albe, the place of which it took, but some two hundred years ago the
surplice was made open in front and fastened at the neck with a button.
The reason for this is that in this way the surplice could be put on
without disarranging the enormous wigs which were worn during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The cassock, to which we have
already alluded, was a long, loose coat or gown, which was worn by both
sexes from the eleventh century onwards. The name was applied to the
coat adopted by foot soldiers in the time of Elizabeth. In the case of
the laity, it was abandoned in favour of the shorter and more convenient
coat.
The black coat of the modern clergy, whom we term "the cloth," no doubt
represents it, while it is of course worn ordinarily by many Roman
Catholic clergy, and some High Churchmen, as an everyday garment, for
which it was originally intended. The row of buttons which now fasten
the long cassocks from neck to the foot have been humorously compared by
Lord Grimthorpe to the close row of rivets on a boiler.
With regard to the development of the more ornamental dress of the
clergy there is a great deal to be said. In the past, two separate
origins for it have been suggested, and to pursue either of these would
be to take us far back into history. It has been claimed, in the first
place, that modern church vestments have been derived from those of the
Levitical priesthood. The other idea is that the ceremonial dress of the
clergy was derived from the civil costume of the Romans. It appears,
however, that careful researches have shown that the decorations
which have given ecclesiastical vestments their highly ornamented
character--in which they resemble certainly those used by the Jews in
Temple worship--have been gradually acquired.
The dress of the ancient Christians was simple, and it seems likely that
owing to the poverty of the early Church rich clothing could hardly have
been adopted. Besides, for many centuries there is no mention of such
vestments as we are considering, and no records as to their having been
derived from Jewish models. On the other hand, everything points to a
more natural origin of the raiment concerned. Flowing garments, as
we have already seen, give dignity, and we find that among the Romans
such were used in dignified leisure or on occasions of state, in
contradistinction to the dress of active existence, which consisted of a
short tunic or chiton. It is with the first kind of dress that we have
to deal.
It consisted of a tunic either short or long, over which was worn the
toga which was capable of the same variety of arrangement as the plaid
which still survives. Even when the toga was given up by the people
generally, on the founding of the Roman Empire, it continued to be used
in certain cases.
It was etiquette to wear a toga when dining with the Emperor or going
to court; advocates wore it, as did clients when they visited their
patrons, and it was also adopted at funerals and when sacrifices were
being made.
On the face of it, it would appear likely that those who ministered to
the early Christian Church would follow the general custom. Nothing,
perhaps, affords better evidence of this having taken place than an
illustration which is considered authentic of St. Gregory the Great with
his father and mother. As Mr. Marriott[26] points out, if it were not
for the Papal pallium--that is to say, the band round his shoulders--on
which crosses are embroidered, and the book of the Gospels which he
holds in his hand, it would be hard to distinguish which was the bishop
and which the senator. (See Figure 128.)
[Illustration: FIG. 128.--St. Gregory the Great with his father
Gordianus, who was a senator, on his right, and his mother Sylvia on his
left. This shows the similarity between ecclesiastical and civil costume
in early times. From an authentic picture (after Marriott).]
From this dress it is claimed, by those who have carefully gone into
the question, that ecclesiastical vestments have been developed. In
connection with this, Mr. Macalister[27] makes the following remarks:
"Fashion in dress or ornaments is subject to constant changes, which,
though perhaps individually trifling, in time amount to complete
revolutions; but the devotees of any religion, true or false, are by
nature conservative of its doctrines or observances. At first the early
Christians wore the same costume both at worship and at home. Fashion,"
Mr. Macalister continues, "would slowly change unchecked from year to
year, while ecclesiastical conservatism would retard such changes as
far as they concern the dress worn at divine service; small differences
would spring into existence between everyday dress and the dress of
the worshipper. These differences, at first hardly perceptible, would
increase as the process went on, until the two styles of costume became
sharply distinguished from one another." In this connection it will be
interesting to mention those vestments which antiquarians have traced to
Roman costume.
The albe takes its name from the _tunica alba_, which was used as a
purely secular garment until the ninth century. It was worn by all the
ministers and deacons, but as the latter had no vestment above the albe,
it came to be the special characteristic of the deacons. Usually, as the
name implies, the albe was white, but in this country coloured albes
were sometimes used.
We have already seen that the surplice was derived from the albe, and
Mr. Marriott has brought forward all the evidence that he can to show
that white was the colour of the vestments at the earliest times in
the history of the Church. His arguments, however, do not seem to
be conclusive, and his inferences do not commend themselves to Mr.
Macalister. The latter thinks, however, that the view that white was the
colour appropriated in primitive times to the dress of the Christian
ministry is preferable to the theory that the early vestments were of
the same elaborate description as their mediæval successors. He is of
opinion, nevertheless, that the passages upon which Mr. Marriott bases
his arguments are quite consistent with a third alternative, namely,
that no distinctive vestments were set apart for the exclusive use of
the Christian minister during the first four centuries of the Christian
era.
The dalmatic was a wide gown or tunic with long full sleeves, which was
derived apparently from the albe and used by persons in high secular
positions before it was adopted by the Church. In the mediæval period
the dalmatic was slit for a short distance up either side and fringes
were added to decorate the slits, the hems, and the ends of the sleeves.
In this style the garment was worn by a bishop. There were, however,
only fringes on the left sleeves and along the left side in the form of
this vestment which was appropriated to a deacon.
Most elaborate explanations were offered by mediæval writers for this
difference, which seems merely to be a matter of convenience for the
deacon, who served at the altar. It was important that he should have
his right side free, and the heavy fringes would have got into his way.
One of the ideas with regard to the fringe was that the absence from the
right side symbolizes our freedom from care in the world to come; but
why, Mr. Macalister asks, was not the bishop to be exempt from care
in the future world? In connection with the coronation of English
sovereigns the dalmatic is still used, as well as representatives of
other ecclesiastical vestments, but to these we shall refer again.
It is not at all unlikely that the stole which a clergyman wears after
the fashion of an untied tie, and which hangs from his neck nearly to
the ground, is really the same thing as our handkerchief, and it is
certain that it was employed originally as a scarf or _orarium_. In many
Roman monuments which are not of an ecclesiastical character, scarves
are worn over the rest of the dress. They pass over the left shoulder,
diagonally, towards the right side, and are fastened under the right
arm. They are not to be confounded with the two bands of purple (or
_clavi_) which on the tunics of senators and other important men ran
round the sides of the neck openings and down to the lower hem.
It is probable that the scarves were used in the same way as favours and
"colours" among ourselves. It is recorded that Aurelian was the first
emperor who distributed "oraria" as presents to the people to be worn as
favours. In this connection we must not forget the ribbons of the
Knightly Orders, which we have already mentioned when speaking of the
baldric.
The Fourth Council of Toledo enacted that deacons should wear their
stoles over their left shoulder so that their right arm might be free to
facilitate the execution of their duties in divine service. An English
church vestment actually goes by the name of the scarf, and is a broad
black band of silk worn in the same way as the stole. It is probably a
modification of some article of university costume, possibly the tippet
(see p. 212), and is worn by Doctors of Divinity and the clerical
authorities of Collegiate and Cathedral bodies.
The outdoor garment which replaced the toga took several forms. One of
these had already been in use for some time as part of the dress of the
lower classes and of slaves. Speaking briefly, it rose in the world, and
emperors even wore it when they were travelling. One form, called the
casula, is of interest to us because it is the forerunner of the
chasuble.
So much attention has been drawn to ecclesiastical vestments of recent
years, owing to the adoption by English High Church clergy of those in
which Roman Catholic priests celebrate Mass, that it may be perhaps
of interest, even at the risk of recapitulation, to consider them. It
should be said at the outset that the stripes of embroidery, which are
often very elaborate and enriched with jewels, which appear on vestments
such as the amice and albe, are called apparels.
To garments which are white and have at times to be washed, these
ornaments are sewn or otherwise attached, so that they can be removed
when it is necessary and replaced. The amice we have not yet mentioned,
as it is of mediæval origin and did not come into our consideration of
the evolution of modern vestments from Roman dress. It was a rectangular
piece of linen, about thirty-six inches by twenty-five inches, with an
apparel sewn along one edge and a cross embroidered in the centre. This
the priest at the present time wears round his neck. The outer garment
or chasuble, which is richly ornamented, we have traced to the garment
which replaced the Roman toga, and as it is without sleeves and has
become heavier, it has been found necessary to slit up the sides. Under
this the stole is worn over the albe, and only its ends appear beneath
the chasuble. (See Figure 129.) There is ornamentation on the sleeves
of the albe, where they show, and on the back and front of it where it
shows below the chasuble.
[Illustration: FIG. 129.--A priest in the vestments now worn at the
celebration of the Eucharist.]
The apparels, according to Druitt, are possibly the remains of the
purple bands and other ornamentations of the Roman tunic, from which
we have seen that the albe was derived. Over the left arm the priest
carries a maniple which is something like a stole. This was originally
made of linen, and worn over the fingers of the left hand. There
is no doubt but that it was once a napkin and, according to Mr.
G. C. Coulton,[28] originally used in the fashion of a modern
pocket-handkerchief. That it was a napkin is shown by quotations from
ancient writers, and there seems no doubt also that many refinements of
Roman civilization, of which the pocket handkerchief was one, were lost
in the later Middle Ages. In fact, the handkerchief only began to come
into general use in polite society about Henry VIII's reign, and the
maniple of the ministrant at the altar must have lost its original use,
or Bernard would not have twice warned him against blowing his nose on
his chasuble or surplice.
When speaking of the handkerchief, there is another use which we may
mention. It was often employed for ceremonial purposes in connection
with the giving of presents, and this idea seems to have come from
Eastern lands, where gifts are wrapped in highly ornamental covers. In
the parable of the talents, one of them, it will be remembered, was
wrapped in a napkin, and even to-day the labourer has his dinner taken
to him in a brightly coloured cotton handkerchief.
Among the special vestments of bishops are the dalmatic, which we have
already described, and the tunicle, which originally did not differ from
it, and began to be worn beneath it about the twelfth century. Others
are the buskins or stockings (which were originally reserved for the
pope), sandals, ring, gloves, and mitre, together with a pastoral staff
adapted from the shepherd's crook.
Archbishops have a cross staff and a pallium or pall which is probably
derived from the same ancestor as the stole, namely the orarium, which,
we have seen, was a favour or distinction granted by the Roman Emperor.
The word pallium has been applied to a number of garments in the past,
many of which were of a flowing character, and some writers have seen
in the archbishop's pall a small vestige of what was once an ample
vestment. Early pictures, however, show the pall looped round the
shoulders with one end hanging in front of the body and one behind. Mr.
Macalister says that it was difficult sometimes to distinguish between
it and the stole, and that the next step in its evolution was to knot
the free ends to the loops as shown in the eighth, ninth, and tenth
centuries. From this it was but an easy step to the final form which
consists of an oval loop with a long tail pendent from each of its ends,
so that when it is worn on the person it makes a capital "Y" on the back
and another on the chest. It should be pointed out that the pall must
not be confounded with the apparel of the chasuble called the orphrey,
which also has a "Y" shape.
In connection with the manufacture of the pall there are some
interesting proceedings. It is made from the wool of two lambs, and they
are solemnly blessed on Saint Agnes's day in the church dedicated in
the name of that saint at Rome. The animals are chosen with special
reference to their whiteness and goodness, and are carried into Rome in
separate baskets, which are slung over a horse's back.
On the way to the church the Pope makes the sign of the cross from a
window over the lambs, and they, after Mass has been celebrated and they
have been blessed by the celebrant, go back to the Pope, who sends them
to a nunnery, where they are shorn and the wool made into palls by the
nuns.
The modern pall has six black crosses on it, but previous to the eighth
century it had sometimes four, sometimes eight, worked in purple.
At first the pall was fastened by gold pins to the chasuble to keep it
in place, but just as ladies now use little lead weights to keep parts
of their dress in position, so lead was used to hold the archbishop's
pall in place. The effigy of Albrect von Brandenburg in 1555, at
Mayence, shows two palls, which probably indicate that he was Archbishop
of Magdeburg as well as of Mayence. This repetition can hardly be
strictly correct, as the pall could only be worn within the Archbishop's
province.
Archbishops in olden days appeared to have had no authority to act
until they received their pall from the Pope. The honour was, however,
bestowed occasionally on bishops. The pall is generally shown on the
coats of arms of archbishops. (See Figure 130.)
The cope is one of the so-called processional vestments. It does not
appear before the ninth century, and is apparently connected with Roman
dress. It was an outer cloak without sleeves, and originally was used
as a protection from the weather at open-air processions in Rome, its
ancestor probably being the lacerna. In a similar way the almuce was a
hood to protect the head, and such articles, as Mr. Macalister says, the
clergy would continue to adopt in their cold and draughty churches or in
open-air processions.
[Illustration: FIG. 130.--The coat of arms of Thomas à Becket. Showing
an archbishop's pall.]
Of monastic habits the earliest was the Benedictine, consisting of a
cassock over which was worn the cowl--a large, loose gown, with hanging
sleeves and a hood attached to it. In the old times the costume of
abbesses and nuns resembled the mourning habit of widows, who often
retired to end their days in a convent. When the English Church was
reformed, the Mass vestments practically disappeared. The first Prayer
Book of Edward VI prescribed for the Holy Communion a white albe,
without any apparels, with a vestment or cope, while the assistant
priest or deacons were to wear albes with tunicles. The cope was also
to be worn with a plain albe or surplice on Wednesdays and Fridays when
there was no communion. The bishop was to wear a rochet, a surplice or
albe, and a cope or vestment. The second Prayer Book prohibited the use
of the albe, vestment, or cope to the minister, allowing him only a
surplice, while the archbishop or bishop was allowed a rochet. The Act
of Uniformity upheld the ornaments rubric of the first Prayer Book of
Edward VI, and this has never been superseded.
The lawn sleeves of the modern bishop developed from the rochet, which
was a kind of modified albe, which at first had a kind of tight-fitting
sleeves or none at all. Over this rochet is worn a black satin chimere,
and as it was difficult to get this over the bishop's sleeves, they were
removed from the rochet and are now fastened to the chimere. The black
scarf we have already considered.
It is customary at the present day for clergy of the English Church to
wear the academical hood of their university degree over their
surplices. This is ordained by the fifty-eighth canon, but ministers who
are not graduates are permitted to wear, instead of hoods, "some decent
tippet of black, be it not silk." It appears that in the time of
Elizabeth, in everyday dress, ministers wore a gown and some of them a
silk hood. The tippet is a survival of the almuce, which we mentioned
in connection with the cope, and is one of the so-called processional
dresses. It must therefore not be confounded with the amice, which is a
truly ecclesiastical vestment.
As bearing on the conservatism of the Church in matters of dress, we
may mention that in Holland, until recent times, the clergy wore a
very old-fashioned dress, or perhaps it may better be described as a
picturesque uniform, consisting of an old three-cornered hat, and a coat
resembling the ordinary evening dress-coat, having a long pleated strip
called "the mantle" hooked on the neck, and obviously being a survival
from an early and more ample gown of some kind. They wore knee-breeches
buckled at the knees, and buckled shoes, but this costume was only used
when the minister was officiating at service.
Some of the heads of the churches in Scotland still adopt a kind of
Court dress.
In turning for a moment again to the everyday dress of the clergy, the
method of fastening the characteristic white choker at the back seems
to have come from the bands. Thackeray in "The Newcomes" uses the name
choker as meaning a white necktie, and it was also applied to the old
leather stocks which the clerical collar, in its stiffness, resembles.
The bishop's hat we have already alluded to, as showing the stage in a
process of cocking, the brim being tied to the crown by strings. The
clerical gaiters we can derive from the old episcopal buskins, while the
apron appears to be a vestige of the cassock to which we have before
referred.
The dress of monks usually consists of a tunic or closed gown and
scapular, while there may be one or more open gowns with a hood at the
back.
Nuns or Sisters of Mercy are so commonly seen in our streets, and
they do so much for the benefit of the poor, and take such a part in
educational matters, that their dress is very familiar to us. It is
difficult to say how old it may not be, and though stiff hoods similar
to those which are now in use by nuns were adopted by women generally
in Tudor times, we find in the head-dress of Henry II's reign the
counterpart of the linen bands which surround the face and hide
the hair. The other garments of nuns may have the same origin as
ecclesiastical vestments, for the dress of the Roman women was very
much like that of the men. (See Figures 128 and 131-133.)
There are, of course, many orders, congregations, and communities of
nuns, but we may describe the dress of one of the latter, and then make
a few additional remarks. In the case of the Kilburn Sisters of the
Church, who are English Catholics--but who have dedicated their lives to
religion in the same way as the Roman Catholic nuns--the indoor dress
consists of a white cap, the descendant of the Norman chin-band, which
fits tightly round the head--as the hair of all nuns is, of course, cut
close--and it is gathered round the face with a string. This cap, if
it comes down low on the forehead, correspondingly covers the chin,
but in many cases the latter is free. Over the white cap in indoor
dress a black veil is worn in the case of professed nuns, a blue veil
by novices, while postulants, who may be taken as corresponding to
probationers in a hospital, wear only a cap, though in chapel they have
a white veil as well. Round the neck of the Sister is a white collar,
which in this case is separate from the cap and buttons on to it at one
side.
This collar, which like the veil may be traced to the wimple of Norman
and later ladies, is also called a breast cloth or a gremial, and may
be, as we have indicated, made in one piece with the cap.
In outdoor dress a stiff white hood is placed over the indoor
head-dress, and over that again comes the outdoor black veil.
It should be mentioned that the Kilburn Sisters now pin their veils to
the sides of their linen caps in exactly the same way that the dame in
the time of the early Plantagenets did her wimple to the sides of her
chin-band.
For working Sisters, the rest of the costume is a habit with skin-tight
sleeves, though there are also most voluminous outer sleeves which are
detachable and can be removed. A small cape is buttoned across the
chest, and the number of buttons corresponds with the letters in the
word "Obedience." An apron is also worn and a thick girdle, to one of
the hanging ends of which a cross is attached. Other Sisters wear a
scapular with shoulder-straps, over a white cape. Nuns are not allowed
to wear gloves, and some orders use sandals, though absolutely
barefooted orders exist.
[Illustration: FIG. 131.--The head-dress of a nun showing the veil and
breast-cloth derived from the wimple, the cap which represents the
chin-cloth, together with the frontal and the hood.]
[Illustration: FIG. 132.--The head-dress of a lady of the time of
Henry II. The wimple is shown covering the chin- and head-bands (after
Calthrop).]
[Illustration: FIG. 133.--The chin-band and forehead strap after the
wimple has been removed (after Calthrop).]
The lay sisters of the community under consideration wear a blue habit
and a white cap with flaps. Some orders, in addition to the white cap,
wear a plain band round the forehead over it, which is called a frontal,
and is seen in the dress of Henry II's time. (See Figures 131 and 133.)
Professed sisters wear a wedding ring on the third finger of their right
hand. The white outdoor stiffened hoods often stand right up from the
head in a very striking way, and sometimes no veils are worn. Some of
the caps, which are made in one piece with the collar, are fastened
under the chin by two strings, and the goffered edges of the collar
recall the bands of the Stuart period.
XXI
SUNDAY CLOTHES
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SUNDAY CLOTHES--THE WEARING OF HATS IN CHURCH BY
LADIES
Sunday clothes are a time-honoured institution, though it is a sign of
the times that many now make no difference between their weekday costume
and that which they wear on the day of rest, or if they do, they only
put on garments which are appropriate to the relaxations in which they
are accustomed to indulge. St. Jerome and St. Clement both exhorted the
early Christian worshippers to wear a special dress for worship, and the
Jews in their synagogues put on a vestment called a talith, which is
used by the whole of the congregation as well as by the officiating
minister.