Gronox

Graduation stoles, like most graduation attire used in the United States and Europe, dates back to English tradition. Stoles, cords, and scarves used in some graduation ceremonies of higher education level mimic those worn by Anglican priests and prior to that, Catholic priests.

All graduation attire dates back to medieval times. Catholic priests wore ceremonial garments as they do today. During times of ceremony, others also wore such garments. Today, we often see altar boys and girls wearing ceremonial dress in both Anglican and Catholic churches.

Because the Church of England was so much a part of English education, university students often wore academic attire that resembled that worn by church clerics. Academic attire such as academic gowns is still worn daily in some universities in the United Kingdom, namely, Cambridge.

The purpose of graduation stoles at first was to protect one from the elements. Both hoods and stoles were used for this purpose. As time wore on, the graduation stole was used to signify higher level of learning. Today, graduation stoles are used to signify certain academic achievements or higher learning.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 1:50 pm and is filed under Outfit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.