They were called the Dark Ages for a reason...
After just trying on my odd little cap and gown (although the cap is far from little. it's huge!), I got to wondering who in the WORLD would think of an outfit so ridiculous: a thin, tent like gown and a awkward flat cap.
Thanks to my best friend, Google, I now understand:
It all started in the often unheated buildings of the middle ages, long gowns were necessary for scholars to ward off the cold...
Academic dress for graduations started in the 12th and 13th centuries when universities first began forming. Whether a student or a teacher, standard dress for scholars was clerical garb. Most medieval scholars had made certain vows, and had at least taken minor orders with the church so clerical robes were their main form of dress to begin with. So church and state school were one and the same...
In 1321, the University of Coimbra mandated that all Doctors, Bachelors, and Licentiates must wear gowns. In the latter half of the 14th century, excess in apparel was forbidden in some colleges and prescribed wearing a long gown. By the time of England's Henry VIII, Oxford and Cambridge began using a standard form of academic dress, which was controlled to the tiniest detail by the university.
Not until the late 1800s were colors assigned to signify certain areas of study, but they were only standardized in the United States. In 1959, the American Council on Education had a Committee on Academic Costumes and Ceremonies review the costume code and make changes. In 1986, the committee changed the code to clarify the use of dark blue for a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (notice we are all wearing dark blue...hmmm...)
The "cap" used to be called the "hood" and dates back to the Druid Priests who wore hoods and capes to symbolize their superiority and higher intelligence. Today, graduating students use the hood/cap to show their attainment of higher intelligence with a tassel to show academic achievement within the academic structure.
So, when you graduate, remember that you are carrying down the traditions of freezing cold medieval scholars and conceited Druid Priests and feel proud of your achievements, despite how stupid the outfit, and meaning, makes you feel.
Thanks to my best friend, Google, I now understand:
It all started in the often unheated buildings of the middle ages, long gowns were necessary for scholars to ward off the cold...
Academic dress for graduations started in the 12th and 13th centuries when universities first began forming. Whether a student or a teacher, standard dress for scholars was clerical garb. Most medieval scholars had made certain vows, and had at least taken minor orders with the church so clerical robes were their main form of dress to begin with. So church and state school were one and the same...
In 1321, the University of Coimbra mandated that all Doctors, Bachelors, and Licentiates must wear gowns. In the latter half of the 14th century, excess in apparel was forbidden in some colleges and prescribed wearing a long gown. By the time of England's Henry VIII, Oxford and Cambridge began using a standard form of academic dress, which was controlled to the tiniest detail by the university.
Not until the late 1800s were colors assigned to signify certain areas of study, but they were only standardized in the United States. In 1959, the American Council on Education had a Committee on Academic Costumes and Ceremonies review the costume code and make changes. In 1986, the committee changed the code to clarify the use of dark blue for a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (notice we are all wearing dark blue...hmmm...)
The "cap" used to be called the "hood" and dates back to the Druid Priests who wore hoods and capes to symbolize their superiority and higher intelligence. Today, graduating students use the hood/cap to show their attainment of higher intelligence with a tassel to show academic achievement within the academic structure.
So, when you graduate, remember that you are carrying down the traditions of freezing cold medieval scholars and conceited Druid Priests and feel proud of your achievements, despite how stupid the outfit, and meaning, makes you feel.