 |
 |
1. Beloved brother Anatolios, from the Holy Mountain you have recently made known to me in residence at Sketis your request for an explanation of the symbolism of the habit of the monks in Egypt. For you have considered that it is not by chance or superfluously that it is so different from the clothing of other people. Now then we will recount all that we have learned from the holy fathers about it.1
2. The koukoullion is a symbol of the grace of God our Saviour, which protects their ruling faculty and keeps fervent their youth in Christ, with a view to those who are always trying to batter and wound them. Therefore, those who wear this on the head sing these words with vigour: ‘Unless the Lord build the house and guard the city, the one who does the building and the one who tries to maintain the guard labours in vain’ (Ps. 126: 1). Such words instil humility and root out pride, the ancient evil which cast to earth Lucifer ‘who rises near dawn’ (Isa. 14: 1 z). 2
3. Having the hands bare shows a way of life without dissimulation, for vainglory is clever at shrouding and obscuring the virtues and is ever seeking (p.96) after people’s esteem and chasing away faith. For scripture says: ‘How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?’ (John 5: 44). The good must be chosen, not for something else, but rather for itself. For if that is not granted, what moves us to do the good will appear of far greater value than the good that is realized. This absurdity would mean conceiving and speaking of something as superior to God.3
4. The analabos, which is in the form of a cross and is folded over their shoulders, is a symbol of faith in Christ which upholds the gentle (cf. Ps. 146: 6) and ever restrains what hinders them and provides them with an activity that is free of obstacles.4
5. The belt that is tightened around their kidneys wards off all impurity and proclaims: ‘It is well for a man not to touch a woman’ (1 Cor. 7: i).5
6. They wear the melote who ‘always carry in the body the death of Jesus’ (2 Cor. 4: 10) in muzzling all the irrational passions of the body and in cutting off the evils of the soul by participation in the good; they love poverty, while fleeing greed as the mother of idolatry (cf. Col. 3: 5).6
7. The staffis ‘a tree of life to those who lay hold of it and a strong support for those who lean upon it as upon the Lord’ (Prov. 3: 18).7
8. In short, these are the things of which the habit is a symbol, and these are the words which the fathers are ever saying to them. The fear of God, my child, strengthens faith, and abstinence in turn strengthens fear of God, and perseverance and hope render abstinence unwavering, and from these is born impassibility of which love is the offspring; love is the door to natural knowledge, which is followed by theology and ultimate blessedness.8
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and cultureDear Diane,but cf. Regula Benedicti ch. 55: http://www.ecatholic2000.com/benedict/rule56.shtml "Let clothing be given to the brethren according to the circumstances of the place and the nature of the climate in which they live, because in cold regions more is needed, while in warm regions less. This consideration, therefore, resteth with the Abbot.“… simple and customary wherever …That would be normal in the early MA.YoursKarlAm 09.02.2018 um 22:24 schrieb Diane Peters Auslander <[log in to unmask]>:medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Dear Terri
It depends on what period you're interested in. Early monasticism in Ireland did not adhere to the Benedictine or any other order and their rules were those made up by the founder. Presumably their dress would have been humble but perhaps not uniform. I have never come across a description of monastic dress in this period. The closest I have come is a miracle story in two of the lives of St. Darerca/Moninna in which it is said that 12 garments appeared through the power of god for the nuns of St. Brigid. There is no description of what they looked like and they were not referred to as habits. However, after 1130 the Benedictines and other orders began founding abbeys in Ireland. This is not my area of expertise, but I would assume they would have worn the clothing adopted by those orders elsewhere. If I am wrong, hopefully someone else on the list will correct me or be able to provide more specific information.
Diane Auslander
-----Original Message-----******************************
From: Terri Morgan
Sent: Feb 8, 2018 5:09 AM
To: MEDIEVAL-RELIGION@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: [M-R] Early Celtic monastic dress
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture******************************Greetings this wintery day.
I am a reenactor who reads this list. I rarely contribute and apologise for coming to you with aid. Please do not feel constrained to post a reply. I would like to research more fully than I have been able to find information about Irish female monastic habits/clothing. I know there is precious little that we can find. I know there are not actual archaeological sources and precious little in the way of depictions from the period for any clothing whatsoever but have you, in your readings, noticed a source in written work? I find myself defaulting to “Dress in Anglo-Saxon England” as a nearby culture. Surely I am missing a better resource. Have you any suggestions? I have not found anything useful in the writings of the Venerable Bede or St. Patrick. To tell the truth, I hadn’t expected any but I had to try as those were sources I have handily.Thank you,
Terri Morgan, armchair student of history****************************** ********** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to:[log in to unmask] ac.uk To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: medieval-religion-request@ jiscmail.ac.uk For further information, visit our web site:http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ****************************** [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to:[log in to unmask]********** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: ac.uk To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: medieval-religion-request@ jiscmail.ac.uk For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ************************************************************ ********** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] uk To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: medieval-religion-request@ jiscmail.ac.uk For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion