Fancy gowns and overblown triumphalist ceremony - I'm not talking about the traditional Mass but about one of our leading universities.
Damian Thompson has a post today which continues a theme where he (rightly in my personal opinion) expresses concern about the silly remarks made by David Cameron about Oxford University, accusing the University of discriminatory admissions policies.
I don't feel that is particularly a discussion for this blog but I was struck by the photograph used to illustrate Damian's post. The Chancellor, Chris Patten, is wearing a richly decorated gown, and assisted by a young train-bearer in buckled shoes. If you look at other photos of Encaenia (the annual honorary degree awarding ceremony) you will see all sorts of fancy gowns and accoutrements.
Were this a procession for a traditional Mass, there would undoubtedly be spiteful comments about how they are only concerned with outward show, lace and fancy cloaks, how it is all a bit, well, unmanly, and how much better it would be if they only made it more simple and immediately intelligible.
The gowns, hoods and mortar boards worn at Oxford are vestiges of its clerical past. It is interesting that they are acceptable when the living tradition of ecclesiastical dress attracts so much vitriol. Oh, and by the way, the formal orations at Encaenia are given in Latin.
11 comments:
I can't wait to be graduated!
To say nothing about the mayoral robes worn by countless town councillors around the country.
And mayoral 'worship'.
And liberals at Oxford deploy exactly the same arguments against the use of Latin and proper academic dress as liberals in the Church deploy against the use of Latin and reverent ceremony in the Mass.
The bailiff is a woman. Is outrage!
Were this a procession for a traditional Mass, there would undoubtedly be spiteful comments about how they are only concerned with outward show, lace and fancy cloaks, how it is all a bit, well, unmanly, and how much better it would be if they only made it more simple and immediately intelligible.
I believe a certain blogger (regarded as orthodox in many circles - apparently) made such accusations recently about this very thing.
@ Father Finigan
I think that as you mentioned Cameron's remarks about Oxford on this blog, that is only fair that we, your loyal readers can respond to the thought processes stimulated by it.
David Cameron's remarks accusing Oxford University of discriminatory admissions policies, could be taken more seriously if Adam Afriye MP was in Cameron's Cabinet instead of Oxford Old Boys like George Osborne, William Hague, and Michael Gove. Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in Ireland as the Ascendancy.
Pot, kettle?
Our Lady of the Rosary pray for us!
Does the train on the Chancellor's gown derive from a train on a cassock or some form of cappa?
I think that it derives from a kind of cope.
Further to the comment about derivation from a cope, at Cambridge the Vice-Chancellor actually does wear a cope of scarlet material, joined at the bottom (so there's a great long slit down the front) and with the shoulders covered in fur. This gorgeously-vested personage conducts (as does his counterpart at the other place) graduation ceremonies in Latin.
I attended a Cambridge graduation last year and was fascinated by the ambiguity towards the ritual. The university has a bit of a liberal-left reputation, and it seemed to me that the attitude of graduands and officiating academics was one of mingled respect for the tradition and embarrassment, but more of the former. The university and college staff who made the wheels turn flawlessly were clearly the most comfortable.
Our daughter graduated from Cambridge two years ago and we were thrilled with the ceremony, since the booklet was in English even thought the proceedings were in Latin. Quite impressive and I came away feeling at least some places in the world are still proud of a deep tradition and history.
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