Hys Myter & crose beyng Redy wᵗ hys glovys and pontyfycalls.
The Revestyng of the sayd abbot att syngyng hy Masse.—Fyrst the westerer shall lay lowest the chesebell, above that the dalmatyke and the dalmatyk wᵗ yᵉ longest slevys uppermost & the other nethermost then hys stole & hys fanane and hys gyrdyll, opon that his albe theropon his gray Ames a bove that hys Rochett and uppermost hys kerchur wᵗ a vestry gyrdyll to tukk up his cole.
Hys Miter & crose beyng Redy wᵗ hys glovys and pontyfycalls And a fore all thys you muste se that hys sabatyns & syndalls be Redy at hys first cūyng whan he settyth hym downe in the travys.
This direction is important in one respect. It shows us the order in which the vestments were put on, it is true; that, however, one would naturally infer from the order in which they are seen in the monuments. But it tells us also that a canon wore his canonical habit underneath his mass habit at high mass, but so arranged that it should be, as far as possible, out of sight; hence the direction to have 'a vestry girdle to tuck up his cowl.' At Wells, Hereford, and Norwich Cathedrals are to be seen figures of canons, the almuce or amess appearing at the neck, although they are vested in eucharistic habit.
The duty of the minister, as far as the vestments of the celebrant are concerned, consists in seeing that the vestments are laid out in their proper order on a table in the vestry, or, should there be no vestry, on a side-table near the altar (never on the altar itself); the vestments for the assistant should be on the right-hand side of those for the celebrant, the vestments for the deacon and subdeacon on the left. He should also see that each is properly put on, especially that the alb is drawn through the girdle so as to overhang it and to be raised about a finger's breadth from the ground, and that the chasuble is straight. He must especially be careful that the assistant does not put on his cope before the priest puts on his chasuble. During the celebration he has to see that the chasuble is not disarranged by genuflexions, and to raise the chasuble so as to give complete freedom to the priest's arms at the elevation of the host. After the celebration the vestments are taken off with similar ceremonies in the reverse order.
On Ember days, Rogations, in processions, and when the Sunday or Saint's day mass is said in the chapter house, on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Palm Sunday, albs and amices only are to be worn by the ministers.
The dress at the ordinary offices (mattins, lauds, etc.) is amice, alb, stole, and cope; a brass at Horsham represents a priest so vested, and has the merit of showing the exact manner in which the stole should be crossed. This combination of vestments was also worn at benedictions, at absolution after a mass for the dead, and, as just remarked, by the assistant at mass if a priest, and by the celebrant at the mass of the pre-sanctified. 'The cope,' the rubric tells us, 'is not strictly a sacerdotal vestment, but it is worn by the rulers of the choir and others.'
The clergy in choir wear black (choral) copes, except on principal doubles,[99] and on the doubles falling on Sunday, when silk copes of the colour of the day are worn. On the vigil of Easter, and through and on the octave, they wore surplices only, as also on doubles occurring from Easter to Michaelmas.
If a bishop celebrate, and if it be Maunday Thursday, or Whitsunday, he has seven deacons, seven subdeacons, and three acolytes—on other doubles only five. On feasts with Rulers, two at least; on Good Friday only one. The rulers of the choir were those whose duty it was to chant the office and Kyrie at mass, and to superintend the choristers. On doubles these were four in number, on simples two. Rulers wore silk copes of the colour of the day over a surplice, and had silver staves as emblems of office.
The Roman Pontifical lays down succinct rules for the vesting of a bishop for the different duties of his position. These are as follows: