biretta
Sign in to savethumb|A traditional black biretta.
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
17 sectionsContents
- Origins
- Liturgical biretta
- Catholic use
- Appearance
- Anglican use
- Lutheran use
- Academic biretta
- Doctoral degrees
- Use in medieval universities
- Use by pontifical universities
- Colors of doctoral birettas
- Depictions in art in Catholicism
- Use by women
- See also
- Notes and references
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|A traditional black biretta.
The biretta () is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Christian clergy, especially Roman Catholic clergy, as well as some Lutheran and Anglican clergy. A four-peaked biretta is worn as academic dress (but not liturgically) by those holding a doctoral degree from a pontifical faculty or pontifical university or faculty. Occasionally the biretta is worn by legal professionals, for instance advocates in the Channel Islands or judges in some Polish courts.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “biretta” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.