(Vol. iii., p. 62.)
In answer to the question of an "INQUIRER" respecting the origin of the
peculiar form and first use of the episcopal mitre, I take the liberty of
suggesting that it will be found to be of Oriental extraction, and to have
descended from that country, either directly, or through the medium of
other nations, to the ecclesiastics of Christian Rome. The writers of the
Romish, as well as Reformed Churches, now admit, that most, if not all, of
the external symbols, whether of dress or ceremonial pageantry, exhibited
by the Roman Catholic priesthood, were adopted from the Pagans, under the
plea of being "indifferent in themselves, and applicable as symbolical in
their own rites and usages" (Marangoni, _Delle cose gentili e profane
trasportate nel uso ed ornamento delle chiesi_); in the same manner as many
Romish customs were retained at the Reformation for the purpose of inducing
the Papists to "come in," and conform to the other changes then made
(Southey, _History of the Church_). Thus, while the disciples of Dr. Pusey
extract their forms and symbols from the practices of Papal Rome, the
disciples of the Pope deduce theirs from the practices of Pagan Rome.
With this preface I proceed to show that the episcopal _mitre_ and the
papal _tiara_ are respectively the copies each of a distinct head-dress
originally worn by the kings of Persia and the conterminous countries, and
by the chiefs of their priesthood, the Magi. The nomenclature alone
indicates a foreign extraction. It comes to us through the Romans from the
Greeks; both of which nations employed the terms [Greek: mitra], Lat.
_mitra_, and [Greek: tiara], Lat. _tiara_, to designate two different kinds
of covering for the head in use amongst the Oriental races, each one of a
distinct and peculiar form, though as being foreigners, and consequently
not possessing the technical accuracy of a native, they not unfrequently
confound the two words, and apply them indiscriminately to both objects.
Strictly speaking, the Greek [Greek: mitra], in its primitive notion, means
a long _scarf_, whence it came to signify, in a secondary sense, various
articles of attire composed with a scarf, and amongst others the Oriental
_turban_ (Herod. vii. 62.). But as we descend in time, and remove in
distance from the country where this object was worn, we find that the
Romans affixed another notion to the word, which they used very commonly to
designate the Asiatic or Phrygian cap (Virg. _AEn._ iv. 216.; Servius,
l.c.); and this sense has likewise been adopted in our own language:
"That Paris now with his unmanly sort,
With _mitred_ hat."--Surrey, Virgil, _AEn._ iv.
Thus the word _mitra_ in its later usage came to signify a _cap_ or
_bonnet_, instead of a turban; and it is needless to observe that the
priests of a religion comparatively modern, when they adopted the term,
would have taken it in the sense which was current at their own day. Now,
though the common people were not permitted to wear high bonnets, nor of
any other than a soft and flexible material, the kings and personages of
distinction had theirs of a lofty form, and stiffened for the express
purpose of making them stand up at an imposing elevation above the crown of
the head. In the national collection at Paris there is preserved an antique
gem, engraved by Caylus (_Recueil d'Antiq._, vol. ii. p. 124.), on which is
engraved the head of some Oriental personage, probably a king of Parthia,
Persia, or Armenia, who wears a tall upstanding bonnet, _mitred_ at the top
exactly like a bishop's, with the exception that it has three incisions at
the side instead of a single one. These separate incisions had no doubt a
symbolical meaning amongst the native races, although their allusive
properties are unknown to us; but it is not an unwarrantable inference, nor
inconsistent with the customs of these nations as enduring at this day, to
conclude that the numbers of one, two, or three, were appropriated as
distinctions of different degrees in rank; and that their priests, the
Magi, like those of other countries where the sovereign did not invest
himself with priestly dignities, imitated the habiliments as they assumed
the powers of the sovereign, and wore a bonnet closely resembling his in
form and dignity, with the difference of one large _mitre_ at each side, in
place of the three smaller ones.
If this account be true respecting the origin of the mitre, it will lead us
by an easy step to determine the place where it was first used--at Antioch,
the "Queen of the East," where, as we are told in the Acts of the Apostles,
the followers of Christ were first called "Christians;" thus indicating
that they were sufficiently numerous and influential to be distinguished as
a separate class in that city, while those in Rome yet remained despised
and unknown. Antioch was the imperial residence of the Macedonian dynasty,
which succeeded Alexander, who himself assumed the upright bonnet of the
Persian king (Arrian. iv. 7.), and transmitted it to his successors, who
ruled over Syria for several hundred years, where its form would be ready
at hand as a model emblematic of authority for the bishop who ruled over
the primitive church in those parts.
The tiara of the popes has, in like manner, an Eastern origin; but instead
of being adopted by them directly from its native birth-place, it descended
through Etruria to the Pagan priesthood of ancient Rome, and thence to the
head of the Roman Catholic Church. The [Greek: tiara] of the Greeks, and
_tiara_ of the Latins, expresses the cloth cap or _fez_ of the Parthians,
Persians, Armenians, &c., {145} which was a low scull-cap amongst the
commonalty, but a stiff and elevated covering for the kings and personages
of distinction (Xen. _Anab._ ii. 5, 23.). This imposing tiara is frequently
represented on ancient monuments, where it varies in some details, though
always preserving the characteristic peculiarity of a tall upright
head-dress. It is sometimes truncated at its upper extremity, at others a
genuine round-topped bonnet, like the Phrygian cap when pulled out to its
full length, and stiffened so as to stand erect--each a variety of form
peculiar to certain classes or degrees of rank, which at this period we are
not able to decide and distinguish with certainty. But on a bas-relief from
Persepolis, supposed to have belonged to the palace of Cyrus, and engraved
by Ferrario (_Costume dell' Asia_, vol. iii. tav. 47.), may be seen a
bonnet shaped very much like a beehive, the exact type of the papal tiara,
with three bands (the _triregno_) round its sides, and only wanting the
cross at the summit, and the strawberry-leaved decoration, to distinguish
it from the one worn by Pio Nono: and on a medal of Augustus, engraved on a
larger scale in Rich's _Companion to the Latin Dictionary_, art. Tutulus,
we find this identical form, with an unknown ornament of the top, for which
the popes substituted a cross, reappearing on the skull of a pagan priest.
I may add that the upright tiaras represented on works of ancient art,
which can be proved, or are known to be worn by royal personages, are
truncated at the summit; whence it does not seem an improper inference to
conclude that the round and conical ones belonged to persons inferior to
the kings alone in rank and influence, the Magi; which is the more
probable, since it is clear that they were adopted by the highest priests
of two other religions, those of Pagan and of Christian Rome.
If space admits, I would also add that the official insignia and costume of
a cardinal are likewise derived from the pagan usages of Greece. Amongst
his co-religionists he is supposed to symbolize one of the Apostles of
Christ, who went forth ill clothed and coarsely shod to preach the Gospel;
whereas, in truth, his comfortable hat, warm cloak, and showy stockings,
are but borrowed plumage from the ordinary travelling costume of a Greek
_messenger_ ([Greek: apostolos]). The sentiment of travelling is always
conveyed in the ancient bas-reliefs and vase paintings by certain
conventional signs or accessories bestowed upon the figure represented,
viz., a broad-brimmed and low-crowned hat ([Greek: petasos], Lat.
_petasus_), with long ties (_redimicula_) hanging from its sides, which
served to fasten it under the chin, or sling it behind at the nape of the
neck when not worn upon the head; a wrapping cloak ([Greek: himation], Lat.
_pallium_) made of coarse material instead of fine lamb's wool; and a pair
of stout travelling boots laced round the legs with leathern thongs
([Greek: endromides]), more serviceable for bad roads and rough weather
than their representatives, red silk stockings. All these peculiarities may
be seen in the following engravings (Winhelm. _Mon. Ined. Tratt., Prelim._,
p. xxxv.; Id., tav. 85.; _Rich's Companion_, art. "Ceryx" and "Pallium").
I regret that the nature of your publication does not admit the
introduction of woodcuts, which would have enabled me to present your
readers with the best of all demonstrations for what I advance. In default
of that I have endeavoured to point out the most compendious and accessible
sources where the figures I refer to may be seen in engravings. But if any
reader of "NOTES AND QUERIES" should not have an opportunity of consulting
the books cited, and is desirous of pursuing the investigation to satisfy
himself, I would willingly transmit to him a drawing of the objects
mentioned through Mr. Bell, or any other channel deemed more convenient.