Character of Penitents
- Attire – tunic, walking-stick, cincture (belt), knapsack, sandals; symbol was often a Tau Cross after St. Anthony of the Desert.
- Charitable works – most often in hospitals and hospices and leprosaria (hospitalers); restoring churches and burying the dead.
- Life of Prayer.
- Abstinence – from feasts and shows and dances, avoidance of drunkenness and gluttony.
- Prohibited from public office or from riding horses.
- Forbidden to take up arms or to take an oath.
Read more about this topic: Order Of Penitents
Famous quotes containing the words character and/or penitents:
“A man with a so-called character is often a simple piece of mechanism; he has often only one point of view for the extremely complicated relationships of life.”
—J. August Strindberg (1849–1912)
“And this school wasn’t keeping anymore,
Unless for penitents who took their seat
Upon its doorsteps as at mercy’s feet
To make up for a lack of meditation.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)