LACERNA. – A short cloak, originally made of rough wool, used in Asia and introduced to Rome by Lucullus; despised by Augustus (Suetonius, Aug., 40), it was first worn by Roman officers, then by soldiers, and later by civilians.
It was draped over the shoulders, reaching just above the knee, fastened on the chest with a small strip of cloth or leather, or with a buckle or brooch; it ended in fringes. It served to protect against rain and dust; in the time of St. Augustine it was used as a light summer cloak (Sermon 161, 10: PL 38, 883).
In early Christian art, the lacerna is worn over the tunic by the Persian martyrs Abdon and Sennen in a 6th-century fresco in the cemetery of Ponziano on the Via Portuense. It is also worn by Daniel in two sarcophagi in Ravenna and in a miniature by Cosmas Indicopleustes (R. Garrucci, Storia dell’arte cristiana, III, Prato 1881, pl. 150, 1; V, pls. 311, 4; 332, 3).
Attached to the southern side of the church was the cloister, dating from the late 14th century; two of its vaulted galleries remain, preserving the coats of arms of Clement VI and of Abbot de Chanae. The last regular abbot was the munificent G. de Sénectaire; thereafter the abbey of L. C.-D., which had exercised jurisdiction over other abbeys and notable priories, fell into decline and had commendatory abbots such as Cardinals Richelieu, Mazarin, Serroni (the first archbishop of Albi), and Rohan, who was exiled there in 1786. The remains of the monastic buildings, rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, are today partly occupied by public services and partly by private owners.