A ''corolla'' is an ancient

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is 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, decoration, or fo ...

in the form of a small circlet or

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

.''Corolla''
at OED; retrieved 28 June 2018 Usually it has

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

significance and represents

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

History

The term corolla and/or corollæ appears in a chapter title in

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

's ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' () is a Latin work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work' ...

'': "Who invented the art of making garlands: When they first received the name of 'corollæ,' and for what reason." In ancient times, chaplets made from branches and twigs of trees were worn by victors in sacred contests: According to Pliny, P. Claudius Pulcher introduced winter chaplets for the time at which flowers and plant matter are not available, made of thin laminæ of horn stained various colors. These winter chaplets were known there as "corollæ" (the diminutive of ''corona'', a crown), a name Pliny says was given them to express the "remarkable delicacy of their texture". Later, these head dresses were made of thin plates of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, gilt or

silvered Silvering is the chemical process of coating a non-conductive substrate such as glass with a reflective substance, to produce a mirror. While the metal is often silver, the term is used for the application of any reflective metal. Process ...

, and were called "corollaria", as introduced by Crassus Dives as a way to confer a greater honor when receiving them.

References

{{Headgear Culture of ancient Rome Culture of ancient Greece Headgear History of clothing (Western fashion) Crowns (headgear)

History

See also

References