#conical hat

Liar is a wizard of reasonable strength, and she stands with her husband and sister to protect their fawns.

Linda of Broadway Catering & Events of Sonoma did something “witchy” for this year. She dressed up in the full traditional witches costume while going shopping at Adobe Pharmacy (formerly Pharmica) on West Napa Street not far from the historic plaza.

Speaking of history, the traditional witches attire seen here has been stylized over the years. But to trace all the things we associate with witches and witchcraft is both complicated and surprising.

To keep it simple for now, let’s just look at the so-called conical or “pointed” cylinder hat. Briefly going over historical data presentations by scholar, Elaine Pagels, historian Amelia Mott Gummere and history writer Janice Formichella, it seems to this reporter that much attributed to witches was done so to discredit or demonize a particular person or a group of people/women.

With that said, the pointed hat has several origins. also it must be noted such a style of hat has been worn by both women and men, in many cultures. It’s all simply a matter of context or rather in the case of women accused of witchcraft, their attire being taken out of context.

Big hats whether tall or wide have always existed and are something of distinction. For example, a mother of the bride (especially in Britain) at a wedding wears the best hat; men in the late 19th Century to the 20th Century wore top hats.

President Lincoln usually wore what was then known as a “stovepipe hat,” (which some consider the precursor to the ‘top hat’ made famous in the movies by dancer Fred Astaire), etc. So the idea of a tall hat has been in existence for centuries. It seems when status and power is involved that’s when the tall hat (be it pointed or cylinder) gets vilified.

In her book about the history of The Quakers, Gummere writes: “Almost all of the earliest prints of the Quaker women who preach show them dressed in this cap and hat,” she noted. “It is impossible, in examining any of these pictures, to avoid the suggestion that here is the hat of the conventional witch of our childhood."

Dress & clothing historian Abby Cox mentions. “Throughout most of the 17th century, women of all social classes wore tall, black, wool felt hats.”

“This was considered normal fashion at the time,” she said. Recognizing the correlation, she explained. “These wide-brimmed, black, conical hats peaked in popularity in the mid-1600s, which also happened to be when a new Christian denomination known as the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, was founded in England.”

And as is now well-known, The Puritans who later settled in America had little to no tolerance for any other expression of Christianity but their own. As established religious scholar Elaine Pagels noted “the fact that women could have power (in such a society as The Puritans) was disturbing if not reprehensible.”

Quakers believed in equality among men and women especially with respect to leadership in their church. And, it is hypothesized that this criticism of Quaker women having leadership was one of the reasons for depicting “witches” in the general attire of Quaker women.

Another explanation comes from historical writer Janice Formichella. As she believes, “My vote for the origin of this spooky accessory is that it relates directly to the hats worn by female beer brewers (also known as alewives) in medieval times. Trying to stand out in crowded markets, they would wear tall, pointed hats.“

Interestingly if so, is that where the term “witches brew” comes from? Formichella notes further. “Such women were also associated with having a knowledge of herbs and brewing concoctions at home. My theory is that when depictions of witches began to skyrocket a short time later, it was an easy image to conjure up (pun intended).“

Pointing to examples found in Woodcuts from the 18th century, Formichella reasons, “these illustrations show that it was an ingrained link by then, and would remain to this day.”

How all the other elements of a witch’s costume and props came into accepted folklore is for another article and more research. But for now, concerning the recognizable conical, pointed “witches hat” I will conclude with what Formichella has to say about it.

“I believe that the association with female brewers is also the strongest as only a relatively short time later witches were regularly depicted in similar hats.”

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