Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-01-11
Tho Dress Of the Clergy.

Dean Stanley described, evidently
with infinite amusement, the purely
secular and common origin of the pres
emit official dress of the clergy, whether
In the Anglican or in the Roman Church,
and he enforces, with the ~liveliest Illus
tration, the conclusion that "the dress
OF the clergy had no distinct intention,
symbollcal, sacerdotal, sacrificial or
mystical" but originated simply in
1.-THE fashions common to the whole
community of the Roman Empire dur
ing the three first centuries" He be-
gins by dressing up o lay figure at the
time OF the Christian era, and shows
how his various garments have survived
In clerical costume. His shirt, camisia
or chemlse, survives in two forms, the
alb, so called from its being white, and
the dalmatic, so called from Dalmatia,
from whence this shape of it was derived
just as certain great-coats, to quote
the Deans illustration, are now called
listers. This shirt, after the invasion
OF the Northern barbarians, used to be
drawn over the fur coat, sheep skin or
otter skin, the pelisse of the Northern
nations, and hence, in the twelfth GEN.
fury, arose the barbarous name of SUI
perpeticfufn, or surpiice, the "over-
fur" The present Rector of ST Georges
n-the-East, the Rev. Harry Jones, told
an amusing story of the Dean which
illustrates this point. He came to
preach at st. Georges one very cold
day, wrapped in a fur coat, and Mr..
Jones advised him to keep it on during
the service. Eyes" said the Dean, 81
think l had better do so, and then my
surpllce Will be . true supsrpeHtcium."
Another form Of the same dress survives
In the Bishops rochet, which is the little
rock or coat worn by the medieval
Bishops out of doors when they went out
hunting. Similarly the pail Of an Arch |
bishop is the relic of the Roman toga. |
or pallium. 1t is not so certain as the
Dean suploses that cassock is derived
from Caracalla, "along overall. which
Antonius Bassianus brought from
France, and whence derived his NAME"
Tor 1t has also been traced to kas, skin or
hide. But there can be no doubt that
chasuble comes from casuln, "a slang
name used by the italian laborers for
the capote," which they called "their
little house," as "tile" is, or was a
sAAO oSOt 0cCo " utb, hlu us |
coat Is the same word as "cote" or
cottage; nor that "cope" is another
form OF o~vercoat-a sort of waterproof /;
or that the inter was an ordinary head
dress worn by women, and still, accord
ing to the Dean, to be seen in the mu-
seums OF Russia as the cap or turban
worn on festive occasions in ancient
days by Princes and mobiles, and ever to
this day by the peasant woman. The
division into two points is, he saws.
"only the mark of the crease, which is
the consequence of its having been, like
an opera hat, folded and carried under
the arm" The stole, lastly, was a SIM
pie handkerchief for common uses. On
State occasions such handkercbiefs were
used as ribbons, streamers or scarfs, and
were hence adopted by the deacons, who
had little else to distinguish them. The
Dean mentions a curious modern illus
tration of the way in which the use of
such a slight symbol may arise. When
Sir James Brooke first returned from
Borneo. where the only sign of ROYALTY
was to hold a kerchief in the hand. he
retained the practice in England. The
process by which these simple garments
passed into official use is easily traced.
First, the early Christian clergy and
laity alike, when they came to their
public assemblies, took care that their
clothes, though the same as they usually
wore, should be especially neat and
clean. Next, it was natural that the
colors and forms chosen should be OF q
grave and sober tint. Lastly came the
process, which may be easily followed
in English society during the last two
centuries, of common fashions becoming
fixed in certain classes at particular
moments, and of what was once common
to all becoming peculiar to a few
The Quarterly ReuieW.