Thread: Doctoral clerical regalia Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Dumbledore wannabe (# 9310) on :
 
Before I spend a small fortune on new doctoral regalia, I'd like to consult the cognoscenti. I am a CofE priest, with a PhD (Church History), and now professor (in the US). No one at the institution seems to know the customs of the past. So, I ask all of you.
What doctoral cap should I buy (other than my four cornered birreta)? Are there any fun perks for clergy/Doctor/professors ?
(Please tell me I can add ermine to something - even if it's just my socks!). Looking for fun archaic things in the vacuum...
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Surely the dress regulations of the University from which you received your PhD will tell you which hat to wear- including whether there are any exceptions or embellishments for those in Holy Orders?
 

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Posted by Dumbledore wannabe (# 9310) on :
 
Caps especially seem to be "anything goes". The institutional memory seems to have disappeared.
 

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Posted by Dumbledore wannabe (# 9310) on :
 
In the past they modeled themselves on Oxford.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
In that case, I'd ask Ede & Ravenscroft: they'll know, or at any rate their answer will have sufficient authority for you to be able to justify following it.
 

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Posted by Augustine the Aleut (# 1472) on :
 
Assuming that there are no answers or sumptuary rules set by the university in question, you could embrace your anarquista self and have your doctoral biretta onde in the Spanish manner, with tassels coloured for your faculty, with a matching pompom. There are Austrian birettas with fur lining, so your ermine (or cat, it being more readily available) could be brought into play.

Another option is to have a piped Canterbury cap, or if your university has doctoral caps, to have a restrained Canterbury version.
 

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Posted by ExclamationMark (# 14715) on :
 
Surprise everyone. Get ordained in a suit - it's not about you or what you wear but about your servant offering to God
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
I think he (she?)'s ordained already, EM.
If anything really does go- and to be serious for a moment, I'd be surprised if it did- there must be some regulations out there somewhere what about a Finnish/Swedish style top hat with rosette? I believe you get to carry a sword with that too, but there may be a dispensation for clergy not to.
 

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Posted by mr cheesy (# 3330) on :
 
It seems pretty odd to have a university that does not have a dress code. I think you need to dig more into the institutional history and precedent before deciding to do something of your own - otherwise you might just upset someone and/or look wrong.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
In all seriousness, I think that's right. There must be someone in the university which awarded your PhD who is resonsible for organising graduation ceremonies, and they should know. If you just knock up something of your own and/or knock off something from elsewhere that you like the look of, you risk (a) pissing someone off and (b) looking like a prat.
If you really draw a blank, try as I suggested Ede & Ravenscroft or perhaps the Burgon Society might be able to help.
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by ExclamationMark:
Surprise everyone. Get ordained in a suit - it's not about you or what you wear but about your servant offering to God

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quote:

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Originally posted by venbede:
Precisely because it's not about you, you shoulc be dressed according to the order to which you are being ordained to draw attention away from yourself.

This thread is about academic dress

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Posted by BulldogSacristan (# 11239) on :
 
I attended a large, public university in the southern US, and while we are old by American standards (1785), we aren't known for fastidious and arcane traditions that don't involve football. That being said, academic dress from my college is spelled out, plain as day, in all of its sundry variations right online.

I can't imagine other universities don't at least have something' that spells out what its graduates wear.

If you want to be particularly clerical and not wear full academics, couldn't you wear choir dress with your Ph.D. hood, of course. Then you could wear any hat you thought appropriate.
 

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Posted by Dumbledore wannabe (# 9310) on :
 
A point of clarification, lest I start feeling like a tasseled Pharisee, this is for fun. I'm required to wear an academic hat on occasion and hats are the one item that are not regulated. Showing up in a black suit and collar would be making some statement and making myself stand out. I confess, I'm a total Tat Queen and I think it's fun, not oppressive.
That being said, I'm liking the Spanish four horned biretta with scarlet piping (not the ones that look like a lamp shade - though that could be fun!) Anyone know where I can get one, short of a trip to Gamerelli's? Dieter Philippi's collection has some amazing ones.
 

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Posted by Corvo (# 15220) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Dumbledore wannabe:
. . .
That being said, I'm liking the Spanish four horned biretta with scarlet piping (not the ones that look like a lamp shade - though that could be fun!) Anyone know where I can get one, short of a trip to Gamerelli's? Dieter Philippi's collection has some amazing ones.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Dumbledore wannabe:
Next decision is - my doctoral gown is scarlet, so do I go with matching scarlet bonete or black with scarlet piping?

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Black with scarlet piping-- you might want to think of a duller red so that no-one thinks you are presuming on a more exalted dignity. You might even want to forego piping, preferring a coloured lining, depending on how much you would like people to notice your humility and abnegation.
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Dare I confess I'm delighted at this thread ... I was too afraid to ask!
 

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Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
Is this a pian dress situation ? http://www.shetlersites.com/clericaldress/. (In which the biretta is the less formal option.)

[ 12. November 2015, 06:44: Message edited by: Doublethink. ]
 

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Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
If you do a google image search for "Rowan William in a phd gown" he seems to be wearing a black hat that is neither a biretta nor a standard hat - I don't know what it is called and can't make the link work.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Do you mean this one? Basically an academic square ('mortar board') though appears not to have a very stiff top. The mortar board, biretta, and Canterbury cap are AIUI all descendants of a standard medieval/ renaissance scholar's headgear.
 

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Posted by Amos (# 44) on :
 
I think what you're seeing on top of that square is the rather large tassel arranged out of sight.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
You may be right, though all the edges look a little softer than is usual.
 

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Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
That's the photo - but could it be the "black plush hat" mentioned in my previous link as formal pian dress ?
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Amos:
I think what you're seeing on top of that square is the rather large tassel arranged out of sight.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Albertus:
You may be right, though all the edges look a little softer than is usual.

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