This is a shareable because I didn't have time to draw this out in color on better paper. Maybe some other time.
This is the outfit that would be worn by Brother Geilech in my novel
The Way of the Shadow Blade. Geilech is best described by the Orthodox term "hieromonk": he is a monk with priestly duties as well, and he runs the services at the chapel attended by the Order of Guardians. In fact...you'll notice some similarity between this outfit and that of the Guardians. That's because there is in fact a historical tie between Geilech's order and that of the Guardians that goes back centuries to the Order of Guardians' very founding. While the Guardians do not take holy orders themselves, Geilech's order did play a role in designing the Guardians' uniforms since as people with little or no memory of sight, the Guardians did not feel qualified to provide any but utilitarian suggestions for the design process. You'll also notice certain design motifs common to
this outfit worn by the Age of Visions-era white-mage Halvrod Korutzjei. Again, Halvrod hails from the same area and lived at the same time as the founding of the Order of Guardians.
A few more notes about the church customs regarding this outfit:
A priest who is not part of a monastic order wears more ornate vestments than these when performing the sacraments. Those in monastic orders only wear this outfit when performing sacraments of the church--otherwise they wear simple black robes with a rope belt.
Though some form of head-wear has always been customary in Aramansch society, and is often seen for priests in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in our world, priests studiously avoid this in Araman. The reason for this is that in pre-Christian societies, their ancestors believed that they had to pray with their faces covered lest they be struck down for the ugliness of their sins. Following Christ's redemptive sacrifice, the custom of wearing masks was eradicated. Any form of face or head covering is therefore strictly forbidden in an Aramansch church--especially for priests. Some orders, such as Geilech's, even believe that a priest or monk should remain clean-shaven so that even a beard cannot hide his face.
A link to the
Aramansch Cross, which is the same design that would be on the
broetijarn.
A link to the
Erekett-Aramansch alphabet.
Comments
Major Says:
Argh, I wish I could favorite shareables... D:
Arbiter K Says:
Awesome! Love the design!
Hyziel Astarte Says:
The best thing about writers drawing is, most of everything serves a purpose and not just as eye candy. I love your detail and its elaboration with meaning and history. It's like reading while viewing - a pleasant effect, of course.
Galloglasses Says:
Wow, pretty detailed for a Monk's garb, they're usually quite plain.
I've met about two actual Priestmonks in real life, it was at a newly built monastary here in Ireland, they were Benedictines taken from France and, as my teacher put it, Parachuted into Northen Ireland. Basically they were the same as their brothers but with Authority to Consecrate the Eucharist, symbolised simply by a purple stole around their necks. A hieromonk seems alot like a friar to me based on description, but a friar is not so much of a link between priest and monk as the Orthodox Hieromonk is.
Also a quick google showed me just how detailed these hieromonk's can be, click, So I can understand how you can detail a monk so