Whoopsie...helps to read the whole email first. Sorry to reiterate the greek
athelete thing.
I scanned in some info for you:
The earliest recorded presentation of the mitre to an abbot took place on
August 10, 1061, when Pope Alexander II conferred it upon Elegius, Abbot of
the Monastery of St. Augustine in Canterbury, who was present at the Papal
Court for some months of that year. This gift of the mitre to abbots was
directly opposed by St. Bernard, who wrote diligently against the practice.
His will and diligence tempered the acceptance and use of the mitre by
abbots until his death on August 20, 11 53. Thereafter, the mitre as
prescribed by Rome became de rigueur for abbots, who quickly adopted its use
for themselves.
After A.D. 1150, bishops were always depicted as wearing the mitre. It was
accepted as both an ecclesiastical, as well as civil, headgear.
The clergy of Rome made use of the mitre as early as the ninth century.
First mention of it appears in the citation of it being worn by Pope Leo
VII. Within three generations, the mlitre was reserved for use of only the
pope and cardinals. They made use of it even prior to its "official"
adoption by Leo VIII for the papacy. It bore the name camelaucem and
somewhat resembled the later mitre. The camelaucem is a direct descendant of
the ancient Greek mitros, and this clear link between the two is evident bv
the choice of the word mitros in identifing this headgear once it officiafly
entered the Church's vesture as an emblem of rank.~
The shape of the modern mitre developed in the twelfth century. Before that
time, the peaks of the mitre were soft, more caplike. By the twelfth
centurv, ecclesiastical art illustrates that the mitre had developed as we
would recognize it today
DESIGN
All mitres are formed in the same fashion despite variances in design. The
mitre comprises two flat
forms, two infulae (the flaps, or fanons), and the lining. The flat forms
are sewn together at the lower base on their lateral edges. The two
itiflilac are suspended from the rear form, where they are sewn to its
base-equidistant from each other so as to look proportional. The seams of
the lining should never appear. This basically forms the requirements for
the creation of a mitre; however, we must now speak in terms of style, type,
and ornamentation.
Style
Historically, there have been three distinct styles of mitre that were worn
at specific liturgies and evei~, before 1969, at different points during a
single liturgs'. The Cerertiotziale Kriscororltrri (the Cereino-nial of
Bishops) would clanK in the rubrics when each of these three mitres would be
required. These three styles were the only ones permitted iii the Roman
Church: precious mitre (tiritra j)retiostl); the golden, or orphreyed, mitre
(rilitra aririplrryr'i~it£r); and the simple mitre (mirra situp lox).
Although post-conciliar practice has seen a proliferation of other stvles,
these three remain the styles of mitre in use in the Latin rite of the Roman
Church. All the other "new styIes" in one way or another have heei~ adopted
from one of these three, correctly or incorrectly.
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