Episcopal Sandals - History

History

Sandals and stockings belong to the liturgical vestments supported by the evidence from the 5th and 6th centuries. Originally the sandals were called campagi and the stockings udones. The shoes were given the name sandalia probably during the eighth to the ninth century, and this name was first applied to them in the north; the designation caligæ for udones came into use in the tenth century, also in the north. As regards the original form and material of the campagi, they were slippers that covered only the tip of the foot and the heel, and must have been fastened to the foot by straps. This slipper was made of black leather. The stockings were, very likely, made of linen, and were white in colour. In the earliest period the campagi and udones were by no means exclusively an episcopal vestment, as they were worn by deacons. Indeed this foot-covering was not reserved exclusively for the clergy, as they were worn as a mark of distinction by certain persons of rank, and were probably copied from the buskins of the ancient senators. Their use gradually became customary among the higher clergy, especially when these appeared in their full official capacity for the celebration of the Liturgy. During the eighth and ninth centuries also the Roman subdeacons and acolytes wore a distinctive foot-wear, the subtalares, which, however, were simpler than the campagi, and had no straps. The sandals and stockings became a specifically episcopal vestment about the tenth century. Apparently as early as the twelfth century, or at least in the second half of the thirteenth century, they were no longer worn even by the cardinal deacons of Rome. The privilege of wearing the sandals and caligæ was first granted to an abbot in 757 by Pope Stephen III. This is, however, an isolated case, as it was only after the last quarter of the tenth century, and especially after the twelfth century that it became customary to grant abbots this privilege. The episcopal sandals are no longer normally seen in the Catholic Church, except for those liturgical ceremonies celebrated according to pre-Vatican II rubrics.