Mazzei and Their Contribution to the Conception of the New
World (San Francisco, Calif.: Marin, 1999).
vestments The ceremonial garments worn by clergy
for religious services. The vestments of the Catholic
Church—some, like the alb, cope, and chasuble, devel-
oped from classical Roman garments—were often charged
with symbolism (for instance, the whiteness of the alb de-
noting purity). Festal copes and chasubles were often of
velvet sumptuously embroidered with figures and scenes
from the Bible in colored silks, gold and silver threads,
and tiny pearls; the work of medieval English embroider-
ers in this style (opus anglicanum) was particularly prized.
Such magnificent display clashed with the reformers’
ideal of a Church that manifested Christ’s humility and
voluntary poverty to the world, and vestments fell victim
to outbreaks of ICONOCLASMthroughout the Reformation
period. In Germany extremists like Andreas CARLSTADT
wanted to do away entirely with the use of vestments, but
the more moderate LUTHER believed that some at least
should be retained for Eucharistic services. CALVINon the
other hand emphasized preaching and Bible reading over
the sacraments and demanded simplicity in public wor-
ship, so ministers in churches that followed the Genevan
model wore a black loose-fitting gown with a small white
ruff. In England vestments long remained a matter of con-
troversy, with the different versions of the BOOK OF COM-
MON PRAYERcharting their periods of favor or disfavor.
The more Calvinistic of Elizabeth I’s subjects complained
bitterly of “popery” when she showed herself inclined tovveessttmmeennttss 4 49911VesaliusThe title page of his De humani
corporis fabrica(1543) depicts a
dissection in the crowded lecture theater
at Padua. The engraving is by Jan Steven
van Calcar.
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