In John Abel Nainfa's authoritative work, Costume of Prelates of the Catholic Church According to Roman Etiquette, he discusses the broad use of heraldry where prelates are concerned, including its use on anything that "is fit to receive such a decoration -- his plate (both sacred and common), china, tapestries, hanging, rugs, cushions, etc." While these domestic usages are certainly of interest in their own right, our focus today is more squarely liturgical, specifically the draped prie-dieu that is used by a prelate during more solemn liturgical contexts. Nainfa describes the custom accordingly and succinctly:
Recently, I saw the following photo which brought to light a contemporary example of the same -- in the case using painted arms rather than embroidered (and suffice it to say that while embroidered arms would be ideal, it is understandable that in a number of instances this may not be practical, especially today):
Photos such as these rarely turn up with such clarity, so it provided a good opportunity to explain this much neglected tradition.
The example above shows the prie-dieu of a cardinal, which is scarlet red in regular times or purple in times of penance or mourning. In the instance of a bishop however, the regular drapery would instead be of a green colour, with purple likewise being used in times of penance or mourning.
These same rules of colour, incidentally, also apply to the draperies used for the episcopal cathedra.
It is also a Roman usage to decorate with the embroidered coat-of-arms the front part of the drapery covering the prie-dieu of a Prelate.Here is an illustration taken directly from Nainfa's work that shows this:
Recently, I saw the following photo which brought to light a contemporary example of the same -- in the case using painted arms rather than embroidered (and suffice it to say that while embroidered arms would be ideal, it is understandable that in a number of instances this may not be practical, especially today):
Photos such as these rarely turn up with such clarity, so it provided a good opportunity to explain this much neglected tradition.
The example above shows the prie-dieu of a cardinal, which is scarlet red in regular times or purple in times of penance or mourning. In the instance of a bishop however, the regular drapery would instead be of a green colour, with purple likewise being used in times of penance or mourning.
These same rules of colour, incidentally, also apply to the draperies used for the episcopal cathedra.
