COVE

Image 1: "The Cassock of 18th & 19th Century Rectors"

Image 2: "The Bands of 18th & 19th Century Rectors" - James Woodforde

Each religion has specific attire that subscribers and officials wear during religious ceremonies and events. Historically, officials in any Christian church have worn longer garments, often resembling robes or coverings. Rectors in the 18th and 19th century England, like George Austen, Jane Austen's father, could expect to wear long cassocks and bands, according to England's Jane Austen Society.

Though there are not a lot of physical garments left from this century to show exactly what they would have looked like, there are a variety of portraits of old rectors, popes, and priests from this time that would allude to the clothing that they would have worn. For almost all denominations, black and white are the clothing color preferences, and Jane Austen's Anglican Church officials were no different. Laura Boyle states, "The well dressed Clergyman, [in Austen's time], would have dressed somberly, in a black suit, with with stock or cravat" ("The Well Dressed Clergyman"). They also would have worn cassocks, which derive from the tunics worn underneath togas in Rome. The Anglican cassocks were double-breasted and pointed-sleeve-surplices ("History of Vestments," Marylyn Doyle), making them unique from other denominations. The number of buttons varied between 33, the number of years in Christ's ministry, or 39 (Boyle). 

The bands around the neck were viewed as a formal wear. The typically came in two separate pieces, and both clergymen and lawyers wore them. The bands for clergymen were often referred to as preaching bands, tabs, or Geneva bands. They simply were pieces of cloth that wrapped around the neck and hung in front of the clothing. They began not for academic purposes, but in the ordinary wear. It was not until the Restoration of the 1660s that bands became popular for academics such as clergymen and lawyers to wear. It is a practice that even some priests in modern day Christianity practice.

Jane Austen could have expected to see her father wearing any of these garments at any time. It was uncommon for clergymen to go without their spiritual clothing, therefore it would have been what she was used to in her world. The plain attire of the clergymen alludes to the humility that which religious officials show God and Jesus, keeping an undistracting image of the conveyors of God's word. 

Works Referenced

Boyle, Laura. “The Well Dressed Clergyman .” JaneAusten.Co.Uk, JaneAusten.co.uk, 14 Feb. 2022, janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/well-dressed-clergyman.

The Cassock of 18th & 19th Century Rectors. Jane Austen, https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/well-dressed-clergyman.

“Church of England ‑ Anglican Church.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/european-history/church-of-england. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Cox, Brenda S. Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. Topaz Cross Books, 2022.

Doyle, Marylyn. “History of Vestments Part II.” History of Vestments (Part II), nationalaltarguildassociation.org/?p=3170. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Woodforde, Samuel. James Woodforde. Jane Austen, https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/well-dressed-clergyman.