APPENDIX C
On Lace as Applied to Church Vestments, Linen, etc.
There are some in the present day who object entirely to the use of lace on any article for ecclesiastical purposes, chiefly on the ground that it is not to be found on the older ones.
It seems to me that this is not a sufficient reason for discarding it altogether (providing that it is otherwise appropriate), for it has always been the custom of the Church to welcome every new form of art as it arises and to consecrate to her use the offerings of the faithful.
Lace was not used on the older vestments, &c., not because there was anything intrinsically wicked about it, or even frivolous, but because it was not yet invented!
There is no reliable evidence to prove the existence of lace, as we understand the term, before the fifteenth century. It seems to have been evolved gradually from ‘cut linen’ through ‘drawn-thread,’ ‘reticella,’ and ‘Lacis’ to needle-point and pillow- or bobbin-lace, and was not in general use till the seventeenth century, by the middle of which it is to be seen, not merely as a decoration, but even as the entire fabric of altar-frontals and vestments.
There is no excuse, of course, for using paltry cheap lace, as there is no necessity for employing it at all. In very old churches where everything is en suite, and in simple village churches, it would not be suitable, but I think some quite modern ones may err on the side of being over-zealous for strict Medievalism. At any rate, it is well to understand the reason of things, and then decisions will be made with judgment.