Dalmatic (Dalmatica), the deacon's robe in the Roman Catholic Church. The most ancient form of the dalmatic is exhibited in the annexed woodcut, after an early Christian painting on a wall in the catacombs at Rome. It was originally of linen, but it is now generally made of the same heavy silk as the Chasuble (q.v.).
Dalmatic
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 3: Catarrh to Dion, p. 660–661
Source scan(s): p. 0671, p. 0672