COTTA. - White tunic used by priests in rites not joined to the Mass, and by clerics. Christian liturgy always willed ecclesiastics to be indistinctly clothed in a white base-garment in the likeness of the 24 Elders and of the innumerable throng that, in heaven, stands around the throne of the Lamb (Rev. 4, 4).
In its original form it has been preserved in the surplice, from which the c. derived. It appears in the 11th century in England, in northern France and in Spain, toward the end of the 12th century in Italy, and, constituting in itself a novelty, only later in Rome. It was also called superpelliceum (superpellicium) because it was put on over garments made of animal skins (Durandus) required by the intense cold of the northern countries: the surplice, with its tight sleeves and the need to gird it at the waist, fitted poorly; its sleeves were therefore widened and its length somewhat shortened, resulting in the c. Even where furs were not used, practicality likewise suggested shortening the tunic of the choir boys, and there came about the camicium (c. with tight sleeves) attested in Milan in the 12th century.
At the beginning the characteristics of the c. are: very wide sleeves, a circular opening for inserting the head, a long and ample measure without any ornament, reaching almost to the feet.
After the 13th century it was shortened to the shin; in the 15th-16th century to above the knees. The custom, developed in the 16th century, of pleating it influenced this: since in fact the width of the sleeves had been reduced in proportion to the length of the c., it was wished to give a less clumsy appearance to the tunic, preserved only in name, thus creating the pleated c. used today mainly in cathedrals and collegiate churches. Only with the 17th century does it become general use to ornament the c. with lace. The c. must be of linen or white cotton; the opening at the chest is not in general use.
Its symbolism is varied. To him who officially puts it on for the first time upon acceding to the tonsure, the Roman Pontifical says: « The Lord clothes you with the new man, the one who by God's will was created righteous and truly holy ». And the whiteness indeed recalls the state of Grace.
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Enrico Cattaneo