Character of Penitents
- Attire – tunic, walking-stick, cincture (belt), knapsack, sandals; symbol was often a Tau Cross after St. Anthony of the Desert.
- Charitable works – most often in hospitals and hospices and leprosaria (hospitalers); restoring churches and burying the dead.
- Life of Prayer.
- Abstinence – from feasts and shows and dances, avoidance of drunkenness and gluttony.
- Prohibited from public office or from riding horses.
- Forbidden to take up arms or to take an oath.
Read more about this topic: Order Of Penitents
Famous quotes containing the words character and/or penitents:
“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs. We must become more self-conscious and more explicit in our praise and reinforcement as children use unstructured play materials: “That’s good. You use your own ideas....” “That’s good. You did it your way....” “That’s good. You thought it all out yourself.””
—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)
“And this school wasn’t keeping anymore,
Unless for penitents who took their seat
Upon its doorsteps as at mercy’s feet
To make up for a lack of meditation.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)