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The Habit : A History of the Clothing of Catholic Nuns by Elizabeth Kuhns is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Habit : A History of the Clothing of Catholic Nuns about?

Curiosity about nuns and their distinctive clothing is almost as old as Catholicism itself. The habit intrigues the religious and the nonreligious alike, from medieval maidens to contemporary schoolboys, to feminists and other social critics. The first book to explore the symbolism of this attire, The Habit presents a visual gallery of the diverse forms of religious clothing and explains the principles and traditions that inspired them. More than just an eye-opening study of the symbolic significance of starched wimples, dark dresses, and flowing veils, The Habit is an incisive, engaging portrait of the roles nuns have and do play in the Catholic Church and in ministering to the needs of society. From the clothing seen in an eleventh-century monastery to the garb worn by nuns on picket lines during the 1960s, habits have always been designed to convey a specific image or ideal. The habits of the Benedictines and the Dominicans, for example, were specifically created to distinguish women who consecrated their lives to God; other habits reflected the sisters' desire to blend in among the people they served. The brown Carmelite habit was rarely seen outside the monastery wall, while t

Author

Elizabeth Kuhns

Publisher

Image

Published

2005

Language

EN

ISBN

9781299243811

Subjects

History, Christian, Science

Rating

4.3 / 5 (109 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14