Des Königs schwarzer Rock Der evangelische Pfarrertalar zwischen preußischen Reformen und Neukonfessionalismus

Drawing on unpublished source material, this essay shows that when introduced in 1811 the cassock of protestant pastors in Prussia was not introduced as liturgical vestment proper and did not imitate reformation time robes. The Prussian cassock should rather be seen as part of the European process of creating civil uniforms for clergy which started in the late 1790s. Following Napoleon's example – after 1802 he made Catholic priests, protestant pastors and Jewish rabbis civil servants wear uniforms – Prussia too declared the same for pastors and civil servants in 1808 and in 1811 bestowed upon them a civil uniform that was modeled on the French huguenots' robe. Württemberg in turn copied the Prussian model in 1811, whereas Bavaria introduced the cassock in 1843 in order to differentiate between protestant pastors and Jewish rabbis who had started wearing the French cassock.