medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I can't cite sources at the moment, but my understanding is that the original habits were supposed to be "ash colored," which could be more grayish or more brownish depending on which shades (and in what proportions) of the natural colors of wool happened to be in the mix when it was spun and woven. St. Clare's mantle, pieces of which were used to patch one of St. Francis's cowls, is about halfway between light gray and brown (though of course it may have faded with time).
After the split in the 16th century, and perhaps even before, I would suspect that depicting Francis in a decidedly gray or brown habit might well have spoken of the ideological affinities of the artist or patron :).
I believe also that the Conventuals by this time were wearing black. And of course in the present day, brown has become so strongly linked with the Franciscans that I believe it's the commonest color now, regardless of which branch the wearer is from. (Apologies for off-the-top-of-my-head guesswork; I'm at work, my references, such as they are, are at home.)
BTW, if anyone knows of works specifically about the clothing of medieval religious orders, I'd love to have citations. Desiree Koslin's PhD dissertation (which I have) is about the only one I know of.
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0 Chris Laning
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+ Davis, California
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