Pointed Hat - Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The 13th century Cumans commonly wore pointed hats, and are reported to have fought wearing them.

Originating from the Japanese Heian period, the kazaori eboshi (風折烏帽子) was worn by aristocrats to indicate rank. Still worn today for ceremonial purposes, this black linen hat was used during a samurai's ceremony in attaining manhood.

The Papal tiara in the Middle Ages is sometimes shown as more pointed than in more recent centuries, though also shown with no point. Mitra papalis is a type of conch named after the papal mitre for its form.

Following the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, Jews were forced to wear distinctive clothing. This included the pointed Jewish hat (or "Judenhut") already worn by Jews, a piece of clothing probably imported from the Islamic world and perhaps before that from Persia.

Popular among Burgundian noblewomen in the 15th century was a type of conical headgear now called a hennin.

The whirling dervishes from the 13th century wore hats similar to the hennins, and the Ottoman Janissaries wore similar headgear to show their veneration for Hadji Bektash, founder of a Sufi order.

Conical hats were also popular in late medieval Vijayanagar, India.

The term dunce cap is only attested from 1840, but according to Cecil Adams, 14th century theologian John Duns Scotus recommended the wearing of conical hats to stimulate learning.