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12 juni 2005
HISTORY OF ACADEMIC REGALIA: BIKING HOME FROM WORK TODAY along the stadium around 6:30 p.m. I glimpsed a flashing cop car in the distance. EMU commencement was just finished. Streams of grads dressed in those horrible cheapo polyester robes, in red and white, streamed across Hewitt to the parking lot. Bright red flares sizzled in the street, channeling traffic into lanes controlled by guys with stop signs and whistles. A white stretch limo glided past.
Y. watched one high-spirited grad humorously swaggering across Hewitt, perhaps on his way to whoop it up at a bar with friends, and wondered if he knew that his robe is nearly a thousand years old. It is patterned on the loose, flowing robes worn by people in all stations of society in the Middle Ages. The robes were modeled on classical Roman clothing, and ranged from rough, simple robes for ordinary people to brocade for the rich.
Most scholars in the Middle Ages were clerics, and before the invention of universities per se studied in churches. They also wore robes, often of fur or wool to compensate for the cold of unheated churches. It is said the master's degree hood, now purely decorative, evolved from hoods on monks' robes designed to compensate for their tonsure, or mostly shaved head.
One can often glimpse the ancient past in societal ceremonies and holidays, as in Hallowe'en, arguably our oldest holiday commemorating the ancient Celtic New Year. Held up by the whistle guy, Y. rested a moment on her futuristic bike and watched the Middle Ages stream past.
Posted by ypsidixit at 12 juni 2005 20:29
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Comments
When my mom was in college, they still wore robes to class. She said she loved it because she could get away with throwing it on over her PJs.
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