Cilice
Encyclopedia
A cilice was originally a garment or undergarment
made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) used in some religious traditions to induce some degree of discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement. In more modern religious circles, the word has come to simply mean any device worn for the same purposes.
cilicium, a covering made of goat's hair from Cilicia
, a Roman province
in south-east Asia Minor
. The reputed first Scriptural use of this exact term is in the original Latin Vulgate
of Psalm
35:13, "Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent, induebar cilicio." This is translated as hair-cloth in the Douai Bible, and as sackcloth in the King James Version and the Book of Common Prayer
("But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth." in the King James Bible). Sackcloth is often mentioned in the Bible
as a symbol of mourning
and penance, and probably was a form of hairshirt. Sackcloth may also mean burlap
. However, sackcloth in the Bible
was usually made of coarse, black goat
's hair.
in Turkey, that the usage of the cilice predates written history. This finding has been mirrored at Göbekli Tepe
, another Anatolian site, indicating the widespread manufacturing of cilices. Ian Hodder has argued that "self-injuring clothing was an essential component of the Catalhöyük culturoritual entanglement, representing 'cleansing' and 'lightness'."
To show deep repentance, it was the custom in Biblical times in the Hebrew religion to wear a hairshirt (sackcloth) and ashes as a sign of repentance and atonement. Such garments or adornments have been worn at various times in the history of the Christian faith
, to mortify the flesh
or as penance
for adorning oneself. Being made of rough cloth, generally woven from goat
s' hair, and worn close to the skin
, they would feel very itch
y.
It was in common usage in monasteries and convents throughout history up until the 1960s
, and has been endorsed by popes as a way of following Christ, who died in a bloody crucifixion
and who gave this advice: "Let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Supporters say that opposition to mortification is rooted in having lost (1) the "sense of the enormity of sin
" or offense against God
, and the consequent penance
, both interior and exterior, (2) the notions of "wounded human nature" and of concupiscence
or inclination to sin, and thus the need for "spiritual battle", and (3) a spirit of sacrifice
for love and "supernatural ends", and not only for physical enhancement.
Some religious orders within the Catholic Church use the cilice as a form of "corporal mortification", as well as some lay people, notably some faithful of the Prelature of Opus Dei
. According to John Allen, an American Catholic writer, its practice in the Catholic Church is "more widespread than many observers imagine". Thomas Becket
was wearing a hairshirt when he was martyr
ed, St. Patrick reputedly wore a cilice, Charlemagne
was buried in a hairshirt, and Henry IV
, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany, famously wore one in the Walk to Canossa
during the Investiture Controversy
. Prince Henry the Navigator was found to be wearing a hairshirt at the time of his death in 1460. In modern times it has been used by Mother Teresa
, Saint Padre Pio, and slain archbishop Óscar Romero
. The Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
was also known to wear a hairshirt.
When Thomas Becket was being prepared for burial in England in 1170, the cold English air stimulated so many of the critters occupying his hairsuit that it "boiled over with them like water in a simmering cauldron."
novel, Tartuffe
, the title character is shown to be a religious hypocrite when he wears a hair shirt with the hair lining facing outward, so that it can be seen, rather than felt.
In Ayn Rand
's novel, The Fountainhead
, Gail Wynand describes his relationship with Howard Roark as "in the nature of a hair shirt [sic]." Wynand seems to view Roark as a penance that will absolve him of his sins.
The Andrew Bird
song "The Water Jet Cilice" refers to a girl experiencing the pain of penance.
In Dan Brown's
novel The Da Vinci Code
, one of the antagonists, an albino
monk
named Silas associated with the religious organization Opus Dei
, wears a cilice. In the film, Silas' cilice clearly draws blood, though even modern metal cilices do not, according to American Catholic writer John Allen.
The Marvel Comics
character Penance (formerly Speedball) commissioned the creation of a suit with 612 internal spikes to represent each person who died in an explosion for which he felt responsible, so that he'd be reminded of their pain in everything he did.
In Lover Mine, the 8th book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
, the character Xhex wears cilices to keep her symphath side at bay.
In Daniel Silva's novel The Confessor
, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Marco Brindisi, wears a cilice in the form of a spiked chain around his right thigh.
In the Barenaked Ladies
' song "What A Good Boy," the singer describes a hairshirt he wears as being woven from the hair of the woman he sings to.
In Ken Follet's 'Pillars of the Earth', King Henry II of England, beneath his cloak he wore a green tunic and a hairshirt.
R.E.M.
has a song titled "Hairshirt" on their album "Green".
also in Tristan et Iseut, Iseut wears one to do penance for disbelieving a message from Tristan
Undergarment
Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges, shape the body, and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional...
made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) used in some religious traditions to induce some degree of discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement. In more modern religious circles, the word has come to simply mean any device worn for the same purposes.
Etymology
The word derives from the LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
cilicium, a covering made of goat's hair from Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, a Roman province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
in south-east Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. The reputed first Scriptural use of this exact term is in the original Latin Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
of Psalm
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
35:13, "Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent, induebar cilicio." This is translated as hair-cloth in the Douai Bible, and as sackcloth in the King James Version and the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
("But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth." in the King James Bible). Sackcloth is often mentioned in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as a symbol of mourning
Mourning
Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate...
and penance, and probably was a form of hairshirt. Sackcloth may also mean burlap
Burlap
Hessian , or burlap in the US, is a woven fabric usually made from skin of the jute plant or sisal fibres, or may be combined with other vegetable fibres to make rope, nets, and similar products...
. However, sackcloth in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
was usually made of coarse, black goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
's hair.
Usage
There is some evidence, based on analyses of both clothing represented in art and preserved skin imprint patterns at ÇatalhöyükÇatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE...
in Turkey, that the usage of the cilice predates written history. This finding has been mirrored at Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe [ɡøbe̞kli te̞pɛ] is a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge in southeastern Turkey, some northeast of the town of Şanlıurfa . It is the oldest human-made religious structure yet discovered...
, another Anatolian site, indicating the widespread manufacturing of cilices. Ian Hodder has argued that "self-injuring clothing was an essential component of the Catalhöyük culturoritual entanglement, representing 'cleansing' and 'lightness'."
To show deep repentance, it was the custom in Biblical times in the Hebrew religion to wear a hairshirt (sackcloth) and ashes as a sign of repentance and atonement. Such garments or adornments have been worn at various times in the history of the Christian faith
History of Christianity
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth who they believed to be the Christ or chosen one of God...
, to mortify the flesh
Mortification of the flesh
Mortification of the flesh literally means "putting the flesh to death". The term is primarily used in religious and spiritual contexts. The institutional and traditional terminology of this practice in Catholicism is corporal mortification....
or as penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
for adorning oneself. Being made of rough cloth, generally woven from goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s' hair, and worn close to the skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
, they would feel very itch
Itch
Itch is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to classify it as any one type of sensory experience. Modern science has shown that itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant sensory experiences, their behavioral response...
y.
It was in common usage in monasteries and convents throughout history up until the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, and has been endorsed by popes as a way of following Christ, who died in a bloody crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
and who gave this advice: "Let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Supporters say that opposition to mortification is rooted in having lost (1) the "sense of the enormity of sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
" or offense against God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and the consequent penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
, both interior and exterior, (2) the notions of "wounded human nature" and of concupiscence
Concupiscence
Concupiscence is often defined as an ardent, usually sensual, longing or lust. The concept is most commonly encountered in Christian theology, as the selfish human desire for an object, person, or experience...
or inclination to sin, and thus the need for "spiritual battle", and (3) a spirit of sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
for love and "supernatural ends", and not only for physical enhancement.
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
. According to John Allen, an American Catholic writer, its practice in the Catholic Church is "more widespread than many observers imagine". Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
was wearing a hairshirt when he was martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed, St. Patrick reputedly wore a cilice, Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
was buried in a hairshirt, and Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany, famously wore one in the Walk to Canossa
Walk to Canossa
The Walk to Canossa refers to both the trek itself of Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire from Speyer to the fortress at Canossa in Emilia Romagna and to the events surrounding his journey, which took place in and around January 1077.-Historical background:When, in his early...
during the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
. Prince Henry the Navigator was found to be wearing a hairshirt at the time of his death in 1460. In modern times it has been used by Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, Saint Padre Pio, and slain archbishop Óscar Romero
Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
. The Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
was also known to wear a hairshirt.
When Thomas Becket was being prepared for burial in England in 1170, the cold English air stimulated so many of the critters occupying his hairsuit that it "boiled over with them like water in a simmering cauldron."
In popular culture
In Molière'sMolière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
novel, Tartuffe
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
, the title character is shown to be a religious hypocrite when he wears a hair shirt with the hair lining facing outward, so that it can be seen, rather than felt.
In Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
's novel, The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and brought her fame and financial success. More than 6.5 million copies of the book have been sold worldwide....
, Gail Wynand describes his relationship with Howard Roark as "in the nature of a hair shirt [sic]." Wynand seems to view Roark as a penance that will absolve him of his sins.
The Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
song "The Water Jet Cilice" refers to a girl experiencing the pain of penance.
In Dan Brown's
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
novel The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
, one of the antagonists, an albino
Albinism
Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
named Silas associated with the religious organization Opus Dei
Opus Dei
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
, wears a cilice. In the film, Silas' cilice clearly draws blood, though even modern metal cilices do not, according to American Catholic writer John Allen.
The Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character Penance (formerly Speedball) commissioned the creation of a suit with 612 internal spikes to represent each person who died in an explosion for which he felt responsible, so that he'd be reminded of their pain in everything he did.
In Lover Mine, the 8th book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
Black Dagger Brotherhood
The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a paranormal romance series by author J. R. Ward. The series focuses on six vampire brothers and warriors who live together and defend their race against Lessers, de-souled humans who threaten their kind....
, the character Xhex wears cilices to keep her symphath side at bay.
In Daniel Silva's novel The Confessor
The Confessor (Daniel Silva novel)
The Confessor is a Gabriel Allon spy novel by Daniel Silva.- Plot Summary: The Confessor :Gabriel Allon is tasked to investigate the murder of scholar Benjamin Stern in Munich. The lack of Stern's computer and other documents indicate that he was not killed for being a Jew — but rather for his...
, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Marco Brindisi, wears a cilice in the form of a spiked chain around his right thigh.
In the Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
' song "What A Good Boy," the singer describes a hairshirt he wears as being woven from the hair of the woman he sings to.
In Ken Follet's 'Pillars of the Earth', King Henry II of England, beneath his cloak he wore a green tunic and a hairshirt.
R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
has a song titled "Hairshirt" on their album "Green".
See also
- Hessian
also in Tristan et Iseut, Iseut wears one to do penance for disbelieving a message from Tristan
External links
- The Catholic Encyclopedia on hairshirts
- On the Latin word cilicium (with photograph of a 16c hairshirt)
- Suffering and Sainthood in the Catholic Church The importance of Penance and Mortification for those who desire to become a Catholic Saint