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The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the clergy, and also by lay ministers in certain circumstances. If worn by a bishop, it is generally accompanied by a mitre. The clasp, which is often highly ornamented, is called a ''morse''. In art, angels are often shown wearing copes, especially in Early Netherlandish painting. ==History== There has been little change in the character of the vestment from the earliest ages. Then as now it was made of a piece of silk or other cloth of semicircular shape, which distinguished it from the earlier form of chasuble, as a chasuble had straight edges sewn together in front. Both are similar in form and origin to the Orthodox phelonion. The only noticeable modification which the cope has undergone lies in the disappearance of the hood. Some early examples feature a triangular hood, which was intended to be of practical utility in covering the head in processions, etc., but over time the hood became merely ornamental, and is commonly represented by a sort of shield of embroidery, sometimes adorned with a fringe or tassel. The fact that in many early chasubles, as depicted in the drawings of the eighth and ninth centuries, we see clear traces of a primitive hood, strongly confirms the view that in their origin cope and chasuble were identical, the chasuble being only a cope with its edges sewn together. The earliest mention of a ''cappa'' is by St. Gregory of Tours, and in the ''Miracula'' of St. Furseus where it seems to mean a cloak with a hood. So from a letter written in 787 by Theodemar, Benedictine Abbot of Monte Cassino, in answer to a question of Charlemagne about the dress of the monk〔See ''Mon. Germ. Hist.'': "Epist. Carol.", II, 512.〕 we learn that what in Gaul was styled ''cuculla'' (cowl) was known to the Cassinese monks as ''cappa''. Moreover, the word occurs more than once in Alcuin's correspondence, apparently as denoting a garment for everyday wear. When Alcuin twice observes about a ''casula'' which was sent him, that he meant to wear it always at Mass, we may probably infer that such garments at this date were not distinctively liturgical owing to anything in their material or construction, but that they were set aside for the use of the altar at the choice of the owner, who might equally well have used them as part of his ordinary attire. In the case of the chasuble the process of liturgical specialization, was completed at a comparatively early date, and before the end of the ninth century the maker of a ''casula'' probably knew quite well in most cases whether he intended his handiwork for a Mass vestment or for an everyday outer garment. But in the case of a ''cappa'' or cope, this period of specialization seems to have been delayed until much later. The two hundred ''cappae'' or copes which appear in a Saint-Riquier inventory in the year 801, a number increased to 377 by the year 831, were thought to be mere cloaks, for the most part of rude material and destined for common wear. It may be that their use in choir was believed to add to the decorum and solemnity of the Divine Office, especially in the winter season. In 831 one of the Saint-Riquier copes is specially mentioned as being of chestnut colour and embroidered with gold. This, no doubt, implies use by a dignitary, but it does not prove that it was as yet regarded as a sacred vestment. In fact, according to the conclusions of Edmund Bishop, who was the first to sift the evidence thoroughly, it was not until the twelfth century that the cope, made of rich material, was in general use in the ceremonies of the Church, at which time it had come to be regarded as the special vestment of cantors.〔Bishop, Edmund, ''Dublin Review'', January 1897.〕 Still, an ornamental cope was even then considered a vestment that might be used by any member of the clergy from the highest to the lowest, in fact even by one who was only about to be tonsured. Amongst monks it was the practice to vest the whole community, except the celebrant and the sacred ministers who assisted the celebrant, in copes at High Mass on the greatest festivals, whereas on feasts of somewhat lower grade, the community were usually vested in albs. In this movement the Netherlands, France, and Germany had taken the lead, as we learn from extant inventories. For example, already in 870, in the Abbey of Saint Trond we find "thirty-three precious copes of silk" as against only twelve chasubles, and it was clearly the Cluny practice in the latter part of the tenth century to vest all the monks in copes during high Mass on the great feasts, though in England the regulations of Saint Dunstan and Saint Aethelwold show no signs of any such observance. The custom spread to the secular canons of such cathedrals as Rouen, and cantors nearly everywhere used copes of silk as their own peculiar adornment in the exercise of their functions. Meanwhile, the old ''cappa nigra'' (black cape), or ''cappa choralis'', a choir cape of black material, open or partly open in front, and commonly provided with a functioning hood, still continued in use. While the cope was a liturgical vestment, made of rich, colorful fabric and often highly decorated, the ''cappa nigra'' was a practical garment, made of heavy plain black wool and designed to provide warmth in cold weather. Whereas the cope's hood had long since become a non-functional decorative item, the hood of the ''cappa nigra'' remained functional. The ''cappa nigra'' (black cape) was worn at the Divine Office by the clergy of cathedral and collegiate churches and also by many religious, as, for example, it is retained by the Dominicans during the winter months down to the present day. No doubt the "copes" of the friars, to which so many references in the Wycliffite literature and in the writings of Chaucer and Langland are found, designate their open mantles, which were, we may say, part of their full dress, though not always black in colour. On the other hand, it is worth a note that the ''cappa clausa'', or close cope, was simply a cope or cape sewn up in front for common outdoor use. "The wearing of this", says Bishop,〔Bishop, ''loc. cit.'', p. 24.〕 "instead of the ''cappa scissa'', the same cope not sewn up, is again and again enjoined on the clergy by synods and statutes during the late Middle Ages." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cope」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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