The Wandering Hat: Iterations of the Medieval Jewish Pointed Cap

this was an absolutely fascinating paper. The abstract

From the twelfth to the seventeenth century, a cone-shaped hat called a pileus cornutus served as a distinguishing sign for Jews in the German-speaking regions of the Holy Roman Empire. What did the hat signify previously, and how did its meaning change after it was imposed on Jews by decree in the thirteenth century? This study traces its history as far back as Greek antiquity, when a pointed “Phrygian” hat was used as a means of identifying barbarians. Traveling on to Rome, where it was known as a pileus, the hat rose to prominence as a symbol for emancipated slaves. Its imposition on Jews in the Middle Ages was a turning point. Thereafter, the hat began to appear in representations of an increasing variety of deceiving figures, real and mythical, including heretics, criminals, and dwarfs. Following the course of the pileus not only sheds light on an intriguing singular phenomenon; it also stands as a paradigmatic example of a “traveling concept” and helps to refine our understanding of cultural transfer—of culture as transfer.

the paper traces the evolution of this fascinating hat. Some examples from the paper

But when I saw this, I felt I had seen these hats before and my daughter helped identifying it..

Britain thanked for welcoming 10,000 children refugees with an evocative sculpture

It was indeed a coincidence, I was waiting to meet Andrew in front of the Liverpool Street Station when I spotted a sculpture. Its amazing how you miss these giant signs right in front of your face but my excuse is that I do not use that exit. But the sculpture is amazing. It commemorates the rescue of ten thousand mainly Jewish children from the Nazi's just before the World War II kicked off. See here for more details. Makes one proud to be British, despite my previous post castigating ourselves for not doing much for the Iraqi Interpreters. And then I read about this absolutely foul and disgusting post at the Guardian Comment is Free. See the commentary and read the posts. The chap is an out and out troll. But here are some pictures that I took with my trusty mobile camera! :)


The Plaque reads,

Children of the Kindertransport

In gratitude to the people of Britain for saving the lives of 10,000 unaccompanied mainly Jewish children
who fled from Nazi persecution in 1938 and 1939

"Whosoever rescues a single soul is credited as though they had saved the whole world" Talmud

Dedicated by

Association of Jewish Refugees
Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief
2006

All this to be taken with a grain of piquant salt!!!


PS: that Talmud quote sounded familiar to me and I went searching for it, and sure as I am a homar, I found the reference: "If anyone slew an innocent person it would be as if he slew the whole mankind and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole mankind" [Al-Qur’an 5:32]

Update: TBS pointed out that I have used a strange translation from this site. And suggested this site for sura 5:32.

Because of this did We ordain unto the children of Israel that if anyone slays a human being-unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth-it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind. And, indeed, there came unto them Our apostles with all evidence of the truth: yet, behold, notwithstanding all this, many of them go on committing all manner of excesses on earth. - Muhammad Asad

On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land. -Yusuf Ali

For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if be had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty) , but afterwards lo! many of them became prodigals in the earth. - M. Picktall