Academic dress in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Academic Dress
of the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history and has influenced the academic dress of America
and beyond. The academic square cap was invented in the UK as well as the hood which developed from the lay dress of the medieval period.
Irish academic dress is virtually the same as that in the UK given the common history and proximity with each other. Many other Commonwealth countries also follow British cuts and design of academic dress, most notably Australia
and New Zealand
though some are beginning to evolve away from British cuts such as Canada
of which Toronto University has slowly introduced American gowns that close at the front.
There is a distinction between different types of academical dress. Most recently, gowns, hoods and caps are categorised into their shape and patterns by what may be known as the Groves classification system
, which is based on Nicholas Groves's document, Hood and Gown Patterns. This lists the various styles or patterns of academic dress and assigns them a code or a Groves Classification Number. For example, the Cambridge BA style gown is designated [b2] and a hood in the Cambridge full-shape is designated [f1], etc. Because the universities are free to design their own academicals using a wide range of available gown, hood and cap patterns, colours and materials at their and the robemaker's disposal, the academicals of two given universities rarely clash with each other.
The Burgon Society
was founded in 2000 to promote the study of academic dress. It has publications and activities to do with academic dress and is currently in the process of updating Shaw's book on British and Irish academical dress for publication.
, and were required to wear the cappa or other clerical dress, and restricted to clothes of black or other dark colour.
The gowns most commonly worn, that of the clerical type gowns of Bachelor of Arts
(BA) and Master of Arts
(MA), are substantially the same throughout the English-speaking world. Both are traditionally made of black cloth, (although occasionally the gown is dyed in one of the university's colours) and have the material at the back of the gown gathered into a yoke. The BA gown has bell-shaped sleeves, while the MA gown has long sleeves closed at the end, with the arm passing through a slit above the elbow.
There are two types of yokes which are used for gowns. The more traditional is the curved yoke, whilst the square or straight yoke is used more in modern times.
Another type of gown is called the lay type gown, which is similar to the MA gown in that it has long closed sleeves, but does not have a yoke. Instead, there is a flap collar with the gathers underneath it. Thus it is less voluminous than the clerical type gown. This gown is often used for the dress of officers and graduates of some degrees (especially at Oxford and Durham).
In the Commonwealth, gowns are worn open, while in the United States it has become common for gowns to close at the front, as did the original roba.
Some gowns may have 'strings' (i.e. grosgrain ribbons) attached to them behind the lapels. These in the past were tied together to hold the gown together but are now merely indicators of rank, such as in Cambridge where strings indicate one is a full member (i.e. BA or MA, etc.), or just for decoration.
s and cardinal
s, have been authorised to wear garments of brighter colours such as scarlet, purple or red. In many older universities, doctors have scarlet dress gowns or robes (sometimes called "festal robes") which are worn on special occasions. There are two distinctive shapes used in the UK for doctor's gown; the Oxford doctor's shape and the Cambridge doctor's shape. The former has bell-shaped sleeves, the latter has long open sleeves. Another rarer form is the Cambridge MusD dress gown which is a pattern between the two.
The other form of doctor's gown is the undress gown. This is a black gown (which may or may not be distinct from the master's gown depending on the university; if it is, it usually is trimmed with lace, braid or other subtle indicators of rank) worn for less formal occasions such as lectures. This type of gown is rarely seen or worn nowadays as many wear the dress gown instead; there are fewer applications for the undress gown in normal university life. However, the undress gown still plays a part in the older universities where academic dress is usually worn. At Cambridge, each doctor has its own undress gown, each trimmed differently, meaning one can identify the degree of the wearer without the hood (the same is also the case for bachelors and masters gowns at Cambridge).
St Andrews prescribes a cassock
-like gown with a row of buttons running down the front, coloured according to the degree, and is meant to be worn closed. This gown is worn as the undress gown for higher doctorates, with a Cambridge-type gown for full dress. The two may be worn together or separately.
In the universities of the UK there are days called scarlet days or red letter day
s. On such days, doctors of the university may wear their scarlet 'festal' or full dress gowns instead of their undress ('black') gown. This is more significant for the ancient universities such as Oxford and Cambridge where academic dress is worn almost daily, the black undress gown being worn on normal occasions as opposed to the bright red gowns. Since most universities have abandoned academic dress to the graduation ceremony (where doctors always wear scarlet), the significance of scarlet days has all but disappeared at these institutions.
, where the undergraduate gown is scarlet and typically features a velveteen collar. Undergraduate gowns are seldom worn (even in institutions that prescribe them) nowadays except in the older universities. Most new universities do not prescribe them since academic dress has fallen out of daily use so students would hardly, if ever, wear them.
In the past, undergraduates wore gowns according to their rank; for noblemen they wore coloured gowns with gold gimp lace, buttons and other decorations whilst fellow-commoners, gentleman-commoners, scholars, commoners, pensioners, sizar
s, battelers and servitor
s wore black gowns of decreasing flamboyance based on their standing in the universities.
The Convocation
habit used at Oxford is a scarlet sleeveless garment worn over the black gown, with the sleeves of the gown pulled through the armholes. It is similar to a bishop's chimere
except that it is worn closed with two large buttons. It is worn by doctors at meetings of Convocation or Congregation
by those presenting candidates for degrees.
Even more rare and ancient is the cappa clausa or cope
, a large scarlet cloak with an ermine shoulder piece worn by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, or a deputy, when admitting to degrees, and by anyone presenting new higher doctors or BD
s for admission to their degrees. The cope was once used by Vice-Chancellors of some universities outside Cambridge in the past but the only other university that still uses it is the University of the South in America).
In Durham, the early statutes permit the wearing of a convocation habit but 'under the gown' though later statutes say 'with gown' instead of under it. The Durham habit survives as part of the dress for the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor which are worn under their laced gowns. There are two forms; one is sleeveless like the Oxford pattern and the other is sleeved so more like a cassock than a habit. In theory, doctors could wear the sleeveless type over their black undress gowns like in Oxford but this is very rare as many do not know that they are entitled to it.
Other habits that have fallen into disuse include the cappa manicata which was the same as the Oxford habit except that it had two long disused sleeves dangling behind and was used by lay doctors at Cambridge, the cappa nigra which was a shorter version of the Oxford habit worn by MAs, and the tabard which was similar to a BA gown.
The Cambridge Proctors' ruff and the Oxford Proctors' tippet could also be considered another version of a habit, a mantle
, but the use of these are restricted to said officials.
in choir dress, over the surplice
, and it is common in cathedrals, churches, and chapels for the choirmaster and/or members of the choir to wear an academic hood to which they are entitled during services, over their cassock
and surplice
, only for the choir offices (Morning and Evening Prayer
) and not for the Eucharist
.
Hoods comprise two basic patterns: full shape or simple shape. The traditional full-shape hood consists of a cape, cowl
, and liripipe
, as is used at Cambridge. At Oxford, the bachelors' and masters' hoods use simple hoods that have lost their cape and retain only the cowl and liripipe. Some universities only have a cape and cowl and no liripipe or just consist a cape only; these are classed separately under the Aberdeen shape style. Various other universities have different shapes and patterns of hoods, in some cases corresponding to the pattern current at the ancient universities at the time when they were founded, and in others representing a completely new design.
The colour and lining
of hoods in academic dress represents the rank and/or faculty of the wearer. In many Commonwealth universities bachelors wear hoods edged or lined with white rabbit fur, while masters wear hoods lined with coloured silk (originally ermine or other expensive fur). Doctors' hoods are normally made of scarlet cloth and lined with coloured silk. Faculty colours were introduced by the University of London and many universities followed suit.
The hood is nearly always worn with a gown though there are some exceptions such as Oxford doctors who do not wear a hood with their festal robes (though this regulation is often ignored at graduation ceremonies at other universities when Oxford doctors are sitting in the faculty).
The neckband of the hood usually has a loop of which original function is to hook onto the button of a cassock. Since many do not wear cassocks for graduation, the loop is sometimes hooked onto a shirt button instead. However, since the hood is rather heavy this has a tendency to pull the lightweight shirt upwards. The correct way to wear the hood is to allow the neckband to naturally hook itself onto the collar under the tie which secures the hood in place. Sometimes, the hood is worn too forward and down being hooked onto the jacket button or pinned which causes the hood to sit poorly and be more likely to slip down the shoulders like a shawl.
The mortarboard may also be referred to as a trencher cap (or simply trencher). The tassel
comprises a cluster of silk threads which are fixed together and fastened by a button at one end, and fixed at the centre of the headpiece. The loose strands are allowed to fall freely over the board edge, typically falling over the left front side of the cap. Often the strands are plaited
together to form a cord with the end threads left untied.
There is a mourning version of the square cap to mourn friends and family relatives. Instead of a button and tassel, two wide ribbons are drawn from corner to corner of the top board forming and 'X'. Where the ribbons intersect a rosette of ribbon is attached. There could also be 9 ribbon 'butterflies' at the back part of the skull to indicate mourning for the Sovereign, another member of the Royal Family, or the University Chancellor.
In many universities, holders of doctorates wear a soft rounded headpiece known as a Tudor bonnet
or tam
, rather than a trencher. Other types of hats used, especially in some universities in the UK, are the John Knox cap (mostly at Scottish universities), the Bishop Andrewes cap
(a reinvention of the ancient form of the mortarboard, worn by Cambridge DD
s) and the pileus (at Sussex). In some universities, such as Oxford, women may wear an Oxford ladies' cap.
For Catholic
— and some Anglican — clergy, the traditional black biretta
may be worn in some circumstances instead of the mortarboard. Those clerics who possess a doctorate wear the black biretta with four ridges — instead of the usual three — and with piping and pom of the color of the discipline, thus, e.g., emerald for canon law, scarlet for sacred theology, etc.
As with other forms of headgear, in the Commonwealth, academic caps are not generally worn indoors by men (other than by the Chancellor or other high officials), but are usually carried. In some graduation ceremonies caps have been dispensed with for men, being issued only to women, who do wear them indoors, or have been abandoned altogether. This has led to urban legend
s in a number of universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland which have as a common theme that idea that the wearing of the cap was abandoned in protest at the admission of women to the university. This story is told at the University of Cambridge
, Durham University
, the University of Bristol
, the University of St Andrews
and Trinity College, Dublin
among others.
The misinterpretation of some regulations has led to the confusion that certain universities do not prescribe headwear, most notably the Open University
where the policy is that academic headgear is not worn at graduation ceremonies, whilst some universities have abandoned headwear for socio-political reasons or because the designer intended it, such as is the case of Vivienne Westwood
and her design for King's College London
.
The University of East Anglia
is infamous for two new hats designed by Cecil Beaton
that were prescribed. One is known as the 'Dan Dare
' or 'Mickey Mouse
' cap which is a skull cap with a narrow rim around the top for bachelors; the other was known as the tricorn or upside-down iron, which was basically a mortarboard but with a triangle instead of a square for the top board for masters. These caps were unpopular with students who preferred the square and they soon fell into disuse. The tricorn is still used as the official hat of the Registrar and the Dan Dare is still officially prescribed to undergraduates (because undergraduate gowns are extremely rarely, if ever, worn so abolishment was not forthcoming).
Officers of the universities generally wear distinctive and more elaborate dress. The Chancellor
and the Vice-Chancellor may wear a black damask lay type gown (sometimes with a long train) trimmed with gold or silver lace
and frog
s. They wear a velvet mortarboard, similarly trimmed with gold braid and tassel. This form of dress is not strictly 'academical' but it is typical dress for those in high positions. Other than this gown, they may have other distinct forms of dress, such as the scarlet cappa clausa or cope
worn in certain circumstances by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge or his/her deputy and by higher doctors presenting candidates for degrees, which was once worn by Doctors of Divinity
. In the past, Chancellors may also wear full court dress with breeches and court shoes like that of the Lord Chancellor
of Great Britain.
Officers of lower rank may wear plain black lay type gowns, sometimes with gold or silver trim, or ordinary gowns in university colours. In general, officials do not wear hoods with their gowns.
Marshal
s and bedel
s often wear black lay-type gowns with band
s and a black bonnet.
Academic dress
Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, primarily tertiary education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them...
of the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history and has influenced the academic dress of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and beyond. The academic square cap was invented in the UK as well as the hood which developed from the lay dress of the medieval period.
Irish academic dress is virtually the same as that in the UK given the common history and proximity with each other. Many other Commonwealth countries also follow British cuts and design of academic dress, most notably Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
though some are beginning to evolve away from British cuts such as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
of which Toronto University has slowly introduced American gowns that close at the front.
There is a distinction between different types of academical dress. Most recently, gowns, hoods and caps are categorised into their shape and patterns by what may be known as the Groves classification system
Groves classification system
The Groves classification system is a system intended to enable the shape of any academic gown or hood of the United Kingdom to be easily classified and identified. It was devised by Dr Nicholas Groves and adopted as standard by the community of scholars that study academic dress...
, which is based on Nicholas Groves's document, Hood and Gown Patterns. This lists the various styles or patterns of academic dress and assigns them a code or a Groves Classification Number. For example, the Cambridge BA style gown is designated [b2] and a hood in the Cambridge full-shape is designated [f1], etc. Because the universities are free to design their own academicals using a wide range of available gown, hood and cap patterns, colours and materials at their and the robemaker's disposal, the academicals of two given universities rarely clash with each other.
The Burgon Society
Burgon Society
The Burgon Society was founded in 2000 for the study and promotion of academical dress, to preserve its history, and to advise film and television companies and interested others in its correct usage. The President of the society is James P.S. Thomson, MS , DM , FRCS, FBS, Master of London...
was founded in 2000 to promote the study of academic dress. It has publications and activities to do with academic dress and is currently in the process of updating Shaw's book on British and Irish academical dress for publication.
Gown
The modern gown is derived from the roba worn under the cappa clausa, a garment resembling a long black cape. In early medieval times, all students at the universities were in at least minor ordersMinor orders
The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. In the Latin rite Catholic Church, the minor orders were in most cases replaced by "instituted" ministries of lector and acolyte, though communities that use...
, and were required to wear the cappa or other clerical dress, and restricted to clothes of black or other dark colour.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(BA) and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(MA), are substantially the same throughout the English-speaking world. Both are traditionally made of black cloth, (although occasionally the gown is dyed in one of the university's colours) and have the material at the back of the gown gathered into a yoke. The BA gown has bell-shaped sleeves, while the MA gown has long sleeves closed at the end, with the arm passing through a slit above the elbow.
There are two types of yokes which are used for gowns. The more traditional is the curved yoke, whilst the square or straight yoke is used more in modern times.
Another type of gown is called the lay type gown, which is similar to the MA gown in that it has long closed sleeves, but does not have a yoke. Instead, there is a flap collar with the gathers underneath it. Thus it is less voluminous than the clerical type gown. This gown is often used for the dress of officers and graduates of some degrees (especially at Oxford and Durham).
In the Commonwealth, gowns are worn open, while in the United States it has become common for gowns to close at the front, as did the original roba.
Some gowns may have 'strings' (i.e. grosgrain ribbons) attached to them behind the lapels. These in the past were tied together to hold the gown together but are now merely indicators of rank, such as in Cambridge where strings indicate one is a full member (i.e. BA or MA, etc.), or just for decoration.
Dress and undress gowns
Since medieval times, doctors, like bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s and cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
s, have been authorised to wear garments of brighter colours such as scarlet, purple or red. In many older universities, doctors have scarlet dress gowns or robes (sometimes called "festal robes") which are worn on special occasions. There are two distinctive shapes used in the UK for doctor's gown; the Oxford doctor's shape and the Cambridge doctor's shape. The former has bell-shaped sleeves, the latter has long open sleeves. Another rarer form is the Cambridge MusD dress gown which is a pattern between the two.
The other form of doctor's gown is the undress gown. This is a black gown (which may or may not be distinct from the master's gown depending on the university; if it is, it usually is trimmed with lace, braid or other subtle indicators of rank) worn for less formal occasions such as lectures. This type of gown is rarely seen or worn nowadays as many wear the dress gown instead; there are fewer applications for the undress gown in normal university life. However, the undress gown still plays a part in the older universities where academic dress is usually worn. At Cambridge, each doctor has its own undress gown, each trimmed differently, meaning one can identify the degree of the wearer without the hood (the same is also the case for bachelors and masters gowns at Cambridge).
St Andrews prescribes a cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
-like gown with a row of buttons running down the front, coloured according to the degree, and is meant to be worn closed. This gown is worn as the undress gown for higher doctorates, with a Cambridge-type gown for full dress. The two may be worn together or separately.
In the universities of the UK there are days called scarlet days or red letter day
Red letter day
A red letter day is any day of special significance.The term originates from Medieval church calendars. Illuminated manuscripts often marked initial capitals and highlighted words in red ink, known as rubrics...
s. On such days, doctors of the university may wear their scarlet 'festal' or full dress gowns instead of their undress ('black') gown. This is more significant for the ancient universities such as Oxford and Cambridge where academic dress is worn almost daily, the black undress gown being worn on normal occasions as opposed to the bright red gowns. Since most universities have abandoned academic dress to the graduation ceremony (where doctors always wear scarlet), the significance of scarlet days has all but disappeared at these institutions.
Undergraduate gowns
Undergraduates at many older universities also wear gowns; the most common essentially a smaller knee-length version of the BA gown, or the Oxford Commoners gown which is sleeveless lay type gown and has two streamers at the back at Oxford. At Cambridge, most colleges have their own distinctive design of gown. This is not the case at the Ancient Scottish universities, such as the University of St AndrewsUniversity of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, where the undergraduate gown is scarlet and typically features a velveteen collar. Undergraduate gowns are seldom worn (even in institutions that prescribe them) nowadays except in the older universities. Most new universities do not prescribe them since academic dress has fallen out of daily use so students would hardly, if ever, wear them.
In the past, undergraduates wore gowns according to their rank; for noblemen they wore coloured gowns with gold gimp lace, buttons and other decorations whilst fellow-commoners, gentleman-commoners, scholars, commoners, pensioners, sizar
Sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....
s, battelers and servitor
Servitor
In certain universities , a servitor was an undergraduate student who received free accommodation , and was exempted from paying fees for lectures...
s wore black gowns of decreasing flamboyance based on their standing in the universities.
Habit
Another form of dress, now rarely seen, is the habit, which is worn over a black gown. Only Oxford and Cambridge (though in theory Durham too) use habits and mainly reserve their use for very formal ceremonial occasions and to a specific group of academics or officials.The Convocation
Convocation
A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
habit used at Oxford is a scarlet sleeveless garment worn over the black gown, with the sleeves of the gown pulled through the armholes. It is similar to a bishop's chimere
Chimere
A chimere is a garment that was formally worn as part of academic dress, or by Anglican bishops in choir dress.A descendant of a riding cloak, the chimere resembles an academic gown but without sleeves, and is usually made of scarlet or black cloth. In modern English use the garment is worn as part...
except that it is worn closed with two large buttons. It is worn by doctors at meetings of Convocation or Congregation
Congregation (university)
A Congregation is a formal meeting of senior members of a university, especially in the United Kingdom.Examples include the Regent House in the University of Cambridge, and the House of Congregation and the Ancient House of Congregation in the University of Oxford.In recent times, very few...
by those presenting candidates for degrees.
Even more rare and ancient is the cappa clausa or cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
, a large scarlet cloak with an ermine shoulder piece worn by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, or a deputy, when admitting to degrees, and by anyone presenting new higher doctors or BD
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
s for admission to their degrees. The cope was once used by Vice-Chancellors of some universities outside Cambridge in the past but the only other university that still uses it is the University of the South in America).
In Durham, the early statutes permit the wearing of a convocation habit but 'under the gown' though later statutes say 'with gown' instead of under it. The Durham habit survives as part of the dress for the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor which are worn under their laced gowns. There are two forms; one is sleeveless like the Oxford pattern and the other is sleeved so more like a cassock than a habit. In theory, doctors could wear the sleeveless type over their black undress gowns like in Oxford but this is very rare as many do not know that they are entitled to it.
Other habits that have fallen into disuse include the cappa manicata which was the same as the Oxford habit except that it had two long disused sleeves dangling behind and was used by lay doctors at Cambridge, the cappa nigra which was a shorter version of the Oxford habit worn by MAs, and the tabard which was similar to a BA gown.
The Cambridge Proctors' ruff and the Oxford Proctors' tippet could also be considered another version of a habit, a mantle
Mantle (clothing)
A mantle is a type of loose garment usually worn over indoor clothing to serve the same purpose as an overcoat...
, but the use of these are restricted to said officials.
Hood
The hood was originally a functional garment, worn to shield the head from the elements. In the English tradition, it has developed to an often bright and decorative garment worn only on special occasions. It is also worn by clergy and lay readers of the Anglican CommunionAnglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
in choir dress, over the surplice
Surplice
A surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
, and it is common in cathedrals, churches, and chapels for the choirmaster and/or members of the choir to wear an academic hood to which they are entitled during services, over their cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
and surplice
Surplice
A surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
, only for the choir offices (Morning and Evening Prayer
Evening Prayer (Anglican)
Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...
) and not for the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
.
Hoods comprise two basic patterns: full shape or simple shape. The traditional full-shape hood consists of a cape, cowl
Cowl
This article is about the garment used by monks and nuns. For other uses, see Cowl or Cowling .The cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves. Originally it may have referred simply to the hooded portion of a cloak...
, and liripipe
Liripipe
A liripipe is a historical part of clothing, the tail of a hood or cloak, or a long-tailed hood, in particular a chaperon or gugel, or the peak of a shoe...
, as is used at Cambridge. At Oxford, the bachelors' and masters' hoods use simple hoods that have lost their cape and retain only the cowl and liripipe. Some universities only have a cape and cowl and no liripipe or just consist a cape only; these are classed separately under the Aberdeen shape style. Various other universities have different shapes and patterns of hoods, in some cases corresponding to the pattern current at the ancient universities at the time when they were founded, and in others representing a completely new design.
The colour and lining
Lining (sewing)
In sewing and tailoring, a lining is an inner layer of fabric, fur, or other material inserted into clothing, hats, luggage, curtains, handbags and similar items....
of hoods in academic dress represents the rank and/or faculty of the wearer. In many Commonwealth universities bachelors wear hoods edged or lined with white rabbit fur, while masters wear hoods lined with coloured silk (originally ermine or other expensive fur). Doctors' hoods are normally made of scarlet cloth and lined with coloured silk. Faculty colours were introduced by the University of London and many universities followed suit.
The hood is nearly always worn with a gown though there are some exceptions such as Oxford doctors who do not wear a hood with their festal robes (though this regulation is often ignored at graduation ceremonies at other universities when Oxford doctors are sitting in the faculty).
The neckband of the hood usually has a loop of which original function is to hook onto the button of a cassock. Since many do not wear cassocks for graduation, the loop is sometimes hooked onto a shirt button instead. However, since the hood is rather heavy this has a tendency to pull the lightweight shirt upwards. The correct way to wear the hood is to allow the neckband to naturally hook itself onto the collar under the tie which secures the hood in place. Sometimes, the hood is worn too forward and down being hooked onto the jacket button or pinned which causes the hood to sit poorly and be more likely to slip down the shoulders like a shawl.
Cap
The academic cap or square, commonly known as the mortarboard, has come to be symbolic of academia. In some universities it can be worn by graduates and undergraduates alike. It is a flat square hat with a tassel suspended from a button in the top center of the board. Properly worn, the cap is parallel to the ground, though some people, especially women, wear it angled back.The mortarboard may also be referred to as a trencher cap (or simply trencher). The tassel
Tassel
A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe.-Etymology:...
comprises a cluster of silk threads which are fixed together and fastened by a button at one end, and fixed at the centre of the headpiece. The loose strands are allowed to fall freely over the board edge, typically falling over the left front side of the cap. Often the strands are plaited
Braid
A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...
together to form a cord with the end threads left untied.
There is a mourning version of the square cap to mourn friends and family relatives. Instead of a button and tassel, two wide ribbons are drawn from corner to corner of the top board forming and 'X'. Where the ribbons intersect a rosette of ribbon is attached. There could also be 9 ribbon 'butterflies' at the back part of the skull to indicate mourning for the Sovereign, another member of the Royal Family, or the University Chancellor.
In many universities, holders of doctorates wear a soft rounded headpiece known as a Tudor bonnet
Tudor bonnet
A Tudor bonnet is a traditional soft round cap, with a tassel hanging from a cord encircling the puggaree of the hat...
or tam
Tam (cap)
The rastacap is a tall, round, usually crocheted cap, which is often brightly coloured. It is most commonly associated with the pat as a way for Rastafarians and others with dreadlocks to tuck their locks away, but may be worn for various reasons by Rastas and non-Rastas...
, rather than a trencher. Other types of hats used, especially in some universities in the UK, are the John Knox cap (mostly at Scottish universities), the Bishop Andrewes cap
Bishop Andrewes cap
The Bishop Andrewes cap is a recent reinvention of the ancient style of academic cap as part of academic dress before it developed into the modern mortarboard as it is known today . The cap is named after Bishop Andrewes who may have not have worn this style of cap at all.The cap is similar to the...
(a reinvention of the ancient form of the mortarboard, worn by Cambridge DD
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
s) and the pileus (at Sussex). In some universities, such as Oxford, women may wear an Oxford ladies' cap.
For Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
— and some Anglican — clergy, the traditional black biretta
Biretta
The biretta is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three peaked biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. The four peaked biretta is worn as academic dress by those holding a doctoral degree from a...
may be worn in some circumstances instead of the mortarboard. Those clerics who possess a doctorate wear the black biretta with four ridges — instead of the usual three — and with piping and pom of the color of the discipline, thus, e.g., emerald for canon law, scarlet for sacred theology, etc.
As with other forms of headgear, in the Commonwealth, academic caps are not generally worn indoors by men (other than by the Chancellor or other high officials), but are usually carried. In some graduation ceremonies caps have been dispensed with for men, being issued only to women, who do wear them indoors, or have been abandoned altogether. This has led to urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s in a number of universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland which have as a common theme that idea that the wearing of the cap was abandoned in protest at the admission of women to the university. This story is told at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
, the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
among others.
The misinterpretation of some regulations has led to the confusion that certain universities do not prescribe headwear, most notably the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
where the policy is that academic headgear is not worn at graduation ceremonies, whilst some universities have abandoned headwear for socio-political reasons or because the designer intended it, such as is the case of Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
and her design for King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
.
The University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
is infamous for two new hats designed by Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
that were prescribed. One is known as the 'Dan Dare
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
' or 'Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
' cap which is a skull cap with a narrow rim around the top for bachelors; the other was known as the tricorn or upside-down iron, which was basically a mortarboard but with a triangle instead of a square for the top board for masters. These caps were unpopular with students who preferred the square and they soon fell into disuse. The tricorn is still used as the official hat of the Registrar and the Dan Dare is still officially prescribed to undergraduates (because undergraduate gowns are extremely rarely, if ever, worn so abolishment was not forthcoming).
Dress for university officials
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
and the Vice-Chancellor may wear a black damask lay type gown (sometimes with a long train) trimmed with gold or silver lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
and frog
Frog (fastening)
A frog is an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that consists of a button and a loop through which it passes....
s. They wear a velvet mortarboard, similarly trimmed with gold braid and tassel. This form of dress is not strictly 'academical' but it is typical dress for those in high positions. Other than this gown, they may have other distinct forms of dress, such as the scarlet cappa clausa or cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
worn in certain circumstances by the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge or his/her deputy and by higher doctors presenting candidates for degrees, which was once worn by Doctors of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
. In the past, Chancellors may also wear full court dress with breeches and court shoes like that of the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of Great Britain.
Officers of lower rank may wear plain black lay type gowns, sometimes with gold or silver trim, or ordinary gowns in university colours. In general, officials do not wear hoods with their gowns.
Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
s and bedel
Bedel
The bedel was, and is to some extent still, an administrative official at universities in several European countries, and often had a policiary function at the time when universities had their own jurisdiction over...
s often wear black lay-type gowns with band
Bands (neckwear)
Bands are a form of formal neckwear, worn by some clergy and lawyers, and with some forms of academic dress. They take the form of two oblong pieces of cloth, usually though not invariably white, which are tied to the neck. Bands is usually plural because they require two similar parts and did not...
s and a black bonnet.
British customs
At degree ceremonies, graduands often dress in the academic dress of the degree they are about to be admitted to prior to the actual graduation ceremony. This is not the case at several of the older universities in the UK, most notably, Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews which have their own distinct traditions.- Oxford: Prior to admission to the degree, the graduand will normally wear either the undergraduate commoner's or scholar's gown (if being admitted to the BA), or the graduate student's gown or the gown and hood of their previous Oxford/external university degree (if being admitted to a higher degree). After being formally admitted during the ceremony, they exit the TheatreSheldonian TheatreThe Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer...
and assume the gowns and hoods of their new degrees and then return to the Theatre in their new gowns and hoods. For certain degrees such as the higher doctorates and MAs, if they profess the Christian faith, the graduand may (if they wish) kneel in front of the (Vice-)Chancellor and be admitted in 'the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit' whilst being tapped on the head with the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
- Cambridge: Prior to admission, undergraduates wear their College undergraduate gown with the hood of the highest degree they are about to receive, graduates with degrees from other universities wear the BA/MA status gown with the hood of the highest degree they are about to receive and graduates already possessing Cambridge degrees wear the gown and hood of the highest degree they currently possess. After the ceremony day, they would wear the correct gown and hood for their new degree. During the ceremony they would kneel in front of the Vice-Chancellor or their deputy (who always wears the cope) with the hands closed together whilst the VC encloses the graduand's hands between their own and admits them with a Latin formula.
- St Andrews: Prior to admission, graduands wear only the gown of the degree they are about to be admitted to. During the ceremony, they kneel in front of the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor who formally admits them by tapping them on the head with a folded round cap whilst the bedellus puts the hood of their new degree on them. Some other Scottish universities follow this practice also.
- Trinity College, Dublin: TBA
See also
- Undergraduate gowns in ScotlandUndergraduate gowns in ScotlandUndergraduate gowns are a notable feature of academic dress for students at the ancient universities in Scotland.The most famous form of Scottish undergraduate dress is the red or scarlet gown. It is differenced slightly according to the university at which it is worn...
- Lambeth degree academic dress protocol
- Academic dress of the University of BristolAcademic dress of the University of BristolThe academic dress prescribed by the University of Bristol is a mixture of that prescribed by Cambridge and Oxford. Bristol has chosen, for graduates, to mainly specify Oxford-style gowns and Cambridge-style hoods. Unlike many British universities, the hood itself is to be "University red", lined...
- Academic dress of the University of CambridgeAcademic dress of the University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge has a long tradition of academic dress, which it traditionally refers to as academical dress . Almost every degree which is awarded by the University has its own distinct gown in addition to having its own hood...
- Academic dress of Durham UniversityAcademic dress of Durham UniversityThe academic dress of Durham University has many similarities with that of other older British universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. Most Durham colleges insist on gowns being worn on formal occasions, including matriculation and formal halls ; exceptions are Van Mildert, St Cuthbert's Society...
- Academic dress of the University of EdinburghAcademic dress of the University of Edinburgh-Use of academic dress:Academic dress is compulsory at official ceremonial occasions, such as graduation and the installations of Rector and Chancellor. As with the other 'ancient universities' in Scotland, undergraduates at Edinburgh are entitled to wear an undergraduate gown, made of scarlet...
- Academic dress of the University of ExeterAcademic dress of the University of Exeter-Official Dress:*The Chancellor’s Robe is black silk with MA style sleeves and embroidery of gold lace, worn with a cap adorned with a gold tassel and gold edging....
- Academic dress of the University of GlasgowAcademic dress of the University of GlasgowAcademic dress at the University of Glasgow is worn at ceremonial events throughout the academic year. This primarily entails graduations, but includes Commemoration Day, church services, and the installation of Chancellors and Rectors of the University. The academic dress of all members of the...
- Academic dress of the University of Hertfordshire
- Academic dress of the University of KentAcademic dress of the University of KentThe Academic dress of the University of Kent is normally only worn at graduation ceremonies. In common with most British universities a graduand begins the ceremony wearing the dress of the degree to which they are being admitted...
- Academic dress of the University of LeedsAcademic dress of the University of LeedsThe University of Leeds, like other universities in the United Kingdom and many other countries throughout the world, has its own unique system of academic and ceremonial dress for undergraduates, graduates and senior officials. As at most other universities , graduands will wear the gown, hood...
- Academic dress of the University of LondonAcademic dress of the University of LondonAcademic dress of the University of London describes the robes, gowns and hoods which are prescribed by the university for its graduates and undergraduates. The University of London was created out of a partnership between University College and Kings College, receiving its royal charter in 1836....
- Academic dress of the University of ManchesterAcademic Dress of the University of ManchesterAcademic dress of the University of Manchester describes the gowns, hoods and headwear which are prescribed by the university for its graduates. The University of Manchester was created out of the merger between UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester in 2004...
- Academic dress of the University of NottinghamAcademic dress of the University of NottinghamIn addition to the dress listed below, further colour and splendour is brought to occasions where formal academic dress is worn by the gold trimmed gowns and hats of the senior University officers -Gowns:At the University of Nottingham the diploma, undergraduate and masters gowns are made from black...
- Academic dress of the University of OxfordAcademic dress of the University of OxfordThe University of Oxford has a long tradition of academic dress, and a visitor to Oxford during term will see academic dress worn on a regular basis.- When academic dress is worn :...
- Academic dress of the University of St AndrewsAcademic dress of the University of St AndrewsAcademic dress at the University of St Andrews is an important part of university life. The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413, being the oldest of the ancient universities of Scotland and the third oldest university in the English-speaking world.-Use of academic...
- Academic dress of the University of WalesAcademic dress of the University of WalesThe academic dress of the former University of Wales was designed for the first graduations in 1893, and has as its main identifying feature a faculty colour scheme involving 'shot silks'.- Gowns :...
- Academic dress of the University of Wales, Lampeter
- Academic dress of the University of Warwick