The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-09-22
PIONEER GLOVE wEARER..
GauntIets of Ancient Hunters-snint.
Who Wore Gloves

Who Wore Gloves.
| Not only on account of The intrinsic
beauty of many experiments that have
been preserved, but also because OF
the symbolism connected with them
/ gloves VIII ever have special in.
| terest for the student of the past
That they were worn at a very early
period there is no doubt. though ex-
actiy when they first came into use
1t Is impossible to say, for there are
| no actual references to them In early
/ Greek or Roman MSS. The first men
ton OF gloves is in the ODYSSEY, IN
\ which 1t is stated that Lartes. the
father Of Ulysses, wore them on his
1 hunting expeditions to protect his
1 hands from the thorns, and In his
4 Cyropedia Xenophon reproaches the
/ Persians for their effeminacy in COW
4 erirg their hands.
Both in the East and West the
/ glove. when once adopted. soon became
| of Importance as the recognized SYM
4 Dol of the transfer of property, the
seller of land giving the purchaser
4 glove as a token of possession. for
which reason 1t Is generally supposed
that in the much quoted passage In
Ruth Nv. verse 4 TO confirm all things
a man plucked off his shoe and gave
y to his neighbor," the word shoe
should have been translated glove.
In Christian lconography glove
/ was very early associated with certain
saints, notably with st. Front, who ID
said to have left his glove behind him
after attending the funeral of st. Mar
tina, the sister of Lazarus, and with
st. Cesartus, bishop OF Aries, who 4,
credited with having sent his glove
full of air to a district in his diocese
| suffering from protracted calm.
a glove Worn on the let. hand by
/ saint is token of noble birth.
probably because the falcon was car
ried on the left wrist, and as early
as the third century. A. D.. gloves were
given by the Emperor to bishops on
their investlture. ST. Ambrose of Milan.
/ who died in 39S. Is represented in
/ painting, now in the sacistry of the
cathedral of Aixla- Chapele, wear
Ing gloves on the back of which a
sta- is embroidered. Gloves are among
i the eSablems of ST. Amadeus of Savoy.
i whose sister is supposed to have given
him glove she had received from
the Blessed Virgin. and the Asor5 goes
] that ST. David OF Sweden. when his
sight was falling him from old age,
hung his gloves on sunbeam. taking
i 1T for cord
AS is we'll known. the throwing down
i of a glove was In feudal times a chal-
lenge to single combat and the picking
up Of that glove an acceptance OF the
i defiance, fact slilfully turned to ac-
4 count by Browning in his beautiful
poem '"rhe Glove" in which he makes
i the heroine dash down her glove at
the feet Of the lion. only to have Il,
flung back in her face by her lover.
i knights used to wear lady's glova
in their helmets as a token that they
would defend her cause against all
comers, and to this day special sig
|nificance attaches to the oiftSo. pair.
of gloves from a man to a woman.
Inland glove before shaking hands with
4 a lady Is probably a survival of the
days Of chlvalry, as Is also the pre-
sanitation OF pair of white gloves to
a judge when there are no cases to be
tried at an assize. as we'll as to. the
giving of black gloves to mourners mt
4 q Notwithstanding.