Tablecloth

TABLECLOTH. - Since the 6th century, but more frequent after the 10th century, are the representations of table and altar t. in mosaics and paintings of the period; also in inventories there are often citations of t. called mostly "opus theutonicum" or "de Alemannia."

It seems to be a matter of embroideries in white on white, if not all of Nordic importation, certainly of imitation of the original German type. According to Fr. Braun the oldest altar t. that has come down to us and is still preserved is the one found in the reliquary of St. Heribert at Deutz, which precedes the exam-

copy of the 12th-century "Sancta Sanctorum," currently in the Vatican Sacred Museum. Another important example is in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, coming from Altenberg. All these t. display a broad design of net-like lines, most of them in the form of rhombuses, with stylized leaves, palmettes, eagles, motifs that indicate various origins. A fragment, which would seem later, is in the Schnütgen Museum of Cologne, and, from the end of the 13th century, is the admirable needlework known as the work of Blessed Benvenuta Boiani (1251-92), preserved in the Museum of Cividale, likewise in white on white, but completely figured with extraordinary fineness of design, worthy of a precious painting. Other examples are found in the Museum of Hannover, in the church of St. Mary in Danzig and in the cathedral of Halberstadt: in the latter, the white embroidery is combined with the presence of silk threads in various colors. In wool fabric on linen in green and purple is an Egyptian t. of the Vatican Sacred Museum, which comes from Achmim; although the technique still recalls the Coptic era, the ornament with a large central cross and four small corner crosses, clearly stylized, indicates an age no earlier than the 13th century, a technique that Volbach connects to that of a tunic in the Museum of Mainz.

A type of t. that extends from the Middle Ages down to the whole of the 14th and 15th centuries, manufactured according to tradition, especially in Perugia by the Confraternity of the Mercanzia, enjoyed particular diffusion in Italy. Ample documentation of this type is also found in painting (Simone Martini, St. Martin in the act of celebrating Mass, Assisi, basilica of St. Francis, reproduced under the entry ELEVATION; Ghirlandaio, Supper, Convent of St. Mark, Florence, etc.). These fabrics are in white with blue work and depict confronted animals, castles, knights, sirens, centaurs, or inscriptions or sacred figurations, such as the tree of life, the lamb bearing the cross, stags, cherub heads, doves, etc. They are believed to be derived from older Sienese fabrics, and chronologically it is possible to classify them on the basis of a progressive predominance of figures over the older stylized geometric forms, a softening of the lines, at first sharp and crude, a thickening and enriching of the stitch which in the most remote examples appears long and irregular.

From the 16th century onward the use of embroidered t. declines and gives way to that of adorning them with borders, galloons, laces or needle laces that follow the development and flowering of these precious works in needle and bobbin (v. LACE; FABRICS). - See plate XLI.

Luisa Mortari

Liturgical prescriptions concerning the t. - The rubrics of the Missal prescribe that the altar for the celebration of Holy Mass be covered by three t.: two (or one but folded) to cover the whole sacred table, at least the altar stone in movable altars; the third, upper one, to hang down also on the two sides of the altar as far as the last step. The third served in the Middle Ages also to cover the chalice, whence the corporal derives. They must be of pure linen in memory of the Shroud in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped for burial, and they are blessed. Under the three t., immediately on the table, a strong waxed cloth is placed, called chrismal, to protect the t. from dampness; it is prescribed by the Pontificale to protect from the Oil after the consecration of the altar.

The t. is one of the most ancient vestments, and is fitting for the altar for cleanliness, devotion and reverence. In the mosaic of St. Vitalis in Ravenna the altar is seen covered by a broad white t., bordered with fringe, decorated at the center with a rosette and on the sides with embroidered panels (v. illustration under the entry MELCHIZEDEK). In ancient times the altar was covered only at the moment of the celebration of Holy Mass, as is still done today for the functions of Good Friday. Originally it was a single t., but from the 8th century more began to be used. In Rome at the time of Burckard, papal master of ceremonies (d. 1506), three were used.

To protect it from dust or other impurities, before and after the sacred functions the upper t. is covered by a cloth, called vesperal or altar cover, of any material and color. It is not removed at Vespers, not even at pontifical functions; it suffices to fold it back at the incensation (Caer. Episc., II, chap. 1, n. 13).

Pietro Siffrin