of distinction by certain persons of rank, and were probably copied from the buskins of the ancient senators. Their use gradually became customary among the higher clergy, especially when these appeared in their full official capacity for the celebration of the Liturgy. During the eighth and ninth centuries also the Roman subdeacons and acolytes wore a distinctive foot-wear, the , which, however, were simpler than the , and had no straps. The sandals and stockings became a specifically episcopal vestment about the 10th century. Apparently as early as the 12th century, or at least in the second half of the 13th century, they were no longer worn even by the cardinal deacons of Rome. The privilege of wearing the sandals and was first granted to an abbot in 757 by Pope Stephen III. This is, however, an isolated case, as it was only after the last quarter of the 10th century, and especially after the 12th century that it became customary to grant abbots this privilege. The episcopal sandals are no longer normally seen in the Catholic Church, except for those liturgical ceremonies celebrated according to pre-Vatican II rubrics. Pontifical buskins The pontifical buskins, or liturgical stockings, also known as the , are the stockings worn by bishops over the regular stockings but under the episcopal sandals. They match the liturgical color of the Mass, except when the color is black. The stockings, which are of silk, are either knitted or are made by sewing together pieces of silk fabric that have been cut a suitable shape. The seem to have experienced no particular development. In the later Middle Ages they were, as a rule, made of silk. The earliest enforcement in respect to of the regulations for liturgical colors seems to have been at Rome, but even here probably not until the 14th century. Like the episcopal sandals, the use of the liturgical stockings is primarily confined to the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass. See also Buskins Pontifical vestments Papal shoes Papal slippers Tridentine Mass Solemn Pontifical Mass References External links Information and illustration in over 170 pictures of papal and clerical shoes Roman Catholic vestments Catholic liturgy Historical footwear Folk footwear