COCOLLA. - It is a specifically monastic garment and consists of a large robe with wide sleeves, to which a hood is added, attached at the neck or loose, to be used on particular occasions.
Originally it was a kind of closed cloak or chasuble with a hood, but it subsequently assumed the sleeved form of a wide, ungirded tunic or of a dalmatic. S. Benedetto assigns two of them to the monk’s outfit: one heavier and shaggy for winter, and another lighter one for summer. Its colour is white or black according to the monastic Congregations that use it: thus the Cistercians, Camaldolese, and Olivetans have it in white, the others in black. It is essentially a choir garment, but among the Cistercians and in some monasteries it is worn in the more solemn common observances.
Among the ancients, the term cuculla denoted a kind of scapular used for work and
which covered the shoulders and head. S. Benedetto calls it scapulare propter opera.
In the East, garments similar to the c. are found in use, as is reported in the histories of Eastern monasticism.