Part 11

To garments which are white and have at times to be washed, these ornaments are sewn or otherwise attached, so that they can be removed when it is necessary and replaced. The amice we have not yet mentioned, as it is of mediæval origin and did not come into our consideration of the evolution of modern vestments from Roman dress. It was a rectangular piece of linen, about thirty-six inches by twenty-five inches, with an apparel sewn along one edge and a cross embroidered in the centre. This the priest at the present time wears round his neck. The outer garment or chasuble, which is richly ornamented, we have traced to the garment which replaced the Roman toga, and as it is without sleeves and has become heavier, it has been found necessary to slit up the sides. Under this the stole is worn over the albe, and only its ends appear beneath the chasuble. (See Figure 129.) There is ornamentation on the sleeves of the albe, where they show, and on the back and front of it where it shows below the chasuble.

The apparels, according to Druitt, are possibly the remains of the purple bands and other ornamentations of the Roman tunic, from which we have seen that the albe was derived. Over the left arm the priest carries a maniple which is something like a stole. This was originally made of linen, and worn over the fingers of the left hand. There is no doubt but that it was once a napkin and, according to Mr. G. C. Coulton,[28] originally used in the fashion of a modern pocket-handkerchief. That it was a napkin is shown by quotations from ancient writers, and there seems no doubt also that many refinements of Roman civilization, of which the pocket handkerchief was one, were lost in the later Middle Ages. In fact, the handkerchief only began to come into general use in polite society about Henry VIII's reign, and the maniple of the ministrant at the altar must have lost its original use, or Bernard would not have twice warned him against blowing his nose on his chasuble or surplice.

When speaking of the handkerchief, there is another use which we may mention. It was often employed for ceremonial purposes in connection with the giving of presents, and this idea seems to have come from Eastern lands, where gifts are wrapped in highly ornamental covers. In the parable of the talents, one of them, it will be remembered, was wrapped in a napkin, and even to-day the labourer has his dinner taken to him in a brightly coloured cotton handkerchief.

Among the special vestments of bishops are the dalmatic, which we have already described, and the tunicle, which originally did not differ from it, and began to be worn beneath it about the twelfth century. Others are the buskins or stockings (which were originally reserved for the pope), sandals, ring, gloves, and mitre, together with a pastoral staff adapted from the shepherd's crook.

Archbishops have a cross staff and a pallium or pall which is probably derived from the same ancestor as the stole, namely the orarium, which, we have seen, was a favour or distinction granted by the Roman Emperor.

The word pallium has been applied to a number of garments in the past, many of which were of a flowing character, and some writers have seen in the archbishop's pall a small vestige of what was once an ample vestment. Early pictures, however, show the pall looped round the shoulders with one end hanging in front of the body and one behind. Mr. Macalister says that it was difficult sometimes to distinguish between it and the stole, and that the next step in its evolution was to knot the free ends to the loops as shown in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. From this it was but an easy step to the final form which consists of an oval loop with a long tail pendent from each of its ends, so that when it is worn on the person it makes a capital "Y" on the back and another on the chest. It should be pointed out that the pall must not be confounded with the apparel of the chasuble called the orphrey, which also has a "Y" shape.

In connection with the manufacture of the pall there are some interesting proceedings. It is made from the wool of two lambs, and they are solemnly blessed on Saint Agnes's day in the church dedicated in the name of that saint at Rome. The animals are chosen with special reference to their whiteness and goodness, and are carried into Rome in separate baskets, which are slung over a horse's back.

On the way to the church the Pope makes the sign of the cross from a window over the lambs, and they, after Mass has been celebrated and they have been blessed by the celebrant, go back to the Pope, who sends them to a nunnery, where they are shorn and the wool made into palls by the nuns.

The modern pall has six black crosses on it, but previous to the eighth century it had sometimes four, sometimes eight, worked in purple.

At first the pall was fastened by gold pins to the chasuble to keep it in place, but just as ladies now use little lead weights to keep parts of their dress in position, so lead was used to hold the archbishop's pall in place. The effigy of Albrect von Brandenburg in 1555, at Mayence, shows two palls, which probably indicate that he was Archbishop of Magdeburg as well as of Mayence. This repetition can hardly be strictly correct, as the pall could only be worn within the Archbishop's province.

Archbishops in olden days appeared to have had no authority to act until they received their pall from the Pope. The honour was, however, bestowed occasionally on bishops. The pall is generally shown on the coats of arms of archbishops. (See Figure 130.)

The cope is one of the so-called processional vestments. It does not appear before the ninth century, and is apparently connected with Roman dress. It was an outer cloak without sleeves, and originally was used as a protection from the weather at open-air processions in Rome, its ancestor probably being the lacerna. In a similar way the almuce was a hood to protect the head, and such articles, as Mr. Macalister says, the clergy would continue to adopt in their cold and draughty churches or in open-air processions.

Of monastic habits the earliest was the Benedictine, consisting of a cassock over which was worn the cowl--a large, loose gown, with hanging sleeves and a hood attached to it. In the old times the costume of abbesses and nuns resembled the mourning habit of widows, who often retired to end their days in a convent. When the English Church was reformed, the Mass vestments practically disappeared. The first Prayer Book of Edward VI prescribed for the Holy Communion a white albe, without any apparels, with a vestment or cope, while the assistant priest or deacons were to wear albes with tunicles. The cope was also to be worn with a plain albe or surplice on Wednesdays and Fridays when there was no communion. The bishop was to wear a rochet, a surplice or albe, and a cope or vestment. The second Prayer Book prohibited the use of the albe, vestment, or cope to the minister, allowing him only a surplice, while the archbishop or bishop was allowed a rochet. The Act of Uniformity upheld the ornaments rubric of the first Prayer Book of Edward VI, and this has never been superseded.

The lawn sleeves of the modern bishop developed from the rochet, which was a kind of modified albe, which at first had a kind of tight-fitting sleeves or none at all. Over this rochet is worn a black satin chimere, and as it was difficult to get this over the bishop's sleeves, they were removed from the rochet and are now fastened to the chimere. The black scarf we have already considered.

It is customary at the present day for clergy of the English Church to wear the academical hood of their university degree over their surplices. This is ordained by the fifty-eighth canon, but ministers who are not graduates are permitted to wear, instead of hoods, "some decent tippet of black, be it not silk." It appears that in the time of Elizabeth, in everyday dress, ministers wore a gown and some of them a silk hood. The tippet is a survival of the almuce, which we mentioned in connection with the cope, and is one of the so-called processional dresses. It must therefore not be confounded with the amice, which is a truly ecclesiastical vestment.

As bearing on the conservatism of the Church in matters of dress, we may mention that in Holland, until recent times, the clergy wore a very old-fashioned dress, or perhaps it may better be described as a picturesque uniform, consisting of an old three-cornered hat, and a coat resembling the ordinary evening dress-coat, having a long pleated strip called "the mantle" hooked on the neck, and obviously being a survival from an early and more ample gown of some kind. They wore knee-breeches buckled at the knees, and buckled shoes, but this costume was only used when the minister was officiating at service.

Some of the heads of the churches in Scotland still adopt a kind of Court dress.

In turning for a moment again to the everyday dress of the clergy, the method of fastening the characteristic white choker at the back seems to have come from the bands. Thackeray in "The Newcomes" uses the name choker as meaning a white necktie, and it was also applied to the old leather stocks which the clerical collar, in its stiffness, resembles. The bishop's hat we have already alluded to, as showing the stage in a process of cocking, the brim being tied to the crown by strings. The clerical gaiters we can derive from the old episcopal buskins, while the apron appears to be a vestige of the cassock to which we have before referred.

The dress of monks usually consists of a tunic or closed gown and scapular, while there may be one or more open gowns with a hood at the back.

Nuns or Sisters of Mercy are so commonly seen in our streets, and they do so much for the benefit of the poor, and take such a part in educational matters, that their dress is very familiar to us. It is difficult to say how old it may not be, and though stiff hoods similar to those which are now in use by nuns were adopted by women generally in Tudor times, we find in the head-dress of Henry II's reign the counterpart of the linen bands which surround the face and hide the hair. The other garments of nuns may have the same origin as ecclesiastical vestments, for the dress of the Roman women was very much like that of the men. (See Figures 128 and 131-133.)

There are, of course, many orders, congregations, and communities of nuns, but we may describe the dress of one of the latter, and then make a few additional remarks. In the case of the Kilburn Sisters of the Church, who are English Catholics--but who have dedicated their lives to religion in the same way as the Roman Catholic nuns--the indoor dress consists of a white cap, the descendant of the Norman chin-band, which fits tightly round the head--as the hair of all nuns is, of course, cut close--and it is gathered round the face with a string. This cap, if it comes down low on the forehead, correspondingly covers the chin, but in many cases the latter is free. Over the white cap in indoor dress a black veil is worn in the case of professed nuns, a blue veil by novices, while postulants, who may be taken as corresponding to probationers in a hospital, wear only a cap, though in chapel they have a white veil as well. Round the neck of the Sister is a white collar, which in this case is separate from the cap and buttons on to it at one side.

This collar, which like the veil may be traced to the wimple of Norman and later ladies, is also called a breast cloth or a gremial, and may be, as we have indicated, made in one piece with the cap.

In outdoor dress a stiff white hood is placed over the indoor head-dress, and over that again comes the outdoor black veil.

It should be mentioned that the Kilburn Sisters now pin their veils to the sides of their linen caps in exactly the same way that the dame in the time of the early Plantagenets did her wimple to the sides of her chin-band.

For working Sisters, the rest of the costume is a habit with skin-tight sleeves, though there are also most voluminous outer sleeves which are detachable and can be removed. A small cape is buttoned across the chest, and the number of buttons corresponds with the letters in the word "Obedience." An apron is also worn and a thick girdle, to one of the hanging ends of which a cross is attached. Other Sisters wear a scapular with shoulder-straps, over a white cape. Nuns are not allowed to wear gloves, and some orders use sandals, though absolutely barefooted orders exist.

The lay sisters of the community under consideration wear a blue habit and a white cap with flaps. Some orders, in addition to the white cap, wear a plain band round the forehead over it, which is called a frontal, and is seen in the dress of Henry II's time. (See Figures 131 and 133.)

Professed sisters wear a wedding ring on the third finger of their right hand. The white outdoor stiffened hoods often stand right up from the head in a very striking way, and sometimes no veils are worn. Some of the caps, which are made in one piece with the collar, are fastened under the chin by two strings, and the goffered edges of the collar recall the bands of the Stuart period.

XXI

SUNDAY CLOTHES

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SUNDAY CLOTHES--THE WEARING OF HATS IN CHURCH BY LADIES

Sunday clothes are a time-honoured institution, though it is a sign of the times that many now make no difference between their weekday costume and that which they wear on the day of rest, or if they do, they only put on garments which are appropriate to the relaxations in which they are accustomed to indulge. St. Jerome and St. Clement both exhorted the early Christian worshippers to wear a special dress for worship, and the Jews in their synagogues put on a vestment called a talith, which is used by the whole of the congregation as well as by the officiating minister.

We quote the following passage from St. Clement[29] because it deals with the question of women having their heads covered while at church: "The wife and the husband should take their way unto the church, in seemly apparel, with unaffected gait, and speech refrained; having love unfeigned; pure in body and pure in heart; fitly decked for prayer to God. And this further let the woman have: let her wholly cover her head (unless perchance she be at home), for so dressed she will have respect and be withdrawn from gazing eyes. And if thus with modesty, and with a veil, she covereth her own eyes, she shall neither be misled herself, nor shall she draw others, by the exposure of her face, into the dangerous path of sin. For this willeth the Word; seeing that it is meet for the woman that she pray with covered head.... But then so as they, who are joined to Christ, adorn themselves, in a more solemn fashion, for assemblies of the church, even such should they ever be, even so be fashioned, all the days of their life. 'To be, not seem to be,' let that be their watchword; gentle, reverent, full of holy love, at one time not less than at another.

"But it is not so, indeed. Somehow doth it come about, that, with change of place, they change both their habit and their manners; even as the polypus is said to change each one his colour to the semblance of the rock whereby he dwells."

It will be remembered that not long ago objection was taken by a minister to women appearing in his church without any hats. It would appear that the whole custom is a relic of that still observed in eastern countries, where women cover not only their heads, but also their faces, though, as pointed out in an earlier chapter (see page 13), in some places it is still considered more immodest to uncover the back of the head than to expose any other part of the person; and in Egypt, for instance, an Arab woman disturbed when drawing water will throw her single garment over her head in order to hide it.

One is rather afraid that those ladies who follow the lines laid down by St. Clement as to covering their heads in church sometimes obey his injunctions in the letter rather than in the spirit. For scoffers have been found who say that one of the reasons why fashionable ladies go to church is to show their own new hats and gowns and to look at those belonging to their neighbours. The question of covering the head was touched upon when dealing with servants' dress in connection with the cap of the housemaid. (See page 149.)

The greatest contrast between Sunday and weekday clothes is to be looked for in the country among agricultural labourers, as the cessation of labour gives an opportunity for discarding the rough and heavy garments of the field in favour of something lighter and of better quality, and this quite apart from the religious idea which no doubt first led to the practice. Probably the custom of putting on Sunday clothes in the country will survive until the rural exodus, which has unfortunately begun, has led to the complete depopulation of our villages.

XXII

ACADEMICAL DRESS

GOWNS AND HANGING SLEEVES--THE FORERUNNER OF THE HOOD--THE ORIGIN OF THE DOCTOR'S HAT--THE EVOLUTION OF THE MORTAR-BOARD

Many complaints have been very justly made against the solemnity, if not the ugliness, of men's modern evening dress. On important occasions it may be more or less enlivened by the ribbons and stars of various orders, but we really get a return to something of mediæval brightness at those functions connected with the universities at which academical dress is worn. Then the black coats and trousers are practically hidden, in many cases by scarlet, by purple, and other coloured gowns. Occasionally there are combinations of colours which are trying to the eyes of many, but on the whole the effect is one that is pleasing and worthy of repetition. Academical dress is in itself a survival, and the gay colours are almost enough to tell us this. Records exist which show that in the fifteenth century they were already adopted by the graduates of our universities.

The evidence which has been brought forward as to the origin of academic costume points to its having been derived from that of the clergy; but there are interesting connections with civil dress, as we shall see. One of the special features of many academic gowns is their long hanging sleeves, and we shall find that so long ago as the time of William Rufus sleeves had grown so long that it had become convenient to make a hole through them through which the hand and forearm could be protruded. (See Figure 134.)

These sleeves took upon themselves all sorts of forms, and they were made so long and narrow that they resembled very much the elongation of the hood which was called a liripipe. Occasionally it was found necessary to knot them so that they should not trail upon the ground. Very few parts of dress have varied so much as sleeves, and it is said that any costume can be dated by an examination of the sleeves. Nowadays, as in the past, the length of the sleeve and of the gown itself indicates the status of the member of the university. At Oxford, for instance, the undergraduate's gown is so short that it is hardly worthy of the name, and it is without sleeves that act as such. The scholar's gown is more voluminous, and the gowns of the bachelors and masters of arts are more important again, while the sleeves belonging to the latter reach nearly to the ground.

When we come, however, to the robes of the Chancellor, which are made of stiffer material, we find that the ancient character of the hanging sleeves is much more marked (see Figure 135), and there is a train so long that small pages are told off to support it. In the old days, the material of which the gowns were made, and their trimmings indicated the rank of the wearers; and, as Mr. Druitt[30] points out, the bachelor, for instance, was unable to use fur of so costly a kind as that worn by his academical superiors. Stuff or silk gowns still have their significance, and in the hoods which are the survival of a part of dress which was once useful and worn by graduates and undergraduates alike, we find great diversity in the case of the various degrees of different universities.

As a head covering, the cap took the place of a hood, and the latter fell down behind like that often seen on a modern ulster. We have already noticed (p. 157) how this peak of the hood was exaggerated, and in old times the liripipe was longer in the case of undergraduates. The modern hood of the universities has grown in size, but it has lost its long streamer. Examples are, of course, most commonly seen in churches, as it is a custom of the clergy to wear their academical hoods over their white surplices. The colour of the hood and of its lining indicates, to the initiated, the university to which the wearer belongs, and the degree which he has taken.

In early times a tippet or cape made of fur or cloth edged or lined with fur, according to the degree, was also worn. To this we have alluded when speaking of the surplice (see page 199). It seems also to have originally been a kind of hood which developed first into the almuce, one of the processional vestments of the priesthood. This was covered by the ecclesiastical cope, but was worn outside the academical gown. Doctors of Divinity were allowed to wear scarlet tippets, and the colour survives now in their academical hood, and the ordinary black almuce with its fur lining has not been greatly changed in becoming the hood of the Bachelor of Arts.

Sometimes the tippet and sometimes the hood was worn (if we may judge from monumental brasses), but also they were both put on at the same time. The figure of a doctor embroidered on a fifteenth-century cope belonging to the Pro-Cathedral of the Apostles at Clifton, depicts him wearing a tippet edged with white, a red hood, and a red cap. His gown, which is worked in gold thread, is shown with a blue lining.