Cilice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cilice was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt). In more modern religious circles, the word has come to simply mean an object that can be worn to induce some degree of discomfort or pain.
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[edit] Usage
Such garments or adornments have been worn at various times in the history of the Christian faith, for the purposes of the mortification of the flesh or as penance for adorning themselves. Being made of rough cloth, generally woven from goats' hair, and worn close to the skin, they would feel very itchy. When worn continuously, it could form a breeding-ground for lice, which would have increased the discomfort.
It is known that they have been worn by ascetics, saints, monks, and lay persons. For instance, in the Holbein portrait of Thomas More, a small portion of a hair shirt appears to be visible near the wrists and at the neck under the fine robes of office. Thomas Becket was wearing one when he was murdered, St. Patrick reputedly wore one, Charlemagne was buried in a hairshirt, and Henry IV famously wore one in the Walk to Canossa during the Investiture Controversy. Prince Henry the Navigator was found to be wearing a hairshirt at the time of his death in 1460.
[edit] Modern Usage
In more recent times the word has come to refer not to a hairshirt, but to a spiked metal belt or chain worn strapped tight around the upper thigh.[1] Many religious orders within the Roman Catholic Church have used the cilice as a form of "corporal mortification," but in recent years it has become known as a practice of numeraries (celibate lay people) of Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Roman Catholic Church. It is worn for two hours a day, and while it causes discomfort, it does not draw blood or even break the skin.[2] Paola Binetti, the conservative Italian senator and member of Opus Dei, is one modern figure known to wear the cilice [1].
[edit] Etymology
The word is pronounced SILL-iss" (IPA /'sɪlɪs/), and derives from the Latin cilicium, a covering made of goat's hair from Cilicia, a Roman province in south-east Asia Minor.
The Latin word for hairshirt is cilicium, and the reputed first Scriptural use of this exact term, rather than some other earlier term, is in the original Latin Vulgate of Psalm 35:13, "Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent, induebar cilicio." . This is translated as hair-cloth in the Douay Bible, and as sackcloth in the Anglican Authorized Version and the Book of Common Prayer ( "But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth." in the King James Bible). Sackcloth is often mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of mourning and penance, and probably was a form of hairshirt. Sackcloth may also mean burlap.
[edit] Popular culture
- The Da Vinci Code (2003) — The use of a cilice on the upper thigh is a prominent signature trait of the albino monk named Silas, a paronym of cilice. Silas is a fictional member of Opus Dei, and one of the lead antagonists in Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code. Both Brown's book and the Ron Howard movie exaggerate it, however, depicting the cilice as something that is wrapped so tightly that it digs into the flesh, causing bleeding and severe pain. However, this is not the case with a cilice.
- In recent times, people are sometimes said to be "wearing a hairshirt" when they make life unnecessarily difficult for themselves.
- In the chorus of the Barenaked Ladies song, "What A Good Boy," the vocalist speaks of his name being his hairshirt, helping to convey the song's theme of the consequences of labels.
- The R.E.M song "Hairshirt" can be found on the album Green (1989). The lyrics include the lines "Feed me banks of light/ And hang your hairshirt on the lowest rung/ It's a beautiful life/ And I can hang my hairshirt/ Away up high in the attic of the wrong dog's life chest/ Or bury it at sea".
