Square academic cap

The square academic cap, very commonly called a mortarboard (from the French mortier, a type of toque), is an item of academic headgear consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel, or liripipe, attached to the centre. In the UK, it is commonly referred to informally in conjunction with an academic gown worn as a cap and gown. It is also often termed a square or trencher in the UK and Australia. In the U.S., it is usually referred to more generically as a cap. Its colloquial name derives from its resemblance to the board upon which mortar is placed by a bricklayer.

The cap, together with the gown and (sometimes) a hood, now form the customary uniform of a university graduate, in many parts of the world, following an Anglo-American model. Other traditions persist also.

Origins

The mortarboard is believed to have evolved from the biretta, a similar-looking hat worn by Christian clergy. There are suggestions that it might be the other way around. In any case both are derivative of the Roman pileus quadratus, a type of skullcap with superposed square. It was originally reserved for holders of master degrees, but was later adopted by bachelors and undergraduates. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries corner-cap (catercap in the Marprelate tracts) was the term used (OED).

Variants

Doctorate-holders of some universities wear the mortarboard, although the round Tudor bonnet is more common in Britain. The 4, 6, or 8 cornered "tam" is gaining popularity in the U.S., and in general a soft square tam has some acceptance for women as a substitute for the hard 'square'.

In the U.S., the mortarboard is also worn by high school graduates during the presentation of their diplomas. Traditionally they throw them in the air after the announcement of their confirmation of their graduation.

Traditional wear

As with other forms of headgear, academic caps are not generally worn indoors by men (other than by the Chancellor or other high officials), but are usually carried. In some graduation ceremonies caps have been dispensed with for men, being issued only to women, who do wear them indoors, or have been abandoned altogether. This has led to urban legends in a number of universities in the United Kingdom which have as a common theme that idea that the wearing of the cap was abandoned in protest at the admission of women to the university. This story is told at the University of Cambridge, Durham University, the University of Bristol, the University of St Andrews and Trinity College, Dublin among others. In other universities in Ireland, such the University of Limerick, the rumour was that the mortarboard represented the "capping" of female graduate at bachelors or masters levels.

Until the second half of the 20th century, mortarboards were often worn by schoolteachers, and the hat remains an icon of the teaching profession.

The tassel may be colored differently from the traditional black to represent the field in which the wearer obtained his or her education, or at the High School level, may be the school's colors.

It is seen now most often in comic representations of teachers, for example in The Bash Street Kids comic strip.

See also

• Academic dress
• Student cap
• Mortar Board (An American Honor Society)de:Doktorhut

es:Birrete no:Studenterlue zh-yue:四方帽 zh:四方帽

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