Religious Hat

I think this is crocheted hat, but as I'm neither a knitter or crocheter, I'm probably wrong. 

The hat is not very stretchy but still fits well and is very comfortable to wear, the sort of hat you could wear all day without noticing.

Not following a particular religion this is therefore not something I would wear socially, so for Larp use only.

The cross crosslet in the design of the hat is not associated with any particular Christian religion, at least as far as I can tell, its more associated with the spreading of Christianity, i.e. its also called the missionary cross.

The hat has 2 little toggles hanging from the centre button, if anyone knows what they are called I would love to know.

White Skull Cap

This white fabric skull cap has a turn-up band around the rim.

 The cap is almost the same as the docker cap in a previous post but lacks the button on top and adjustable band, this is more of a medieval or religious cap.

 There is one seam front to back, the shape comes from the stretching of the fabric.

In the photo below its shown worn with a coif underneath.

Popey McPope Face

This religious looking hat was probably made for a theatre production.

A good prop, made of fabric, rope, gold-coloured thread and adorned with fake gemstones it makes the perfect hat for someone important in religion.

This hat is part of our group's crew kit, so not actually mine, its been around a quite a few years perhaps 20 plus, in the image below one of the crew members, wears it to play a cardinal.  

Preacher Hat

This style of hat is sold as a Priests, Preachers, Padres or Amish Hat.

A black felt round crown hat with a 4" wide brim slightly turned up and black ribbon hatband.

Associated with preachers in wild west movies

Most of the hats of this style on eBay you will find are cheap cardboard/permafelt designed solely for fancy dress, this one, however, is a proper quality felted hat.

Nothing wrong with a cheap hat by the way I buy them, they are useful for a quick Halloween outfit

 Worn here with a dutch coat

Zucchetto Like

This skull cap is on the edge of being a zucchetto however zucchettos are typically much shallower, resting rather than clinging to the head.

The hat also does not include the little stem or cord that comes out of the centre of the hat where the panels meet.

Still, the 8 panelled cap is traditional for a zucchetto and the bright red colour makes it look a very religious hat.

Skull caps are one of those hats that don't really offer any practical use other than their aesthetic purpose.

Biretta

The Biretta is a hat that moves from the circular hat band into a 4 cornered squarish shape.

The corners are called horns, they may have 3 or 4 horns and the horns can be small like this or quite large and flamboyant.

The hats are worn by priests in the Catholic and Anglican church and also as academics hats in universities, usually denoting someone with a doctorate.

When worn by Bishops or denote ranks the hats can also get extra adornments such as pompoms.

Biretta is also optional head wear for female barristers in England and Wales.

The history of Biretta stretches back at least as far as the 10th Century.

Oriental Evil

This Hat as the look of a Mongolian hat but is a medieval European hat.

This is felt hat I believe copied from a woodcut of the period

Now many images of Mongolian hats can also be very similar to this and they would also wear a hat made of felt, it perhaps decorated with trims and maybe beads. The Mongolian did invade Europe in the 13th century so who knows perhaps ideas got swapped.

Masonic Hat

This red hat is a hat worn by members of the modern Freemasons

It was given as a gift by a friend who is a member, I have no idea what rank or role the hat is for, if indeed you need a rank to wear it.

The hat is basically a felt covered stiffened ring of card or thin plastic with felt stretch over the crown, it's very lightweight but well made and still feels sturdy. 

Freemasons are an organization that originated in medieval times, as a body that controlled and looked after local stonemason and represented them with the local bureaucracy. Nowadays they are a ritualised group that helps businessmen network and do charity work. 

They are often associated with a degree of conspiracy due to there requirement that each rank keeps the knowledge of what they learn as they progress secret from the ranks below.

Buddhist Ceremonial Hat

This is a Buddhist Lama Monk Ceremonial Hat which is worn by Lama or Monks during Buddhist ceremonies or other ritual celebration.

 It is made from brocade material over board. Its inner surface has got cotton lining.

You can see images of Dalai Lama wearing a very similar hat.

In this image the top is pointing forward but works equally well pointing backwards

Purple Zucchetto

This hat is a Zucchetto worn by the Pope and other clerics of various Catholic Churches although I think the pope wears a white one but apparently he can wear any colour he wants. 

Also worn by the higher clergy in Anglicanism, and some other Christian Orthodox churches.

Basically a small skull cap, Zucchetto mean small gourd in Italian, this may be because the panels are sewn together to make a shape like the dome of a pumpkin or gourd.

Rabbis of Jewish faith also wear these although theirs are called kippot which is the Hebrew word for skullcap. They can also be called yarmulkes (pronounced yamakas), which is a Yiddish word taken from the Polish word also for skullcap.

Apparently the Zuchetto came in to being to keep shaven heads warm when it was the tradition for religious clerics to shave their heads. On the other hand Jews wear them as respect to God, which comes the religious book, the Talmud, which orders them to: "Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you." 

 This hat is also known by the names pilus, pilos, pileus, pileolus, subbiretum, submitrale, soli deo, berrettino, calotte.

This hat is part our crew kit