Friday, July 27, 2007

On the Origin of Mitres

from Holy Whapping Posted by: Drew









Anonymous said...

Ah, a mitre! I haven't seen one of those atop my bishop's head in quite a while.

Fr. A said...

Father John Sullivan's _The Externals of the Catholic Church_ (1918), states that the mitre is, "probably of Oriental origin, least something very similar was worn by kings in Persia and Assyria long before the Christian era. As an ecclesiastical vestment it came into general use about the year 1100, although some form of tall and dignified headress was worn considerably earlier."

Don Marco, O.Cist. said...

Interesting, is it not, that Saint John the Apostle wore a mitre in the apparition at Knock?

Mrs Jackie Parkes MJ said...

Oh my boys always hold the Bishop's Mitre....i enjoyed the post...

EPGoto said...

As I understand it, the infulae of the mitre - the 2 hanging strips of cloth of the mitre - are part of it because the mitre descends from the camaleikon/kamauleikon (or any of the various spellings used for the common ancestor of the papal camauro, the papal tiara, and the episcopal mitre here discussed.)
Tha "camaleicum" (to use yet another mispelling...:) was a headress of the emperors in the form of a semi-spherical cap and 2 hanging apendages (called pendulia...because they hung/were "pendant" from the sides over the ears. Pictures of this can be seen in various contemporary mosaics of Byzantine emperors - and the amazing extanct example that is the "crown of costanza" in Sicily. This form of head-dress was then allowed to nobles at the imperial and barbaric courts and since bishops back then wore the same sort of clothes as the rest of society, adopted it as well. Once the rest of the people stopped using it, the church retained it (along with all the other vestments such as dalmatics and planetae etc. as official dress of the clergy)and in time aquired characteristics of its own. For example: the papal one became at first elongated more to resemble an egg than a semisphere...then got 1,2, and eventually 3 crowns; the bishop's mitre became a soft cap dipped in the middle (as can be seen on some early illuminated manuscripts) then it became the two peaked thing it is today. The infulae/penduliae also were transfered from the sides (above the ears) to the back at some early period... and since it reminded of the 2 parts of the ribbon/fillet used by the old roman flamines (a kind of priest from pre-christian times) then it was associated with it - but indeed it had nothing in common in the genesis.
The linen headband previously worn by the bishops upon receiving the holy oil in forehead at their consecration/ordination, is probably related to the said fillet used by the flamines of old-Rome...and eitherhow a necessary and practical thing to protect the blessed spot and also the mitre from getting oil stains... but it most certainly has nothing to do with the mitre since both things have completely different raisons d'etre. The mitre is (as was from the begining as a "camaleikom")a 'hat' to be worn outside the mass proper and had nothing to do with holy oil (besides being worn to bless the oils and sacraments...)
To finalize "camelaicum" is called thus because it use to be made/stiffened with camel-leather instead of cow-hide... Sorry for the different spellings throughout, but there is a myriad of spellings out there if you want to google it. Interestingly enough, the word (without regards to a set spelling for some odd reason) is also used to describe the cylindrical hats worn by the eastern/orthodox priests and archpriests. Also the orthodox mitres, though as the case with the priestly hats, have not the infulae hanging off anywhere. I wish I had pictures to illustrate what I'm talking about... maybe I have to stop a blog or something sometime... agggrrrrr! ;)
God Bless.