Sir, - I'm writing to assure Sean O'Connell, whose letter regarding episcopal headgear appeared in last Saturday's Irish Times, that both his baseball bat and digestive system are indeed safe. Mitres were not a feature of first century life in Palestine, and the earliest references to them in the Western Church date from the 11th century.
They were initially plain, shield shaped hats of white linen. The original inspiration for what was to become an elaborate headress was a processional hat used by the Pope, the camelaucum. In the Eastern Church they began to appear after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and actually took the form of a crown.
Until 1968 there were officially three forms of mitres in use in the Roman Catholic Church: the Precious Mitre, adorned with gold and precious stones, the Golden Mitre, made of gold cloth, and the Simple Mitre, made of plain white cloth. It would take too long to begin to explain the various occasions and uses for this range of headgear, but I'm sure Mr O'Connell would have had many pleasant hours of catapult practice before 1968. In the C of E, from the Reformation until the 19th century, mitres were rarely worn but were often carried at the funerals of bishops, presumably ones who had failed to duck!
Perhaps the simplest answer I can give Mr O'Connell is that mitres are not to be found in the Bible or early Church history. They first reared their heads at least a thousand years after the death of Christ. - Yours, etc.,
Flemington Park.
Balbriggan,
Co Dublin.