Gremiale
Gremiale
A square or oblong cloth which the bishop, according to the “Cæremoniale” and “Pontificale”, should wear over his lap, when seated on the throne during the singing of the Kyrie, Gloria, and Credo by the choir, during the distribution of blessed candles, palms or ashes, and also during the anointments in connection with Holy orders. The gremiale is never used during pontifical Vespers. The primary object of the gremiale is to prevent the soiling of the other vestments, especially the chasuble. The gremiale used during the pontifical Mass is made of silk. It should be decorated by a cross in the centre, and trimmed with silk embroidery. Its colour must correspond with the colour of the chasuble. The gremiales used at other functions are made of linen, to facilitate their cleansing in case they be soiled. Little is known of its history; apparently its origin dates back to the later Middle Ages. The Roman Ordo of Gaetano Stefaneschi (c. 1311) mention it first (n. 48); soon after it is mentioned in the statutes of Grandison of Exeter (England) as early as 1339, In earlier times it was used not only any bishop but also by priests. It is not blessed and has no symbolical meaning.
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BARBIER DE MONTAULT, Traité pratique de la construction . . . des églises, II (Paris, 1878), app.; DE HERDT. Praxis pontificalis, I (Louvain, 1873); BOCK, Geschichtes der liturgischen Gew nder, III (Bonn, 1871).
JOSEPH BRAUN Transcribed by Wm Stuart French. Jr. Dedicated to Brenda Eileen Metcalfe French
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Gremiale
an episcopal ornament for the breast, lap, and shoulders; originally a plain towel of fine linen, used in ordination to protect the sacred vestments from any drops of unction that might fall in the act of anointing candidates for the priesthood, In later times it was made of silk or damask, to match the episcopal vestments, and was used in certain French dioceses both at solemn and high mass.