Academic dress prescribed at the
University of Dublin and its sole constituent
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
,
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
, follows a relatively complex protocol which, nonetheless, shares some particular characteristics with other universities in Ireland and with the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in the United Kingdom.
Occasions when worn
The 1966 consolidated statutes of the university and the college stated, "The Provost, and every Fellow, professor, other Academic Officer, scholar, and other Student shall have a cap and gown, and shall wear them while performing their Academic duties"; the precise significance of "Academic duties" was not made explicit. As late as the 1960s, gowns were still commonly worn for some lectures and examinations, but in practice the wearing of academic dress is now confined to graduation ceremonies and other formal occasions. Some student societies, such as the
College Historical Society
The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund ...
and the
University Philosophical Society
The University Philosophical Society (UPS; ), commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and debating society in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1683 it is the oldest student, collegial and paper-reading society in t ...
, officially require academic dress at their meetings, but this postulation is never now observed.
Components
After the names of the components, the
Groves Classification Number is given in square brackets.
For full academic dress at special occasions, the prescribed clothing for men with degrees is a
dinner jacket
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...
, worn with dark trousers, a white shirt, white or black
bow tie
The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that t ...
, black socks and black shoes - in other words, following the
black tie dress code. (The option to wear a white bow tie is a vestige of previous decades where full
white tie
White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal in traditional evening western dress codes. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a wh ...
formal dress was required for all men at degree ceremonies). Men with diplomas or certificates wear a dark
suit instead of a dinner jacket.
Women are required to wear formal clothing in black, white, or a combination of both.
Members of the military are exempted from these requirements and may wear
service dress uniform
Service dress uniform is the informal type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday office, barracks and non-field duty purposes and sometimes for ceremonial occasions. It frequently consists of ...
; similarly, members of the
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
may wear black or white
clerical clothing with a shirt in black or grey.
Gowns
Gowns are open-fronted, like those generally used throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom, but not the United States, and they are largely similar in shape to those of the University of Oxford. The main types seen are the bachelors' and masters' gowns. In addition, for certain formal occasions, Doctors wear special dress gowns, distinguished by the use of scarlet; the sleeves and facings of these are adorned in some cases with various patterns that indicate the exact degree or degrees that they possess, allowing this to be determined even when hoods are not being worn.
Undergraduates
Commoners (i.e. those not otherwise classified, including Pensioners (those who pay fees)) wear a gown that is now very rarely seen. It consists of a short, sleeveless gown
8made of black shtuff
stuff with a flap collar. It is similar in shape to the Oxford Advanced Students' gown
5 but it reaches down as far as the knees, and the "streamers" over the arm are wider and reach only as far as the elbow. It has distinctive decoration: three rows of tassels are found on the flap above each armhole, with another three rows below, and a nine-inch slit upwards from the back midline hem. The streamers may be considered the remnants of closed sleeves, as can still be seen on the laced gowns of the higher faculties.
Scholars (both those on the Foundation and non-Foundation) wear the same gown as bachelors.
Fellow Commoners / Nobles; these were historically enrolled in a special, shorter, intensive course (three years as opposed to four, as they did not want to neglect their estates for too long) and had a particular gown. This was embellished with gold tassels, etc.
Sizars/ Exhibitioners: A
Sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...
was a poor student, the son of poor parents, often of clergy.
From the writings of William Howitt about Goldsmith, 1847 – "The sizer wears a black gown of coarse stuff without sleeves, a plain black cloth cap without a tassel, and dines at the fellows' table after they have retired. It was at that period far worse; they wore red caps to distinguish them, and were compelled to perform derogatory offices; to sweep the courts in the morning, carry up the dishes from the kitchen to the fellows' table, and wait in the hall till they had dined." A distinct gown for Sizars/ Exhibitioners is no longer worn, and they currently wear the Commoners gown, when required or desired.
In addition to undergraduate use, the undergraduate gown is worn as the prescribed academic dress for the conferral of undergraduate diplomas, with an epitoge.
Bachelors
These wear a clerical-type gown
10of black Irish
Russell cord, in the Oxford BA shape
1but with shorter sleeves. It has no collar, but instead has the voluminous material of its back and the open bell-shaped sleeves gathered into a yoke.
Masters
![Dublin MA gown outline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Dublin_MA_gown_outline.svg)
Masters wear a gown
3in black cloth, silk or
poplin
Poplin, also called tabinet (or tabbinet), is a fine (but thick) wool, cotton or silk fabric that has a vertical warp and a horizontal weft. Nowadays, the name refers to a strong material in a plain weave of any fiber or blend, with crosswis ...
, similar to the Oxford MA shape
1but with a very high cresentic cut in the sleeves giving a deep blunt point to the bases, and with a cord and button on the yoke.
Doctors
Holders of University of Dublin doctoral degrees have two sets of costume: ''undress'', and ''full dress'' (or ''scarlet''). Full dress is worn on formal college and university occasions.
=Full dress
=
Most gowns are scarlet, with the exceptions of the Mus.D. robe, which is white; the D.Mus.Perf robe, which is white rose; the D.Clin.Psych robe, which is red; and the D.Ed. robe, which is blue. They are in the Oxford doctors' shape
2 There is a cord and button on the yoke, and the sleeves, facings and edgings vary in colour according to the degree.
=Undress
=
Doctoral undress is as for masters' gowns.
Hoods
![Dublin hood outline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Dublin_hood_outline.svg)
Hoods made of silk are worn on the back as an indicator of academic status. The design of hoods as set by University and College Statutes Chapter XXII is below. Their design is distinctive
2 having a full shape with an inch-wide edging to the cape and cowl, and in some cases they have
poplin
Poplin, also called tabinet (or tabbinet), is a fine (but thick) wool, cotton or silk fabric that has a vertical warp and a horizontal weft. Nowadays, the name refers to a strong material in a plain weave of any fiber or blend, with crosswis ...
or
fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
decoration.
For several years around the turn of the 21st century, the BA hood was erroneously cut in a modified (with a curved liripipe) Belfast simple-shape
3and lined with fur differently. Before 1909, the shape was the same as the Belfast shape but was then changed to the full-shape. However, in recent years, the hood had been made in the modified Belfast shape, for unknown reasons, by the university's authorised robemakers. Subsequently, the MB hood had also been cut in the simple shape, apparently without any official authorisation from the university.
Dublin Commencement of Medical graduates 19/06/2009
Since the 2012–13 academic year, both the BA and MB hoods have once again supplied in the Dublin full shape.
Bachelors
Masters
Doctors
Hoods are edged one inch around the cape and cowl and lined with silk to match the facings of the appropriate full-dress robes.
Epitoge
Graduates of diploma or certificate programmes wear academic dress consisting of an epitoge
An epitoge is a garment worn over the left shoulder that sometimes forms part of academic or court dress. Background
The epitoge is descended from the chaperon, a mediaeval hat that descended from a cloak with a hood with the head tucked into the ...
1 a strip of material worn over the left shoulder, on top of the relevant (undergraduate or bachelor's) gown. Those holding an undergraduate diploma or certificate wear a blue epitoge, while those with a postgraduate diploma or certificate wear a blue-and-black epitoge. The gown and epitoge are mandatory for those attending diploma conferral ceremonies, but are optional for certificate ceremonies.
Headdresses
A form of a black hat known as a square cap (also mortarboard) 1is worn or carried. The Consolidated Statutes of the College (Chapter XVIII) state that:
"The caps to be worn by Graduates and Undergraduates shall be black, and of the ordinary academical shape; the cap to be worn by Scholars and ex-Scholars shall be covered in velvet, and all other caps in fine cloth; and the caps of Graduates shall in all cases have a black silk tassel added in the usual manner. Students shall salute the Provost and Fellows by doffing their caps."
Officers
Certain officers wear distinctive dress.
Chancellor
The Chancellor of the university is elected by the Senate (i.e. Masters and Doctors) of the university. For ceremonial occasions, she or he wears on ceremonial occasions a black corded silk ''lay-type'' gown with a long train, decorated with a row of gold lace along the sleeves and with two rows down the front and along the cope, similar to the gowns of the Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...
. The Chancellor's velvet mortarboard has a gold tassel, like that of the former noble undergraduates.
Proctors
The Proctors wear the ancient form of the BA hood with their gown. The hood is in the Belfast simple-shape and lined with ermine (white fur with black spots).
Notes
References
* Christianson, Bruce. "In the pink: the strange case of Trinity College Dublin." ''Transactions of the Burgon Society'' 4.1 (2004): 53–58
online
*Groves, Nicholas ed. (2011): ''Shaw's Academical Dress of Great Britain and Ireland'', third edition, pp. 145–148. Oxford: The Burgon Society.
*Shaw, G.W. (1995): ''Academical Dress of British and Irish Universities'', pp. 231,232. Chichester: Philmore & Co. Ltd.
*''University of Dublin Calendar, 2008–2009'', Part 1, pp. E10-E14. Dublin: Trinity College, Dublin.
{{Academic dress
Academia in the Republic of Ireland
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
University of Dublin