A capirote is a

Catholic 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 ...

pointed hat Pointed hats have been a distinctive item of headgear of a wide range of cultures throughout history. Although often suggesting an ancient Indo-European tradition, they were also traditionally worn by women of Lapland, the Japanese, the Mi'kmaq ...

of conical form that is used in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

countries by members of a

confraternity of penitents Confraternities of penitents ( es, Cofradía Penitencial; it, Fratellanza penitenziale; pt, Irmandade Penitencial) are Christian religious congregations, with statutes prescribing various penitential works; they are especially popular in the ...

. It is part of the uniform of such brotherhoods including the '' Nazarenos'' and ''Fariseos'' during

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

observances and reenactments in some areas during

Holy Week in Spain Holy Week in Spain is the annual tribute of the Passion of Jesus Christ celebrated by Catholic religious brotherhoods (Spanish: cofradía) and fraternities that perform penance processions on the streets of almost every Spanish city and town d ...

and its former colonies, though similar hoods are common in other

Christian countries A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church (also called an established church), which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by ...

such as Italy. Capirote are worn by penitents so that attention is not drawn towards themselves as they repent, but instead to God.

History

Historically, the flagellants are the origin of the current traditions, as they flogged themselves with a discipline to do penance.

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bl ...

ordered that flagellants could perform penance only under control of the church; he decreed ''Inter sollicitudines'' ("inner concerns" for suppression). This is considered one of the reasons why flagellants often hid their faces. The use of the capirote or coroza was prescribed in Spain by the holy office of

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. Men and women who were arrested had to wear a paper capirote in public as sign of

public humiliation Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...

. The capirote was worn during the session of an

Auto-da-fé An ''auto-da-fé'' ( ; from Portuguese , meaning 'act of faith'; es, auto de fe ) was the ritual of public penance carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries of condemned heretics and apostates imposed by the Spanish, Portuguese, or Mexi ...

. The colour was different, conforming to the judgement of the office. People who were condemned to be executed wore a red coroza. Other punishments used different colours. When the Inquisition was abolished, the symbol of punishment and penitence was kept in the Catholic brotherhood, however, the capirotes used today are different; they are covered in fine fabric, as prescribed by the brotherhood. To this day, they are still worn during the celebration of the Holy Week/Easter most notably in Andalusia, by penitentes (who perform public penance for their sins) who walk through streets with the capirote. The usage of the capirote during the Holy Week was once common throughout Spain's colonies, but this custom has since died out in most of them by the late 19th century. Notable exceptions to this are some parts of Mexico and Guatemala. Similar hoods are common in other

such as Italy. The capirote is today the symbol of the Catholic penitent: only members of a confraternity of penance are allowed to wear them during solemn processions. Children can receive the capirote after their first holy communion, when they enter the brotherhood.

Fabric

Historically the design is called the capirote, but the brotherhoods cover it with fabric together with their face, and the medal of the brotherhood that is worn underneath. The cloth has two holes for the penitent to see through. The insignia or crest of the brotherhood is usually embroidered on the capirote in fine gold. The capirote is worn during the whole penance.

Use outside of the Catholic Church

According to historian Michael K. Jerryson, the capirote was culturally appropriated by the early 20th-century American Ku Klux Klan, a

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

and

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

group. However, Alison Kinney of '' New Republic'' traces the uniform to Southern Mardi Gras celebrations, therefore only indirectly related to the capirote.

Gallery

File:Guardia Sanframondi (31500390952).jpg, A

in Italy mortifying the flesh with disciplines in a seven-hour procession; hoods similar to the capirote are worn by penitents in order to not draw attention to themselves, but to God (2010) File:Francisco de Goya - Escena de Inquisición - Google Art Project.jpg,

The Inquisition Tribunal ''The Inquisition Tribunal'', also known as ''The Court of the Inquisition'' or ''The Inquisition Scene'' (''Spanish'': ''Escena de Inquisición''), is an 18x29 inch oil-on-panel painting produced by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya between 181 ...

File:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes 025.jpg, ''A Procession of Flagellants'',

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

, 1812–1819 File:Caprichos Nr 23, Dieser Staub.jpg, ''Prisoner wearing capirote and Sanbenito'',

File:Execution of Mariana de Carabajal.jpg, Execution of Francisca Nuñez de Carabajal, Mexico City, 1601

References

{{Hats 14th-century Christianity Holy Week in Spain Catholic religious clothing Spanish clothing Spanish Inquisition Pointed hats

History

Fabric

Use outside of the Catholic Church

Gallery

See also

References