Are graduation Cap and Gowns a Catholic tradition..?

[TEPO]

Yes, they look sort of Catholic in a way -similar to a cassock. Also the cap is similar to what a clergy member wears.

After all, if it is a tradition stemming from “Universities”, as I have heard, then isn’t it true that Universities are also a Catholic establishment…?

 

[Samuel63]

University is very much a catholic creation. The first that I know of was established in Chartres France and dates back to the 1200’s.

This church established universities, hospitals, orphanages, monestaries, missionaries, and seminaries. Is there any question where the Holy Spirit is working?

I am so glad to be part of it!

 

[The_Scott]

Universities evolved from cathedral schools, which themselves evolved from the even earlier practice of monasticism. So yes, the Church was very much involved with the creation of universities.

 

[TEPO]

University is very much a catholic creation. The first that I know of was established in Chartres France and dates back to the 1200’s.

This church established universities, hospitals, orphanages, monestaries, missionaries, and seminaries. Is there any question where the Holy Spirit is working?

I am so glad to be part of it!

I thought this was true. I think it’s fascinating how much influence the Church has on modern life. From our calendar year, to education, family life, and now possibly even the traditional “cap and gown” seen in almost avery public or private graduation ceremony.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Yes, they look sort of Catholic in a way -similar to a cassock. Also the cap is similar to what a clergy member wears.

After all, if it is a tradition stemming from “Universities”, as I have heard, then isn’t it true that Universities are also a Catholic establishment…?

It’s funny you mention this. Just yesterday I was admiring myself in my convocation picture and realized that I looked like a nun in habit minus the veil and having a pretty awesome updo. I think I would look better in a habit than I do in regular clothing.

I might have an issue with vanity.

 

[Rolltide]

University is very much a catholic creation. The first that I know of was established in Chartres France and dates back to the 1200’s.

The oldest university in Europe is the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. Most of the other major universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Salamanca, Heidelberg, Paris (the Sorbonne)) were founded in the 1100s. ALL of them were originally Catholic institutions.

 

[Rolltide]

I thought this was true. I think it’s fascinating how much influence the Church has on modern life. From our calendar year, to education, family life, and now possibly even the traditional “cap and gown” seen in almost avery public or private graduation ceremony.

In fact, the entire graduation ceremony is derived from the investiture ceremony from priests. Caps and gowns were originally the actual daily clothing worn in schools (most were in cold stone buildings, and so they were needed to stay warm). They were patterned on priests’ robes, since every major university in Europe that dates to that time originally was founded by a seminary associated with a cathedral. The granting of the diploma also came with the granting of a ring, just like a bishop. Originally, this was a sign of authority, and it contained the person’s seal for sealing documents in wax. For students, it was a visible sign of their expertise in a subject. This tradition also continues with the class ring. In fact, if you travel to some places in the Middle East today, people will still kiss your class ring if you go into a store or public place, just like people would kiss the ring of a bishop, as a sign of respect for your position and achievement. (I had this happen to me a couple of times in markets in Morocco, for example.)

 

[Iheartcoffee]

In fact, the entire graduation ceremony is derived from the investiture ceremony from priests. Caps and gowns were originally the actual daily clothing worn in schools (most were in cold stone buildings, and so they were needed to stay warm). They were patterned on priests’ robes, since every major university in Europe that dates to that time originally was founded by a seminary associated with a cathedral. The granting of the diploma also came with the granting of a ring, just like a bishop. Originally, this was a sign of authority, and it contained the person’s seal for sealing documents in wax. For students, it was a visible sign of their expertise in a subject. This tradition also continues with the class ring. In fact, if you travel to some places in the Middle East today, people will still kiss your class ring if you go into a store or public place, just like people would kiss the ring of a bishop, as a sign of respect for your position and achievement. (I had this happen to me a couple of times in markets in Morocco, for example.)

I too have heard that the robes and hats were originally due to the cold buildings. I didn’t know about the class ring kissing, though! I didn’t get a class ring in college because they were too expensive. Maybe I should get one if I travel overseas!

 

[TEPO]

In fact, the entire graduation ceremony is derived from the investiture ceremony from priests. Caps and gowns were originally the actual daily clothing worn in schools (most were in cold stone buildings, and so they were needed to stay warm). They were patterned on priests’ robes, since every major university in Europe that dates to that time originally was founded by a seminary associated with a cathedral. The granting of the diploma also came with the granting of a ring, just like a bishop. Originally, this was a sign of authority, and it contained the person’s seal for sealing documents in wax. For students, it was a visible sign of their expertise in a subject. This tradition also continues with the class ring. In fact, if you travel to some places in the Middle East today, people will still kiss your class ring if you go into a store or public place, just like people would kiss the ring of a bishop, as a sign of respect for your position and achievement. (I had this happen to me a couple of times in markets in Morocco, for example.)

Thank you. This is amazing… I never knew any of this.

 

[clark_kent_1]

I understand that in the UK university was originally an exclusively Protestant (and rich) institution that didn’t allow Catholic (or poor) people to attend…

 

[TEPO]

I understand that in the UK university was originally an exclusively Protestant (and rich) institution that didn’t allow Catholic (or poor) people to attend…

There seems to be a common theme going on here -Keep the structure of the Church, just get rid of all the Catholics…

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Uh, aren’t the traditional graduation “caps” called “mortarboards?” I had alway understood their history to be grounded in symbolism related to actual working people and to take graduates “down a peg” and remind them of the dignity of work, manual labor especially. Those flat-topped devices I understood to be modeled after what masons (as opposed to Masons) wore on the job. Not much of a “mitre” in that origin.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Uh, aren’t the traditional graduation “caps” called “mortarboards?” I had alway understood their history to be grounded in symbolism related to actual working people and to take graduates “down a peg” and remind them of the dignity of work, manual labor especially. Those flat-topped devices I understood to be modeled after what masons (as opposed to Masons) wore on the job. Not much of a “mitre” in that origin.

Wikipedia does mention the believed origin coming from the Biretta

Origins

The mortarboard is generally believed by scholars to have developed from the biretta, a similar-looking hat worn by Roman Catholic clergy. The biretta itself may have been a development of the Roman pileus quadratus, a type of skullcap with superposed square and tump. A reinvention of this type of cap is known as the Bishop Andrewes cap.[4] The Italian biretta is a word derived from berretto, which is derived itself from the Latin birrus and the Greek pyrros, both meaning “red.” The cone-shaped red (seldom in black) biretta, related to the ancient Etruscan tutulus and the Roman pileus, was used in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to identify humanists, students, artists, and learned and blooming youth in general. The shape and the color conveyed meaning: Red was considered for a long time the royal power, whether because it was difficult to afford vestments of such solid and brilliant dye or because the high symbolic meaning of blood and life, thus the power over life and death.

 

[Rolltide]

I understand that in the UK university was originally an exclusively Protestant (and rich) institution that didn’t allow Catholic (or poor) people to attend…

Oxford and Cambridge didn’t become Protestant until after Henry VIII.