BALDACCHIN. - An ornament, for the most part square or rectangular in shape, of wood or of fabric with pendent hangings and fringes, which is placed fixed or carried over sacred things or over great personages as a mark of honor. Originally "b." (Baudequinus, baldehinus) meant a precious Oriental fabric, called baldracco, coming from Baghdad. In medieval texts the baldachin is called: baldachinus, conopaeum, supratentorium, caelatura, papilio, etc. In Milan it is called capocielo.
Today this name is customarily used to designate: 1st A covering of wood or of fabric with hangings and fringes that descends from above over the altar. 2nd The covering found above the throne or the chair of honor of some ecclesiastical or civil dignity, even in a non-liturgical setting. 3rd A large canopy of silk or of cloth of gold or silver, rectangular in shape, supported by four, six or eight poles, which is carried in processions over the Most Holy Sacrament, over the relic of the Holy Cross, over the person of the Supreme Pontiff and of other dignitaries, whether prelates or secular princes, as the ceremonial of bishops indicates. The bishop proceeds beneath the baldachin at his entrance into the episcopal see and on the most solemn occasions (Caer. Episc., I, chap. 2, no. 4). The baldachin is fixed or portable. The fixed one replaces the ciborium (v.). Besides the b.
Besides the suspended baldachins there are also fixed ones on the wall behind the altar, of which there are interesting painted wooden examples from the 12th-13th centuries, of the Catalan school, in the museums of Barcelona and Vic.
The patron of a church may not raise the baldachin in it (can. 1455); the same applies to the capitular vicar, even if he is a bishop, in the cathedral (can. 435). In the Sistine Chapel, during a conclave each cardinal sits under a baldachin; once the election has taken place the baldachins are lowered, with the exception of that of the newly elected pope.
Durandus and various diocesan statutes of the 13th century, mentioned by Fr. Braun, speak of the baldachin placed over the altar to protect the mensa. The portable baldachin is treated by the Ordo of the canon Bernard (ca. 1143), the Ordo of Cencius (ca. 1200) and Innocent III, who expands on its symbolism. The use of carrying it in procession with the Blessed Sacrament dates back to the 14th century.
The baldachin is recommended over the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is kept, and it is obligatory in oratories when, by indult of the Holy See, they are situated beneath a space used as a dormitory. - See Pl. XLVI.
