What kind of clothes did a bishop wear in Medieval Times?

Answer 1

The dress for bishops and other clergy were pretty much established during medieval times. They came to wear very much the same garments the Catholics or Eastern Orthodox do today for services. Even the names of the garments, such as the alb, cotta, and so on, have not changed.

Roman Catholic AnswerWhen they are functioning as a bishop, the bishops in the Medieval period wore exactly the same thing that they do today, well, a traditional dressed Bishop celebrating in the Extraordinary Form (in Latin). A Bishop wore a chasuble, just like a priest when celebrating Mass, at other services he would wear a cope. He wears a zucchetta (skull cap), with a biretta or mitre. Bishop's choir robes are purple, they wear a lace rocket over it. For most things Bishops wear gloves; the signs of their office are a pectoral cross and a ring. When they are in procession, preaching, or listening to the Gospel, they wear their miter and hold their crosier (shepherd's staff) in their left hand. A Bishop in the Ordinary form wears the same thing, but usually not as fancy, and usually skips the gloves, but never the skullcap, miter, pectoral cross and ring; plus the crosier if they are in Church.

Answer 2

In the Church of Rome, a bishop was a step up from a priest and the clothing of a bishop was essentially the same as a priest, but with additions.

All clerics wore a white linen alb, which was a long tunic reaching the ankles and with long sleeves; this symbolised purity. over this priests and bishops wore a long, white, narrow, linen scarf called a stola draped around the neck and hanging down the frone of the alb. The stola was embroidered with crosses and other symbols.

A bishop wore a very stiff garment over the alb and stola - the dalmatic, which was heavily embroidered and had slits up each side; over this was worn either a chasuble of coloured silk (looking something like a poncho), or a heavy embroidered wool cloak called a cope. The cope was fastened across the chest with a decorated strap. Copes and chasubles of different colours were worn for specific services, processions and other religious functions.

The particular badges of a bishop were the mitre (which changed shape during the medieval period), the ring (often worn over a glove) and the crozier. It is possible to date period images and sculptures of bishops by the style of the mitre, which always had two long ribbons (infulae) hanging from its rear edge.

A bishop's clothes were always more richly decorated and embroidered than those of a priest.

See links below for images: