DALMATIC.
A liturgical vestment proper to the deacon. It was a white, full-length garment, reserved for the higher classes (emperors, Roman nobles), made of linen or wool, often also of silk, adorned with two purple stripes (*clavi*) of varying length according to the dignity of the wearer. This costume passed into Roman usage, and by the 2nd century the dalmatic was a wide tunic reaching just below the knee, with wide sleeves descending to the wrist. By the 3rd century, bishops wore it even in civil life, as we know from St. Cyprian, who divested himself of the dalmatic before martyrdom. After various changes, it eventually became exclusive to the clergy.
Ancient writers speak of its use, but it is not possible to determine precisely whose garment it originally was.
The most common opinion is that it was the proper vestment of the Supreme Pontiffs and by them granted to the deacons of Rome, not for daily use but for solemnities. According to the *Liber Pontificalis*, Pope St. Sylvester (314–335) permitted “that the deacons should wear dalmatics in church.” By the end of the 4th century, the Roman author of the *Quaestiones ex Vetere Testamento*, 46 (c. 370–75) supposes that other bishops and deacons also wore them: “today deacons are clothed in dalmatics just as bishops.” As appears from the mosaics of the period, in the 5th century it was worn in Milan, in the 6th in Ravenna; Rome granted it expressly to others (e.g., Pope Symmachus [498–514] gave it to the deacons of St. Caesarius of Arles [Vita s. Caesarii Arel., I, 4], St. Gregory the Great [590–604] to the deacons of the church of Gap, Pope Stephen II [752–757] to the abbot of St. Denis in Paris). In the 9th century, the custom arose of many priests wearing it under the chasuble (Walafridus Strabo, *De rerum ecclesiasticarum exordio et incremento*, 24), an abuse resisted by the Apostolic See, which finally (even before the 12th century) granted it to cardinal priests, abbots, and some others. From the 12th century, the dalmatic became by law the proper vestment of deacons, who receive it at ordination and wear it as an outer garment, and of bishops, cardinal priests, and other prelates who wear it under the cope.
In the 12th century, the dalmatic was made the same color as the vestments, and the *clavi* disappeared, a characteristic feature that lost its meaning when the exclusive use of white gave way to broader stripes. Outside Italy, by the 9th century, the garment began to be shortened to the knees, as did the sleeves. Later, for ease of movement, the dalmatic was opened at the sides and widened at the bottom, though the two parts remained joined almost to the hips. In the 16th century, to facilitate wearing, it was slightly opened at the shoulders, and to close the two fronts, cords with tassels (often doubled or tripled) hanging down the back were introduced; this custom is reproduced in the illustrations of the early editions of the *Pontificale* and the *Ceremoniale episcoporum*.
According to current prescriptions, deacons wear the dalmatic at solemn Mass, processions, blessings, and the solemn blessing with the Blessed Sacrament, but it is not permitted at Vespers (*S. Rit. Congr.*, decrees 3526, 3719, 4179). Given its festive character, from ancient times the dalmatic has not been used on days of penance or fasting, but is replaced by folded chasubles (*Missale*, Rubr. gen., XIX).
According to the formula of the Holy Ordination and the prayer said when putting it on, the dalmatic signifies “a garment of salvation, a vestment of joy and justice,” a symbolism easily derived from its ancient use.
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ART.
The dalmatic is a type of garment originally proper to Dalmatia, whence its name, and thus came into common use throughout the Empire during the 2nd century. It consisted of a long garment with sleeves worn over the tunic, and over it a mantle could also be worn. From about the 5th century, used as a liturgical vestment, numerous examples can be indicated in the paintings of the catacombs, in manuscripts, and in early medieval frescoes. At that time it had the appearance of a long white tunic adorned along the edges of the neck, hem, and sleeves with borders and embroidery.
From the 9th century, as seen in Carolingian miniatures, there were also colored dalmatics, such as in the initial miniature of the Vivian Bible in the National Library of Paris (ms. lat. 1 f. 423); however, in Italy white dalmatics continued to be predominantly used. In the 13th century beyond the Alps, dalmatics became shorter, and the sleeves were also reduced in length, as seen in the two fine dalmatics of Halberstadt Cathedral of figured fabric with animals and anthropomorphic figures, and another from the 14th century in the Alte Kapelle of Regensburg. The other two dalmatics from Castel S. Elia, also from the 14th century, are similar to those seen worn by ministers in the 13th-century frescoes of the chapel of St. Sylvester near the church of the SS. Quattro.
**DALMATIC** — Dalmatic with the coat of arms of Empress Maria Theresa (18th century) — Soignies, church of St. Vincent.