It was during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, the estimable "Pope of the liturgy," that interest began to arise in the revival of chasuble shapes taken from the Renaissance age, this after he was seen using such shapes within some of his own papal liturgical celebrations. The two most prominent shapes that received attention during this time were the so-called "Neri" shape (effectively larger, more ample Roman chasuble) and the "Borromean."
Now the reference to a "Neri" is little more than an associational reference. The shape really has nothing specifically to do with the person of St. Philip Neri, it is rather just that the good saint is typically shown wearing such as chasuble (and hence the nickname that has been given to it). In the case of the "Borromean" chasuble, however, that is an entirely different matter. This isn't a case of association. Rather St. Charles Borromeo authored some rather precise instructions on church ordering and the design of liturgical art. These were called the Instructiones Fabricae et Supellectilis Ecclesiasticae and date to the year 1577. These instructions includes St. Charles' recommendation on the form and decoration of the chasuble.
Here then, in English translation, are those instructions:
The chasuble (which some call phelonium and also planetam because of its width) is to be about three cubits or more wide, so that, when it falls from the shoulders, it will make a fold of at least one palm between the shoulders. It is to be of about the same length or a little longer so as to reach the ankles. It should also have a band at least eight inches wide sewn on. This band should extend to the bottom both on the front and on the back. To this another transverse band should be added near the top both in front and in the back to form a cross on both sides.
Now to translate this a bit further still, a "cubit" is a type of measurement that means little to us, but it is the equivalent of 1.45 ft. or 44.4 cm. (Another, traditional way of measuring a cubit is that it is the approximate measurement of the length of one's arm from tip of the middle finger down to the elbow, though obviously this is a far less precise means of measuring a cubit given that people have arms of differing lengths).
So then, if one were to strictly follow Borromeo's instructions (and of course, no one is so obliged), the chasuble of St. Charles Borromeo would be about 4.35 ft. (133.2 cm) in width, thus reaching approximately to the elbows. In terms of its length, it would reach down approximately to the ankles. Finally, the chasuble would be decorated by orphrey bands of at least 8 inches in width, made in the form of a cross on both the front and the back of the chasuble.
However, rather than lingering here in the abstract, it seems to me it will be of as much interest to consider some actual chasubles that were worn by St. Charles himself. This isn't to say that they follow all of his instructions (they do not, particularly where the orphreys are concerned) but they are certainly representative of the sort of shape and style that he was going for; a shape we now call "Borromean."
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| Chasuble of St. Charles Borromeo, ca. 1581 |
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| Date unknown. This particular chasuble seems to repurpose a medieval orphrey, which might explain why we see no crosses on either front or back. |
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| The shape and design of this particular chasuble of St. Charles is the one that probably best reflects what people today tend to think of when they think "Borromean." |
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