Brewer's: Crozier

or Crosier. An archbishop's staff terminates in a floriated cross, while a bishop's crook has a curved, brackenlike head. A bishop turns his crook outwards, to denote his wider authority; an abbot (whose crook is the same as a bishop's) carries it turned inwards, to show that his jurisdiction is limited to his own inmates. When walking with a bishop an abbot covers his crook with a veil hanging from the knob, to show that his authority is veiled in the presence of his superior.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content