L’abito non fa il monaco? La veste nei primi secoli del monachesimo egiziano

The hypothetical existence of a specifi c monk’s robe from the very beginning of the development of the monastic phenomenon in Egypt is a question that has consequences connected to the defi nition of the identity of monasticism and of the fi gure of the monk. This essay considers literary and documentary sources from the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries, which center on the situation in Egypt during the fi rst centuries of monasticism. The goal is to understand whether «the habit made the monk». Certainly there was a process of institutionalization of the gown worn by monks, constantly more homologized in cut, color, and the parts composing it. The progressive establishing of a monk’s habit, and above all the fact that there was a habit exclusive to and characteristic of monks, are particulars that still need to be verifi ed and clarifi ed.