Cilice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cilice was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt). In more modern religious circles, the word has come to simply mean an object that can be worn to induce some degree of discomfort or pain.
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[edit] Usage
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 goats' hair, and worn close to the skin, they would feel very itchy. When worn continuously, it could form a breeding-ground for lice, which would heighten the discomfort.
Cilices were worn by ascetics, saints, monks, and lay persons. In the Holbein portrait of Thomas More, a small portion of a hairshirt appears to be visible near the wrists and at the neck under the fine robes of office. Thomas Becket was wearing one when he was murdered, St. Patrick reputedly wore one, 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Sackcloth and ashes
To show deep repentance, it was the custom in Biblical times to wear a hairshirt (sackcloth) and ashes.[1]
[edit] Modern usage
In more recent times the word has come to refer not to a hairshirt, but to a spiked metal belt or chain worn strapped tight around the upper thigh.[2] Many religious orders within the Roman Catholic Church have used the cilice as a form of "corporal mortification," but in recent years it has become known as a practice of numeraries (celibate lay people) of Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Roman Catholic Church. It is worn for two hours a day, and while it causes discomfort, it does not draw blood or even break the skin.[3] Paola Binetti, the conservative Italian senator and member of Opus Dei, is one modern figure known to wear the cilice[1].
[edit] Etymology
The word is pronounced /ˈsɪlɪs/ SILL-iss, and derives from the Latin cilicium, a covering made of goat's hair from Cilicia, a Roman province in south-east Asia Minor.
The Latin word for hairshirt is cilicium, and the reputed first Scriptural use of this exact term, rather than some other earlier 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 Anglican Authorized 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.
[edit] Popular culture
- The Da Vinci Code (2006) — The use of a cilice on the upper thigh is a prominent signature trait of the albino monk named Silas, a paronym of cilice. Silas is a fictional member of Opus Dei, and the primary physical antagonist of Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code. Both Brown's book and the Ron Howard movie exaggerate it, however, depicting the cilice as something that is wrapped so tightly that it digs into the flesh, causing bleeding and severe pain. However, this is not the case with a cilice.
- In recent times, people are sometimes said to be "wearing a hairshirt" when they make life unnecessarily difficult for themselves.
- In the chorus of the Barenaked Ladies song, "What A Good Boy", the vocalist, Steven Page, sings "This name is the hairshirt I wear/And this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair."
- The R.E.M song "Hairshirt" can be found on the album Green (1989). The lyrics include the lines "Feed me banks of light/ And hang your hairshirt on the lowest rung/ It's a beautiful life/ And I can hang my hairshirt/ Away up high in the attic of the wrong dog's life chest/ Or bury it at sea".
[edit] References
- ^ "Then He began to upbraid the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." (Matthew 11:20-21 RSV)
- ^ Example image.
- ^ Opus Dei and Corporal Mortification
[edit] External links
- The Catholic Encyclopedia on hairshirts
- On the Latin word cilicium (with photograph of a 16c hairshirt)
- Examples of a cilicebr:Gouriz-reun
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