Rare Swiss Church Uniform - Caps, Trousers, Bicorns, Staff Etc

We are offering for sale a lot comprising the uniform of a Swiss churchman dating from the beginning of the 20th century. This set is composed of the following elements: - Full dress: trousers, red greatcoat, baldric and bicorn. - Trousers: 105 cm long - Red greatcoat: 100 cm long, in scarlet red cloth with buttons, loops and trimmings braided in mid-fine silver. - Bicorn in black felt cardboard, braided in silver, measuring 40 cm. - Baldric: 97 cm long. - Epaulettes: 20 cm and 18 cm. - Small dress: blue greatcoat, used on ordinary days. - Royal blue greatcoat: 95 cm long, in wool cloth, with buttons, loops and trimmings braided in mid-fine silver. - Cane with knob: 130 cm long. This set is made by Argot frères in Crest in the Drôme (see the last photo). Condition: average, with some missing parts, tears and moth holes. The uniform was found in an attic in Aveyron. At the end of the 18th century, demobilized disabled Swiss were sent to the parishes of the Kingdom to provide security, policing and honorary service, at the expense of the parishioners. These old soldiers, disciplined and temperate, were well received by the population and became familiar figures among parish employees. The surplus of this contingent was allocated to the protection of public and private buildings, thus giving rise to modern concierges. The Swiss acted as a "policeman of worship" or "sheriff of the nave". He prevented intruders from entering churches so as not to desecrate the holy mysteries, maintained order, silence and humility. He rang the bells, closed the doors of the church and the sacristy, and played the role of master of ceremonies. Dressed in a richly decorated blue frock coat and gold epaulettes on ordinary Sundays, he wears a red uniform for major celebrations. Wearing a bicorn hat, cane with a pommel and halberd in hand, he ensures the smooth running of services, accompanies altar servers during collections and precedes the clergy in processions, inviting the faithful to stand up during ceremonies with blows of the cane. This tradition of the Swiss guard, which persists in large parishes, is dying out almost naturally, as the next generation neither wishes nor ensures its continuation. There are only three Swiss left in France. A few volunteers still work, for example in Josselin, in Morbihan, where their presence is noted during the pardon of Notre-Dame-du-Roncier on September 8 each year, or in Burnaupt le Haut in Haut-Rhin during Corpus Christi.