cope which " iEgelnoth, the Anglo-Saxon primate, had given, " together with many other presents, to an Arch- " bishop of Benevento [who once came here to beg " alms at Cnut's court for Apulia], long remained " without an equal in that country ; where Eadmer, " years afterwards, found it still unmatched, and by " far the most beautiful among all those like vest- " ments worn by the Bishops at a council presided " over by the Roman Pontiff at Benevento, whither " this Englishman had gone, along with another " Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Anselm." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 268 — 271.] Truly, did our holy Anglo-Saxon Church fulfil the words of the Psalmist : — " The King's daughter is all " glorious within : her clothing is of wrought gold. " She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of " needle-work." CHAPTER XIII. tift (Ektentij dcntnvv. The coming of the foreign divines into England in A.D. 1066, and the Norman Conquest which then took place, had a most important influence upon the system of our ancient Church of England. It may be said that the Church of England has never yet recovered from the shock her system then received. To this day we are in a measure suffering from its effects : for many of the evils and corruptions which grew up in the Mediaeval Church, and which ulti- mately brought about the English Reformation, appear to have had their origin in those hirelings — such men, for example, as Ralph Flambard, the Norman Bishop of Durham — who so unrighteously supplanted the good old Churchmen of the Anglo- Saxon race. ( l ) The Conquest, indirectly, had a great influence upon the ritual worship of the English Church ; es- pecially as regards the sacerdotal dress. It is not, indeed, that a great revolutionary change was all at once brought about by the foreigners introduced (*) "Flambard, low-born, time- 1 " himself to be carried into the " serving, rapacious, and utterly j " Church, where he offered his " without religion, is described I " ring at the high-altar, in token " with horror by almost every ] "of restitution thus made of the "monastic historian. He did " many possessions and privileges "much, however, for Durham " he had detained or violated." — "and his cathedral; and at the {Murray* Handbook to Durham " approach of death, he caused I Cathedral.^ Io8 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. into the English sees and benefices : quite the re- verse. But it is evident that irregularities and de- velopments in the externals of religion were here and there sanctioned by them, which tended but to shew the orthodoxy and superiority of the old re- ligion of the conquered race. One of the chief things brought about by William the Conqueror, in his lifetime, was the spoliation and robbery of Church of England property, which fol- lowed the Conquest. He was not contented with mutilating the possessions of the Monasteries, but he even ventured to lay hands on the rich Anglo- Saxon vestments they contained. It was an act as sacrilegious as it was cruel. Our Churches were de- spoiled of their beautiful vestments ; and the con- tinental Churches were enriched. From Ely, the Conqueror stole away no less than thirty-four copes, and eight most beautiful Anglo-Saxon chasubles, all of orthodox colour. One other also, from the same Church, " the workmanship of which was not to be estimated." From Waltham Abbey, ten splen- did Anglo-Saxon vestments were filched by him : — Transtulit idem rex [Willielmus] de Waltham in Normanniam quin- que vestimenta sacerdo- talia preciosissima, auro gemmisque ornata ; quin- que casulas auro gem- misque ornatas. — [ Vita et Mirac. Harol. Had. 3776.] " The same King [Wil- liam] carried off into Nor- mandy, from Waltham . . five sacerdotal vest- ments of exceeding great value adorned with gold and gems ; and five cha- subles adorned also with gold and gems." It was no uncommon thing for foreign Churchmen to come into England at this time and beg for our Anglo-Saxon vestments. The Conqueror appears to have been generous enough in giving away the spoils of the Anglo-Saxon Church. To Hugh, Ab- bot of Cluny, he sent a most magnificent golden cope of Anglo-Saxon work, having upon its edge a fringe of little tinkling bells of gold. This had been filched from some Church or Monastery in this country. THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. IC9 Thus were most of our old Anglo-Saxon Churches despoiled. Their possessions were in like manner filched away ; to which the Monasticon bears witness. It was the first-fruits of the Norman Conquest. In the midst of these ecclesiastical disorders which followed upon the Conquest, there arose a great re- former in the person of Osmund, Bishop of Salis- bury. He compiled a liturgical use, which was in- troduced in the Sarum Diocese A.D. 1085, and which from that time to this has materially influenced the ritual worship of the Church of England. In order to understand the origin of the Sarum use, it must be borne in mind that the Church of England in Bishop Osmund's time was split up into two very hostile parties, the conquerors and the conquered ; divided more by race than by religious sentiment. The sees and the posts of dignity were mostly held by the conquerors, or by those foreign Churchmen whom they brought into the country ; while the benefices were mostly filled with Anglo- Saxon Churchmen. The difficulty was to preserve some sort of uniformity of Divine Service between these rivals, in the externals of religion, each of whom naturally clung to the ritual worship of their fatherland. Bishop Osmund appears to have been singled out to accomplish this difficult task. ( 2 ) He was a man singularly fitted for the work. His Norman birth and predilections rendered him very serviceable to his own countrymen : while his great piety, and evident (-) Archbishop Lanfranc ap- pears to have singled out Bishop Osmund to accomplish this work. For we read : — " L T nder his [Lan- " franc's] directions, also, the ar- " rangement of the Church offices, " drawn up by Osmund, Bishop of Sarum, and afterwards known " by preventing the great variety " of offices which every Bishop " and Abbot had hitherto been " allowed to introduce almost at ' ' pleasure. " — [Murray's Hand- book to the Cathedrals of England.} The Sarum rite, therefore, was drawn up at the instigation of the " as that secundum nsum Sarum, { Primate, with a view to its general " was generally adopted through- ; use in the southern province of " out the south of England, there- ' Canterbury. IIO THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. regard for the traditions of the Anglo-Saxon Church, rendered him not the less serviceable to his adopted countrymen. Then again from his position, as Bishop of Salis- bury, he was much more fitted for the work than the Archbishop of Canterbury, or any Bishop who held what may be termed an abbatical see. There was a great difference in the official position of the Bishops of the mediaeval Church of England. They may be divided into two classes. Those who held the office of an Abbot in connection with the higher office of a Bishop : and those who held the office of Bishop only, whose chapter was presided over by a Dean and Secular Canons. The distinction is thus referred to in the Monasticon. Some [speaking of our ancient episcopal seats] " were formerly Abbies, " where the Prior and Convent of Monks were the " Bishop's Chapter ; such were Canterbury, Roches- " ter, Winchester, Ely, Norwich, Worcester, Durham, " Carlisle ; [and in such Churches when there was " a Bishop, the Superior of the Monks was always " called a Prior, the Bishop being in effect the " Abbot] others never were Abbies, but the Chapter " did always consist of a Dean and Secular Canons " [or Prebendaries] as at present ; such were York, " London, Lincoln, Salisbury, Exeter, Wells, Litch- " field, Hereford, Chichester, and in Wales, St. Davids, " Landaff, Bangor, and St. Asaph." — [Monasticon, edition 1693, preface.] Thus St. Osmund, in compiling his famous rite, had primarily to consider, as Bishop of Salisbury, the needs of his own Diocese. Hence he was far more fitted to revise the English Liturgy than any Bishop who was also by position an Abbot, and who would have been influenced perhaps by monas- tic rather than by diocesan considerations. We find, indeed, that all the great mediaeval Liturgies of the Church of England had their origin in sees, the Bishops of which were not ex officio Abbots. The uses of Sarum, York, Lincoln, Hereford, and Bangor, are of course named after the sees where these usas THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Ill originated. In each case, like the Sarum, they were doubtless drawn up by the Bishop of the Diocese. In no instance does a Bishop of the mediaeval Church of England appear to have drawn up a liturgical use who was an ex officio Abbot. This indicates how suitable our mediaeval Liturgies were for dio- cesan use : and explains how it is we have no old use of Canterbury, as of York. Foremost among the mediaeval Liturgies of the Church of England is the use of Sarum. It is an incomparable rite. And it may be said to be the main stream of Catholic deposit in the Church of England, whereby in mediaeval times many of the ancient traditions of the Anglo-Saxon Church were preserved and handed on. This it is which makes the use of such incomparable value to all English Churchmen. Even in the XIII. th century it was considered that there was no use which could be compared with it : — " The Church of Salisbury," says an old writer of the year 1256, " being conspicuous " above all other Churches like the sun in the hea- " vens, diffusing its light everywhere, and supplying " their defects." — \_Ann. Bk. of Com. Pray., p. xviii.] There is positive evidence that St. Osmund did not introduce into the Anglican Church any new colours for the sacrificial vestments. He was a true conservative and loyal Churchman : and he did not attempt to compile a rite differing in essential points from others which had preceded it. On the con- trary, the Sarum rite, as compiled by St. Osmund, was entirely based upon the ancient Anglo-Saxon usage, and upon the traditions of the Gallican and Byzantine Churches. Dr. Rock says, writing with re- ference to the ancient use of a Ruler-of-the-Choir's staff — " of such a liturgical practice we have evidence " for Anglo-Saxon as well as English times ; and on " this, like almost every other ritual observance, Saint " Osmund merely retained for his rile of Sarum a us- " age which he found established in the rubrics of this " country before the coming of the Normans." 112 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. The old Sarum use was, therefore, to a great ex- tent, the Anglo-Saxon use of our ancient Church of England. The Anglo-Saxon ritual was mainly- derived from that of the ancient British Church : and the Sarum, in its turn, from the Anglo-Saxon. Thus was the ritual worship of "the island of Saints" preserved and handed on. ( 3 ) Then again, the orthodoxy of St. Osmund's rite is proved by the fact that it does not sanction' for the sacrificial vestments the use of black or green or any other colour not authorized by "the Law." The Sarum use, in this respect, is based upon the ancient Levitical use. It must not however be imagined that the early ( 3 ) Just as the Anglo-Saxon sys- tem teemed with scholastic sym- bolism, so in like degree did the Sarum rite. Precisely the same doctrinal symbolism underlies both. The mystic crosses in the canon of Leofric's Anglo-Saxon Missal, compared with those in the canon of the Sarum Missal, indicate this. In both there is the same play, so to speak, upon the mystic numbers five and three. And in like manner were these doctrinal numbers played upon throughout the Sarum use, as in that which belonged to the Anglo- Saxon period. For example, in the creed, five inclinations of the head were to be made according to the Sarum use. At the words, I be- lieve in one God, the choir crossed themselves and inclined the head. Again at, And was incarnate, they inclined the head : again at, And ■was made man : and again at, And was crucified. And then lastly at the words, world to come. These five inclinations were made by the faithful. They were sub-divided thus I + 3 + I ; because one came at the beginning, one at the end, and three close together in the centre. This indicates the same scholastic symbolism which is im- plied by the upraised hand of the Priest in giving the blessing, be- fore alluded to. Each teaches, by the mystic play upon the num- bers five and three in combina- tion, the great doctrine of the Sa- crifice of the Mass, and the Di- vinity of that Sacrifice. The Priest on his side, the faithful on theirs, thus expressed their faith : — " Who would not love those good old days, When our Church was a Church indeed.'''' The same symbolism does not indeed occur in like degree in all our mediaeval rites. For example, according to the Hereford use, a genuflection was always made at the words And was incarnate, as in the modern Roman use, which entirely mars the ancient symbo- lism of our Church. And it only shews how incomparable our old Sarum use was. It is very greatly to be regretted that some English Churchmen in these days prefer to genuflect in the creed, after the manner of the Roman Ca- tholics, rather than express their faith in the Sacrifice of the Altar by the mystic inclinations of the head, after the manner of the Eng- lish Catholics of old. THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 113 Sarum vestments corresponded exactly in every minute particular with the Levitical. Certainly not. But the Sarum use harmonized with the Levitical, differing from it only in degree, just as the three-fold order of the Christian Priesthood differs only in a degree from the three-fold order of the Levitical. It has been pointed out in a previous chapter that in the Levitical use the main combination of the sacred colours existed in the vesture of the High- priest ; and that the sacrificial vesture of a Priest was quite subordinate with regard to colour, being mainly white. Just so was the ancient Sarum use. The Bishop's vesture remained as of yore, as regards its mystic colour ; while the distinctive sacrificial vestment, the chasuble, worn by a Priest at the Altar when offering the Holy Sacrifice, was mainly white in colour for some seasons of the Christian Year, and red for others. St. Osmund's rite does not appear to touch upon the episcopal vesture. The Sarum Missal, like the Primitive Liturgies, does not touch upon the subject. It seems to have been looked upon by St. Osmund as a matter of course, that in the episcopal vesture certain colours only were to be worn, as directed by God in the Law, and to have been passed over by him as requiring no comment, so generally had the usage of the Law been conformed to in this respect both in Normandy and in Saxon England. As, therefore, the ancient Sarum rite contains no instruc- tions about the episcopal vesture, — in this respect following on the lines of the Primitive and Anglo- Saxon Liturgies — I shall have to prove from other sources that in the mediaeval Church of England at this period the five mystic colours of the Law con- tinued to be worn by her Bishops, in their official dress at the Altar. With regard to the sacrificial dress of Priests and Deacons the case is different. Saint Osmund's rite touches upon this subject. The dress to be worn in choir by the Secular Canons, [who with other officials composed the Bishop's Chapter] and the sacrificial I 114 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. vestments to be worn by Priests when offering the Holy Sacrifice at the Christian Altar, are both al- luded to by St. Osmund. It is very much to be regretted that we have no MSb- remaining of the ancient Sarum rite, of the date of the XI. th century. The earliest MSb- copy hitherto found exists in the cathedral library at Salisbury ; and this is supposed to date from about the latter end of the XII. tu century, or commence- ment of the XIII. th , that is to say about one hun- dred years or so after St. Osmund's time. By com- paring this early JWS&. with the Sarum Missal of the XVI. th century we find that the Sarum use, as re- gards the subject in question, underwent very little change indeed from about the latter end of the XII. th century to the middle of the XVI. tu , the Re- formation period. We may therefore reasonably conclude that it underwent very little or no change from St. Osmund's time till the latter end of the XII. th century. There is no doubt we have in this early £B,&. copy the actual rite as compiled by St. Osmund : and this is also Dr. Rock's opinion. The following extract is from the !&£>., under the heading, De Jiabitu cJwri per totum annum Preterea sciendum est quod omnes Clerici indifferenter nigris utun- tur cappis per totum an- num nisi in hisduplicibus festis que ex propria sua solemnitate processionem habent adjunctam, vel in aliis etiam festis duppli- cibus que diebus fiunt dominicis. Tunc enim omnes cappis utuntur se- ricis ad processionem et ad missam. Item in vi- gilia Pasche quando Glo- ria in excelsis inchoatur, facta genufiexione Clerici " It is further to be ob- served, let all the Clerks without distinction wear black copes throughout the year, except on those doubles, which, from their own peculiar solemnity, have a procession, or on those other doubles, which fall on the Sundays. For then let all wear silk copes in the procession and at the Mass. Also, on the vigil of Easter, when the Gloria in excelsis is be- gun, a genuflection being made, let the Clerks lay THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 115 deponant cappas nigras et in superpelliciis appa- reant et exinde per totam septimanam et etiam in octava die superpelliciis utantur. Simile quoque observetur in Vigilia Pen- tecostes, et per septima- nam. In omni etiam dup- plici festo a pascha, us- que ad festum Sancti Michaelis semper in su- perpelliciis appareant in Choro, et in Capitulo, et ad omnes horas diei. Ad Matutin. vero per totum annum nigris cappis utun- tur. Nullus autem Cle- ricor. de superiori gradu Almutica utatur nisi ni- gra in Choro nee in Capi- tulo. Alii vero Clerici nulla utantur omnino de die. Rectores vero Chori semper sericis utantur cappis in Choro. In pas- chali tempore utuntur Ministri altaris ad missam dalmaticis et tunicis albis. Rectores Chori cappis si- militer albis, et in annun- ciatione dominica, et in Octabis Beate Marie, et infra Octabas, et in com- memorationibus ejusdem, et in utroq. festo Sancti Michaelis, et in festo cu- juslibet Virginis. Rubeis vero utuntur indumentis in utroque festo Sancte Crucis, et in quolibet festo aside the black copes, and appear in surplices : and thenceforth through the whole week and also on the octave let them wear surplices. Let there be a like observance on the vigil of Whitsuntide, and through the week. Also on every double from Easter to Michaelmas let them always appear in surplices in choir, and in chapter, and at all the day-hours. But at matins throughout the year let them wear black copes. Moreover let no Clerk of higher rank wear any except a black amyss in choir or in chapter. But let the other Clerks wear none whatsoever by day. Let the Rulers of the choir always wear silk copes in choir. In the season of Easter let the Ministers of the Altar wear at the Mass white dalmatics and tunicles. Let the Rulers of the choir in like manner wear white copes ; also on the festival of the Annuncia- tion, and on the octave of the Blessed Virgin, and within the octave, and on the commemorations of the same, and on both festivals of St. Michael, and on the festival of I 2 Il6 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. martirum, et in Tractis cantandis. In festis sim- plicibus in Quadragesima, et in Dominica Passionis Domini, et in Dominica Palmarum, restores cho- ri cappis utuntur rubeis. [vide — the Church of our Fathers, vol. iv, p. 12.] any Virgin. But let them wear red vestments upon both feasts of the Holy- Cross, and on the feast of any Martyr, and in sing- ing ' tracts.' Let also the Rulers of the choir wear red copes on the singles during Lent, and on the Day of our Lord's Passion, and on Palm Sunday." The first part of this general order applies more particularly to the dress of the Secular Canons and Clergy worn at the offices in choir ; the latter part, commencing In paschali tempore, to the distinctive colour of the liturgical vestments worn at Mass. A comparison of this latter with an extract from a Sarum Missal of XVI . th century date, which will be referred to in due course, will shew how little the distinctive Sarum colours — red and white — varied from the XII. th century to the XVI. th The institution of Secular Canons to serve a Ca- thedral Church, as in vogue to the present day in the Church of England, may be said to date from the end of the XI. th century when St. Osmund lived. We learn that the great St. Augustine and some of his Clergy lived together under the same roof and formed a kind of religious brotherhood, observing one common rule of life or canon. But this more ancient system underwent a development in the XI. th century, and hence it is that St. Osmund in his fa- mous rite makes reference to the dress to be worn in choir by the chapter Clergy. The dress of the Secular Canons did not mate- rially differ from that of the Regulars, or Benedictine Monks. Dr. Rock says, alluding to the change which was brought about in the XI. th century: — "In this " transition, which was slow, of the canons regular " into secular clerks, the vesture which had been " first used by them in choir, underwent little change ; " so that the cathedral clergy continued to array " themselves, for singing the divine service, in robes THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 117 "like those employed by their predecessors." — [the Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 83.] This is the reason that we meet with the mention of black copes in the Salisbury £B,&. It has been pointed out how the black habit of the Benedictine Monks originated the black cope, or outdoor pro- cessional vestment of the Clergy : and how this use gradually developed in the Church's system, until the outdoor processional vestment came also in course of time to be used by the Regulars in choir, though never by the Celebrant and his ministers at the Mass. In retaining this usage, which had now prevailed for some time, St. Osmund has shewn the same con- servative feeling which appears to have influenced in like degree the whole of his rite. But although there is provision made in the Sarum use for wearing a black cope in the choir, in accordance with the tra- ditions of the Anglo-Saxon Church, there is no pro- vision whatever made for wearing at the Mass a black chasuble, or dalmatic, or tunicle, or stole ; or indeed any other black or green sacrificial vestment. How far St. Osmund was guided by the traditions of the Gallican Church of his own fatherland, in com- piling his rite, how far by the traditions of the Anglo- Saxon Church, and how far by the traditions of the Byzantine Church, is a matter which cannot be so readily disposed of. The probability is that common lines of ancient ritual worship had hitherto pervaded these three Branches of the Catholic Church, and that St. Osmund endeavoured to weld them the more closely together. It is certain that the Sarum rite has more affinity in some respects to Eastern than to Roman ritual. We know on the authority of Ger- manus, a Patriarch of Constantinople who lived in the VIII. th century, that scarlet was the colour of pre-eminence in the sacrificial system of the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church at that date ; while there is nothing to indicate that the colour occupied the same position in the Roman system. Now this was one of the distinctive features of the Sarum use, all through the Middle Ages : and it only shews how Il8 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. closely allied was the use of our ancient Church of England, in this respect, to the more ancient use of the Eastern Church. It must not be imagined that because red and white vestments only were specified to be worn at the Altar by Saint Osmund, that these colours and none other appeared in the sacrificial vesture of the Priest. A red vestment naturally meant, as it does now, a vestment the general fabric of which was of this colour. But under the Christian system, as under the Levitical, the vestments of the Church's ministers were richly embroidered. And it was in the embroidery and ornamentation of a red or white vestment, as the case might be, that the other sacred colours were introduced, and the traditions of " the Law" observed. It was this very embroidery — the Opus Anglicanum — so orthodox in its colouring, and beautiful in its workmanship, which made our Church of England vestments to be " extolled and coveted by all nations." It is manifest that with but two distinctive colours for the whole Christian Year, there could be no such thing as a sequence of colours in the ancient Sarum use, corresponding in degree to the modern Roman sequence. There was no sequence of colours in the Levitical system ; and there was also none, in the sense in which the word is now used, in the ancient Anglican system. This is the tradition of the Church of England. The following extracts from the Salisbury ffil&. will shew clearly enough that no distinctive colours were worn at the different seasons of the Christian Year, other than those before alluded to : — De modo excquendi of- ficium Dominica prima in Adventu ad Missam, et de qfficiis singulornm Min- istrorum. Dominica prima in Ad- ventu, peracta processi- one, dum tertia canta- " Upon the mode of con- ducting the office 011 the I. st Sunday in Advent at the Mass, and upon the duties of each of the Ministers. On the first Sunday in Advent, the procession being over, when terce is THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Il9 tur, executor officii, et sui ministri ad missam dicendam se induant, et, si episcopus fuerit, tres habeat diaconos et toti- dem subdiaconos ad mi- nus sicut in omni festo novem lectionum quando ipse exequitur officium. In die vero Pentecostes, et in die cene, septem diaconos et septem sub- diaconos et tres acolitos. In aliis vero duplicibus festis, quinque tantum. Die vero Parasceve unum solum diaconum,et unum solum subdiaconum. Cantata, vero, tertia, et officio misse inchoato, dum post officium " Glo- ria Patri" inchoatur, exe- cutor officii cum suis mi- nistris ordinate presbyte- rium intrent, et ad altare accedant: diacono et sub- diacono casulis indutis, manus tamen ad modum sacerdotis extra casulam non tenentibus : ceteris ministris in albis existen- tibus; quibus vero tem- poribus diaconi et sub- diaconi casulis, dalmati- cis, et tunicis, et albis uti debeant in ordinali plane sung, let the Celebrant and his Ministers vest to say the Mass : and, if he be a Bishop let him have at least three Deacons and as many Subdeacons, as in every feast of nine lessons when he himself conducts the office. On Whitsun Day, however, and Maundy Thursday let him have seven Dea- cons and seven Subdea- cons, and three acolytes: but on the other 'doubles' only five : and on Good Friday only one Deacon and one Subdeacon. ( 4 ) Moreover, when terce is sung and the office of the Mass begun, whilst the Gloria Patri is com- menced, let the Celebrant and his Ministers enter the Sanctuary in order and approach the Altar : the Deacon and Subdea- con being vested in cha- subles, but not holding their hands outside the chasuble like the Priest : the rest of the Ministers appearing in albs. At what time, however, the Deacons and the Sub- deacons ought to wear ( 4 ) The play upon the doctrinal numbers, one, three, five, and seven, should be noted. This scholastic ritual is, without doubt, derived from the Anglo-Saxon Church; for it exactly harmonizes with so much which is met with in the Anglo-Saxon system. 120 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. describitur, etc. — [vide, the Church of our Fathers, vol. iv, p. 58.] chasubles, dalmatics, tu- nicles, and albs, is clearly- set forth in the ordinal." From this it is quite clear there was no distinctive Advent colour then worn in the Church of England, as nowadays in the Church of Rome, or it would have been referred to. So too with regard to Christ- mas Day :- De modo exequendi offi- cium prime Misse in die Natalis Domini. In die Natalis Domini post " Te Deum lauda- mns" excellentior sacer- dos primam missam can- tet, cujus ministerium ex- pletur, sicut in dominica excepto quod diaconus et subdiaconus et acolitus utuntur dalmaticis et tu- nicis. Preterea, cum"67<9- ria in excelsis " missa dici- tur, lectio ante epistolam in pulpito ab aliquibus duobus pro dispositione [cantoris ?] in cappis se- ricis cantetur, " Alleluia " a tribus excellentioribus in cappis sericis ibidem dicatur. — etc. — [vide, the Church ofourFatJiers, vol. iv, p. 65.] From this again it is " Upon the mode of con- ducting the office of the I.'* Mass on Christmas Day. Upon Christmas Day, after the Te Deum lau- damus, let a Priest of the higher rank sing the first Mass, the service of which is to be performed as on Sunday, except that the Deacon and Subdeacon and acolyte are to wear dalmatics and tunicles. Moreover, when the Glo- ria in excelsis is said, let the lesson before the epi- stle be sung in the pulpit [or the rood-loft] by any two according to choice in silk copes : and let the A lleluia be same place higher rank copes." quite clear there said in the by three of in their silk was no distinctive colour worn on Christmas Day to mark the festival, other than red or white, otherwise it would have been referred to by St. Osmund. So too with regard to the other seasons of the Christian Year, we find in St. Osmund's rite no further allusion to the colour of the vestments to be worn, beyond that referred to under the heading De habitu chori per totum annum. That this ancient Sarum use of THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 121 red and white [embroidered with other mystic co- lours] prevailed in our old Church of England until the times of the Reformation wherever the Sarum rite was followed, with but little diversity, I shall endeavour to prove. The late Dr. Rock says, in speaking of the shape of the Anglo-Norman chasuble : — " St. Osmund and his " countrymen wrought no change upon this vestment, " which they found to be in every respect the same " here as they had left it in Normandy The " only alteration the shape of the chasuble ever un- " derwent in Catholic England was a very slight one, " and consisted in cutting its lower extremities, from " being circular, into the form of two reversed pointed " arches Thus, in fact, as far as mere geomet- " rical outline went, the chasuble took upon itself the " most prominent architectural feature of the times : " when the architecture was round, this vestment's ex- " tremities were round ; but it laid aside this circular " for the pointed form when the architecture became " pointed. Such a variation was, however, very small, " and did not anywise touch its olden, its venerable, " its symbolic shape." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. i, p. 323—326.] St. Ivo, who was a pupil of our Archbishop Lan- franc at Bee, and afterwards Bishop of Chartres, in his Sermo in Synodo de signijicationibus indumen- toritm sacerdotalium, mentions gold and jewels as decorations of the Church's sacrificial vestments. Like the older Churchmen, he draws a comparison between the Christian and the Levitical vestments. He refers to gold, blue, purple, red, and w r hite, as the mystic colours of the vestments, and to these five only. No allusion is made by him to the use of either black or green. We may also infer from his words that there was then no such thing as a sequence of colours in the Gallican Church, to mark the different seasons of the Christian Year. 122 THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. The old Churchmen were very fond of connecting the cardinal virtue of charity with the mystic colour of scarlet. The writings of St. Gregory the Great, Alcuin, Innocentius III., and others, indicate this.( 5 ) So also did these old Churchmen look upon the chasuble itself, the chief of the sacrificial vestments, as typical of charity. St. Ivo says : — His omnibus indumen- tis superponitur casula, quse alio nomine planeta vocatur : quse quia com- munis est vestis, charita- tem significat, quse uni- versis virtutibus superpo- nitur : quia caeterae vir- tutes nihil sine ea utile operantur. — [ Vest. Christ., p. 127.] " The chasuble, which by another name is called planeta, is placed over all these vestments : and for as much as it is a com- mon vestment, it signifies charity, which is placed over all virtues ; because the rest of the virtues without that [i.e. without charity] work no good. Hence it was that a scarlet chasuble, richly em- broidered with mystic needlework, was so frequently worn in the ancient Church of England. Both the vestment itself and the very colour of the vestment typified the same virtue. Both were thus mystically linked together in the minds of the old Churchmen ; for both reminded them of the great love of God to man, and of the very crowning act of that love — the Sacrifice of His Only Son. It is only by consider- ing these things that we are at all able to compre- hend how symbolic and orthodox the old Sarum use was. In truth the beauty of the ancient system of the Church of England and her mystic ritual was this, it was all so entirely grounded upon the Bible : — " Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed " garments from Bozrah ? this that is glorious in his " apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength ? "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel ?" From ( 5 ) See the Vest. Christ., p. 155. THE USE IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 1 23 the New Testament there comes as it were an echo to the words : — " And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." Where is there one single passage in the Bible, either in the Old Testament or in the New, which can be quoted in like manner in advocacy of the modern use of a black stole ? There does not ap- pear to be one. CHAPTER XIV. %\}t (Enalislj Mzt in % The late Dr. Neale, in speaking of the noble efforts made by the Catholic Church in this age to stem the tide of secret heresy on the one hand and Mahome- tanism on the other, says : — " This time her good " deeds preponderated, and she had her reward in " that marvellous century between 1150 and 1250 — " the most glorious time the Church Militant ever " knew, with the single exception of the period of " the persecutions ; when, go where you would over " Europe, you met endless teams of horses, endless " lines of men, dragging quarried stones for the Ca- " thedrals that were rising on all sides ; the multi- " tude that accompanied cheering up the way with " psalms, and allowing none who were even suspected " of wicked lives to handle the drag ropes ; and the " time when the greatest saint among doctors, and " the greatest doctor among saints, St. Thomas Aqui- " nas, was writing ; when St. Bernard was preaching, " and acting, and suffering ; and when the Church, " by her two great armies of Franciscans and Do- " minicans, 'went out into the highways and hedges, " and compelled men to come in, that the house " might be filled.' " — [Sermon preached at East Grin- stead Convent, Masters, 1869.] It is curious to observe the different views which different Churchmen take of the same period. This is the opinion of the author of the Vestiarium Chris- tianutn of the period in question : — " But by far the THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 1 25 " greater number " [he is speaking of developments in the sacerdotal dress] " date from the ninth, to the " middle of the twelfth, century ; a period of dark- " ness, both intellectual and moral, especially so at " Rome itself, such as the Christian world has never " known either before or since." — [ Vest. Christ., p. lxxxii.] Thus one English Priest alludes to the middle of the XII. th century as the most glorious time the Church Militant ever knew, with one single excep- tion : while another alludes to it as a period of dark- ness, both intellectual and moral, such as the Chris- tian world has never known either before or since. Ecclesiastical history and ecclesiastical art both bear their witness to the truth of Dr. Neale's state- ment. It was a glorious period. And it is impos- sible to go among the ruins of an old Cistercian Abbey [and no less than about five hundred Cister- cian Abbeys were erected in Europe from a.d. 1098 to 1 1 52, as the Monasticon states,] without perceiving the influence of the religion of the age : so great was its influence that even the mouldings and the carv- ings and all the minute details of the building were designed to dogmatize, the Unity of the Godhead, the Trinity of the Godhead, the doctrine of Sacrifice, the doctrine of Grace, and the doctrine of the Incar- nation : — so that even the material fabric itself was, as it were, built up of the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic Church. But there is unfortunately another side to this beautiful picture, and it is from this little standpoint alone that the author alluded to appears to have reviewed the period. It cannot be denied that the lives of some of the Anglo-Norman Bishops who lived at this time will not bear looking into. What has been written of Flambard Bishop of Durham might, it may be feared, be written of many others also. Courtiers were in many instances thrust into sees by the influence of the Anglo-Norman Sove- reigns, who were morally and intellectually unfitted for the sacred office of a Bishop. Such, amongst 126 THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. others, were Gerard Bishop of York, Henry of Blois Bishop of Winchester, Nigel Bishop of Ely, and Roger Bishop of Salisbury. Of the latter it has been written — " unscrupulous, fierce, and avaricious, Bi- " shop Roger affords perhaps the most complete " type of the great feudal Churchman at a time when "the Anglo-Norman bishops were barons rather " than prelates, when their palaces were castles, and " their retainers vassals-in-arms." (*) Naturally, if Ave look to the lives of these men without going much deeper into the matter, the whole system of the Church of England may appear bad indeed. But we know her system was not so. And it is as unjust to bring one sweeping charge against the entire sys- tem of the English Church at this period, because of the lives of such Bishops, — as it would be for a writer in the next century to bring a similar sweeping charge against the Catholic Revival now going on in the Church of England, because the life of some Bishop or other, for the time being, is found to be not in accord with it. By the good providence of God the evil influence of the lives of some of these XII. th century Bishops upon the system of the Church of England was in some measure frustrated by the Sarum rite. By an anomaly peculiar to the times the infamous Bishop Roger was the immediate successor of St. Osmund at Salisbury. A Bishop so irreligious might have introduced changes affecting the ritual worship of our ancient Church of the most disastrous kind, had it not been that the principles of the ritual worship of the Anglo-Saxon Church were already most firmly established and confirmed by St. Osmund's rite. Bi- shop Roger appears from history to have been too much occupied with political intrigues and the like to trouble to deviate from the use which he found established in his diocese. And thus we may see in this, as in so many other instances, how by God's providence the evil life of a Bishop has had little or ( J ) Murray 's Hand-book to the Southern Cathedrals, part i, p. 11S. THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 1 27 no effect upon the system of the Church of England. It seems, indeed : — " Gates of hell can never 'Gainst that Church prevail ; We have Christ's own promise, And that cannot fail." But although Bishop Roger and others of his class appear to have introduced no ritual changes affecting what may be called the diocesan use, followed by the Clergy generally, yet we may well imagine that these Bishops were not so particular as their predecessors about the colour of their own sacrificial robes. We may well imagine that with such men it was a mat- ter of indifference whether at times they themselves wore green and black chasubles, or blue and purple ones. And as the colours green and black continued to be used for the choir or processional cope, [for we know that the Sarum use was not everywhere fol- lowed] so, these irregular Churchmen appear in some instances to have used these two colours also in their Mass vestments, indiscriminately with the five mys- tic colours of the Law. There is evidence of this, to which I shall refer. This may be said to be the com- mencement of the use of the colours green and black in the sacrificial system of the English Church. We turn now to the evidence of some illuminated manuscripts of the age which tends to throw light upon the subject. In the British Museum is an ancient illuminated {&,£. [Calig. A. XIV.] which was probably written in the early part of the XII. th century, very shortly after St. Omsund had compiled his Sarum rite. Un- fortunately there is no illuminated figure of either Bishop or Priest in this ,£H£. : but upon one of the folios there is a good drawing of a Deacon in his Mass vestments. He is drawn holding in the one hand a cloth of gold maniple fringed with red ; and in the other, a thurible and book of the Gospels. He is vested in a red dalmatic richly ornamented 128 THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. with gold, and bound about the waist with a girdle of the same mystic colours, red and gold. The girdle is folded several times round the body, over the dal- matic, and looks altogether larger and more impor- tant than any girdle now worn. This shews that the girdle was looked upon as a very important part of the sacrificial dress in the XII. th century, as in Levitical times. There is a white alb indicated under the dalmatic ; and a red stole ornamented with gold and white, which is here drawn as it was anciently worn, viz. under the dalmatic or vestment, so that the ends only are visible. The sleeves of the dalmatic are large and hang considerably from the arm. The dalmatic is edged at the collar and at its sleeves and bottom [which is shewn slit up at the sides as usual] with a broad band of gold, indi- cating how richly embroidered were the red Sarum vestments at this period ; while two similar broad bands of gold run down its front and over the shoulders. The Deacon's sandals are of a nonde- script colour, ornamented each with a large gold fleur-de-lis : whether they are intended to be purple or black in colour is not very clear. Excepting the sandals, the only colours shewn in this Deacon's ves- ture are red [the distinctive colour] and gold and white. The figure is drawn upon a purple ground. As this illumination was done about twenty years after St. Osmund drew up his rite, we may reason- ably assume, as it is by an English hand, and as red is the distinctive colour of the chief vestments, that it faithfully depicts a Deacon's Mass vestments ac- cording to the early use of Sarum. There is, more- over, a conventional treatment of the drawing, which further tends to connect it with the Sarum canon of the Mass. In the canon there is the mystical use of the doctrinal numbers five and three : e.g. three crosses are directed to be thrice made by the Cele- brant [i.e. 3 + 3 + 3]. In the drawing we perceive the same mystic symbolism. The Deacon holds in his hand a conventional plant, out of which five branches spring, the three upper ones terminating in trefoils. THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 1 29 The trefoil is thus thrice repeated, and precisely the same triple triplicity of symbolism is shewn in the design, in order to dogmatize and do honour to the Blessed Trinity, which occurs under the form of crosses made by the Priest, according to the old Sarum canon. From this and other things we may certainly infer the Deacon is faithfully depicted in " the Sarum" Mass vestments of the ancient Church of England, as in vogue in St. Osmund's age. Another illuminated fHj£. in the British Museum [10. A. xiii.] tends to throw further light upon the subject. This iH^. is catalogued as dating from about the latter end of the XII. th century. It is probably a little older than this. I should date it circa a.d. 11 50. It has, as its title page, a mag- nificent illuminated figure of Saint Dunstan, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, in the episcopal sacrificial vestments in vogue in the XII. th century. This is the only illuminated figure throughout the ftt5b., but it is one of great beauty and value. ( 2 ) The Archbishop is here drawn in a blue chasuble, which is ornamented at its edge with gold : a red dalmatic, ornamented also with gold : a white alb : a white mitre, with broad gold band : a gold ap- parelled amice : and a white archiepiscopal pall. With the exception of the Archbishop's sandals, [which are apparently coloured black] there are no colours indicated in his vesture other than red, white, blue, and gold. We should bear in mind that the white archiepiscopal pall was at this period often en- riched with purple crosses. The inference therefore to be drawn from the illumination is this; — that the five mystic colours of the Law continued still ( 2 ) I have already pointed out, 1 in the drawing of Saint Dunstan but it is worth repeating, that it was always the custom of the old Churchmen in their illuminated manuscripts to depict the eccle- siastical dress of the period when the illumination was done. Thus, K here referred to, he is not drawn in X. th century vesture, of the age in which he lived, but in XII. th century vesture, of the age when the illumination was done. This rule was invariably followed. 130 THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. to be used in combination as heretofore in the vest- ments of a Bishop, from the very commencement of the Sarum use ; and that the more ancient use of the Church of England was in this respect wholly- unaffected by the Sarum, which, as I have endea- voured to point out, did not touch upon the colour of the episcopal vesture. This figure of Archbishop Dunstan is not an or- dinary illumination : it is one of the most beautiful and valuable drawings we possess of the early Me- diaeval period. From the special care which was taken by its artist in the drawing and colouring, as well as from the circumstance that it is the only figure in the JHX"., this old Anglo-Norman illumi- nation is of very great value in proving, that in some Dioceses at all events, the five mystic colours of the Law continued to be used in combination in the sacrificial vesture of an English Bishop, as of yore. This old illumination proves moreover that the mitre of gold and white still continued to be worn by orthodox Bishops at this period, as in the Anglo- Saxon Church. But the shape of the Episcopal mitre was undergoing a development. The shape it assumed in the XI. th century is indicated by an illu- mination in the Mlb- Claudius. A. III. Mus. Brit. ( 3 ) This again developed in the XII. th century into the shape illustrated and described in the CJiurch of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 99. And this latter, about the end of the XII. th century, into the pointed mitre of Mediaeval use. There is another JHJ&. of the XII. th century in the British Museum [Nero. C. IV.] to which I would refer. In some of the draperies to the illuminations of this fine Psalter, which is by an English hand, we have an indication that the colour green was gradually ( 3 ) The colouring of the illumi- nation I allude to in this jjHJ5. is not altogether reliable because it has been retouched with colour at a later date. This does not affect the shape of the mitre. THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 131 but surely supplanting others in the Church of Eng- land system at this time. Upon fo. 27 is a fine drawing of the Ascension of our Blessed Lord into Heaven. It is true none of the figures in this particular illumination are in sacrificial garb, but the draperies to them all — our Blessed Lord, the Angels, our Lady, and the Apos- tles — have all more or less green introduced in them ; indicating the growing use of this colour in the system of the English Church. This drawing bears out the ancient tradition that the Blessed Virgin was with the Apostles upon the day of the Ascension. She makes the twelfth figure in the group ; supplying as it were the place made void by the traitor Judas. She occupies the central and most prominent position, with five Apostles standing on the one side and six upon the other. Upon fo. 28 is a figure of our Lord seated as the Great High-priest upon the Mediatorial Throne in Heaven. His vesture is coloured gold, and green, and red, and purple. So that we fail to perceive in this illumination, in our Lord's vesture, the five mystic colours of the Law, and these only, as in similar illuminations by the earlier Churchmen. It indicates clearly enough the declension already al- luded to in the episcopal garb at this period in some Dioceses. The inference to be drawn is this, — the artist lived in a Diocese where some ungodly Anglo- Norman Bishop held rule, to whom it was, as we may well imagine, a matter of the utmost indiffer- ence whether he himself wore a blue chasuble or a green one. And this is confirmed by another illu- mination in this fH^b-, for: — Upon fo. 34 are drawn three Bishops in chasubles. One of these chasubles is green : one is red : and one is white. By this date therefore it is pretty well certain that the green chasuble was here and there worn by Bishops of the Church of England ; and that the colour had by this time surreptitiously crept into use for sacrificial vestments. The calendar to this Psalter is written out in green K 2 I32 THE USE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. and black and red. It has been pointed out that the calendars in earlier manuscripts, especially in Anglo- Saxon times, were usually written with such colours as gold and blue and red. Here, again, we may perceive how the colours green and black were gradually supplanting others in the ecclesiastical system. At this period, as in Anglo Saxon times, the cope was sometimes enriched with a fringe of little tink- ling bells of gold. Prior Conrad of Canterbury, who lived in the early part of the XII. th century, pre- sented a very magnificent cope to that Cathedral Church, fringed with little bells of this description, which was probably worn in after years by St. Thomas of Canterbury. The cost of this single processional vestment was £100, a sum equal to considerably more than £1,000 in these days. This will give some idea of the magnificence of some of the old Church of England vestments in Mediaeval times. In the Anglo-Saxon period we have reason to believe they were oftentimes yet more costly and beautiful. " When Robert, the abbot of St. Alban's, went to " pay his respects to Nicholas Brekespere, who on " being chosen Pope took the name of Adrian IV, " and filled the apostolic chair from A.D. n 54 till " 1 159, he carried along with him, to Benevento, " many rich presents for the supreme pontiff, who " was born, and had been bred, in one of the ham- " lets belonging, and near, to that far-famed abbey " in Hertfordshire. But of these gifts, our exalted " countryman would keep nothing besides the three " very beautiful mitres, and the pair of sandals " wrought by Christina, the abbess of Markgate, be- " cause they were so surprisingly handsome." — [the Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 2yj.~] CHAPTER XV. %\)t ^nglislj Wist in tlj* ®hirtwnilj C^ntorg. The Abbe Fleury says : — "The ancient discipline " had penetrated the darkness of these preceding " ages through the influence of tradition. In the " thirteenth century people began to attend more " to the exercise of reason." — [The maimers of the Christians, p. 277.] It is the setting up of human reason in opposition to Divine Revelation, that has been the bane of Christianity in all past ages ; and preeminently so in this XIX. th century. It has been said by a modern writer that from the XIII. th century until the XVL th there has been a tendency in Western Christendom to add to the literal text of Holy Scripture : while from the XVI. th century until the XIX. th there has been a contrary tendency to take from it : — and that the former tendency led on to superstition : the latter to infidelity. We may perceive the truth of this with regard to the subject in question. Certainly, from the XIII. th century, when the use was fully established in some Dioceses, till the XVI. th , the colours green and black were used for the sacrificial vestments together with the colours of the Law. This was a manifest addition to what is described in the Sacred Canon : it was moreover a departure from the tradition which for the first thousand years of the Christian era had influenced the colour of the liturgical dress. And there probably never was a time when superstition [using the word in a de- 134 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. moralizing sense] had more hold upon the minds of men than from the XIII. th to the XVI. tb century, during which period these colours green and black, unauthorized by scripture or tradition, were with others superadded to the mystic colours of the Law. On the other hand we know that from the XVI. th century, the commencement of the English Refor- mation period, till the XIX. th , the mystic colours of the Law have in a measure fallen into disuse in our Church of England system, and been sup- planted by others, preeminently by the colour black. This shews the tendency of the age to take from, or to disregard, the text of the Sacred Canon. And we well know that there never was a time when infidelity was so rife in England, as at the present day. But to return to the XIII. th century. We have an inventory of all the vestments and ornaments which belonged to the Church of Salisbury in the early part of this century. A copy of it may be found in CJuircJi of our Fathers, vol. iv, pp. 99 — 104. The following are some extracts from it : — Hec sunt ornamenta Ecclesie Sarum, inventa in Thesauraria iij. Kalen- das Aprilis, anno ab In- carnatione Domini M°.CC°. xiiij ., recepta tunc, ab Abrahamo Thesaurario, sicut ipse proprio ma- nuscripto integravit co- ram Decano et Capitulo, anno ab Incarnatione Dni. M°.CC°.XXij. " These are the orna- ments of the Church of Sarum found in the Trea- sury in the year 12 14, on the xxix day of March, received at that time by Abraham the Treasurer, which he registered in his own manuscript, in the presence of the Dean and Chapter in the year of our Lord 1222." Casula una de dono Rogeri Episcopi cum xi lapidibus a tergo, xxxiij lapid. in parte anteriori. " One chasuble, the gift of Bishop Roger, with xi stones behind and xxxiij stones in the front. THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. 135 Item casula una que fuit Episcopi Osmundi cum xxxiiij lapidibus. Item casula una pur- purea brodata. Item casula una de albo samitto bene parata aurifris. Item casule ij de sa- mitto rubeo bene parate aurifris. Item casula una de do- no S. Ridell de serico di- versi coloris bene parata aurifris. Item casule ij de serico bene parate aurifris. Preterea casule xiij sine aurifris veteres. Preterea apud Ficehel- den casula una. Item casula una apud Ahvardbur. Item apud Awelton ca- sula una. Item ad sepeliendum magistrum Th. thesaura- rium casula una. Also onechasuble, which belonged to Bishop Os- mund, with xxxiiij stones. Also one embroidered chasuble of purple colour. Also one chasuble of white samit well embroi- dered with gold. Also ij chasubles of red samit well embroidered with gold. Also one chasuble, the gift of S. Ridell, of silk of a different colour well em- broidered with gold. Also ij chasubles of silk well broidered with gold. Besides xiij old chasu- bles without the gold." " Furthermore one cha- suble at Ficehelden. Also one chasuble at Ahvardbur. Also one chasuble at Awelton. Also one chasuble for the burying of Master Thomas, the Treasurer." These are all the chasubles that I can find in this inventory. There appears to be a supplemental in- ventory added to it of ornaments and vestments con- tributed during the time that this Master Abraham held the Treasurership. Here there appears to be mentioned one chasuble only, which is described thus, — Item Casula una de serico de dono executor. Epis. H. [i.e. Bishop Herbert le Poer] parata aurifris. These inventories do not throw much further light upon the colour of the chasubles worn in the Sarum 136 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. Diocese during the first half of the XIII. th century, in consequence of the imperfect and vague way in which the vestments are described. We cannot in- deed learn much about their distinctive colour. It is true that the only colours mentioned are red, white, purple, and gold. But of the twenty-seven chasubles named, the distinctive colour of only four is mentioned. Of these, two are red, one is white, and one purple. I think from the description given there is no doubt that the first two or three chasubles named in the inventories, among which we find the purple one, were those of greater costliness, which were worn only by the Bishop of the Diocese when he officiated at Mass. The very mention of the precious stones with which some of them were enriched would also indicate this. In fact one of these chasubles, the colour of which is unfortunately not described, is said to have belonged to Bishop Osmund. The mention therefore of the purple one bears out the theory, that the Bishops who followed the Sarum use continued to wear, as in the Anglo-Saxon Church, chasubles of cloth of gold and blue and purple, as well as of red and white. It has hitherto puzzled many antiquaries how to account for the fact that in Churches, where the Sarum use was known to be followed, there is to be met with the mention of chasubles of other colours than the distinctive Sarum colours, red and white. This theory appears to be the only one which will account for the apparent anomaly — the Sarum use did not touch upon the colour of the episcopal dress ; but upon the liturgical dress of the second and third orders of the ministry. Hence, Bishops continued to wear coloured vestments as in the Anglo-Saxon Church, even where the Sarum rite was the use of the Diocese and followed by the Clergy generally. All the evidence I have as yet met with points directly to this conclusion. There are several altar-cloths, or palls, mentioned in these old XIII. th century Salisbury inventories; but there is no mention of a green one. One is THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. I 37 described "de aurifilo" : another, " de samitto rubeo brodatum cum leonibus et bene parat. aurifris " : another, "pallium unum rubeum cum aquilis aureis coram principali altari de dono ejusdem" [i.e. Bishop Osmund]. The illuminated manuscripts of the period afford further evidence of the XIII. th century use. There is a fine drawing of an English Archbishop in his sacrificial robes in a Psalter in the British Museum [2. A. xxii.], which dates from the early part of this century. It is very much to be regretted that this beautiful drawing is uncoloured. It is the only figure of a Bishop in the {&.£. Singularly enough it is only an outline drawing, though the other figures in the £&.£. are all coloured as usual, but none are in sacrificial vesture, except the figure alluded to. We know from various sources that the Church of England system was undergoing a further deve- lopment about this time, and it looks just as if the artist was undecided what were the correct colours to shew in the Archbishop's vesture. But even in its uncoloured state it is a very beautiful drawing, and shews the general form and detail of an English Archbishop's vesture in the XIII. th century, colour only excepted, more clearly perhaps than any other drawing of the period. The crosses upon the Archbishop's pall should be noted by the liturgical student. The five crosses upon the pall are mystically arranged as 3 + 2 in accordance with the scholastic symbolism of the age : three being shewn to the pendant portion, with two superadded to the band across the shoulders. In another Psalter in the British Museum [Vesp. A. i.] there is a very fine illuminated figure of our Blessed Lord of XIII. . there appears to be no figure of a Priest in sacri- ficial vesture. Upon fo. 245 there is a good drawing of a Bishop : he is shewn in a blue cope lined with scarlet. Upon fo. 300 there is another drawing of a Bishop [a Pope]: he has on a blue chasuble lined with scarlet ; a purple dalmatic ; a white alb with a green apparel ; and a scarlet amice. Upon fo. 304 is a rich illumination of a group of kneeling Bishops. The foremost figure of the group is a Pope : he has on a cloth of gold cope lined with scarlet, and a purple or white alb [it is not clear which colour is intended]. Beside him is a Bishop in white mitre, with blue cope, and scarlet amice ; the only colours visible. In the background is the figure of another Bishop, but his white mitre only is visible. Upon fo. 308 there is another rich illumination of 140 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. a group of Bishops in sacrificial vesture. There are five Bishops here drawn in chasubles, and one in a cloth of gold cope. Of the five Bishops, three have blue chasubles, and two have cloth of gold ones lined with scarlet. There is no green colour to be seen in the vestments of any one of these five Bishops, or any other colour than gold, blue, purple, red, and white. I think it clearly indicates that some English Bishops at this period still con- formed to the ancient and venerable tradition of God's Church upon earth, with regard to the colour of their sacrificial robes. Upon fo. 309 there are some more Bishops ; three in cloth of gold chasubles ; and two in red ones. The following is a general summary of the colours of all the chasubles shewn in the illuminations to this beautiful Psalter, by which it will be seen that none but chasubles of orthodox colour are shewn : — CLOTH OF GOLD . . 5 BLUE 4 PURPLE O RED 2 WHITE O Green o Black o Other colours . . . o It is impossible to look through the folios of Queen Mary's Psalter without perceiving that the prevailing colours of its rich illuminations are scarlet, blue, and gold. Other colours are used only in subordinate degree. It is in some of the minor details of the work that we may perceive the gradually rising in- fluence of other colours, especially green. At the bottom of each folio throughout the J*fl,£. there are some outline drawings faintly coloured. They form as it were a bordering to the bottom of each folio, and are in every respect subordinate to the illumina- tions, or finished drawings. In these faintly coloured outline drawings there are shewn a good many other Bishops in chasubles. The greater number of these chasubles are coloured a light purple : and some few a light green, &c. But as the animals and trees and furniture are all coloured in the same way, with the THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. 14.I same light tints of purple and green, &c, I think there can be no doubt that the artist tinted these outline drawings for artistic effect only. These small marginal drawings are altogether of a different stamp to the illuminations alluded to, and are of little value as regards the subject in question. It was probably about this time, or somewhat earlier than the XIII. th century, that the first great radical change occurred in the system of the Church of Rome, with regard to the colour of sacrificial vest- ments. We gather this from the writings of Pope Innocent III, who sat upon the Chair of St. Peter in the early part of the XIII. * century. He has written upon the subject as follows : — Ouattuor autem sunt principales colores, qui- bus secundum proprieta- " Now there are four principal colours by which the Church of Rome tes dierum sacras vestes 1 distinguishes her sacred ecclesiaRomanadistingu- [vestments, according to it, Albus, Rubeus, Niger, the proper characteristics et Viridis. Nam et in le- j of the days, — white, red, galibus indumentis quat- black, and green. For in tuor colores fuisse legun- j the vestments of the Law tur, Byssus, et Purpura, ' also, it is said there were Hyacinthus, et Coccus. — four colours, — white, and [De Sacro Altaris Myste- I purple, blue, and scar- ry?, lib. i, cap. 65.] let." This Pontiff then proceeds to state the different seasons when vestments of these four colours — white, red, black, and green — were to be worn in the Church of Rome. It is difficult to know which to be the most surprised at : the vast change which appears to have been brought about in the minds of the Bishops of Rome, with regard to the general use of coloured vestments in the Christian Church : or the very astounding assertion that only four colours were worn in the Levitical Church, which the above pas- sage seems to imply. We may perceive in this, just as in the Italian art of the period, an indifference to the ancient mystic doctrinal numbers. It is this in- 142 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. deed which constitutes one of the chief marks of dis- tinction between the English and Italian schools of art. In the former, the mystic numbers [one, three, five, seven, and twelve,] were its very essence and guiding principle of design, making our old Cathe- dral Churches so grand and doctrinal in their art, and yet withal so intensely beautiful : whereas, in the latter, they had not the same influence. The extract alluded to tends also to illustrate this as re- gards matters of ritual. By comparing the passage in question with that before alluded to from the writings of St. Gregory the Great, we are enabled to form some idea of the vast change which had been brought about in the minds of the Roman Pontiffs, with regard to the subject in question. St. Gregory has written thus : — " Whence, by the command of the divine voice above, " the Priest is vested upon either shoulder with the " vestment set thereon. . . . And rightly is it ordered " that this vestment should be wrought of gold, and " blue, and purple, and scarlet double dyed, and " brilliant white, that it may be shewn with what " variety of virtues the Priest should be resplendent." Pope Innocent III, thus: — "Now there are four " principal colours by which the Church of Rome " distinguishes her sacred vestments, according to " the proper characteristics of the days ; white, red, " black, and green." The comparison speaks for it- self. It indicates very accurately the change which had been brought about. Where is any allusion by Innocentius to the GOLD of "the Law," in the above passage ? St. Gregory has written : — " Note too, that " in the Priest's vesture above all other the gold is " conspicuous to signify that in him the knowledge " of wisdom should shine forth preeminently." With all reverence, may not the question be asked, does not the absence of the gold, and the exaltation of such colours as black and green in its stead, indicate a corresponding absence of the knowledge of wisdom [intellectus sapientiae] in the counsels of some Church- men of the age ? THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. I43 The writings of Pope Innocent III. are said to form the basis of the modern Roman sequence of colours. We read, in allusion to the Treatise written by this Pope : — " The vestments of the Roman Church, with " the ' four Sacred Colours which the Roman Church " assigns as proper to various festivals,' are here for " the first time described in their complete develop- " ment. From the time of this Treatise there have " been slight varieties in detail introduced from time " to time, in respect of shape and ornamentation, but " the ' Sacra Vestes' of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, " proper to the Roman Church, have been accepted, " as here described, to this day." — [Marriott, Vest. Christ., p. 164, foot-note 333 a.] By the good providence of God this mediaeval use of the Church of Rome appears to have affected the system of the Church of England but little, com- paratively speaking. Even in the XVI. th century the latter was still but very little affected by it. Indeed the chief distinction between the mediaeval uses of the English and Italian Churches was this : the one was mainly based upon the ancient lines, in accord- ance with the teaching of Pope Gregory the Great : the other, upon the comparatively modern lines, in accordance with the writings of Pope Innocent III. But although the Roman use of the period appears to have had but little influence, comparatively speak- ing, upon the system of our Church of England, with regard to the colour of her sacred vestments, more serious irregularities began to affect her ancient sys- tem about the latter end of the XIII. th century, or the commencement of the XIV. th . From the days of the Norman Conquest irregularities had indeed arisen in her diocesan usage, as e.g. by the use here and there of the colours green and black for sacri- ficial vestments, though these things had, after all, affected her system but little. But from about the end of the XIII. th century, when the seed sown by those ungodly Anglo-Norman Bishops had taken root, there set in a more rapid decline in the Church of England system. Her ecclesiastical art, her ritual 144 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. use of liturgical colours, and her beautiful doctri- nal symbolism, were all on the wane from this date ; and indicate to us, as this downward course was run, the great need there was of a Reformation of some sort in the XVI. th century. The great test to be applied to everything in the system of the Catholic Church appears to be this, — does anything correspond to it under the Old Dis- pensation ? Up to this time [the latter end of the XIII. th century] the old Churchmen in this land ap- pear to have based their ritual use, and all else hav- ing reference to the Church of England system, upon the traditions of the Bible, and the lines of the an- cient Church of God. The Catholic system of the Church of England up to this date was a most true development of that older system of the Church of God upon earth. Thus, a Sacrifice : an Altar : a Sanctuary : the three mystic orders of the Priest- hood : the five mystic sacrificial colours : the seven lights to the Sanctuary : the Decalogue : the ritual use of incense : the symbolism of ecclesiastical art : the sacred numbers : the veil or Sanctuary screen : the " free and open " system : the cleansing of a sinner by the agency of a Priest : the office of thanksgiving after child-birth : and so on — are all to be met with in the ancient Church of England system, as in the Levitical ; and indicate how the one system is wholly grounded upon the other, being merely a develop- ment, or more strictly speaking, a christianized form of it, but retaining the same traits or landmarks, whereby the continuity of the Church of God upon earth is proved, or in other words, that " there is but one Church of God from the beginning of the world to the end," as Bishop Wordsworth tells us. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) By the Churchmen most conspicuous for their learning and piety in Anglo-Saxon times, we find constant comparisons drawn between the Christian system and that of the Old Dispensation. The Yen. Bede was especially fond of tracing back the Catholic system to this source. He tells us e.g. that the old custom of reading a lesson out of the Bible at each of the "hours" was borrowed from the Jews. In like manner does Anglo-Saxon ^ilfric trace back THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. 145 But from about the end of the XIII. th century a change appears to have passed over the Church of England. We cannot harmonize with the Levitical system many of those uses which arose in the system of our Church about the end of the XIII. th century. Among other innovations which arose about this time may be named, the appropriation of places in the Parish Church by the rich, to the exclusion of the poor from those particular places ( 4 ) : and the administration to the sick of holy water ( 5 ) : neither of which harmonizes with anything under the Leviti- cal system. These were however minor matters, so to speak, and I refer to them only to shew the ten- dency of the age. Other innovations there were in the same direction which were of far greater importance. There was, for example, the withholding of " the cup " from the laity. We learn that Archbishop Peckham [a.d. 1279 — 1292] allowed the faithful to be housled under one kind only at Holy Communion ; and he appears also to have sanctioned the administration of uncon- secratcd wine, in a chalice, at the same time ; with a view apparently to a compromise, in withholding " the cup " from the laity. Dr. Rock seems to infer that this became the Mediaeval use of the Church of the observance of the seven ca- nonical hours of the Catholic sys- tem to a use which prevailed in David's time. In like mariner we find that the holy Bishops of Rome have followed the same course. Our St. Augustine wrote [a.d. 601] to Pope Gregory the Great to ask — " How long must " it be before a woman comes to " Church after child birth? " The Pope replied — "In how many " days after her delivery a woman " may enter into the Church you " have learned from the Old Tes- " tament." — [Ann. Book of Com. Pray., p. 304.] All these things indicate how entirely in the minds of the old Churchmen the Catho- lic system was derived from, and based upon, the Levitical. ( 4 ) The hagioscope or squint in our Parish Churches denotes the place which some Lord-of-the- Manor had appropriated to him- self in the Church, from whence, through the squint, he viewed the elevation of the Host. ( 5 ) " By the Council of Exeter, "A.D. 1287, it was enacted that " in every Church there must be, " among other things, a little cup " of silver or tin for taking to the " sick, who should drink out of " it the water in which the Priest " had washed the tips of his fin- " gers after he had given them " the viaticum." 146 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY USE. England, which I much doubt. But, to withhold " the cup " from the laity altogether, or to withhold " the cup " and at the same time administer a chalice of unconsecrated wine, as this Archbishop of Canter- bury seems to have sanctioned, was to deviate from the ancient lines of God's Church. Certainly, when- ever the cup was thus withheld, or whenever the two chalices were used at the Blessed Sacrament, the one containing " The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ," and the other some unconsecrated wine, all could not have drunk of " the same spiritual drink," which Bishop Pearson alludes to in the following words, as one of the signs of the people of God, under the Old Dispensation as under the New : — " As therefore the " Israelites were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud " and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual " meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, " and thereby appeared to be the one People of God ; " so all believing Persons and all Churches congre- " gated in the Name of Christ, washed in the same La- " ver of Regeneration, eating of the same Bread, and ft drinking of the same Cup, are united in the same " Cognizance, and so known to be the same Church." [Pearson on the Creed, ed. 1704, p. 340.] This digression is to remind the reader that the use of the colours green and black in the sacrificial system of the Mediaeval Church did not stand alone. It was but one of many such like innovations, which tended in themselves to subvert the more ancient system of the Church, by ignoring historical religion, and setting up reason in the place of revelation. CHAPTER XVI. %\)t (English Wlm in tfo fanvUmtlj €mtut^. In the ancient Church of England, the sacrificial vestments for her Priests were often made from fu- neral palls, which had been presented as mortuary- gifts. Of course one object of such a gift was to ensure at the Altar, when the adorable Sacrifice was offered and the vestment worn, a remembrance of the soul of the departed. This custom of pro- viding funeral palls, with a view to their being after- wards made up into vestments for the Altar, is a very beautiful as well as a very ancient one. It doubtless originated in primitive times, because it is a tradi- tional custom of the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church to the present day : and all her ritual uses are truly primitive and orthodox. As regards the ancient Church of England, the custom of those who could afford it appears almost invariably to have been to present a golden pall, i.e. a pall of cloth of gold material. The colour of the material which was used for this purpose is worthy of special note. There are many of the laity now- adays who seem to think black or violet the most suitable colour for a funeral pall. Not so the pious laity of the middle ages. Many of them well knew that black was not a suitable colour for use at the Altar itself; and they therefore provided a colour that was. Their devotion to the Faith, in this mat- ter, and to the traditional sacrificial use of the Ca- tholic Church, is the more praiseworthy when we bear in mind the ecclesiastical irregularities of the L 2 148 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. age ; and also, that according to the old Sarum use, and doubtless according to the Anglo-Saxon use also, black copes were directed to be worn by the Clergy in the funeral procession. Instead, however, of providing black palls to harmonize with these black copes, the pious laity of the middle ages pur- posely chose their funeral palls of cloth of gold, with a view rather to their future service as sacri- ficial vestments. It tends to shew how our pious forefathers clung to the old paths of religion. We find that this custom prevailed in the Church of England all through the Middle Ages. Dr. Rock thus refers to it : — " The living shewed their esteem " for a dead friend by sending one or more wide " rich palls of golden cloth, to be strewed by their " messenger, if they did not go themselves and with " their own hands outspread them at offering-time, " over the coffin as the body lay before the Altar " during Mass : such costly presents were kept by " the Church as a part of the mortuary gift, and " vestments were made out of them." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. iii, p. 27.] John de Warren, an Earl of Surrey, in his will, A.D. 1347, says : — "I will that all the palls of cloth " of gold and of silk which shall be offered upon " my corpse . . . shall remain at the said Church " where my body will be interred." — [Test. Eborac, p. 42.] Hardyng, in describing Richard II.'s funeral, which took place at the latter end of this century, says : — " At Poules his Masse was done and diryge, In hers royall semely to royalte, The King & Lordes clothes of golde there offerde, Some viii. some ix. upon his herse were proferde." [Hardyng 's Chronicle, ed. Ellis, p. 357.] Sometimes a red material appears to have been presented instead of cloth of gold. At the funeral of the good old Bishop Kellow of Durham, of pious memory, which took place in the year 13 16, we read of such : — THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. 149 In die funeracionis [Ri- chardi Kellowe episco- pi Dunelmensis] Thomas Comes Lancastrian optulit super corpus ejusdem iij pannos rubeos cum armis ejusdem ; de quibus facta sunt vestimenta ilia in quibus celebratur quando conventus est in albis. Rex vero Edwardus se- cundus post conquistum misit ab Eboraco elemo- sinarium suum Dunel- mum et de pannis auro textis corpus honoravit. [ Wills, &c. of the North- " On the day of the fu- neral [of Richard Kel- low, Bishop of Durham,] an attendant, Thomas of Lancaster, laid over the body of the same three red palls with his arms ; from which have been made those vestments used in the Mass, when they assemble in albs. But King Edward II. sent from York to Dur- ham, as his gift of alms, a cloth of gold pall, with which the body was de- corated." em Counties, &c., i, 21.] We may infer from this and other evidence that all the funeral palls presented in this way in the ancient Church of England were of orthodox colour : usually they were of cloth of gold, or red, or white. Of course the quality and costliness of the pall de- pended very much upon the rank and position in life of the deceased. It was also the custom in the ancient Church of England, from Shrovetide to Easter, to cover up the sacred imagery and ornaments of the Sanctuary with white cloths, marked each with a red cross. The veil also, which anciently hung down from the Chan- cel archway during Lent to screen off the Sanctuary, was of the same white material, and marked with red crosses ('). This veil was withdrawn for Mass ( ! ) It was this veil which is re- ferred to in the old Church of England canon which runs thus : — Confessiones mulierum extra ve- lum audiantur. Without this veil, i.e. in the nave or body of the Church, was the private confession of a woman heard by the Priest. So that it is against canon law, save in case of sickness, for a Priest to hear the confession of a woman in a private house, or anywhere but in the body of the Church. It is manifest that this most wise regulation was to prevent the pos- sibility of any scandal. It is also 150 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. when the Gospel was read. The processional cross also which was used in many Dioceses in Lent, in Mediaeval times, was of wood painted red, without any figure of our Lord upon it. In all these ancient Church of England traditions we may perceive the influence of the Sarum rite, by the prevalent use of the colours red and white. It would appear also that the shrouds for the dead were oftentimes of similar material to these lenten veils which were in use in our ancient Church. Thus we read that Dame Maud de Say, A.D. 1369, in her will directed : — " immediately after my decease my " corpse shall be carried to burial, covered only with " a linen cloth having a red cross thereon." — [Testa- vienta Vetnsta, ed. Nicolas, t. i, p. 83.] Here again we may perceive the influence of the Sarum rite ; for there can be no doubt that all these uses of the period, in which the colours red and white were pre- valent, grew out of the Sarum use, which remained in vogue throughout the Middle Ages. The illustrious prelate, William of Wykeham, like many other great and good Churchmen of the XIV. th century, observed the ancient tradition of our Church in the use of blue vestments. We find that he bequeathed to Winchester Cathedral his " new vest- curious to observe how entirely it is based on earlier traditions, like almost everything else in the an- cient system of the Church of England. We know that it was the custom in the Early Chris- tian Church for the penitent who made a confession, to make it openly in the body of the Church, and in the hearing of the congre- gation. When this mode of con- fession was superseded by auri- cular confession to the Priest alone, the nave or body of the Church appears still to have been used whenever a woman made her con- fession, to avoid the possibility of any scandal. So that the female penitent still knelt upon the very spot whereon the female penitent had knelt in the Early Christian Church : the only difference being that the confession of sin which was more anciently said in public was now made in private to the Priest alone. This seems to have been the origin of the mediaeval canon law of the Church of Eng- land on the subject. And we may thus see how the mediaeval use, as regards the confession of women, was in a measure linked on to the tiaditions of the Early Christian Church, like everything else that is good and true in the ecclesias- tical system. THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. 15 I " ment of blue cloth, striped, and embroidered with " lions of gold, with thirty copes of the same cloth, " embroidered with the history of Jesse in gold." [Testamenta Vetusta, ed. Nicolas, t. ii, p. 768.] We may imagine that this blue chasuble embroidered with lions in gold, and these thirty copes embroi- dered with their imagery in gold, were as beautiful as their donor was munificent. It shews that a blue chasuble was still worn by an English Bishop in the XIV. th century, as in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Dr. Rock has reminded us : — " In all our great lists " of English vestments, blue, as distinguished from " purple, is invariably to be found ; in earlier times, " indicus, at a later period, blodium, is the term em- " ployed to designate it." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 260.] There are the relics of a mitre at New College, Oxford, which was at one time worn by William of Wykeham. It appears to have been bequeathed by that Prelate to the College. The mitre is not perfect, but enough remains to indicate that its ma- terial was white, in accordance with the traditions of the Church, and that it was ornamented in front with a monogram in red, another orthodox colour. The relics of a richly jewelled band of gold, or silver gilt, which belonged to the mitre, are also still pre- served. From what remains we may perceive that the colour of this Bishop's mitre was originally gold, white, and red. As the Levitical mitre was gold, white, and blue, there was not much difference be- tween the two as regards colour. A pair of William of Wykeham's episcopal gloves are also still preserved at New College. These are red in colour. But there are I think a few spots of green colour about the wrist : though upon this point I am writing from memory only, and not from notes. Episcopal gloves, at this period, were worn by a Bishop as part of his official vesture. There can be no doubt that throughout the XIV. th century the use of the Church of England differed 152 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. considerably in different Dioceses, with regard to the colour of the sacerdotal dress. In one Diocese the Sarum use was followed : in another, some other use : and so on. There can be no doubt also that other colours be- sides green and black began, here and there, to be used at this period in the liturgical vestments of the Church of England. But the use of these hete- rodox colours grew so gradually and surreptitiously in the system of the Mediaeval Church that its be- ginning cannot be accurately defined. At first, so far as I can judge, only the embroidery, or orna- mentation of the vestments, was affected : but in course of time this led on, in the following century, to the material itself of which the vestments were made being of brown, and pink, and other irregular colours. Thus, little by little, did the ritual use of our ancient Church become overladen and corrupt. Nothing, perhaps, more clearly indicates this tran- sition and decline in the colour of the vestments of the Church of England, than the old XIV. th century vestments still preserved with so much care at St. John's College, Oxford. The colour of the material itself, of which all these beautiful old vestments are made, is orthodox enough ; but in the embroideries we may perceive other colours than those of the Law. This tends to prove that the change was brought about first of all in the embroidery, and then, as time went on, in the material itself, as we learn from the XVI. th century inventories. The St. John's College vestments consist of two dalmatics, two copes, and portions of a third, and three frontals for an Altar. All are in a beautiful state of preservation and free from moth &c. : it is partly attributed to a crown of cloves which has hitherto been kept with the vestments, and which is said to have the property of keeping them free from moth. The two dalmatics are white vestments : they are made of white silk, with red orphreys, and blue bor- derings. Thus red, white, and blue, form the main THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. 153 colours of these old liturgical vestments. (") In their embroideries, gold, green, blue, purple, and other co- lours, are also freely used. We may therefore per- ceive the five mystic colours of the Law in each vestment, either in its material or embroidery, while to these five colours others are superadded, though in a subordinate degree. This most accurately de- fines what appears to have been the general use of the Church of England in the XIV. th century. The white cope, which is also of XIV. th century work, has a red orphrey, and blue lining — the lining being returned round the edge to form a border, and in order that red, white, and blue, might form the main colours of the vestment. In the embroi- deries to this cope the same colours are used as in the embroideries to the dalmatics. The other cope which is perfect is of later date. It is of blue velvet pile and cloth of gold, very richly embroidered. The third cope has been mutilated. It is a purple one, of XIV. th century date. The embroideries to this vestment are indeed most exquisite. The Crucifixion is marvellously well wrought, with the Blessed Virgin and St. John beside our Lord. The play upon the mystic numbers five and three in the detail of the needlework, and more especially in the conventional ground upon which the Virgin and St. John stand, indicates how doctrinal the whole design is. The remains of this once magnificent vestment convey to the mind some idea how elaborate and very beautiful many of our ancient Church of England vestments were. ( 2 ) "It is worth noticing " that the more usual Ecclesias- " tical colours are those which " may be especially accounted " the Colours of England — Red, " White, and Blue — being com- " bined in the national flag, and " designating the Admirals of " this Country's Fleets : possibly " the close, though curious and " apparently untraceable, rela- " tions which have for several " centuries subsisted between the " Church and the Navy, in the " Admiralty and Ecclesiastical ' ' Courts, may have tended to per- " petuate this correspondence." [An. Bk. of Com. Fray., p. lxxviii.] 154 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. The three purple frontals are much faded. They are of the same date as the other vestments, and richly embroidered, and lined with blue. Their ma- terial seems to be the same as that which is alluded to as " rede purpull " in some old inventories. We pass on now to consider the evidence which is afforded by some illuminated manuscripts of the period. It will be necessary to refer only to two : — a Psalter, given by R. de Ormsby to Norwich, circa A.D. 1340; and Edward III.'s Psalter, written circa A.D. 1 340 ; both of which are now preserved in the Bodleian Library. The illuminated Psalter given by the Monk R. de Ormsby, to the Cathedral Church at Norwich, is one of the most perfect and beautiful works illuminated by an English hand that exists. It is one of those works which cannot really be described in writing, but which requires to be seen in order to be duly valued. The calendar to this fine Psalter is written out in red, blue, and gold. Indeed the chief colours used throughout the £&,&. are red, blue, and gold. The colours green and black are most sparingly used. The magnificent illumination upon the fo. 148 shews very clearly the subordinate use of these two colours. There is but one chasuble illustrated in the iH^»., viz. the purple one upon the kneeling figure of the Bishop in the beautiful illuminated title page. The Bishop occupies a central compartment of the design. He is drawn in the act of kneeling with his pastoral staff reclining against his shoulder. Opposite to the Bishop, in the other central compartment of the de- sign, is another kneeling figure of a Monk, vested only in the black habit of the Benedictine order. This habit is most accurately coloured in accordance Avith the Benedictine dress which was then worn. We may therefore conclude, as the Monk's habit is so accurately drawn and coloured, that the Bishop's vesture, as at that time worn in the Norwich Diocese, is accurately coloured also. THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. 155 The Bishop is drawn in a white alb ; a purple chasuble ; a scarlet amice and sandals ; and a mitre of blue with golden bands. Thus the five mystic colours of the Law — gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and white — are used in combination, as of yore, in the vesture of this Bishop, and these five colours only. And it indicates clearly enough that the ancient use of the Church of God had not died out in this land in the XIV. th century. The Bishop is drawn upon a rich golden background — typical, indeed, of the glory which ever shines around a faithful Bishop when he kneels in adoration before the Altar in the Presence of his Lord. There are a great many other figures of Kings, and Angels, and Saints, dotted about here and there on the same folio. The colours green, and black, and brown, &c, are introduced in the draperies of some of these figures : but the Bishop alluded to is the only figure of the whole group in sacrificial vestments, and the only one moreover with which the five mystic colours are associated. It is most absurd to think that this combination of colour in the Bishop's vesture is accidental, or done for mere artistic effect only : and yet at the same time the whole design is most artistic. In Gothic architec- ture, the more doctrinally correct it is, so much the more aesthetically beautiful it is : — and so with an old illumination, like the one in question. The other illuminated iH«s>. to which I would call attention is Edward III.'s Psalter, which dates from about the middle of the XIV. th century. The calendar to this old Psalter is written out in letters of scarlet, blue, purple, and gold. It indicates that these colours were still looked upon as those of chief dignity, in the ecclesiastical system of the Church of England, at this period. The few illuminations just at the commencement of the iHfljo. are very beautiful, but there does not appear to be any figure of a Bishop or Priest in the chasuble either here or elsewhere in the Psalter : 156 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY USE. so that it does not tend to throw much light upon the liturgical dress then in vogue. But upon fo. 98 is a miniature illumination of three " Rulers of the Choir " chanting the office, beautifully- drawn upon a gold ground. The first figure is drawn in a white alb or surplice, edged about the sleeves with red ; and a purple cope [now faded brownish] with scarlet hood and lining. The second figure is also drawn in a white alb or surplice, with a red amys about his shoulders. The alb or surplice is drawn with loose hanging sleeves, just like many an old-fashioned surplice worn nowadays. The portion of the arm which extends beyond the white sleeve is coloured scarlet, and clearly indicates a scarlet cassock underneath. The figure is that of a Canon or Priest, not a Bishop. It shews therefore that a scarlet cassock was worn in the ancient Church of England below the alb or surplice, just as a black cassock is worn now. The only portion of the dress of the third figure which is indicated is a bit of the white alb or surplice. Thus red, white, and purple, are the only three colours shewn in the vesture of these " Rulers of the Choir," who are drawn in the act of chanting some part of the office. We may gather from the illumination that in the mediaeval Church of England even the choir dress of eccle- siastics was in some measure based upon the tra- ditions of the Law, with regard to colour. CHAPTER XVII. ®Iji> GSnglisIj Uu in % jfiftwttilj C^nturg. The use of the Church of England in this century, with regard to the colour of her sacrificial vestments, appears to have varied but little from the use which was in vqgue in the XIV. th century. The five mystic colours of the Law continued to be used, while others in greater or less degree were superadded to them. While there is also evidence to prove that in some English Dioceses the orthodox old use of the ancient Church of England was still retained in its integrity. An illuminated jfHi£. of the XV. th century, known as "the Bedford Missal," which is now preserved at the British Museum, tends to prove this. This most beautiful illuminated J&iJ). was exe- cuted in England, about A.D. 1425. It is considered one of the chief treasures of the British Museum; and so valuable, that it is necessary to obtain a special order before it can be seen. No words can give any adequate idea of the beauty and finish of the illu- minations in this priceless jfHiJ>. In fact to look at them with the naked eye is hardly sufficient to do them justice. For in order to be duly appreciated they should be looked at through a magnifying glass, which by the courtesy of the officials at the Museum can always be had by any one who is privi- leged to see the JH^j. There are several miniature drawings of Bishops and Priests in vestments throughout this jWife. Upon fo. 24 there are two Bishops in copes. The one is drawn in a cloth of gold cope, with white alb, 158 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. and white and gold mitre. The only colours of his vesture are gold, and white. The other is drawn in a blue cope lined with cloth of gold, with white alb, and a white and gold mitre. The only colours of this Bishop's vesture are gold, blue, and white. Upon fo. 99 there is a miniature drawing of a Priest celebrating the Mass. He has on a scarlet chasuble ornamented with a gold orphrey, and a white alb. The only colours of his sacrificial ves- ture are red, white, and gold. The Altar frontal is blue ornamented with gold, and a white cloth is spread over the mensa. Blue, white, and gold, are the only colours of the Altar vestments. Upon fo. 114 there are two Bishops. Each has on a green cope. Each has also a white mitre ; the one is enriched with gold ; the other with gold and blue. Indeed the episcopal mitres throughout this beautiful J^lSb. are coloured almost invariably white and gold. It shews how orthodox the Church of England was with regard to the colour of the mitre, even in the XV. th century. One of the mitres to this folio, the uppermost one, is the perfection of colouring and orthodoxy ; white and blue and gold are its three colours ; the same three as were used in the ancient mitre of the Levitical High-priest. Upon fo. 138 there is another miniature drawing of a Priest celebrating the Mass. He has on a blue chasuble shaded up with gold, apparently indicating blue cloth of gold, and a white alb. The only co- lours of his vesture are blue, white, and gold. His attendant is vested in a scarlet cassock only. Upon fo. 188 there is another miniature drawing of a Priest offering the Holy Sacrifice. The only colours of his vesture are blue, white, and gold : and the only colours of the Altar vesture are red, white, and gold. It must be borne in mind that under the old Levitical system the cloths of the Sanctu- ary were of the same mystic colour as the sacerdo- tal vestments, harmonizing with them. We read : — " And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they " made cloths of service, to do service in the holy THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. 1 59 " place." [Ex. xxxix. 1.] We may perceive there- fore from these illuminations in the Bedford Missal how entirely the Church of England system, even as late as the XV. th century, harmonized with and was directly based upon the Levitical system, with regard to the colour of the vestments both of Priest and Altar. Upon fo. 197 there is another beautiful little minia- ture drawing of a Pope celebrating Mass. His tiara is coloured gold and white : his chasuble, purple and gold : his dalmatic, scarlet and gold : and his alb, white. These are the only colours of his vesture. The Altar is drawn with a blue frontal enriched with gold, and a white cloth, which covers the mensa. So that taken in all, the five mystic colours of the Law are shewn in the vesture of Pontiff and Altar, and these five colours only. Upon fo. 286 there is another drawing of a Bishop celebrating the Mass. The only colours of his ves- ture are blue, and white, and gold. There are also a few other miniature drawings of a like character upon other folios. This beautiful illuminated iH^. tends to prove that the Church of England in the XV. th century remained true to her ancient traditions, and that five mystic colours of the Law were still looked upon as those of chief dignity in her sacrificial system. On the other hand we gather from other sources that in some Dioceses in England, if not in all, other colours were also used for sacrificial vest- ments, though only in a subordinate degree. Still the use of other colours, even in a subordinate de- gree, was of itself sufficient to render the Church of England system overladen and corrupt. There are other illuminated manuscripts of the period which throw further light upon the subject. "The Romance of the Three Kings' sons" [Harl. 326. Mus. Brit.] dates from about the end of the XV. th century. There are several figures of Bishops in this ffi£. vested in copes, but none in chasubles. i6o THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. I cannot find in the JHJ6. a single figure of a Bishop or Priest in the chasuble. The following summary- gives the distinctive colour of all the copes that are drawn : — CLOTH OF GOLD ... 6 BLUE I PURPLE 3 RED 6 WHITE O Green 3 Black o Other colours . . . . o So that of the nineteen copes, sixteen are of one or other of the mystic colours of the Law, and twelve of these latter are either cloth of gold or red. The accuracy of the colouring in these illuminations will be seen by comparing the summary with that of the inventories of vestments made in the following century, which will be referred to in the next chap- ter. It will be seen by the actual inventories, as by the above summary, that the cloth of gold and red copes far outnumbered any other sort in the XVI. th century. It is well to compare notes in this way, for it shews that our mediaeval illuminated manu- scripts are as a general rule faithfully and not fan- cifully coloured, and that much useful evidence may be obtained from them with regard to the coloured vestments in vogue at different periods. Upon fo. 99 there is a figure of a Bishop, or Pope, vested in what at first sight looks like a pinky co- loured cope, but which is clearly intended to repre- sent a purple one. In the same illumination there is a figure of a King in his regal robes of ermine and purple. Precisely the same pinky colour is used by the artist for the King's robes and the Bishop's cope. This plainly shews that the colour is intended to represent " the kingly purple." At first sight some might imagine that the Bishop was intended to be represented in a pink cope. This is not the intention or meaning of the drawing. At this period, as in earlier work, an artist to make a pretty picture sometimes indulged in fancy colour- ing, though not in the finest manuscripts, as the Bedford Missal for example. For this reason it THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. l6l does not do to place implicit reliance upon every separate drawing in an ordinary illuminated ift£>. But by classifying the drawings of coloured vest- ments, we may get a general insight into the pre- vailing ecclesiastical colours in vogue at the time the artist executed his work. A separate drawing, where there are many in the same ifliti&., does not afford very reliable evidence : but a number of draw- ings, when classified and summarised, do afford most useful and valuable information. Upon fo. 1 08 there is a drawing which shews a red cloth of gold cope, well rendered. Even if we did not know from the old inventories that red cloth of gold was much used for vestments in the late Mediaeval period, we could not fail to perceive that the artist here intended to represent this material. I certainly think, that as a general rule, the artist's colouring in these old English illuminated manu- scripts is altogether more truthful and real, than it is fanciful. There is another illuminated JBtJb. of the period in the British Museum which it is desirable to refer to. I allude to the fflg>. [Nero. D. VII.] which is en- titled " Benefactors of St. Alban's." There are about twelve Popes in chasubles at the commencement of this iftfli£>. Of these, three are drawn in green chasubles ; — i.e. just a fourth. This proportion of green to all the rest put together is so unusual and excessive in an English manuscript as to need some explanation. The readers of Church History will remember that Pope Honorius, by his bull dated A.D. 12 18, granted to the Abbot of St. Alban and his successors epis- copal rights and the episcopal habit, and at the same time exempted the Monastery from the jurisdiction of the Bishop. This allowed the Abbots to wear vestments similar to those worn by the Bishops of the age while it exempted the Monastery from any episcopal supervision whatever. Under such regime it is easy enough to understand that corruptions were M 162 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. likely to be generated and increased, with regard to the colour of the sacrificial dress. The monastic Clergy, exempt from all episcopal control, were free to do many things they could not otherwise have done. And the probability is that the illuminations in this jrHicu faithfully indicate the outcome of this license, and shew the prevailing use at St. Alban's in the XV. th century, and how that the colour green was more and more supplanting the orthodox colours of the Law in this Benedictine Monastery. At Bassingbourne in the Diocese of Ely there is a Churchwardens' book which contains an inventory of the vestments, plate, and ornaments, &c, belong- ing to Bassingbourne Church, A.D. 1498. I have not had an opportunity of seeing the original inventory, but a transcript, by the Rev. B. H. Wortham, which appeared to be most accurately and carefully copied. The following extracts are from his transcript of this 1498 inventory : — " Itm iiij sewtes off vestimentes to yche sewtes bilonging a Cape & a vestment ffor the preste : w* the vestures ffor a Dyacon & Subdyacon w* all their apperaunce. Fyrste seut off the iiij th off Rede velewet purpur colour w l Aungelles wroughte or broydrid in golde off the gyft off Ric Hychen. Itm the secunde off the giffte off George Lorkyn off Blewe velewett. Itm a wytt sylke vestmentt of the gyft of Ser John Hubberttes broythered w t angelles of gold with other fiorse. Itrn the thirde off the gifft of M r . Ric Caudry beyng off Rede colour, the cape of velewett broydryde w l aungelles of gold in clowdes : the vestyment y e off off Rede sylke wroughted in the myddes y e off w* Colores & ffioures of delice in golde. y e grownde y e off in the seid myddes being off blewe velewett. Itm the iiij th sewet beyng off the gift of parson goldebourne, bifor spokyn off, off the salutacion of our blyssid lady in silk. Item iiij othir Syngler Vestymentes iij of the^ ffor THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. 1 63 Sondays & other duble ffestes. the ffirste of y e iij off wyghte silk strayled w 4 grene sylke, the secunde off Rede sylk wroughte w l lyons & swannes yn golde, the thirde of velewet wroughte in chekir w l a rede crosse & broydryd w* crowngs of golde. Itm the iiij 111 of blakk silke w* a Rede crosse w* the armes of parson Caudry ye giffer y e off in Red velewet & wyghte. Servyng ffor masse of Requiem. Itm v other vestymentes iiij off yey ffor fferiall da)-es the firste of y e iiij of Gren sylk. a blak crosse broydrid in y e crosse w* braunchis off golde. y e ij of Rede Sylk w* a Crosse of grene : the iij de a Gren w* a Crosse of Rede, the iiij th off wyght ffustion for lenton. ij off these v vestymentes wanting albes & Amysses, as y e Red and a wyghte. Itm ij Capis ffor a preste y e one off Rede silk w* Cranes broydryd in Golde y e othir off Grene sylk medled w l blewe w* lebardes yn Golde broydryd. Itm ij smalle Capis ffor Chylder of Rede sylke. Itm one wyghte Chesible of sylk w l ye phanon lacking a stole and albe w* the Amysse. Itm ij Amysses off Red silke broydrid w* Egles of gold." The inventory then proceeds with the list of cor- porals, surplices, and altar-cloths, &c. &c, belonging to this Church. It will be seen by the above extracts, which give all the chasubles mentioned, that vestments of or- thodox colour greatly outnumbered all others. Also, that the colours green and black are the only ones referred to besides the five mystic colours of the Law. It appears to have been the usual custom in these inventories to describe the best and richest of the vestments first, and then those of less importance. We may perceive by the description given that it was so in this instance. It is worthy of note that it is only in the latter part of the list, when the best of the vestments have been described, that we find any mention of the colours green and black. The following list of surplices and rochets is from the same inventory : — M 2 1 64 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY USE. " Itm v slewgd Surpleysses. Itm viij Rochettes for menne. Itm vj Rochettes for Chylder. Itm vj Rochettes fifor men. and v Rochettes ffor Chylder. thre of those Rochettes for men beyng newe. and thre of those for childer newe. Itm an old slevyd surpleys ny worne. Item x Rochettes greyt & small." This shews that the rochet and surplice were much the same thing in the ancient Church of England ; and that the former was not looked upon, as now, as a vestment peculiar to a Bishop. Probably the ro- chet was generally made of lawn and the surplice of ordinary linen. The episcopal vestments would naturally be of the finest and best material : hence a Bishop's linen vestment is always spoken of as a rochet. The old custom of providing cloth of gold funeral palls, with a view to their being afterwards made up into sacrificial vestments for the Clergy, continued in vogue in this century as in earlier times. We read, that when Prince Arthur, Henry VII.'s eldest son, was buried, — " all the offerings of money done, " the Lord Powys went to the queere doore, where " two gentlemen ushers delivered him a rich palle " of cloth of gould of tyssue which he offred to " the corpse, where two officers of amies receaved " it, and laid it along the corpse. The Lord Dud- " ley in like manner offred a palle, which the said " officers laid over the corpse. The Lord Greye " Ruthen offred another ; and every each of the " three Earles offred to the corpse three palles of the " same cloth of gould : the lowest Earle began first. " All the palles were layd crosse over the corpse." \_L eland's Collect., t. v, p. 380.] There is also evidence to shew that this old custom was in vogue in the Church of England at the Re- formation. CHAPTER XVIII. We have come now to the last period of the Me- diaeval Church of England : and I shall hope to prove, by evidence of the most conclusive kind, that notwithstanding the errors and corruptions which had crept into her system, the use of the five ancient colours of the Law was still in vogue, at this period, as in the Levitical Church. The following extract from a Sarum Missal, which was printed in London A.D. 1500, will shew how little the ancient Sarum use had changed with regard to coloured vestments from St. Osmund's time until now. I give the old latin with its abbreviations as I copied it from the Missal at the Bodleian : — His finitis et officio misse inchoato cu post offm Gloria patri inci- pit : tunc accedat ministri ad altare ordinatim : pri- mo ceroferarii duo pariter Icedetes: deide thuribula- rii: post subdiaconus: ex- inde diaconus post eu sa- cerdos. diacono et subdi- acono casulis indutis sci- licet quotidie p aduetu : et a septuagesima usq ad cena domini qn de tepo- rali dr missa : nisi in vi- " This being over and the Mass begun, when after the office the Glo- ria Patri is commenced, then let the Ministers ap- proach the Altar in order. First the Candle-bearers walking two and two ; and then the Thurifers : afterwards the Subdea- con ; then the Deacon ; and after him the Priest : — moreover let the Dea- con and Subdeacon wear chasubles, to wit, day by i66 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. giliis et quattuor tepori- b 3 : man s tame ad modu sacerdotis no habetib 3 . ceteris vero ministris sili- cet cerofer. thuribularis et acolito in albis cu amic- tibus existetib 3 . In aliis vero teporibus ani qn de teporali dr missa et in festis sct5rn totius anni utantur diaconus et sub- diaconus dalmaticis et tunicis : nisi in vigiliis et quattuor teporib 3 . et nisi in vigilia pasce et pethe- costes et nat. dni si in dnica cotigerit. et excep- to ieiunio quattuor tpm qd celebrat in ebda pent, tuc dalmaticis et tunicis Idui debet. In die paras- ceues et in rogatoib 3 ad missa ieiunii et pees, et in missis dnicalib 3 et sctdrn que in caplo diir : tuc em albis cu amictib 3 utant. ita tn q in tpe pascali de quocuq dr missa : nisi in inuentione scte crucis u- tant ministri altaris vesti- metis albis ad missa. Silr fiat in festo annuciat. bte marie, et in cocept. eiusd: et i utroq festo scl micha- elis : et i festo scl iohis ap- li I ebda nat. dni. et p oct. et in oct. assupt. et nat. bte marie et I comemora- toibus eiusde p totu annu. et p oct. et I oct. dedica- tois ecclie. Rubeis vero day throughout Advent, and from Septuagesima till Maundy Thursday, at what time as the Mass of the season is said : except that on vigils, and at the four seasons, let them not however hold their hands [outside the chasuble] after the man- ner of the Priest : but let the rest of the Ministers, viz. the Candle-bearers, and the Thurifer, and the Acolyte, appear in albs with hoods. But at other seasons of the year when the Mass of the season is said, and on Saints' Days throughout the year, let the Deacon and Subdea- con wear dalmatics and tunicles ; except on vi- gils and at the four sea- sons ; and on the vigil of Easter Day, and Whitsun Day, and Christmas Day, if it fall upon the Sun- day ; — except on the fast of the four days which is celebrated in the Whitsun week, for then they ought to be vested in dalmatics and tunicles. But let them wear albs with hoods at the Mass on Whitsun Day and Rogation Days, and at the Masses said in the Chapter on Sundays and Saints' Days. So too at Eastertide whenever the THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. 167 utant vestimetis oib s dni- cis p annu extra tepus pasce qn de diiica agit. et in. iiii feria I capite ieiunii. et I cena dni. et in utroq festo scte crucis in quo- libet festo martyrum ap- l5rum et euagelistarum extra tep s pasce. In oib s aut festis uni s confessoris vel pliSrum confessorum utant vestimetis crocei coloris. Quo facto sacerd. et sui ministri in sedib s paratis se recipiat et ex- pectet usq ad Gloria in excelsis qd incipiat. sem- per in medio altaris qn- cunquedr. [A lis sale scdm us?i)?i Saram. Lond. Rich- ard Pynson. A.D. 1500, fo. lxxxv.] Mass is said let the Mi- nisters of the Altar wear white vestments, except on the Invention of the Holy Cross. Let the same use be followed at the Festival of the Annun- ciation of the Blessed Vir- gin Mary ; and at the Conception ; and on both Festivals of St. Michael ; and at the Festival of St. John in the Christmas week ; and through the octave, and on the octave, of the Assumption and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; and on the commemorations of the same through the whole year ; and through the octave, and on the oc- tave, of the dedication of the Church. But let them wear red vestments on all Sundays throughout the year, when the Sunday falls without Eastertide ; and on the four ferials in Holy Week ; and on Maundy Thursday; and on both Festivals of the Holy Cross ; and upon every Festival of Martyrs, Apostles, and Evangelists, without Eastertide. Moreover, let them wear vestments of a yellow colour on all Festivals of one or more Confessors. This being done, let the Priest and his Ministers betake themselves to their proper places and wait until the Gloria in ex- celsis, which should always be begun in the middle of the Altar whensoever the Mass is said." This rubric, compared with the ancient Salisbury .fftSJ. before referred to, proves conclusively that the old Sarum use of our Church underwent but little change throughout the Mediaeval Period. The co- lours red and white were still the distinctive colours of the Sarum use in the XVI. th century, as in the 1 68 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. XII. th : and if we except the yellow for Confessors' Days, which is clearly an innovation, there is abso- lutely no distinction in the ritual use of these two periods. It is well known that St. Osmund based his rite upon the traditions of the Anglo-Saxon Church : may we not therefore perceive in this, as in so many other things, the Providence of God, in thus permitting the ancient ritual of the Anglo- Saxon Church to be so marvellously preserved and handed on in the Church of England, amid the many irregularities of the Mediaeval Age ? I have collated Pynson's Missal, from which the above rubric is taken, with another Sarum Missal printed at Antwerp A.D. 1527, and also with another printed in France A.D. 1527, and find that the same rubric occurs in each. There is an inventory given in the Monasticon of the vestments which belonged to Lincoln Cathedral in the year 1536. There is much useful information to be obtained from it. The following is the heading to this inventory, and full particulars of the volume and page where it may be found. " The Register and " Inventory of all jewels, vestments, and other orna- " ments to the Revestry of the Cathedral Church of " Lincoln belonging, made by Master Henry Lyther- " land, Treasurer of the same Church, in the year of " our Lord God, 1536. 28 Hen. VIII." — [Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. vi, part iii, p. 1278.] Here follows a list of the chalices, images, candle- sticks, &c. &c, which tends to throw light upon the elaborate ritual of the Church of England in the times immediately preceding the Reformation. It is not necessary for the purposes of this work to give a complete list and detailed description of all the vestments that are mentioned. But I have gone carefully through the inventory and classified all the copes and chasubles and altar-cloths that are mentioned in it : and the following summary gives THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. 169 the number of each, classified according to their dis- tinctive colour : — copes cfjassubles j altar clotfjs CLOTH OF GOLD BLUE PURPLE RED. . WHITE , Green . Black . Other colours Colours unnamed 49 33 7 95 40 10 8 5 6 3 12 7 4 4 2 3 11 3 3 9 7 2 o o o This summary of the Lincoln vestments will shew how comparatively orthodox the use of Lincoln Ca- thedral was even at this late period, with regard to co- loured vestments. We may see at a glance that those of orthodox colour greatly preponderated. Of the 52 chasubles that are mentioned, 39 of them are of one or other of the five mystic colours of the Law ; while but 10 are of green or black or some other colour. In the altar-cloths we may perceive an even greater portion of orthodox colours ; for of the 35 altar-cloths that are mentioned, 33 of them are of one or other of the five mystic colours of the Law ; while there are but 2 of any other colour. I must add one or two of the items in detail from this very important inventory, in order to give some idea of the elaborate embroidery upon some of these splendid vestments : — ■ " Inprimis, a chesable of white cloth, broidered with " images and angels of gold, with costly orphreys of " gold, having the Trinity in the back, the Holy " Ghost being of pearl ; and also divers pearls in " other images, with two tunacles of the same suit, " without pearls, and three albes, and three am- " messes with their apparel, the stoles differing ; of " the gift of M r . John Welburne, sometime treasurer." 170 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. " Item, a costly cope of blew velvet with costly " orphreys of gold, with images set with pearl, and " in the morse an image of our Lady with her Son, " and four angels, in the hood the Trinity set with " pearl and stone, and in the back a large image " of the assumption garnished with pearl and stone, " with many angels of gold set with pearl, ex dono " Willielmi Alnewike epis. u Inprimis, a costly cloth of gold for the high altar, " for principal feasts, having in the midst images " of the Trinity, of our Lady, four evangelists, four " angels about the Trinity, with patriarchs, prophets, " apostles, and virgins, with many other images, hav- " ing a frontlet of cloth of gold with scriptures, and " a linnen cloth infixed to the same, ex dono ducis " Lancastrian." The following item seems to indicate that in the mediaeval Church of England it was customary to provide plain red vestments for Good Friday, with- out any ornamentation or embroidery thereon : — " Item, a chesable with two tunacles of red, for Good Friday." On the other hand, the description of several of the vestments proves the exceeding great value, and the elaborate workmanship, of many of the vestments of the ancient Church of England in this age. And I shall have occasion to refer again to this inventory when speaking of the use in Edward VI.'s time, in order to prove that it was the great value of these jewelled vestments, and the desire to get possession of them for their intrinsic value, which led to the robbery and spoliation of our Churches, and their sacred vestments, about the middle of the XVI. th century. Most fortunately we have another inven- tory of the vestments in use at Lincoln Cathedral in the latter years of Edward VI.'s reign : and by comparing the two we are able to see clearly what vestments at Lincoln had been suppressed, or rather seized upon, in the early days of the Reformation, and what were then sanctioned, and allowed for use. The comparison proves beyond all doubt that the THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. 171 detestable and sacrilegious work carried on at that time had not for its main object the suppression of coloured vestments, but the appropriation and spolia- tion of all that was most valuable. But more of this hereafter. There is another illuminated 0tSb> in the British Museum, [21974. Mus. Brit] to which I must now direct attention. It is the Benedictional of Bishop Longland, who was Bishop of Lincoln from a.d. 1521 to 1547 : both the ffl,£>. and its illuminations are of this period. The illuminated frontispiece to this £B,&. shews the Bishop seated, and in the act of saying- an office before Mass. One attendant is holding the office book before him : another is in the act of drawing on his episcopal sandals. The Bishop is drawn in his scarlet chimere, which is long like a cassock ; over this he wears his white rochet. The scarlet chimere is ornamented with gold ; and it indicates that this episcopal vestment was often embroidered with gold. The Bishop's stockings are coloured black, though these of course do not form any part of his official dress. The sandal which is being put on him by the attendant is the only other official vestment shewn : this is coloured gold and brown. If we except the sandal, the only colours of the Bishop's vesture are red, and white, and gold. Upon fo. 22 there is a full page illumination of the Bishop in his sacrificial vestments standing before the Altar with his pastoral staff, and in the act of giving the benediction. This drawing, like that just described, is doubtless intended to represent Bishop Longland himself. He has apparently just said Mass. His mitre is coloured red and gold : his chasuble purple and gold, lined with green : his dalmatic blue and gold, edged with brown and gold fringe : his alb white, ornamented with an apparel of brown and gold : while his episcopal sandals are coloured gold and brown and black. These are the 172 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. only colours of his vesture — gold, blue, purple, red, and white : green, black, and brown. It is instructive to consider this illumination in the Lincoln Benedictional in connection with the inven- tory of the Lincoln vestments just alluded to. The one is an admirable supplement to the other ; and the two together teach us a great deal with regard to the use of coloured vestments in the Church of England during the first half of the XVI. th century. The inventory shews us that vestments of orthodox colour still greatly preponderated in the Church of England system. The illumination teaches us, on the other hand, that these vestments were not worn alone ; and that whereas a purple chasuble or the like is described by itself in the inventory, this vest- ment and its mystic colour were not worn alone, but always in connection with other vestments of other mystic colours : the whole vesture forming a combination of sacred colours, as in the Levitical sys- tem of old. The illumination indicates clearly enough that in the sacrificial vesture of an English Bishop in the XVI. th century, in times immediately preceding the Reformation, the five mystic colours of the Law — gold, blue, purple, red, and white — were still used in combination, as in days of yore : while to these mystic colours, other unauthorized colours were superadded, such as green and brown and black, and the like. And it was these latter which rendered the Church of England system overladen and corrupt, in the matter of vestments. It was man's reason which in- troduced these into the Church of England system, [for they were wholly unauthorized by any council, or canon law, or the like,] which thus marred, so to speak, God's Revelation. It was the not being satis- fied with the five mystic colours of the Law, or in other words, the setting up of man's reason, in op- position as it were to God's Revelation, which caused the Church of England system to become overladen and corrupt. THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. 173 In Mediaeval times, albs were often made of silk, or velvet, or bawdkyn [i.e. cloth of gold]. These were often richly embroidered, and worn over the white linen alb on the great festivals. In an inventory of ornaments and vestments which belonged to the Priorye of Saint Martyne at Dover, in the twenty- seventh year of the reign of Henry VIII., we meet with the following items : — " V olde aulbes, one of redd velvet wrought w* roses " and leves enbrodered, etc. " One olde aulbe of blewe of Saint Thomas, wo r s- " ted. " One olde aulbe of whyte velvyt wrought and en- " brodered w t redd roses and imagerey." — \_Monast. Anglic, vol. iv, p. 542.] This again indicates how the orthodox sacrificial colours prevailed in our Church of England system up till the times of the Reformation. It has been pointed out in a preceding chapter that it was a custom in the ancient Church of Eng- land to cover up the imagery and ornaments of the Sanctuary in Lent with white veils or cloths marked each with a red cross : while the Altar itself was often covered up in the same way. This custom prevailed in our Church till the times of the Re- formation. There were at St. Frideswide's at Ox- ford, at the time of its suppression by Henry VIII., " a veall of new whitt sercenett for Lentt. xx s ., itm. " hangings for the highe alter, for above and benethe " of new whit sercenett w th redd crosses, called alter- " clothes, for Lent. x s ." — \J\Ionasticon, vol. ii, p. 167.] " The Lenten curtain hung down between the peo- " pie and holy of holies. In cathedrals, it parted " the presbytery from the choir ; in parish churches, " the chancel from the nave. It was only at the " Gospel that it was pulled aside, and so remained " till the Orate fratrcs, except on festivals of the " double class, when it was withdrawn for the whole " day Not only the large rood with St. Mary " and St. John in the rood loft, but most other cru- I 74 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. " cifixes, and not a few of the images about our old " churches, had to be muffled up in cloths, which, " like the wide curtain at the chancel arch, were " either of white linen or silk, and marked all of " them with a red cross." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. iv, p. 221 — 223.] This was the spectacle which our old Churches presented in Mediaeval times, during the holy season of Lent : — her Priests vested in red : her Altars, with all their imagery and sacred ornaments, draped in white linen cloths, marked only with the blood red cross. How grandly orthodox, in this respect at least, was ouf old Church of England, even in the XVI th century. Red and white were still the dis- tinctive colours of her Lenten use. By the one she pointed to Earth, by the other to Heaven : while by the mystic combination of the two she continually reminded the faithful, at the most sacred season of the whole Christian Year, of the precious Blood shedding of the Pure and Immaculate Lamb of God. Again are we reminded of that passage in Isaiah : — " Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed " garments from Bozrah ? This that is glorious in his " apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength ? " I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. " Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy " garments like him that treadeth out the winefat?" This passage occurs in the Epistle for Monday in Holy Week, and it tends to throw some additional light upon the ancient Church of England use of red at that holy season of the Christian Year. Even "the Processional Cross carried about in Lent, " was always of wood painted red, according to Sa- " rum use ; and there was no figure of our Lord " upon it." " Sir Thomas More walked to the block ' carrying " in his hands a red cross,' as his great grandson, " Cresacre More, tells us." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. iv, p. 226.] Even the linings of our old Church of England THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE. 175 vestments were usually of one or other of the mystic colours of the Law. The few Mediaeval vestments that are left indicate this. I can endorse the opinion of the late Dr. Rock on this point, so far as my ex- perience goes. He says : — " All the vestments now " existing in this country from Catholic times, which " the writer has met with, are invariably lined with " a thick coarse kind of linen, either blue or red in " colour." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 264.] With this I must bring to a close the Mediaeval use of the ancient Church of England. It has been my effort to endeavour to prove by evidence from a variety of sources that the Church of England had remained faithful to her ancient traditions, in the matter of coloured vestments, up till the times of the Reformation, despite the corruptions and irre- gularities which had arisen in her system. And to the reader I now put the question : — Which was, and still is, the true work of the Reformation, in the matter of liturgical vestments ; to sweep away and abolish the ritual use of the mystic colours of " the Law " in the system of the Church of England ; or the ritual use of those colours unauthorized by " the Law," which had arisen in the Mediaeval Age ? Surely, there can be but one answer to the question. CHAPTER XIX. ®Ij* Wlu in % iitra ai Eing (Kbttiarb tlj£ ^isilfj. The ornaments rubric in our present Book of Com- mon Prayer reads thus : — "And here is to be noted, " that such Ornaments of the Church, and of the Mi- " nisters thereof, at all Times of their Ministration, " shall be retained, and be in use, as were in this " Church of England, by the Authority of Parliament, " in the Second Year of the Reign of King Edward " the Sixth." We have therefore only to prove what coloured vestments were in use in the Church of England at that particular period, in order to prove what coloured vestments may be worn in the Church of England now. It is a well known fact that the general tendency throughout the reign of Edward VI. was more in the direction of suppressing vestments, than of adding to the existing stock. Any vestments, therefore, which were found to be in use by the Edwardine Commis- sioners in 1553 must necessarily have been in use also in 1548, the year to which the ornaments rubric points, for they were certainly not provided de novo between the years 1548 and 1553. I shall therefore endeavour to prove what vest- ments were in use A.D. 1548, the second year of the reign of King E.dward the Sixth, by shewing what were still in vogue in 1553, when the King's Com- missioners went their rounds, after the Prayer Book of A.D. 1552 had been compiled. THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. 177 In the Monasticon is " a true copy of an Inventory " remaining in the Registry of the Dean and Chapter " of Lincoln, taken eighteenth day of May, in the " seventh year of the Raign of King Edward the " Sixth, of all the plate, jewels, vestments, copes, " altar-cloaths, and other ornaments appertaining to " the Cathedral Church of Lincoln." — [Mouas. Angli., vol. vi, part iii, p. 1287.] Here follows a descriptive list of all the vestments &c. which were found at this time, A.D. 1553. I have gone carefully through the list, and, as in the case of the other Lincoln inventory before referred to, have carefully classified all the copes and chasubles and altar-cloths that are mentioned ; and the fol- lowing summary gives the number of each, classified according- to their distinctive colour : — roprs djasublcs altar cloths CLOTH OF GOLD BLUE PURPLE RED WHITE Green Black Other colours . . . Colours unnamed 17 • 26 . 5 • 44 • 36 . " . 5 • . 5 • 4 • 11 . 10 . 4 • 2 . 2 . 2 . . . • • 3 • • 3 • • 3 • • 3 . . 2 . . . . . . . In addition to the above there are also men- tioned, — " Item, fourteen old copes of divers sorts for poor clerks," but the colour of these is not speci- fied : also, " Item, eighteen old copes of sundry sorts for choristers," and the colour of these, again, is not specified. There can be no doubt that all these vestments which were appertaining to the Cathedral Church of Lincoln in 1553, were in use also in 1548. And the inventory tends therefore to prove that the use of the five mystic colours of the Law was retained in the Church of England system, in the early days N 178 THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. of the Reformation, at the time to which the orna- ments rubric points. Some of these Lincoln vestments must have been very beautiful. The following is a description of some of them as it occurs in the inventory : — " Inprimis, a cloth, partly red and partly white, " with an image of our Lady in the midst, with her " Son in a circle with eight angels ; and on the right " hand an archbishop standing in a circle with eight " angels ; and on her left hand a bishop standing in " a circle with eight angels. " Item, a chesable of red velvet, with roses and " flowers of gold, with a goodly orphrey, having be- " hind the birth of Christ, and the salutation of our " Lady ; two tunicles, and three albes. " Item, a chesable of red silk with lions of gold " upon white scrowls, with a fair orphrey, having " a picture of the passion of Christ, with divers other " images ; with an albe, and the apparel. " Item, a chesable of red sarsnet, with flowers of " gold, and a blew orphrey, having Jesus with a crown " wrought in the back ; with one tunicle, lacking " albes." Such were some of the beautiful Church of Eng- land vestments in use during Edward VI.'s reign. And in them, a combination of orthodox colours may be observed, as in the Levitical vestments in vogue in the time of Moses. It is instructive to compare this inventory of 1553 with the Lincoln inventory of 1536, before referred to. By comparison of the two foregoing tables it would appear that the following vestments had been filched from Lincoln since the year 1536: viz. 47 copes, chasubles, and altar-cloths, of cloth of gold ; 10, of blue ; 1, of purple ; 58, of red ; and 5, of white ; also 2, of green ; and 2, of black ; &c. The large number of cloth of gold vestments which had been seized upon, compared with those of other sort, indicates clearly enough that this raid upon the Cathedral Church of Lincoln in the early days of the Reforma- THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. 1 79 tion was mainly for the sake of plunder. It cer- tainly was not set on foot for the sake of suppressing the use of coloured vestments in the Church of Eng- land worship, because enough of all orthodox colours were left to carry on the divine service in " the beauty of holiness." The raid appears to have taken place in A.D. 1540, that is to say, four years after the date of the first named inventory: and from 1540 till 1553 no fur- ther change seems to have occurred at Lincoln. We read in the Monasticon : — "King Henry VIII. di- a rected his Letter dated the 6 th of June in his two " and thirtieth year, to D r . George Heneage, then " Archdeacon of Taunton, and others, to take down " a Shrine, and the superstitious Jewels, Plate, Copes, " &c. in this Cathedral Church of Lincoln, and to " see the same safely and surely to be convey'd to " his Jewel-house in the Tower. Which Commission " was executed on the 11 th of June, 1540. And by " force thereof there was taken out of the said " Cathedral in Gold two thousand six hundred and " twenty one ounces, in silver four thousand two " hundred and eighty five ounces, besides a great " number of Pearls, Diamonds, Saphires, Rubies, " Turky Carbuncles, &c." — [Monas. Angli., ed. 1693, p. 297.] Here we get an insight into the commencement of the raid upon the Church of England vestments &c. It was doubtless at this time that those cloth of gold vestments &c. were suppressed at Lincoln, which we miss in the 1553 inventory. But they were sup- pressed, not for the sake of doing away with co- loured vestments in the Church of England, but for their own intrinsic value, to enrich the coffers of one of the most licentious and dissolute of Mo- narchs that ever lived. This was the commence- ment of the Reformation movement, with regard to vestments. We pass on now to consider the vestments which were belonging to a Parish Church in Berkshire in N 2 ISO THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. the year 1553 — to Stanford in the Vale. There is an inventory of all the ornaments and vestments which were found in this Church when the Edwar- dine Commissioners visited it in May, 1553. It is written out under the accounts for this year in the old Churchwardens' book, which is still preserved at Stanford. This inventory gives an insight into the ornaments and vestments of a Village Church, which were in use in the second year of the reign of King Edward VI. ; for without doubt all the vestments &c. which were found to be in use in 1553 must have been in use also in 1548. The following ornaments, among others, are mentioned in the inventory : — "It. a chest cawlyd a poermas box. " It. a payre of grayt cadullstycks cawlyd standorts " of bras. " It. a payre of small cadulstycks of brasse to set " one the alt. H It. a other payre of cadullsticks of coppr gylte to " set one the alt. " It. a crosse of copr gylt. " It. a bell for the Belman & a sacryng bell. " It. a myter of white satten with borders of red " velvet. " It. a dyadem for the pyx." &c. &c. All the above, with sundry other things, were left in Stanford Church, in order apparently that they might continue to be used in connection with the Second Book of 1552. These therefore were not put into what is called the King's inventory, when the Commissioners visited Stanford on the eleventh of May, 1553. But all the vestments and plate, together with sundry other things belonging to the Church, were put into the King's inventory, as we learn from the Churchwardens' book. And it would appear from the accounts there given, which I have looked very THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. l8l carefully through, that the main object of this Com- mission was pillage, rather than the suppression of these coloured vestments. For the Commissioners allowed the Vicar, I. Fawkener, who appears to have been a good Catholic, to buy back again on the spot all the vestments. So that their object was neither to suppress them, or do away with them, but simply to convert them into money. It shews what was the object of these men. That the raid upon our Village Churches in Edward's time was conducted on precisely the same principle as that upon our Cathedral Churches in Henry's time. In both, rob- bery and spoliation were the main objects in view, and not so much the suppression of coloured vest- ments. It is true that as the specious infidelity of the age gained more hold over the minds of men, a more systematic attack on coloured vestments was afterwards made. But in the early days of the Reformation movement this was not so. The move- ment in Henry the VIII. 's time, as regards the vest- ment question, was one of aggression, for the sake of plunder, and that alone. This developed in Ed- ward the VI. 's time into a still further raid, con- ducted on much the same principle. And this again, in its turn, paved the way for the great Puritan movement, which was a more systematic and or- ganized attempt to suppress coloured vestments, and all else savouring of" Catholicism, in the system of the Church of England. But to return again to the Stanford inventory. It appears from the Churchwardens' book that the good Vicar bought back again from the Commissioners all the vestments of the Church, which they had laid their hands upon. And the same authority states that the sum he paid for them was afterwards repaid him by the Parish, at the commencement of Queen Mary's reign. According to the accounts there were in all about fifteen vestments belonging to Stanford Church in 1553 when the Commissioners paid their visit. The vestments were for the use of the Priest, Deacon, 182 THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. and Subdeacon. Of these fifteen, I was white, I red, 4 blue, and I yellow : the colour of the remaining 8 is unnamed. Green appears to have been used only in combination with other colours : — " It. j olde " chysabull of resid worke of grene and redde velvet " the grownde golde wyer with the appurtynaunce." This was not distinctively a green vestment, in the sense that the " olde cope of blew sarcenet," referred to, was a blue one. In Queen Mary's reign there is further reference made to a corporal of " purpull velvet " made out of the old Church stuff [which must therefore have been in use in Edward's time] with a calvary em- broidered thereon. We find, therefore, just as at Lincoln Cathedral, that the five mystic colours of the Law — gold, blue, purple, red, and white — were in use in this Village Church in the reign of Ed- ward VI, at the time to which the ornaments rubric points. In speaking of 853 vestments which are mentioned in some inventories of the date of A.D. 1552 and 1553, of which number 62 were green, a modern writer says: — "it maybe as well to remark here that all " the green vestments in this list belonged to the " two Cathedral Churches, except one chasuble, dal- " matic, and tunicle, which were in St. Martin, Out- " wich." — [An. Bk. of Com. Pray., p. lxxviij.] It is very important to note this. This writer is alluding to the fact that in a long list of vestments which belonged to some of our Cathedral and Pa- rish Churches in the early days of the Reformation, all the green vestments in the list, with the ex- ception of one set only, belonged, not to the Parish Churches, but to the Cathedral. It indicates that the parochial system of the Church of England was comparatively orthodox up to the time of the Re- formation, and indeed in the early years of the Reformation, with regard to coloured vestments. It indicates, also, what I have before alluded to, that many of the irregularities in the Church of England THE USE IN EDWARD VI.'S TIME. 1 83 system originated in high places, in the large Mo- nastic and Cathedral Churches, and the like. And it shews that with regard to the use of green vest- ments, this use, even at the Reformation period, was still confined, almost exclusively, to these large Churches served by dignitaries ; so that the paro- chial system was but little affected thereby. It is also a matter of fact that green vestments were more worn in the Northern Province, than in the Southern. This was doubtless owing to the Sarum use, and the beneficial influence which it exercised in the Southern Province in checking irre- gularities of this sort. In the old inventories there are indications here and there of the cravings which some Churchmen had for introducing irregular and heterodox colours. " Besides the colours already enumerated, others are " sometimes mentioned, such as Brown, Tawney, " Murrey, Pink, and Cheyney." — [An. Bk. of Com. Pray., p. lxxviij.] It is unnecessary to give further proof of these irre- gularities. Their use was the outcome of the super- stition and corruption of the late Mediaeval Church. That corruptions did exist in the system of the late Mediaeval Church, no one, I think, who has studied the subject can deny. But my object has been not so much to prove this, as to demonstrate, that not- withstanding the irregularities of the age, the ancient use of the Holy Catholic Church still prevailed in our Church of England, even in the time of Edward the Sixth — the time to which the ornaments rubric points. CHAPTER XX. ®Ij£ ®s£ ht iljt thru 0f IBislfap Ctfsht* The 30 th Canon of A.D. 1603 says: — "So far was " it from the purpose of the Church of England to " forsake and reject the Churches of Italy, France, " Spain, Germany, or any such like Churches, in all " things which they held or practised, that, as the " 'Apology of the Church of England ' confesseth, it " doth with reverence retain those ceremonies which " do neither endamage the Church of God, nor of- " fend the minds of sober men ; and only departed " from them in those particular points wherein they " were fallen both from themselves in their ancient " integrity, and from the Apostolical Churches, which " were their first founders." This Canon embodies a fundamental principle of the Reformed Church of England. She doth with reverence retain " those Ceremonies which do serve " to a decent Order and godly Discipline, and such " as be apt to stir up the dull mind of man to the " remembrance of his duty to God, by some notable " and special signification, whereby he might be " edified." — \The Book of Common Prayer •.] Now if we apply all this to the question of the retention of the five mystic colours of the Law, in the system of the Reformed Church of England, we shall find that her Reformers have answered for her — she " doth with reverence retain " them. Bishop Cosin, who has, perhaps, beyond all others left his mark upon the 1662 Prayer Book, has left THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. 185 us also an inventory of the ornaments &c. which he provided for the Auckland Chapel in the latter years of his life, after the Prayer Book and its ornaments rubric had been compiled. The original is in Latin, and is as follows : — Scedula sive Inventa- rium Vasorum, Libroram, aliorumque Ornamento- rnm, qucs Capellis nostris in A uklandia et Dunelmo, prout supra memoratnr, contulimus, et in perpetnum dicavimus. Imprimis: duo magna candelabra argentea et dupliciter deaurata, tres pedes alta,opere celato fa- bricata, et super Altare, sive Mensam Dominicam, quotidie locanda. Item: pelvis argentea et dupliciter deaurata, in qua historia Ccenae Domini af- fabre describitur, et cujus diameter est bipedalis. Item: calix argenteus et dupliciter deauratus, cum pede sinuoso, et operculo, consimilis artificii. Item: patenae binae, ar- genteae et dupliciter de- auratae, cum inscriptioni- bus e Sacra Scriptura de- sumptis. "A Schedule or Inven- tory of the Vessels, Books, & other Ornaments, which, as before stated, we have conferred upon, and have for ever dedicated to, our Chapels in Auckland and Durham. Imprimis : Two large silver candlesticks, double gilt, three feet in height, fabricated with embossed work ; to be placed daily upon the Altar, or Lord's Table. (') Item : A dish of silver, double gilt, and two feet in width, upon which is cunningly represented the story of the Last Supper. Item : A chalice of sil- ver, double gilt, with a twisted stalk, and a cover, of the like workmanship. Item : Two patens of silver, double gilt, with inscriptions chosen from the sacred writings of the Bible. (!) It is interesting to note that the words Altar and Lord's Table are here used synonymously. It indicates clearly enough what was the mind of the Reformers at this period, and that no change of doc- trine in the Church of England was implied by the use of the word Lord's Table in the Prayer Book. 1 86 THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. Item : Biblia S. Angli- cana, pulchre composita in velamine ex holoserico, coccinei colons, laminis argenteis et dupliciter de- auratis, unacum offendici- bus ejusdem operis orna- to, in folio majori. Item: LiturgiaEcclesiae Anglicanae pulchre itidem in consimili velamine ex holoserico, coccinei colo- ns, laminis argenteis et dupliciter deauratis una- cum offendicibus ornato, in folio magno et charta imperiali, rubricatis lineis signata. Item : Liturgiae Angli- canae codices bini, in ve- laminibus ex corio cae- ruleo compositi, et ligu- lis sericis ejusdem colo- ns, cum laciniis auratis, in folio ampliori. Item: frontale, sive an- tependens, pro Altare, seu Mensa Dominica, de pan- nis auratis et argenteis compositum, et lacinia de auro at serico variegata ornatum. Item: velamen pedes- talli super Mensam Do- minicam positi, de pan- no aurato, cum lacinia, ut supra, variegata. Item : The Holy Bible in the English language, beautifully bound in vel- vet of a scarlet colour, with silver plates double gilt, together with clasps of the same workmanship; in large folio. Item : The Liturgy of the Church of England, in like manner beautifully bound in similar velvet of a scarlet colour, with silver plates double gilt, together with clasps ; in large folio, upon imperial paper, ruled with lines of red. Item : Two copies of the Church of England Liturgy, bound in covers of purple leather, f) and with strings of silk of the same colour, with fringes of gold ; in larger folio. Item : A frontal, or an- tependent, for the Altar, or Lord's Table, made of cloth of gold and sil- ver, and adorned with a variegated fringe of gold and silk. Item : A covering for the retable, placed upon the Lord's Table, of cloth of gold, with a variegated fringe, as above. ( 2 ) Dr. Raine, the well-known antiquary of the north, renders this ' i purple leather " in his trans- lation. He was probably guided by the books themselves, which he must have seen, as they are said to have been preserved up to within 30 years ago. THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. I87 Item: binae mappae pro Mensa Dominica, et line- um coopertorium pro ca- lice Eucharistico. Item : pulvinar de pan- no, aureis filis intertexto, cum globulis consimili- bus libro Liturgiae in eo- dem Altari subterponen- dum. Item : tapetum amplis- simum supra Altare ap- pensendum, in quo histo- ria Reginae Shebas Regem Solomonem visitantis de- scribitur. Item: duae Ecclesiarum picturae, de opere diopti- co, pro utraque parte ori- entali ejusdem sacelli. Item : duo hypogonati- ca, rubro panno cooperta etcircumfimbriata,probo- reali et australi partibus Altaris. Item : integumentum amplum de panno rubro crassiori super Altare, et omnia ejus ornamenta im- ponendum. Item : duo ampla pul- Item: Two linen cloths for the Lord's Table, and a linen veil for the Eu- charistic chalice. Item : A cloth cushion, interwoven with threads of gold, with like tassels, to be placed beneath the Book of the Liturgy on the said Altar. Item : A very large piece of tapestry to hang above the Altar ; upon it is described the story of the Queen of Sheba vi- siting King Solomon. ( 3 ) Item : Two pictures of Churches, in perspective, for each side of the east end of the Chapel. Item cushions covered in red cloth, and fringed around, for the north and south sides of the Altar. Item : A large cover of a coarser red cloth, to be placed over the Altar, and overall the ornaments of the Altar. Two kneeling- Item . Two large elbow ( 3 ) This exactly harmonized, in point of ritual arrangement, with the embroidered hangings at the back of the Altar in the Mediae- val Church. It is very much to be regretted that modern reredoses of wood and stone, which so fre- quently mar the beauty of the old masonry, have supplanted the ancient traditional dossel, in so many of our Parish Churches. The dossel of needlework harmo- nizes with the embroidered hang- ings of the Levitical Church : it was the ornament in vogue in the second year of the reign of King Edward VI. ; and Bishop Cosin has hereby attested that the Re- formed Church of England doth with reverence retain it. i88 THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. vinaria cubitalia de panno filis aureis intertexto, cum globulis angularibus, ante stallum Domini Episcopi et primum stallum a sinis- tris collocanda. Item : duo pulvinaria cubitalia de rubro holo- serico scutulato, cum glo- bulis sericis, pro lectoris et concionatoris, sive ca- pellanorum, suggestis. Item : faldistorium lig- neum, pro recitanda, si- ve decantanda, Litania ; in medio chori locandum. Item : quinque stragu- la, de serico rubro et cae- ruleo variegata, cum fim- bris appensis, quorum unum super faldistorium litaneuticum, duo ante suggesta capellanorum, et duo denique ante stallum Episcopi stallumque e re- gione positum sternenda. Item: Conopeum de se- rico rubro et caeruleo va- riegatum cum fimbria se- rica, supra stallum Epis- copale appendendum. Item : octo hypogona- tica, caeruleo panno coop- erta et circumfimbriata, sex pro stallis ex utra- que parte ad introitum sacelli, et duo pro capel- lanorum suggestis. Item : duodecim super- pellicia, quorum octo pro viris, quatuor reliqui pro cushions of cloth inter- woven with gold threads, with corner tassels, to be placed before the stall of the Lord Bishop, and the first stall on the left. Item: Two elbow cush- ions of red velvet wrought in needlework, with silk tassels, for the desks of the Reader and Preacher, or Chaplains. Item : A faldstool of wood, for reading or sing- ing the Litany, to be set in the middle of the choir. Item : Five covers of red and blue silk variega- ted, with fringes append- ed, of which, one is to be spread upon the Litany faldstool, two before the desks of the Chaplains, and two before the stall of the Bishop and the op- posite stall. Item : A canopy of red and blue silk variegated, with a silk fringe, to be suspended over the stall of the Bishop. Item: Eight kneeling- cushions covered in blue cloth, and fringed around, six for the stalls on each side at the entrance of the Chapel, and two for the desks of the Chaplains. Item: Twelve surplices, of which eight are for the men, and the remaining THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. 189 organista, clerico sacelli, et pueris eidem servien- tibus. Item : duo togae, me- libei colons, quarum una pro organista, altera pro clerico sacelli. Item : organum pneu- maticum. Item : tabella picta su- pra organum appensa, cu instrumentis musicis in manibus angelorum. Item : tabella picta et appensa supra vestiarium, in opere dioptico, Eccle- siamquandam exprimens. Item : tabella picta et supra ostium sacelli occi- dentale appensa, faciem Ecclesiae CathedralisWel- lensis ostendens. four for the Organist, the Clerk, and the boys at- tending upon him. Item : Two cassocks of a purple colour ( 4 ), one for the Organist, and the other for the Clerk. Item : A wind organ. Item : A painting hung above the organ, depict- ing musical instruments in the hands of angels. Item : A painting hung above the revestry, repre- senting a Church in per- spective. Item : A painting hung above the west entrance of the Chapel, represent- ing the facade of the Ca- thedral Church of Wells. Here follows the inventory of the ornaments &c. which Bishop Cosin provided for his other Chapel at Durham : it is shorter than the Auckland inven- tory, but with regard to the colours mentioned it is very similar. It is said that the original inventory is in Bishop Cosin's handwriting. There can be no doubt what- ever it was drawn up by him, and that the draft was in his hand. But whether or not this is preserved, or any copy in the Bishop's own handwriting, I have not been able to find out. The Latin version of the inventory may be found in the second volume of " Bishop Cosin's Correspondence," &c. edited by the Rev. George Ornsby for the Surtees Society. It should be observed that Bishop Cosin, in his description of the buildings of the Bible and Liturgy, Dr. Raine renders this ptirple in his translation. 190 THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. uses the same word in the latin to designate the liturgical red, which is used also by St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great, and other ancient Churchmen. This liturgical latin word which Bishop Cosin has used is derived from the greek of the Septuagint, where it designates the colour of "the Law." This shews that the very colour in use under the Old Dispensation was looked upon by Bishop Cosin, and by the more ancient Churchmen, as the liturgical colour of the Christian Church also. Pope Inno- cent III., on the other hand, uses, in the passage before alluded to, a different word to designate the liturgical red of the Roman Church. Bishop Cosin, notwithstanding this, uses the more ancient liturgical word derived from the Septuagint, which thus in a measure links on the use of the Reformed Church of England, not to the Roman use, but to the ancient Levitical. In many respects, one might imagine on reading over this most interesting inventory that it was drawn up by one of the old Churchmen before the Reforma- tion period. It has the true ring about it — every- thing good and orthodox, nothing puritanical and mean. It is true that we miss the list of elaborately embroidered chasubles, copes, and altar-cloths, which occur in the older inventories. But although there are no chasubles or copes mentioned, we know from other sources that vestments were worn by Bishop Cosin. For example, in the good Bishop's portrait, which still hangs at Auckland Castle, he is shewn in a cope of scarlet cloth with hood of white fur, which was worn by him. And whether or not this vest- ment was worn by Bishop Cosin, of which there can be no doubt, we must bear in mind that the Book of Common Prayer does not prescribe that such vestments are to be worn as were in use in his time, but that such are to be worn as were in vogue in A.D. 1548. It is manifest that Bishop Cosin was feeling his way, and doing his utmost to reintroduce such. With regard however to the question of colour, THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN S TIME. 191 the testimony of this inventory is of great import- ance. It indicates a true Reformation in the Church of England system, and the first that had as yet been accomplished, with regard to the mystic co- lours, so far as there is historical evidence to prove. The three copies of the Liturgy in their red or purple bindings ; the cloth of gold Altar vestments ; the canopy of red and blue silk ; the white linen chalice veil ; and the like ; all indicate clearly enough that the five mystic colours of the Law — gold, blue, purple, red, and white — were reintroduced by the Bishop Cosin in the vestments and hangings of the Auckland Chapel. It is worthy of note that the co- lours green and black found no place in this good Bishop's work. Neither green, black, brown, taw- ney, murrey, pink, or cheyney, or any other colour is to be met with in the work, save only the mystic colours of the Law. Here then, at length, may we perceive the true principles of the English Reforma- tion worked out. The Auckland Chapel was again made resplendent with mystic colours, as in the days before the Reformation, and in the old time before. Bishop Cosin was indeed a true Reformer. And he has hereby attested that the Reformed Church of England is a true Branch of the one true Church of God upon Earth : — that she is linked on, not merely to the Mediaeval Church, not merely to the Anglo-Saxon Church, not merely to the an- cient British Church, nor to that only of the Apo- stolic age, but, by traditions even more far reaching than these, to the Levitical Church, and to the prin- ciples of ritual worship ordained by God Himself. And if any further evidence is needed as to the mind of this truly great and learned Bishop, we have it in the inscription which he added on the outside of his beautiful scarlet bound copy of the Prayer Book. The inscription is — HABENT MOSEM ET PROPHETAS AUDIANT ILLOS. The words are as applicable now, as they were then. They seem to say to us ; if English Churchmen will not hear the 192 THE USE IN BISHOP COSIN'S TIME. Holy Catholic Church ; if they will not be guided by her ancient and venerable traditions ; nor give ear to the " ornaments rubric" of the Book of Com- mon Prayer ; — Jiabent Mosem et Prophetas audiant illos. Our Blessed Lord has Himself taught us what is the sequel to these words. CHAPTER XXI. mjt Jttatora Wst ai tljt COjitrrij ai %amt. In the existing use of the Church of Rome, vest- ments of the following colours are worn to mark the different seasons of the Christian Year, viz. red, white, green, violet, and black. It has already been re- marked that with regard to the number of the colours of the modern Roman sequence the Church of Rome is orthodox enough, but not so with regard to colour itself, only two out of the five being colours sanc- tioned by " the Law." This is perhaps the most difficult chapter of all to write. It is so difficult to understand why it is that the Roman sequence of colours differs so materially from the ancient Levitical use, and from the use moreover of ancient Christendom. It may be that there is some good reason to justify the use within the pale of the Church of Rome, which those Church- men who are without her pale know nothing of. But if a good reason can be assigned by Roman Catholics to justify this use within the pale of the Church of Rome, there can be no good reason assigned by Eng- lish Catholics to justify the introduction of the Ro- man sequence into the Church of England, — so en- tirely is it opposed to the ancient traditions of our Church. Almost from the beginning there appears to have been a difference between the usage of Rome and that of England ; most certainly there was through- out the Middle Ages. Dr. Rock says : — " Rome her- o 194 THE MODERN ROMAN USE. " self never uses sky-blue, England in Catholic times " did ; Rome enjoins black for Good-Friday, England " prescribed red." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 259.] All other differences between the two uses were much the same in principle. The whole truth of the matter is this, our grand old Church of Eng- land " in Catholic times," to use Dr. Rock's expres- sion, held fast to the one true use of the ancient Church of God, while Rome herself deviated from it, here a little, and there a little, until at last her whole system appears to have become changed. Probably no one has expressed more deep regret for the change that has passed over the Church of Rome, with regard to the sacerdotal dress, than the late Dr. Rock. As he was a Roman Catholic Priest, and remained in communion with Rome until the day of his death, his writings are especially valuable upon this subject, and cannot be said to be dictated by any sectarian bias, as might have been the case had he been a member of the Church of England. He clearly shews that a change has been brought about in the very shape of the Roman vestments, exactly corresponding in degree to that which we note with reference to their colour. In speaking of the chasuble, Dr. Rock says : — " The " clipped and open-sided chasuble was never beheld " in Catholic England ; but our priesthood always " wore the full, unbroken one up to the last days of " Queen Mary, of injured memory. This is evident, " from several of our national monuments "... From its being made full, unbroken, round, and " worn the uppermost of their ministerial garments, " by the priesthood, when clothed for the holy sacri- " fice, the chasuble, in the symbolism" of the Church, " has ever been looked upon as emblematic of true " Christian charity. . . . The greater part of our mo- " dern chasubles, especially those which come to us " from France and Belgium, have lost much, if not " the whole, of this beautiful and obvious symbolism " — they are hard, stiff, narrow, board-like. The slit- " ting up of this fine vestment at its sides followed THE MODERN ROMAN USE. 1 95 " when it had been shorn of its flowing folds : both " were the slow work of time, and not the results " of any canon or recommendation sent forth by the " Church in even a provincial, much less a general " council ; no papal decree ever afforded the slight-' " est grounds for such an alteration ; the nibbling " scissors cut away the old vestments every now and " then ; and when new ones were to be supplied, " bad taste and parsimony whispered to each other, " and made them small. . . . While we mourn, along " with some of the Church's best and most learned " sons, over the spoiling of this chiefest garment of " her sanctuary, let us hope that her prelates, es- " pecially those in this kingdom, with the zeal for " God's house, and the fondness for its ancient love- " liness shewn by a Saint Charles, may quickly do " again what their forerunners in the faith have " done, and by seeing, as the sainted Archbishop of " Milan did, that the chasuble be made once more " according to its olden type, give back to this " vestment all its former dignity, its grandeur, its in- " structive symbolic meaning of oneness in belief, " and of sacerdotal charity." — [Church of our Fathers; vol. i, p. 323—339.] This same writer, in speaking of the stole, says : — " The difference between the length of the stole " in olden and in these our times, is very striking. " Among all our national ecclesiastical monuments, " either in painting or sculpture, from the earliest " Anglo-Saxon epoch up to the last days of Queen " Mary, there is not one to be found of a priest in his " Mass vestments, in which the two ends of the stole " are not to be seen falling down some way lower " than the chasuble. Now, however, our stoles are " made so short that they cannot shew the smallest " portion of themselves below that garment ; so that, " looking at a priest when vested for sacrifice, no one " could positively say whether or no he had on a " stole." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. i, p. 412.] Again, this same writer, in speaking of the archi- episcopal pall, says : — "Judging, too, from the oldest O 2 196 THE MODERN ROMAN USE. " mosaics and illuminations, the pall for many ages " bore marked upon it but two crosses, and they " were not black, but coloured almost always bright " purple, though occasionally red : one cross was on " the end in front, the other in the same place be- " hind : afterwards, four crosses were mentioned as " adorning it ; but now it has six, and all these are " black. ... Of the pall, as it is now formed at " Rome, there lies before me at this moment an " exact and well -executed fac- simile, for which I " am indebted to the ready kindness of the present " Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev. Dr. Murray. " From the description which his Grace was pleased " to send along with the fac-simile, we learn that one " side of the pall is single, the other double ; and the " parts where each of the two pendents is attached " to the circle, have three folds : there are altogether " six crosses, four on the round part, one on each of " the pendents, and of that shape which heralds call " pattee, every one made of black silk, and edged " with fine black cord : at the ends the pendents are, " for about a couple of inches, sheathed in thin lead, " covered over with black silk." — \Ch. of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 141 — 143.] All this, and much more to the same effect which might be given, indicates the change which has been brought about in the Roman system. It shews how entirely the Church of Rome has changed, not only as regards the colour, but as regards the form and shape of the sacerdotal dress. We perceive, indeed, on the authority of this Roman Catholic Priest of Buckland, how that the Roman chasuble has fallen away from its ancient venerable and symbolic shape : — how that the Roman stole is no longer worn so as to be seen at Mass, as of yore :— and how that the shape and ornamentation of the Roman pall is now no longer as it was. The pall, like the stole and chasuble, is eminently a liturgical vestment. It was always, and still is in the Roman Church, worn by an Archbishop over the chasuble at the Holy Sacri- fice. Hence in olden time its crosses were either THE MODERN ROMAN USE. 1 97 purple or red upon its plain white ground, woven of lambs' wool — white and purple, or white and red, being in fact its only colours. Now however the crosses upon the modern Roman pall are made of black silk, and edged with black cord, while its pendent ends are sheathed in thin lead, covered over with black silk. All this indicates the change and declension in the modern Roman system, just as does the use of the unauthorized black stole at Holy Communion, in the modern Church of England system. It almost seems as if many of the changes which have arisen in the system of the Church of Rome have been introduced for the mere sake of novelty and change, with the most utter disregard to " the old paths," so revered by all the Saints of old. For example : — " From the very earliest period in this " country, bishops and kings, clergy and layfolks, " men and women, — all without exception, — were " buried so as to have their feet towards the east ; " and for a beautiful symbolic reason, which pre- " vailed here as elsewhere throughout Christendom, " up to the sixteenth century, and still almost every- " where prevails. . . . The present Roman ritual or- " ders that a priest shall have his head to the altar, " his feet to the people, as he is put into his grave. *' Such a rubric is new ; not only all the old cum- " bent ecclesiastical figures, which I have seen in the " churches at Rome, are to be found with their feet, " not head, turned towards the altar, like the effigies, " clerical as well as secular, in this country ; but " Catalani, in his notes upon the Roman Ritual, " admits that the earliest trace of the present ru- " brie goes no higher than the sixteenth century." [Church of our Fathers, vol. ii, p. 473.] It is quite unnecessary to multiply instances of this sort. The departure of the Church of Rome, in her modern sequence, from the tradition of the ancient Church of God, does not stand alone. It is but one among the many innovations and changes which have arisen in the Roman system. And those who I98 THE MODERN ROMAN USE. may desire to introduce the modern Roman ritual into the Church of England should bear these things in mind. The testimony of Dr. Rock, that some of these innovations have not emanated from "even a provincial, much less a general council," is of it- self sufficient to indicate how irregular and unor- thodox they are. It may be said with truth that in matters of ritual the Church of Rome has broken away from her ancient moorings. It does therefore seem to be wrong, in fact disloyal to the Church of England, for English Churchmen to endeavour to conform the usage of their Church, in these mat- ters of ritual, to the modern usages of the Church of Rome. It is said that at the Soissons Cathedral green vest- ments are now worn at Eastertide, and indeed at all other seasons of the Christian Year ; (*) while to sup- port this new-fangled use the Soissons Churchmen appear to have manufactured for themselves a rit- ual reason why. This is indeed a most outrageous departure from the lines of ancient Christianity. The use of white, as the distinctive colour of Eastertide, is the traditional use of both the Gallican and Bri- tish Churches. To substitute green for white, for Eastertide, indicates to what lengths Ultramontan- ism will go. The whole thing shews at once how unreal and degraded sacred things may become if we ignore historical Christianity, and the traditions of the Law. The use of Soissons is paralleled only by those Priests of the Church of England who mark the festival of Easter by wearing a black stole at the Altar itself, when offering the Holy Sacrifice. Does it much mend matters to say that at Soissons, as in an English Church where this modern use is followed, the white alb, or the white surplice, as the case may be, is still worn ? So long as the green vest- ment is worn by the one Priest, and the black by the other, at the Easter Festival, [neither of which, be it remembered, is authorized either by the Church (') See the treatise, Des Couleurs Liturgiques, by Abbe Malais. THE MODERN ROMAN USE. 1 99 of Rome, or by the Church of England,] it is mani- fest that the traditions of the Law, and the ancient use of Catholic Christendom, are in a measure con- travened. We may see in this parallel the harmony which will always be found to exist in one form or another in those modern schools of religious thought which are not grounded on historical Christianity. Some people might imagine there was not anything in common between Ultramontanism and Protestantism. Yet we find these two modern schools of thought working upon precisely the same lines with reference to the sacerdotal dress worn at Eastertide ; — both ignoring the traditions of the Law, and the consen- sus of ancient Christendom ; and both using colours, the one green, the other black, which are alike un- authorized either by the Law, by the Bible, or by the Catholic Church. CHAPTER XXII. f Iji> Jftnforn Uu of the €\jmdj of (Knglattft. The existing use of the Church of England, with regard to the colour of the sacerdotal dress, presents many anomalies : it indicates, indeed, a strange com- bination of things orthodox and heterodox. In one Parish Church one use is followed ; in an adjoining one, just the reverse ; and so on. And so varied are some of these modern Church of England uses, that it is almost impossible to give any accurate de- scription of them in writing. I will attempt only to allude more particularly to one or two. Having occasion to go into Oxford by the early morning train on May the First, 1878, the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, and the train arriving at the Oxford station just at 8.0 a.m., I was enabled to go to the Early Celebration at the Church of St. Thomas close by. The Priest who offered the Holy Sacrifice wore a red chasuble, in accordance with the tradition of the ancient Church of England, which was orna- mented with a blue orphrey, and gold embroidery. He also wore a white alb which reached down to the ground. And as he stood before the Altar, the only colours visible in his sacred vesture were red, and white, and blue, and gold — four of the mystic colours of " the Law," that have been worn in God's Church upon earth for upwards of three thousand three hun- dred years. This shews that the ancient Faith, and the old liturgical use which symbolises it, are living on still in the Church of England. (') (') Since writing the above I I ing an Early Celebration at St. have had the privilege of attend- I Barnabas', Oxford. The Priest THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 201 This, of course, is one of the bright sides of the picture which the existing Church of England use presents. It is to be feared that in far the greater number of Parish Churches in England, green fron- tals, and black stoles, and violet coloured vestments of one sort or another, are used. This points to one of the dark sides of the picture ; and indicates that the Reformation of our Church, which was first of all set about in the XVI. th century, is not as yet an accomplished fact. Indeed, it is to be feared that unless Convocation does something to correct the general laxity which now prevails in matters of ritual in the Church of England, we may be led away back again into many of the irregularities of the Mediaeval Church. A modern writer, for example, says — " For " Lent, when we serve the Man of Sorrows, brown, " as representing sackcloth, seems the most natural " colour. Violet is altogether too gay for the pur- " pose. For ordinary days, green will do very well." It is the fancy ritual of this sort that does all the harm. Here we may perceive the same tendency which brought about all the mischief in the Mediaeval Church — the tendency to ignore " the old paths," and to substitute man's reason for God's Revelation. It was the introduction of the greens, and browns, and such like colours, which tended to render the Mediaeval Church of England overladen and corrupt ; and it was to correct all such like corruptions that the Reformation was required. It would not be so easy for a layman to write in this strain if the Reformed Church of England had [the Rev. M. H. Noel] wore a blue chasuble of the ancient shape, lined with red : a white alb : and a blue stole, &c. This latter was worn in accordance with the an- cient traditions of our Church, — beneath the chasuble, but with its ends plainly visible below that vestment. These ends of the blue stole were ornamented with gold and red ; the three colours— blue, gold, and red — standing out in ' ity of the age. relief against the white alb, and boldly attesting the ancient Faith in a manner that is no longer pos- sible in any like degree in the Ro- man Church, where the stole of the Celebrant is now unseen. All these things indicate that the true principles of ritual worship, de- signed by God Himself, are still living on in the Church of Eng- land, notwithstanding the infidel- 202 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. authoritatively ordered in her rubrics that the colours black, and green, and violet, and the like, were to be used for the liturgical vestments of the Sanctuary. But she has not done so. The use of these colours rests solely upon the personal predilection of the Clergy in their several Parishes. It is not, therefore, the system of the Church of England, but rather this fancy ritual which has in these days been once again foisted into her system, which it behoves laymen to protest against, as they love their Church. The ornaments rubric in the Book of Common Prayer is clear enough. It is an easy matter to find out from it what has, and what has not, the authority of the Church of England, with regard to the sacer- dotal dress. If we apply the test of this rubric to the use, e.g., of the black chimere, now worn at the Altar by English Bishops, or to the use of the black stole, now worn also at the Altar by some English Priests, we clearly perceive how unorthodox both these liturgical uses are — in other words, that they have not the authority of the Church of England. Let us take the case of the Bishop's chimere first. The ornaments rubric directs that the ecclesiastical dress shall be retained, which was in use in the second year of the reign of King Edward VI. The chimere, therefore, which was worn then is to be worn now. We have ample proof that the chimere then worn by an English Bishop was not black but scarlet. It is thus alluded to by an old writer : — " His upper garment a long scarlet chimere, down " to the feet, and under that a white linen rochet." [Foxe, vi, 641.] This was the use of the Church of England, — a scarlet chimere worn in connection with a white rochet — throughout the reign of Edward VI, and until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth that the black chimere, now worn by English Bishops, first of all came into use. " Hody says, that in the reigns " of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. the Bishops wore " their Doctor of Divinity scarlet habit with their " rochet, the colour being changed for the present THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 203 " ugly and unauthorized black satin chimere late in "the time of Queen Elizabeth." — [Ann. Bk. of Com. Pray., p. 574-]~ Archbishop Parker was probably the first Bishop who wore the black chimere. There is evidence that he wore such at his consecration, December 16 th , 1559. The probability is that the example he then set was followed generally by the Bishops, later on in Queen Elizabeth's reign, as Hody remarks. The black chimere dates, therefore, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; and as the Prayer Book directs an English Bishop to wear a similar chimere to that worn in the second year of the reign of King Edward the Sixth, the present use is manifestly unauthorized by our Church. Thus it may be proved, in one way or another, that all the black, and brown, and green vestments, and the like, as worn nowadays, are worn without the authority of the Church — in other words, that it is not the system of the Church of England that is at fault, but individual usage. It is worthy of note that some of the best of the Bishops who have lived since the Reformation have chosen to wear the scarlet chimere, in lieu of the ugly black one. Archbishop Laud, for example, is said to have worn a scarlet chimere. ( 2 ) And there can be very little doubt that Bishop Cosin wore one also, for he has shewn his predilection for the " Sarum " red in that portrait, in the possession of the present Bishop of Durham, in which he is drawn in a scarlet cope, with hood of white fur. Then with regard to the use of the black stole, and the black cassock, which are as frequently worn at Holy Communion nowadays by an English Priest, as the black chimere is, by an English Bishop. This use, like the use of the black chimere, is wholly un- authorized by the Church. There were no such vest- ments worn at Holy Communion, as a black stole or a black cassock, in the second year of the reign of ( 2 ) The scarlet cap in which 1 is still preserved and shewn at Archbishop Laud was beheaded 1 St. John's College, Oxford. 204 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. Edward the Sixth. Of this we have ample proof. Those Priests, therefore, who adopt this modern use, do so without the authority of the Church. Again it may be said, it is not the system of the Reformed Church of England that is at fault, and the Church that directs this heterodox use : — quite the reverse. Then again, with regard to the violet frontals, and the like, which are nowadays so often used in the Church of England, as in the modern Church of Rome, for the season of Lent. The same may be said of them — these things are not authorized by the Church of England. There was no such thing as a violet frontal used at the season of Lent, or at any other season of the Christian Year, in the second year of the reign of Edward the Sixth. The colour violet has been introduced into England since then, and its use therefore has neither the authority of our Church, or of " the Law." It is indeed most deeply to be regretted that the modern Roman use of violet has supplanted in so many Parish Churches in England, in this XIX. th century, the ancient use of red and purple, in vogue from the earliest ages of which we have any authentic records up to the times of the Reformation. It is really most surprising that so many of the English Clergy should prefer to adopt this modern Roman colour for Lent, in preference to the ancient Church of England use of red. They are doing for our old Church of England exactly what the Ultramontane Churchmen have done for the old chasuble of St. Regnobert — substituting violet for red. There can be no Roman Catholic of any good taste and feel- ing, if he thinks at all about the matter, who does not deplore that the old chasuble of St. Regnobert has been so ruthlessly tampered with : and there can be no English Churchman, if he really thinks at all about the matter, and has any love for those ancient traditions of our Church, which have in themselves tended in no small degree to make our country so great and prosperous, who will not regret that our old Church system and her ecclesiastical colours have in THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 205 like degree been so ruthlessly tampered with, by the pseudodox fancies of the age. And so long as so many of these irregularities are allowed to exist in the Church of England how can she successfully grapple with the infidelity of the age ? " Our danger, my reverend brethren," [said the late Bishop Wilberforce, in his charge of 185 1,] "from " the spirit of infidelity, threatens the great mass on " every side of us. . . . It has little or no direct hos- " tility to a certain form of Christianity. . . . The one " thing which it resists is authority For this " form of unbelief does not attack the doctrine of " the being of a God ; it does not attack a shadowy " undogmatic statement of an atonement. . . . What " it does deny is precisely that truth which the Church " of Christ is embodied to maintain. For this, briefly " stated, is, that God having given to man a reve- " lation of Himself, has appointed the Church a liv- " ing body, constituted by Himself as ' the pillar " and ground of the truth,' to be its keeper and wit- " ness ; that the wilful rejection of that revelation by " any soul to which it is duly presented, is the rejec- " tion of Himself." To apply these words of the Bishop to the subject in question. An English Priest, often it may be for the sake of peace and quiet in his Parish, wears a black stole at the Altar, at the Holy Communion, as his outermost vestment. And the World sanc- tions it — for " it has little or no direct hostility to a certain form of Christianity," as Bishop Wilberforce says, viz. to that which is " undogmatic" which the black stole and its like has been pronounced to be. But let this same Clergyman have the faith and courage to wear at the Altar, at Holy Communion, as his outermost vestment a red chasuble, which is dogmatic : and the World will cry out against it with the utmost vehemence — for " the one thing which it resists is authority." The one coloured vestment, which has it may truly be said neither the authority of the Church of England or of the Law of God, can be and is worn with the utmost license. The other, the use of which has the authority of the Church 205 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. and is directly based upon the Revelation of God, cannot be worn without strife, because its use is a protest against the infidelity of the age. It is the old old story : — the conflict of the Church with the World, of Christianity with infidelity : but it is not the old old story that the ritual of the Church must be lowered to the World's standard. It has been laid down as a fundamental principle by the greatest theologian of the XIII. th century — St. Thomas Aquinas — that the basis of theology, the science of divine things, must be authority, that is, Revelation. The New Testament does not contain any fresh Revelation from God to man of the ritual mode in which the Almighty wills to be worshipped by His creatures upon Earth. Hence the ancient Churchmen turned to the Old. And we may see, all along the lines of the ancient Catholic Church, how entirely her system of ritual worship was based, not upon the World's standard of right and wrong, but, upon the Revelation of "the Law." May we not hope, that when Convocation shall proceed in earnest to grapple with the great ques- tion of ritual worship which is now agitating the Re- formed Church of England, its Divines will make those words of the Psalmist their own ? — " // is good "for me that I have been in trouble : that I may learn " Thy statutes. . . . Lord, what love have I unto Thy " laiv : all the day long is my study in it. . . . It is time "for Thee, Lord, to lay to Thine hand : for they have " destroyed Thy law. . . . Thy righteousness is an ever- " lasting righteousness : and Thy law is the truth." The burning question of the day in the Reformed Church of England is this — what is her true system of ritual worship ? To judge by the variety of uses which now prevail, the subject has not as yet been satisfactorily settled. As the Book of Common Prayer is mainly based upon the lines of the old Sarum use, [vide Ann. Bk. of Com. Pray.] it cannot be disloyal to the Reformed Church of England to advocate a return to it, with THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 207 regard to the use of coloured liturgical vestments. There is nothing in the old Sarum use which is not in accordance with the ornaments rubric of our Prayer Book : nothing, but what was in vogue at that par- ticular period to which the rubric points. It is the one use of all others which admits of a compromise among the different schools of thought in the Church of England at the present day. To those English Churchmen who favour the ritual that has the sanc- tion of the Church of Rome, it ought in some mea- sure to be satisfactory, because the distinctive Sarum colours are sanctioned in the Roman sequence. To those, again, who long for a closer bond of union with the Eastern Church, it ought in some measure to be satisfactory also, because it would once again link on the use of our Church to that which appears to have been the primitive use of the Churches of the East. While to those who love " the old paths " it ought indeed to be satisfactory, for it would re- mind them not only of the ritual use of the ancient Churchmen of this land, but of the sacred writings of the Bible, and of the traditions of the Law. A glance at the foregoing table of colours at the commencement of this book will shew how truly orthodox are the distinctive Sarum colours, red and white. In every age and every clime, wheresoever the Church of God has existed, the use of these two colours has been in vogue. And it is a remarkable fact, as will be seen by the foregoing table, that in the modern Roman sequence they are the only two colours remaining of those which constituted the ancient Levitical use, and, by the consensus of Chris- tendom, the ancient Catholic use. By a continuity of use these two colours, and these alone, have been in vogue in the sacrificial system of God's Church from the beginning — quod semper, quod ubi- que, quod ab omnibus. It is a remarkable fact ; and it tends to indicate the exceeding great orthodoxy of the ancient Sarum use. The comparative table of colours given in the Annotated Book of Common Prayer is not quite 208 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. reliable as regards the old Sarum use. It does not harmonize in all respects with the Salisbury iH£b. before referred to, not yet again with the XVI. th century Sarum Missal. It is, as its author admits, in part "analogically conjectured." In the following table an effort has been made, by reference to ex- tracts from the old Salisbury fHJb., and from the XVI. th century Sarum Missal [Auct. I. Q. inf. i. 56. Bodleian.], to rectify some mistakes which occur in the Table given in the Annotated Book of Common Prayer. The only thing to be remarked is that the Sarum Missal of the XVI. th century does not quite agree with the old Salisbury iH5b. with regard to the use of yellow on Festivals of Confessors, which is prescribed by the former, but not by the latter. It does not appear to have formed part of St. Os- mund's rite j but to have been a late Mediaeval de- velopment. In the following table I have, therefore, given the more ancient use for Confessors' Days ; and also the ancient use for Christmas Day, about which some misunderstanding appears now to exist. Cable of colours according, to Sarum use. Advent Sunday Sundays in Advent . . . Ferials in Advent .... Christmas Day Sunday after Christmas The Circumcision .... The Epiphany Sundays in Epiphanytide Ferials in Epiphanytide . Septuagesima Sunday . . Sundays till Eastertide . Ferials till Eastertide . . Ash Wednesday Maundy Thursday .... Good Friday Holy Saturday Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red Red THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 209 Easter Day White. Sundays in Eastertide White . Eerials in Eastertide White . Rogation Days ; White . Ascension Day White . Ascensiontide White . Whitsun Day Red . . Trinity Sunday Red . . Sundays in Trinitytide Red . . Ferials in Trinitytide Red . . Festivals of Blessed Virgin Mary .... White . F. of St. John in Christmastide White . F. of the Holy Cross Red . . F. of St. Michael and All Angels .... W T hite . F. of Apostles : not in Eastertide . . . . Red . . F. of Evangelists : not in Eastertide . . j Red . . F. of Martyrs : not in Eastertide ! Red . . F. of Confessors ( 3 ) White . F. of Holy Innocents ! Red . . F. of Virgins : not martyrs j White . Dedication of a Church White . It is most devoutly to be hoped that the ancient Sarum use will not be misunderstood. When red or white vestments are prescribed by it to mark this or that season, it does not imply that only the one colour or the other is to be worn by the Priest. Such has never been the usage of the Church of England. Her use appears to have been, as in the Levitical Church, to enrich and beautify her sacer- dotal vestments with embroidery worked in the mystic colours of the Law. So that a Priest of the ancient Church of England, wearing a red or white chasuble thus embroidered, conformed both to the ritual use of his Church, and to the ceremonial Law ( 3 ) Pope Innocent III. says : — Albis induitur vestinn ntis infesti- vitatibus Coufessorum et Virginitm ; Rubeis in solemnitatibxis Apostolo- rum et Marlyrum. And this also seems to have been the early Sa- rum use : of that there can be very little doubt. 210 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. of his God — the very perfection of all ecclesiastical usage. With regard to the ancient use of red for Christ- mas Day, some misunderstanding appears to exist. It is true that the Christmas colour is not directly referred to in the Sarum rubrics. But by comparing one with another we may clearly perceive what the ancient use was. One Sarum rubric says — " But let " them wear red vestments on all Sundays through- " out the year, when the Sunday falls without " Eastertide." By comparing this with the old Salis- bury JHj&., which says — " On Christmas Day, after " the Te Deam laudamus, let a Priest of higher rank " sing the first Mass, the service of which is to be " performed as on Sunday " — we may clearly per- ceive that red and not white was the colour pre- scribed by Saint Osmund for Christmas Day, and anciently worn in the Church of England. Red, too, seems the more fitting colour for Christ- mas Day. Just as white is the colour of highest dignity : so red is the colour of honour and dis- tinction. And it is preeminently the martyr's colour, being the colour of blood : even Virgins, who are martyrs, are honoured by the use of this colour to mark their festival, according to the old Sarum rite. How right and fitting therefore does it seem that this colour should be used on Christmas Day, to do honour to the festival of the Nativity of Him, the Prince of Martyrs. Some misunderstanding appears also to exist with regard to the Sarum use for the Circumcision, which some modern calendars give to be white. There is nothing to prove that this was the ancient Sarum use. On the other hand there is evidence which seems to indicate that red was used at this festival according to Saint Osmund's rite. Then again would not red, rather than white, seem the more fitting co- lour to mark the festival which commemorates the first shedding of His Precious Blood ? There is no doubt whatever that some of the old THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 211 Church of England red vestments were much richer and more elaborately worked than others. And if the thought should occur to any one that the old Sarum use is not very serviceable or desirable now- adays because it does not make distinction enough between seasons, as for example, between Advent and Christmastide, we must bear in mind this ; — it is possible to have a plain set of red vestments for the one season, and a richly embroidered set for the other. It would indeed be possible to make quite as much or more distinction in this way to mark the different seasons, as by mere change of colour, like as in the Church of Rome. With regard to the colour of the vestments which were worn at a funeral, it is not quite clear what the old Sarum use was. One thing is certain, the black chasubles now used in the Church of Rome were discarded in the ancient Church of England. The probability is that at the Celebration the co- loured vestments prescribed for the day were worn ; but that at the grave itself the officiating Priest wore a blue cope over his white alb or surplice. Such a use is indicated in some of our illuminated manuscripts. The colour blue, which is the hue of heaven, typifies the celestial happiness which awaits the faithful departed. If each Church of England " Burial Guild " would provide and keep in readiness a blue cope to be lent at funerals when desired, it would aid in building up our beloved Branch of the Catholic Church upon her old foundations. Then with regard to the modern use of the black cassock at the Holy Eucharist : surely some reform is needed here, especially in these days of short surplices. It would almost seem as if as little white and as much black as possible was looked upon as " the correct thing " nowadays in the sacerdotal dress. There is certainly no authority for any use of this sort A scarlet cassock appears to be the P 2 212 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. traditional use of the Church of England ; and not of the Church of England only, but of the ancient Churches of the East, as we learn on the authority of Germanus. The old Church of England use may be observed e.g. in Edward III.'s Psalter, at the Bod- leian. If a black cope was anciently worn in choir, there would appear to be a good precedent for the use of the black cassock in the choir, and in the pulpit. In fact its use in both choir and pulpit gives dignity and preeminence to the true liturgical ves- ture. But with regard to its use by the Celebrant at the Holy Eucharist the case is wholly different. How simple a matter it would be to rectify this usage. Already in some Parish Churches the aco- lytes are put into scarlet cassocks : why then should not the Celebrant and his Ministers wear them, as in days of yore ? Then again, with regard to the use of the girdle, we may hope that this ancient sacrificial vestment, which has always been looked upon as of so much importance both in the Levitical Church and in the Christian, will one day be again restored to its right- ful position in the system of the Reformed Church of England. A vestment which has been worn in God's Church upon earth from the time of Moses, that is to say, for a period of upwards of three thousand three hundred years, cannot be dispensed with now without loss and injury to our Church. Its use moreover is provided for by the ornameiits rubric, inasmuch as it was in use at the period to which the rubric points : as may be said also of the scarlet cassock. In the Levitical Church the girdle appears to have been the most ornamental vestment worn by the Priest : it was about three inches wide, and of a white material, but richly embroidered throughout with scarlet and purple and blue ; it went round and round the body as Josephus remarks, was tied at the waist, and thence hung loosely down to the ankles. In the ancient Church of England the girdle assumed THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 21 3 much the same proportions, and was worn in much the same fashion. According to the Sarum use the liturgical girdle appears to have been red, [see the XII. th century £&&. Calig. A. XIV. Mus. Brit] and embroidered with gold, and doubtless with the other mystic colours also. Surely the Priests of the Church of England could not do better than follow the same use now. Then again, with regard to the stole, it is most devoutly to be hoped that the day will come when the black stole will no longer be worn at the Altar in the Church of England, either by the Priest who offers the Holy Sacrifice, or by any of his attendant Mi- nisters. A black stole, as I have endeavoured to prove, is illegal in every sense of the word ; for there is not a particle of evidence to indicate that it was ever worn of this colour in the ancient Church of England, or in the second year of the reign of Ed- ward the Sixth. In the ancient Church of England, the stole worn at the Altar harmonized probably in point of colour with the chasuble. When the red chasuble was worn by the Priest, it is most likely that he wore also a red coloured stole : and so on. So nowadays, whenever a stole is worn as the outermost liturgical vestment, i.e. without the chasuble, one would think a Priest could not be doing wrong by wearing a red or white one, according to the season, embroidered at its ends and in the centre [i.e. in three distinct places] with none but the five mystic colours of the Law. This would in some measure, until such time as the cha- suble is again generally worn, help to perpetuate two of the most ancient traditions of the Catholic Church — the combination of the five mystic colours in the vesture of the Priest ; and the play upon the mystic numbers five and three in combination, which is one of the most ancient and scholastic modes of dogma- tizing the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. Then again, with regard to the episcopal dress. 214 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. We cannot expect to get back everything all at once : but we probably might get back at once, without much difficulty, the five mystic colours in the Bi- shop's robes : and the principle upon which the use of these colours is based being once admitted, the general use of the mitre and other episcopal vest- ments, worn in the ancient Church of England, would in time follow as a matter of course, all being based in principle upon one and the same use — the ancient use of the Church of God upon earth. A Bishop of the ancient Church of England ap- pears always to have worn a white rochet and a scar- let chimere, together with other coloured vestments of gold and blue and purple, when he offered the Holy Sacrifice. And although other colours were afterwards introduced and used in the episcopal dress, these five appear to have been retained, and to have been in use, as of yore, in the second year of the reign of Edward VI. It would seem, indeed, as if the weighty words of Saint Jerome had their literal fulfilment in our ancient Church of England system, "for without . . . . the different colours . ... he neither " can enter the Sanctuary, nor assume to himself the " name of Bishop." Then again, with regard to the use of frontals &c. for the Altar, some reform is certainly needed in our existing Church of England use. It should be borne in mind that in the Levitical Church not only were the sacrificial vestments for the Priesthood to be made of the five mystic colours of the Law, but even the hangings of the Sanctuary were to be of the same. Hence the Catholic Church, and the ancient Church of England in particular, retained this use with regard to the coverings of the Altar, as we may perceive by the XVI. th century inventories re- ferred to. But there was one use in particular which remained throughout a distinctive feature of our ancient Church of England system. It was the use of a purple pall for covering the mensa or top of the Altar. We find it THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 215 referred to by Gildas, the most ancient of our His- torians : and we find also from these XVI. th century- inventories that at the Reformation the purple altar- cloth still remained in use. As this is such a vener- able tradition of our Church, it is well to consider whether we should not act rightly by making what is now called the " super-frontal " of purple velvet, and by retaining this for all seasons of the Christian Year. It could of course be embroidered with gold, as of yore : and either embroidered or fringed with silks of orthodox colour along its edge, as at pre- sent ; care being taken that no colours be used in the embroidery or fringe, nor yet in the lining or stitching together of the vestment, save only the mystic colours of the Law. The ancient use of the Church of England with regard to frontals is not so easily ascertained. We know that altar-cloths of cloth of gold, and blue, and purple, and red, and white, &c, were in use in the an- cient Church of England system. Though at what sea- sons these different colours were used is not clear. The Sarum rubrics do not appear to deal with the matter. But I cannot help thinking, judging from the large number of old red altar-cloths which about flve-and- twenty years ago were remaining in so many of our unrestored Village Churches, that the use of a red frontal, or of red and white, was most usual in our country Villages. ( 4 ) There are Parishes in England at the present time where only red and white frontals are used : and it is a question whether any better use for a Parish Church can be adopted. It still leaves to the Cathedral Church of the Diocese the use also of cloth of gold, and blue, and purple fron- tals : and it was at the Cathedral Churches, judging ( 4 ) The constitutions of West- minster, circa A. D. 1229, required in each Church, as the minimum, two Altar frontals and three linen cloths. Judging from other things, I certainly think that red and white must have been the dis- tinctive colour of these two fron- tals, in most Parish Churches. The scholastic symbolism of the 3 + 2 should be noted by the li- turgical student. 2l6 THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. from the old XVI. th century inventories, that these frontals were mostly used. Just one word needs to be said with regard to em- broidery generally. Our modern embroidery will never compare with the opus anglicanum, the old Anglo-Saxon work, unless we can get our Sisters of Mercy who do the work to stick to the old Church of England colours. At the present day in all ecclesi- astical art there is too great a tendency to do a thing simply to look pretty, — forgetting the doctrinal which ought to underlie all pure ecclesiastical art, whether it be stonecutting or needlework. Colours of almost all shades are now again used in modern needlework, as freely as they were in the work of the XV. th and XVI. th centuries. In the Reformed Church of Eng- land these things ought not to be. Certainly for the sacrificial vestments of the Sanctuary, none but good materials of the five mystic colours of the Law ought ever to be used. Even in making up the scarlet cassock care should be taken that no black or brown or other colour unauthorized by the Law be used, even in the stitching or lining. These are, indeed, but little things : but it is in "little things," as Michael Angelo has remarked, that perfection consists. Lastly, with regard to the ancient custom of pro- viding funeral palls to be afterwards made up into vestments for the Priest or the Altar, what a loss it is to our Church of England that the old custom has so fallen into disuse in these days. The appeal which Dr. Rock has made to Roman Catholics upon this matter is so well worded, and so applicable to Eng- lish Catholics also, that I venture to give it in his own words. He says : — " Among the liturgical prac- " tices of old Catholic England, few are more fitting " to be brought back into use than this custom of " strewing the bier with such gifts as may be wrought " up into sacreH garments, or can otherwise help to " ornament the house of God. While the living " show their sorrow for the loss of their dead friend, THE ENGLISH USE IN THIS AGE. 217 " or relative, in a way so lasting and becoming, they " at the same time aid in providing for the decent " administration of the holy sacrifice ; and on each " occasion they happen to behold the vestments, the " frontals, or the curtains made out of their mortuary " offering, they will be reminded to pray for the soul " of him or her in whose behalf that gift was pre- " sented." — [Church of our Fathers, vol. iii, p. 30.] The return to this ancient custom is a matter that rests mainly with the laity. It is, as before pointed out, not only a tradition of the ancient Church of England, but a custom also of the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church to the present day. The material for the sacrificial vestments in the latter Church is said to be supplied mainly from this source. How easy it would be to return to this good old custom, — the laity taking care to present none but palls of or- thodox colour, as in days of yore, to vie with their forefathers in shewing devotion to the Faith. No- thing would perhaps more greatly aid in gaining back to old England's Church her ancient sacrificial vest- ments. It should be the aim and object of every English Churchman, of cleric and laic alike, to make our Church of England great and pure and holy, as in the days of yore, when she gained for this land the appellation of " the island of Saints." That she may once again be " conspicuous above all other Churches " like the sun in the heavens, diffusing its light every- " where, and supplying their defects," as the ancient Churchman of A.D. 1256 says of the Church of Sarum, is indeed a great and noble aim. But it can only be truly realized by building upon her old foundations. CHAPTER XXIII. Ctfttriaaifltt. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: " Fear God, and keep His commandments : for this is " the whole duty of many [Eccle. xii. 13.] The gist of all that has gone before is this, — the Law of God is of more paramount importance than any ordinance of man. That Law, with regard to the colour of the sacrificial vesture to be worn in God's Church upon earth, is most clearly set forth in the Sacred Canon. And the object of this book is to shew that in the ancient Christian Church, in age after age, and century after century, the Law was revered, especially under our old Church of Eng- land system. From the days of St. John the Divine to the early years of the English Reformation — the period to which the " ornaments rubric " in our Book of Common Prayer points — there are indications that the same five mystic colours were in vogue, as in the Levitical Church of old. Dr. Wordsworth says : — "On the one hand, the Jew- " ish Church was taught by the Apocalypse to look "forward to the Gospel as the fulfilment of the Law " and the Prophets, and, on the other hand, the Gen- " tile Christian is encouraged to look backivard to the " Law and the Prophets as his own Teachers ; and " the Law and Prophets are recognized by both Jew " and Gentile, as harmonizing with the Gospel." — [In- troduction to the Book of Revelation.'] We, of the Reformed Church of England, are some of those Gentile Christians the Bishop here alludes to : and we are encouraged by the Bishop's words to look CONCLUSION. 219 backward to the Law as our Teacher. If, in these troublous times, we did so more truly, with regard to the principles of ritual worship, and the colour of the sacerdotal dress, as did the English Church- men of old, the two Dispensations of the Law and the Gospel would once again harmonize in these matters, as under the ancient and venerable system of our Church. In matters of faith and ritual we must be guided by the whole Bible, and not merely by a part of it — by the Old Testament as well as by the New. St. Victorinus, writing in the III. rd century, with refer- ence to the eucharistic anthem described by St. John in Rev. v., says : — " It is the preaching of the Old " Testament, together with that of the New, which " enables the World to sing a new song." St. John also says : — " For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Here the development of God's Dispensations is un- folded. In the older Dispensation but one Reve- lation was vouchsafed, viz. the Law. In the latter, this one Revelation was developed into three, viz. the Law, Grace, and Truth. The development was not from one to two, but from ONE to THREE : the former testifying to THE UNITY of the Godhead : the latter, by a play upon the mystic number three, to THE TRINITY of the Godhead. These were, more- over, the main dogmas of the Faith under the two Dispensations ; the Almighty manifesting forth His Unity under the Old ; and also His Trinity under the New. The science of the symbolism of numbers teaches us that this is the orthodox development in things ecclesiastical ; — from one to three ; from three to five ; from five to seven. Our ancient Gothic groin- ing, for example, is carried out on the principle of this doctrinal development. In it we may perceive the influence of this very gradation of numbers. But one rib was introduced in the first place, springing from each vaulting shaft. This, mainly under Cis- tercian influences, was developed into a cluster of three ribs, rarely or never, into a cluster of two. 220 CONCLUSION. These again, in course of time, were developed into a cluster of five ; and so on, into seven ; but rarely or never, into four or six. In the still further de- velopment in late Mediaeval times beyond the num- ber seven, we find that English Gothic art became less pure in style, and less aesthetically beautiful, be- cause the doctrinal was in a great measure lost sight of. Like as the old Churchmen developed their vault- ing ribs from one to three, upon doctrinal grounds, so we may infer from the writings of the Bible that the true development of the Church's system was threefold, not twofold — Grace and Truth being super- added to the Law. It is the Grace of God, which, as we have been taught by the Saints of old, flows into the Catholic Church by the channels of the seven sacraments, causing the light of spiritual life to glow within her, even as the golden oil, foreseen by the Prophet Zechariah, flowed through the seven pipes of the golden candlestick, and caused the light to burn : — and it is the Truth of God, revealed to us by the Spirit, touching the great mysteries of the In- carnation : — it is these, superadded to the Laiv of God, that reveals the immutable principles upon which He wills to be worshipped by man upon Earth, which together form one grand and perfect Revelation from the Creator to His creature. In the Divine Economy also this development from one to three appears to be a fundamental prin- ciple. For example. In the ages of eternity, before the fall of Lucifer, we gather from the Bible that there was but one place, which we call Heaven, where abode God and the holy Angels. Now the first verse in the Bible reads thus — " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth ;" and we learn from the following verses that " the heaven " here alluded to does not mean God's dwelling place on high, but the whole firmament and its solar sys- tem ; while " the earth " means the globe and its belongings, on which wc live. Thus to Heaven itself CONCLUSION. 221 were superadded both " the heaven " and " the earth." Heaven itself did not cease to exist when the two later creations were called into being. The three were coexisting. Hence the development was from one to three. Again, with reference to the creation of spirits, we observe the same thing. We are taught by the Church that the created Beings in Heaven were, before the fall of Lucifer, pure spirits. That is to say of one nature. But we are also taught that God created man with a threefold nature — body, soul, and spirit — shewing the same development from one to three. Again, we find that the life of Adam's perfect manhood before the fall, developed after the fall into a threefold life in his descendants — youth, manhood, and old age. And again, that the Spirits in Heaven who alone worshipped God in the ages of eternity, are now further developed into three dis- tinct orders of Beings who adore Him — the Spirits in Heaven, the Faithful-departed in Paradise, and the Faithful upon Earth. And so, again, in the development of the Priest- hood in the one true Church of God upon earth, we may observe the very same thing. Melchisedec, the " priest of the most high God," was of the pristine Priesthood. There seems to have been no degree of rank in this Priesthood ; for it was, apparently, of but one order. This, in due course of time, was by God's command developed into a threefold order — ■ High-priest, Priests, and Levites. And this again, into a fivefold order under the New Dispensation — ks.srti HortJ, the twelve apostles, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. And herein we may perceive the development ; from one to three ; and from three to five. It indicates a constant onward progress, a continual increase, a growing, according to laws preordained, exactly corresponding in a degree to that which has been remarked with regard to our Blessed Lord's life upon Earth. " There was from His " infancy a constant onward progress, a continual " increase, a growing, a perfecting of the Manhood " in God through appointed transitions, according to 222 CONXLUSION. " laws preordained for the full completeness of His " Incarnation." — [Carter's Spiritual Instructions on the Holy Eucharist, p. 21.] By these things are we the better able to grasp the meaning of the words — " For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." But there is one thing more to be considered with regard to coloured vestments. It is the testimony of Nature. All Nature is teeming with attestation to the Faith. And it teaches us something with reference to the mystic colours of the Law. That there is some occult secret sympathy be- tween the outer world of Nature and our most holy Faith there can be no doubt. It is in a measure proved by the fact that he who has most faith in God, has also the most love for Nature. Mr. Ruskin has alluded to this. He says : — " We shall find " that the love of nature, wherever it has existed, " has been a faithful and sacred element of human " feeling ; that is to say, supposing all the circum- " stances otherwise the same with respect to two " individuals, the one who loves nature most will " be always found to have more capacity for faith " in God than the other. — [Frondes Agrestes, p. 141.] It was, indeed, this love of Nature, which caused the English Cistercians of the XII. th century to be far better Churchmen in some respects than the Benedictines. The early Cistercians appear to have had an exceeding great love for Nature, surpassing that of the Benedictines. It is shewn, for example, by the care with which they always selected the most beautiful and secluded spots of Nature for their abode. The Benedictine Churchmen were not so particular. And the outcome of this was, as we may now plainly see, the Cistercian architecture of the XII. th century was much more true to those principles which underlie Nature, than was the Bene- dictine : hence, it was more doctrinally pure in style, and more aesthetically beautiful to the eye. Why is it that there is this secret sympathy be- CONCLUSION. 223 tween the natural world and the spiritual ? It is be- cause in both the one and the other the influences of the Spirit of God are at work. There is not a wild flower that grows in our English hedge-rows that is not subject to God's immutable laws of Nature, and to the influences of His Spirit which pervade all Nature, which quicken it into being. It is this which makes the wild flowers so intensely beautiful in their natural exuberance. They are in reality the works of God, that is to say, of the Spirit that proceeds from God. Now it is a most remarkable fact that in these wild flowers of Nature we perceive the same mystic colours which are prescribed in the Law for the sa- cerdotal dress. And it can only be accounted for by considering that in Nature, as in the Church, the influences of God's Spirit are ever at work, and that these holy influences, save when checked by man, produce one and the same result. There are free-thinkers nowadays who tell us that there is no God ; and that Nature is guided and directed by certain occult laws of its own. We Churchmen think otherwise. We believe that God is in Nature, moulding and developing it : — send- ing the beautiful wild flowers to teach us one great lesson : the green leaves and green grass, another : the clouds, another : the foaming ocean, another : and so on. If these modern sceptics could point out to us in our English hedge-rows wild flowers growing with black petals, instead of with those mystic coloured petals of golden yellow, and blue, and purple, and red, and white, which we now find, we might then perhaps be tempted to doubt whether the influences of God's Spirit were indeed still work- ing within Nature, as of yore. But Nature is true, and we do not doubt. But, alas, may it not be said, that although Nature is so true, human nature is not. The answer which we could give back to the infidel to prove to him that there is still a God in Nature, how it recoils upon us when we think of the colour of the liturgical dress — the black chimere 224 CONCLUSION. and the black stole and the like — worn nowadays at the Altar itself by so many of the Priesthood in the English Church. We may see in the king- dom of Nature, as in the one true system of the Church, how that the influences of God's Spirit for upwards of three thousand years, save when checked and frustrated by man, have produced one and the same result. How appalling therefore is the thought, that the divine influences of God's Spirit may in some degree be frustrated, even by His very Priests, at the Altar itself. The full extent to which man's reason has thus marred God's Revelation will pro- bably never be known on this side of the grave. A modern naturalist says : — " Various theories, " more or less satisfactory, have been raised to ac- " count for the fact, though into these we cannot " here go, that almost all our spring flowers are, as " compared with the flowers of summer and autumn, " very pale in colour, white and yellow being the pre- " vailing tints. The stitchwort, the arum or cuckoo- " pint, a plant figured on a preceding plate, the prim- " rose, the hawthorn, and the lady's-smock are but " a few examples that will be noticed in our illustra- " tions, though sufficient possibly to bring out the " point in question. The flowers of the summer in- " cline to richer tints — the rich scarlet of the poppy, " the deep blue of the borage, or the purple of the " meadow cranesbill being fairly typical examples." {Familiar Wild Flowers, by F. Edward Hulme, F.L.S., F.S.A., p. 41.] This author has written the above without any reference whatever to things ecclesiastical, and appa- rently also without any theological bias. His tes- timony is therefore of the greater value in proving the perfect harmony which exists between the true ritual use of God's Church upon earth, with regard to the colours of sacrificial vestments, and the prin- ciples of Nature. Writing simply as a naturalist, and stating facts rather than theories, he alludes only to golden yellow, and blue, and purple, and red, and CONCLUSION. 225 white, as the typical colours of our familiar wild flowers. Nature is true. The principles of Nature are much the same now as in the days of Moses. The colours of the wild flowers have undergone no material change since then. May we not ask our- selves, as the face of Nature is unchanged, whether the change which has come over the Church of Eng- land, more especially in the last 300 years, with re- gard to the colour of her liturgical vestments, is likely to be of God, or of man ? Of the spring flowers few are more beautiful than the common white daisy, or the golden buttercup, both of which grow with such profusion everywhere in England. In some localities, just before hay- harvest, the meadow-lands are like rich golden car- pets, from the myriad yellow blossoms among the grass. Then again, a little later on, between hay-harvest and wheat- harvest, in the early part of the Trinity season, the fields in some places may be seen lite- rally ablaze with the scarlet poppies — beautiful in the perfection of Nature's colouring. And such a sight reminds one of the time when Nature and the ecclesiastical system of our Church were in harmony, when, according to ancient Sarum use, red vestments were then worn. So too, in the autumn, the tints of the wild flowers are very beautiful. There is then to be found the delicate golden cistus, with its five petals and three calyx ; the lovely little scarlet pimpernel ; the de- licate purple corn cockle ; the graceful blue harebell ; the common white moon, with its beautiful golden centre ; and the like. All these suggest to us holy thoughts upon the great mysteries of the Faith, and the Sacrifice of the Altar. And as we contemplate these beautiful flowers of Nature, and the mystic symbolism of their parts, we are minded of the words of the Psalmist — "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works, in wisdom hast Thou made them all." The most perfect harmony exists, indeed, between the things of Nature, and the one true system of Q 226 CONCLUSION. God's Church. It is impossible to gaze up into the beautiful sky on a lovely summer day, and to behold the golden sun, and the blue canopy of space, and the fleecy white clouds which float across it in phan- tom form — all of which, the golden sun, the blue at- mosphere, and the white clouds, may be said to con- stitute the normal atmospheric face of Nature — with- out being reminded of those three mystic colours of the mitre, ordained by God to be worn by Priests of highest rank in His Church upon earth. Gold and white and blue are the three normal colours both of the heavens, the canopy of space ; and of the mitre, the head-covering of God's High-priests. The face of the heavens has undergone no material change since God ordained the Law : how is it that such a vast change, in this respect, has been brought about in the episcopal vesture, in the Church of England ? I have finished. And the thought which is upper- most in my mind is this : — will our Church of Eng- land be ever again built up upon her old foundations, and her system ever again harmonize with the Bible and with Nature. In God's good time it will doubt- less be so ; in generations to come ; if not in ours. In the meantime we must learn to become better Catholics. The character given by Vincentius, the Priest of Lirins, "of the true and genuine Catholic," is this : — one " who loves the Truth of God, and the " Church of God, and the Body of Christ ; who to " the Divine Service and the Catholic Faith prefers " nothing ; not the authority of any man, not human " love, not natural genius, not man's eloquence, not " man's philosophy ; but despising all these things, " and firmly abiding and established in the Faith, " whatsoever he shall perceive the Catholic Church " to have universally held from the beginning, that " alone he declares he must believe and maintain." What a consolation to such an one, when lying upon the bed of death, to see beside him a Priest of God's Church upon earth, clad in sacred vest- ments, like the Saints of old — in the pure white alb CONCLUSION. 227 of the Christian Church, girt about with the mystic coloured girdle of the Law. His soul, forsooth, could depart in peace — shriven, aneled, and houseled — for- tified by the sacraments of Holy Church, and sus- tained by a supernatural faith in THE ONE ATONING SACRIFICE. zanttt : rirtljkrjte : ata : pro jurbis WORKS ON PUpbiiF&fll Errljitprturp anb PUBLISHED BY MESSRS. PARKER AND CO. OXFORD; AND 6, SOUTHAMPTON-ST,, STRAND, LONDON. THE GLOSSARY OF ARCHITECTURE ABRIDGED. A CONCISE GLOSSARY OF TEEMS USED IN GRECIAN, ROMAN, ITALIAN, AND GOTHIC ARCHI- TECTURE. By John Henby Pabkeb, C.B., M.A., F.S.A. A New Edition, revised. Fcap. 8vo., with nearly 500 Illus- trations, in ornamental cloth, 7s. 6d. ARCHITECTURAL MANUAL. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF GOTHIC AECHITECTUEE. 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