COTTA. - A white tunic used by clerics in rites not connected with the Mass, and by minor clerics. Christian liturgy always required ecclesiastics to be uniformly clad in a white base garment, in imitation of the 24 Elders and the countless multitude standing around the throne of the Lamb in heaven (Rev 4:4).
In its original form, it is preserved in the alb, from which the cotta derives. It appears in the 11th century in England, northern France, and Spain, at the end of the 12th century in Italy, and, constituting a novelty, only later in Rome. It was also called superpellicium because it was worn over garments made of animal skins (Dunard) required by the intense cold of northern countries: the alb, with its tight sleeves and the need to gird it at the waist, was poorly suited to this purpose; its sleeves were therefore widened and its length slightly shortened, resulting in the cotta. Even where furs were not used, practicality suggested shortening the tunic of choir boys, and the camisium (a cotta with tight sleeves) is attested in Milan in the 12th century.
Initially, the characteristics of the cotta were: very wide sleeves, a circular hole for the head, long and ample in cut without any ornamentation, reaching almost to the feet.
After the 13th century, it was shortened to the calf; in the 15th–16th centuries, above the knees. This was influenced by the fashion, developed in the 16th century, of pleating it: since the width of the sleeves had diminished in proportion to the length of the cotta, an attempt was made to give the tunic, now retained only in name, a less awkward appearance, thus creating the pleated cotta now used mainly in cathedrals and collegiate churches. Only in the 17th century did it become common practice to adorn the cotta with lace. The cotta must be made of white linen or cotton; the chest opening is not universally required.
Its symbolism is manifold. The Roman Pontifical, when clothing a cleric for the first time upon receiving the tonsure, says: "May the Lord clothe you in the new man, who, by God’s will, was created just and truly holy." The whiteness indeed recalls the state of grace.