Mantle (clothing)

A mantle (from old French mantel, from mantellum, the Latin term for a cloak) is a type of loose garment usually worn over indoor clothing to serve the same purpose as an overcoat. Technically, the term describes a long, loose cape-like cloak worn from the 12th to the 16th century by both sexes, although by the 19th century, it was used to describe any loose-fitting, shaped outer garment similar to a cape.^[1] For example, the dolman, a 19th-century cape-like woman's garment with partial sleeves is often described as a mantle.^[2]

In English, the idiom "to take up/pick up/assume the mantle" is from the Bible, and means to take a position of authority, leadership or responsibility in a particular area, especially in the sense of carrying on for a previous figure.^[3] The most notable appearance in the Bible is in 2 Kings 2:13, where Elisha takes up Elijah's mantle (Hebrew: אדרת ’addereṯ).