Sartorial Splendor- Captivating Copes
So, something is still wrong with Blogspot. I don't know what- are any other bloggers having problems? It seems to have eaten one of my posts and some comments. Oh well, at least it didn't eat my chasuble post- that would have been horrible.
Anywho, today sees the subject of the cope treated in our ongoing series, Sartorial Splendor.
~
The subject of this post is the cope, a piece of liturgical paraphenalia that many are probably not familiar with. The cope is, in many respects, essentially a glorified cape. The picture above is one of a cope seen from the back- the front is open and is held on by fastening the clasp around the front, near the neck (the clasp is called the "morse").
The cope itself is not, unlike what some may say, a derivation of the chasuble. Some historians will trace the origin of the cope to the 11th century, from the "lacerna" or "byrrus." This is not correct; there are numerous sixth century mosaics (including the famous Ravenna mosaics) in which Melchisedec (the high priest from the Old Testament- "You are a priest in the line of Melchisedec," etc) is portrayed in a vestment that is very obviously a cope.
The cope is actually derived from the open-fronted paenula. You might say, "Now wait a minute, wasn't that one of the names of the thing the chasuble came from?" and the answer would be yes. However, to trace the cope's development as having its origins in the ecclesiastical chasuble would be incorrect. Some of the "poncho"-like garments that originated the chasuble also had variants which had open fronts. Or, alternately, if they were two seperate pieces of fabric, then they wouldn't be sewn together on one side, leaving an opening in front. Hence, a somewhat cape-like vestment from which we get the cope.
This open-fronted vestment had very practical applications- for example, when a celebrant was supposed to carry something, like a reliquary, it would have been very difficult for him to do so. Thusly, the cope founds its usefulness here and, when the chasuble became confined to the celebrant of Mass, the cope had a more flexible application.
The hood of the cope, which you can (kind of) see in the picture above also has its origins in practicality. The open-fronted panuela often had a hood as well (might as well keep your head dry, too) and the hood, which is now purely ceremonial, retained this practical use well into the middle ages.
Very little has changed in the overall design of the cope, with the exception of the ceremonialization of the hood and the stiffening of the shoulder-fabric. In the picture above, you may notice that the shoulders of the cope stand up straight- this causes the bottom of the cope to cross over itself, if left unattended. This was a Baroque innovation and the earlier copes had curved shoulders, which laid flat on the wearer and did not cause the crossover at the bottom.
The cope's function is more limited in scope than the chasuble's, which is certainly the cause of why many would not be familiar with it. There are certain times during the Mass (and some specific Masses) wherein a cope may be used instead of a chasuble. This is extremely rare, however, and I, for one, have never seen it happen (alas, because that would be really, really cool). The cope can be used outside of the context of a Mass, however, unlike the chasuble and this is the most common place to see it. It may be employed during Vespers or (most frequently) during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (in this latter case, a humeral veil is also employed).
In the Anglican Church the cope generally has the same usage as in the Catholic Church, but during the coronation of the sovereign it has a fun, really frickin' sweet use as well- the Archbishop of Canterbury and all the members of the body called the "Lords Spiritual" (that is, the bishops of the Church of England which are a part of the House of Lords in Parliament) wear copes.
You can see this usage in the extremely, extremely cool picture to the right. The bishops flanking HM Queen Elizabeth II are wearing copes (and nice ones, at that). It was commented on my dalmatic post that she may have been wearing a dalmatic during the coronation, but I don't recall seeing that in the videos of her coronation. If anything, what she is wearing is practically a cope. It's hard to find a picture of what she was wearing, but the coronation "cape" that they have in the Tower of London is remarkably similar to a cope in many respects. This plays, of course, on the sacerdotal nature of kingship.
Well, I think that's all for now.
~
Saint Edward the Confessor, pray for us!
Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us!
Anywho, today sees the subject of the cope treated in our ongoing series, Sartorial Splendor.
~
Captivating Copes
Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love fancy capes
Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love fancy capes
The subject of this post is the cope, a piece of liturgical paraphenalia that many are probably not familiar with. The cope is, in many respects, essentially a glorified cape. The picture above is one of a cope seen from the back- the front is open and is held on by fastening the clasp around the front, near the neck (the clasp is called the "morse").
The cope itself is not, unlike what some may say, a derivation of the chasuble. Some historians will trace the origin of the cope to the 11th century, from the "lacerna" or "byrrus." This is not correct; there are numerous sixth century mosaics (including the famous Ravenna mosaics) in which Melchisedec (the high priest from the Old Testament- "You are a priest in the line of Melchisedec," etc) is portrayed in a vestment that is very obviously a cope.
The cope is actually derived from the open-fronted paenula. You might say, "Now wait a minute, wasn't that one of the names of the thing the chasuble came from?" and the answer would be yes. However, to trace the cope's development as having its origins in the ecclesiastical chasuble would be incorrect. Some of the "poncho"-like garments that originated the chasuble also had variants which had open fronts. Or, alternately, if they were two seperate pieces of fabric, then they wouldn't be sewn together on one side, leaving an opening in front. Hence, a somewhat cape-like vestment from which we get the cope.
This open-fronted vestment had very practical applications- for example, when a celebrant was supposed to carry something, like a reliquary, it would have been very difficult for him to do so. Thusly, the cope founds its usefulness here and, when the chasuble became confined to the celebrant of Mass, the cope had a more flexible application.
The hood of the cope, which you can (kind of) see in the picture above also has its origins in practicality. The open-fronted panuela often had a hood as well (might as well keep your head dry, too) and the hood, which is now purely ceremonial, retained this practical use well into the middle ages.
Very little has changed in the overall design of the cope, with the exception of the ceremonialization of the hood and the stiffening of the shoulder-fabric. In the picture above, you may notice that the shoulders of the cope stand up straight- this causes the bottom of the cope to cross over itself, if left unattended. This was a Baroque innovation and the earlier copes had curved shoulders, which laid flat on the wearer and did not cause the crossover at the bottom.
The cope's function is more limited in scope than the chasuble's, which is certainly the cause of why many would not be familiar with it. There are certain times during the Mass (and some specific Masses) wherein a cope may be used instead of a chasuble. This is extremely rare, however, and I, for one, have never seen it happen (alas, because that would be really, really cool). The cope can be used outside of the context of a Mass, however, unlike the chasuble and this is the most common place to see it. It may be employed during Vespers or (most frequently) during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (in this latter case, a humeral veil is also employed).
In the Anglican Church the cope generally has the same usage as in the Catholic Church, but during the coronation of the sovereign it has a fun, really frickin' sweet use as well- the Archbishop of Canterbury and all the members of the body called the "Lords Spiritual" (that is, the bishops of the Church of England which are a part of the House of Lords in Parliament) wear copes.
You can see this usage in the extremely, extremely cool picture to the right. The bishops flanking HM Queen Elizabeth II are wearing copes (and nice ones, at that). It was commented on my dalmatic post that she may have been wearing a dalmatic during the coronation, but I don't recall seeing that in the videos of her coronation. If anything, what she is wearing is practically a cope. It's hard to find a picture of what she was wearing, but the coronation "cape" that they have in the Tower of London is remarkably similar to a cope in many respects. This plays, of course, on the sacerdotal nature of kingship.
Well, I think that's all for now.
~
Saint Edward the Confessor, pray for us!
Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us!
posted by Jason | Sunday, February 05, 2006
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