What can I say? I asked my expert consultant on ecclesiastical vestments if the objects on either side of the Cardinal Raymond Burke's hat were pom-poms, and he replied that they were "the tassels that hang down the side of a cardinal's hat, apparently sutured into place on top of the hat". There you have it.
Thanks to Lapin for the picture.
UPDATE: The cardinal's hat may be a galero.
Ummm, I just don't know what to say.
ReplyDeleteHat makes the cardinal look strangely like my grand-mother when she was outside gardening.
ReplyDeleteEach time I look at the picture, I can't stop laughing. How do those around the cardinal keep a straight face?
ReplyDeleteI was sorely tempted to use the title "Old Lady in Red".
In all fairness, I think mitres are ridiculous, too. Whoever dreamed them up?
He looks like Newman from Seinfeld. I feel like saying "Hello, Newman."
ReplyDeleteHow dare you make fun of this slightly garish outfit-- the real sadness/horror and injustice--dangles that won´t dangle anymore--think of the moment that has been arrested, the great mystery of life has once again been shortchanged and perfectly perky danglers have been quieted forever in and around that marvy old head!
ReplyDelete(hopefully he´s not one of mine--couldn´t be, the dangles have been sewn down--this man is straight)
Cathy, he does. "Hello, Newman."
ReplyDeleteI just remembered my earlier post on the cardinal in green.
(hopefully he´s not one of mine--couldn´t be, the dangles have been sewn down--this man is straight)
But are you certain, Leonardo? :-)
Burke redefines the word "shameless" in every conceivable way (and a few I don't WANT to conceive of!)
ReplyDeleteJUS' KILL ME NOW!!!!
ReplyDeleteJCF, ya think?
ReplyDeletePadre, I'm sorry. I can't help you.
Argh! My eyes! My eyes!
ReplyDeleteJust when you think the behaviour of our own clerics cannot get any more ridiculous (over the Covenant), this picture is a great tonic. Thank-you for a wonderful start to my day!
ReplyDeleteI am half-way tempted to adopt this image as my avatar.
ReplyDeleteBreaking news...the queen is borrowing that hat for the wedding.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder Jesus wept!
ReplyDeleteUsually such hats are worn only on the coats-of-arms of ecclesiastical worthies, with the tassels hanging down. The number of tassels varies according to rank. (This guy probably has a lot.)
ReplyDeleteOrmonde, a cardinal's galero has 15 tassels on each side, for a total of 30. In Roman Catholic eccesiastical hearldry, Latin Rite patriarchs (Venice, Jerusalem, Lisbon, and East Indies) that are not cardinals have green galeros with 30 tassels, archbishops have 20, and bishops have 12. The three ranks of monsignors, including the two priests that head the Anglican Use Personal Ordinariates in the U.S. and U.K. have either black or purple galeri with 6 tassels, which are either purple or red. Simple parish priests, if allowed, use the black galero with 2 black tassels.
DeleteThanks, Richard. Your comment is quite informative.
DeleteRick, I know what you mean. It hurts.
ReplyDeleteLaura, there's nothing like starting the day off right. The whole day can go well afterward.
Bex, When the queen wears the hat, will the tassels be secured or hanging down?
whitecat, I dunno. I think Jesus may have laughed.
Ormonde, you're probably right. Cardinal Burke is Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
Eclesiae Una Sancta shows pictures of the galero with the tassels freed from their sutures.
I think they will be secured. The queen doesn't impress me as a tassels kinda gal.
ReplyDelete"In your easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,
ReplyDeleteYou'll be the grandest lady in the easter parade."
I guess somebody has forgotten all about Lent.
I guess somebody has forgotten all about Lent.
ReplyDeleteKJ, in all fairness, perhaps the photo is not current. Perhaps, the cardinal would be attired in purple vestments today.
I'm sorry I could find only a back view close-up. I'm wondering: is the golden mitre the tallest I've ever seen?
I've never encountered sutured tassles. Strikes me as rather like the young folk who don't know they are supposed to take the cloth label off the arm of the suitcoat, or relieve the vent-stitch.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if in addition to the galero we might imagine, beneath the copious cape, a bolero? That would explain the lace...
I've never encountered sutured tassles.
ReplyDeleteTobias, my question: Have you ever encountered unsutured tassels?
I saw ecclesiastical splendors aplenty in my youth, but I never saw either sutured or unsutured tassels in all my 60 years in the RCC.
You may be correct that Cardinal Burke did not heed the wise advice, "When in Rome...." and remove the sutures from the tassels.
Suppose anyone seeing phallic symbolism in that tall mitre would be accused of having a filthy mind.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, you naughty Ms Solemnis.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia indicates that Episcopal priests can wear these as well. What would PeaceBang say?
ReplyDeletePaul (A.), heaven forbid!
ReplyDeleteQuite a sun hat she has on.
ReplyDeleteMimi, I can't claim to have encountered tassels in their haberdashery form -- at least apart from curtain ties! -- but I have seen them in their heraldic form. The inimitable Canon Edward Nason West of the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, included the galero in his arms, with the appropriate six tassels. He may even have worn one (it would be just like him, given his love of antiquated formal wear.) He was the closest thing Anglicanism had to a formal Herald or Master of Arms, and he is responsible for the Anglican Communion's "Compasrose" emblem -- and his ashes were placed under the compasrose in the choir of the cathedral. Top that, Cardinal Birk!
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, my chapeau for sun protection has no tassels - alas.
ReplyDeleteTobias, all due respect and thanks to Canon West for the "Compasrose". Cardinal Birk surely cannot top that.
You will note here that the "Padre" has unsutured tassels of a slightly modified design.
ReplyDeletePaul (A.), that is funny. I've never seen the clip. A very different kind of tassel, surely.
ReplyDeleteSo the tassels' original purpose was to keep flies off the cardinals' faces?
ReplyDeleteI guess, Lapin, they used to be sweet enough to attract them.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very unclassy, closed-minded, and offensive to make fun of what some wear in another religion or culture. One could make the same argument for Buckingham palace guards. They look ridiculous to some, but if you don't like it, too bad. It's the same with Cardinal Burke wearing a galero. When you take this photo out of context, then of course it doesn't make any sense. I have an MA in Religious Studies. Please be less offensive and more tolerant in the future.
ReplyDeleteWhat does your MA in Religious Studies have to do with my post?
DeleteIf I were in the cardinal's presence with him wearing the vestments in the picture, I would have a hard time keeping a straight face. I'm aware that the vestments have a history, but the prelate would have to have a sense of humor, wait for the giggling to die down, and then give the history of the rarely seen vestments, because he appears as dressed for a costume party.