Where does it say loincloth?
Malodorous I can see using the term to contrast to an older priest who has had decades of experience with the rituals and the law and has elevated them a la the Pharisees.
OK, it says “linen cloth” in the version I’ve been working off (see OP), but I think the image most people would get of someone “with nothing on but a linen cloth” is going to be that of a garment not entirely unlike a loincloth.
I’m not sure about “most people” but it didn’t cross my mind reading the thread that it could be a loincloth. I pictured him wrapped in a large piece of cloth, maybe like a roman toga or maybe wearing this sort of coat hanging down from the shoulders, like I’ve seen in some antic depictions (from I absolutely can’t remember which civilization. I just have the clear image in mind, with a man apparently wearing nothing else under this “coat”. And also a large flat hat, in case it would ring a bell for someone).
Maybe your interpretation is related to the similarity between “linen cloth” and “loincloth” in english?
But of course, there’s no reason to asume it wasn’t a small piece of cloth, either. Just wanted to say that your interpretation wasn’t obvious. I assume the reader would have interpreted it as whatever kind of “linen cloth” he was accustomed to see around him.
Linen cloths were also used as baptismal garments. It would seem like a weird time for a baptism but Mark could have had some symbolic intent in mind.
As far as the young man in the linen cloth in Mark’s Gospel is concerned, well, he’s been the subject of a lot of speculation. There is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Gospel_of_Mark](Secret Gospel of Mark) which supposedly contains all the sexy details concerning the young man and the initiation rite Jesus performed with him in Gethsemane. However, it’s likely that the Gospel (or, rather, the letter that quotes the Gospel) was forged by Morton Smith.
One thing I and many others have been struck by is how the description of the young man in linen cloth matches that of the young man who announces the resurrection of Jesus to the women at the tomb (Mark doesn’t describe him as an angel). A.N. Wilson suggests that the two are one and the same, and according to him, the original Greek supports this idea.
All in all, it’s a pretty mysterious and in my opinion, creepy detail. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely we’ll ever really know the truth, unless Morton Smith’s document gets verified as authentic and not a hoax after all.