Caparison

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Dr. Goodword
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Caparison

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:42 am

• caparison •

Pronunciation: kê-pær-i-sên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. Ornamental trappings for a horse or other animal. 2. Finery; rich, elaborate clothing.

Notes: Here is the word for not only the trappings we see on horses ridden by the medieval nobility, but the outlandish finery of the nobility itself. This word may be used as a verb by itself, the past participle of which passes as an adjective: caparisoned. Do not confuse it with comparison.
Image
In Play: Today's word seems to have referred to the ornamentation of horses before that of humans: "The local historical society put on a medieval dramatization that included real horses in historically accurate caparison." This word's meaning was soon extended to the finery humans are known to wear from time to time: "Did you see the caparison Maude Lynn Dresser wore to the wedding? It was just amazing!" Today in India elephants are richly caparisoned on special occasions.

Word History: Today's Good Word came either from French caparaçon, Spanish caparazón or Portuguese caparação. These words probably originated in an augmentative of medieval Latin caparo "chaperon", a hooded cape worn by old women after the 16th century. Caparo is derivative of capa "cape" from Late Latin cappa "hood, cape". This word is probably related to Classical Latin caput "head", though no one has figured out exactly how. Late Latin apparently picked cappa up from an unrelated language, but no one knows which language it was. (Today's Good word is another excellent find by William A. Hupy, a Lexiterian in the Alpha Agora.)
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George Kovac

Re: Caparison

Postby George Kovac » Thu Mar 05, 2015 11:18 am

Caparison is not merely a relic of the past!

I recently learned of a modern example of caparison.

The National Catholic Reporter writes this about an item of ecclesiastical caparison: <<The cappa magna, according to the Random House dictionary is "ceremonial cloak having a long train and a silk or fur-lined hood, worn by cardinals, bishops, and certain other dignitaries." Ordinarily scarlet for cardinals and purple for bishops, the train has varied in length and, it is reported, was originally used as a covering for the back end of a horse. We have not seen these around much since the mid-1960s when the Vatican II church bishops intentionally brought the Eucharistic celebration closer to the people, eliminating some of the pomp the church inherited from Medieval European royal court life.>>

OK, but.....

Under the former Pope Benedict (he of the red Prada boots), pomp and circumstance returned unapologetically to the Vatican. Cardinal Burke of St. Louis enthusiastically joined in, and began wearing the cappa magna at official functions. This ludicrous garment is at least 20 feet long, and its original function was to make a medieval cardinal or bishop look dignified on horseback by not revealing the horse's rear end. Although the cappa magna largely disappeared in the 1960s in the wake of the second Vatican Council, Cardinal Burke was emboldened to restore the practice under Pope Benedict. (BTW, the current Pope Francis, a man of humbler tastes, has rebuked and demoted Burke, though not specifically for his cappa magna.)

For images of the cappa magna see http://www.stpeterslist.com/5111/cardin ... he-church/ Although that site is meant to honor Cardinal Burke and his taste in caparison, read the (often hostile) replies posted in that link, especially the acerbically witty one posted June 17, 2012 by Fr. Patrick McMahon, Ph.D

gwray
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Re: Caparison

Postby gwray » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:22 pm

It would be interesting to make a comparison between "caparison" and "bedizen". In my mind, bedizen connotes glitz perhaps bordering on the tawdry. "Jennifer Aniston attended the Oscars bedizened in a strapless Atelier Versace gown." "My daughter went to her class Halloween party as a fairy princess bedizened with sequined dress and a tinfoil tiara."
For me, caparison connotes pageantry. "Queen Elizabeth attended her coronation caparisoned in a gown featured floral emblems of the Commonwealth states." "Even today, British barristers appear in court caparisoned in horsehair wigs."
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver Proverbs 25:11

LukeJavan8
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Re: Caparison

Postby LukeJavan8 » Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:24 pm

The opposite of Benedict, the current Pope is a little
careless. He must wear a very light-weight white
cassock, because you can see his white T shirt hanging
below the cassock's white belt/sash. Look carefully,
you'll see it. It's like wearing a white swim suit, when
it gets wet: disaster.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

misterdoe
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Re: Caparison

Postby misterdoe » Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:30 pm

A similar word I've seen, in a musical context the first time, is frippery. I first recall seeing it in reference to guitarist Robert Fripp, so I thought at the time that it was a made-up word...

George Kovac

Re: Caparison

Postby George Kovac » Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:07 pm

yes, a false clue for frippery...

...like "gaudy," whose etymology has nothing to do with the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, which, to be candid, often is gaudy.


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