An Odd Habit: A Study of the Use of the Academic Hood in the Portraits of the Archbishops of Armagh

The issues around the wearing of academic hoods ‘in quire’ have been dealt with thoroughly by the late Nicholas Groves, whose paper in Transactions of the Burgon Society considers history, practice, canon law and common misconceptions around the use of the hood. While focused primarily on musicians, it also covers the requirements and traditional use of the hood by clergy, but not specifically by bishops. In Theological Colleges: Their Hoods and Histories, Groves gives some further information on the history and use of hoods by the clergy. This article is an attempt to build upon those sources, using as a foundation the portrait collection of the archbishops of Armagh as evidence of evolving custom and historical practice. The initial questions are what was worn, and when, thus an initial survey of the portraits will attempt to identify both the particular hoods worn, and the time period in which their use was normative. The results of this raise a secondary, often contentious, question, of whether the hood should be worn with the chimere—or not? The initial survey will establish that for a period of over a century there is clear evidence of all archbishops choosing to wear their hoods over a chimere. Some comments on the origins of the chimere will then attempt to address the question from a historical perspective, thus drawing together both custom and practice across the centuries.