CUFF (Basso Latin Cofea). - Generally a piece of cloth intended to protect or bind the hair of men or women, especially of nuns.

Already known from classical times (see the head of Aphrodite on the coins of Cynthus; 4th century B.C.). The c. was widely used in ancient Rome in the form of a net (reticulum); often of gold. In the Middle Ages it is known for profane use in various forms and materials, as a simple veil with small nets or even in the form of a hat, as can be seen in certain paintings of the 13th and 14th centuries (for example, in the miniatures of the falconry of Frederick II in the Vatican Apostolic Library).

Sometimes the term c. is also to be understood as a "mitre," as is observed in a bull of Leo IX to Liuthbald of Mainz (PL 143, p. 695).

The old forms survive in various countries down to the present day, as in Provence, Alsace, Holland or Brittany.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: I. Finzi, s. v. in Euc. Ital., XII (1931), pp. 85-86; C. Du Cange, Glossarium med. et inf. latinitatis, II, Niort 1883-87, p. 85.

Fritz Volbach

@incollection{ec4_cuffia_basso_lat_cofea, author = {Fritz Volbach}, title = {Cuffia (Basso Lat. Cofea)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IV}, pages = {1034--1035}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/cuffia-basso-lat-cofea} }

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