A lappet is a decorative flap, fold or hanging part of a

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

or garment. Lappets were a feature of women's headgear until the early twentieth century, and are still a feature of religious garments. Examples of lappets are to be found on the

papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20th. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. The name "tiara" refers to the entire h ...

and on the

nemes Nemes were pieces of striped head cloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt. It covered the whole crown and behind of the head and nape of the neck (sometimes also extending a little way down the back) and had lappets, two large flaps which hung d ...

headdress of the kings of ancient Egypt. The same term is also used for similar-looking anatomical features on some animals.

On women's headdresses

Lappets were attached to some types of women's headdresses, notably the medieval

hennin The hennin (french: hennin ; possibly from Flemish nl, henninck meaning cock or rooster) was a headdress in the shape of a cone, steeple, or truncated cone worn in the Late Middle Ages by European women of the nobility. They were most common in ...

. They were also called cornet, although ''cornet'' sometimes referred to the hennin itself.

On episcopal mitres

The

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

s worn by

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

s of Western liturgical denominations, such as the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, have lappets attached to them. Mitre lappets are often lined with red silk. The lappets are probably a vestige of the ancient Greek headband called a ''mitra'' (μίτρα), from which the mitre itself descends. The ''mitra'' was a band of cloth tied around the head, the ends of the remaining fabric of which would fall down the back of the neck. The Latin name for the lappets is ''infulae'', which were originally headbands worn by dignitaries, priests, and others among the ancient Romans.Latin '' infula'' means "a band, bandage", cognate with Sanskrit ''bhāla'' "brow" and Greek φάλος, φάλαρα, a Homeric term for a part of the helmet. It came to refer to the white and red fillet or band of woollen stuff worn upon the forehead by priests as a sign of religious consecration
infŭla
in Lewis and Short, ''A Latin Dictionary'' (1879). They were generally white. In the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, the lappets are not attached directly to the mitre but are attached to the back of the

cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...

On the papal tiara

Since early

mediæval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...

times each papal tiara has included two lappets. Their origins remain a mystery, though they are obviously an imitation of the lappets on the bishop's mitre. It has been speculated that lappets first were added to papal tiaras as a form of sweatband, with inner cloth being used to prevent popes from sweating too heavily during papal ceremonial in hot

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

summers. The two lappets ( la, caudæ, literally "tails") at the back of the tiara are first seen in the pictures and sculpture in the thirteenth century, but were undoubtedly customary before this. They were black in color, as is evident both from the monumental remains and from the inventories, and this color was retained even into the fifteenth century. Papal lappets on tiaras came to be highly decorated, with intricate stitching in gold thread. Often a pope who either commissioned a tiara, received it as a gift, or who had it remodelled for their usage, had their

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

stitched on to the lappets. Many later papal lappets were made of

embroidered Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

silk and used

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

. The last tiara to be used for a coronation, created for

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in 1963, also contained lappets.

On animals

The word is also sometimes used to refer to

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australia and South Africa **''Acacia'', large genus of shrubs and trees, native to Australasia **Black wattle, c ...

s, flap-like structures that occur on the faces of some animals. For instance, the

lappet-faced vulture The lappet-faced vulture or Nubian vulture (''Torgos tracheliotos'') is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus ''Torgos''. It ...

has lappets of bare flesh on the sides of its head.

References

{{Parts of a crown Headgear Papal vestments Scarves Crowns (headgear)