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THOMAS BAKER
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B1BL. MAJ.
COLLEGE
The Sacred Vestments
DEDIT CELEBRATIONIBVS DECVS
THE
SACRED VESTMENTS
AN ENGLISH RENDERING OF THE THIRD BOOK OF
THE RATIONALE DIVINORUM OFFICIORUM
OF DURANDUS, BISHOP OF MENDE
WITH NOTES
BY THE
REV. T. H. PASSMORE, M.A.
REGB
. MAI
COLLEGE
LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY
LIMITED
Qt, EJunstan s fjouse
FETTER LANE, FLEET STREET, E.G.
1899
S- . . ,
3 Sot)
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
DEDICATED
TO
E. E. B.
FOREWORD
WITH the exception of Neale and Webb s
Symbolism, which is an edited translation of
its first Book Of the Church and its Parts, the
eight Books of the Rationale Divinorum Offici-
orum of Durandus have not, so far as I know,
been rendered into English. This means that
the greatest and most beautiful, perhaps, of
ancient works on the worship of the Catholic
Church is inaccessible to any but readers of
the Latin tongue.
What herein follows is an attempt in part to
supply this defect. In making it I have felt
that should the work fail to find readers (which
would appear unlikely in days when the mind
of all England is strained upon matters litur
gical) the blame will attach to the inefficient
interpreter, not to the pious and gifted author,
of an illustrious book.
For the Catholic Revival, under God, in our
Ube Sacrefc \Destment0
English Church has not yet brought us to that
degree of liturgical perfection, that we can afford
to turn a deaf ear to those great voices of the
past which being dead yet speak to us of the
sacred mysteries, and the virtues which they
signify. The lore of the sanctuary and the
cunning of holy rite can hardly be called strong
points with the English clergy, concede to them
what we will of piety and reverence in heart.
Nor is the cause far to seek, when we consider
how sadly deficient is the ordinary course of
English clerical training as regards that most
necessary instruction in the externals of worship,
without which it is impossible to enter with
fitness upon the holiest of callings. The present
writer may recall, without any invidious feeling
whatever, the utter ignorance of the details of
the offering of the Holy Sacrifice, in which he
entered upon his ministry in the Church, after
having received excellent instruction in both
doctrinal and pastoral theology both at Cam
bridge and at one of the best of our Theological
Colleges.
One has heard it put forth indeed almost
jforeworfc ix
as a boast by many a good priest, that he is no
ritualist. Yet it may be thought strange that
a craftsman should arrogate to himself either
ignorance or inefficiency in any department of
his craft, however subordinate, as a thing to be
vaunted. If Priestcraft, which is the craft or
common business of a Priest, were less anathema
tised and more studied, the Church would be a
gainer at large. Surely it is the solemn duty of
every Priest to be a Ritualist, in so far as touches
the competent and careful discharge of his dread
office in the sanctuary. There is a tendency
even in Catholic minds, especially in times of
Crisis which seem perennial to think and
speak of Ritual a little slightingly, as though it
were the rival of interior or practical piety,
rather than its correlative and helpmeet. We
are reminded of words uttered by a dignitary of
the Church some few years ago, We want happy
homes, not frequent services! But why not both ?
Shall we the better proclaim the precepts or
shepherd the lambs of God, by attending, with
sloven attitude and scanty shift of service, His
awful courts of praise? Shall we take the
Ube Sacrefc Destments
spikenard, due to Him, of the beauty that He
loves, and sell it for three hundred pence ? Nay,
let us bestow all our goods to feed the poor ;
but never rob the sacred treasuries of Him Who
said, Ye shall reverence My Sanctuary : I am
the Lord. For this ought ye to have done, and
not to have left the other undone. The great
motive assigned by Almighty God to the ancient
Pontiff for the reverent offering of the shadowy
sacrifices of the Law was this, that he die not!
What shall we say of the Oblation of the Lamb
that taketh away the sin of the world ?
Yet by God s grace the picture has a brighter
side. And now that the Sacred Vestments of
the Church, in common with many other features
of Christian ceremonial, are by His goodness
so widely revived amongst us (et attendat
studiose sacerdos ut signum sine significato non
ferat) it may surely be supposed that many,
both clergy and laity, will be glad to hear their
story and learn their symbolism, from one of
the greatest and holiest Ritualists that ever
lived. The works of Durandus are always rare
and expensive, and are for the most part ancient
jforeworfc xi
editions printed in Gothic letter, which with its
blackness and frequent abbreviation is dazzling
to the eye, and ill-adapted to a hurrying age.
The mediaeval mysticism of Durandus is
not calculated to be acceptable to all. It has
indeed been objected that he sets out with the
deliberate intention of finding a meaning for
everything. But is not this a laudable inten
tion ? Has not the poet immortalised the spirit
which
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything ?
I will add here, as Shakespeare adds,
I would not change it.
Such a mind at least compares favourably
with the spirit alas ! all too prevalent even
among the pious which is content to take all
things on trust ; which can look unmoved upon
earthly and heavenly mysteries, and ask no
question, feel no Divine curiosity, as to their
birth or message ; which can accept with grateful
calm the immense heritage of the Faith, but
never cares to scrutinise the golden coins that
bear the superscription of the King. Unfortunate
TTbe Sacrefc Destments
were that owner of a vast and beautiful estate,
who should fulfil punctiliously the duties of the
manor s lord, but never open a book in his
library, nor muse before a picture on his gallery-
walls, nor gaze with thoughtful wonder into the
chalice of a single flower in his bright and wide
parterres.
Quite true it is, that many a rite and instru
ment of worship has been born of utility and
new-born of symbolism. The very word Use,
in liturgical phrase, testifies to this. Candles
were burnt for their light, before ever men saw
in them the emblem of the Light of Light. A
maniple was employed for the meanest of uses,
before ever it suggested the righteous portantes
manipulos suos. But this is no argument against
symbolism. It is rather a witness to its heavenly
character. For if men devise a rite with a
definitely symbolic purpose in the first instance,
the charge of human invention will have an air
of plausibility. But if, passing into it impercep
tibly and naturally for its usefulness sake, they
realise afterwards that it is big with heavenly
meaning, then all who behold it will be fain to
x
cry out, A Domino factum est istud, et est mira-
bile in o cults nostris
All along the range of religious experience
the principle holds good. It is often not until
later life that men begin to trace an ordered
design in the seemingly fortuitous happenings
of earlier days. A common stone served Jacob
for pillar at Luz, before ever he saw in it Beth-
El, the House of God. It was a natural thing
that One should ride into Jerusalem on an ass ;
so natural, that His disciples, paying little heed,
understood not these things at the first; but
when Jesus was glorified, then remembered
they. So the innumerable things and uses
which were prest quite naturally into the
service of the early Church were like obscure
seeds cast into the ground ; but it was holy
ground, and sanctified the germs it nourished ;
and these sprang up in God s hour into beautiful
flowers, brightening all the soil and sweetening
all the air around the Tree of Life. For lo, the
winter of obscurity is past, the rain of persecu
tion is over and gone, and the flowers appear on
the earth But men perceived neither fragrance
TTbe Sacrefc Destments
nor beauty, until the north wind awoke , and the
south came, and blew upon My garden, that the
spices thereof might flow out ; and then they
discerned that the thing was from the Lord.
Yet it is not true of our Bishop, that he is
doggedly determined to find or invent a mean
ing for everything. He is willing to leave much
unexplained but by the primary principle of
utility. It must carefully be noted, he says in
his general Proeme, that in the divine offices
there be many customary rites which have,
from their institution, respect neither unto a
moral nor a mystical meaning. Of these, some
are known to have arisen of necessity ; some of
congruity ; some of the difference of the Old
and New Testaments; some of convenience ; and
some for the more honour and reverence of the
offices themselves ; whence saith blessed Austin,
" so many things are varied without number by
the divers customs of divers places, that seldom
or never can those causes be found out, which
men followed in ordaining them." His prin
ciple of finding symbolic reasons for long-
established usages he justifies as follows : The
fforeworO xv
professors of the arts liberal, and of all arts
beside, if there be aught baldly and unadornedly
set forth therein, do give diligence to clothe,
support, and adorn it with causes and with
reasons. Painters moreover, and artificers and
handicraftsmen of what sort soever, do study in
all the divers branches of their works to render
and to have at hand probable reasons thereof.
So also it is unseemly for the magistrate to be
unknowing of this world s laws, and for the
advocate to know nought of that law, wherein
his daily work standeth. For his right to a
certain freedom of exposition, and for his man
ner of using it, he makes this plea : As none are
prohibited (in the law) from using divers grounds
of exception and manners of defence, so neither
are they forbidden to use divers expositions in
the praise of God, provided only that the Faith
be kept whole. And for aught blameworthy in
the book, which may have arisen from lack of
strength or wisdom or leisure, the Epilogue
which will be found inserted at the end of this
work makes ample and humble amends ; leaving
the most sober critic surely fain to admire
a
Sacrefc iDestments
the reverential devoutness, the prevailing Scrip
tural tenour, the humility and dignity tempered
together, and above all things the sanctified
common-sense, of the work wherein the good
Bishop brings out of Holy Church s treasure
things new and old.
In the Notes I have aimed to keep a diversity
of readers in view. References to some authori
ties are given for the sake of those who may
have a special interest in the subject ; while
extracts are in most cases translated, and elemen
tary details are briefly explained, for the benefit
of the less erudite. It has not been thought
necessary to give various readings in every
instance where they occur. In such cases I
have usually employed the variant which seemed
to me clearest, using as a basis the very satis
factory text of my own edition, a Venice folio
of 1491, printed in double columns by Ottaviano
Scotto, and unknown to Hain and Panzer.
This I have corrected by other editions in the
Bodleian where necessary.
The translation is as close as seems consis
tent with English idiom. The quotations from
\
jforeworfc xvii
Holy Scripture, where the Vulgate permits, are
in the words of the Authorised Version, except
in the case of the Psalms, where they are given
in the more familiar language of the Prayer-
Book. The reader who desiderates that contro
versial treatment (as regards Roman claims
and so forth) which so often creeps into editions
of works of this kind, will be under the necessity
of supplying it for himself. Anglicanism is not
paraded, and Romanism is not tiraded. Though
I understand all mysteries, and have not charity,
I am nothing. Moreover, the book is a book
on Ritual, and to that theme the notes are as
far as possible confined. I may add that I have
another and a more extensive Book of the
Rationale in preparation, which I hope to pro
duce should the present work prove acceptable.
It remains but to commend the latter to
the all-wise and all-glorious Father of lights,
in Whose Name and Whose honour alone our
earthly service is offered, and without Whose
acceptance and blessing no worship is holy, no
sacrifice pure. Who hath seen Him, that he
might tell us ? and who can magnify Him as He
Sacrefc Vestments
is ? There are hid yet greater things than these
be, for we have seen but a few of His works. For
the Lord hath made all things ; and to the godly
hath He given ^visdom!
T. H. P.
LONDON :
Feast of St. Dunstan,
1899.
\
MEMOIR OF DURANDUS
WILLIAM DURANDUS was born at Puy-moisson,
in the diocese of Beziers, in Languedoc. There
is some uncertainty as to the date of his birth ;
it was about the year 1230. Having studied
canon law at the university of Bologna, he
obtained his doctor s degree, and afterwards
taught both at Bologna and Modena. By the
year 1 265 the fame of his skill and learning had
reached the ear of Pope Clement IV., who
appointed him Auditor of the Sacred Palace,
Subdeacon and Chaplain to the Pope, and
Canon of Beauvais and Narbonne. He ren
dered good service to Pope Gregory X., as his
secretary, at the Council of Lyons in 1274. In
1277 ne was made spiritual and temporal legate
of the patrimony of S. Peter; and in 1281 he
became Vicar Spiritual, and in 1283 governor
of the temporalities of the rebellious province
TTbe Sacrefc Vestments
of Romagna, taking the lead of the war against
the rebels, and exerting himself to the utmost,
as Captain of the Papal forces, to secure the
Pope s authority. In pacifying this province
Durandus gave proof of great military and
administrative powers. In 1286 Pope Honorius
IV. made him Bishop of Mende, in Languedoc;
but he took possession of the see by proxy, and
so remained in Italy until 1291. During this
time he wrote much, and (it is thought) com
pleted the Rationale. In 1295 Pope Boniface
VIII. offered him the Bishopric of Ravenna,
which he refused. About this time his strength
began to fail, and compelled him to resign office.
He retired to Rome, and closed a brilliant
career by death on All Saints Day, 1296. His
monument is still to be seen in the Church of
Sta Maria sopra Minerva, with a lengthy in
scription enumerating his writings and good
deeds. He was the survivor of sixteen Popes,
and the favourite of many.
Some of the most famous works of Durandus
are the following: Speculum Judiciale or Juris,
first published at Rome in folio, 1474 ; a prac
tical treatise on civil and canon law, which
earned for its young author^ at 34 years of age,
the names Father of Practice, and Speculator.
of smranfcus
XXI
This work passed through thirty-eight editions
between the years 1474 and 1678.
Repertorium Auremn or Breviarium, dedi
cated to Cardinal Matthaeus.
De Modo Condlii Generates habendi.
Commentarius in Concilium Lugdunense.
The Rationale Divinorum Officiorwn, of whose
Third Book a translation is now presented
to the reader, is an exhaustive treatise covering
the whole range of Christian worship. It is
divided into eight Books, to which the theme is
apportioned as follows :
The First Book treats of the Church and its
parts.
The Second, of Church Ministers and
Orders.
The Third, of the Vestments of Bishops,
Priests, and Deacons.
The Fourth, of the Holy Mass and its parts.
The Fifth, of the Divine Offices of the Day
and Night.
The Sixth, of the Sundays and Festivals of
the year.
The Seventh, of Saints Days.
The Eighth, of the Calendar.
It may be of interest to mention that the
Rationale was the first book, from the pen of an
Sacred Destments
uninspired writer, ever printed. The editio
princeps, a magnificently beautiful book, and
perhaps as rare as a book can be, was printed
by Fust in 1459 ; being preceded only by the
Psalters of 1457 and 1459. Besides this,
Chalmers mentions thirteen editions in the
fifteenth, and thirteen in the sixteenth century,
all of which are very rare. 1
The chief writers on Sacred Vestments
with whose works Durandus gives evidence oi
familiarity, are as follows : Josephus, Philo,
S. Jerome (Letter to Fabiola, A.D. 396), Pope
Celestine (A.D. 423-432), S. Isidore of Pelusium
(c. A.D. 412), S. Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-
604), S. Isidore of Seville (c. A.D. 560-636),
Venerable Bede (c. A.D. 673-735), S. Germanus
of Constantinople (c. A.D. 715), Rabanus Maurus
(c. A.D. 822), Amalarius of Metz (c. A.D. 824),
Walafrid Strabo (c. A.D. 842), Alcuin (c. A.D.
800), S. Ivo Carnotensis (c. A.D. 1 100), Hugh of
S. Victor (A.D. 1096-1140), Honorius of Autun
(c. A.D. 1 1 20), Pope Innocent III. (c. A.D. 1200).
1 See Neale and Webb s Symbolism, Preface.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PROEME
PAGE
i. The Vestments may not be worn in common use.
2. The origin thereof. 3. Of the Bishop s Vestments.
4. The meaning of them. 5. That he may not wear
them save he be adorned with their mystic virtues.
6. Of the Bishop, what time he entereth upon his
spiritual combat. 7. Of the Vestments common to
both Bishop and Priest, and of those peculiar to the
Bishop : and of their number and meaning. 8. Of
Six a perfect number ; likewise of Nine. 9. Of the
fifteen Ornaments of the Bishop, and what they por
tend. 10, II, 12. Of the Surplice. 13. Of the
Cope. 14. Of the vain talk of some. 15. Why Clerks
do wear linen Vestments. 16. Of the decree as
touching Ordinations. 17. Divers meanings of the
Vestments of the Christian Priesthood. 1 8. The
Names of all the Vestments in order i
CHAPTER II
OF THE AMICE
I. Of the Amice, its use and meaning. 2. Of the Amice
as wrapt around neck and breast. 3. Of the Amice as
touching the Lord s Incarnation .... 23
XXIV
ZTbe Sacrefc vestments
CHAPTER III
OF THE ALBE
PAGE
i. Of the Albe and its meaning. 2. Ofbyssus. 3,4.
Of the making and form of the Albe in the Old and
New Testaments. 5. Of the sleeves, and of the
length of the Albe. 6. Of the Albe as touching
Christ 28
CHAPTER IV
OF THE ZONE, OR GIRDLE
I. Of the Girdle and its meaning. 2. Of the Undergirdle.
3, 4. Of Continence and Abstinence, as set forth by
them both. 5. Of the Girdle, and the parts it
goeth round. 6. Of its meanings as touching
Christ 33
CHAPTER V
OF THE STOLE
I. Of the Stole and its meaning. 2. Why the Stole
reacheth unto the knees, and is girded.- 3. Why the
Stole goeth over the shoulders, and maketh a cross
upon the breast. 4. Of the Stole in the Priest, and
in the Deacon. 5. Why the Stole is girt round at
the loins. 6. Why the Stole is called Orarium ; and
of the ancient Stole. 7. Of the Stole as touching
Christ. 8. Of certain who may not wear the
Stole 38
CHAPTER VI
OF THE MANIPLE
I. Of the Maniple and its meaning. 2. Why the Man
iple is worn upon the left arm. 3. Of the origin there-
Contents
PAGE
of. 4, 5. Of the Maniple as touching Christ. 6. Of
the Maniple as not worn by the Sacred Ministers, the
while they assist the Bishop when he vesteth . . 47
CHAPTER VI!
OF THE CHASUBLE
i. Of the Chasuble : its name and meaning. 2. Of
Charity, as set forth in the Chasuble. 3. Of the folds
of the Chasuble, and what they signify. 4. Of the
same ; and of the Chasuble as touching Christ. 5. Of
the Chasuble as whole and enclosed, and what it
signifieth ........ 54
CHAPTER VIII
OF THE BUSKINS AND SANDALS
I. Why the feet be clad investments. 2. When and why
the Bishop putteth on the Buskins and Sandals. 3,
4. Of the Buskins and Sandals, their counsel and
warning. 5. Of the Sandals , why they be so called,
and the meaning thereof. 6. Why they be open in
some parts, and closed in others. 7. Of the matter
and colour thereof. 8, 9. Of the latchet and strings of
the Sandals. 10. Of the Sandals as touching Christ.
1 1 . Concerning those who may, and those who may
not, wear the Sandals ..... 62
CHAPTER IX
OF THE UNDERGIRDLE AND VEIL
I. Of the Undergirdle ; and of the Pope s Orale. 2. Of
the Pectoral Cross . . . . . . -73
Vestments
CHAPTER X
OF THE TUNIC
PAGE
I. Of the Tunic and its meaning. 2. Of the two Tunics
of the Old Testament, and what they signified ; also
of the two Tunics of the Bishop. 3. Of the hue of
the Tunic ; and of the Jacinth. 4. Again of the two
Tunics of the Bishop. 5. Of the Tunic as touching
Christ ......... 76
CHAPTER X
OF THE DALMATIC
I. Of the Dalmatic and its origin. 2. Of the name
of the Dalmatic; and of the sleeves thereof. 3. Of
the meaning of the aforesaid sleeves. 4. Why
the Bishop hath more Vestments than the Priest.
5,6. Of the orfreys and fringe of the Dalmatic. 7. Of
its form, and of the meaning thereof. 8. Of its mean
ing as touching Christ. 9. Why the Dalmatic and
Tunic be not worn during Advent . . . .81
CHAPTER XII
OF THE GLOVES
I. Of the Gloves and their meaning. 2. Why the hands
be sometimes covered with Gloves, and sometimes
bare of them. 3. Further meanings of the Gloves ;
and as touching Christ. 4. Why the Gloves be made
of the skins of kids ...... 90
CHAPTER XIII
OF THE MITRE
i. Of the Bishop s Mitre, and of the Pope s Crown.
2. Of the two Horns of the Mitre. 3. Of the two
COtltetltS xxvii
PAGE
Bands of the Mitre. 4. Of the Golden Circlet, the
loftiness, and the bands of the Mitre. 5. Further
meanings of the Mitre ; and as touching them that
wear it. 6, 7. Of the Simple Mitre, and of the
Orfreyed ; and when they be severally worn. 8. Of
the Regnum. 9, 10, n. When the Bishop weareth
the Mitre, and when he putteth it off, at the Holy
Mass ; and the reasons alleged by some 93
CHAPTER XIV
OF THE RING
1,2. Of the Ring and its meaning, as a sign of plighted
love. 3. Of the Ring as a seal ; and of the Finger,
whereon it is worn. 4. Of the Ring as golden, and
round . . . . . . . . .106
CHAPTER XV
OF THE PASTORAL STAFF
i. Of the Pastoral Staff, its origin and meaning. 2. Of
the Names and meanings thereof. 3. Of the Material
and Shape of the Staff, and wherefore it is so. 4. Of
the three Functions of the Staff, as set forth by its
three parts. 5. Of the historical reason wherefore
the Pope useth not the Staff. 6. Of the mystical
reason wherefore the Pope useth not the Staff. 7. Of
the Pastoral Staff as touching Christ . . . .no
CHAPTER XVI
OF THE SUDARIUM
I. Of the use of the Sudarium, and of the meaning
thereof. 2. Of its signification as touching ourselves 118
Ube Sacrefc IDestmcnts
CHAPTER XVII
OF THE PALL
I AGE
i. Of the Pall and its origin. 2. Of the high rank of
them that wear the same. 3. Of the Form, Material,
and Fashioning thereof. 4. Of the circular part of
the Pall, and of the meaning thereof. 5. Of the two
Strips of the Pall, and what they signify. 6, 7. Of
the Pall as double on the leftside. 8. Of the four
Crosses on the Pall, and of the meaning thereof.
9, 10. Of the three Pins fastened in the Pall, and
their meaning. n, 12. Of the use of the Pall as
touching Times and Places. 13. Of the days and
seasons wherein the Pall shall be worn 14. Of the
Palls of the Popes . . . . . . .120
CHAPTER XVIII
OF THE FOUR COLOURS WHICH THE CHURCH
USETH IN HER VESTMENTS
I. Of the Colours which Holy Church useth. 2. Of the
Seasons wherein White Vestments be used. 3. Of
White Vestments at the Dedication of a Church.
4. Of the Seasons wherein Red Vestments be used.
5. Of Martyrdom and Virginity. 6. Of the Seasons
wherein Black Vestments be used. 7. Of the Seasons
wherein Green Vestments be used. 8. Unto these
four all other Colours may be referred. 9. Of the
Seasons wherein Violet Vestments be used 10. Of
the meaning thereof . . . . . . -139
CHAPTER XIX
OF THE VESTMENTS OF THE LAW, OR OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT
I. Of the Vestments of the Law, according unto History.
And first, of the Four which were common unto all
Priests. 2, 3, 4, 5. Of those that were peculiar to the
Contents
PACE
High Priest. 6. Of the Vestments of the Law, accord
ing unto Allegory. 7. Of the same, according unto
Parable __ 8. Of the Linen Coat. 9. Of the Girdle.
10. Of the Long Tunic. ii. Of the Ephod. 12. Of
the Breastplate. 13. Of its fashioning; and of
Urim and Thummim. 14. Of that which standeth
in the stead of the Breastplate to-day 15. Of the
Mitre. 16. Of the Golden Plate. 17. Of the Making
and Colours of the Vestments of the Law. 18. Of the
Pope; and wherefore he weareth red. 19. Of the
reason why he beareth all the Imperial insignia . 1 54
EPILOGUE . . . .181
INDEX .......... 185
THE
SACRED VESTMENTS
CHAPTER I
PROEME
I. The Vestments may not be worn in common use. 2. The
origin thereof. 3. Of the Bishop s Vestments. 4. The
meaning of them. 5. That he may not wear them save he
be adorned with their mystic virtues. 6. Of the Bishop,
what time he entereth upon his spiritual combat. 7. Of the
Vestments common to both Bishop and Priest, and of those
peculiar to the Bishop : and of their number and meaning.
8. Of six a perfect number; likewise of nine. 9. Of the
fifteen Ornaments of the Bishop, and what they portend.
10, 11, 12. Of the Surplice. 13. Of the Cope. 14. Of the
vain talk of some. 15. Why Clerks do wear linen Vestments.
1 6. Of the decree as touching Ordinations. 17. Divers
meanings of the Vestments of the Christian Priesthood.
1 8. The Names of all the Vestments in order.
HERE beginneth the Book of the Vestments
or Ornaments of the Church, as worn by Priests
and Bishops, and other Ministers.
i. It behoveth not to wear the Sacred Vest
ments in the use of everyday. 1 Whereby we
1 Vide Epist. Stephani R. P. ap . Baron, ad An. 260,
B
Ubc Sacrefc Vestments
mark, that even as we make change of vesture
according unto the letter, so we must do also
according unto the spirit. We may not enter
therefore into the Holy of Holies with garments
tainted by the use of common life ; but with a
pure conscience and with clean and holy raiment
must we handle the holy things of God. Where
fore Stephen, 1 Pope, did order that the Sacred
Vestments should not be used, save in the rites
of the Church, and in service meet for God ; as
saith Ezekiel in the forty-fourth chapter, 2 THEY
SHALL NOT SANCTIFY THE PEOPLE WITH
THEIR GARMENTS. One raiment therefore hath
Divine religion, for the Church s Offices ; and
another hath man for common use, to deliver
n. 6 ; Hieron. in c. 44 Ezechiel : < Religio diuina alterum
habitum, etc. Pelliccia thinks that anciently the Altar-dress
was identical in shape with the ordinary civilian dress, which
the clergy merely changed for a similar garb of better quality,
when about to celebrate (Lib. II. i. 8). The Church s Vest
ments certainly seem to have^ become the peculiar dress of the
clergy through growing obsolete among the laity. This is
worthy the consideration of those who condemn them as innova
tions. Bingham dates the distinction from the beginning of the
fourth century, on the ground that Constantine is said (Theod.
lib. ii. c. 27) to have given a rich gold-embroidered Vestment
to Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, to be worn by him when
celebrating Baptism.
1 Gratian, Decretnm, De Consecratione, Distinctio I. c.
xlii. ( Vestimenta ). Stephani Episc. Hilario (Epist. i. c. 5).
2 v. 19.
proeme 3
the lesson of good conversation unto all Christian
folk : to the end that they, being washed from
their former foulness, may be made new men in
Christ. For at such a time the Priest doth doff
the old man with his doings, and putteth on the
new man, made in the image of God. By the
Vestments, moreover, as worn only in sacred
services, we do understand that not all holy
things are to be unfolded unto the people.
Note also that in the days of the Emperor
Ludovic, 1 the son of Charlemagne, the Bishops
and clergy laid aside their girdles wove with
gold, and their exquisite garments and other
trappings of this world.
2. Now the Sacred Vestments seem to have
been taken from the Law of old. For the Lord
gave commandment unto Moses that he should
make for Aaron the High Priest and for his
sons HOLY GARMENTS FOR GLORY AND FOR
BEAUTY, 2 that being washed and clad in sacred
vesture they might discharge their office in the
sanctuary. For by the space of forty days the
1 Louis I., called le Debonnaire, who reigned from 814 to
840 A. D. From the beginning of the sixth century right through
the middle ages there were constant canons forbidding the
gradually-increasing secularity and magnificence of the dress of
the clergy ; notably at the Second Council of Nice (A.D. 787)
the Council of Aix (A.D. 816), etc.
2 Ex. xxviii. 2.
Ube Sacrefc Vestments
Lord did teach Moses to make pontifical and
priestly vestments for His Priests and for the
sons of Levi, yea, ornaments and robes of linen ;
moreover, Miriam l wove and wrought them
unto the use of the ministry of the Tabernacle
of the Covenant. And so it is said in the forty-
seventh chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 2 HE BEAUTI
FIED THEIR FEASTS. There be certain Vest
ments, on the other hand, which are taken from
the Apostles : but both these and those do
signify virtues, and express the ministry 3 of the
Incarnation.
3. The Bishop, of a truth, when about to
celebrate, doth put off his clothes of everyday,
and arrayeth himself in garments pure and holy.
And first, he must put on the Sandals, that he
may be mindful of the Incarnation of the Lord.
Secondly, he placeth upon himself the
Amice, that he may restrain his motions and
his thoughts, his lips and tongue, that he may
have a clean heart, receiving a right spirit
renewed within him.
Thirdly, the Albe, which reacheth to his
1 Durandus says this either (i. ) on the authority of some
tradition, or (ii.) by analogy from the heathen practice recorded
in 2 Kings xxiii. 7, the houses where the women wove hang
ings for the grove.
i Vf IO> 3 V.I. mysterium Incarnationis.
proeme 5
feet ; that he may have enduring purity in his
flesh.
Fourthly, the Girdle, that he may rein in the
impulse of desire.
In the fifth place, the Stole, for token of
obedience.
In the sixth place, the Tunic, which is of
blue, signifying heavenly conversation.
In the seventh place, he doth put on the
Dalmatic, which is holy piety, and the mortify
ing of the flesh.
In the eighth place, the Gloves, that he
refuse vainglory.
In the ninth place, the Ring, that he love
his Bride, the Church, even as himself.
In the tenth place, the Chasuble, which is
Charity.
In the eleventh place, the Napkin, that he
wipe away with penance whereinsoever, through
frailty or ignorance, he is a sinner.
In the twelfth place, he putteth on the Pall,
to shew himself that he imitateth Christ, Who
bare our sicknesses. 1
In the thirteenth place, the Mitre, that he
so live as to be worthy of receiving an eternal
crown.
1 S. Matth. viii. 17.
Sacrefc Destments
In the fourteenth place, he taketh the Staff,
which is the authority of power and doctrine.
And after this he goeth upon carpets, 1 that
he may learn to despise the earth, and to be in
love with heavenly things. And with all these
foregoing Vestments he is clad by his Ministers ;
for the angels do minister unto him, that he
may array himself in the garments of the Spirit :
or because he is Vicegerent of Christ, unto
Whom angels minister, and Whom all things
serve.
The Bishop, then, looking toward the north
or toward the east, or the Altar, he may look,
if it be more convenient like a rescuer, a
warrior about to fight with a long-standing foe,
doth put on the Sacred Vestments as one
accoutreth himself with arms, according to the
Apostle, as I shall presently set forth.
4. First, the Sandals hath he for greaves of
war, lest aught of the stain or dust of this
world s affections cleave unto him. Secondly,
with the Amice, as with an helm, he covereth
his head. Thirdly, with the Albe, as with a
breast-plate, he enveloppeth his whole body.
Fourthly, he taketh the Girdle, to a bow, and
1 Tapeta ; called in Old English tapets, coverlets, or
pede cloaths (Pugin).
proeme 7
the Undergirdle 1 to a quiver ; now the Under-
eirdle is that which hangeth down from the
t> C?
Girdle, and wherewith the Bishop s stole is
fastened into the same. In the fifth place, with
the Stole he surroundeth his neck, as one that
brandisheth a spear in the face of his enemy.
In the sixth place, he taketh the Maniple, as
who wieldeth a club. Lastly, with the Chasuble
he covereth himself as it were wilh a shield ;
and with a Book he armeth his hand, as with a
sword. Of all the which I will speak singly in
different wise hereafter.
And so these are the accoutrements where
with the Bishop or the Priest ought to arm
himself, willing to do battle against ghostly
wickedness. For thus saith the Apostle 2 :
THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT
CARNAL ; BUT MIGHTY TO THE PULLING
DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS. And in another
Epistle, that unto the Ephesians, in the sixth
chapter 3 :- PUT YE ON, saith he, THE ARMOUR
OF GOD, THAT YE MAY BE ABLE TO STAND
AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL. STAND
THEREFORE HAVING YOUR LOINS GIRT
1 Succinctorium, a sash, called also succingulum, succincta,
and praecinctorium, formerly worn by all Bishops but now by
the Pope only. (Pugin.) See Ch. iv. of this work, note 4.
2 2 Cor. x. 4. 3 w. 13-17.
SacreD Destments
ABOUT WITH TRUTH, AND HAVING ON THE
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND
YOUR FEET SHOD WITH THE PREPARATION
OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; ABOVE ALL
TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH, WHEREWITH
YE SHALL BE ABLE TO QUENCH ALL THE
FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED : AND TAKE
THE HELMET OF SALVATION, AND THE
SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, WHICH IS THE WORD
OF GOD. Which armour is the foregoing
sevenfold priestly vesture, signifying the seven
fold virtue of the Priest ; and representing more
over the raiment of Christ wherewith He was
arrayed at the time of His Passion, as shall
be said anon.
5. Therefore the Bishop must take earnest
thought, and the Priest give careful heed, that
he bear not the sign without the thing signified :
that is, that he wear not the Vestment without
its virtue ; lest perchance he be as a sepulcre,
whited without, BUT WITHIN FULL OF ALL
UNCLEANNESS. l For what Priest soever
adorneth himself with vestments, and putteth
not on good manners, the more worthy of
respect he seem unto men, so much the more
unworthy doth he become in the sight of God.
1 S. Matth. xxiii. 27.
proeme 9
Wherefore the glory l of the Episcopate is not
approved by the splendour of garments, but by
brightness of souls : since those very adorn
ments which did once delight the eyes of the
flesh did call the rather for those virtues which
were to be understood by their mean ; that
whatsoever those vestments with the gleam of
their gold, the sheen of their jewels, and the
variety of all kinds of broidery, did signify,
might in these latter days shine out in the
conduct and deed of the wearer. For even
amongst the ancients the form did win
reverence for its meaning, and in our own
days the experience of deeds is surer than the
riddle of symbols ; whereof, with other matters,
we read in the Pontifical, where it treateth of
the consecration of the Bishop.
6. So accoutred, then, for his conflict
AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH
PLACES, and for the allaying of the Judge s
1 From this point to the end of the Section Durandus is
quoting, in a somewhat inverted manner, the words of the
Pontificale. They occur in a prayer offered by the Consecrator
( De Consecratione Episcopi, xx.). See also Greg. Sacrum.,
Muratori, Lit. Rom. Vet. ii. 357. The passage had existed,
however, in the Gelasian form IOO years before S. Gregory
(Murat. i. 625). In connection with the Pontificale, it may be
interesting to state that Durandus himself wrote the MS. version
of it at the Vatican Library, No. 4744.
io ftbe Sacrefc Destments
anger against His subjects, he proceedeth to the
Altar, and by the Confession doth renounce the
dominion of the devil, and accuseth himself;
and upon ordinary days the folk, as about to
pray for their champion, do prostrate themselves
upon the ground. When he uttereth the
Collects and other devotions, he doth fight as it
were with all his might against the devil.
When the Deacon before the Gospel upon Fast-
days foldeth back the Chasuble l over his
shoulder, he brandisheth as it were a sword
against the foe. When the Epistle is read, it
is the edicts of the Emperor that are being
proclaimed by the voice of the herald. The
chants are the trumpeters, the precentors ruling
the choir are the generals of the host marshal
ing it unto battle, and as they lead the onset,
others come to their aid ; and the strains of the
Sequence are the plaudits and the praise of
victory. When the Gospel is read, the foe is as
it were wounded with the sword, or scattered
forces after victory are gathered into line. The
1 Durandus says elsewhere : The Deacon, being about to
read the Gospel, taketh off his Chasuble, and folding it in
seemly manner, placeth it upon his left shoulder, and fasteneth it
beneath his right arm, so that it shall fall from his left shoulder
unto his right side after the manner of a Stole ; and keepeth it
in this wise bound upon him until the last Collect after the
Communion, when he putteth it on again as before. (Rat. ii.
De Diacono. )
proeme 1 1
Bishop, the while he preacheth, is the Emperor,
lauding the conquerors ; the Oblations are the
spoils, which the victors share ; and the strains
of the Offertory are the triumph, due to the
Emperor. The Pax l at the end is given unto
the people, as a token of their quiet now that
the foe is overthrown. And at the last the
folk, after leave granted unto them in the Ite
missa est, 2 depart again unto their own with
gladness, for that victory and peace be won.
Wherefore the Priest, willing to celebrate
Mass, must adorn himself with apparel which
agreeth unto his order, and the beauty of his
life must beseem his vesture s splendour.
7. Now in this matter it must be noted, that
there be six Vestments 3 common unto both
1 A small plate, generally of metal, was kissed by the Priest
after the Agnus Dei, and then handed to the people, in token
of the Kiss of Peace. But it is doubtful whether this was in
common use so early as Durandus time, as the first definite
mention of it was in a Council held at Oxford in 1287, about
the time of Durandus appointment to the see of Mende.
Doubtless he means the Kiss of Peace as given personally. See
Rat. iv. 51, De Pacis Osculo.
2 The concluding words of Holy Mass Go, it is done.
3 Durandus gives these as follows : the six powers common
to both Bishops and Priests are to catechise, to baptise, to
preach, to celebrate Mass, to bind, and to loose ; the nine
peculiar to the Bishop, to ordain, to bless virgins, to consecrate
Bishops, to lay on hands (confirm), to dedicate Churches, to
degrade clerics, to call Synods, to consecrate the Chrism, and to
consecrate vestments and vessels. (Rat. ii. De Episcopo. )
12 zrbe Sacrefc Destments
Bishop and Priest, for that there be six matters
wherein standeth such power as belongeth alike
to both. Yet are there nine ornaments peculiar
to the Bishop, because there are nine points
wherein standeth such power as belongeth unto
the Bishop alone. By this reckoning, then, of
Vestments common and peculiar, are signified
the functions common to both Bishop and
Priest, and those peculiar to the former alone.
Of such appointment, moreover, we read both
in the Old and in the New Testament ; for we
are told that the High Priest, beside those
garments which he had in common with the
Priests, had also certain peculiar to himself.
But in the Old Testament there were four
common, and four peculiar, as shall be set forth
in the chapter of the Vestments of the Law ;
and this, indeed, was demanded by mystic
truth, for those Vestments were given unto
carnal and worldly men. For unto the flesh
the number four doth well agree, by reason of
the four Humours ; and unto the world, by
reason of the four Elements. But these other
are assigned unto them that are spiritual and
perfect.
8. For the number six, which is a perfect
number, in that it is made up of its own parts
proeme 13
added together, doth agree unto perfect things.
This is the reason that on the sixth day God
finished the heavens and the earth, AND ALL
THE HOST OF THEM ; and furthermore, being
come in the fulness of time, in the sixth age, on
the sixth day, at the sixth hour, He redeemed
the sons of men. This number, I say, then, is
perfect, because it is made up exactly, if one
count it in the order of its parts. For when we
add one, two, and three, the number six is
fulfilled. For it is divided into three parts,
to wit, one-sixth, one-third, and a half, that
is one, two, and three. The number nine also
doth fit with spiritual things, because there are
nine orders of angels, which according to the
prophet are signified by nine kinds of precious
stones. 1
9. Wherefore there are in all fifteen orna
ments of the Bishop ; and these by their number
do signify fifteen degrees of virtues, which the
Psalmist did mark out by as many Songs of
Degrees. 2 For the Priestly Vestments do mean
virtues, wherewith Priests ought to be adorned :
according unto that of the Prophet, 3 LET THY
PRIESTS BE CLOTHED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS,
1 Ezek. xxviii. 13. 2 Pss. cxx.-cxxxiv.
3 Ps. cxxxii, 9.
14 ftbe Sacrefc IDestments
AND LET THY SAINTS SING WITH JOYFUL-
NESS. And they are called talares, that is,
reaching unto the feet, because the foot is the
end of the body ; by which it is set forth that to
begin a good work sufficeth not, save thou give
attention to fulfil it with perseverance even unto
the end ; but of this more in the chapter of the
Tunic.
Thou seest, then, how that our Bishop putteth
on more than eight Vestments ; whereas Aaron
had but eight, which have their counterparts
to-day ; and this is to say that our RIGHTEOUS
NESS MUST EXCEED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF
THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, if we would
ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. 1
On the other hand it may also be said that our
Bishop hath eight from head to feet, if we
except the ornaments of his feet and hands ; to
wit, the Amice, the Albe, the Girdle, the Stole,
the two Tunics, the Chasuble, and the Pall.
For the vesting of the feet doth the rather
pertain unto our Pontiff than unto Aaron, since
unto the former it hath been said, GO YE AND
TEACH ALL NATIONS. 2
Lastly, beside the foregoing Vestments
appointed unto Holy Orders and Ministers,
1 S. Matth. v. 20. 2 S. Matth. xxxviii. 19.
jproeme 15
there remaineth yet another Vestment of linen,
called the Surplice, which those ought to wear
over their common dress, who have time that
they can give to any of the services of the Altar
and Sanctuary ; as shall be shown in the follow
ing chapter.
10. The Surplice, by reason that it is white,
doth point out the cleanness and purity of
chastity ; as it is written, LET THY GARMENTS
BE ALWAYS WHITE. 1
1 1. And on account of its name it is a figure of
the mortification of the flesh, being called super-
pelliciuiH, surplice, because of old it was wont to
be worn super pellicias tunicas, over tunics of
skin, 2 made of the hide of dead animals ; which
thing is observed in some churches to this day,
and fisrureth how Adam was clad in such skins
o
after his fall.
In the third place it denoteth innocence ;
and therefore is it often put on before all
other sacred Vestments, 3 because they that are
appointed unto the ministry of Divine worship
1 Eccles. ix. 8.
2 Fur robes were worn of old in choir, as a protection
against cold, especially in northern countries such as England ;
and hence the word superpelliciutn is found often in old English
monuments.
3 Priests about to celebrate Mass shall not be without a
Surplice (vestis camisialis) under their Albes (Council of
1 6 Ube Sacret* Destments
ought to count innocency of life the first of all
acts of virtue; according unto that of the
Psalmist, 1 THE INNOCENT AND JUST HAVE
CLOVEN UNTO ME.
12. In the fourth place, by its fulness, 2 it doth
meetly express charity, wherefore it is put on
over profane and common garments, to mark
that CHARITY COVERETH THE MULTITUDE
OF SINS. 3 Lastly by its shape for it is
wrought in the form of a cross it represented
our Lord s Passion, and that they who wear it
ought to crucify the flesh, with its vices and lusts. 4
1 3. In some places surplices are made of linen
chrisoms, 5 which are put upon infants baptised ;
Cologne, A.D. 1260). So also the Canons of the Church of
Liege A D. 1287. Durandus is one of the earliest writers who
mention the Surplice, though it had been in use long before his
time.
Ps. xxv. 21 (Vulgate).
2 Pace those who loudly boast the special antiquity of the
Surplice, it seems certain that it was a modification of the Albe,
made fuller and ampler, to enable it to be worn over the fur
garments of which Durandus speaks ; and that the very rationale
of its existence was to be full, unlike its modern Anglican
development. As late as 1339 * Constitution of Benedict XII.
orders that Surplices be large and ample. We hear much of
the beauty and grace of the close-fitting cathedral surplice.
It is as ugly and ungainly as the girded Albe, its prototype, is
dignified and beautiful.
i S. Pet. iv. 8. 4 Gal. v. 24.
* White cloths which the Priest put on the newly-baptised,
with the words Accipe uestem candidam, quam immaculatam
proeme 17
after the example of Moses, who of the purple
and fine linen and other things offered of the
people in the Tabernacle, did make garments
for Aaron and his sons to put on, when they
ministered in the sanctuary. 1
There is moreover, another Vestment, which
is called the Pluvial 2 or Cope. This is believed
to have been borrowed from the Tunic of the
Law ; wherefore, as that was ornamented with
little bells, so is this embroidered with fringes,
which are labours and cares of this world. 3 An
hood 4 also it hath, which is heavenly delight ;
and it is long, reaching unto the feet, which
signifieth perseverance to the end. In the fore
part it is open, to denote that unto holy livers
eternal life is open, and that their own life ought
to be an open ensample unto others. And
perferas ante tribunal D. N. J. C. , ut habeas uitam aeternam.
It was anciently a long robe, like a hooded Albe.
1 Ex. xxxix. i.
2 Because it was originally a cloak to serve against rain. It
is now principally an Episcopal Vestment, but is worn by Priests
in processions, in Choir, and at solemn functions. It is sup
posed by many to have been the original of the Chasuble.
3 In the sacristy of Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral is still pre
served a Cope, said to have been worn by Leo III., having
small silver bells on its lower edge.
4 The modern ornamental hood on the Cope, dating from
the fourteenth century, is a survival of a real hood, which could
be put over the head.
C
1 8 Ufoe Sacrefc Destments
further, by the Cope we understand the glorious
immortality of our bodies : wherefore we wear
it not, save on the greater Feasts ; having
respect unto the Resurrection to come, when the
elect, laying aside the flesh, shall receive two
garments, rest of soul and body s glory. This
Vestment also, as well beseemeth, is ample
within, nor is joined but by one necessary
fastening l ; because the body, rendered spiritual,
shall in that day by no narrowness cloke up the
soul. And it is provided with a fringe, because
nought shall then be lacking unto our own
perfection, but that which WE NOW KNOW IN
PART WE SHALL THEN KNOW EVEN AS ALSO
WE ARE KNOWN. 2
14. But certain heretics 3 do vainly talk,
affirming that this can nowhere be found in the
New Testament, that Christ or His disciples did
put on the Vestments foregoing ; rashly censur
ing us for that we adorn ourselves with such
things, when as Saint John saith, 4 THE LORD
1 The Morse, a clasp which fastened the Cope before the
breast ; it was, and is, often richly jewelled.
2 I Cor. xiii. 12.
3 Here and there in Durandus and his contemporaries,
we come across passages which would seem to show that
the Protestant spirit is older than it is popularly supposed to
be.
4 S. John xiii. 4.
Iproeme 19
RISING FROM SUPPER LAID ASIDE HIS
GARMENTS, and did after take unto Him none
save only His own ; yet that we do put on many
other than those we ordinarily wear, in the Mass,
wherein we follow that very Feast ; whereas the
Lord hath bidden us beware of them that love
to walk in long garments, saying, BEWARE OF
THE SCRIBES, WHICH DESIRE TO WALK IN
LONG ROBES. 2 They say, too, that we do this
to appear more righteous and better than the
people, in despite of that which is said, YE ARE
THEY WHICH JUSTIFY YOURSELVES BEFORE
MEN ; BUT GOD KNOWETH YOUR HEARTS :
FOR THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED
AMONG MEN IS ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT
OF GOD. 3
But their error is most plainly confounded
by that which goeth before. For in Ezechiel 4
also we read, in the forty-second and forty-fourth
Chapters, WHEN THEY SHALL ENTER INTO
MY SANCTUARY, AND SHALL COME NEAR TO
MY TABLE, TO MINISTER UNTO ME, AND TO
KEEP MY CHARGE, THEY SHALL BE CLOTHED
WITH LINEN GARMENTS, AND NO WOOL
SHALL COME UPON THEM, AND WHEN THEY
1 S. John xiii. 12. 2 S. Luke xx. 46. 3 Ibid. xvi. 15.
4 Ezek. xlii. 14, and xliv. 16, 17, 19.
c 2
Sacrefc Destments
GO FORTH INTO THE UTTER COURT TO THE
PEOPLE, THEY SHALL PUT OFF THEIR GAR
MENTS WHEREIN THEY MINISTERED : AND
THEY SHALL NOT SANCTIFY THE PEOPLE
WITH THEIR GARMENTS.
15. Mark, furthermore, that the doorkeepers,
readers, exorcists and acolyths 1 wear white
vestments, that is to say, Surplice, Amice, Albe,
and Girdle, that in the cleanness of their purity
they may imitate the angels which are the
ministers of God, and may company with them
as it were in the white robe of a body made
spiritual and glorious. Therefore do they wear
vestments of linen, rather than any other ; for
as flax is not brought unto whiteness save by
much toil, so it needeth to pass through many
tribulations, if thou wouldst win to the glory of
the Kingdom.
1 6. By the Council of Mayence 2 it hath been
appointed that the Bishop, at his ordination,
should receive a Stole, a Staff, and a Ring ; the
1 Minor Orders. There are seven of these as given by
Durandus : Cantor, Psalmist, Ostiarius (or Porter), Lector (or
Reader), Exorcist, Acolyth, and Subdeacon.
- It was the Fourth Council of Toledo (A.D. 633, c. 28)
that made this enactment. It is called the Instrumentorum
Traditio, and was looked, upon in the seventh century as an
integral part of the outward sign of the bestowal of Order.
(See Martene, De Rit. Ant. I. viii. 9, 16.)
IPtoeme 21
Priest, a Stole and a Chasuble ; the Deacon, a
Stole and a Dalmatic, 1 and the Subdeacon a
Paten and Chalice ; which all, if they be de
graded, must render up. And by the Council
of Toledo 2 it hath been ruled that the Deacon
shall wear the white Vestment that is, the
Dalmatic only at the time of the Offering,
wherein he readeth the Gospel.
17. Also it is to be observed, that the Vest
ments of the Priest of the Gospel have certain
meanings in regard of the Head, which is Christ,
and certain in regard of the members, albeit
both Head and Members be called by the
Priestly name ; as saith the Psalmist 3 unto the
Head, THOU ART A PRIEST FOR EVER AFTER
THE ORDER OF MELCHISEDECH ; and to the
members saith the Apostle, 4 YE ARE A CHOSEN
1 The words of the Council are c Diaconus, orarium et
albam. But here, as in the next sentence, Durandus interprets
alba as Dalmatic.
2 Gratian, Deer. I. Dist. xciii. ( Diaconus alba tantum
tempore Oblationis et lectionis utatur. ) The Fourth Council
of Carthage, at the end of the fourth century, enacted this
(can. 41). And it seems likely that the true Albe was meant.
The canon probably intended that Bishops and Priests should
wear this Vestment ordinarily, but Deacons only at the time
named. There seems to have been a growing tendency on
the part of Deacons to assume the dress of the higher orders.
It is noteworthy that this is the first mention of the word Alba
technically as denoting a Christian Vestment.
3 Ps. ex. 4. i S. Pet. ii. 9.
Sacrefc IDestments
GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD. There
fore their mystic meanings are to be expounded,
first, as touching that which agreeth unto the
members, secondly as touching that which
agreeth unto the Head, which is Christ. And
after this manner I shall distinguish in every
chapter.
1 8. The six Vestments, then, which be com
mon to both Bishop and Priest, are these :
The Amice. The Stole.
The Albe. The Maniple.
The Zone, or Girdle. The Chasuble.
And the nine which be peculiar to the Bishop
are these :
The Buskins. The Dalmatic.
The Sandals. The Gloves.
The Undergirdle. The Mitre.
The Tunic. The Ring.
The Pastoral Staff.
Of all the which in turn we will go on to
speak, as also of the Napkin, the Pall, and of the
Colours which the Church useth in her Vest
ments ; and also of the Vestments of the Law,
or of the Old Testament.
CHAPTER II
OF THE AMICE.
I. Of the Amice, its use and meaning. 2. Of the Amice as
wrapt around neck and breast. 3. Of the Amice as touching
the Lord s Incarnation.
I. FIRST I must speak of the six Vestments
common to both Bishop and Priest, according
to the foregoing.
The Priest or Bishop who is about to
celebrate, having washed his hands, taketh the
Amice, and covereth his head l with it ; and this
he hath in the stead of the Ephod or Super
humeral, or of the Breastplate of Judgment 2 ;
1 The Amice (aviictus), which is now put round the neck,
is thought by some to have been originally a head-vestment.
There was an old French custom of wearing it on the head at
certain times of the year and in certain parts of Mass, and letting
it fall down over the shoulders at others to signify reverence.
To this day the Priest, in vesting for Mass, rests it on his head
before letting it down over his shoulders. The strings which
are fastened to its corners are crossed over the breast, passed
behind the back, and tied before the breast. It is nowhere
mentioned as a Vestment until the ninth century.
2 Ex. xxxviii. 30. See the last Chapter of this work, 12.
24 Ube Sacrefc IDestments
nay, even now it may be called the Super-
humeral. This signifieth salvation, which is
granted through faith ; whereof also the Apostle
speaketh, saying unto the Ephesians, 1 PUT ON
THE HELMET OF SALVATION. It figureth also
chastity of heart and body, because it goeth
round his reins and breast, and covereth them ;
and though it be put on beneath all other
sacred Vestments, 2 yet it is supreme over all,
for that chastity ought both to dwell within the
heart, and in practice to shine out abroad.
Wherefore it is drawn tight over the reins, for
there desire doth hold his chief sway. More
over, by the Amice is signified that a man
should be strong in good works, for it spreadeth
over the shoulders every way : 3 and it is the
shoulders that be strong unto the carrying-out
of labour, even as the patriarch Jacob saith, HE
BOWED HIS SHOULDER TO BEAR, AND BECAME
A SERVANT UNTO TRIBUTE. 4
There be two strings wherewith the Amice
is tied across the breast ; these are the intention
1 Eph. vi. 17.
2 Martene tells us that the Amice was formerly put on over
the Albe.
* So Hugh of S. Victor, L. i. Erudit. Theolog. c. 45, and
Innocent III., Lib. I. De Myst. Missae, c. 50.
4 Gen. xlix. 15.
tbe Bmtce 25
wherewith, and the end whereunto, our works
must be informed, that they be not done
in the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth. 1 Thus ought not the Priest to live
in idleness, but to labour in good works, accord
ing to that of the Apostle unto Timothy, 2
LABOUR AS A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST.
In certain places a praiseworthy custom holdeth,
that a white shift of linen, or a surplice, should
be put on over the common dress before the
Amice 3 ; whereby faith is understood, which
ought to be had before all things. Again, the
Amice goeth round the mouth of the Chasuble ;
but of this I will treat in the chapter of the
Chasuble.
2. The Amice is drawn tightly round the neck :
and by this is symbolised the subjection of the
voice, for the neck, wherein is the voice, 4 doth
express the act of speaking ; it is therefore held
bound, as it were, lest falsehood pass unto the
tongue therefrom. Yet over the breast and
throat it is drawn but loosely, as shall be
expounded in the chapter of the Girdle. With
1 i Cor. v. 8. 2 2 Tim. ii. 3. 3 See Proeme, p. 15, n. 3.
4 So Fortunatus, Archbishop of Treves, L. ii. De Divin.
Offic. c. 17.
26 Ube Sacrefc IDestments
the Amice also we cover the head, lest, if we
cast the eyes freely every way, we should ponder
unlawful things. And the breast and heart are
covered with it, for the mind of the Priest ought
to be all intent on those things which lie upon
him ; nor may he in that hour relax his heart
unto vanities, or to the unrestrained meditation
of any worldly thing.
3. Further, as touching that which agreeth
unto the Head, even Christ, the Amice, which
overshadoweth the Priest s head, doth represent
that which is described in the Apocalypse, 1 AND
I SAW A MIGHTY ANGEL COME DOWN FROM
HEAVEN, CLOTHED WITH A CLOUD ; and in
Esaias, 2 BEHOLD, THE LORD RIDETH UPON A
SWIFT CLOUD. And the world s Saviour, the
Son of God, the Angel of Great Counsel, coming
to save the world, was veiled as with a cloud,
when He hid away His Godhead in Flesh. For
THE HEAD OF EVERY MAN IS CHRIST ; AND
THE HEAD OF CHRIST IS GOD. 3
The Priest s Amice, then, doth symbolise
this hiding in Flesh ; but it is more particularly
set forth by that Veil 4 which the Holy Father
1 Rev. x. I.
2 Is. xix. I. Vulg. says levetn, not candidam, as Durandus.
3 I Cor. xi. 3.
4 The Fanon or Orale, which (as Georgius tells us, Lib. I.
t tbe Hinice 27
draweth over his head, and of which I will speak
in the chapter of the Undergirdle. And it is
a comely thought that this very thing, which is
typified by the shoes of the feet, is also ex
pressed by the veiling of the head namely, the
lying-hid of the Godhead in Flesh, and Its
revelation through it. For when HE WAS
KNOWN IN JEWRY, AND HIS NAME WAS GREAT
IN ISRAEL l ; then OVER EDOM DID HE CAST
OUT HIS SHOE, 2 and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS DID
HE OPENLY SHOW IN THE SIGHT OF THE
HEATHEN. 3
The Amice doth also represent the fold
wherewith the Jews veiled the Face of Christ,
saying in the twenty-sixth chapter of Matthew, 1
PROPHESY UNTO US, THOU CHRIST, WHO IS
HE THAT SMOTE THEE?
c. xviii. ) is a striped veil of four colours, put on by the Pope
after the Girdle, and turned back over the head. After the
Chasuble is put on, it is brought down over the shoulders and
breast. Durandus gives a similar description of it in the chapter
referred to.
1 Ps. Ixxvi. I. " Ibid. Ix. 8. 3 Ibid, xcvii 2.
4 S. Matth. xxvi. 68.
2 8 Ube SacreD Destmente
CHAPTER III
OF THE ALBE
i. Of the Albeand its meaning. 2. Ofbyssus. 3, 4- Of the
making and form of the Albe in the Old and New Testa
ments. 5. Of the sleeves, and of the length of the Albe.
6. Of the Albe as touching Christ.
i. AFTER the Amice the Priest putteth on him
a shift called the Albe ; and this, being exactly
fitted to all the limbs -of the body, doth show
that there must be nought of excess or looseness
in the life of the Priest, or in his members. By
its whiteness it doth represent purity ; for it is
written, LET THY GARMENTS BE ALWAYS
WHITE ; l and it is made of byssus, or fine linen,
for it is written that FINE LINEN IS THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS. 2
2. Now byssus is Egyptian linen. And
even as linen, or byssus, doth win by cunning,
being beaten with many blows, that whiteness
w/iT-h by nature it hath not ; so also man s flesh,
.Eccles. ix. 8. 2 Rev. xix. 8.
f tbe Blbe 29
being lashed with many stripes in the exercise
of good works, hath by grace that pureness
allotted unto it which by nature it cannot have.
The Priest therefore, according unto the
ApOStle, 2 must BUFFET HIS BODY, AND BRING
IT INTO SUBJECTION, LEST THAT BY ANY
MEANS, WHEN HE HATH PREACHED TO
OTHERS, HIMSELF SHOULD BE A CASTAWAY.
3. The Albe hath also an hood, 3 the pro
fession of chastity ; and a lappet, signifying the
priestly tongue, which bindeth the froward, and
looseth the penitent. Again, this Vestment,
which in the ancient priesthood was called a
linen coat, and in Greek TTO&^S, or the gar
ment which reacheth unto the feet, is said of
old to have been closely-fitting, which pointeth
unto the Jews SPIRIT OF BONDAGE TO FEAR. 4
But in the new Priesthood it is ample, according
1 Comme elle [1 Aube] se blanchit dans 1 eau, et avec des
grands soins, cela nous marque que notre purete" nous vient de
1 cau spirituelle, des larmes qu une sainte penitence nous fait
couler de nos yeux (Explication du Breviaire et dtt Missel,
par M. Raymond Bonal, pretre de Lyons, 1679). See Pugin
under Albe.
* I Cor. ix. 27.
3 So also had the Chasuble, which S. Isidore describes as
casula, uestis cucullata ; and the Colobium, which was prob
ably the prototype of the Tunicle ; also the Cope, with most
Vestments originally designed for outdoor use.
4 Cf. Rom. viii. 15.
30 ZTbe Sacrefc Vestments
to the spirit of adoption, in that LIBERTY
WHEREWITH CHRIST HATH MADE US FREE. 1
It hath also golden broidery and devices 2 for
ornament wrought with varied work in divers
parts, which hinteth of that which the Prophet
saith in the Psalms, 3 UPON THY RIGHT HAND
DID STAND THE QUEEN IN A VESTURE OF
GOLD, WROUGHT ABOUT WITH DIVERS
COLOURS.
4. The Albe is also drawn tight with a
girdle, and this meaneth the strangling of all
carnal pleasure, as the Lord saith, LET YOUR
LOINS BE GIRT. 4
5. And the sleeves of the Albe, as also of
the Tunicle, ought to be tight enow, not too
loose, lest they slip away and leave the arms
bare ; and having apparels at the edges, repre-
1 Gal. v. i.
2 These Apparels, as they are called, which the Albe has
in common with its correlative the Amice, are very ancient.
They formed part of the Vestment even in the old time when it
was a civilian s dress, and were then usually purple (Vopisc.
in Aureliano, c. 48). They were, and still are, sewn in round
the sleeve-edges and the bottom of the skirts ; were very various
in their decoration, and usually angular in shape ; and were
beginning to be specially ornate and extensive at the time when
Durandus wrote.
3 Ps. xlv. 10. All this is closely borrowed from Innocent
III.
S. Luke xii. 35.
f tbe Elbe 31
senting the golden bracelets which by a miracle
did enclose in seemly wise the bare arms of
Saint Martin 1 while he celebrated Mass. By the
Albe also, which covereth the body from above
downwards, is typified that hope which cometh
unto the Church from above through grace,
and through her own merits below. Of this
the Apostle saith, 2 WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE.
And in that it reacheth unto the feet, it pointeth
1 Durandus thus tells the story elsewhere : When he
[S. Martin] was Archbishop of Tours, there came a poor and
needy man unto him, begging for a coat. The Saint granted
the hest, and sent his steward to buy one. The latter went
into the market, and returned after a long while with a cheap
cloak, which one might well have called a paenula (mantle) for
it was paene nulla, next to nothing ! The holy man bade show
it to him ; now it was very short, reaching but unto the knee,
and the sleeves to the elbow ; wherefore he took off his own
cloak and gave it to the poor man, and himself put on this
pauper garment. Not long after this, the Saint made him ready
to say Mass ; when, as he stood at the Altar and at the Preface,
as is the wont of priests, uplifted his hands unto the Lord, the
loose sleeves of the mantle aforesaid slipped back for his arms
were not much covered with flesh and so left his arms bare.
Whereupon there came miraculous bracelets of gold, and
covered his bare arms in seemly manner, and a ball of fire
appeared above his head ; whereby it was made plain that the
Holy Spirit had come down upon him to his comfort, as upon
the Apostles at Pentecost. And hence he is not undeservedly
called Peer of the Apostles, with whom we place him on a par
in the Offices of the Church. (Rat. L. vii. De beato Martino. )
His day (Nov. 11) is a double in the Roman Calendar.
2 Rom. viii. 24.
32 Ube Sacrefc Destments
to perseverance, as was mentioned near the
end of the Proeme of this Book.
6. But as touching that which agreeth unto
Christ, Which is the Head ; the Albe being a
linen vestment, and widely differing from the
clokes made of the skins of dead animals,
wherewith Adam was clad after his fall, doth
picture that newness of life which Christ both
had and taught, and doth give in Baptism unto
us. And concerning this the Apostle saith,
PUT OFF THE OLD MAN WITH HIS DEEDS,
AND PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS
CREATED AFTER GOD. For in the Transfigura
tion HIS FACE DID SHINE AS THE SUN, AND HIS
RAIMENT WAS WHITE AS SNOW 2 ; nay, the
garments of Christ were ever white and clean,
forasmuch as HE DID NO SIN, NEITHER WAS
GUILE FOUND IN HIS MOUTH. 3
This Vestment representeth also the white
robe, 4 which Herod put on Christ to mock Him.
1 Col. iii. 9, 10, and Eph. iv. 24.
2 S. Matth. xvii. 2, and S. Mark ix. 3.
3 i S. Pet. ii. 22. J S. Luke xxiii. 11.
33
CHAPTER IV
OF THE ZONE, OR GIRDLE
I. Of the Girdle and its meaning. 2. Of the Undergirdle.
3, 4. Of Continence and Abstinence, as set forth by them
both. 5. Of the Girdle, and the parts it goeth round. 6. Of
its meanings as touching Christ.
i. Now the Albe must be girded around the
loins of the Priest or Bishop with a Zone or
Girdle, called in the Law and by the Greeks
da/feus, 1 lest it flow down and hinder his steps ;
that no motives may provoke him to relax his
chasteness, whereof the Albe is a type. For the
Girdle doth signify continence, as it is written,
1 See Ex. xxviii. 4, Vulg. Balteus is allied with our word
belt. The Girdle, like most other Vestments, has dwindled
in size. In early times it was larger, and more ornate ; as
iishop Riculfus in his will bequeaths five girdles, one adorned
with gold and precious stones, and four more with gold.
Girdles were used by the ancients as purses ; hence their old
Greek name Koraffeo-fat repositories. See Pelliccia, Lib. I.
c. viii. 2. S. Chrysostom (Horn, in Psal. 48; vol. v. 521)
inveighs against luxury in dress, and especially against golden
girdles. Which secular sumptuousness the Girdle preserved,
long after it had become a Vestment of the Church.
D
34 Ube Sacrefc Vestments
LET YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED ABOUT, AND YOUR
LAMPS BURNING IN YOUR HANDS ; for that in
the loins lust reigneth, as the Lord sheweth,
speaking of the devil, HIS STRENGTH IS IN HIS
LOINS, AND HIS FORCE IS IN THE NAVEL OF
HIS BELLY. 2
2. On the left side of the Bishop there
hangeth down from the Girdle a two-fold
Undergirdle, 3 because there be two things
whereby Chastity is made strong, and without
which it is hardly preserved, to wit, Prayer and
Fasting. Thus the Lord saith, THIS KIND
GOETH NOT OUT, BUT BY PRAYER AND
FASTING. 4
3. With Continence, therefore, ought the
loins to be girded, and under-girded with
Abstinence ; wherefore the Apostle, 5 STAND
HAVING YOUR LOINS GIRT ABOUT WITH
1 S. Luke xii. 35.
2 Job xl. 1 6. It is also good to think of the Girdle as a
type of continence because it is the means of keeping the skirts
out of the mire.
3 In the Caeremoniale S.R.E. it is ordered that the Pope
be vested with a Girdle having a Succinctorium, or sash, hang
ing down on the left side. . . . Pope Boniface was found in
his tomb with a rochet girt about with a sash of leather, covered
with red silk, like to a belt, with four cords of red silk hanging
in front, which fastened the Girdle. (Pugin, Gloss. Ecc. Orn.,
under Girdle. ) See Proeme, p. 7, n. I.
4 S. Matth. xvii. 21. Eph. vi. 14.
f tbe Zone, or (Bfrole 35
TRUTH. But the Undergirdle, which is called
otherwise Perizona or Succingulum, was not
found among the Vestments of the Law. For
though the Priests of the Law, being girded,
must not come at their wives in the time of
sacrifice, yet at other times they were free in
this matter. But nowadays one girdle is
added, for the ministers of to-day must needs
have continence, and therefore they must be
not only girded, but also under-girded.
4. Wherefore the Undergirdle is twofold,
to denote a two-fold chastity : namely, of the
mind, as the Girdle, and of the body, as the
Undergirdle signifieth. And this latter
hangeth, as I have said, from the left side ; for
as the right is mightier than the left, so is
chastity of mind more potent than chastity of
body. Wherefore Saint Gregory saith, ( We
gird our loins, when we restrain the lust of the
flesh through continence.
5. The Girdle doth also fitly designate
temperance. (Of the Undergirdle I have
spoken also in the Proeme 1 of this Book.)
And mark that (as hath been already said) the
breast and throat are but loosely held bound
by the Amice, because their motions are not
1 Sec. 4.
D 2
36 Ufoe Sacrefc Destments
under our power. Elias did sooner shut up
heaven when he prayed that it might not rain,
than his own wrath, when he desired vengeance
for the death of the prophets. 1 The tongue,
too, dwelleth in moisture and dampness, and is
made easily to slip, even as the Prince of the
Apostles did at the word of a damsel deny his
Master. But by the Girdle the reins are bound
strongly and tightly, that we may buffet the
body and bring it into servitude, and may bridle
the motions of lust. 2
6. As touching that which agreeth unto the
Head, even Christ, the priestly Girdle is a
figure of that whereof the Apostle John 3
speaketh: AND I TURNED, AND SAW ONE LIKE
UNTO THE SON OF MAN, GIRT ABOUT THE
PAPS WITH A GOLDEN GIRDLE. By a golden
girdle is intended the perfect love of Christ,
called by the Apostle 4 the LOVE OF CHRIST
WHICH PASSETH KNOWLEDGE, burning within
the heart, and shining forth in works. And
its Undergirdle doth represent that which
Esaias 5 did prophesy, speaking of Christ, AND
RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL BE THE GIRDLE OF HIS
1 Those mentioned in i Kings xviii. 13 as slain by Jezebel.
2 i Cor. ix. 27. 3 Rev. i. 12, 13.
4 Eph. iii. 19. 5 Is. xi. 5.
f tbe Zone, or (Btrole 37
LOINS, AND FAITHFULNESS THE GIRDLE OF
HIS REINS. For again, THE RIGHTEOUS LORD
LOVETH RIGHTEOUSNESS : HIS COUNTENANCE
WILL BEHOLD THE THING THAT IS JUST. 1
And, THE LORD IS RIGHTEOUS IN ALL HIS
WORKS. 2 The two ends of it are the two
natural precepts of the righteousness which
Christ wrought and taught, to wit, Do not
unto others as ye would not have them do unto
you, but as ye would that men should do unto
you, do ye also unto them. 3 It doth there
fore represent Righteousness, having two arms
joined tightly together, that is, to refuse evil
and to do good.
The Girdle signifieth also the scourge, with
which Pilate did scourge Jesus. 4
Ps. xi. 8. *- Ibid. cxlv. 17.
3 Expanded from S- Luke vi. 31. 4 S. John xix. I.
38 Ube Sac^ Destments
CHAPTER V .
OF THE STOLE
I. Of the Stole and its meaning. 2. Why the Stole reacheth
unto the knees, and is girded. 3. Why the Stole goeth over
the shoulders, and maketh a cross upon the breast. 4. Of
the Stole in the Priest, and in the Deacon. 5. Why the
Stole is girt round at the loins. 6. Why the Stole is called
Orarium ; and of the ancient Stole. 7. Of the Stole as
touching Christ. 8. Of certain who may not wear the Stole.
I. AFTER the Girdle the Priest doth put upon
his neck the Orarium, ] or Stole, which is a type
1 Thought to be derived from ora, a border. It has been
thought that the Orarium was in some way distinct from the
Stole. In the Life of S. Livinus we are told that the Saint was
given by S. Augustine of Canterbury, on the day of his ordina
tion, a Stole with an Orarium, enriched with jewels. It may be
that the word was formerly applied to the ornamental border of a
large Vestment now obsolete, which was called Stola ; and that
this Vestment gradually dwindled in size, until nothing was
left of it but the said border, which survived under the inter
changeable names of Orarium and Stole. For the old classical
word <TTO\-I), stola, as is well known, meant a feminine garment
with sleeves, covering the whole person : Hor. Sat. Lib. I. ii.
99, Ad talos Stola demissa. And Pugin tells us that in the
plates of Bosio s Kama Sotterranea the Stole is represented in
its ancient form, with the present Stole as a stripe or orfrey.
Durandus himself, in 6, implies that the Stole was once larger
than it was in his time. Others, however, condemn this view,
f tbe Stole 39
of the light yoke of Christ, or of the yoke of
His precepts, to show that he hath taken the
Lord s yoke upon him. This he doth kiss in
putting it on and off, to mark the consent and
desire wherewith he submitteth himself to that
yoke. And it falleth down from the neck
before, adorning both the right side and the
left ; for BY THE ARMOUR OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
ON THE RIGHT HAND AND ON THE LEFT, 1
that is, in weal and woe, the Priest ought to be
armed, that he be neither broken by misfortunes
nor lifted up by well-being. Wherefore when
the Priest receiveth the Stole in Holy Order,
the Bishop saith 2 unto him, Receive the yoke
Of God, FOR HIS YOKE IS SWEET, AND HIS
BURTHEN IS LIGHT ; that is, sweet in well-
being, and in misfortune light.
2. The Stole reacheth down to the knees,
which are bent by us as showing that we must
be humble and gentle of heart. It signifieth
also patience, whereof it is written, YE HAVE
and connect Orarium with os, the face, regarding the Stole as
having originated from a kerchief or napkin. The etymology of
the word is further touched on in note 2, p. 43.
1 2 Cor. vi. 7.
2 This the Pontifical directs the Bishop to say, while he
arranges the Stole before the Priest s breast in the form of a
cross. Pontificate Rom. Pars I. Titul. XII. viii.
40 Ube Sacrefc Vestments
NEED OF PATIENCE, THAT YE MIGHT RECEIVE
THE PROMISE 1 ; and again, IN YOUR PATIENCE
YE SHALL POSSESS YOUR SOULS. 2 Hence it
ariseth that the Stole is tied in certain knots on
the right and on the left, with the Zone or
Girdle, for virtue doth company with virtue and
succoureth it, lest by some impulse temptation
be stirred up ; which showeth also that both in
things good and in things evil the yoke of
Christ ought patiently to be borne, in the bond
of charity. 3 But unto the foregoing some
Bishops do add these words, May the Lord
clothe thee with the Stole of innocence ; 4 and
this hath respect unto the Stole in its olden
shape, 5 which was typical of innocence.
3. Again, the Stole is crossed 6 over from the
left shoulder of the Priest unto his right side,
while he is ordained, for obedience, taking its
beginning from the active life through the love
1 Heb. x. 36.
2 S. Lukexxi. 19. The A.V. , possess ye, represents the
other reading, Krri<raffdf. But Krrj<re<rdf ( Vulg. possidebitis, and
R. V. ye shall win ) is preferable both as regards authority and
meaning.
3 See Col. iii. 14.
4 More correctly, the Bishop says these words while unfold
ing the Chasuble which the Priest wears folded over his shoulder.
Pontificate, P. I. Tit. XII. xxviii.
See p. 45, n. \.
6 I.e. as being still a Deacon.
<>f tbe Stole 41
of his neighbour, doth pass over into the con
templative life through the love of God. The
length of the Stole meaneth perseverance, and
its two ends hanging down are prudence and
temperance ; thus the Apostle saith unto Titus, !
LET US LIVE SOBERLY, RIGHTEOUSLY, AND
GODLY, IN THIS PRESENT WORLD. But
according to a decree of the Council of Braga, 2
the Priest ought with one and the same Stole,
disposing it equally round his neck and both
his shoulders, to trace and make ready 3 on his
breast the sign of the Cross, as one who is
bidden to live between good and evil fortunes,
yet is not dismayed ; that men may ever mark
him surrounded with the adornment of virtue
upon either shoulder. And whoso shall do
otherwise, saith the decree, he shall be duly
liable to excommunication. Unless indeed one
might deem this decree to have been repealed
1 Tit. ii. 12.
2 The Fourth Council of Braga, c. 3 (A. D. 675). Grat.
Deer. I. Dist. xxiii. c. 9 ( Ecclesiastica ). This refers to the
Priest who is about to celebrate Mass. The Stole was of
course never crossed in this way until it had become contracted
in size. Bishops and Priests alike formerly wore it pendent on
both sides, as do Bishops now.
3 Durandus has preparare. In the canon it is preparet ;
but there is another reading praeferat, bear before him the
Sign of the Cross, which seems much more natural.
42 TTbe Sacrefc Destments
by the general custom of the Church to the
contrary l ; for it is not everywhere that the
two arms of the Stole are thus disposed upon
the breast in the form of a cross. He beareth,
then, the Cross on his breast, the while in his
heart he taketh pattern by the Passion of Christ,
Whose servant he is.
4. The Stole, as I have said, is at once a
yoke and a burthen. It is a yoke, that is,
unto the Priest, and a burthen unto the Deacon ;
and by reason of this the Priest weareth it
around his neck, but the Deacon over his left
shoulder. For on the neck a yoke is worn, but
a burthen is carried upon the shoulder. And if
thou read in Leviticus, thou wilt see that the
Levites only were appointed unto the bearing of
the burthens. Unto the Deacon the Stole
signifieth also a yoke, as I have shewn in
another Book. 2 And it is placed upon his left
1 From this it appears likely that the present custom, which is
in accordance with the Decree, was not very prevalent in
Durandus time. This seems strange, for it has been usual
since about the ninth century, as is testified by ancient repre
sentations, and discoveries of the Stole in tombs crossed over
the breast. However, Durandus says below ( 5) that upon
Bishop and Priest it falleth down upon either side evenly.
2 When he is ordained, the Deacon receiveth the Stole,
which signifieth the yoke of Christ, because it will pertain unto
him to read the Gospel, wherewith he is encompassed as with a
yoke. (Rat. Lib. II. ( De Diacono. )
f tbe Stole 43
shoulder, because it is meet that temporal things
should be subject unto things spiritual ; or else
because it behoveth the right shoulder of the
Deacon to be unencumbered, to the end that he
may go hither and thither the more freely in the
service of the Priest ; whereof also I have
already treated, in that place aforesaid.
5. It is girt round at the loins, that the Priest
may be strong and active against the onslaughts
of lust. But sometimes its forepart is folded
over the left arm only ; and this is drawn from
the Priests of the Law, who while they sacrificed
used to turn back the ends of the girdle over
their shoulders. 1 But upon the Bishop or Priest
it falleth down before on either side evenly,
because Christ, Whose likeness they bear, and
Who kept an even mind in weal and woe
which are denoted by right and left did desire
to lead the dwellers of the earth unto heavenly
things, and did ever bear this thought before the
eyes of His mind.
6. The Stole is also called Orarium, the
Praying- Vestment 2 ; because, whereas it is lawful
1 So Josephus, Ant. Lib. III. c. n : When they prepare
for the ministry of sacrifice, they carry their girdles on the
left shoulder, so as not to be hindered.
* This etymology of the word (pro, to pray) is assigned by
the Fourth Council of Toledo (c. 28 ; A.D. 633). But it bears
44 Ube SacreD Destments
to baptise, to confirm, and to do many other
things which stand in prayer, without the other
Vestments, yet without the Stole it is lawful to
do none of these things, save when driven by
urgent need. At the Council of Tribur l it was
appointed that Priests should not walk, save
when vested with the Stole.
It is to be noted, that the Stole was originally
a white garment flowing down to the feet, such
as the Patriarchs wore before the Law. This
was put on by firstborn sons when they received
their father s blessing ; on which occasions they
offered victims unto God, as though they had
been priests. But when the Albe began to be
worn, the Stole was altered into the form of a
collar. For by the first Stole was understood
the look of being what Bingham calls an ecclesiastical deriva
tion, and is hardly probable. There was a post-classical
orariwn, a handkerchief, which was derived from os. Oculum
ligauit orario (S. Aug. Civ. Dei, xxii. 8, no. 7). This was used
for wiping the face (eic/naye iov TOV irpocranrov). Vide Du Cange,
sub voce. From a scholar s point of view this etymology is far
more satisfactory than either oro or ora.
1 A.D. 895. Burchardus, lib. vi. c. Presbyteri. The Stole
seems to have been the invariable everyday garment of Bishops
and Priests until quite a late date. The Council of Mayence
(A.D. 813) ordered that priests should wear it constantly.
S. Thomas of Canterbury always wore his Stole. Martene
quotes these verses of S. Maur, Abbot :
Deponendo Stolam, quam toto tempore caram
Anni portabat.
f tbe Stole 45
innocence, which was the estate of the first man.
But when he lost his innocence through sin, it
needed that he should recover it as it were
through the Fatted Calf. It remaineth, then,
that we, who fell through disobedience, should
by obedience rise up again ; wherefore we do
rightly bow our necks unto the collar of
obedience, that we may win back the robe of
innocence. 1 For by the Stole which now we
wear, we do accept the obedience of the Gospel
of the Crucified.
7. As touching that which agreeth unto the
Head, even Christ, the Stole, as lying over the
Amice on the Priest s neck, doth signify that
obedience and servitude which the Lord of all
things underwent in order to the salvation of
His own. For He, BEING IN THE FORM OF
1 The thought is involved. Durandus seems to transfer in
i ancy the primal innocence of Adam to the patriarchs, who were
wont, he says, upon receiving their father s blessing, to put on
a large garment called a Stole or robe, and to sacrifice to the
Lord in token that their innocence claimed such blessing as a
right. Whereas for fallen man the birthright can only be
regained through the Sacrifice of Christ, symbolised by the
Fatted Calf, and the Stole with which he is invested is now a
yoke, suggestive of his willingness to submit to that allegiance
which alone shall win him back the garment of righteousness.
Though he does not mention it, Durandus seems to be thinking
of the best robe, which so many Fathers, from Irenaeus down
wards, interpret as the robe of righteousness, as put upon the
Prodigal by his Father.
46 tlbe Sacrefc treatments
GOD, THOUGHT IT NOT ROBBERY TO BE
EQUAL WITH GOD; BUT MADE HIMSELF OF
NO REPUTATION, AND TOOK UPON HIM THE
FORM OF A SERVANT, AND BECAME OBE
DIENT UNTO DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF
THE CROSS. 1 Yet did He neither inherit
originally, nor commit actually, aught worthy of
death.
The Stole is also a figure of the band, where
with Jesus was tied to the column.
8. It hath been appointed 2 in the Canons,
that Subdeacons, Readers, and Singing-Men
may not wear Stoles.
1 Phil. ii. 6, 7, 8.
2 In Cone. Laodic. can. 22 and 23 (A.D. 361) : ov Set
virrjp4rrii> (the Subdeacon) updpiov <po^f7v . . . ov SeT avayvwaTas
$ \l/d\ras up. fyoptiv. The Vestment which the Subdeacons
were to wear was the Tunicle ; the Stole was the mark of
Bishops and Priests. (Grat. Deer. I. Dist. xxiv. c. Non
oportet. ) The office of the Readers (lectores) was to take care
of the Sacred Books, and to read the Scriptures in Church ; that
of the Psalmist or Cantor, to precent and sing.
47
CHAPTER VI
OF THE MAN IPLE
I. Of the Maniple and its meaning. 2. Why the Maniple is
worn upon the left arm. 3. Of the origin thereof. 4, 5.
Of the Maniple as touching Christ. 6. Of the Maniple as
not worn by the Sacred Ministers, the while they assist the
Bishop when he vesteth.
I. FORASMUCH as there is a weariness which
often creepeth upon minds well disposed and
1 This Vestment was called indifferently manipulus,
mappula, sudarium, and phanon ; though the two latter
were strictly speaking names of quite distinct Vestments, as
will be seen in Chs. ix. and xvi. The Maniple was originally
merely a napkin for wiping the hands, carried on the arm,
especially at Mass. After the sixth century it passed, like
many other Vestments, from an utilitarian to a ceremonial
purpose. Its ornamental use seems to have been at first con
fined to the Roman clergy. S. Gregory the Great allowed the
chief Deacons of the Church of Ravenna to wear the Maniple
while attending on the Bishop at Mass, as a great concession
(L. ii. Ep. 54 and 55). The Maniple was anciently worn on
the hand, rather than on the arm ; Archbishop Stigand is so
represented in the Bayeux Tapestry. It is now worn by Bishop,
Priest, Deacon, and Subdeacon, on the left arm ; it varies in
colour and texture with the Chasuble, and, like the Chasuble,
is discarded for processions.
48 Ubc Sacreo iDestmcnts
had in hand for Divine Worship, rendering them
slumbrous with a kind of sluggishness, as saith
the Psalmist, 1 MY SOUL MELTETH AWAY FOR
VERY HEAVINESS ; therefore in the left hand of
the minister who approacheth unto the service
of the Altar is placed a Maniple, which is also
called a Sudarium ; as that he may wipe away
the sweats of his mind and shake off his heart s
heaviness, keeping the watch of good works and
driving weariness and slumber from him. For
the Maniple is a figure of good works and
watchfulness, whereof the Lord saith, WATCH,
FOR YE KNOW NOT THE HOUR WHEREIN
THE SON OF MAN COMETH 2 ; and the Spouse
in the Canticles, 3 I SLEEP, BUT MINE HEART
WAKETH. As a Sudarium it also denoteth
penitence, wherewith the stain of daily indul
gence and the weariness of worldly life are
wiped away ; as it is said, MY SOUL MELTETH
AWAY FOR VERY HEAVINESS 4 ; for the know
ledge of sins, and the weakness of the flesh, are
a weariness unto the soul.
The Maniple signifieth also the reward of
future blessings. Thus in certain places they
wear this Vestment, whose name signifieth also
1 Ps. cxix. 28. 2 S. Matth. xxv. 13.
3 Cant. v. 2. 4 Ps. cxix. 28.
f tbe /Ifeantple 49
a sheaf, 1 on Festivals whensoever Albes are used,
to show that in that life each one shall receive
his due reward ; for THEY SHALL COME AGAIN
WITH JOY, BRINGING THEIR SHEAVES WITH
THEM. 2
The Sudarium of the Subdeacon is made
greater than that of the Priest, for where there
is greater transgression, there is required more
fruit of repentance. 3 But of the Sudarium I
will speak again.
2. The Ministers wear the Maniple upon the
left arm, to show that they must be bound up
as touching earthly things, but untrammelled
unto heavenly. They of old were not thus
bound, for they served God, not only for
spiritual, but also for temporal ends. But we in
this life, whereof the left hand is a type, do
undergo the irksomeness as it were of much
sweating, that is, of pleasure, and other excesses
of the mind. The Maniple, hanging upon the
1 Lat. manifulus, a handful : hence a small bundle of corn,
or sheaf; also a hand-thing, in our sense of the Maniple.
The word also means a band of soldiers, as we should say a
handful of men, or because of the handful of straw on the pole
which in primitive times served for a military standard.
2 Lat. manipulos Ps. cxxvi. 6. A kind of paronomasia,
or play upon words.
3 I.e. as ideally supposing virtue to increase in the measure
of ecclesiastical rank.
5 o Ube Sacrefc IDestments
left arm, denoteth also the faith, which in this
life we must have.
3. The use of the Maniple was not taken
from Aaron, but from the ancient Fathers of the
Church ; as it is written in the Martyrology of
Bede, that Arsenius ! did ever bear a kerchief
in his bosom or his hand, to wipe away the
abundance of his tears. The holy Fathers also,
while they handled the sacred things and cele
brated the Sacraments, had little napkins or
handkerchiefs on their hands, sometimes to
wipe their hands, and sometimes for covering or
reverently handling the things of God.
4. As touching that which agreeth unto the
Head, 2 even Christ, the wearing of the Maniple
on the left hand denoteth this, that Christ won
His Prize while in the way ; for, as I have said,
the Maniple signifieth a prize, as in that Scrip
ture, THEY SHALL COME AGAIN WITH JOY,
BRINGING THEIR SHEAVES WITH THEM ; and
the left hand is this present life, as it is written,
HIS LEFT HAND IS UNDER MY HEAD, AND
1 Arsenius, called the Great, was one of the most famous of
the monks of Egypt. With great asceticism and rigorous stern
ness of character he combined deep penitence for sin. A
mediaeval Collect in commemoration of him speaks of his cease
less floods of tears (A.D. c. 354-45)-
2 The passage following strikes me as one of singular beauty.
f tfoe flfeaniple 51
HIS RIGHT HAND DOTH EMBRACE ME. 1 For
Christ did enjoy His reward at one and the
same time that He was earning it ; He enjoyed
it in His own land, and did merit it on His way
thither, compassing His prize the while he ran
His course, in that He was at once in His native
land and on the way to it : as he said, NO MAN
HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, BUT HE
THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, EVEN
THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN. 2
5. The Maniple is also a figure of the rope
with which Jesus was bound, after that He was
taken by the Jews, as saith Saint John, 3 THEY
TOOK HIM, AND BOUND HIM.
This Vestment is wont to be put upon the
Holy Father after the Chasuble, 4 and there be
many Bishops beside, who observe this.
1 Cant. ii. 6. 2 S. John iii. 13. 3 Ibid, xviii. 12.
4 All Bishops now put on the Maniple after the Confiteor,
after the Chasuble. Pugin says that formerly the great
Chasuble hung down all round the Bishop, and he struck his
breast at the Mea Culpa beneath its folds. Then the
ministers raised it, folded it back over his arm, and affixed the
Maniple. However, Durandus confines this to the Roman
Pontift, and says elsewhere that in his time Bishops put it on
before the Confiteor. These are his words, in effect : The
Bishop, ere he say Confiteor, hath the Maniple put upon him
by the Subdeacon, before the Altar. This for three reasons.
First, because he must receive and administer temporal goods,
not through his own hands, but through the hands of another,
E z
52 Ube SacreD IDestmeuts
6. It is to be noted, that the Deacon and
Subdeacon, in assisting the Bishop to put on
the Sacred Vestments, wear not the Maniple ;
first, that they may do their parts with the
more ease and freedom ; and secondly because
in the discharge of such a duty they ought not
to look for temporal guerdon ; which latter is
one of the meanings of the Maniple, as I have
shown from that of the Psalmist, THEY SHALL
COME AGAIN WITH JOY, BRINGING THEIR
SHEAVES WITH THEM. And while the Bishop
putteth the Vestments on and off, the Deacon
Secondly, because confession with the lips sufficeth not, save it
be followed by the fruit of good works. Thirdly, that he may
be made humble of heart, when he findeth him arrayed with
the badge of an inferior ministry. The Bishop, again, putteth
on the Maniple after the Chasuble, because Christ, Whose
vicegerent he is, did live an heavenly life, or ever He might
win to the reward of His labour. But the Priest putteth on the
Maniple first, for that he cannot attain unto heavenly conversa
tion, unless he first bear the sheaves of holy works. Wherefore
also the Bishop receiveth the Maniple after that he is come to
the Altar, in token that we shall then at length receive the
reward of our labour, when we are come to the tribunal of the
Eternal Judge. (Rat. iv. 7). But the Maniple was anciently
assumed by Priests as well as Bishops after the Confiteor.
Martene says that in a MS. of the Monastery of S. Denis,
written in Charlemagne s time, there occurs after the prayer
for putting on the Chasuble, the following prayer for the
Maniple : Praecinge me, Domine, uirtute, et pone immacu-
latam uiam meam.
tbe /Iftanfple 53
standeth at his right, and the Subdeacon at his
left ; for the Deacon, by virtue of his Order,
taketh that mightier and higher place than the
Subdeacon, which is signified by the right
hand.
54 ZTbe Sacrefc Destments
CHAPTER VII
OF THE CHASUBLE
I. Of the Chasuble : its name and meaning. 2. Of Charity,
as set forth in the Chasuble. 3. Of the folds of the Chasuble,
and what they signify. 4. Of the same ; and of the Chasu
ble as touching Christ. 5. Of the Chasuble as whole and
enclosed, and what it signifieth.
I. LASTLY, over all the Vestments the Priest
putteth on the Chasuble, 1 which is being inter
preted a little cottage. It is called by the
Greeks the Planet, from Plane, a wandering, for
that its border wandereth 2 wide as it is raised
1 The word is derived from casula, a little house. So S.
Isidore (c. A. D. 600), who explains that like a hut, it covers
the entire person (De Origin, xix. cap. 21). It is called also
amphibalum, planeta, and paenula. It seems to have been a
somewhat humble garment at first, being confined to peasants
and artisans ; and it had a hood, as a protection against the
weather. It was long the ordinary outdoor dress of the clergy
and monks, before it passed into the present ecclesiastical
Vestment, so indispensable to, and characteristic of, the Holy
Sacrifice of the Altar. The Council of Ratisbon (A. D. 742)
directs that Priests and Deacons shall wear the Casula out of
doors.
2 So Isidore, De Etyniol. xix. 24. But some ascribe this
t tbe Gbasuble 55
over the arms, signifying Charity, without which
the Priest is as a SOUNDING BRASS, OR AS A
TINKLING CYMBAL. 1 For as Charity covereth
THE MULTITUDE OF SINS, 2 and containeth all
the commandments of the Law and the Prophets,
and is called by the Apostle, 3 THE FULFILLING
OF THE LAW ; so also this Vestment wandereth
over all, and doth enclose and contain all other
Vestments within itself. 4
name to its starlike appearance when folded back. The name
is used more strictly of the folded-chasuble. (Dr. Littledale
thought that the Planeta is represented now by the Chasuble,
and the Casula or Casacula by the Cassock. )
1 I Cor. xiii. I. " I S. Pet. iv. 8.
3 Rom. xiii. 10.
4 The primitive Chasuble, being quite round, enveloped the
whole body. Certain schools sigh for this ancient perfection
of the Chasuble, with its graceful folds. How it can be
possible to desire the renewal of so cumbersome a garment,
with its sides continually slipping over the hands, to the
great peril of the Holy Sacrifice in both paten and chalice ;
or what especial dignity or beauty can reside in a mere circle
of cloth with a hole in the middle for the head, it is hard to
conceive. Were the human figure spherical, it would be all
that could be desired. It was appropriate in its own time and
place. But there is such a thing as old-fashion in the Church
as in the world. We do not revive ordinary garments after
they have become unsuitable ; and there are few sights so
ludicrous or so unbecoming the dignity of Divine worship as
that of a short Priest in an enormous Chasuble. It is not well
that their prevailing horror of modern Romanism should
drive Englishmen to absurdities. Moreover, antiquarian punc
tilio is apt to forget that external matters, in the Church, are
subject to development. Surely the almost universal adoption
56 Ube Sacrefc iPestments
2. Of charity also the Apostle saith, 1 YET
SHOW I UNTO YOU A MOKE EXCELLENT WAY.
THOUGH I SPEAK WITH THE TONGUES OF
MEN AND OF ANGELS, AND HAVE NOT
CHARITY, I AM NOTHING. And again, THOUGH
I HAVE ALL FAITH, SO THAT I COULD REMOVE
MOUNTAINS, AND HAVE NOT CHARITY, I AM
NOTHING. 1 The Chasuble, moreover, is the
Wedding-Garment spoken of by the Lord in
the Gospel, 2 FRIEND, HOW CAMEST THOU IN
HITHER, NOT HAVING ON A WEDDING-GAR
MENT ? Without this, the Priest may never
discharge his office, for it beseemeth him ever
to abide in the bond of charity.
The Amice goeth round the mouth of the
Chasuble, which meaneth that good works ought
of a smaller form of this and of other Vestments by the great
Latin Church is more authoritative and more convincing than
the private fads of scholars, who forget that logical consistence
demands of them the rejection of the whole principle of ritual
evolution, and a return, along the entire range of worship, to
the models of whatever century they happen to have honoured
with their preference. Surely in these, as in greater matters,
the Holy Spirit was to guide into all truth ; and to appeal
from the Holy Ghost in the nineteenth century to the Holy
Ghost in the first, or second, or thirteenth, whether in things
great or small, is dangerously near to stultifying that promise of
perpetual guidance. Antiquarianism is a good thing. But
Antiquarianism in conflict with Catholicism helped to produce
the Anabaptist heresy.
1 i Cor. xiii. I and 2. * S. Matth. xxii. 12.
57
always to have charity for their source and end. 1
For THE END OF THE COMMANDMENT IS
CHARITY OUT OF A PURE HEART, AND OF
A GOOD CONSCIENCE, AND OF FAITH UN
FEIGNED. 2 And the dividing of the Chasuble
into two parts, back and fore, when the Priest
extendeth his hands, signifieth the two arms of
charity, wherewith it reacheth unto God, and to
his neighbour, as in that Scripture, 3 THOU
SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD, AND THY
NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF ; ON THESE TWO
COMMANDMENTS HANG ALL THE LAW AND
THE PROPHETS. Again, the wideness of the
Chasuble is a figure of the breadth of Charity,
which reacheth even as far as our enemies ;
whence it is written, THY COMMANDMENT IS
EXCEEDING BROAD. 4
3. The Chasuble hath two folds, right and
left 5 ; these be the two precepts of charity, the
1 Bonum opus debet ad charitatem referri.
2 i Tim. i. 5.
3 S. Matth. xxii. 37-40. 4 Ps. cix. 96.
5 Durandus doubtless means the natural gathering of the
Vestment over the arms on each side, to leave the hands free.
This, of course, necessitated a limp material, for it would have
been impossible with our thickly-embroidered Vestments. The
raising of the Chasuble on either side by the Ministers, which
was then necessary to free the Priest s hands for censing, etc.,
survives now only ceremonially. In Durandus time it had
developed from its primitive circular shape into that of a vesica,
58 Ube Sacrefc Destments
love of God, and the love of his neighbour.
Also it is folded double across the breast, 1
which meaneth the heart, and between the
shoulders, which are good works ; in these parts,
I say, the Chasuble is made to double upon
itself, for we ought so to show good deeds unto
our neighbour outwardly, that we may keep the
same within, whole in the heart before God.
For we need to have charity in our heart, and
in our work ; both within and without. It is
doubled before the breast, again, because by
charity are gotten goodwill and holy thought ;
and between the shoulders, because by chanty
are borne untoward dealings of neighbours and
adversaries. And it is lifted up at the arms, as
when we work the good works of love : at the
right arm, as when we DO GOOD UNTO THEM
WHO ARE OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH 2 ;
which hung down in long points when the arms were raised, behind
and before. The effect of this must have been very graceful.
1 So also Honorius, Bishop of Autun. It is not obvious
what kind of doubling is referred to. Durandus may (i.) be
referring to the folded-chasuble, or to the ancient practice of
throwing back the borders of the Pianeta for convenience before
celebrating ; or (ii.) perhaps the Chasuble was made of a double
thickness in the regions named (though he says below that it
was of one piece ) ; but more probably (iii. ) the natural folds
of the Vestment are meant, which would be caused by the
raising of the arms.
2 Gal. vi. 10.
tbe Cbasuble 59
and at the left, as when our righteous dealings
reach even unto our enemies.
4. Furthermore, over the arms it maketh
three folds l ; on the right arm, as when we
succour the faithful, monks, clergy, and laity ;
and on the left, as when we minister to the
needs of unbelievers, that is, bad Christians,
Jews, and paynim. For well are works of
righteousness symbolised by the Chasuble, ac
cording unto this Scripture, 2 LET THY PRIESTS
BE CLOTHED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS. The
Priest may not put off his Chasuble while he
performeth his office ; for the Lord commandeth
in the twenty-first chapter of Leviticus, 3 that
HE SHALL NOT GO OUT OF THE SANCTUARY,
that is, out of holy things or commandments.
Further, as touching that which agreeth
unto the Head, even Christ, the Chasuble of the
Great Priest is the Catholic Church, concerning
which the Apostle 4 saith, AS MANY OF YOU AS
1 Doubtless this refers to the natural folds upon the raised
arms.
2 Ps. cxxxii. 9. 3 Lev. xxi. 12.
4 Gal. iii. 27. So Rupert, Bishop of Tuy, in his comments
De Divinis Officiis. It will be observed that Durandus says
nothing about the orfreys or ornamentation of the Chasuble,
and does not allude to the Y cross upon it. Yet this un
doubtedly existed in his time. Agnellus, in his Life of S.
Maximian, who was Bishop of Ravenna in the sixth century,
60 ube SacreO Vestments
HAVE BEEN BAPTISED INTO CHRIST HAVE PUT
ON CHRIST. This is that Vestment of Aaron,
unto whose skirt the ointment ran down : IT
RAN DOWN FROM HIS HEAD UNTO HIS BEARD,
AND FROM HIS BEARD UNTO THE SKIRTS OF
HIS CLOTHING IT RAN DOWN. 1 For OF THE
FULNESS OF HIS SPIRIT HAVE WE ALL
RECEIVED, 2 first the Apostles, then they that
are come after them.
5. The Chasuble is of one piece, and whole,
and is hemmed on every side, which signifieth
the unity and wholeness of the Faith. Yet
when the Priest spreadeth out his hands, it is
in a manner divided in two parts, back and
fore ; and this denoteth the ancient Church,
which went before the Passion of Christ, and the
new, which followeth it ; for THE MULTITUDES
THAT WENT BEFORE, AND THAT FOLLOWED,
CRIED, SAYING, HOSANNA TO THE SON OF
says that Maximian had an altar-cloth embroidered with
pictures of his predecessors, and that these Bishops were
depicted as wearing Chasubles with the auriclave in front, in
shape like the Pallium, which is thus ( y ). It is well known that
this cross represents the raising of Our Blessed Lord s arms in
the Crucifixion, and that the straight orfrey often found on the
front of the Chasuble is symbolical of the stake to which He
was bound when scourged. These significations are of course
instances of the evolution of symbolism from utility.
1 Ps. cxxxiii. 2. S. Johni. 16.
f tbe Cbasuble 61
DAVID : BLESSED IS HE THAT COMETH IN THE
NAME OF THE LORD. 1
This Vestment representeth also the purple
robe with which the soldiers encompassed
Christ, as saith John in the nineteenth chapter. 2
1 S. Matth. xxi. 9. S. John xix. 2.
62 irbe Sacrefc Vestments
CHAPTER VIII
OF THE BUSKINS AND SANDALS
I. Why the feet be clad in Vestments. 2. When and why the
Bishop putteth on the Buskins and Sandals. 3, 4. Of the
Buskins and Sandals, their counsel and warning. 5. Of the
Sandals : why they be so called, and the meaning thereof.
6. Why they be open in some parts, and closed in others.
7. Of the matter and colour thereof. 8, 9. Of the latchet
and strings of the Sandals. 10. Of the Sandals as touching
Christ. n. Concerning those who may, and those who
may not, wear the Sandals.
I. IN the foregoing we have spoken of the
six Vestments common to both Bishops and
Priests. It now remaineth to treat of the nine
that are peculiar to the Bishop. And first let
us consider the Buskins and Sandals.
The vesting of the feet taketh not its
beginning from Aaron s line of Priests, for they
lived in Jewry, and therefore had no need there
of ; but from the Apostles, unto whom it was
said, GO YE AND TEACH ALL NATIONS. 1
Unless indeed one might say that the Buskins
1 S. Matth. xxviii. 19.
f tbe 3Busfetns anfc Sanfcals 63
and Sandals take the place of the breeches of
the ancient Priest.
2. The Bishop, then, being about to cele
brate, while the five appointed Psalms l are said,
putteth on the Buskins and Sandals, the
PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE. 2
These are they which for beauty the Prophet
did laud, saying, HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE
FEET OF THEM THAT BRING GOOD TIDINGS
OF PEACE, THAT PUBLISH GOOD TIDINGS OF
GOOD ! 3 and the Apostle, saying unto the
Ephesians, HAVING YOUR FEET SHOD WITH
THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE. 4
And in the Gospel we read that the Lord sent
His disciples forth shod with sandals 5 shod
indeed, that is, with the PREPARATION OF THE
GOSPEL OF PEACE ; for if they had not been
thus shod, how could they have trodden upon
serpents and scorpions ? 6
3. Let Bishops take thought, therefore, why
they are thus shod, and let them copy the
example of those, whose sandals they copy.
For the feet are a fit type of the affections ;
1 As ordered in the Roman Missal. According to the
Prayer Book computation, they are Pss. Ixxxiv. , Ixxxv. , Ixxxvi. ,
cxvi. (v. 10 to end) and cxxx.
2 Eph. vi. 15. 3 Is. Hi. 7. 4 Eph. vi. 15.
5 S. Mark vi. 9. 6 S. Luke x. 19.
64 Ube Sacrefc Destments
wherefore they ought to have sandals, so to
speak, upon their affections and desires, that
they be not stained with the dust of things
earthly or temporal.
4. By these Sandals we do also meetly
understand a check, put upon the feet, lest they
hasten unto forbidden things. And whereas a
man s affections become more readily tainted
and marred in time of prosperity, which is
signified by the right hand, than in time of
adversity, which is exprest by the left, the
Bishop doth put the sandal on his right foot
first, to show that one ought to run the quicker,
to meet the greater danger.
But before the Sandals are put on the feet,
they are clad in Buskins, l reaching so far as
the knee and there girt round, for that the
preacher ought to MAKE STRAIGHT PATHS FOR
HIS FEET, AND CONFIRM THE FEEBLE KNEES 2 ;
1 Caligae, called also Compagi. These are a kind of stock
ing of some precious material, quite distinct from the Sandals,
and reaching to the knee, where they are fastened. Sicardus
of Cremona (twelfth century) says that they were of silk. They
were originally peculiar to the Pope, but towards the ninth
century seem to have become an universal Episcopal Vestment.
The earliest writer who mentions caligae as regularly
included in the Sacred Vestments to be worn by Bishops and
Cardinals is Ivo Carnotensis (c. A.D. 1115).
* Heb. xii. 12, 13.
tbe Buskins aufc Sanfcals 65
for HE THAT SHALL DO AND TEACH THESE
COMMANDMENTS, THE SAME SHALL BE
CALLED THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF
HEAVEN. 1 And the Buskins, being of blue, 2
the colour of the firmament, denote that his
feet that is, his affections must be heavenly,
and strong, that he halt not ; but that he may
SAY TO THEM THAT ARE OF A FEARFUL
HEART, BE STRONG. 3
5. After these, his feet are vested in the
Sandals, 4 which are so called from the plant of
that name, or from sandarach, 5 wherewith they
1 S. Matth. v. 19.
2 Sometimes crimson, sometimes cloth of gold. The
Buskins found in the tomb of Boniface VIII. were of black silk.
3 Is. xxxv. 4.
4 It appears that no mention of the Sandals as a distinctively
Episcopal Vestment occurs before the ninth century, unless
S. Gregory, in forbidding Deacons to wear sandalia (L. vii.
Ep. 28), be speaking of them. They were originally worn by
all II oly Orders, as might be expected from their purely secular
origin. Amalarius says they were worn by Priests as late as
the ninth century (De Eccles. Offic. L. li. c. 25). They
were often embroidered in the most costly manner. In old
representations they are generally red, but sometimes purple,
or white.
5 Sandaraca, <rav8apd.Kr), a red mineral colouring matter ;
(Vitr. vii. 12, 2 ; Du Cange, sub voce). But the derivation is
improbable, as there is also a Persian word sandal. The
Greek word ffdv8u\ov is more probably connected with aavis,
a wooden board, as being a sole of wood for the foot.
Durandus alternative derivation, the plant of that name, is
F
66 ube Sacrefc Destments
are coloured. Now these have an entire sole
underneath, but on the top there is latticed
hide ; because the steps of the Preacher ought
to be guarded from beneath, lest they be
defiled with earthly things, as saith the Lord,
SHAKE OFF THE DUST OF YOUR FEET ; l but
they must be open above, that they may be
unveiled unto the knowledge of heavenly
mysteries, according unto that of the Psalmist, 2
OPEN THOU MINE EYES, THAT I MAY SEE
THE WONDROUS THINGS OF THY LAW. They
are open on the top, again, because we ought to
have hearts ever uplifted unto God, and our
minds eyes open unto those things which be
above : and solid beneath, because we must
keep a mind impervious amid earthly things,
and seek the blessing, not of Esau, which is
earthly, but of Jacob, which is in the heavens.
6. The Sandals again, being open in certain
places and closed in others, signify that the
preaching of the Gospel ought neither to be
revealed unto all, nor hid from all, as it is
written, UNTO YOU IT IS GIVEN TO KNOW THE
not obvious. There was a white kind of corn mentioned by
Pliny, called sandata, and a kind of palm called sandalis but
it is difficult to connect either with the sandal.
1 S. Matth. x. 14. 2 Ps. cxix. 18.
f tbe Busfefns anfc Sandals 67
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BUT
UNTO OTHERS IN PARABLES. 1 And GIVE NOT
THAT WHICH IS HOLY UNTO THE DOGS,
NEITHER CAST YE YOUR PEARLS BEFORE
SWINE. 2
7. The inner part of the Sandals is some
times made of white leather, for it needeth to
have a clean intention, and a conscience pure
before God ; and without there is a dark
appearance, because the life of the preacher
seemeth dark and mean in worldly eyes, by
reason of the trials of this world. Sometimes
too they are red, to signify the spirit of martyr
dom ; and at other times they are variegated
with divers colours, the manifold virtues where
with we need to be adorned.
8. A latchet, which is separate from the
leather, goeth up over the foot, and figureth the
tongues of those who bear good testimony unto
the preacher, but who are nevertheless separate
in a manner from the conversation of spiritual
men. In the second place, this latchet is itself
the tongue of the spiritual, which did induct the
preacher into the office of preaching. Thirdly,
it denoteth also the tongue of the preacher
himself. The line which runneth from this
1 S. Luke viii. 10. 2 S. Matth. vii. 6.
F 2
68 ube Sacrefc IDestments
latchet through the midst of the Sandal unto
the end thereof, is Evangelical Perfection ; and
the lines which come forth from either side,
and which at the end of the Sandal run into
that middle line and there have an end, are a
figure of the Law and the Prophets, which be
ratified in the Gospel, and there find the end of
their being. The upper part of the Sandal,
into which the foot is placed, is joined together
with divers strings, that its two sides slip not
away nor be parted, coming unfastened the one
from the other ; and this is to show that the
Preacher ought to bind himself with divers
virtues, or truths of Scripture, that his inner
part may not be disjoined from that which
shineth without, in the sight of the Most High.
Also the very fastening of the Sandals sig-
nifieth that the prelate, who hath to go hither
and thither, ought to make sure his mind s
steps, the while he goeth to and fro amid the
throng.
9. The drawing of the thongs this way and
that with the hands, in binding and making
fast the Sandals, signifieth that the Priest ought
to walk with so firm a step, that he may be a
burthen unto none nor faint in the way of his
ministry. For it is in vain if he run fast who
<S>r tbe 3Busftiu0 and Sanfcals 6 9
fainteth or ever he reacheth the goal ; inasmuch
as the Sandals do mystically represent the race
of the Preacher. But sometimes they are not
fastened, for that Christ s Incarnation is in
some measure open unto human understanding,
as we may understand the being wrapt in
garments, or placed in an enclosure. Some
times, again, the cost of the thongs is over and
above that of the Sandals, as it is written,
WHATSOEVER THOU SPENDEST MORE, WHEN
I COME AGAIN I WILL REPAY THEE, 1
It may also be said that the Buskins are a
type of that washing, of which the Lord said,
HE THAT IS BATHED NEEDETH NOT SAVE
TO WASH HIS FEET. 2 But, for that cleanness
of heart sufficeth not without patience in
persecution, they have also stripes of red, 3
which are a type of martyrdom. Thus he that
hath cleanness in his heart, and patience, an it
so needeth, in his will, shall come secure unto
the office of preaching, which the apostolic
Sandals signify.
10. Further, as touching that which agreeth
1 S. Luke x. 35.
2 S. John xiii. 10. See Chap. xix. of this work, p. 165, n. 2.
3 Centimes rubei. Cento usually means patchwork. It
probably refers here to the red cross sometimes found on a
white sandal.
Ube Sacrefc Destments
unto the Head, even Christ, the Sandals have
another meaning. The Bishop, who in the
service of the Altar representeth the Person of
Christ his Head, Whose member he is ; the
while he putteth the Sandals on his feet, doth
suggest the Lord putting on those Sandals of
the Incarnation, whereof He saith in the Psalms, 1
OVER EDOM WILL I CAST OUT MY SHOE, that
is, among the nations will I make known my
Incarnation. For the Godhead came unto us
as it were sandalled, that for us the Son of God
might discharge the Priestly office. And by
the latchets wherewith the Sandals are fastened
upon the feet, we do understand that same
mystery which John the Baptist saw in the
sandal-strings, when he said, WHOSE SHOE S
LATCHET I AM NOT WORTHY TO UNLOOSE: 2
that is, the unspeakable union and indissoluble
bond of flesh whereby the Godhead of the Word
did join itself with humanity of ours. Moreover,
the feet are united with the Sandals by the
mediation of the Buskins, which are worn
between ; and this pictureth the union of the
Human Soul with the Godhead, through the
mean of Flesh. For as the foot beareth up the
1 Ps. lx. 8. 2 S. John i. 27.
f tbe Busfetns anfc Sanfcals 71
body, even so the Godhead governeth the world. 1
Thus the Psalmist 2 saith, FALL DOWN BEFORE
HIS FOOTSTOOL, FOR HE IS HOLY.
ii. According to a decree of Gregory, 3
Deacons may not wear compagi, that is,
Sandals, nor maniples, that is, episcopal shoes,
without special licence of the Apostolic See.
Formerly they did wear these, because it was
their duty to go hither and thither in attendance.
But nowadays neither Deacons nor Priests wear
these Vestments, but Bishops only, that by this
diversity of their Sandals the distinction of their
office may be marked ; and beside, they have to
go abroad amongst the people, whereas it is the
duty of the Priest to offer the sacrifices of the
1 The sequence of thought is obscure. Dnrandus seems to
mean one of two things : (i. ) that the feet are a type of the
Godhead, and the Sandals of Our Lord s Human Soul. But
the thought of Our Lord s Godhead being united with His
Human Soul through the medium of His Flesh seems strange.
One might have thought rather that His Godhead was united
with His Flesh through the medium of His Soul ; but this, too, is
strained. But the passage more probably means (ii.) that the
feet are the Godhead, and the Sandals man s soul, which is
brought to God by the medium of the Incarnation, typified by
the Buskins.
3 Ps. xcix. 5.
8 Grat. Decret, I. Dist. xciii. c. 20 ( compagis uero calciari
absque apostolica licentia diaconibus non permittitur, sicut nee
mappulis ). And Greg. loanni Episcopo Siracusano, L. vii.
Epist. 28, Indict. I.
TTbe Sact-eo Destments
Lord. Yet the clerics of the Roman Church,
by the indulgence of Constantine, Emperor,
might wear shoes with socks l of white linen.
Et sicut noster senatus calceamentis utitur cum udonibus,
idest candido linteamine illustratis, sic utantur et clerici, ut
sicut coelestia, ita et terrena ad laudem Dei decorentur. (< And
whereas our senate wear sandals enriched with socks of white
linen, let the clergy wear the same, that both heavenly and
earthly things may be adorned to the praise of God. ) Dona
tion of Constantine, Grat. Deer. I. Dist. xcvi. c. 14.
73
CHAPTER IX
OF THE UNDERGIRDLE AND VEIL
I. Of the Undergirdle ; and of the Pope s Orale. 2. Of the
Pectoral Cross.
i. As touching the Undergirdle, I will add
nought further to such as I have already said
in the treating of the Zone or Girdle, in the
Proeme of this Book.
The Bishop of Rome after the Albe and
Girdle putteth on the Orale, 2 a Vestment of fine
stuff, which after the manner of a veil he
placeth upon his head, and foldeth it over his
shoulders and before his breast ; following the
1 See Proeme, 4, and Chap. iv. throughout, with Notes.
In Durandus time the Undergirdle was the common property
of all Bishops, but it is now a Papal Vestment. This chapter is
borrowed almost bodily from Innocent III. De Myst. Miss.
Lib. I. c. 53.
2 A striped veil like a coloured amice, which the Pope puts
on after the Girdle, turned back over the head, until the
Chasuble is put on, when it is brought down over the shoulders
and breast.
74 Ufoe Sacrefc Vestments
use of the Priest of the Law, who after the
broidered coat and girdle did put on the ephod
or superhumeral, whose place the Amice doth
now take.
The aforesaid Bishop putteth on also a
certain Cross, 1 fastened to a fine chain, which he
hangeth around his neck, disposing the Cross
before his breast. For the High Priest of the
Law did wear a golden plate upon his forehead, 2
in the stead of which this High Priest, the
Bishop, doth wear the Cross upon his breast ;
and so the golden plate yieldeth place unto the
Sign of the Cross. For the mystery 3 which the
golden plate enshrined in its Four Letters, hath
been set forth in four arms by the Sign of the
1 Durandus, with Innocent III. and also S. Thomas, seems
to confine the Pectoral Cross to the Pope. It is of course now
the common property of all Bishops. Yet in Durandus time,
though not a part of the exclusively Episcopal dress, it was
worn by Bishops. Georgius says that Pectoral Crosses were
called fyK6\iria by the Greeks ; for the practice of wearing a
Cross seems to have come from the East, where all the faithful,
but especially the Bishops, wore them. The use probably
originated in the wearing of a reliquary, containing the wood of
the Holy Cross, in the bosom, the reliquary itself becoming
cruciform in shape. Nicephorus the Emperor (A.D. 811) sent
Pope Leo III. a golden Pectoral Cross, containing relics of the
true Cross.
2 Ex. xxviii. 38.
3 For this mystery, see Chap, xix., 1 6.
f tbe TUnfcersirMe anD Weil 75
Cross ; as saith the Apostle, 1 THAT YE MAY BE
ABLE TO COMPREHEND WITH ALL SAINTS
WHAT IS THE BREADTH, AND LENGTH, AND
DEPTH, AND HEIGHT. Wherefore that holy
thing which he then did bear in the plate upon
his brow, his successor doth now hide within
his heart ; for WITH THE HEART MAN BE-
LIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND WITH
THE MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO
SALVATION. 2 And according to Hierome, the
Blood of the Gospel is more precious than the
gold of the Law. He placeth the Cross before
his breast, again, for the shewing forth of that
which the Apostle saith, GLORIFY GOD AND
BEAR HIM IN YOU R BODY. 3 And when he putteth
the Cross on himself, and when he taketh it off,
he kisseth it, for that he doth believe and
confess Christ s Passion, whereof it is the sign,
arid unto whose representation in the Office of
the Mass he maketh him ready.
1 Eph. iii. 1 8. * Rom. x. 10.
3 i Cor. vi. 2, adapted, with a reminiscence of Gal. vi. 17.
76 Ube Sacred IDestments
CHAPTER X
OF THE TUNIC
I. Of the Tunic and its meaning. 2. Of the two Tunics of the
Old Testament, and what they signified ; also of the two
Tunics of the Bishop. 3. Of the hue of the Tunic ; and of
the Jacinth. 4. Again of the two Tunics of the Bishop.
5. Of the Tunic as touching Christ.
i. AFTER the Stole put on, the Bishop is
arrayed in the Tunic, which is otherwise called
Subtile, 1 and in the Law, Poderes, that is, the
garment which reacheth unto the feet. And
this signifieth Perseverance. Thus Joseph is
described as having worn such a garment
amongst his brethren. 2 For when the other
virtues run in the race, Perseverance only
receiveth the prize, as it is written, HE THAT
PERSEVERETH UNTO THE END THE SAME
1 The word occurs in Is. xix. 9, Vulg. ( confundentur
texentes subtilia ) and Ezek. xvi. 10 ( indui te subtilibus, LXX
T)JV fivffffov).
2 Gen. xxxvii. 3 ( fecitque ei tunicam polymitanv ).
f tbe Uuntc
SHALL BE SAVED : ; and One teacheth, BE THOU
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE
THEE A CROWN OF LIFE. 2 Again, he putteth
on the Tunic after the Albe, because by the
Albe is figured the chastening of the flesh,
while the Tunic is the symbol of those inner
virtues, which the perfect need alway to have.
The Tunic is not girded, because by reason of
its shape it hindereth not the steps : so also the
virtues that are set forth by it afford a free
walk in the contemplation of God. Yet is the
Albe girded, as I have said in the chapter
which treateth of the Girdle.
2. In the Old Testament there were two
tunics, the tunic of fine linen, and the blue
tunic. 1 * And at this day also certain Bishops
use two Tunics, 4 to show that it beseemeth
them to have knowledge of both Testaments,
1 S. Matth. x. 22. 2 Rev. ii. 10.
3 Ex. xxxix. 22 and 27 ; or xxviii. 31 ( tunica super-
humeralis, the Robe of the Ephod) and 39 ( tunica byssina,
the coat of fine linen).
4 I.e. Dalmatic and Tunicle. The words were almost inter
changeable in Durandus time. In the Pontificate Ecclesiae
Cameracensis occurs this prayer, to be said in putting on the
Dalmatic : Indue me, Domine, vestimento salutis, et Tunica
iustitiae. And in most old English inventories the two Vest
ments are called indifferently Tunacles. The early Dalmatic
was a little larger than the Tunicle, and had ampler sleeves.
See following chapter, 3.
7 8 Ufoe Sacrefc treatments
that they may know how to bring out of the
Lord s treasure things new and old ; or that
they may shew themselves that they are both
Deacons and Priests. Besides, each of the
Tunics doth bear his own proper signification.
The white Tunic, 2 which is of fine linen, signi-
fieth Chastity, as may be gathered from what
hath been said in the chapter of the Albe. 3
This former Tunic, too, if it be of silk, denoteth
Chastity and Humility ; for silk taketh its
beginning from worms, which are created with
out intercourse.
3. The second Tunic ought to be blue, as in
olden days it was of the colour of the jacinth,
which followeth in its hue the sereneness of the
sky ; wherefore it is a figure of the Saints with
their heavenly thoughts and lives, and of
celestial thought and conversation. For as that
precious stone, the jacinth, doth change his
colour with the changes of the sky, being bright
when the firmament is bright, and pale beneath
a darkling heaven ; even so in spiritual figure
ought the Bishop to REJOICE WITH THEM THAT
S. Matth. xiii. 52.
2 Evidently the Dalmatic, which Pope Silvester ordered to
be of white.
ftbe TTunic 79
DO REJOICE, AND WEEP WITH THEM THAT
WEEP. 1 Yet if the Tunic be of any other colour,
it beareth accordingly some other meaning.
4. And the Bishop weareth the one Tunic
beneath the other, to shew that as that which is
hid may not be seen of the people, but is known
to the clergy alone, so also that measure of lefty
virtues pictured by it, which the perfect man
ought ever to possess, may not be open to the
eyes of all, but only unto the higher orders, and
unto them that are perfect.
5 . Furthermore, as touching that which agreeth
unto the Head, even Christ, this Vestment in
the ancient Priesthood was of blue, and had for
its fringe pomegranates and golden bells hang
ing from its lower hem, that the High Priest
might walk all in music 2 ; as shall be said in
the chapter of the Vestments of the Law. 3 And
this giveth an hint of the heavenly doctrine of
the Christ, Whereof all have taken knowledge ;
unto Whom it was said by the Prophet, 4 O
THOU WHO TELLEST GOOD TIDINGS TO SIGN,
GET THEE UP INTO THE HIGH MOUNTAIN.
Rom. xii. 15.
2 Ex. xxviii. 33-35. 3 10.
4 Is. xl. 9 (Vulg. super montem excelsum ascende, tu qui
euangelizas Sion where Sion may be either vocative or
accusative).
ubc Sacrefc Treatments
More than all, however, had the Weaver of the
doctrine of the Gospel this Tunic, the Wisdom
of God, Jesus Christ, and gave it unto His
Apostles ; for ALL THINGS, said He, WHICH I
HAVE HEARD OF MY FATHER, I HAVE MADE
KNOWN UNTO YOU. 1 This also was the signi
fication of that Tunic of the Lord, which the
soldiers would not rend, for that it was WITH
OUT SEAM, WOVEN FROM THE TOP THROUGH
OUT 2 as though they thought the Lord s loss
would be great ; the which sheweth how great a
loss they cause who strive to rend with their
heresies the doctrines of the Gospel.
The Subdeacon, also, weareth the Tunic, as
shall be shewn in the following chapter.
1 S. John xv. 15. 2 Ibid. xix. 23.
8i
CHAPTER XI
OF THE DALMATIC
i. Of the Dalmatic and its origin. 2. Of the name of the
Dalmatic ; and of the sleeves thereof. 3. Of the meaning of
the aforesaid sleeves. 4. Why the Bishop hath more Vest
ments than the Priest 5, 6. Of the orfreys and fringe of
the Dalmatic. 7. Of its form, and of the meaning thereof.
8. Of its meaning as touching Christ. 9. Why the Dalmatic
and Tunic be not worn during Advent.
I. THE Bishop, immediately after the Tunic,
vesteth him in the Dalmatic, according to the
institution of Silvester, Pope. 1 This is believed
to have been borrowed from the Lord s seamless
coat, and from the Colobium of the Apostles.
1 But in^the account of the martyrdom of S. Cyprian, long
before Pope Silvester s time (which was 315-325 A.D. ), we read
that S. Cyprian, being led to martyrdom, cum se Dalmatica
exspoliasset et diaconibus tradidisset, in linea stetit ( Ex
Passione S. Cypr. Pontii Diacon. in Act. Mart, sincer. p. 205,
in fine}. Pope Silvester probably made the Episcopal use of
this Vestment general. Walafrid Strabo says that before that
Pope s time Bishops and Priests both wore Dalmatics, but that
when they began to use Chasubles they allowed Deacons to
wear Dalmatics (De Reb. Bed. c. 24). And S. Isidore calls
the Dalmatic a sacerdotal Vestment.
G
82 Ube Sacrefc Destments
Now the Colobium 1 is a dress without sleeves,
such as is now seen in the cowl 2 of a monk.
But Pope Silvester changed it into the Dalmatic,
by adding broad sleeves, and ordered it to be
worn at the Sacrifice of the Altar. 3
2. Now the Dalmatic is so called, because
it was devised 4 in Dalmatia, after all other
priestly Vestments. By its shape it signifieth
liberality, for it hath large sleeves and long.
For according to the Apostle 5 it beseemeth
that a Bishop should be NOT GREEDY OF
FILTHY LUCRE, BUT GIVEN TO HOSPITALITY ;
1 This was a short under-tunic, anciently an under-garment
of the Romans, and worn originally by all freemen, and latterly
by senators. It appears to have been the Vestment of a Deacon
at the time when the Dalmatic distinguished Bishops and
Priests. It is derived from tco\o&6s, short, or stunted.
- The monastic cowls known to Durandus probably
reached to the feet. Cuculla quae nostro singulariter con-
venit ordini, quod uestimentum antiquitus uocabatur Colobium,
idest tunica sine manicis, tantum debet habere longitudinis
antea, quod ad callum pedis usque pertingat. [ The Cowl of
our Order, formerly called Colobium, a tunic without sleeves,
ought to be long enough in front to reach the sole of the foot. ]
Guidonis DiscipHna Farfensis, cap. 4, De uestimentorum
mensura.
3 Bingham (Orig. Ecdes. vol. I. Bk. vi. ch. 4, 20) says
the Dalmatic was otherwise called x 6t P<^oTor, or Tunica
manicata, because it had these sleeves down to the hands.
4 Reperta. Dalmaticas testatur Isidorus Episcopus in
Dalmatia primum contextas (Onuphrius Panvinus, Interpr.
Voc. Ecchs. , sub Dalm. ; S. Isidore, Etym. xix. 22).
5 Tit. i. 7 and 8.
f tbe Hmimatic 8 3
wherefore he must not have a hand closed from
giving and strecht out to receive ; but must do
that which the Prophet doth advise, BREAK THY
BREAD UNTO THE HUNGRY, AND BRING THE
POOR THAT ARE CAST OUT TO THINE HOUSE. 1
And it is on this account, doubtless, that
Deacons in especial do wear Dalmatics, for
that they chiefly were appointed by the
Apostles unto the office of serving tables.
3. Further, the Deacon s Dalmatic hath
fuller sleeves than the Tunicle of the Sub-
deacon, because he himself ought to have a
charity ampler than the other, by reason of his
greater gift. But the Dalmatic of the Bishop
hath wider sleeves than that of the Deacon, to
shew that the former is more unhindered, and
hath nought that may hold back his hand ; for
upon heavenly things he must lavish all, and
his charity must reach even unto his adversaries.
But the Tunicle of the Subdeacon, the Dalmatic
of the Deacon, and the Chasuble of the Priest,
do all follow in the stead of the blue Tunic,
which was of the colour of the heaven ; in
token that all the ministers of the Altar ought
to live an heavenly life, according unto higher or
lower rank, which are marked by the breadth
1 Is. Iviii. 7.
8 4 Ube Sacrefc Destments
or straitness of the sleeves of the Dalmatic
and Tunicle respectively, as hath been said
before.
4. The Priest, because he ought to be the
least hindered as touching heavenly things,
weareth not these Vestments, nor indeed aught
else whereby the arms may be straitened.
But the Bishop weareth at once the Dalmatic,
and the Tunic, and the Vestments of all Orders,
to shew that he containeth all Orders in himself
perfectly, as who bestoweth them all upon
other. These the lesser ministers bestow not,
and therefore wear not the Vestments that
figure them, but for them one sufficeth, to sig
nify the heavenly life. Beside, the Bishop,
both in his ornaments and in his Office, beareth
in more special wise the likeness of the Saviour
than doth the simple Priest, and the significa
tions of the Vestments do pertain more aptly
unto him ; wherefore he weareth the more.
5. The Dalmatic ought to have two scarlet
orfreys reaching all its length from top to
So S. Isidore, in the place last referred to. He calls the
Dalmatic a sacerdotal Vestment with purple stripes ( tunica
sacerdotalis Candida cum clauis ex purpura ). At present the
Dalmatic is usually crossed also behind by two transverse
stripes at top and bottom, to distinguish it from the Sub-
deacon s Tunicle, which has only one, at the top. It has
also tassels hanging from the meeting-points of these stripes at
f tbe Dalmatic 85
bottom back and fore, that the Bishop may
shew himself to have, both in weal and woe,
fervent charity unto God and his neighbour ;
and this agreeth unto the commandment of
both the Old and the New Testament, to wit,
THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH
ALL THINE HEART, AND THY NEIGHBOUR AS
THYSELF. 1 Thus also John, 2 BELOVED, NO
NEW COMMANDMENT WRITE I UNTO YOU, BUT
AN OLD COMMANDMENT, WHICH YE HAD
FROM THE BEGINNING ; and again, A NEW
COMMANDMENT I WRITE UNTO YOU. And
sometimes the purple stripes be significant of
faith in the Blood of Christ, so necessary unto
either people. Upon the left side the Dalmatic
is wont to have a fringe, for emblem of the cares
of the active life, which the Bishop must have
for his flock, agreeably unto the word of the
Apostle, 3 which saith, BESIDE THOSE THINGS
THAT ARE WITHOUT, THAT WHICH COMETH
UPON ME DAILY, THE CARE OF ALL THE
CHURCHES. The right side, lacking the fringe,
is a token of the contemplation of heavenly
the back, supposed to be a survival of strings or laces by which
the mouth of the Dalmatic was anciently opened to admit the
head, and then drawn tight again.
1 S. Luke x. 27. i S. John ii. 7, 8.
3 2 Cor. xi. 28.
86 Ube SacreO Destments
lacketh care, and is unmolested
bv the multitude of troubles.
6 Furthermore, certain Dalmatics have
frin-es fifteen-fold before and behind, because
fifteen psalms in the Old Testament, hte
fifteen branches or steps, do issue forth from
the path of charity, and fifteen likewise ,n th,
New Testament do grow out of her work
wit CHARITY SUFEERETH LONG, CHARITY
KIND and so forth unto the words C
NEVER FAILETH. But others have a fringe
twenty-eight before, and as many behm
wherein the sevenfold Spirit is represented
eight times over, Who Mirth eight orders c
them that praise God, that is, KINGS AN:
PEOPLE, PRINCES AND JUDGES, YOUNG MEN
AND MAIDENS, OLD MEN AND CHILDREN.
Again, in the Dalmatic is diversity without
division, because divers works of religion are
done in the sight of God, yet in prayer ,s r
difference at all. And at the sides it ,s open
beneath the armpits, putting him who wearet
it in mind to follow in Christ s steps, Who was
stabbed in the side with a spear.
7. Moreover, the Dalmatic maketh the
. rss. CO.-COTT. Cot. xiH- 4-8.
* Ts. cslviii. II, 12.
f tbe Dalmatic 87
of a cross, wherein it is a token of Christ s
Passion, and so is worn in the Office of the
Mass, in which that Passion is shown forth. It
signifieth also holy religion, and mortification of
the flesh, and the spirit of supernal things. If
white, it standeth for a holy and spotless life ;
if red, for a martyr ; but the white Dalmatic
wrought about with divers colours denoteth
purity together with the variety of virtues, and
is adorned with an orfrey, as it is written, AT
THY RIGHT HAND DID STAND THE QUEEN IN
A VESTURE OF GOLD, WROUGHT ABOUT WITH
DIVERS COLOURS. 1
8. As touching that which agreeth unto the
Head, which is Christ, the Dalmatic by its
breadth and largeness is significant of His
mercy, which Himself more than all others
both taught and used ; BE YE MERCIFUL, said
He, EVEN AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL. 2
And BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY
SHALL OBTAIN MERCY. 3 He is that Samaritan,
our Neighbour, Who wrought mercifully with
us, pouring into our wounds wine and oil 4 :
THROUGH THE TENDER MERCY OF OUR GOD
THE DAYSPRING FROM ON HIGH HATH VISITED
1 Ps. xlv. 10. 2 S. Luke vi. 36.
3 S. Matth. v. 7. S. Luke x. 34.
Sacrefc IDestments
US l ; NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
WHICH WE HAVE DONE, BUT ACCORDING TO
HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, 2 coming for sinners
sakes, that He might grant them pardon for
their sins ; Who said, I WILL HAVE MERCY AND
NOT SACRIFICE. 3
We read in a Canon of Gregory 4 that in
the primitive Church neither Bishops nor
Deacons might wear the Dalmatic, save by
special licence of the Apostolic see.
9. The Deacons leave off their Dalmatics 5
at the time of our Lord s Advent. For when
some measure of the splendour of holy service
is laid aside for a time, it seemeth to the minds
of the faithful to shine out the more brightly
1 S. Luke i. 78. 2 Tit. iii. 5, 3 S. Matth. ix. 13.
4 Grat. Decret. I. Dist. xxiii. c. x. Communis.
s In the Roman rite the Deacon and Subdeacon leave off
their Dalmatic and Tunicle respectively on Fast-days (except
the Vigils of Saints Days) ; on all days of Advent and Lent ;
on the Vigil of Pentecost before Mass (but not on Gaudete and
Laetare Sundays, nor on Christmas Eve, Holy Saturday at the
Blessing of the Candle and at Mass, nor on the Pentecostal
Ember Days) ; also at the Blessing of Candles and Procession
upon the Purification of Our Lady, at the Blessing of Ashes
and of Palms, and at the Procession of Palms. At these times,
in Cathedrals and principal Churches, they substitute the Folded-
Chasuble, a Vestment which they take off before the Gospel
and Epistle respectively, the Deacon folding it over his left
shoulder, and the Subdeacon ministering in his Albe. But in
inferior Churches, at these times, they minister in Albes alone.
f tbe E>almattc
when it is resumed, and is taken again with the
more gladness ; because the more uncommon a
thing is, the more we weary after it. 1 Another
reason wherefore the Deacon weareth not his
Dalmatic in Advent, nor the Subdeacon his
Tunicle, is this : that the Law (for which the
Subdeacon standeth) did lack the beauty of the
Gospel, and the Gospel s charity (which the
Deacon signifieth) was not yet made manifest,
before the Incarnation of the Lord. Or it is
for this, if thou wilt, that He Who should put
upon us the robe of innocence and immortality
was not yet come ; wherefore at this time the
Vestments of gladness be laid aside. Yet
Chasubles are worn in Advent ; whereof some
what hath been said by me in another book of
the Rationale. 2 Nevertheless upon the Fasts
in the Octave of Pentecost, 3 the Deacon may
wear his Dalmatic.
1 Grat. Deer. I. Dist. xcviii. c. 24, Legimus adfinem. A
maxim whose truth must have been felt by all who have much
to do with the Service of the Altar.
2 Upon Fasts the Deacon hath a Chasuble folded over his
left shoulder, because whatever labour we undergo in this life
is borne in a figure upon that part ; until from the Left we pass
over unto the Right, wherein we have our rest. Rat. ii.
De Diacono.
3 I.e. the Ember Days.
9 Ube Sacrefc Destments
CHAPTER XII
OF THE GLOVES
i. Oi the Gloves and their meaning. 2. Why the hands be
sometimes covered with Gloves, and sometimes bare of
them. 3. Further meanings of the Gloves ; and as touching
Christ. 4. Why the Gloves be made of the skins of kids.
I. BECAUSE by vain men-pleasing full many
spoil the good works they do ; immediately after
the Dalmatic put on, the Bishop according unto
the Apostolic rite covereth his hands with the
Gloves, 1 that his left hand may not know what
his right hand doeth. 2 For by the Glove is
meetly figured caution, which doeth her work
before the eyes of men, yet hideth her plans in
secret none the less. For albeit the Lord said,
LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN,
1 But formerly they were the common property of both
Bishops and Priests. The first extant mention of them as an
ecclesiastical Vestment is in the twelfth century, by Honorius
Augustodunensis (died c. A.D. 1152). They were often very
ornate. Bp. Riculfus in his well-known Will (c. A.D. 915)
mentions annulum aureum unum cum gemmis pretiosis, et
vuantos (gants, gloves) paria unum (Patrol, cxxxii. 468).
2 S. Matth. vi. 3.
tbe loves 91
THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS,
AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN
HEAVEN, 1 in type whereof the Glove hath a
golden circlet upon it ; yet the same Lord gave
this precept, TAKE HEED THAT YE DO NOT
YOUR ALMS BEFORE MEN, TO BE SEEN OF
THEM ; OTHERWISE YE HAVE NO REWARD OF
YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN. 2
2. Wherefore the hands be sometimes
covered with the Gloves, and sometimes bared,
because good works be sometimes hidden for
the avoiding of vainglory, and sometimes made
manifest to the edification of his neighbour.
3. They are without seam, for the actions of
the Bishop ought to be in right agreement with
his faith. As worn upon the hands, also, they
are a type of the examples of the Saints, which
are to be held fast by him in all his works ;
which works must be cleansed from all pollu
tion, lest the LITTLE LEAVEN LEAVEN THE
WHOLE LUMP. 3 And by the Gloves themselves,
as being white, 4 we understand chastity and
purity, that his hands, that is, his works, may
be clean, and innocent of all stain.
1 S. Matth. v. 16. 2 Ibid. vi. i. 3 Gal. v. 9.
4 Like most other Vestments, it appears that the Gloves
were originally white. But they were ornamented with jewels
from an early date.
92 TTbe Sacrefc Destments
4. As touching that which agreeth unto the
Head, even Christ, the Gloves are made of the
skins of kids, such as Rebekah put on the hands
of Jacob, that their hairiness might set forth the
likeness of his elder brother. And the skin of
the kid is the likeness of sin, with which likeness
Mother Rebekah that is, the grace of the Holy
Spirit did array the hands of the true Jacob, 1
that is, the works of Christ ; to the end that He,
the Second Adam, might bear the likeness of
the elder, that is, the first Adam. For Christ
did without sin take upon Himself the likeness
of sin, that the mystery of the Incarnation
might be concealed from the devil 2 ; and did
hunger and thirst, suffered and was affrighted,
slept and toiled, after the similitude of sinners.
Unto Whom when He had FASTED FORTY
DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS, AND WAS AFTER
WARD AN HUNGRED, 3 the devil came in the
likeness of the first Adam, and did essay to
tempt Him ; yet he who had after the same
manner conquered the first, was by the Second
vanquisht.
1 Gen. xxvii. 16.
2 Not a theological dogma, but a poetical and mystic con
ceit ; and to be taken as such.
3 S. Matth. iv. 2.
93
CHAPTER XIII
OF THE MITRE
I. Of the Bishop s Mitre, and of the Pope s Crown. 2. Of the
two Horns of the Mitre. 3. Of the two Bands of the
Mitre. 4. Of the Golden Circlet, the loftiness, and the
Bands of the Mitre. 5. Further meanings of the Mitre ;
and as touching them that wear it. 6, 7. Of the Simple
Mitre, and of the Orfreyed ; and when they be severally
worn. 8. Of the Regnum. 9, 10, ii. When the Bishop
weareth the Mitre, and when he putteth it off, at the Holy
Mass ; and the reasons alleged by some.
i. HAVING put on the Chasuble, the Bishop
placeth on his head the Mitre, 1 in the stead of
the ancient Mitre or priestly bonnet ; according
unto the words, THOU HAST CROWNED HIM,
1 This was always a peculiar ornament of Bishops. For the
first six centuries the Mitre was, in PelHccia s opinion, a simple
linen fillet or cap, which began to grow ornate in the time of
John of Cappadocia. The word Mi Ira originally denoted the
headgear of an Asiatic woman ; and in early times the mitella
was worn by Christian women as a badge of virginity. The
early Episcopal Mitre was called nitta, or infula, a fillet.
When its use became distinctively ceremonial, it came to be
called a Crown, and was regarded as strongly symbolical of the
Episcopate, Bishops taking oath per coronam meam.
94 Ube SacreO Destments
O LORD, WITH GLORY AND HONOUR. 1 The
Lord Pope hath moreover the Crown, the Im
perial Tiara and Pall, the Purple Cloak and
Blue Tunic, according to the Donation of Con-
stantine, Emperor. 2
2. Now the Mitre betokeneth the knowledge
of both Testaments ; for its two horns 3 are these
same, the fore horn the New, the after horn the
Old ; and both these the Bishop ought to know
by heart, 4 and with them, as with a twofold
Ps. viii. 5.
* Beato Siluestro . . . . et omnibus eius successoribus
Pontificibus . . . . de praesenti contradimus .... diadema,
uidelicet coronam capitis nostri, simulque frigium, necnon et
superhumerale, uidelicet lorum, quod imperiale circumdare
assolet collum ; uerum etiam clamidem purpuream, atque tuni-
cam coccineam, et omnia imperialia indumenta. [ To Blessed
Silvester and all his successors in the Holy See we donate from
this present the Diadem, to wit the Crown of our head, the
Tiara, the Imperial Pall which is wont to surround the imperial
neck, the purple cloak, the scarlet tunic, and all the Imperial
robes. ] Donation of Constantine, Grat. Decret. I. Dist. xcvi.
c. xiv. Constantinus. The Frigium, or Phrygium, was so
called because the Emperor s tiara was opere contexta
Phrygio (Du Cange, subvoce}. (The reader will understand
that I am not concerned to discuss the genuineness of the
Donation of Constantine. )
3 The Mitre was originally single in form, the division into two
horns having come into general vogue about the tenth century.
4 This in the Dark Ages, when the Bible is popularly
supposed to have been a sealed or unknown book ! We are very
proud of our days of an Open Bible ; but if we read, marked,
learned, and inwardly digested it as much as we talk about it,
our national humility, learning, and piety might be materially
increased.
tbe /HMtre 95
horn, to smite the enemies of the Faith. Thus
ought he to appear horned unto his flock, as did
Moses in the eyes of Aaron and of the children
of Israel from his companying with the Word
of God, when bearing the two Tables of the Tes
timony he came down from Mount Sinai l ; as
it is said in the thirty-fourth chapter of Exodus.
Yet do certain heretics condemn the Mitre with
its horns, and the Bishop wearing it ; who allege
unto the fostering of their error the words of
John in the Apocalypse, 2 I BEHELD ANOTHER
BEAST COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH, AND
HE HAD TWO HORNS LIKE A LAMB, AND HE
SPAKE AS A DRAGON.
3. The two fringed bands 3 that hang from
behind the Mitre are the spirit and the letter ;
by which bands, or little tongues, it is set forth
that the Bishop ought to be ready both in the
mystical and in the historical interpretation of
1 Ex. xxxiv. 29, 30. In E. V. we read, the skin of his
face shone. But the Hebrew verb kdran, to shine, is con
nected with keren, a horn ; and hence we have the verb
rendered horned in Aquila s version and in the Vulg. The
latter reads et ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua ex con-
sortio sermonis Domini. Thus it comes to pass that so many
representations of Moses are horned.
* Rev. xiii. n. The wresting of the Apocalypse to pur
poses of this sort was plainly not unknown before the Refor
mation ; cf. Proeme, 14.
3 Fimbriae. Called also infulae.
96 Ube Sacrefc Destments
Holy Scripture. At their ends are fringes of
red, denoting that he is prepared to defend the
Faith and the Holy Scriptures, yea, even unto
blood. And these hang down over his shoulders,
in token that he should shew forth in his deeds
that which he preacheth with his lips ; for that
there is no part more eminent than the shoulders
for might to labour, or for bearing of burthens ;
wherefore by them works be meetly understood.
4. The golden circlet which embraceth the
after and fore parts of the Mitre, sheweth that
EVERY SCRIBE WHICH IS INSTRUCTED UNTO
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO AN
HOUSEHOLDER WHICH BRINGETH FORTH OUT
OF HIS TREASURES THINGS NEW AND OLD. 1
Let the Bishop therefore take earnest heed that
he desire not to be a master or. ever he know
how to be a disciple, lest if the BLIND LEAD THE
BLIND, THEY BOTH FALL INTO THE DITCH 2 ;
for it is written in the Prophet, BECAUSE THOU
HAST REJECTED KNOWLEDGE, I WILL ALSO
REJECT THEE, THAT THOU SHALT BE NO
PRIEST TO ME. 3 Moreover, it well befitteth
that the Mitre, whose shape goeth up into an
1 S. Matth. xiii. 52. This, and much else of the Mitre
hitherto, is to he found almost word for word in Innocent III.
2 Ibid. xv. 14. ^ Hos iv 6
tbe flDitre 97
height, 1 should stand for the loftiness of wisdom,
for the Bishop ought so to excel in knowledge
those who are subject unto him, that in their
relation to him they may worthily be called his
flock.
The two bands which hang from the hinder
part of the Mitre denote a twofold mindfulriess.
The former is the mindfulness of the Divine
acts ; lest in celebrating he make little reckon
ing thereof, and be punished : and for a like
reason even in the Old Testament he that would
offer sacrifice was wont to walk amid the sound
of bells, that thereby he might be received as
worthy or be rejected as unworthy, by the
Angel who was placed to guard the Temple.
And the second band is the mindfulness of his
sins, that he have contrition of them.
5. The Mitre, being sometimes of white
linen, signifieth the whiteness and cleanness of
Chastity ; wherefore this Vestment is very
necessary unto the head, in which the body s
five senses have their seat of life 2 ; for Chastity
is easily violated, if thou corrupt these.
Also there be some who affirm that the
1 The Mitre seems to have gradually grown in height, from
its low stature at the beginning, to its present towering form.
2 Vigent. Durandus s physiology is unimpeachable here, as
regards the reflex action of physical sensations.
H
98 ZTbe Sacrefc Destments
Bishop s Mitre is a type of the Crown of Thorns.
And hence it cometh that in the Office of the
Mass, wherein the Bishop representeth Christ in
His Passion, it is the Deacon who putteth him
the Mitre on and off; for that it is the Deacon s
office to read the Gospel, in the which it is
written concerning Christ crowned with thorns.
And the two horns are the two precepts of
Charity ; wherefore the Bishop taketh the Mitre
in understanding that he ought to guard his
five senses against the allurements of the world,
so as to keep the laws of the two Testaments ;
and to fulfil the two precepts of Chanty, that
he may be counted worthy to receive an eternal
crown.
But the others, Priests and clergy, cover not
in general their heads with any ornament, 1
1 To do so was strictly forbidden before the thirteenth
century. But Pope Innocent IV. (A.D. 1243) allowed the
resident monks of Canterbury to wear the Almuce, a fur hood
which covered the head and hung down to the shoulders,
because they found themselves grauissimis morbis implicitos
through worshipping bareheaded. The present biretta, or more
properly berretta, took its origin -n ordinary layman s cap in
the sixteenth century. It is regarded as the official headgear of
the clergy, and so is worn in Church. Many object to the
biretta on the ground of its being Italian. To which it may
be answered all honour to Italy for having evolved a vestment
which for simplicity, convenience, and seemliness leaves little
to be desired ! The objection raised by some that the use of
f tbe /llMtre 99
albeit upon Festivals they be vested in every
other part of the body. And this is in part
because our joy is not yet full, for we joy not in
the possession of things present, but in the hope
of things to come ; and in part because we be
journeying unto that estate, wherein we shall
behold God with open face.
6. Now the Orfreyed Mitre l is to be used
from Easter unto Advent and from the Lord s
Nativity unto Septuagesima, and upon all
Doubles, and upon Feasts having nine Lessons
throughout the year, save upon the Feast of the
Holy Innocents, as shall be said in the chapter
of the Colours 2 ; and upon the Sundays of the
aforesaid seasons, and in general whenever
Gloria in Excelsis and Te Deum shall be said.
For when these are said upon Feasts, wherein
we have in mind generally or specially the
excellence of the Head or the joy of the mcm-
the biretta involves unfaithfulness to the Church of England,
speaks volumes for the conscience of the objectors, but little
for their sense of humour.
1 There are now three kinds of Mitre, (i. ) Mitra Simplex,
of plain white silk or linen, (ii.) M. AuHfrigiata, adorned
with orfreys of gold, (iii.) M. Pretiosa, richly embroidered
and adorned with gold and precious stones. Caeremoniale
Episcoporum, Lib. I. c. xvii. Durandus gives only the two
former.
2 Ch. xviii. 6, q. v.
ioo ftbe sacrefc Destments
bers, we do rightly use the Orfreyed Mitre ;
for the brightness of gold and jewels represen-
teth joy. But upon Fasts it is not to be used,
as folio weth, because these have been ordained
for the blotting-out of sins, which upon them are
to be brought to remembrance ; and therefore
nought is then to be wrought or worn which
signifieth joy, but rather all that may mark
affliction and humility.
7. At other times the Orfreyed Mitre is
ruled not to be used, but the Simple : namely,
from Advent unto the Nativity (save that the
Lord Pope weareth the Orfreyed upon Gaudete
Sunday) and from Septuagesima unto Easter
(save of the Pope upon Laetare l Sunday,
Maundy Thursday at Mass only, and Holy
Saturday at Mass). Also upon Feasts of three
Lessons occurring within these seasons, upon
all Vigils whereon a Feast is kept, at the Four
Seasons, 2 and upon Rogation days (save that
the Lord Pope weareth the Orfreyed upon the
1 Gaudete Sunday (the Third Sunday in Advent) is so
called because the Introit for that day begins Gaudete in
Domino semper ; and Laetare Sunday (the Fourth Sunday
in Lent) because its Introit begins Laetare Jerusalem. See
Ch. xviii. 6.
2 I.e. the Ember Days, which fall in the four seasons of the
year respectively.
t tfte fllMtre 101
Feast of St. Mark at Mass only) ; also in the
Offices of the departed. 1
8. This also is to be noted, that the Bishop
of Rome weareth the Regnum, 2 that is, the
Imperial Crown, in token of Imperial sway, and
the Mitre in token of High Priesthood ; but he
weareth the Mitre everywhere and always, yet
1 The Caeremoniale Episcopomm says : The Bishop uses
the Precious Mitre on the greater Feasts, and generally
when Te Deum and Gloria in Excelsis are said. Neverthe
less the Orfreyed Mitre may be used on these same Fes
tivals, but rather for convenience than of necessity. The
Orfreyed Mitre is used from Advent Sunday until Christmas
Day, except upon Gaudete Sunday, when the Precious is used ;
from Septuagesima until Wednesday in Holy Week inclu
sively, except Laetare Sunday ; upon all Fasted Vigils, Ember
Days, and Rogation Days, and in Litanies and Processions of a
penitential nature ; on Holy Innocents Day, unless it fall on a
Sunday ; in Offices having three Lessons, and at private Bene
dictions and Consecrations. The Simple Mitre is used on
Good Friday, and at Offices and Masses for the Dead. Thus it
will be seen that Durandus, roughly speaking, assigns to his
Orfreyed Mitre the present use of the Precious, and to his
Simple those of the present Orfreyed and Simple combined ;
the Precious Mitre being evidently a subsequent evolution from
the old Orfreyed, and having thrown the two others, as it were,
each a step downward.
2 I.e. the Papal Tiara, now a triple crown, called some
times Frigium, the token of Temporal Power. It is usually
represented as worn first by S. Silvester (A.D. 315) as granted
to him by the Donation of Constantine (see p. 94, n. 2), and
Platina, I/it. Pont., sub Silvestro}. The second crown was
added, it is said, by Boniface VIII., in token of the union of
the Spiritual and Temporal Powers ; and the third, by Urban V.
102 Tibe sacveD Vestments
not everywhere and always the Regnum, because
Pontifical authority hath priority of Imperial
power, and is of more dignity and extent. 1 For
the Priesthood took precedence of the Kinghood
amongst the people of God ; for Aaron the first
High Priest was before Saul the first King, and
Noe was before Nimrod, as it is written, 2 THE
BEGINNING OF THE KINGDOM OF NIMROD
WAS BABYLON ; but Noe BUILDED AN ALTAR
UNTO THE LORD, AND OFFERED BURNT
OFFERINGS ON THE ALTAR. 3 Wherefore the
Lord Pope doth not wear the Regnum, save on
certain days and in certain places, nor anywhere
within the Church, but without it.
9. As touching that which agreeth unto the
Head, even Christ, the Bishop s Mitre be-
tokeneth that which the Prophet, 4 speaking
of the Son, saith unto the Father, THOU HAST
CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOUR :
THOU MADEST HIM TO HAVE DOMINION OVER
THE WORKS OF THINE HANDS. It IS the Name
WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, THAT AT THE
NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW,
OF THINGS IN HEAVEN, AND THINGS IN
EARTH, AND THINGS UNDER THE EARTH. 5
1 So Innocent III. 2 Gen. x. 10. 3 Ibid. ix. 20.
1 Ps. viii. 5, 6. 5 Phil. ii. 9, 10.
f tbe /IDitre 103
For upon the golden plate l of the High Priest s
Mitre was graven the Four-Lettered Name 2 of
the Lord, whose mystery we shall set forth in the
chapter of the Vestments of the Law. 3 Thus
by the Christian Mitre we understand that
supreme glorifying of the Head or Person of
Christ, which by reason of His Godhead we
owe unto His Manhood, even as His Footstool
is adored by reason of His Feet ; for it is
written, FALL DOWN BEFORE HIS FOOTSTOOL,
I OR HE IS HOLY. 4
10. And mark that as Zachary, Pope, 5 hath
said, the Bishop who goeth unto the Altar to
pray, or assisteth at the Altar or uttereth
prayers before God, layeth aside his Mitre and
Staff ; because the Apostle forbiddeth that men
should pray in Church with covered head, that
they may contemplate the glory of God with
1 The Fathers say that S. James, Bishop of Jerusalem, and
S. John were in the habit of wearing this Golden Plate.
2 Ex. xxviii. 36-38.
3 Ch. xix. 1 6, and notes.
4 Ps. xcix. 5.
5 Grat. Decret. De Cons. Dist. I. c. 57 : Nullus epi-
scopus . . . presumat . . . uelato capite altari Dei assistere.
... Si quis uero presumpserit, a sacro Corpore et Sanguine
D. N. J. C. sit suspensus. [Let no Bishop presume to assist
at God s Altar with head covered. If any do so, he shall be
suspended from Communion.] So Pope Zacharias decreed,
Synod of Rome, A.D. 743.
104 TTbe Sacrefc Destments
open face. 1 But when he turneth himself unto
the people to preach to them, he taketh again
the symbol of his dread authority. In like
manner Moses also urged the people s cause
with God by prayer, but God s matter brought
he before the people with the sword.
u. Lastly be it noted, that some Bishops
do give solemn blessing in the Mass, and
incense the Altar, without the Mitre ; but
others do wear it the while. The former are
prompted by this thought, that in their solemn
blessing they are vicegerents of God, and that
God in a mystery blesseth through their mean ;
as it is said in the sixth chapter of the Book of
Numbers, 2 THEY SHALL INVOKE MY NAME
UPON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND I WILL
15LESS THEM. The incensing of the Altar, too,
signifieth prayers, as in the eighth chapter of
the Apocalypse we are told that THE SMOKE
OF THE INCENSE ASCENDED UP FROM THE
PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS. 3 As pleading, there
fore, the cause of the folk with God in prayer,
1 i Cor. xi. 4. 2 Num. vi. 27.
3 Rev. viii. 4 : Ascenclit fumus incensorum de orationi-
bus sanctorum. Greek, avtfit] 6 Kairvhs rais irpocrevxais which
E. V. renders ascended -with the prayers of the Saints. With
all deference to our author who does but lightly touch upon
the matter here we may say that the Incensing of the Altar is
more strictly a type of the application of the atoning merit of
Our Lord to material things. It is the censer that is the type
f tfoe /Ifettre 105
they say that the Bishop ought to do this with
reverence, that is, with his Mitre put off.
The latter, on the other hand, are minded
that blessing and incensing are not essential to
the consecration of the Body of Christ, but have
regard merely unto solemnity of function ; and
therefore do they perform these rites vested in
the Mitre, that they may be distinguished from
simple Priests thereby. For though the Bishop
beareth more part than the mere Priest in those
matters which belong unto solemn function, as
in Vestments and the like, yet not so in those
which have regard unto the Consecration itself.
Still doth this reason appear in a manner in
sufficient, for it would accord therewith never l
to put off the Mitre at Mass, save when those
words are pronounced at which the change of
species taketh place.
of prayer ; the incense being the merits of Our Lord. As the
censer conveys and offers on high the smoke of the incense, so
our prayers convey and offer on high the merits of the one
acceptable Sacrifice. In the Apocalypse (v. 8) we read of
(pid\as xP vff ^ s Jff^ovffas 6v/j.La/j.driav, a l elffiv al irpoffevxal Ttav
ayiwv golden vials full of odours, which [the vials, not the
odours] are the prayers of the Saints. The passage above
quoted also illustrates this. We do not want types of things we
have or can make for ourselves and prayer is such a thing ;
but only of things we have not, or have not always fully and
completely.
1 Some editors leave out this never (non). I have
retained it, as its omission seems to miss Durandus whole
point.
io6 TEbe Sacrefc tPestments
CHAPTER XIV
OF THE RING
1,2. Of the Ring and its meaning, as a sign of plighted love.
3. Of the Ring as a seal ; and of the Finger, whereon it is
worn. 4. Of the Ring as golden, and round.
i. THE Ring 1 is the sign of plighted faith,
wherewith Christ hath espoused His Bride
Holy Church, that she may have authority to
say concerning herself, The Lord Jesus Clirist
hath espoused me with His Ring, Whose watch
men and teachers are the Bishops and Prelates,
vvho bear rings as a figure and token of this very
thing ; those watchmen whereof saith the Spouse
in the Canticles, 2 THE WATCHMEN THAT GO
ABOUT THE CITY FOUND ME. This is the
Ring that was given by the Father unto his son
1 An integral part of the Episcopal ornaments from very
early times. It is mentioned by S. Isidore of Seville in the
sixth century. It is placed upon the right hand of the Bishop
by the priest assistant, who first kisses the Ring and the Bishop s
hand. The Ring has usually been large and massive, set with a
jewel and adorned with devices.
- Cant. iii. 3.
f tbe 1Rin$ 107
returning, according to that of the Gospel, 1 PUT
A RING ON HIS HAND ; and from this place of
the Gospel it is thought that the use of the
Ring hath been derived.
2. The Bishop s Ring therefore signifieth
the integrity of plighted troth, namely, that he
should love the Church, God s Spouse, com
mitted unto him, even as himself, and should
keep her pure and chaste for her Heavenly
Bridegroom; as in that of Paul, 2 I HAVE
ESPOUSED YOU TO ONE HUSBAND, THAT I
MAY PRESENT YOU AS A CHASTE VIRGIN TO
CHRIST ; and that he may be mindful that he
himself is not a master, but a pastor. Of this
Bridegroom and Bride John Evangelist saith, 3
HE THAT HATH THE BRIDE IS THE BRIDE
GROOM ; BUT THE FRIEND OF THE BRIDE
GROOM, WHICH STANDETH AND HEARETH
HIM, REJOICETH GREATLY BECAUSE OF THE
BRIDEGROOM S VOICE. The Bishop, therefore,
is the Vicar and Friend of the Bridegroom ;
and being His Vicar, is himself also the Bride
groom in certain wise.
3. Again, with a Ring of old they were wont
to seal letters ; wherefore the Bishop weareth a
1 S. Luke xv. 22. l 2 Cor. xi. 2.
3 S. John iii. 29.
zrbe Sacrefc
Ring, for that he should seal up the mysteries
of Scripture and the holy things of the Church
from the faithless, and reveal them unto the
humble.
And as touching that which agreeth unto
the Head, even Christ, the Ring on the finger is
a type of the gift of the Holy Ghost ; for the
finger, which is a part jointed and distinct,
giveth an hint of the Holy Ghost, according
unto that scripture, THE MAGICIANS SAID, THIS
IS THE FINGER OF GOD l ; and in another
place, IF I WITH THE FINGER OF GOD CAST
OUT DEVILS, BY WHOM DO YOUR SONS CAST
THEM OUT ? 2
4. Also the Ring, being golden and round,
rcpresenteth the perfection of the Spirit s gifts,
which Christ hath received without measure, 3
for that in Him dwelleth ALL THE FULNESS
OF THE GODHEAD BODILY. 4 For HE THAT
COMETH FROM HEAVEN IS ABOVE ALL, 5 unto
Whom GOD GAVE NOT THE SPIRIT BY
MEASURE, saying, UPON WHOM THOU SHALT
SEE THE SPIRIT DESCENDING, AND REMAIN
ING ON HIM, THE SAME IS HE THAT BAP-
1 Ex. viii. 19.
2 S. Luke xi. 19, 20. The clauses are transposed.
3 S. John iii. 34. Col. ii. 9. 5 S. John iii. 31.
f tfoe iRlno 109
TISETH. 1 For THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND
UNDERSTANDING SHALL REST UPON HIM. 2
And He of His fulness distributeth in divers
gifts, giving unto one, as saith the Apostle, THE
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE, TO ANOTHER THE
GIFT OF HEALING, TO ANOTHER THE WORK
ING OF MIRACLES, 3 and so forth ; and this the
visible Bishop imitateth, making in the Church
some Priests, some Deacons, others Subdeacons,
and the rest. Wherefore it is not amiss that
the jewelled Ring gleameth upon the ringer
of the Bishop ; for by Him, of Whom it is the
mystic symbol, are given the bright gifts of
grace.
1 S. John i. 33. 2 Is. xi. 2. 3 i Cor. xii. 9, 10.
SacreO IDestments
CHAPTER XV
OF THE PASTORAL STAFF
I. Of the Pastoral Staff, its origin and meaning. 2. Of the
Names and Meanings thereof. 3. Of the Material and
Shape of the Staff, and wherefore it is so. 4. Of the three
Functions of the Staff, as set forth by its three parts. 5. Of
the historical reason wherefore the Pope useth not the
Staff. 6. Of the mystical reason wherefore the Pope useth
not the Staff. 7. Of the Pastoral Staff as touching Christ.
i. THE Pastoral Staff 1 signifieth Pastoral
Correction, according unto that which is said
by the Consecrator unto him that is conse
crated, Receive the Staff of the Pastoral Office,
that in the chastising of vices thou mayest be
1 This, the sceptre of spiritual authority, has many names ;
it is called virga, cambuita, sambtua,pedum, crocia, andferuta.
Its use may be traced at least as far as the sixth century
(S. Greg. Tur. De Mirac. S. Mart. L. i. c. 4). And tradition
carries it back to the time of S. Peter himself. The essential
notion of it is threefold it may be called a Crook, a Sceptre,
and a Rod ; in other words, it expresses the threefold function
of the Prelate, as a Shepherd, to gather in the wanderers to the
true Fold ; a King, to rule his spiritual subjects, under Christ ;
and a Master, to correct the froward and spur on the indolent.
Baronius (c. A.D. 504) says that the Pastoral Staff was used by
Bishops as early as the fourth century.
f tbe pastoral Staff
angry, and sin not l And hereof also the
ApOStle, 2 SHALL I COME TO YOU WITH A ROD ?
By the Pastoral Staff therefore we do under
stand the priestly power, which Christ did
confer upon His Apostles, when sending them
out to preach He charged them that they
should bear staves. And Moses also was sent
into Egypt with a rod.
2. Thus the Staff is derived from both the
Law and the Gospel, being called both the
Pastoral Staff, and the Crosier, and the Crook,
and the Rod. For Moses had a Rod by the
commandment of God, which wrought terrible
things in sea and sky, bringing food from
heaven, and water from the rock .; and drave
his flock unto the LAND FLOWING WITH MILK
AND HONEY. 3 Further, the Staff is Doctrinal
Authority. For by it the weak are sustained,
the restless rallied, and the erring drawn to
repentance ; whence it is called Pedum, the
Crook, which is the name of the curved wooden
staff wherewith shepherds draw back their
herds by the feet.
1 The Pontifical has these words : Accipe baculum pas-
toralis officii, ut sis in corrigcndis uitiis pie saeviens, iudicium
sine ira tenens, in fouendis uirtutibus auditorum animos demul-
cens, in tranquillitate seueritatis censuram non deserens.
- i Cor. iv. 21. 3 Josh. v. 6.
Ube Sacrefc Vestments
3. Now the Staff is for the most part made
of ivory and wood, 1 which are joined together
by a knop 2 of crystal and gilt ; the ivory
above is crooked, and the wood below hath an
iron point, but not much of the end is hidden
therein. 3 The ivory is the severity of the Law,
the wood the Gospel s gentleness ; and these
twain are joined with the knop, as it were by the
Divinity of Jesus Christ. Or, if thou wilt, the
ivory is the Bishop s severity, and the wood his
gentleness, both the which in his judgments he
combineth with the BOND OF CHARITY ; for
either sternness or mildness lacketh exceed
ingly, if the one be held to without the other ;
and to this end the iron is blunt, for that justice
is tempered with mercy. The Staff is crooked,
1 So always in primitive times ; generally either of elder
(hence probably the name sambttca, sambucus meaning
elder) or of cypress. Martigny says most commonly the latter
(Diet, des Antiq. Chrft. s.v. Eveques ).
2 These developed into most elaborate pieces of tabernacle-
work, like the knops of chalices, octagonal, and adorned with
images set with precious stones. In Dugdale s Monasticon the
following is quoted from an inventory of Lichfield Cathedral :
Imprimis, a head of a Bishop s Staff of silver and gilt, with
one knop and pearls, and other stones, having an image of our
Saviour on the one side, and an image of S. John Baptist on
the other, weighing eighteen ounces. Visitors to Oxford are
familiar with the exquisite Pastoral Staves preserved at New,
Corpus Christi, and S. John s.
* Modice tamen reconditur.
tbe pastoral Staff 113
to signify the recalling of the contrite into
penance. Sometimes the curve maketh the
shape of an head, because eternal life is promised
unto them that turn to God ; and sometimes
rcurid the curved part is written,
CVM . IRATVS . FVERIS . MISERICORDIAE .
RECORDABERIS,
which is, being interpreted, In wrath remember
mercy l ; lest by reason of the backslidings of
his flock the shepherd s wrath should becloud
the eyes of his reason. Sometimes upon the
knop is inscribed HOMO, that the Bishop may
remember himself to be but man, nor be puffed
up with the power committed unto him ; some
times also hard by the point is written FARCE,
that in his discipline he may spare those subject
unto him, and being merciful may for his mercy
obtain mercy.
4. The Staff is sharp at the end, straight in
the midst, and crooked at the top ; this meaneth
that the Bishop ought to goad on the idle, to
direct the feeble with his own Tightness, and
to gather the wanderers together ; hence the
verse,
COLLIGE . SVSTENTA . STIMVLA . VAGA .
MORBIDA . LENTA,
1 Hab. iii. 2.
H4 Ube Sacrefc Destments
which being interpreted is,
Gather, and guide, and goad unto the goal
The stray, the ailing, and the tarrying soul ;
wherein if thou refer word to his word, thou wilt
find that all the foregoing are contained. Or it
may be thus,
ATTRAHE . PER . PRIMVM . MEDIO . REGE .
PVNGE . PER . IMVM,
which is
The Top, to draw into the road :
The Midst, to rule : the End, to goad. 1
5. But the Bishop of Rome useth not the
Pastoral Staff, partly for an historical, and in
part for a mystical reason. The historical reason
is as follows. The Blessed Apostle Peter sent
Martial his disciple (whom the Lord made to be
His follower when He said, EXCEPT YE BECOME
AS THIS LITTLE CHILD, YE SHALL NOT ENTER
INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 2 ) with certain
others to preach unto the Germans. When they
had gone a twenty-days journey, Martial s col-
1 The full quatrain is thus :
In Baculi forma, Praesul, datur haec tibi norma :
Attrahe per curuum, medio rege, punge per imum ;
Attrahe peccantes, rege iustos, punge uagantes ;
Attrahe, sustenta, stimula uaga, morbida, lenta.
S. Matth. xviii. 3, 4.
tbe pastoral Staff
league, Frontus, died, and Martial returned to
tell this to Peter ; whereupon Peter said unto
him, Take this Staff and touch him with it,
and say, In the Name of the Lord arise and
preach This Martial did, touching him on the
fortieth day after his death ; and he arose, and did
preach. And it was thus that Saint Peter put
away his Staff from him and gave it unto his
flock ; nor did he recover it again. But on the
other hand, Innocent the Third, Pope, wrote in
the Speculum Ecclesiae that Blessed Peter sent
his Staff unto Eucherius, 1 first Bishop of Treves,
whom he appointed, together with Valerius
and Maternus, to preach the Gospel unto the
Teutonic people ; and to him Maternus suc
ceeded as Bishop, who had been raised up from
death by Peter s Staff. 2 And this Staff is
preserved by the Church of Treves with great
veneration even unto this day 3 ; wherefore the
1 Cir. A.D. 362. In the legend of Maternus, Bishop of
Cologne, the see of Treves is said to have been founded in the
first century, and Maternus, Eucherius, and Valerius were its
first Bishops. Greg. Tur. Vit. Pat. c. 17, 4, p. 1237.
2 This variant of the story is also given by S. Thomas
Aquinas, In IV. Sententiaruni, Distinct, xxiv. Qu. 3 ; and by
Honorius of Autun, and Peter of Clugni.
3 Georgius says that Egbert, Archbishop of Treves, A.D. 980,
obtained this Staff from Werinus, Archbishop of Cologne,
whither a former Bishop, Bruno, had transferred it. The Case
in which the Staff is contained preserves the above history, in a
ube Sacrefc Vestments
Pope useth the Staff in that diocese, and none
other. 1
6. But the mystical reason is this, that the
drawing-in of wanderers, as symbolised by the
crookedness of the top of the Staff, is not needed
in the case of the Bishop of Rome ; for that
none can altogether turn away from him. 2 More
over the Staff is a type of that constraining
power, which the other Bishops receive at the
hands of men, and therefore do they receive and
hold their Staves from those set over them.
But the Pope, because he receiveth his power
from God alone, hath not the Staff.
7. Lastly, as touching that which agreeth
unto the Head, even Christ, the Bishop s Staff
very ancient inscription. This case is covered with plates of
silver, curiously gilt, and adorned with jewels ; and round the
knop of the Staff are small images of the Twelve Apostles.
See Pugin s Glossary, under Pope.
1 The last-quoted authority questions whether the Popes did
not at one time carry a Pastoral Staff, and cites from the cere
monies of the election of Pope Pascal II. (A.D. 1099) a state
ment to the effect that a Staff was given into his hand.
2 As wielder of a jurisdiction extending to all the baptised.
S. Thomas Aquinas makes the curvature of the Pastoral Staff
denote a limited jurisdiction. The Triple Cross may be said to
have taken its place as a Papal emblem. It is, however, an
open question whether the Popes ever used the Pastoral Staff.
There are three distinct ancient representations of S. Gregory
with one ; and the tendency to deny its use by the early Popes
seems to date from the twelfth century.
f tbe pastoral Staff 117
signifieth the power of Christ, whereof the
Psalmist saith, THE ROD OF THY KINGDOM IS
A RIGHT SCEPTRE, that is, a sceptre of direction,
FOR THOU HAST LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND
HATED INIQUITY 1 ; and elsewhere, THOU SHALT
RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON. 2 The hard
ness of the iron signifieth the might of right-
ness, with which Christ SHALL BREAK THE
UNRIGHTEOUS IN PIECES LIKE A POTTER S
VESSEL. 3
Yet is the power of Christ not the power of
the rod alone, but the power also of the Staff,
for it doth not only chasten, but sustaineth ;
whence the Psalmist, 4 THY ROD AND THY STAFF
COMFORT ME.
1 Ps. xlv. 7, 8.
2 Ibid. ii. 9. Vulg. reges ; E.V. thou shalt bruise.
* Ibid. < Ibid, xxiii. 4.
us ufoe Sacrefc IDestments
CHAPTER XVI
OF THE SUDARIUM
I. Of the use of the Sudarium, and of the meaning thereof.
2. Of its signification as touching ourselves.
I. AND now, having done with the Nine Vest
ments peculiar to the Bishop, let us for a space
consider certain others : whereof the first shall
be the Sudarium. This is a linen cloth, which
he that serveth the Bishop hath alway ready,
wherewith the latter may wipe away from
himself all the sweat and unnecessary moistness
of the body ; and it signifieth the care we must
have to wipe away all this life s human de
filements through the examples of the holy
Fathers, by the which we are confirmed unto
patience. For as sweat in the body, so is that
weariness in the soul, whensoever it doth bedew
as it were the brow of the conscience through
the consciousness of sin.
2. Let us have, then, as it were a Napkin of
linen, chastened and cleansed by many blows,
f tbe Su&arium
with which to wipe off the affections of this
world ; and with David l and Job 2 laying aside
sadness, let us wipe away all that may oppress
us.
In some Churches the Deacon hath a
Sudarium, and layeth it down on the right side
of the Altar, that if aught foul should chance
to come near he may wipe it away, and so
may keep the Priest s Sudarium clean every
whit.
The meaning of the Sudarium is almost
the same as that of the Maniple ; whereof I
have spoken above.
1 2 Sam. xii. 20. 2 Job xlii.
120 tlbe Sacrefc Destments
CHAPTER XVII
OF THE PALL
i. Of the Pall and its origin. 2. Of the high rank of them
that wear the same. 3. Of the Form, Material, and
Fashioning thereof. 4. Of the circular part of the Pall, and
of the meaning thereof. 5. Of the two Strips of the Pall, and
what they signify. 6, 7. Of the Pall as double on the left
side. 8. Of the four Crosses on the Pall, and of the mean
ing thereof. 9, 10. Of the three Pins fastened in the Pall,
and their meaning. n, 12. Of the use of the Pall as
touching Times and Places. 13. Of the days and seasons
wherein the Pall shall be worn. 14. Of the Palls of the
Popes.
I. Now in due course we shall subjoin some
what concerning the Pall. 1 This Vestment per-
1 The Pall, the emblem of full jurisdiction in the Bishop,
was, according to Gregory Nazianzen, originally an ornament
of the heathen emperors in the character of Pontifex Maximus,
and was first presented by Constantine the Great to the Bishop
of Jerusalem. But from very early times there was a large
woollen Vestment worn by Bishops generally, properly called
w/j.o(t>6pioi>, and worn, according to Liberatus, by S. Mark, at
Alexandria. This Vestment, which Isidore of Pelusium says
was a figure of the lost sheep borne on the shoulders of the Good
Shepherd, was, according to Pelliccia and others, the prototype
of the Pallium ; having been gradually cut down, until only its
outer edges remained. After a time it acquired a jurisdictional
meaning, and Emperors and Patriarchs began to bestow it upon
f tbe
taineth unto Patriarchs, Primates, and Metro
politans, to distinguish them from the rest of
the Bishops, for that unto these is committed a
special dignity of privilege ; wherefore I have in
no wise mentioned it under the heads of the
foregoing Vestments common or peculiar.
In the Pall, then, we find at once both the
Ephod and the Breastplate of the Priest in the
Law. For it may be called Superhumeral, in
that it falleth over both the Bishop s shoulders,
and Rationale or Breastplate, in that it falleth
thence upon his breast, and is fastened there ;
for the ancient High Priest had both Ephod and
Breastplate joined together by chains of gold.
Some there be, however, who hold that the
Breastplate hath to-day no Vestment to repre
sent it ; concerning which matter I will speak
in the last chapter of this Book. 1 Others
say that the Pall was instituted in the stead
of the Golden Plate ; though it seem more
chief Bishops ; then the right of conferring it passed by degrees
into the hands of the Roman Pontiff, and it became customary
in the Roman Church for Metropolitans to go to Rome to
receive it; until, at the Fourth Lateran Council (A.D. 1215), it
was formally decreed that Oriental Patriarchs must receive the
Pall from the Pope. And from that day to this its bestowal has
been, in the Roman Catholic Church, an indispensable condi
tion of the full exercise of Metropolitan authority.
1 14-
122 Ube Sacrefc Destments
likely that the Orfreyed Mitre representeth the
Plate.
2. Now the Pall as worn by these greater f ;
ones signifieth the authority wherewith they
ought to rule and restrain, not only those
submitted unto them, but also themselves ; for
by this means is won that golden chain which
those receive who strive lawfully, of which
Solomon speaketh in the Proverbs, 1 saying, MY
SON, HEAR THE INSTRUCTION OF THY FATHER,
AND FORSAKE NOT THE LAW OF THY MOTHER :
FOR THEY SHALL BE AN ORNAMENT OF GRACE
UNTO THY HEAD, AND CHAINS ABOUT THY
NECK. But even as the chain or prize was not
wont to be given, save unto them that strove
lawfully, according unto that word of the
ApOStle, MANY RUN, BUT ONE RECEIVETH THE
PRIZE, 2 so also none shall make his way unto
the honour of the Pall, save that he have first
laboured lawfully in each degree of office ecclesi
astical. For even as touching the offices of this
world they confer not the highest place upon
them that are but just entered upon the threshold
of their labours, but upon such as have been!
approved in their passage through many de
grees ; and that degree excelleth the rest, who re -
1 Prov. i. 8, 9. 2 I Cor. ix. 24.
f tbe pall 123
unto more protracted labour and longer service
have given the precedence.
The Pall, then, is worn over all Vestments, 1
that the other Ministers when they see it may
be exhorted unto lawful striving. And the
Bishop, when he putteth it on and off, 2 doth
kiss it, to show his own great desire of con
tending lawfully, and of deserving the prize.
3. It is woven of white wool, 3 having a
1 When the Pall is put upon the Archbishop, it is always
placed over the Chasuble, so that its double part shall lie on the
left shoulder (Caer. Ep. I. xvi. De Pallio ).
2 The following account of the putting-on of the Pall, when
the Bishop celebrates High Mass, may be of interest : If the
Bishop may wear the Pall, and it be convenient for him to do
so upon that day, it is brought by a Subdeacon from the Altar,
in both hands, covered with a veil. The Deacon then takes it
and offers it to the Bishop, that he may kiss it upon the cross
behind ; and he has a care, in holding it, to take the double
part in his right hand, and the single in his left. And while he
puts it on, the Subdeacon raises with his right hand the part
which must hang down from the back, and they arrange it
evenly over the Bishop s shoulders, so that the double part goes
over his left shoulder. This done, the Deacon takes one of the
three pins, which are brought by an Acolyth ; and the fairest of
these he fixes into the front cross of the Pall, which is before the
breast, and another into that on the left shoulder ; while the
Subdeacon fixes the third into the cross behind ; and all are
fixed in such a manner that they may go through the Cross, but
not pierce the Pall nor touch the Chasuble, and that the jewels
fixed to the pins may lie on the right-hand side of him that puts
them in (Caer. Ep. L. II. c. viii. De Missa Solemni
Episcopo celebrante ).
3 The office of making and keeping the Pallia belongs to the
124 Ube Sacrefc Destments
circular part confining the shoulders, and two
strips hanging down before and behind ; on the
left it is double, on the right single ; and it hath
four purple crosses, one before, one behind, one
on the right, and one on the left ; there be also
three pins fastened therein. Some things there
be, which may not be done by the Metropolitan
without the Pall, nor is it lawful to wear it save
upon fixt days. And all these things are tinged
Subdeacons Apostolic, who prepare them of pure white wool in
the following manner. The holy women of the Monastery of
S. Agnes . . . offer yearly two white lambs on the Altar of
that Church on S. Agnes Day, while Agnus Dei is sung in the
High Mass. These lambs are received by two Canons of the
Church of S. John Lateran, and are afterwards consigned by
them to the Subdeacons Apostolic, who send the lambs out to
pasture till shearing-time. Their wool, and other wool mixed
with it, is spun into yarn from which Pallia are woven of the
breadth of three fingers, of a round form, to encircle the shoul
ders of Prelates. The Pallium has a band hanging down about
a Roman foot long, and at the ends small leaden weights with
bosses, covered with black silk sewn on the bands, which hang
down before and behind, and on each shoulder. The Pallia,
thus prepared, are carried to the Church of S. Peter, and there
placed by the Canons of that Church over the bodies of the
Apostles Peter and Paul beneath the High Altar ; where, having
kept vigil according to custom, they leave them all night, and
then return them to the Subdeacons, who reserve them in a
convenient place (Caer. Rom. L. I. 10 ; Pugin, sub
Pall ). The form of granting the Pall in the Pontifical is :
Tradimus tibi Pallium de corpore B. Petri sumptum, in quo
est plenitudo Pontificalis officii, cum Patriarchalis, uel Archi-
episcopalis nominis appellatione, &c. The form of the Pallium
is yet to be found upon the Arms of the See of Canterbury.
f tbe {pall 125
with spiritual mysteries and big with heavenly
meaning, for as the Scripture witnesseth, THE
PARABLES OF KNOWLEDGE ARE IN THE TREA
SURES OF WISDOM. 1 In the wool of the Pall we
see asperity ; in its whiteness, kindness : for the
Church s discipline useth towards the rebellious
and froward, severity, but gentleness towards
the contrite and humble. Wherefore the Pall
is made not of the wool of any and every
animal, but only of the sheep, which is a gentle
creature ; thus the Prophet 2 saith, HE WAS LED
AS A SHEEP TO THE SLAUGHTER, AND LIKE
A LAMB DUMB BEFORE HIS SHEARER, SO
OPENED HE NOT HIS MOUTH. Hereunto
agreeth the word we are told concerning that
man half-dead with wounds, whom the Samari
tan led into the inn and applied unto him wine
and oil, 3 that the wine might eat into his
wounds, and the oil foment them ; even so he
who hath the chief part in the healing of wounds
must apply the bite of severity, as wine, and
the gentleness of love, as it were oil. Which
also is well shewn by the Ark of the Tabernacle,
wherein were contained, with the Tables, the
Rod and the Manna ; for in the mind of him
1 Ecclus. i. 25. 2 Is. liii. 7, as quoted Acts viii. 32.
* S. Luke x. 34.
126 zibe Sacrefc Vestments
that ruleth there ought to be, together with the
knowledge of Scripture, both the Rod of guidance,
and the Manna of kindness, that his severity be
neither unduly severe, nor his love more in
dulgent than is meet. Again, the wool is of
little price, whereof the Pall is made, that it may
be precious not in itself, but in that which in it
self it pourtrayeth, and may be meet to be looked
upon, not with the eyes, but with the mind ; in
understanding that it is worn for its meaning,
rather than for its beauty.
4. The circular part of the Pall, which con-
fineth the shoulders, is that fear of the Lord by
which works are wrought, so as neither to
decline unto lawlessness, nor relax unto excess.
For discipline must restrain the left hand from
that which is unlawful, through fear of punish
ment, while it tempereth the right hand from
extravagance, by the love of right ; wherefore
blessed is the man who feareth alway. For
according to the word of Solomon, 1 THE FEAR
OF THE LORD DRIVETH AWAY SIN ; BUT HE
THAT LIVETH WITHOUT FEAR SHALL NOT BE
JUSTIFIED. Wherefore this circle of the Pall
doth confine the shoulders below the neck, to
1 Not Solomon, but Ecclus. i. 21, 22.
t tbe pall
127
denote that he who weareth it ought to be one
in word and deed.
5. The two strips, the one extending behind
the back and the other before the breast of the
Bishop, we hold to be a sign of the cares and
anxieties of this life ; which do too often on this
wise cumber and weigh down the heart and
shoulders of the Bishop, causing him to stoop
from that erectness which should be his, so that
he must bear in mind and body the burthen of
vain and transitory things. For this reason the
Pall is fitted on from right and left before and
behind, before the breast and over the shoulders,
this signifying, that casting such things behind
him 1 he shall often restore himself to himself.
Hereby are also signified the life active and
the life contemplative ; which the Prelate ought
to live in such wise, that after the example of
Moses he may now climb up into the Mount
and there hold parleyings of wisdom with the
Lord, and now may go down into the camp, to
take thought for the needs of his people. For
he must be very ready to have a care that
though he devote himself often unto others, he
1 Ut his posthabitis in seipsum redire intelligatur. The
play in the word posthabitis is necessarily impaired in transla
tion. Fosthabeo means to throw off, disregard, a thing.
zrbe Sacvefc Destments
restore himself sometimes unto himself; being
with Martha duly busied about his constant min
istry, the while with Mary he hearkeneth unto
the words of the Saviour. And by either strip
he is weighed down, because THE CORRUPTIBLE
BODY PRESSETH DOWN THE SOUL, AND THE
EARTHLY TABERNACLE WEIGHETH DOWN THE
MIND THAT MUSETH UPON MANY THINGS. 1
6. The Pall is double on the left side, as was
also the Breastplate, but single on the right.
For this present life, which the left side signifieth,
is subject unto many troubles, and we cannot be
free from a double state therein ; being now
puffed up with well-being, now broken with
adversity ; now seeking the things of earth, now
cleaving unto heavenly things ; serving now the
flesh, now the spirit. But the life to come, which
is signified by the right side, is gathered up into
one endless rest ; as the Very Truth declareth,
when He saith, MARTHA, MARTHA, THOU ART
CAREFUL AND TROUBLED ABOUT MANY THINGS,
BUT ONE THING IS NEEDFUL ; AND MARY
HATH CHOSEN THAT GOOD PART, WHICH
SHALL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HER. 2
7. Again, the Pall is double on the left side,
that the Prelate may in his day be strong to
1 Wisd. ix. 15. 2 S. Luke x. 41, 42,
f tbe ipalt 129
bear the troubles of this present life ; but single
on the right, that with his whole heart he may
sigh to win the tranquillity of the life to come.
Whereof the Psalmist, 1 ONE THING HAVE I
DESIRED OF THE LORD WHICH I WILL REQUIRE :
EVEN THAT I MAY DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF
THE LORD ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, TO
BEHOLD THE FAIR BEAUTY OF THE LORD, AND
TO VISIT HIS TEMPLE. For There is neither
doubleness nor wrinkle, but prosperity without
adversity, and joy without sadness, and felicity
without grief.
8. The four purple crosses be the Four
Cardinal Virtues, to wit Justice, Fortitude, Tem
perance, and Prudence ; and these do usurp the
name of virtue falsely unto themselves, nor lead
unto true blessing or glory, except they be made
purple in the Blood of Christ s Cross. Where
fore the Lord said unto His Apostles, EXCEPT
YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL EXCEED THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARI
SEES, YE SHALL IN NO CASE ENTER INTO
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, 2 This is that
KING S PURPLE DYED WITH STRIPES, 3 whereof
1 Ps. xxvii. 4. 2 S. Matth. v. 20.
3 Cant. vii. 5. A difficult passage. Vulg. Comae capitis
tui sicut purpura regis vincta canalibus. A.V. the hair of
K
130 Ufoe Sacrefc IDestments
Solomon speaketh in the Song of Songs. He
therefore that is adorned with the honour of
the Pall, if he wish to be that which is exprest
in the forepart, ought to have Justice, that he
may render unto every man his own ; for the
after part he ought to have Prudence, that he
may beware of that which is harmful unto any ;
for the left, Fortitude, that ills cast him not
down ; and for the right, Temperance, that he
be not puffed up with prosperity.
9. The three pins which are fastened in the
Pall, one before the breast, one over the left
shoulder, and one behind the back, are not made
for piercing that is to say, not for the piercings
of this life but to fasten the Pall and the
Chasuble together ; and some little rings were
fixt of old in the Chasuble, into which the
pins were inserted, making both Pall and
Chasuble fast, so that the former should not
move out of his place. In these three pins we
may discern Faith, Hope, and Charity, without
which the Pall cannot fitly be had by the Bishop.
They denote also compassion for his neighbour,
thine head is like purple ; the king is held (marg. bound} in the
galleries. R.V. the king is held captive in the tresses
thereof. Durandus gives purpura regis tincta canalibus,
which would doubtless bear the signification I have assigned in
the text.
t tbe pall 131
the administration of his office, and the dis
crimination of his judgment ; whereof the first
with sorrow, the second with labour, and the
third with fear, pricketh his soul. With the
first of these the Apostle was prickt, when he
said l WHO IS WEAK, AND I AM NOT WEAK ?
WHO IS OFFENDED, AND I BURN NOT ? and with
the second, when he said, 2 BESIDE THOSE
THINGS THAT ARE WITHOUT, THAT WHICH
COMETH UPON ME DAILY, THE CARE OF ALL
THE CHURCHES. With the third Job was prickt,
saying, 3 IF THE RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY BE SAVED,
WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER
APPEAR ? Upon the right shoulder there is no
pin fastened, for that our everlasting rest hath
no prick of affliction nor sting of sorrow. For
GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THE
EYES OF THE SAINTS, AND AT THAT TIME
THERE SHALL BE NO MORE EITHER SORROW
OR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY
MORE PAIN; FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE
PASSED AWAY. 4
1 2 Cor. xi. 29. 2 Ibid. 28.
* i S. Pet. iv. 18. Any connection of these words with
Job, except in an imaginary point of view, is of course a
mistake. But there is something like it in Prov. xi. 31, Si
iustus in terra recipit, quanto magis impius et peccator ?
1 Rev. xxi. 4.
132 ZTbe Sacrefc Vestments
10. The pins must be of gold, the end sharp,
and the head round, with a precious stone set in
it ; because of a truth the good pastor, in caring
for his sheep, is afflicted on earth, but shall be
crowned in Heaven ; where he shall have that
precious pearl spoken of by the Lord in the
Gospel, 1 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE
UNTO A MAN SEEKING GOODLY PEARLS; WHO
WHEN HE HAD FOUND ONE PEARL OF GREAT
PRICE, WENT AND SOLD ALL THAT HE HAD,
AND BOUGHT IT.
11. In and with the Pall is conferred 2 the
plenitude of the Episcopal Office. Hence it
cometh that the Metropolitan may neither call a
council, nor consecrate the Chrism, nor ordain
clergy in his province, nor consecrate Bishops,
nor dedicate Churches, nor take unto himself
the title of Archbishop, 3 until he have been
honoured therewith ; although there be some
1 S. Matth. xiii. 45, 46.
2 Coufertur, v.l. confortatur (so latest ed. ) which is
perhaps better, as it is of course needless to say that the virtue
of the Pall is purely jurisdictive and not sacramental, making
the Bishop no more a Bishop, strictly speaking, than he was
before.
3 Nor that of Patriarch or Primate, nor have his Cross
borne before him, not even though he be consecrated, nor even
though he may have had another Pall in another Province.
See, for this and remainder of Section, Pontificale, Pars I,
Tit. xiv. De Pallio, v. viii. &c.
f tbe pall 133
who say that if he be invited outside his own
province, he might confer Holy Order as a
simple Bishop, without the Pall. Some there
be, again, who affirm that a Bishop, even though
he be such an one as may use the Pall, may not
grant permission to an Archbishop of another
province to wear the Pall in his diocese, unless
the said Palled Bishop be an exempt ; and that
even an Archbishop may not do the like in his
province, unless the Archbishop invited have
special privilege of wearing the Pall outside his
own province if he be so invited. But these be
points rather of rigorous order than of courtesy ;
nor, save thou look upon the matter curiously,
does the case of an exempt Palled Bishop
seem to differ greatly from one not exempt. 1
12. But one Metropolitan may not officiate
with the Pall of another, nor by the same count
may he be buried therein, but only in his own ;
nevertheless he who hath been Palled, if he have
been translated unto another Church, is buried
with the Pall granted unto him in his second
place. 2 Nor may he who hath been Palled, if
he be translated unto another Church, make use
1 The passage seems corrupt.
~ And if he be buried outside his own province, he may be
buried with his own Pall ; but not wearing it ; it must be
placed, folded, under his head. Caer. Ep. I. c. xvi. in fine.
Sacrefc treatments
there of the Pall wherewith he was invested in
his former Church ; for the Pall is granted, not
in respect of persons only, but of place as well.
Hence it followeth that he may not wear it out
side the province assigned unto him. Moreover,
if anyone resign the Archbishoprick, he may no
longer wear the Pall. Nor, again, may any
wear the Pall, save in Church, and at the
Church s offices ; thus if it should fall to his lot
to go out of Church in procession, or to preach,
or for any the like purpose, he shall not go out
with the Pall.
13. The use of the Pall is forbidden by rule,
save upon solemn Feasts, and such occasions as
may be contained among the privileges of each
several Church. And the Festivals are as
followeth :
The Nativity of our Lord.
Saint Stephen.
Saint John.
The Circumcision.
The Epiphany.
Palm Sunday.
Maundy Thursday.
Holy Saturday.
The Three Days of the Resurrection. 1
1 Easter Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
f tbe pall 135
The Ascension.
Pentecost.
The Feast of Saint John Baptist.
The Feast of All Apostles. 1
The Four Festivals of Blessed Mary. 2
Saint Michael.
All Saints.
Saint Martin, Peer of the Apostles. 3
Also 4 upon the principal Feasts of the
Church honoured with the Pall 5 ; and at
1 Formerly May I, the present Feast of SS. Philip and
James. Micrologus (eleventh century) says that on that day
inuenitur in Martyrologiis siue in Sacramentariis festiuitas
SS. Phil, et Jac. , et omnium ApostolorumS This Commemora
tion was also associated, and more naturally, with the Feast of
SS. Peter and Paul (June 29) ; and it is to this day observed
upon the morrow of that Feast in the Greek Church, and
called avva^is -rSav 5aJ5ea Atroffr6\(av. i
2 I.e. Purification (February 2), Annunciation (March 25),
Assumption (August 15), and Nativity (September 8).
3 Durandus says elsewhere (L. vii. De B. Martino ) that this
name was given to S. Martin, not so much on account of the
multitude of his miracles, as on account of one miracle, which
the reader will find in Ch. iii. of this work, p. 31, n. i.
4 And now upon Corpus Christi Day, the Thursday after
Trinity Sunday. Durandus does not include this, because it
was not yet a regular Feast of the Church when he wrote the
Rationale (about A.D. 1290). It was decreed as a Festival by
Pope Urban IV. in 1264, but, Urban dying, it lapsed until his
Bull was promulgated and confirmed at the Council of Vienne
in 1311; and did not come into general observance until
even later.
5 I.e. the Metropolitan Church, or Cathedral.
136 Uhe Sacrefc Destments
The Dedication of Churches.
The Consecration of Bishops. 1
The Ordination of Clergy ; and upon
The Anniversaries of the consecration of
him that weareth the Pall.
By some are added the Sundays after
Easter ; but this latter is not the common use-
I may also mention that wherever in his
province there resteth the body of any Saint,
upon the Feast of that Saint, and even upon
the principal Festival of any place in his
province, the Metropolitan may visit that place
and may there wear the Pall and Sandals. But
at the Burial of the Dead, and at the Solemnisa
tion of Matrimony, these may not be worn,
unless there be contained in a Privilege the
express permission to do so. The Bishop of
Ostia, 2 who consecrateth the Pope, weareth the
Pall, as ordained by Marcus, Pope ; and there be
1 And of Virgins.
2 Anastasius Bibliothecarius says of Marcus, Bishop of Rome
(f. A.n. 336), Hie constituit, ut Episcopus Ostiensis, qui
consecrat Episcopum Urbis (sc. Romae) Pallio uteretur, et ab
eodem episcopo \_lege episcopus] Urbis Romae consecraretur
( Vit. Pontif. 49). [ He appointed that the Bishop of Ostia
should wear the Pall, and should consecrate the Pope. ]
Menard quotes from an ancient MS. at Corbey (of unknown
date) an Order of Papal Consecration in which the Bishops
of Alba, Portus, and Ostia took part.
f tbe pall
137
certain Bishops beside, who do so by special
privilege.
14. Lastly it is to be noted, that the Roman
Pontiffs who were before Blessed Silvester are
depicted as having linen Palls wrapt around
their shoulders (for the Priest of the Law, too,
when he sacrificed, turned back the ends of
the Girdle over his shoulders) And this
signifieth that the jurisdiction and authority of
those said Popes, as set forth by the Pall, were
involved and straitened, being not free. But
Silvester, and they that came after him, have had
power free and untrammelled ; wherefore the
stripes of their Palls are represented as hanging
open and outspread behind and before. Another
reason why these stripes, which denote cares
and anxieties (as is aforesaid) do hang down
without fold since the days of Pope Silvester,
may be this, because the temporalities have
been granted unto him and to his successors,
which may not be had without anxiety and
carefulness.
It hath been said by Bruno, that the
Sovereign Pontiff weareth, beside the Vestments
afore mentioned, the Regnum and Purple ; and
this not for any mystical reason, but because
the Emperor Constantine did hand over to
138 Ube Sacrefc IDestments
Blessed Silvester all the insignia of the Roman
Empire. Wherefore in great processions all
that pomp, which used to be made in honour of
the Emperors, is displayed in the person of
the Roman Pontiff; and the Pope himself is
crowned with the Imperial diadem.
CHAPTER XVIII
OF THE FOUR COLOURS WHICH THE CHURCH
USETH IN HER VESTMENTS
i. Of the Colours which Holy Church useth. 2. Of the
Seasons wherein White Vestments be used. 3. Of White
Vestments at the Dedication of a Church. 4. Of the
Seasons wherein Red Vestments be used. 5. Of Martyrdom
and Virginity. 6. Of the Seasons wherein Black Vestments
be used. 7. Of the seasons wherein Green Vestments be
used. 8. Unto these four all other Colours may be referred.
9. Of the Seasons wherein Violet Vestments be used. 10.
Of the meaning thereof.
i. THERE be four principal colours, wherewith
the Church doth make distinction in her sacred
Vestments according to the propers of the
seasons : namely, white, red, black, and green.
For in the Vestments of the Law, too, we read
that four colours were used, fine linen, purple,
blue, and scarlet ; of the which I purpose to
treat in the following chapter. The Roman
Church useth also violet and yellow, as shall be
noted hereafter.
2. White Vestments are to be used at the
times following :
Sacrefc Vestments
Upon the Feasts of holy Confessors, and
Virgins who are not Martyrs, by reason of their
integrity and innocence. For HER NAZARITES
WERE WHITER THAN SNOW ; and THEY SHALL
WALK WITH ME IN WHITE, 2 EOR THEY ARE
VIRGINS, AND SHALL FOLLOW THE LAMB
WHITHERSOEVER HE GOETH. 3
For the same reason white is to be used
upon the Festivals of the Angels, of whose
brightness the Lord saith unto Lucifer, 4 WHERE
WAST THOU WHEN THE MORNING STARS
SHOUTED FOR JOY?
Upon all Feasts of Mary, Holy Mother of
God.
Upon the Feast of All Saints (although
there be some who use red at this time, as shall
be further noted below).
1 Lam. iv. ?. 2 Rev. iii. 14.
3 Ibid. xiv. 4. Neale and Webb, who have given an
epitome of this Chapter in their Symbolism of Churches,
quote here the beautiful words of Laevinus Torrentius in his
hymn on the Holy Innocents :
Ergo supremi parte coeli, lactea qua lucidum fulget via,
Qua picta dulci stillat uva nectare, et nectar exhalant rosae,
Laeti coronis luditis, et insignium mixti puellarum choris
Sacrum canentes itis agnum candido quacunque praecedat
pede.
4 Rather, to Job (Job xxxviii. 7).
t" tbe Colours of Vestments 141
Upon the principal Feast of S. John,
Evangelist. 1
Upon the Conversion of S. Paul.
Upon the Enthronement of S. Peter, 2
whereof I will speak again.
From the Vigil of our Lord s Nativity to
the Octave of Epiphany inclusively, save only
upon such Feasts of Martyrs as occur between. 3
Upon the Nativity of our Saviour, and also
of His Forerunner, for that both were born
pure, that is, without original sin. For THE
LORD RIDETH UPON A SWIFT CLOUD, 1 which
is to say that He took Flesh unspotted of sin,
and COMETH INTO EGYPT, 5 that is, into the
world ; according to that which the Angel
spake unto the Virgin, THE HOLY GHOST
I.e. December 27, his Deposition ; not May 6, S. John
before the Latin Gate, the day of his deliverance from the
boiling oil.
- Called Cathedra S. Petri Anliockiae, or S. Peter s Chair
at Antioch, a Double, which occurs on February 22. It is
explained as commemorating S. Peter s seven years episcopate
at Antioch (Leo, Ep. 119) where he had raised the son of
Theophilus of Antioch from the dead, and converted the
people; in consequence whereof they built a Church there,
with a lofty throne in it, wherein they placed the Apostle, that
he might be seen and heard by all. The Enthronement of
S. Peter at Rome (Cath. S. Petri Romae) is in the Roman
Calendar celebrated on January 18.
3 S. Stephen, Holy Innocents, and S. Thomas of Canterbury.
4 Is. xix. I.
142 Ube Sacrefc Destments
SHALL COME UPON THEE, AND THE POWER
OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE. 1
And John, even if thou hold him to have been
conceived in sin, was nevertheless sanctified in
the womb, as saith the Prophet, BEFORE THOU
CAMEST FORTH OUT OF THE WOMB I SANCTI
FIED THEE 2 ; and the Angel spake unto
Zachary concerning him, HE SHALL BE FILLED
WITH THE HOLY GHOST EVEN FROM HIS
MOTHER S woMB. 3
White is used, again, in the Epiphany, by
reason of the brightness of the star which led
the Magi, as saith the Prophet, 4 THE GENTILES
SHALL COME TO THY LIGHT, AND KINGS TO
THE BRIGHTNESS OF THY RISING.
At Hypapante, 5 in honour of the purity of
Mary, who at that time according to the song
of Symeon did offer A LIGHT TO LIGHTEN THE
GENTILES. 6
Upon Maundy Thursday, by reason of the
consecration of the Chrism, 7 for soul s cleansing ;
1 S. Luke i. 35. 2 Jerem. i. 15.
3 S. Luke i. 15. 4 Is. Ix. 3.
5 I.e. the Purification of Our Lady ; so called by its Greek
name (viravrdui, to meet), signifying the meeting of the B. V.M.
by Simeon and Anna in the Temple. Lat. Occursus Domini.
6 S. Luke ii. 32.
7 On that day the Bishop blesses three kinds of oil : one for
Holy Unction ; another, for anointing candidates for Holy
f tbe Colours of Destments 143
for cleanness is commanded in especial by the
Gospel read upon that day, wherein the Lord
saith, HE THAT IS BATHED NEEDETH NOT
SAVE TO WASH HIS FEET, BUT IS CLEAN
EVERY WHIT. 1 And again, IF i WASH THEE
NOT, THOU HAST NO PART WITH ME. 2
Upon Holy Saturday, in the Office of the
Mass, and from thence unto the Octave of the
Ascension inclusively, at all Offices of the
season ; save only upon Rogation Days, and
upon such Feasts of Martyrs as occur between,
whereof I will speak anon.
Upon the Feast of the Resurrection, because
of the Angel, the witness of the Resurrection,
the herald, who appeared CLOTHED IN A LONG
WHITE GARMENT 3 ; of whom saith Matthew,
that HIS COUNTENANCE WAS LIKE LIGHTNING,
AND HIS RAIMENT WHITE AS SNOW. 4 Also
because children, who receive the New Birth
at that time, are arrayed in white garments. 5
Baptism ; and another, with balsam, called the Chrism, for the
anointing of Altars, of Sovereigns, and of candidates for
Baptism and Confirmation.
1 S. John xiii. 10. 2 Ibid. v. 8.
3 S. Mark xvi. 5. 4 S. Matth. xxviii. 3.
5 Alluding to the ancient custom of baptising on Easter
Eve, because we are buried with Him in Baptism, and rise
again to newness of life. Upon the newly-baptised linen
vestments called chrisoms were placed.
144 Ube SacreO Destments
Upon the Feast of the Ascension, by reason
of the bright cloud in which Christ ascended ;
for TWO MEN STOOD BY THEM IN WHITE
APPAREL, WHICH ALSO SAID, YE MEN OF
GALILEE, WHY STAND YE GAZING UP INTO
HEAVEN ? 1
3. At the Dedication of a Church. For
note, that although at the consecration of a
Bishop the colour of Vestments shall be such
as agreeth unto the proper of the day, yet at
the Dedication of a Church white Vestments be
always used, whatever be the day of its solemni
sation. The reason hereof is, that at the Conse
cration of a Bishop the Mass of the day is sung,
but at the Dedication of a Basilica, the Mass of
Dedication. For the Church is named with
the name of a Virgin, according to that of the
Apostle, I HAVE ESPOUSED YOU TO ONE HUS
BAND, THAT I MAY PRESENT YOU AS A CHASTE
VIRGIN TO CHRIST. 2 And of her the Bride
groom saith in the Canticles, THOU ART ALL
FAIR, MY LOVE ; THERE IS NO SPOT IN THEE. 3
Yet the Bishop himself who is consecrated
weareth white Vestments, to denote that at all
times HIS GARMENTS (that is, his life) MUST BE
WHITE 4 (that is, without stain).
1 Acts i. 10, II. 2 2 Cor. xi. 2. 3 Cant. iv. 7.
4 Eccles. ix. 8.
f tbe Colours of Vestments 145
And, lastly, white Vestments are used
throughout the Octaves of such of the Feasts
aforesaid as have Octaves, at all Offices wherein
such Octaves are kept.
4. Red Vestments are used at the following
times :
Upon the Festivals of Apostles, Evangelists,
and of Martyrs, by reason of the blood of suffer
ing which they shed for Christ ; for THESE ARE
THEY WHICH CAME OUT OF GREAT TRIBULA
TION 1 ; save only upon the Feast of the Holy
Innocents, as shall be presently set forth.
Upon the Feast of that Holy Cross, whereon
Christ shed His Blood for us ; as saith the
Prophet, WHEREFORE ART THOU RED IN
THINE APPAREL, LIKE HIM THAT TREADETH
IN THE WINEFAT? 2 But others say it is better
to use white on that day, since it is the Feast,
not of the Passion, but of the Invention 3 or
Exaltation 4 of the Cross.
At Mass from the Vigil of Pentecost until
the Sabbath following, inclusively ; because
of the burning fire of the Holy Spirit, Who
appeared upon the Apostles in tongues of fire ;
1 Rev. vii. 14. 2 Is. Ixiii. 2.
3 May 3, whereon S. Helena discovered the True Cross.
4 September 14, whereon Heraclius the Emperor recovered
it from Chosroes.
L
i 4 6 Ube Sacvefc Destmcnts
for THERE APPEARED UNTO THEM CLOVEN
TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE, AND IT SAT UPON
EACH OF THEM. 1 And according to the Pro
phet, FROM ABOVE HATH HE SENT A FIRE IN
MY BONES. 2 But although upon the Feast of
the Martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul
red be used, yet upon the Conversion of Saint
Paul, and upon the Enthronement of Saint
Peter, we wear white. And though upon the
Nativity of Saint John Baptist white be worn,
yet is red used upon his Decollation.
5. And upon the Feast of a Saint who is
both Martyr and Virgin, the Martyrdom hath
the preference, for it is the sign of love in perfec
tion ; as saith the Truth, GREATER LOVE HATH
NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN
HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS. 3
For this reason there be some who use red
Vestments in the Commemoration of All Saints,
but others use white, as doth the Roman
Church, for that not only on that day, but con
cerning it, the Church saith that the Saints, as
according to John in the Apocalypse, will stand
BEFORE THE LAMB, CLOTHED WITH WHITE
ROBES, AND PALMS IN THEIR HANDS. 4 The
1 Acts ii. 3. 2 Lam. i. 13. 3 S. John xv. 13.
4 Rev. vii. 9, part of the Epistle for the Day. Durandus
died on this day.
f tbe Colours of iDestmcnts 147
Bride saith also in the Canticles, MY BELOVED
IS WHITE AND RUDDY, THE CHIEFEST AMONG
TEN THOUSAND l ; that is, He is white, in His
Confessors and Virgins, and red, in His Martyrs
and Apostles ; for these are the roses, those the
lilies of the valley. They, on the other hand,
who wear red on All Hallows Day, are
prompted by the thought that this Feast was
first instituted in honour of Martyrs only. 2 But
unto this it may be answered, that it was insti
tuted in honour of the Blessed Virgin also ;
and that nowadays the Church holdeth festival
on that day on behalf not of Martyrs only, but
of Confessors and Virgins also, according to
the institution of Gregory.
And lastly, Red is used throughout the
Octave of such of the Festivals foregoing as
1 Cant. v. 10. Cp. Hymn at Lauds for a Virgin Martyr,
in Paris Breviary :
Liliis Sponsus recubat, rosisque ;
Tu, tuo semper bene fida Sponso
Et rosas Martyr, simul et dedisti
Lilia Virgo.
2 Pope Boniface IV., in the seventh century, dedicated on
May ii, in honour of the B.V.M. and All Martyrs, the
Pantheon, a heathen temple formerly sacred to All Gods and
Goddesses. On that day the Feast of S. Maria ad Martyres
was kept until the time of Gregory IV. (A.D. 835), when it was
transferred to November I, our present All Saints Day, because
the harvest was then gathered in.
L 2
148 Ube SacreD iDestments
have Octaves, whensoever the Office shall be of
the Octave.
6. Black is worn upon the following :
Upon Good Friday.
Upon days of affliction l and fasting for sin,
and upon Rogation Days.
In barefoot processions which the Lord
Pope maketh.
In Masses for the dead.
From Advent Sunday unto the Vigil of the
Nativity.
From Septuagesima unto Holy Saturday.
For the Bride saith in the Canticles, 2 I AM
BLACK BUT COMELY, O YE DAUGHTERS OF
JERUSALEM, AS THE TENTS OF KEDAR, AS
THE CURTAINS OF SOLOMON ; LOOK NOT
UPON ME BECAUSE I AM BLACK, BECAUSE
THE SUN HATH LOOKED UPON ME.
1 The question of ancient colours is so difficult as to be
almost hopeless to any but a specialist upon the subject.
Durandus period seems to have been transitional between
the uses of black and violet, for in 9 he proceeds to give
violet as an alternative colour for black. The early Church
doubtless regarded black with less strictness than we, and used
it interchangeably with other sombre colours, such as color
uiolaceus or purpureus niger. It appears also that in
Durandus time the tendency to differentiate the great day of
Our Lord s Death from mere penitential seasons was becoming
more marked.
2 Cant. i. 5, 6.
t tbe Colours of Vestments 149
Upon the Feast of the Holy Innocents
some do contend that black, some that red,
Vestments should be used. They who favour
black, allege the sadness of the day, how that
IN RAMA WAS THERE A VOICE HEARD, LAMEN
TATION, AND WEEPING, AND GREAT MOURN
ING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN,
AND WOULD NOT BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE
THEY ARE NOT 1 ; and how for the same cause
the joyous hymns upon that day are hushed, 2
and the Mitre without orfrey is brought. They
on the other hand who contend for red,
affirm that it is a day of martyrdom, in com
memoration principally whereof the Church
saith, All the Saints cry out beneath the
Throne of God, Avenge our blood which is
poured forth, O Lord our God. 3 (So also
upon Laetare Sunday, for the joy which the
Golden Rose 4 bespeaketh, the Bishop of Rome
1 Jer. xxxi. 15 ; S. Matth. ii. 18 ; in substance the Com-
munio of the day in the Roman Missal.
2 The Gloria in Excelsis, Alleluia, and Ite Missa est are
not said upon this day. But Credo is said.
3 See Rev. vi. 9, 10. An expansion of the Tract for the day.
4 At the end of Mass on the Fourth Sunday in Lent the
Pope used to bless a rose full of musk and balsam, and present
it to some Christian sovereign. Fulk of Anjou (In Fragment.
Hist. Andegav. in d Acherii Spirit. Tom. X.) mentions this
ceremony in the eleventh century, and Durandus gives an
account of it in his day (Rat. Lib. vi. c. 53).
Ube Sacrefc iDestments
hath a Mitre adorned with the orfrey, but black
Vestments, by reason of the Lenten Fast.) But
the Roman Church useth violet Vestments
upon Holy Innocents Day, when it falleth
upon other than Sunday l ; and upon its
Octave, always red.
7. The colour that remaineth is Green, and
this is used at the following times :
Upon ferial and common days, because this
colour is a kind of mean betwixt white, and
black, and red.
And especially between the Octave of
Epiphany and Septuagesima, and between Pen
tecost and Advent, whensoever the Office shall
be of the Sunday. For this colour is exprest
in the words, CAMPHIRE WITH SPIKENARD,
SPIKENARD AND SAFFRON. 2
8. And unto these four colours thou mayest
refer all the others : namely, unto red, scarlet ;
unto black, violet ; unto white, fine linen ; and
unto green, yellow. 3 Nevertheless according
to some the rose belongeth unto Martyrs, the
yellow crocus to Confessors, and the lily unto
1 And red, when it does fall on Sunday ; but red always on
its Octave, on whatever day it fall.
2 Cant. iv. 13, 14.
3 This passage seems corrupt and obscure.
tbe Colours ot Iflestments
Virgins. And of colours I will treat also at the
end of the following chapter.
9. It is not unmeet to use Violet at those
seasons whereunto black belongeth. Thus the
Roman Church useth violet from the first
Sunday of Advent unto Mass on the Vigil of
the Nativity inclusively, and from Septuagesima
unto Mass on Easter Eve exclusively of the
latter, 1 whensoever the Office is of the season ;
except upon Maundy Thursday l and Good
Friday. 2 But upon such Saints Days as occur
in Lent and Advent neither black nor violet is
to be worn. And be it understood that upon
Holy Saturday violet is to be worn at every
office 3 which hath place before Mass ; with this
exception, that the Deacon who blcsseth the
Paschal Candle, and the Subdeacon 4 who
serveth him, are vested respectively in a Dal
matic and Tunicle of white, for that such
1 Because white is used then. 2 Which is always black.
3 These are the beautiful ceremonies of the Blessing of the
New Fire and of the Paschal Candle, the reading of the
Twelve Prophecies, the Blessing of the Font, the Baptisms,
and the singing of the Litanies. During all these the Priest is
vested in violet ; but the Deacon wears white for the first two.
Then all put on white Vestments for Mass.
4 The Missal says in Benedictione Cerei in Sabbato Sancto
.... Diaconus solus utitur Albo. But this inclusion of the
Subdeacon is probably a slip on Durandus part ; for, a few
lines lower, he says Subdiaconus uero non mutat uestes.
152 ZTbe Sacrefc Destments
Blessing of the Candle, as also the Mass itself,
hath respect unto the Resurrection. But after
the Blessing done, the Deacon layeth aside his
Dalmatic, and putting on a violet folded-
chasuble keepeth the same even until the be
ginning of Mass. But the Subdeacon changcth
not his Vestments.
Some, again, wear white Vestments upon
Palm Sunday in the Procession and at the
Blessing of Palm-branches, and during the
singing of the Gospel and of the Gloria laus et
ho nor , by reason of the gladness of the honour
offered unto Christ, which is commemorated in
those parts of the Office. But the Roman
Church useth always violet at those times ; as
also in the Procession before Mass on the Feast
of the Purification, because that Office bringeth
to mind the anxious expectation of Symeon,
and savoureth of the Old Testament.
10. The Roman Church useth Violet also
upon the Ember Days of September, and upon
such Vigils of Saints Days as are Fasts, when
Mass shall be of the Vigil. Also upon Roga
tion Days, and at the Mass of Litanies upon the
Feast of Saint Mark. 1 For when we fast, we
1 The Greater Litany, ordered by S. Gregory the Great
on the Feast of S. Mark (April 25) to avert God s wrath on the
f tbe Colours of treatments 153
do buffet and crucify the flesh, that being livid
with stripes it may be conformed unto the
stripes which Christ suffered, WITH WHOSE
STRIPES WE ARE HEALED * ; and in token
hereof we do at times of fasting use violet,
which is pale, and as it were of the hue of
stripes.
It may be noted that at the Feast of Easter
there are Veils 2 of three colours placed upon
the Altar.
occasion of a pestilence. The Lesser Litany is used on the
Rogation Days.
1 Is. liii. 5.
2 In some Churches at Easter the Altar is arrayed in
precious palls, and in veils of three colours, red, pale (stib-
album} and black ; and these denote three seasons. After the
first Lection and Responsory finisht, the black one is taken
away, which denoteth the time before the Law ; after the
second, the pale veil, the time under the Law ; and after the
third, the red, the day of grace, wherein we have access unto
the Holy of Holies through the Passion of Christ (Rat. Lib.
I. c. De Picturis ).
Civ Sacred iVst incut*
CHAPTER XIX
OF THE VESTMENTS OF THE LAW, OK OF
THE OLP T NT 1
.ho Vestments of the Law, according unto History. And
of the Four which were common unto
, Of those that were peculiar to the High Priest.
i\ Qftfce E Law, acconiing unto All,
- M the same, according unto Parable. S. Of the Linen
. 9. Of the Girdle. 10. Of the Long Tunic. 1 1 . Of
the F.phod. 12. Of the Breastplate. 13. Of its fashioning,
and of Urim and Thummim. 14. Of that which standeth in
the - -..15. Of the Mitre.
16. </ :.\te. 17. Of the M. flours
of the Vestments of the Law. iS. Of the Pope : and where
fore he weareth red. 10. Of the reason why he beareth all
the Imperial insignia.
i. Now seeing that human weakness comprc-
hendeth the meaning of things the less fully, if
it be ignorant essentially of the things them
selves ; \ve will say a few words upon the
Vestments of the Law, unto the dispelli
The whole of this Chapter should be read/*n /*w* with
F\ \\\..;. v Yi-.v^;uul with Josephus, --/.-. Lib. iii. c. 7, from
which it is closely borrowed in great part.
f tbe Destments of tbe %aw 155
this blind ignorance whereof I speak. And let
us treat them, first, according to history L ;
secondly, according to allegory ; and thirdly,
according to parable.
First, then, as speaking historically, thou
must know that according to the Mosaic Law
there were four Vestments common both to the
lesser Priests and to the High Priest himself ;
and of these we read in the twenty-eighth
chapter of Exodus. 2
The first was called Manasca.sim? that is,
linen Breeches, wove of fine twined linen, worn
for that purpose whereof we read in the
1 Secundum historiara, allegoriam, tropologiam. The
distinction between the two latter is hard to reproduce suc
cinctly. Perhaps the above comes nearest ; for Durandus, in
interpreting the ancient Vestments allegorice, finds in them a
representation of the material Universe ; and tropologice, a pic
ture of faith and morals. Elsewhere (Rat. Proeme, 9, 10, n),
he quotes S. Jerome as saying that Scripture must be studied
in three ways : (i.) according to the letter ; (ii.) after allegory,
i.e. the spiritual meaning ; and (iii.) according to the blessedness
of the future. And he defines allegory as when one thing is
said and another meant, and tropology as an injunction unto
morality. We are reminded of Origen s literal, moral, and
mystical.
2 All are given in w. 40 and 42.
3 I shall quote the Hebrew words as spelt by Durandus. It
must be remembered, as Dr. Neale reminds us, that in his time
Greek and Hebrew were little known in Europe. The word
he intends here is michnasim, from canas, to hide.
156 Ube Sacrefc Vestments
twentieth chapter of Exodus, 1 THOU SHALT
NOT GO UP BY STEPS UNTO MINE ALTAR,
THAT THY NAKEDNESS BE NOT DISCOVERED
THEREON.
The second was the Cathemone? or the
Linen Coat, which we call the Subuncula, 3 or
Albe; but Moses calleth it Abaneth*\ and the
Hebrews, when they departed from Babylon,
called it Emissanea. This was of fine linen,
and twofold.
The third was Balteus, that is, the Zone or
Girdle ; this was about four fingers in breadth,
and was netlike, so as to resemble a viper s
skin ; and it was wove of fine linen, scarlet,
purple, and blue, which were symbols of the four
elements.
The fourth was the Tiara, which the Hebrews
named Mamphie, and which we call Bonnet, 5 or
1 Ex. xx. 26 ; Ezek. xliv. 18.
2 Cethoneth (\n<av}. This Vestment did not differ in the
High Priest and the lesser Priests. It was a long tunic like a
cassock, worn, according to Josephus, next the skin, and
reaching to the feet, with close sleeves (Ant. iii. 7, 2) ; uni
form in colour, and diapered (Ex. xxviii. 39, embroidered ).
3 Subucula, Lat. for a man s under-garment.
4 Doubtless Durandus means Abnet. But that was the name
of the Girdle, not of the Linen Coat. Durandus seems to have
inadvertently transferred Josephus s Abnet and Eniissanea (both
of which Josephus applies to the Girdle) to the wrong Vestment.
5 I have adopted the word which in the E. V. distinguishes
t tbe IDestments of tbe %aw 157
Mitre ; this, in the case of the lesser Priests,
differed for the most part from the High
Priest s Mitre, resembling in shape a round
helm.
2. Over and above these four common Vest
ments, there were four worn by the High Priest,
peculiar to him.
The first was the blue Robe, called in
Hebrew Vethit^- in Greek Poderes, in Latin
Talaris, that is, the garment that reacheth unto
the feet ; it had for its fringes pomegranates
and eighty golden bells disposed alternately,
that the sound of the latter might be heard
the headgear of the Priests from that of the High Priest. The
former wore caps of a simple make, probably cup-shaped, called
migbaoth, or turbans.
1 Properly, meil. It is called in the Bible the Robe of the
Ephod ( Tunica Superhumeralis, Ex. xxviii. 31 et set].}. A
very simple Vestment, reaching perhaps a little below the knees,
and all of blue. Its subdued colour must have been seen above
and below the Ephod, as a background to its brilliant hues. A
round hole at the top, hemmed to prevent tearing, admitted the
head. The bells which hung between pomegranates from its
lower hem, like all ritual accessories, had a twofold meaning
Godward and manward. For in the first place they were a witness
to God that the Priest was wearing his Divinely-appointed Vest
ments, that he die not. 5 And secondly, being heard by the
people outside the Tabernacle, they conveyed to them the
knowledge of their unseen Priest s intercession on their behalf,
and so acted, like our own Sanctus Bells, as a spur to their
devotion.
158 Tlbe Sacreo iDestments
when the High Priest entered into the sanctuary,
that he die not. l
3. The second was the Ephod, or Super-
humeral. 2 This was wove of the four colours
aforesaid, with gold ; it was sleeveless, 3 after
the manner of an undergarment, having an
opening in the breast of a span square, wherein
was fastened the Breastplate, being of the same
size. And upon the upper part of the Ephod,
that is, upon its shoulders, were set in golden
ouches 4 two onyx-stones, whereon were graven
the names of the twelve sons of Israel, six on
the one, and six on the other. We read that
Samuel and David r> were clad with an ephod ;
but this was of linen, and was properly called
Ephotar.
1 Ex. xxviii. 35.
2 I.e. the Vestment worn over the shoulders (LXX ivu^ls).
It was the distinctive Vestment of the High Priest (Ex. xxviii.
6-12). Ephod (from apkad, to put on ) is Hebrew for Vest
ment, just as our Chasuble is called the Vestment. It was
woven of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen ; and seems
to have consisted of two pieces back and front, joined by
shoulder-straps, somewhat after the manner of the modern
French Chasuble. It had also what is called in Ex. xxviii. 8 a
curious girdle, i.e. a band, attached to it, which the High
Priest fastened round his body when he put the Vestment on.
3 Josephus says it had sleeves (Ant. iii. 7, 5). But it may
have altered by his time.
4 I.e. settings of gold wire woven in a sort of filagree-work.
5 i Sam. ii. 1 8 ; 2 Sam. vi. 14.
f tbe tPestments of tbe Xaw 159
4. The third, called in Hebrew Heen, in
Greek Logion, and in Latin Rationale, 1 or
Breastplate, was worn by the High Priest upon
his breast. It was called the Breastplate of
Judgment; for there was a stone 2 therein, by
whose brightness 3 he knew that God was
favourable unto him. Now the Breastplate was
four-square, being doubled, a span broad and
long ; it was fashioned of the four colours fore-
1 So Vulg., and Latin Fathers, in reference to its oracular
use. Ileb. choshen, from chashan, to be adorned. LXX, Jesus
the son of Sirach, Philo, Josephus, and Epiphanius all call it
\oytlov. It was a piece of cunning work like the Ephod
(Ex. xxviii. i$etseq.}, two spans long and one broad. This,
folded lengthways (perhaps for use as a bag), made a square of a
span. It must have been something like a burse.
2 The Urim and Thummim. Many are the theories as to
the nature of this oracle in the Breastplate. A passage in Philo
( Vit. Mas. iii. 1 1 ) has given rise to the notion that they were
two small images of precious stone, kept in the bag of the
Breastplate (Ex. xxviii. 30). All that seems certain about them,
however, is that they were visible objects bound up with the
history of the Jews, and that they were the means of revealing
God s will to the High Priest, perhaps upon some principle of
casting lots. They do not seem to have been heard of after the
time of David. Josephus, with a touch of pathos, remarks :
Now this Breastplate left off shining two hundred years before
I compiled this book, God having been displeased at the
transgression of His laws.
3 Josephus seems to attribute the shining properties to the
sardonyx upon the right shoulder-piece of the Ephod, and
even to the twelve stones set in the Breastplate. It is more
probable that the oracular virtue was resident in two objects
within the Breastplate itself.
160 ftfoe Sacreo Vestments
going, with gold. And it had twelve stones, 1
even four rows of stones. In the first row were
a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald. In the
second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper.
In the third, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
In the fourth, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl-
stone. And upon these were graven the names
of the twelve sons of Israel, every one with his
name, according unto the order of their birth ;
and upon the Breastplate were inscribed also
these two words, URIM, THUMMIM, 2 that is,
Doctrine and Truth. And the Breastplate was
made fast at 3 its upper part unto the Ephod by
1 Most of them of course defy accurate identification. I)u-
randus gives a list identical with that of the Vulgate, and nearly
so with that of Josephus, except that the order of the latter
differs slightly.
2 So LXX, and Syriac Version. But were these words in
scribed on the Breastplate ? The Vulgate rendering of Ex.
xxviii. 30, Pones in rational! Doctrinam et Veritatem, would
seem to have conveyed this impression to Durandus. But
pones here surely = insert rather than inscribe ; and it seems
more likely that the Urim and Thummim were things put into
the Breastplate than words written on it. As to the meaning
of the words, different interpretations exist. LXX gives T\
SfawTis teal r) aXr Qeia ; Symmachus, <t>vriff/ji.ol Kal rf \fi6rriref.
Durandus, as usual, adheres to the Vulgate.
3 In other words, the Breastplate had a ring at each corner
of its square ; the two upper rings hung by twisted gold wire
from settings in the upper part of the shoulder-pieces of the
Ephod, under the onyx-stones ; and the two lower rings, which
were out of sight, were fastened by blue laces or strings to two
f tbe Destments of tbe Xaw 161
two rings, unto which were attached two golden
chains, the other ends of the chains being
fastened into two ouches which were fixt
beneath the aforesaid onyx-stones to the Ephod ;
and at its lower part also it was joined unto the
Ephod by the means of two other golden rings,
into which were fastened two strings or laces of
blue.
5. The fourth and last Vestment was that of
the head, to wit, the Tiara or Mitre 1 ; this did
end in a point, and had a golden circlet, with
pomegranates and flowers ; and from it there
did hang down upon the brow a Plate of gold, 2
in the shape of an half-moon, whereon was
written Anoth Adonai, to wit, the Holy Name
of the Lord, the Tetragrammaton or Four-
lettered Name, whereof again below. And
this Plate, lest it should move when the High
Priest moved, was bound with a blue lace or
rings sewn into the lower ends of the shoulder-pieces of the
Ephod, just above that band for fastening it which was called
the curious girdle. Thus the Breastplate was held quite
firmly in its place (Ex. xxviii. 13, 14, and 22-28).
1 This seems to have been a sort of augmentation of the
Bonnet of the lesser Priests. Josephus makes it double, with
a golden crown polished, of three rows, one above another,
out of which rose a cup of gold, which resembled the herb
saccharus (Ant. iii. c. 7, 6).
2 Ex. xxviii. 36, 37.
M
1 62 ube Sacrefc treatments
ribband, plain to see, having its ends flowing
loosely behind.
Now our own Bishop hath,
In the stead of the Breeches, the Sandals.
For the Linen Coat he hath the Albe.
For the Girdle, the Girdle.
For the Robe of the Ephod, the Tunic.
For the Ephod, the Amice, or the Stole.
For the Breastplate, the Pall.
For the ancient Mitre or tiara, the Mitre.
For the Golden Plate, the Cross.
And of these Vestments certain have a
different shape from those, but each hath the
same notion as that other which it representeth.
6. Secondly, let us speak of the meaning of
the aforesaid Vestments of the Law, according
to allegory.
The High Priest, adorned with these Vest
ments, did represent as in a picture the whole
of Creation. For the Breeches of fine linen
did meetly signify the earth, 1 because fine linen
cometh from the earth. The Girdle, with its
laces and strings, denoted the ocean that
1 Most of this allegorical interpretation is taken from
Philo and Josephus. Both were versed in Gentile lore, as the
Western character of this mode of interpretation testifies. The
latter makes the Breastplate symbolic of the earth, for that
hath the middle place of the universe ( 7).
f tbe Destments of tbe Xaw 163
windeth round it The blue Tunic, by its hue,
was the firmament ; the Bells, the sound of the
thunder ; the Pomegranates, the gleam of the
lightnings. The four Vestments of the lesser
Priest, and the four of the greater, represented
by their number the four parts of Man, the
Microcosm, 1 and the four parts of Nature, the
Macrocosm, 2 to wit, the four Temperaments, and
the four Elements. The Ephod, with its many
hues, was a picture of the starry heaven ; the
gold interwove with the colours, the warmth of
life which penetrateth all things ; and the two
onyx-stones were the sun and moon, or the two
hemispheres. The twelve pectoral jewels in the
Breastplate represented the. twelve signs of the
zodiac ; and the Breastplate itself, or Rationale,
being in the midst, did shew forth that Ratio 3
or Law whereof all things on earth are full,
whereby they cleave in obedience unto things in
the heavens ; yea, the law of the life of earth,
and of the seasons of heat and cold and the
temperate periods between them both, which
1 The little -world, i.e. Man.
- The great -world, i.e. the Universe.
3 An obscure and seemingly corrupt passage; but the general
sense is that all Nature moves by law, and that the laws which
operate on earth are regulated in their turn by the laws of the
heavenly bodies.
M 2
1 64 Ube SacreD iDestments
cometh down from the law of the courses of
the heavenly bodies. The rings and chains
and ouches signified the linking together of the
elements, and temperaments, and seasons. The
Mitre shadowed forth the vast vault of heaven ;
the Golden Plate upon it represented God pre
siding over all things. And all this allegory is
confirmed by the authority of the eighteenth
chapter of the Book of Wisdom, 1 wherein it is
written, FOR IN THE LONG GARMENT, WHICH
HE HAD, WAS THE WHOLE WORLD, AND IN
THE FOUR ROWS OF THE STONES WAS THE
GLORY OF THE FATHERS GRAVEN, AND THY
MAJESTY UPON THE DIADEM OF HIS HEAD.
7. In the third place must be added the
explication of the Vestments of the Law accord
ing to parable.
Now the following was the order wherein
the Priest of the Law was wont to array himself
in the Vestments.
Having first washed his hands and feet, he
put on the Breeches, in token that the Priest,
having cleansed his affections and works with
the tears of penance, ought to put on Contin
ence, that he might offer a sacrifice without
1 Verse 24.
f tbe Vestments of tfee Xaw 165
spot, sacred, acceptable unto God. 1 But our
own Bishop, for that he ought to have contin
ence alway, putteth not on breeches for sacrifice,
but Sandals, as though one might say, HE THAT
IS BATHED 2 NEEDETH NOT SAVE TO WASH
HIS FEET, BUT IS CLEAN EVERY WHIT. For
by the hands are signified works, according to
that Scripture, 3 BLESSED BE THE LORD MY
STRENGTH, WHO TEACHETH MY HANDS TO
WAR, AND MY FINGERS TO FIGHT ; and by
the feet the affections, as it is written, SHAKE
OFF THE DUST OF YOUR FEET. 4 And it is to
be noted, that the Priest did himself put on him
the Breeches, which were a type of virginal con
tinence : these, I say, for that virginity is a
matter of counsel, not of commandment, he did
put on with his own hand, in agreement with
that of Paul to the Corinthians, 5 NOW CONCERN
ING VIRGINS I HAVE NO COMMANDMENT OF
THE LORD ; BUT I GIVE MY JUDGMENT. And
1 From the prayer Unde et memores immediately after the
Consecration in the Missal. Hostiam puram, Hostiam
sanctam, Hostiam immaculatam.
2 S. John xiii. 10. The E. V. rendering, he that is
washed, loses all the force of the sentence. O AeAou^eVos,
i.e. he that is bathed all over (\ovca), ov xp " X M^
rovs ir65as vityaffdai i.e. needeth only to wash his feet
(v nTTca) as when one comes in from a journey.
3 Ps. cxliv. i. 4 S. Matth. x. 14. 5 i Cor. vii. 25.
1 66 ftbe Sacrefc Destments
the Lord in the Gospel saith Himself, HE THAT
IS ABLE TO RECEIVE IT, LET HIM RECEIVE
IT. 1 Also the Priests were wont to put on this
Vestment by turns, 2 because they were not held
bound to perpetual virginity, as are the ministers
of the New Testament ; and for this reason,
according to some, there is no Vestment now
adays answering thereto.
8. Next, he put on the Linen Coat, in token
that the Priest ought to put on innocence, that
he do not unto others that which he would not
have them do unto him. For linen by its white
ness doth signify innocence, as it is written,
LET THY GARMENTS BE ALWAYS WHITE. 3
9. In the third place he girded him with the
Girdle, the type of Chastity, wherewith he must
be girt around the loins, that he might keep in
subjection the concupiscence of the flesh ; as
saith the Truth, LET YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED
ABOUT, AND YOUR LIGHTS BURNING IN YOUR
HANDS. 4 This Girdle, being woven of four
colours, as is aforesaid, did betoken that he
ought to bridle all motions that should arise
from the four temperaments, or from the four
1 S. Matth. xix. 12.
Alternatim. The reader must interpret this as he may.
3 Eccles. ix. 8. 4 S. Luke xii. 35.
t tbe Vestments ot tbe Xaw 167
elements ; as it is said in the last chapter of
the Proverbs, 1 A VIRTUOUS WOMAN DELIVERETH
GIRDLES UNTO THE MERCHANT ; and in the
eleventh chapter of Esaias, 2 RIGHTEOUSNESS
SHALL BE THE GIRDLE OF HIS LOINS. For
it is by righteousness that all such animal
motions are restrained. The Girdle also did
hang down even unto the feet, for that he must
be clean, yea, even unto the end of his life.
10. The fourth Vestment he put on was the
Robe, which reached unto the heel, meaning
that he must put on Perseverance ; for HE
THAT ENDURETH UNTO THE END SHALL BE
SAVED. 3 For by the heel, which is the end of
the body, we understand Perseverance, as it is
written, IT SHALL BRUISE THY HEAD, AND
THOU SHALT BRUISE HIS HEEL. 4 For a fringe,
too, there hung from the Robe pomegranates
with golden bells ; now the pomegranate
signifieth work, and the golden bells, preach
ing : which two things must be combined in
the Priest, that HE DIE NOT, entering in without
them into the sanctuary before the Lord. For
Jesus Himself BEGAN BOTH TO DO AND
TEACH, 5 leaving unto Priests AN EXAMPLE,
1 Prov. xxxi. 24. 2 Is. xi. 5. 3 S. Matth. x. 22.
4 Gen. iii. 15. 5 Acts i. I.
168 ube Sacrefc Vestments
THAT THEY SHOULD FOLLOW HIS STEPS ; WHO
DID NO SIN, that righteousness might be found
in their lives, NEITHER WAS GUILE FOUND IN
HIS MOUTH, 1 that in their preaching truth
might be found.
By the bells, again, we understand the
preacher s voice, that the Priest provoke not by
his silence the judgment of Him, Who being
above seeth all things ; and the pomegranates
are the pattern of a good life, or the spirit of
martyrdom, because by fruit of this kind the
sick are refreshed. According to Gregory, 2 the
Priest must die, if on going in or out his sound
be not heard ; which is to say, that he bringeth
upon himself the wrath of Him that judgeth in
secret, if he walk without the sound of preach
ing : and with this it agreeth well that he should
have bells, as we read, fastened unto his Vest
ments. Moreover, what are we to understand
by the Priest s Vestments, save righteous works,
according unto that of the Prophet, LET THY
PRIESTS BE CLOTHED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS ?
wherefore the bells cleave unto his Vestments,
that his very works may proclaim, as it were
1 i S. Pet. ii. 21, 22.
2 From this point, down to the words his life s way,
Durandus is quoting from S. Gregory s Pastoral, Part II. c. iv.
(or xv. ).
f tbe Vestments of tbe Xaw 169
with tongues, his life s way. And the bells are
joined with pomegranates, because these latter
signify the unity of the Faith ; for as in the
pomegranate many seeds within are united
together beneath one rind without, so the in
numerable peoples of Holy Church are all over
spread with the Unity of the One Faith, albeit
they have a diversity of merit within.
ii. The fifth Vestment he put on was the
Ephod, which he placed over his shoulders, to
shew that the High Priest ought to put on
patience, that IN HIS PATIENCE HE MIGHT
POSSESS HIS SOUL l ; for it is upon the shoulders
that we carry burthens, as it is written, HE
BOWED HIS SHOULDER TO BEAR, AND BECAME
A SERVANT UNTO TRIBUTE. 2 And it had the
two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at the two
edges thereof, signifying that the High Priest
Ought to have the ARMOUR OF RIGHTEOUS
NESS ON THE RIGHT HAND AND ON THE
LEFT, 3 that he be not puffed up with well-
being, nor cast down with reverses. Also were
there two onyx-stones fastened into the
shoulders thereof, whereon were graven the
twelve names of the children of Israel, six on
the one, and six on the other ; and by these two
1 S. Luke xxi. 19. 2 Gen. xlix. 15. 3 2 Cor. vi. 7.
1 70 Ube Sacrefc Vestments
stones were represented Truth and Singleness
Truth, by their brightness, and Singleness by
their solidity ; and the names of the children
of Israel were holy desires and works of right
eousness, as it is written, Cursed is the man
that hath not left seed in Israel. The number
six also doth denote perfection, for that on the
sixth day God FINISHED THE HEAVENS AND
THE EARTH, AND ALL THE HOST OF THEM. 1
Thus the graving of the six names of the
children of Israel on the one stone, arid six on
the other, was a sign that the desires and works
of the Priest ought not to stand in the LEAVEN
OF MALICE AND WICKEDNESS, BUT IN THE
UNLEAVENED BREAD OF SINCERITY AND
TRUTH ; 2 that his intention be informed with
Singleness, and his end with Truth.
Gregory, in his Pastoral Letter, 3 saith that
they were bidden to make the Ephod of gold,
and blue, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet,
and fine twined linen, for the shewing forth that
great diversity of virtues, wherewith the life of
the Priest should shine. And in his garments
it is gold that gleameth forth above all things,
1 Gen. ii. I. 2 I Cor. v. 8.
3 From here to the end of the Section is a selective quota
tion from S. Greg. Pastor. Ft. II. c. iii. (or xiv. ).
f tbe Destments of tbe Xaw 171
in token that in his life the understanding of
wisdom must shine out before all. And to this
is added blue, which gleameth in the hue of
heaven, that all things through which he maketh
way by his understanding may not minister
unto earthly men -pleasing, but may soar up
into the love of heavenly things ; lest while he
is unwisely taken up with the praises of himself,
he himself become void of the understanding
of truth. With the gold and the blue there is
also purple mingled, that the heart of the Priest,
while it hath hope concerning those lofty things
which he preacheth, may repress in itself the
suggestions of evil, and may as it were by a
royal authority refute them. Again, to the gold
and the blue, the fine linen and the purple, was
added scarlet twice-dyed, that before the eyes
of Him Who judgeth the hearts the excel
lencies of all his virtues might be adorned with
the ornaments of Charity ; and that all those
merits in him which glitter before the eyes of
men, might be kindled in the sight of the
Secret Judge with the flame of an inner love.
For this Charity, that a man should love both
God and his neighbour, doth gleam as it were
with a double tinge. But when the mind
inclineth unto the precepts of Charity, it
172 Ufoe Sacrefc Destments
remaineth that one buffet the flesh by Abstin
ence ; wherefore unto the twice-dyed scarlet fine
twined linen is added. For fine linen cometh
from the earth, with its radiant whiteness ;
what meaneth it, therefore, but the body s
chastity, so white with her comely pureness ?
and it is also twisted, ere it be inwoven with the
beauty of the Ephod ; because it is when the
flesh is wearied with fasting, that Chastity is
brought unto her whiteness clean and perfect.
For when amongst the other virtues the body s
discipline flourisheth, it is as though, amidst the
varied beauty of the Ephod, the fine twined
linen shewed its gleam. 1
12. The sixth Vestment was the Breastplate
or Rationale, which was to say that the High
Priest must put on discretion, whereby he may
distinguish between light and darkness, between
the right hand and the left ; for light hath no
fellowship with darkness, neither CHRIST WITH
BELIAL. 2 This Breastplate also was four-square,
shewing that he must make distinction between
four things, namely, between truth and false
hood, that he swerve not in believing ; and
1 A passage, and indeed a whole Section, of remarkable
baauty in he original.
2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.
f tbe Vestments of tbe Xaw 173
between good and evil, that he swerve not in
doing. Double also it was, for that there were
two on whose behalf he must see clearly, to
wit, on his own behalf, and on his people s ;
lest, the blind leading the blind, both should
fall into the ditch. And it had four rows of
precious stones, because he must have four
Cardinal Virtues, namely, Justice, Fortitude,
Prudence, and Temperance ; and in each row
it had three stones, for that he should have,
first, Faith, Hope, and Charity ; secondly,
Modesty, Gentleness, and Kindness ; thirdly,
Peace, Mercy, and Liberality ; and fourthly,
Vigilance, Carefulness, and Long-suffering.
For precious stones are virtues, according to
that scripture, that one buildeth GOLD, SILVER,
AND PRECIOUS STONES. 1
13. Two chains also it had of purest gold,
attached thereto each in his place, and them
selves fastened into two ouches, signifying that
the High Priest ought to have two affections of
love, that is, unto God and his neighbour ;
whereof we are taught, THOU SHALT LOVE THE
LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND
THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. 2 For as gold
taketh above all metals the pre-eminence, so
1 i Cor. iii. 12. 2 S. Luke x. 27.
174 Ube Sacret) IDestments
Charity excelleth all virtues, as saith the
Apostle l concerning it, THE GREATEST OF
THESE IS CHARITY. The two ouches, into
which the chains were fastened, were Intention
and Consummation, that he should love God
and his neighbour OUT OF A PURE HEART, AND
OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE, AND OF FAITH UN
FEIGNED, 2 and also for the sake of blessedness ;
loving God for his own sake, and his neighbour
for God s. And this Breastplate of Judgment
which Aaron wore, and whereon were inscribed
the names of the twelve Patriarchs, was, as
Gregory 3 saith, rightly called by this name ;
because a ruler ought ever with subtle discrimi
nation to judge betwixt good and evil : deter
mining what things are meet to be diligently
observed, and by whom, and at what time, and
after what manner ; and not to seek his own,
but to deem that the good of others agreeth
best unto his own weal. Thus in the Book of
Exodus 4 it is written, AND THOU SHALT PUT
IN THE BREASTPLATE OF JUDGMENT THE URIM
AND THE THUMMIM ; AND THEY SHALL BE
UPON AARON S HEART, WHEN HE GOETH IN
1 i Cor. xiii. 13. 2 I Tim. i. 5.
3 From here to end of Section is quoted from S. Greg.
Pastor. Pt. II. c. ii. (or xiii.).
4 Ex. xxviii. 30.
f tbe iDestments of tbe Xaw 175
BEFORE THE LORD : AND AARON SHALL BEAR
THE JUDGMENT OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
UPON HIS HEART BEFORE THE LORD CON
TINUALLY. Now, if a Priest bear the judg
ment of the children of Israel upon his heart
before the Lord/ it is to say that he pleadeth
the cause of his flock before that Judge alone,
Who seeth the hearts of men.
14. Some, however, have said that there is
no Vestment to-day which answereth to the
Breastplate, because there is amongst us no
plenty of precious stones. Yet it is after the
fashion of the Breastplate that the Bishop, at
his consecration, beareth the Text of the
Gospels 1 before his breast in the sight of all
the people ; for in this Text Doctrine and Truth
are put in writing ; and also ought the Bishop
to have in his heart the Truth of the Gospel,
and in his mouth its Doctrine as pertaineth to
the setting forth thereof. And this, it may
chance, is the reason why in certain Churches
the covers of the script of the Gospels are
embellished with gold, and silver, and precious
1 The Book of the Gospels has long been held in the Latin
Church to be an integral part of the Consecration of a Bishop.
The Pontifical directs that it shall be placed by the Con-
secrator, in silence, upon the head and shoulders of the
Bishop-elect.
176 Ube Sacrefc Vestments
stones l ; and there is also another reason,
for that in the Gospel there gleameth the
gold of wisdom, the silver of eloquence, and
the precious stones of wondrous works ; these
are the Bride s BORDERS OF GOLD, WITH STUDS
OF SILVER. 2
15. The seventh and last Vestment was that
of the head, the Mitre or Tiara, which the High
Priest put on last of all, and which signified
humility ; whereof the Lord said, WHOSOEVER
EXALTETH HIMSELF SHALL BE ABASED, AND
HE THAT HUMBLETH HIMSELF SHALL BE
EXALTED. 3 This he wore on his head, to shew
that the High Priest ought to bear humility in
his mind ; after the example of our Head, Who
saith, LEARN OF ME, FOR I AM MEEK AND
LOWLY IN HEART, 4 For by the head we do
understand the mind, as it is written, ANOINT
THINE HEAD, AND WASH THY FACE. 5 Again,
the Mitre, as worn by the lesser Priests, signified
Continence in the five senses ; but as worn by
1 Leo HI. caused to be made for the Apostle Peter, his
patron, a golden Book of the Gospels adorned round about
with jewels of marvellous size (V. Anast. in Vitaliano,
Leone III.).
2 Cant. i. 11. 3 S. Luke xiv. n. 4 S. Matth. xi. 29.
5 Ibid, vi. 17.
f tbe iflestments of tbe Xaw 177
the higher, Contemplation, whereunto they
ought to be given.
1 6. From the front of the Mitre there hung
down the Golden Plate, which was a figure of
wisdom ; or, if thou wilt, it foreshadowed the
Sign of the Cross, which is made in the Office
of Confirmation. 1 And upon this was graven
tht Tetragrammaton, that is, the Four-lettered
Name of the Lord ; and the letters were
Yod, He, Vav, He, that is, The Beginning of
the Life of Passion. Or, if one should speak
more plainly, Christ, in Whose Name that High
Priest did act, is the Beginning or Author of
the Life of Passion, which is to say the Life
that hath been restored through His Passion ;
for BY HIS DEATH HE HATH DESTROYED OUR
DEATH, AND BY HIS RISING TO LIFE AGAIN
HATH RESTORED TO US EVERLASTING LIFE. 2
17. Now all these Vestments were for the
more part wove with work of varied colours,
symbolising the variety of the virtues ; whereof
saith the Psalmist, 3 UPON THY RIGHT HAND
1 The Bishop, while he anoints the Candidate, says in the
Roman rite, I sign thee with the Sign of the Cross, and I
confirm thee with the Chrism of salvation, in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That is why
to confirm is called in Latin consignare.
2 From the Easter Preface in the Missal. 3 Ps. xlv. 10.
N
Ufoe Sacrefc Vestments
DID STAND THE QUEEN IN A VESTURE OF
GOLD, WROUGHT ABOUT WITH DIVERS
COLOURS. And of four precious colours were
they wove, namely, purple, scarlet, fine linen,
and blue. The purple, the hue of kingly dig
nity, was the High-Priestly power ; which needs
must walk a royal way, that it deviate neither
to the right hand nor to the left, that it bind
not the worthy, nor loose the unworthy. The
purple also signified water, because the worms
that wrought it dwelt in shells of the sea. The
scarlet, being of the colour of fire, signifieth the
doctrine of the High Priest, which must gleam
and burn like fire ; wherefore also it is said to
have been twice- dyed. For it must gleam, in
promise, as that everyone who shall have left
HOUSE, OR FATHER, OR MOTHER, FOR HIS
NAME S SAKE, SHALL RECEIVE AN HUNDRED
FOLD, AND SHALL INHERIT EVERLASTING
LIFE * : and it must burn, in threatening, as
that EVERY TREE WHICH BRINGETH NOT
FORTH GOOD FRUIT SHALL BE HEWN DOWN,
AND CAST INTO THE FIRE. 2
1 8. Hence it cometh that the Sovereign
Pontiff is ever seen to be clad with a red robe
without, while he weareth white garments
1 S. Matth. xix. 29. 2 Ibid. iii. 10.
f tbe Vestments of tbe %aw 179
within. For within he must be white with yet
another whiteness, that is, Innocency and
Charity ; and without he must be red as in
token of compassion, that is, that he may shew
himself ever ready to lay down his life for his
sheep : for that he is Vice-gerent of Him Who
made red His garments for all this world s
sheep.
19. But by indulgence of Constantine, 1
Emperor, he may wear a purple cloak and a
scarlet tunic, and all the robes of empire, the
sceptre, the insignia, and ornaments. And
whithersoever he goeth the Cross is borne in
front of him, to shew that this Sign agreeth
unto him more than unto all other ; as it is
written by the Apostle, GOD FORBID THAT I
SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST 2 ; that he may know it to
be his duty to imitate the Crucified. Again,
the scarlet twice-dyed in the High Priest s
Vestments is Charity, which is as it were twice
dyed, being coloured with the love of God, and
the love of his neighbour.
By the fine linen, being of excellent white-
1 See Chap, xiii., i and 8, and Chap, xvii., 14, with
notes.
2 I Tim. iii. > j.
N 2
i8o Ube Sacred IDestments
ness, is signified the excellence of a good
report ; and it must be twined, that the High
Priest might have a good report both of them
that are within, and of them that are without,
as the Apostle hinteth.
And lastly, the blue, being of the colour of
the firmament, signified that serenity of con
science which the High Priest must have within
himself, according to that word of the Apostle, 1
FOR OUR REJOICING IS THIS, THE TESTIMONY
OF OUR CONSCIENCE.
ERE ENDETH THE BOOK OF THE VEST
MENTS OF THE CHURCH.
1 2 Cor. i. 12.
EPILOGUE
LET not any think that in the foregoing work
the divine offices be sufficiently set forth, lest
haply by praising man s work he rashly
extenuate God s. For in the divine Office of
the Mass there be wrapt up so many and great
mysteries, that none shall have might to ex
pound them, save he be instructed with an
unction from the Holy. FOR WHO KNOWETH
THE ORDINANCES OF HEAVEN, OR CAN EX
PLAIN THE REASONS OF THEM UPON EARTH ? l
for he that prieth into their greatness shall be
overwhelmed with the glory of it. But I, who
cannot for the weakness of mine eyes look upon
the wheeling sun in his brightness, have gazed,
meseemeth, upon the majesty of so great
mysteries as THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY : and
not penetrating into the interior of the palace,
but sitting in the porch without, have done
diligently, as I could, not sufficiently, as I
1 Job xxxviii. 31.
1 8 2 Ube Sacrefc Destments
would. For by reason of the innumerable and
inevitable business of the Apostolic See, 1 press
ing upon me daily, like a flood, and holding
down the mind of one who would studiously
rise to the contemplation of heavenly things ; I,
perplexed as it were, and entangled in divers
inextricable knots, could not have full leisure as
I would ; wherefore I was able neither to dictate
what I had thought out, nor compose what I
ought. For the mind that is divided betwixt
many things is devoted the less to each.
Wherefore I crave not only a kindly reader,
but a free corrector too ; for I cannot gainsay
that many things are inserted in this little
work, which it were neither rash nor unjust to
blame. But if aught praiseworthy be found
therein, let it be ascribed entirely to Divine
Grace, for EVERY GOOD GIFT AND EVERY
PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE, AND COMETH
DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF LIGHTS. 2 But
let that which is unworthy be set down to
human impotence, FOR THE CORRUPTIBLE
BODY PRESSETH DOWN THE SOUL, AND THE
EARTHLY TABERNACLE WEIGHETH DOWN THE
MIND THAT MUSETH UPON MANY THINGS. 3
1 See Memoir of Durandus. * S. James i. 17.
8 Wisdom ix. 17.
183
I have both collected from divers books and
commentaries, after the manner of the honey-
making bee, and from those thoughts which
Divine Grace hath held out to me, not without
fruit ; and this doctrine, flowing with inward
sweetness like the honey-comb, I have offered,
trusting in God s help, to those who are minded
to meditate on the divine offices ; looking for
this only guerdon among men for the great toil
which I have done, that they should pour forth
earnest prayers unto the most merciful Judge
for the assoiling of my sins.
HERE ENDETH HAPPILY THE RATIONALE
OF WILLIAM DURANDUS BISHOP OF
MENDE.
INDEX
AARON, 14, 17, 50, 60, 62,
95, 102, 174
Abanetk, 156
Agnellus, 59
Aix, Council of, 3
Aix-la-Chapelle, 17
Alba, Bishop of, 136
Albe, 4-6, 14, 16, 20-22, 28-
32, 33, 44, 49, 77, 88, 156,
162
All Apostles Day, 135
All Saints Day, history of,
147
Allegoria, 155
Almuce, 98
Amalarius, 65
Amice, 4, 6, 14, 20, 22, 23-
27, 35> 45. 56, 74, 162
Amphibalum, 54
Anastasius Bibliothecarius,
136
Anoth Adonai, 161
Apostles, Vestments derived
from, 4
Apparels, 30
Arsenius, 50
Augustine, S., of Canterbury,
38
Augustine, S., of Hippo, 43
BALTEUS, 33, 156
Baronius, no
Bayeux, 47
Bells, golden, 79, 157, 163,
167, 1 68
Bells on Cope, 17
Benedict XII., 16
Bingham, 2, 43, 82
Biretta, 98
Bishop, passim
Black and violet, their trans
ition, 148
Bonal, M. Raymond, 29
Boniface, Pope, 34, 65, 101
Bonnet, 161
Braga, Fourth Council of, 41
Breastplate, 121, 159, 163,
172, 174, 175
Breeches, 155, 162, 164
Bruno, Bishop, 137
Burchardus, 44
Buskins, 22, 62-72
Byssus, 28
CAEREMONIALE, 34
Caeremoniale Episcoporum,
99, 101, 123, 124
Caligae, 64
Carpets, 6
Carthage, Fourth Council of,
21
Casacula, 55
Cathemone, 156
Charlemagne, 3, 5 2
Chasuble, 5, 7, 14, 21, 22, 25,
29, 40, 47, 51, 54-6i, 73,
1 86
SacteD Vestments
83 ; Cross on, 59, 60 ;
primitive, 55
Chosroes, 145
Chrism, 142, 143, 177
Chrisoms, 16, 143
Chrysostom, S., 33
Clugni, Peter of, 115
Coat, Broidered, 74
Coat, Linen, 156, 162, 166
Colobium, 29, 81, 82
Cologne, Council of, 16
Colours, 139-153
Compagi, 64, 71
Constantine, Donation of, 72,
94, 101, 137, 138, 179
Cope, 17, 29
Cowl, 29, 82
Crook, in
Crosier, in
Cross, Pectoral, 74, 162
Cross, Triple Papal, 116, 179
Crown, Papal, 94, IOI
Cyprian, S., 81
DALMATIC, 21, 22, 77, 78,
81-89 5 Orfreys on, 84, 85 ;
Fringes on, 85, 86
Deacon, 21, 47, 52, 54, 65,
83, 88, 89, 98, 119, 151,
152
Denis, S., monastery of, 5 2
Du Cange, 44, 65, 94
Dugdale, 112
Durandus, mysticism of, xi et
seq* Memoir of, xix
EAST, Bishop looking to
wards, 6
Egbert, Archbishop of Treves,
US
Elements, the Four, 12, 163
Emissanea, 156
Ephod, 23, 24, 74, 121, 158,
162, 163, 169, 170, 172;
Robe of the, 77, 157, 162,
167
Ephotar, 158
Episcopate, 9
Eucherius, Bishop of Treves,
"5
FANON, 47
Folded Chasuble, 10, 55, 88,
89
Fortunatus, Archbishop of
Treves, 25
Frigium, 94, 101
Frontus, 115
Fur Robes in Choir, 15
GEORGIUS, 26
Girdle, 5, 6, 14, 20, 22, 30,
33-37) 4) 73) 77> I ^ 2
Girdle, Jewish, 74, 137, 156,
162, i 66
Gloves, 5, 22, 90-92
Gospels, Book of, 175, 176
Gratian, 2, 41, 71, 72, 88, 89,
94. i3
Green, 150
Gregory, S., the Great, 9,
47, 65, 71, 88, 116, 170
Gregory Nazianzen, 120
Gregory of Tours, S., no,
H5
Guido, 82
HEEN, 159
Helena, S., 145
Heraclius, 145
Heretics, 18-20, 95
Historia? 155
Holy Saturday, ceremonies of,
ISI
Honorius, Bishop of Autun,
58, 90, 115
Hood on Cope, 17 ; on other
Vestments, 29
Hugh of S. Victor, 24
INCENSE, 104
Infula, 93
187
Innocent III., Pope, 24, 30,
73, 96, 102, 115
Innocent IV., Pope, 98
Instrunientorum Traditio, 20
Irenaeus, 45
Isidore, 54, 81, 82, 84, 106
lie missa esf, 1 1
Ivo Carnotensis, 64
JACINTH, 78
Jerome, S., 2, 75
John Baptist, S. , 70
John of Cappadocia, 93
Josephus,43 I 54, 156,158-162
LAEVINUS, TORRENTIUS, 140
Laodicea, Council of, 46
Lateran Council, Fourth, 121
Law, Vestments of, 22, 154-
180 ; priests of, 12, 35, 43,
74, 154-180
Leo III., Pope, 74
Liberatus, 120
Lichfield Cathedral, 1 12
Littledale, Dr., 55
Livinus, S., 38
Logion, 159
Louis le Debonnaire, 3
Ludovic, 3
MACROCOSM, 163
Mamphie, 156
Manascasim, 155
Maniple, 7, 22, 47-53, 119
Mapftila, 47, 71
Marcus, Bishop of Rome, 136
Martene, 20, 24, 52
Martial, 114
Martigny, 1 12
Martin, S., 31, 135
Maternus, Bishop of Cologne,
US
Maur, S. , 44
Maximian, S., 59
Mayence, Council of, 20, 44
Meil, 157
Menard, 136
Microcosm, 163
Micrologus, 135
Migbaoth, 157
Minor Orders, 20, 46
Miriam, 4
Missal, Roman, 63, 165, 177
Mitre, 5, 22, 93-105, 162 ;
Bands of, 95, 97 ; Circlet of,
96 ; Horns of, 94
Mitre, Jewish, 161, 162, 176,
177
Morse, 18
Moses, 3, 4, 17, 95. IO 4. IIJ
NAPKIN, 5, 22
Nice, Second Council of, 3
Nicephorus, 74
Nine, 13
OR ALE, 26, 73
Orarium, 38, 43, 44 5 see
Stole
Origen, 155
Ostia, Bishop of, 136
Oxford, 112 ; Council of, II
n,fj.o(f>6piov, 1 20
PAENULA, 54, 55
Pall, 5, 14, 22, 60, 120-138,
162 ; Preparation of, 124
Panvinus, Onufrius, 82
Pascal II., Pope, 116
Pastoral Staff, 6, 20, 22, 103,
1 10-117; Knop of, 112
Paten and Chalice, 21
Patriarchs, 44, 45
Pax, II
Pedum, III
Peter, S., 114 ; Enthronement
of, at Rome and Ar.tioch, 141
Pelliccia, 2, 33, 93
Perizona, 35
Planeta, 54
Plate, Golden, 74, 103, 122,
162, 177
i88
ZTbe Sacrefc IDestments
Platina, 101
Pluvial, 17
Pomegranates, 79, 157, 163,
167, 168
Pontificate, 9, 39, 40, III,
124, 132
Pope, 7, 51, 64, 73, 100, roi,
102, 114-117, 178, 179
Portus, Bishop of, 136
Precious Stones, 160
Priest, 21, 54, 65, 68, 83, 84,
98, 105, etc.
Pugin, 29, 34, 38, 51, 116,124
Purple Cloak, Papal, 94, 137
RATIONALE, vii, xx-xxii ; see
also Breastplate
Ratisbon, Council of, 54
Ravenna, 47
Red, 145-148
Regnum, 101, 137
Riculfus, Bishop, 33, 90
Ring, 5, 20, 22, 106-109
Rod, ill
Rose, Golden, 149, 150
Rupert, Bishop of Tuy, 59
SAMBUCA, no, 112
Sandals, 4, 22, 62-72, 162
Sandarach, Sandala, Sandalh,
65, 66
Sicardus of Cremona, 64
Silvester, Pope, 81,82,101, 137
Six, 13
Songs of Degrees, 1 3
Stephen, Pope, 2
Stigand, Archbishop, 47
Stole, 7, 14, 20-22, 38-46, 162
Strabo, 81
Subdeacon, 46, 47, 49, 51-
53, So, 83, 89, 151
Subtile, 76
Srtbuncula, 156
Succinctorium, 7, 34
Succingulum, 35
Sudarhtm, 47, 49, 1 1 8, 119
Superhumerale, see Ephod
Superpellicium, see Surplice
Surplice, 15-17, 20
Symbolism, Neale & Webb,
vii, 140
TAPETA, 6
Temperaments, the Four, 12,
163
Tetragrammaton, 74, 103,
161, 177
Thomas, S. , Aquinas, 74, 115,
116
Thomas, S., of Canterbury, 44
Tiara and Pall, Imperial, 94,
101
Tiara, Jewish, 156, 161
Toledo, Fourth Council of,
20, 21, 43
Tribur, Council of, 44
Tropologia, 155
Tunic, 5, 14, 22, 46, 76-80,
83, 84, 162
Tunic, Blue, 77, 83
UNDERGIRDLE, 7,22,34-36,73
Urban IV., Pope, 135
Urban V., Pope, 101
Urim and Thummim, 159,
1 60, 174, 175
VEILS on Altar, 153
Vienne, Council of, 135
Violet, 139, 150-153
Vitruvius, 65
Vitta, 93
WERINUS, Archbishop of
Cologne, 115
White, 139-153
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