Napkin, the rendering in the A. V. of aovSapiov, Vulg. sudarium in Luke xix, 20; John ii, 44; xx, 7; which, however, is rendered "handkerchief' in Acts
xix, 12, where it is associated with aprons, aipiicivBia : they are classed together, inasmuch as they refer to objects of a very similar character. Both words are of Latin origin : aovSapiov = sudarium, from sudo, •' to sweat" (the Lutheran translation preserves the reference to its etymology in its rendering, schu-eisstuch) ; aipi- Kh'Siiov^semicinctium, i. e. " a half girdle." Neither is much used by classical writers ; the sudarium is referred to as used for wipnig the face (" candido frontem sudario tergeret," Quintil. vi, 3) or hands ("sudario manus t^r- gens, quod in collo habebat," Petron. infragm. Trugur. cap. 67) ; and also as worn over the face for the purpose of concealment (Sueton. in Neron. cap. 48) : the word was introduced by the Romans into Palestine, where it was adopted by the Jews, in the form SIT^D, as ^nilEa'a in Ruth iii, 15. The sudarium is noticed in the N. T. as a wrapper to fold up money (Luke xix, 20)— as a cloth bound about the head of a corpse (John xi, 44 ; XX, 7), being probably brought from the crown of the head under the chin— and, lastly, as an article of dress that could easily be removed (Acts xix, 12), probaljly a handkerchief worn on the head like the kejfieh of the Bedouin. The semicinctium is noticed by INIartial, xiv, epigr. 153, and by Petron. in Satyr, cap. 94. The dis- tinction between the ductus and the semicinctium con- sisted in its width (Isidor. Orig. xix, 33) : with regard to the character of the aipiKiviiov, the only inference from the passage in which it occurs (Acts xix, 12) is that it was easily removed from the person, and proba- bly was worn next to the skin. According to Suidas, the distinction between the sudaiium and the semicinc- tium was very small, for he explains the latter by the former, aiptKiv^iov • (paKwXioi' J] (TovSapiov, the (paKio- Xiov being a species of head-dress : Hesychius likewise explains aipiiciv^iov by (paKioXiov. According to the scholiast (in Cod. Stepli.), as quoted by Schleusner (Lex. s. V. aovSdpiov), the distinction between the two terms is that the sudarium was worn on the head, and the semicinctium used as a handkerchief. The difference was probably not in the shape, but in the use of the ar- ticle; we may conceive them to have been bands of linen of greater or less size, which might be adapted to many purposes, like the article now called lungi among the Arabs, which is applied sometimes as a girdle, at other times as a turban (Wellsted, Travels, i, 321). — Smith. See Apron ; Handkerchief.
Napkins are used in some Christian churches, e. g. in those of the Romish communion, in the ministration of the Lord's Supper, and the custom is claimed to be of patristic or even apostolic origin. There is certainly evidence that linen and silk cloths were used as far back as the 6th century to cover the eucharistic elements pre- vious to consecration and administration. Oftentimes their " altar napkins," as they were usually called, were richly adorned, and very costly. There is notice of such practice in the pontificate of Vitalienus, in the 7th century. The emperor Constantius, when visiting at Rome the church of St. Peter, presented a piece of gold- embroidered altar napkin : " Super altare pallium auro textile" (In Vitaliam, 135, 15). In the 8th century pope Zacharias presented to the same altar a napkin of the same make, enriched furthermore by precious jew- els, and ornamented with a representation of Christ's nativity : " Fecit vestem super altare beati Petri ex auro textam, habentem nativitatem Domini Dei et Sal- vatoris Jesu Christi, ornavitque eam gemmis pretiosis" (Anast. In Zach. 219, 5). The expressions "in altari," " super altare," to designate such altar-cloths, make it plain that they were not used like altar-cloths in our day, but were napkins used as we see linen used in the communion service in the churches of to-day. Priers thinks that these cloths ser\-ed the double purpose of altar-cloths and napkins, covering both altar and the elements consecrated thereon. See Martigny, Diet, des Antiquites Chretiennes, p. 427 sq.
Naples, an Italian province, deserves treatment
NAPLES
846
XAPOLEOX
hrro as it was formerly an independent kingdom which, toj^c-tlier with Sicily, constituted the territory known as the Two Sicilies, and, occupying the south end of the Italian peninsula, consisted of the continental territory of Naples and the insular dependency of Sicily. P^x- tending over an area of 412 square miles, it contained, in 1872, a population of 907,752 souls. The article Italy has already pointed out the part which this province has jjlayed in the history of the hooted land, yet it may not be inappropriate to add here a few sup- plementary notes, to aftoni our readers a better resume of the lii.storical data of Naples.