Surplice & cotta
The surplice is one of the most commonly worn robes, along with the cassock. It is worn over the cassock, as part of ‘choir dress’, that is, for services which take place in the choir/quire of the church, for instance evensong, matins, weddings and funerals. In smaller (often rural) settings, it is sometimes worn by Anglican/CofE clergy in place of the alb for Eucharist/Communion services.
For centuries, the most common priest outfit has been the cassock, surplice and stole/tippet – this outfit can be worn at virtually any service.
The surplice is a gathered white garment, with a lot of draping fabric and large bell sleeves. It is most common in the Anglican church.
Nowadays they are usually made of cotton or a synthetic blend, but historically they were made of linen, and the nicest ones (such as in the photo left) still are.
Roman Catholics typically use the cotta in place of the surplice. It’s smaller, less gathered (the one pictured here is unusually quite gathered), with smaller sleeves, and has a square yoke. It may or may not be decorated with lace.
Period/historical
In England from the time of Elizabeth I to the Victorian era, the surplice was the only layer worn above the cassock. Albs, chasubles and copes were against the rules of the Elizabethan settlement, i.e. they were considered ‘too Catholic’. So from approx 1560 to 1860, your CofE priest costume should only consist of cassock and surplice! (plus some possible extras, e.g. tippet).
The surplice has changed shape/style over the years.
This is what a surplice looked like in England from the late Tudor era (Elizabeth I) through the 17th century. It is nearly floor-length, straighter without a lot of gathering around the yoke, with a tied placket at the neck, and with narrower sleeves.
The sleeves are significant, and are the factor which changes most over the years.
Until the reign of Elizabeth I, the sleeves served no explicit function. Until…
This is a surplice in the 18th-century style. As with the 17th-century surplice, there is a placket at the neck (hidden here by the preaching bands). It’s beginning to be much more gathered.
Crucially, the sleeves are much larger and fuller. There is an historical-theological reason for this…
The chalice (the goblet of wine at the Eucharist/Mass) is a very holy object, which only a bishop should touch with his bare hands. A regular priest had to hold the chalice using a ‘humeral veil’, which resembled a towel made of silk or linen. Under Elizabeth I, however, the humeral veil was banned along with all other vestments except the cassock and surplice. The tradition of not touching the chalice survived however, and so the sleeves of the surplice grew much larger, so they could be drawn over and around the hands and used to handle the chalice without touching it with bare hands.
This is why, while the surplice sleeves grew in size, the sleeves of the bishop’s rochet (the bishop’s version of a surplice) did not grow. The bishop, after all, could handle the chalice with his hands, so had no use either for the humeral veil or the giant sleeves.
The Roman Catholic cotta did not develop bell sleeves because Catholic priests always wear an alb for Mass, and have retained the use of the humeral veil.