Capuciis Furruratis cum Serico Duplicatis: Furred Hoods with Silk Linings from the Late Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Beginning in the fifteenth century, silk linings were introduced into the academic hoods of the senior degrees for use during the summer (officially between Easter and All Saints) as a cooler alternative to the expensive fur. Bachelors (other than those in Divinity and Canon Law) were still required to line their hoods with cheap fur throughout the year. Although the 1443 foundation statutes of All Souls College, Oxford, require graduate fellows to wear ‘furred hoods lined with silk according to their degrees’, it is not clear whether this refers to an early appearance of the combination lining of silk and fur that would (re)-emerge during the latter part of the nineteenth century, or the Latin formula is simply a convenient way of referring to both types of hood. In any event, at some point, the divines, lay doctors, and Masters of Arts at the English universities ceased to change back into their fur hoods for winter, and a silk (rather than fur) lining became the year-round marker of a senior degree.