FROM THE CHAIRMAN -

2010 is the Tenth Anniversary of the founding of TheBurgon Society and we are keen to make it a very specialyear. Consequently, we are planning to combine theannual Garden Party, AGM and Congregation into asingle event on 9th October at the Charterhouse inLondon. Please put this date in your diary and plan tocome along. The day will include the usual reports fromthe Council, elections of officers, the induction of our twonew patrons, together with the award of a number offellowships. The day will also have an internationalflavour with visitors from the USA, France and Spainattending; we hope to include talks on some aspects offoreign academical dress. Of course such a day is only asuccess if you, the members, support it, so I hope you willmake every effort to come along. A detailed programmewill be sent out in the September edition of Burgon Notes.

To assist with catering on 9th October, we wouldappreciate knowing whether or not you are ableto come. Please email the editor -magnificat@live.co.uk - and let him know ifyou are able to join us.

Finally I should like to reiterate my requestto members to contact me, or any councilmember if you have an idea for an activity,visit or event. Some of our best Society activ-ities have emerged from members' sugges-tions, and I am keen that we continue to respondto members' ideas.

- Dr William Gibson

VISIT TO CAMBRIDGEThirty members of the Society enjoyed a wonderful dayin Cambridge in March. Tim Milner (FBS h.c. 2008)hosted the day withaplomb, ensuring thatall members saw asmuch as possible of theuniversity’s facilitiesand protocol.

Highlights of the dayincluded a visit throughthe Old Schoolsbuildings, the Vice-Chancellor’s Suite, theSenate House and GreatSt. Mary’s Church. Amajor feature of theSenate House visit was

Tim’s detailed explanation of the protocol for conferringof degrees and his talk about the history of the Vice-Chancellor’s Cappa Clausa. A fur hood opened across theshoulders and fell to the rear as a cowl, all attached to therobe rather than as a separate hood.

The protocol for the conferring of degrees wasimpressive: a maximum of 40 candidatesstood to the rear of the House, whilst four ata time were processed to the Vice-Chancellor (in this instance). The officerpresenting spoke the Latin injunction and allfour were conferred with their degrees. Then

the next four were presented.

The beauty of this ceremony was the lack of anyaddress, around 35-40 minutes for the whole

conferring, then everyone left the Senate House forafternoon tea whilst the next set of graduands and theirfamilies and friends entered the House for theirconferring.

Thank you, Tim, for an excellent day. Editor

Photographs by Charles Rupert Tsua

OBSERVING COMMENCEMENT IN THEUNITED STATES OF AMERICA

With wrinkled gowns, inside-out hoods, and various“honor” cords, one could be excused for assuming that thescholars on parade are candidates for the bachelor’sdegree. It turns out that the group is queueing up to honora new university president. They aren’t students either,alas, but the professoriate.Oddities like freelance decorations—is that a sasquatchpin from the Vancouver Olympics?—are the exception.

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BURGON NOTES - ISSUE No. 12 - SPRING, 2010

Tim Milner with Cappa

Outside the Senate House

Among this group the American standard in academicdress is typically worn according to tradition.Since the beginning last autumn I’ve attendedinaugurations of two presidents and one chancellor, all atpublicly supported universities in Kansas. An outdoorceremony was the most picturesque. The new president ofPittsburg State University in Pittsburgh, Kansas, chose tohold the event in front of the red brick administrationbuilding. Delegates from other universities were seatedfirst, along with one member of a certain learned society;most in his group wore black. Two university presidentswore gowns in dark gray, a surprisingly handsome look.It was a cool and breezy day, so when I noticed that theassembled faculty was hatless (by proscription), I waspleased the guests were not similarly restricted. A BishopAndrewes keeps one quite warm.The tuft atop it attracts considerable attention here. Peoplesmile when it bops by and professors say they want one(they’re instructed to contact Dean Christianson with a

research proposal). A faculty marshal at the University ofKansas asked if she could touch it. The silk delighted her.The marshals at Kansas, in the town of Lawrence, were theonly officials among the three universities to wear specialgowns. In the doctor’s shape, they’re medium blue (one ofthe university colors) with facing and sleeve stripes in darkblue (no matter their individual degree). Along the edge ofthe three pleats on each side of the gown’s front is a narrowcord in red.Embroidered into the gown’s facing, on each side, is adepiction of the university mace. It’s tall and narrow, inshiny gold thread, and at first glance resembles a long-stemmed flower. It’s subtle both in design and concept; acrowd-pleasing alternative would have been the sportsmascot, the mythical Jayhawk.

Jayhawk is the nickname given to graduates of theuniversity, and one was John McCook, who received anhonorary law degreefrom Kansas in 1893.McCook was also atrustee of Princeton,in which position hestarted pushing foruniform Americana.d. before GardnerCotrell Leonard. (SeeDonald Drakeman,Transactions 9.)

Some students atKansas beganwearing AD shortlyafter the Inter-Collegiate Code wasadopted in 1895, butit would be at least ten years before students in all facultieswore it. The faculty themselves held out for another decadebefore they, too, succumbed to the Code. However, in theuniversity’s centennial year, 1966, creativity broke out.The chancellor, marshals, and other officers wore doctors’gowns in crimson (the other university color) with darkblue trim. These gowns lasted until at least 1972, andnewspaper photos suggest they were retired by 1974.

Steve Wolgast... to be continued - with many more pictures!

ACCESS TO VINTAGE PUBLICATIONSCopies of several important pioneering works on academicdress used to be found in just a few university and othermajor libraries. Occasionally they came on the market asscarce, often expensive second-hand items. However, anumber of these texts has become much more accessiblerecently. Some texts have been put on the Web to readonline or download in various formats free of charge;Internet Archive http://www.archive.org carries anadmirable collection. Some have been reissued as titlesproduced on a print-on-demand basis at very modestprices; these are listed on sites such as Amazonhttp://www.amazon.co.uk and BookFinderhttp://www.bookfinder.com. For any title originallypublished before 1940 check these resources before youtrek to the library.In most countries, copyright lasts for seventy years afterthe author’s death. Of course, a copyright holder may placea work ‘in the public domain’ before that period haselapsed, as OUP must have done with Buxton & Gibson’s1935 Oxford University Ceremonies, still in copyright,since Strickland Gibson lived until 1958. It is now inInternet Archive and reissued as a print-on-demand title bySturgis (2007). But we may have to wait until 2051 forHargreaves-Mawdsley’s History of Academical Dress and2053 for Franklyn’s Academical Dress. (The latter was aprivately published limited edition - and is currentlyoffered second-hand at breathtaking prices.)

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Marshals at Kansas

Four Presidents of universities. The President on the left is wearingwhat has become the visual standard for presidents - a gown withfour sleeve bars. They are from left to right: Emporia State UnivKansas; Kansas State Univ (wearing orange for DEng with thestandard black gown); Pittsburgh State Univ Kansas (wearing lightblue for EdD); a visitor (wearing dark blue for PhD).

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Alex KerrFebruary 2010

CHRIST’S COLLEGE[6] John Sickling

(d.1506), MAbrass c.1540

in chancelnarrow-sleeved

cassock, bell-sleevedgown, cappa nigra,

hood, no cap

ST BENET’S CHURCH[3] Richard Billingford

(d.1432), DDStolen in 2008 but the church

is commissioning a replicatunic, cappa clausa withone slit, fur-lined hood

with liripipe behind, pileuswith brim

KING’S COLLEGE[7] William Towne

(d.1495), DDin chancel, N side

tunic, cappa clausawith one slit, fur-lined

hood (surface cutaway), pileus

[8] John Argentein(d.1507), DD, MDin chancel, S side

tunic with girdle, cappaclausa with one slit,hood, squarish cap

(surface cut to receivecolour)

LITTLE ST MARY’SCHURCH

[10] A DD (late 15th c.)in chancel

tunic with cincture,cappa clausa with one

slit, fur-lined hood,squarish cap

QUEENS’ COLLEGE[9] A BD (c.1535)

in ante-chapelgown, cappa nigra,

hood, no cap

TRINITY HALL[4] A bachelor

(c.1530)in ante-chapel

gown, short cappamanicata, fur-lined

hood, no cap[5] Thos Prestone

(d.1598), LLDin ante-chapel

doublet, plain closed-sleeved gown with

inverted-T armholes(top of head missiing) CAMBRIDGE MUSEUM

OF ARCHAEOLOGY &ANTHROPOLOGY[11] ? A DD (Oxon)

(c.1500)original location unknowntunic, cappa clausa withtwo side slits, fur-lined

hood, round pileus[12] ? William Wilson(d.1615), DD (Oxon)originally in St George’s

Chapel, Windsorbrocaded doublet,

closed-sleeved gownwith open sleeve end,scarf, round skullcap

with earflaps

GONVILLE &CAIUS COLLEGE[1] Martin Davy

(d.1839), DDin chapel

clerical cassock,festal gown, no

hood or cap

ST JOHN’SCOLLEGE

[2] Eudo de la Zouch(d.1414), LLD

on wall behind organtunic, tabard, hood

(head missing)(A figure in a tabard

seems oddly informal fora doctor’s memorial)

Academical dress on monumental brassesin Cambridge

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Academical Dress on Monumental Brassesin Cambridge

Monumental brasses for graduates appeared in collegechapels and other churches in Oxford and Cambridgefrom the late 14th century. Nearly fifty with academicdress survive in Oxford, as against only ten inCambridge, where many were destroyed by thePuritans.* The Cambridge Museum of Archaeology &Anthropology, Downing Street, has two more, notoriginally from Cambridge. From the 15th centuryonwards, brasses in churches away from the universitytowns also showed graduates in academical dress: fortyor so still exist. These numbers are approximate becauseit is uncertain whether the dress on some monuments isan academical gown or non-academical everydayclerical or, later, lay attire. Of course, more graduatepriests were depicted in eucharistic or processionalvestments than in academic dress.

Fortunately, the few brasses in Cambridge illustratethe full range of graduate academical dress worn in the15th and 16th centuries.

Medieval academics were clerks, at least in minororders, and wore suitably sober closed clerical garb,reaching the ankles. They were obliged to be tonsured,although in the universities this rule was relaxed by thebeginning of the 16th century.

Tunics, gowns and outer habits. Graduates andundergraduates in the Middle Ages wore a tunic(supertunica) which was closed down the front and hadclose-fitting sleeves. Over the tunic and under the hoodmost figures in academic dress on medieval brasseswear one of these outer habits:1. a floor-length sleeveless cloak (cappa clausa), also

closed down the front, except for a single verticalslit to release the hands [3, 7, 8, 10]†—Doctors ofDivinity and of Canon Law

2. a cappa with two slits at the front, and later, at thesides [11]; in Cambridge sometimes with pendantsor redundant sleeves behind the arms, a cappamanicata—Doctors of Civil Law and of Medicine,Masters of Arts, and Bachelors of Divinity and ofCanon Law, and later, in Oxford, Doctors of Divinity

3. a less cumbersome version of the cappa with twoslits, a cappa nigra, reaching to mid-calf and withthe slits at the sides [6, 9]; also in a cappa manicataversion in Cambridge [4]—Masters of Arts and,later, others.

4. a tabard, a lighter garment of a differentconstruction, calf-length with short bell or pointedsleeves—Bachelors of Civil Law and of Arts, andhigher degrees as less formal wear [2].

By the mid-16th century the outer habit was often leftoff. The sleeves of the tunic had become considerablywider and the front was opened up as the garmentevolved into a gown, undress and festal [1 (a 19th-century example)]. Alternative undress gowns withclosed sleeves with an opening at the elbow to releasethe forearm were borrowed from ordinary lay fashion inthe middle of the 16th century [5, 12]. Regulationsgoverning the style of gown for each degree and eachclass of undergraduate became progressively tighter inthe 16th and 17th centuries.

Hoods. The medieval hood had a cape or tippet thatcovered the shoulders and usually came down to theelbows. The cowl was in most cases worn close to theneck [2, 4, 6, 9]. However, for Doctors of Divinity andof Canon Law, especially in the cappa clausa with oneslit, the cowl was turned right down over the shoulderswith the cape underneath [7, 8, 10, 11]. The kneelingfigure in profile of Richard Billingford [3] (now missingfrom St Benet’s Church) gives the clearest image of this,with the liripipe hanging behind. In the 16th century thepart round the neck opened up into a V [4, 6]. Later thefront of the cape also took on a V shape, no longercovering the upper arms, but lying across the shoulders.

Caps. In the medieval period only doctors wore acap, a round pileus, sometimes domed, even with a brim[3, 11]. It might have a little stalk or point on top,especially for Doctors of Divinity and of Canon Law[7]. By the late 15th century the cap often had a squarishtop to it [8, 10]. By the late 16th century all graduateshad a cap prescribed, square or round, or, in certaincircumstances, a skullcap [12].

Fur. Medieval gowns, habits and hoods werecommonly lined or trimmed with fur, which would bemore exotic and expensive the higher the degree of thewearer. The engravers of monumental brasses show thefur in various ways: chiselled flecks or ripples [4, 8, 10,11]; scored parallel lines [2, 3]; cutting away the surface[7]—the last two techniques used to receive white metalor enamel inlay (now lost).

Alex Kerr

_____________________________________________

* One of the ten was stolen in 2008.� Figures in square brackets refer to the numbered images on page 3.

To whet your appetite here are three other examples oftexts with academic dress interest available at InternetArchive:Thomas William Wood, The Degrees, Gowns and Hoods

of the British, Colonial, Indian and AmericanUniversities and Colleges (1882, with c.1890supplement)

Edwin Charles Clark, ‘English Academical Costume(Mediæval)’ from Archæological Journal (1893) - alsoreissued by BiblioLife/BiblioBazaar in 2009

Gardner Cotrell Leonard, The Cap and Gown in America(1896) - also reissued by Kessinger Publishing in 2008

Happy browsing!Alex Kerr

THE CAMBRIDGE BA HOOD - A WARTIMEPERSPECTIVEThe wartime pre-scription for theCambridge BA hoodwas for cloth ratherthan fur, because ofthe scarcity of thelatter. It appears thatthe regulations havenever been rescinded.How interesting tospeculate on what theresponse would be if agraduand appeared inthe Senate House witha black hood withcloth binding andfacing to receive hisBachelor of Artsdegree!The regulations are as follows:

CHAPTER I IMATRICULATION, RESIDENCE, ADMISSION TO

DEGREES, DISCIPLINEPage 190Eng.D.: of black corded silk lined with bronze silk, the

hood part lined with scarlet cloth, four inches (10 cm) deep;M.Chir.: of black corded silk lined with mid-cherry silk;M.A.: of black corded silk lined with white silk;LL.M.: of black corded silk lined with light-cherry silk;Mus.M.: of black corded silk lined with dark-cherry satin;M.Sc.: of black cloth lined with pink silk shot with light

blue;M.Litt.: of black cloth lined with scarlet silk;M.Res.: of black cloth lined with dark plum red silk;M.Phil.: of black cloth lined with blue silk;M.Math.: of black cloth lined with slate blue silk;M.A.St.: of black cloth lined with gold silk;)1M.Eng.: of black cloth lined with bronze silk;M.B.A.: of black cloth lined with dark green silk;

M.Fin.: of black cloth lined with light green silk;M.Ed.: of black corded silk lined with light blue silk;M.Sci.: of black corded silk lined with pink silk shot

with light blue;M.St.: of black corded silk lined with yellow silk;M.B.: the hood and tippet of mid-cherry silk, the hood

part-lined with white fur and the tippet edgedwith white fur;

B.Chir.: the M.B. hood but with no fur edging to the tippet;B.A.: of black stuff, part-lined with white fur, the

tippet edged with white fur; or, until furtherorder, of black stuff, part-lined with white, thetippet edged with white;

LL.B.: the M.B. hood and tippet but of light-cherry silk;Mus.B.: the M.B. hood and tippet, but of dark-cherry satin;Vet.M.B.: the M.B. hood but with an edging of white fur,

two inches wide (5 cm), to the tippet;B.Ed.: of black stuff, part-lined with blue silk and an edging of white fur, the tippet edged with white fur;B.Th.: of black stuff, lined with black silk, the tippet edged with white fur.The neckband of a hood is of the outer colour, with noedging of the lining material. The corners of tippet aresquare.The italics in bold are in the statutes.

Nicholas Groves & John Horton

FROM THE DEAN OF STUDIES -

The View from the Deanery -The Dean (for it is he) is extracted with some difficultyfrom his sedan chair and, after a couple of false starts, heis then pleased to address the audience as follows:Recent study was day a resounding success and I urge allmembers to consider preparing for the fellowshipexamination. Your Society needs you to become an expertin some aspect of AD for the benefit of the wider world.Don't be shy, advice on preliminary reading available, fullsupport by a dedicated mentor, always pleased to put thepotential candidates in touch with someone else who hasrecently survived the process. The shot pink lining mostbeautiful and dignified in the world (half a mind enough todo a fellowship). Contact the Dean with a half-baked ideaand we'll start from there.At this point the Dean is struck upon the temple by anadroitly hurled whiskey decanter (empty, alas), andcollapses into the sedan chair which is carried rapidlyoffstage to the usual shouts ("The man should behorsewhipped", "Cover your eyes, Millicent", "Steward!Another decanter" &co &co.)

Bruce Christianson

FROM THE ARCHIVE -

AcquisitionsThe highpoint of recent acquisitions is a suite of hoodsdonated by the Independent Contemporary Music Awards

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dating from the 1993 redactionof their scheme of academicdress. This scheme remainedin use until 1998. We receivedfive hoods representing theawards of the Diploma andFellowship Diploma of Music;the award of the HonoraryMembership of the Institute(right); and an ‘all-purpose’hood used for hire purposes.The 1993 scheme uses aconsistent palate of Kingfisherblue, grey, white and gold.

Also donated was a Certificateof Music award dating from theprevious (1985-93) scheme, itis gold lined black [s1] (left).

Also, I am cataloguing some ofthe items that are in the archivebut have not been catalogued.One of the more interestingitems was a set of doctor’srobes attributed to Professor G.A. G. Mitchell, sometimeProfessor of Medicine atManchester (below right).Professor Mitchell earned his

Doctor of Medicine at Aberdeen before World War 2.However, the robes are distinctly London in shape andshow evidence of being re-lined and faced in Aberdeengreen. Given the timing, this could well have been a post-War expedient (or necessity). Themost obvious ‘tell-tale’ is the lackof a faced flap collar over the yoke,which is an Aberdeen doctor’s robediagnostic, and the London [f3]-shaped hood. Dr Nicholas Grovessuggests that this is a good exampleof an ancient tradition – that it is thecolour combinations and notnecessarily the shape of the robesthat is critical to academical dress.Whether the well-known academiccurmudgeons who now sit in theheavenly Senate would agree isanother matter!

Study Day and at Sutton’s HospitalDuring the Study Day on 24th April, a selection of hoodsfrom universities in Ireland, Wales and Scotland wereintroduced, their diagnostic features highlighted andvarious other distinguishing characteristics were discussed.William Gibson, Alex Kerr and I made a presentation tothe Brothers at Sutton’s Hospital at Charterhouse on10th May, 2010, during which I used several items from

the Collection to illustrate the development of basic hoodpatterns.

Congregation

We are planning a larger than usual display of items fromthe Collection during the Tenth Anniversary Congregationon 9th October. If there are particular interests, pleasecontact the Society and we will attempt to accommodateyou.

On the Website

The Burgon Website now includes photographs of allitems in the Collection for which photographs areavailable. I photograph all new items as they are added andI am photographing the existing items systematically astime permits.

Accessing the Archive: a reminder

With the move to Central London, the Archive is moreaccessible than previously. The Council has agreed thatitems in the Society’s Collection may be used by priorarrangement for legitimate purposes such as research,study, photography, etc. Applications should be madethrough the Registrar in the first instance.

Colin Fleming

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The next issue of Burgon Notes - September 2010 - willhave another reminder about the Tenth AnniversaryCongregation at The Charterhouse on 9th October. Therewill be the continuing story of Commencement in theUSA, courtesy of Stephen Wolgast, an interview with oneof our new patrons, and more. If you have any article,picture, comment to contribute to any edition of BurgonNotes, please forward it to the editor atmagnificat@live.co.uk

We are pleased to announce that, at the Council Meetingon 24th April at Deloitte offices in London, Mr StephenWolgast, FBS, was elected to the Society’s Council withspecial responsibility for members in the United States.We are delighted to have Steve with us in this capacity.

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