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The pilgrim’s hat, also known as the capotain, was associated with Puritan dress in the late 1500s to mid-1600s. It was originally taller and wider and had a scallop shell badge of honor. The hat was made of various materials and was not exclusive to the Puritans. Pilgrims wore a simple version of the hat, but it was not a requirement. Today, the black pilgrim’s hat with a buckle is a symbol of the Pilgrims who settled in North America.
A pilgrim’s hat, also known as the capotain, has a high crown and a relatively narrow brim, with a slight cone shape. It is commonly associated with Puritan dress of the late 1500s to mid 1600s. Before the Puritans adopted the hat, a pilgrim’s hat was slightly taller and had a slightly wider brim. It was also known as the cockle hat. The cockle shell, or scallop, was a badge of honor for making a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. As time passed, and religious people made fewer pilgrimages, the scallop disappeared and other decorations were used on the band, such as a feather or buckle.
Men and women in Europe also wore the pilgrim’s hat, and not just the Puritans. It was made of a variety of materials, depending on the wealth of the individual. The height of the hat changed dramatically over time, starting around 10 inches (25.4 cm) tall with a rounded crown and eventually decreasing to around 5 inches (12.7 cm) tall with a flat crown. Despite his popularity, the captain was associated almost exclusively with the Puritans who immigrated to New England in the mid-17th century. Since then, artists and writers have furthered a stereotype by depicting Puritans wearing a tall, black pilgrim’s hat with a buckle.
Pilgrims, as travelers were called, wore a simple version of the captain that conformed to their strict dress code. Wishing to be humble and avoid frivolous fashions, pilgrims wore brown or dull clothing with very little adornment. However, wearing a pilgrim hat was not a requirement, and since they could be somewhat expensive or difficult to make, it is unlikely that the cap became very common in the New England colony.
In modern times, the stylized black pilgrim’s hat with a shiny buckle became the main symbol of the pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock to settle in North America. Although black dye was expensive and probably not worn by most people at the time, the hat is depicted as jet black and is an almost perfectly round conical shape with a flat top. While no longer in use today, it is a common site in the US around the Thanksgiving holiday, a day celebrated in part for the survival of the Pilgrim colony.
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