MITRE. — A liturgical headdress, a distinctive insignia of the pope, cardinals, and bishops, to whom it rightfully belongs; and also of abbots, prelates, and canons, by virtue of a particular privilege. Its current form is that of a mitre with a pleated structure, its two parts ending in points (*cornua*), held upright by an internal stiffening and connected by an intervening fabric, with the rear part adorned by two ribbon-like appendages (*fasciae*, *vittae*, *penduli*, *fano*, and *infulae*).
The origin and antiquity of the mitre are debated; the first certain evidence dates to the 11th century and to Rome. Leo IX (1049–54) granted the Roman mitre to Archbishop Eberhard of Trier, who had accompanied him to Rome, *pro investitura ipsius primatus* (of the Church of Trier), so that he and his successors might use it *pro ecclesiastico officio*, as a reminder of their dependence on Rome (Jaffé-Wattenbach, II, 4158). Two years later (1051), Leo IX granted it to the cardinals of the Churches of Besançon and Bamberg for certain occasions. Gradually, its use spread, and by the second half of the 12th century, the mitre was in general use among all bishops, with or without explicit papal permission. The first certain grant to abbots dates to 1063. Occasionally, the mitre was also granted to lay princes, for example, by Nicholas II (1059–61) to the Duke of Bohemia and by Lucius II (1144–45) to the King of Sicily. When crowning the Emperor, the pope first placed the *mitra clericalis* upon him, followed by the imperial diadem (*Ordo Rom.*, XIV, 105; PL 78, 1241).
Depending on their richness and use, three types of mitres are distinguished: the simple mitre of white silk (or white linen cloth) with red fringes (used in blessings, funeral rites, and Good Friday); the gold-embroidered mitre (*auriphrygiata*) of cloth of gold without further ornamentation (used in Advent, Lent—except on *Gaudete* and *Laetare* Sundays—the vigils, and also in Mass and Vespers when seated on the throne or cathedra); and the third, a precious mitre adorned with gold embroidery, silk, and precious stones (used on major feasts, when going to and returning from the altar, in imparting solemn blessings, and in solemn processions). The mitre does not follow liturgical colors.
The mitre is always removed when the bishop repeats an oration (*Cor. 11, 4*), when the deacon sings the Gospel, and during the singing of the *Benedictus* and the *Magnificat*.
Among the Greeks and in Eastern rites, the mitre does not take the Latin form but rather that of a royal crown surmounted by a cross; in use since the 15th century, first by patriarchs and metropolitans, and later by other bishops. Only the patriarchs of Alexandria had used a liturgical headdress in the form of a turban since the 10th century.
M. N.
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IN ART. — The form of the mitre has undergone transformations over the centuries. The earliest forms, resembling conical caps ending in a point, may have their oldest surviving example in the *Exultet* roll of the Bari cathedral archive, from the early 11th century. From the conical shape, it evolved into a rounded form, later flattened at the top so as to form two lateral bulges (cf. the figure of Archbishop Frederick of Cologne [1100–1131] in the illuminated codex of the letters of St. Jerome, in the Cologne cathedral). From these lateral bulges, through further transformation, the rigid *cornua* derive, which remain rigid even when the mitre is worn with the points not at the temples but on the forehead and nape, and the appendages are attached at the back of the rear horn rather than in the depression. Thus, it returns to the original horned form, now pleated. The proportions, however, have changed; since the 14th century, the mitre has lengthened considerably, and from the 16th century onward, the sides of the *cornua* have become increasingly arched, forming, as seen even in the current mitre, a true acute arch. Examples of mitres dating to the 12th–14th centuries survive: in Italy, the white linen mitre from the church of the Most Holy Trinity in Florence, from the cathedrals of Anagni and Ferentino (the latter attributed to Celestine V), and in damasked fabric, that of John XXII in the Sacred Museum of the Vatican Library and in the Abbey collection in Turin. There are also mitres with decorations either along the edge around the rim (*in circulo*) or at the tip of the *cornu* down to the edge (*in titulus*). Initially, ornamentation was done with galloons; from the 13th century onward, both the *circulus* and the *titulus*, as well as the appendages, were often adorned with embroidered figures. Magnificent examples of embroidered mitres (cf. STOFFE) from the 12th and 13th centuries survive in the treasury of the cathedral of Anagni, in San Zeno in Verona, in the cathedral of Cividale, and from the 14th century, in the cathedrals of Fiesole, the National Museum of Ravenna, the cathedral of Urbino, and San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The embroidery sometimes extends to cover the entire front part of the mitre, so that the *titulus* is entirely embroidered with figures or decorations. An example of a fully embroidered mitre from the 14th century is that in the Cluny Museum in Paris, made of white silk worked in black with fine representations of the burial of Christ and a border with half-figures of Apostles within architectural frames. By the late 16th century and the Baroque period, the mitre was no longer adorned with figure embroidery or precious stones but with applied and rich ornamental embroidery, as, for example, the sumptuous mitre of the cathedral of Freiburg.
— Cf. pl. LXXVII.