Sapphism

Sapphism (pronounced saf-iz-uhm)

A less frequently used word for lesbianism; often in poetic or literary use.

1885-1890: Named after Sappho (Ψάπφω Psáppho in the Aeolic Greek) (circa 630-570 BC), a poet of the isle of Lesbos, the construct being Sapph(o) + -ism.  The –ism suffix was from the Ancient Greek ισμός (ismós) & -isma noun suffixes, often directly, sometimes through the Latin –ismus & isma (from where English picked up ize) and sometimes through the French –isme or the German –ismus, all ultimately from the Ancient Greek (where it tended more specifically to express a finished act or thing done).  It appeared in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form abstract nouns of action, state, condition or doctrine from verbs and on this model, was used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice, state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion or adherence (criticism; barbarism; Darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism etc).  Sapphism & sapphist are nouns and sapphic is a noun & adjective; the noun plural is sapphists.  Sapphistry is a quasi-jocular literary term meaning "a seductive style said to be associated with women writing for a female audience" and presumably modelled on "sophistry".  Sapphistry is said to differ from "chick-lit" (an often derogatory (or at least dismissive) term describing literature aimed at younger women which focuses on the dilemmas of post second-wave feminism romance) in that it contains at least hints of the lesbionic.

Sappho

Remembered for her lyric poetry, Sappho lived on the Greek island of Lesbos, from which is derived the word lesbian, the meaning of which has shifted over time.  Prior to the late nineteenth century, it was used to describe things of or relating to the island, including a local wine.  First extended by poets and critics in the 1870s to allude to erotic relationships between women, it entered medical literature in the 1890s, gradually supplanting sapphist and sapphism and become the standard descriptor early in the twentieth century.

American Sapphic, Lindsay Lohan & former special friend Samantha Ronson by Ben Tegel after American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood (1891-1942).

Sappho is known to written thousands of lines, but for the complete Ode to Aphrodite, only fragments survive, some discovered as recently as 2014.  The poetry has been influential for two millennia, during which it has been read by critics searching for hints of Sappho’s own sexuality, their judgements colored often by the social mores prevailing at the time.  Surviving mostly in fragmentary pieces, Sappho's text is often a challenge for translators who face having to render verse into English when it can't be certain what a word in the original actually meant, one smudged letter shifting a meaning or disguising whether it be verb or noun.  Translators' notes are thus helpful.

Sappho And Erinna In A Garden At Mytilene, (1864) by Simeon Solomon (1840-1905) watercolour on paper, Tate Britain.

Ode to Aphrodite by Sappho

Aphrodite, subtle of soul and deathless,

Daughter of God, weaver of wiles, I pray thee

Neither with care, dread Mistress, nor with anguish,

            Slay thou my spirit!

But in pity hasten, come now if ever

From afar of old when my voice implored thee,

Thou hast deigned to listen, leaving the golden

            House of thy father

With thy chariot yoked; and with doves that drew thee,

Fair and fleet around the dark earth from heaven,

Dipping vibrant wings down he azure distance,

            Through the mid-ether;

Very swift they came; and thou, gracious Vision,

Leaned with face that smiled in immortal beauty,

Leaned to me and asked, "What misfortune threatened?

            Why I had called thee?"

"What my frenzied heart craved in utter yearning,

Whom its wild desire would persuade to passion?

What disdainful charms, madly worshipped, slight thee?

            Who wrongs thee, Sappho?"

"She that fain would fly, she shall quickly follow,

She that now rejects, yet with gifts shall woo thee,

She that heeds thee not, soon shall love to madness,

            Love thee, the loth one!"

Come to me now thus, Goddess, and release me

From distress and pain; and all my distracted

Heart would seek, do thou, once again fulfilling,

            Still be my ally!

Coriaceous

Coriaceous (pronounced kawr-ee-ey-shuhs, kohr-ee-ey-shuhs or kor-ee-ey-shuhs)

(1) Of or resembling leather.

(2) In botany, a surface (usually a leaf) distinguished having the visual characteristics of leather.

1665-1675: From the Late Latin coriāceus (resembling leather in texture, toughness etc), the construct being cor(ium) (skin, hide, leather (and also used casually to refer to belts, whips and other leather items, and upper layers (ie analogous with a skin or hide) in general such as crusts, coatings, peels or shells)), from the Proto-Italic korjom, from the primitive Indo-European sker & ker- + -aceous.  The suffix –aceous was from the New Latin, from the Classical Latin -aceus (of a certain kind) and related to the Latin adjectival suffixes –ac & -ax.  It was used (1) to create words meaning “of, relating to, resembling or containing the thing suffixed” and (2) in scientific classification, to indicate membership of a taxonomic family or other group.  The comparative is more coriaceous and the superlative most coriaceous while subcoriaceous means "somewhat or slightly leathery".  Coriaceous & subcoriaceous are adjectives and coriaceousness is a noun.

Botanists classify coriaceous leaves by degree.  The common greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) (left) is listed as subcoriaceous (ie somewhat or almost coriaceous) while the Shining Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida) is distinguished by glossy coriaceous leaves with a prominent vein along margins (right).

Coriaceousness by degree: Jaguar, leather and Ambla

In late 1967, as a prelude to the next year’s introduction of the XJ6, Jaguar rationalized its saloon car line-up, pruning the long-running Mark II (1959-1967) range from three to two, dropping the 3.8 litre model and re-designating the smaller-engined pair (the 2.4 becoming the 240, the 3.4 the 340), thus bringing the nomenclature into line with the recently released (4.2 litre) 420 (1966-1968).  The standardization exercise extended to the big Mark X (1961-1966) which became the 420G but curiously, the S-Type’s (1963-1968) name wasn’t changed and it became the only Jaguar in which the 3.8 litre engine remained available as a regular production option, the E-Type (XKE, 1961-1974) having in 1964 adopted the 4.2.  So the 240, 340, S-Type (3.4 & 3.8) and 420 (all based on the 1959 Mark 2 (an update of the 2.4 (1955-1959 & 3.4 1957-1959, the range retrospectively informally dubbed Mark 1 after the debut of the Mark 2)) remained in production, along with the Daimler 250 (the re-named 2.5 (1962-1967). fitted with Daimler’s superb 2.5 litre V8) and to add a further quirk, a dozen 340s were built to special order with the 3.8 litre engine.  Production of most of the "legacy Jaguars" ceased in 1968 with the coming of the XJ6 except the big 420G (which lasted until 1970 although sales had for some time slowed to a trickle) and the 240 (available until 1969 because Jaguar wasn’t until then able to offer the short-lived and never quite satisfactory 2.8 litre option in the XJ6).  The Daimler 250 & Sovereign (a version of the 420 with most of the optional equipment fitted and slightly finer trim appointments) remained available until 1969, production of both ending when a new Sovereign (a "badge-engineered" XJ6 in 2.8 & 4.2 litre forms) entered the showrooms).  

1967 Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 with leather trim (left) and a "de-contented" 1968 Jaguar 240 with the "slimline" bumpers, Ambla trim and optional  rimbellishers (right).

Given the revised naming convention wasn’t carried over to the XJ6 (rendering the 420G an alpha-numeric orphan for its last days), there’s since been speculation about whether Jaguar's management had a change of mind about how the XJ6 was to be labeled or the changes were just an attempt to stimulate interest in the rather dated Mark 2 and its derivatives.  If so, that certainly worked though perhaps not quite as Jaguar intended because in 1968 the most ancient models (240 & 340), handsomely outsold both the newer 420 and the by then moribund S-Type.  Probably the change in name had little to do with this and more significant was the price cutting which made the 240 & 340 suddenly seem like bargains, the 240 especially.  Dated they might have looked in the year the NSU Ro80 debuted, but there was still had a certain charm and the lower prices attracted buyers whereas the 420 suffered because it was known the XJ6 would soon be available and expectations were high.

1959 US market Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 with leather and burl walnut (left) and 1967 US market Jaguar 340 with Ambla and straight grain walnut (right).  Other than the aroma, the Ambla was sufficiently coriaceous to do an admirable job of replicating the appearance of leather and didn't demand the same degree of care and attention.  No other wood can quite match burl walnut although many over the years have been fooled by the painted metal facias in Facel Vegas, the look expertly emulated by French artisans.

The renewed interest in the 240 was at least partly because Jaguar had finally devoted some attention to the breathing of its smallest engine, straight-port heads and revised SU carburetors increasing the power to the point where a genuine 100 mph (160 km/h) could be attained, something not possible since the lighter 2.4 ended production in 1959.  The 100 mph thing was something the factory was quite sensitive about because in the 1950s (when it was still a rare capability) it had been a selling point and for most of the Mark 2’s life, Jaguar was reluctant to make 2.4s available for testing, 96 mph (155 km/h) all that was possible.  The 240’s new performance solved that problem and it was the biggest seller of the revised range (4,446 240s vs 2,800 340s (the latter including the 12 "special orders" with the 3.8 litre engine)) although those who read the small print might have been disappointed to note the fuel consumption; both models weighed about the same but the small engine had to work much harder, the 340 barely more thirsty.

Advertisment for US-exclusive version of the Jaguar 340.

A curious footnote in the tale of the short-lived “transitional” 240 & 340 was the unique 340 sold in the US market in 1967.  Although it probably shouldn’t be thought of as a “trial run”, the 240s & 340s built for the UK and export to other places didn’t enter production until the last of the US-exclusive 340s had been shipped.  Visually, the US 340s are most easily identified by being fitted with the deeper bumpers although the detail differences were many.  While the basic mechanical configuration was the same as the 3.4 litre Mark 2, PAS (power-assisted steering) was fitted as standard but the overdrive remained an option (like all the post-1966 cars, the four-speed manual transmission featured synchromesh on all ratios).  Like the 340s later built for the RoW (rest of the World), synthetic (nylon) carpet replaced the cut-pile Wilton and the seats were covered with Ambla rather than leather; unlike in the UK, there can’t have been much sensitivity to the “downgrading” because advertising explicitly described the upholstery as “vinyl”, a word Rolls-Royce would in the next decade deliberately avoid, preferring “Everflex” (an expensive, heavy-duty vinyl).  Although there were now fewer individual pieces (the picnic tables in the back of the seats not included), the extensive timber veneers remained although most of the US 340s which remain extant appear originally to have been equipped with straight-grain rather than burl walnut.  However, such is the appeal of the burl veneer, a number of 340s are known to have been retro-fitted (and some have also been re-trimmed in leather).  So, the US-bound 340s can be understood as a “de-contented 3.4 Mark 2” and a lower-cost sedan for Jaguar dealers to have in the showroom alongside the 420,  Prior to 1967, for some years, only the 3.8 litre version of the Mark 2 had been exported to the US and the factory never contemplated offering the 240 there.  A total of 535 LHD (left hand drive) 340s were built.   

The real thing: Lindsay Lohan in leather (albeit with faux fur sleeves).

Still, with the 240 in 1968 selling for only £20 more than the 2.4 had cost in 1955, it was soon tagged “the best Jaguar bargain of all time”, a claim with some impact for a marque which had always offered outstanding value for money.  The "bargain price" had been attained by cost-cutting, some of the trademark interior wood trim deleted, the fog and spot lamps replaced by a pair of chromed grilles, the hubcap design simplified and “slimline” bumpers fitted in place of the substantial units in place since 1959, this not only saving weight but a remarkable amount of the cost of production.  The revised cars were not as generously equipped as before (although some of the “de-contenting” had been introduced late in Mark 2 production) but a long option list remained and on it were some items once fitted as standard, the list including: a choice of five radio installations with or without rear parcel shelf-mounted speaker, a laminated windscreen, chromium-plated Ace Turbo rimbellishers for steel wheels, a tow bar, a locking petrol filler cap, front seat belts, the choice of radial, town and country, or whitewall tyres, automatic transmission, overdrive (for the manual transmission), wire wheels, fast ratio steering box, a fire extinguisher, Powr-Lok differential, rear window demister, heavy-duty anti-roll bar, close-ratio gearbox, tinted glass, a driver’s wing mirror, childproof rear door locks, an integrated ignition & starter switch (steering column), reclining front seats, power-assisted steering & leather upholstery.  De-contented the revised range may have been but normal product development meant some genuinely worthwhile improvements were included, the RoW 340s produced after September 1967 featuring the updated (Marles Varomatic) steering box, a straight-port cylinder head that delivered a useful increase in power and Borg-Warner’s antiquated DG 250 automatic transmission was replaced by their BW 35.

1962 Jaguar Mark 2 3.8 with leather trim (left) and 1968 Jaguar 240 with Ambla trim.  It was only when the optional leather trim was specified that the fold-down "picnic tables" were fitted in the front seat-backs.

It was the moving of the leather trim to the option list which is said to have made the greatest contribution to the price cuts.  The replacement fabric was Ambla, one of a class of coriaceous materials which have come variously to be referred to as fake or faux leather, pleather, vegan leather, Naugahyde, synthetic leather, artificial leather, & ersatz leather.  First manufactured in the US, most production now is done in China as well as upholstery, the fabric is use for just about anything which has ever been made in leather including clothing, footwear, gloves, hats, belts, watch bands, cases, handbags, sports items, firearm holsters, luggage and a myriad besides.  It does appear that as early as the fifteenth century, the Chinese were experimenting with ways synthetic leather could be manufactured but it doesn’t appear anything was ever produced at scale and it was only when petroleum-based plastics became available in the US in the late nineteenth century that it became viable to mass produce a viable alternative to natural hide.  Historically, most of the products were petroleum-based but vegetable-based alternatives are now attracting much interest as attention has focused on the environmental impact of the traditional petrochemical based approach.

Two 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SLs: In Light Ivory over Bamboo MB-Tex (left) and Tobacco Brown over Cognac leather (right).  MB-Tex wasn't exactly indestructible but it was durable and there are 60 year old convertibles trimmed in MB-Tex in which the upholstery looks literally new, despite having received little care and no maintenance.  Leather, especially in a convertible will noticeably age with exposure to the weather (especially sun) and while the quality of patina is valued in "original" vehicles, most restored W113s will leather will require a re-trim.   

One of the best known coriaceous materials in the 1960s and 1970s was MB-Tex, a vinyl used by Mercedes-Benz which by far was the synthetic which most closely resembled genuine leather.  That was something made easier by the Germans using a process which resulted in slightly thicker tanned hide than those from Italy, Spain or England and this meant that replicating the appearance was more easily attained.  What most distinguished MB-Tex however was the durability and longevity.  Unlike leather which demanded some care and attention to avoid wear and cracking, it wasn’t uncommon for 20 or 30 year old MB-Tex to look essentially as it did when new and many who sat in them for years may have assumed it really was leather.  It certainly took an expert eye to tell the difference although in a showroom, moving from one to another, although the visual perception might be much the same, the olfactory senses would quickly know which was which because nothing compares with the fragrance of a leather-trimmed interior.  For some, that seduction was enough to persuade although those who understood the attraction of the close to indestructible MB-Tex, there were aerosol cans of “leather smell”, each application said to last several weeks.

For the incomparable aroma of leather.

The factory continued to develop MB-Tex, another of its attractions being that unlike leather, it could be produced in just about any color although, now colors (except black, white and shades of grey) have more or less disappeared from interior schemes, that functionality is not the advantage it once was.  As a fabric though, it reached the point where Mercedes-Benz dropped the other choices and eventually offered only leather or a variety of flavors of MB-Tex.  That disappointed some who remembered the velour and corduroy fittings especially popular in the colder parts of Europe but the factory insisted MB-Tex was superior in every way.  Also lamented were the exquisite (though rarely ordered) mohair interiors available for the 600 Grosser (W100, 1963-1981).  Apparently, the factory would trim a 600 in MB-Tex upon request but nobody ever was that post modern and most buyers preferred the leather, however coriaceous might have been the alternative.

Meliorism

Meliorism (pronounced meel-yuh-riz-uhm or mee-lee-uh-riz-uhm)

(1) A doctrine which holds the world tends to become better or may be made better by human effort.

(2) The theory that there is in nature a tendency to increasingly better development.

1850s: From the Middle English melioracioun (improvement, act or process of making or becoming better), from the Late Latin meliorationem (nominative melioratio) (a bettering, improvement), a noun of action from the past-participle stem of meliorare (to improve), the construct the Classical Latin melior (better) + ism.  The –ism suffix was from the Ancient Greek ισμός (ismós) & -isma noun suffixes, often directly, sometimes through the Latin –ismus & isma (from where English picked up ize) and sometimes through the French –isme or the German –ismus, all ultimately from the Ancient Greek (where it tended more specifically to express a finished act or thing done).  It appeared in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form abstract nouns of action, state, condition or doctrine from verbs and on this model, was used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice, state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion or adherence (criticism; barbarism; Darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism etc).  Although contested, the coining of meliorism is often attributed to author George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans, 1819–1880).

The transitive verb emerged in the 1550s in the sense of “to make better, to improve" as a back-formation from the noun melioration or from the Late Latin melioratus, the past participle of meliorare (improve), from the Classical Latin melior (better) and was used as a comparative of bonus “good” but the context of use indicates the original meaning was “stronger” (the link being the primitive Indo-European root mel- (strong; great).  The intransitive verb in the sense of “to grow better; be improved” dates from the 1650s.  The adjective & verb meliorated, the verb meliorating and the adjective meliorative are rare but the verb ameliorate (to make better, or improve, something perceived to be in a negative condition) and its many derivatives are in common use.  In Scottish law, meliorations were “improvements made by a tenant upon rented land”, a concept widely used in common law for various purposes, usually when calculating financial off-sets.  Meliorism & meliorist are nouns, melioristic is an adjective and melioristically is an adverb; the noun plural is meliorisms but meliorists is in more frequent use.

The source of the mel element was a primitive Indo-European root meaning “strong; great” and is familiar in forms such as ameliorate & amelioration.  What etymologists call “Proto Indo-European” (PIE) is a set of words and fragmentary elements which are hypothetical constructs derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages, a process which can be understood as a kind of abstracted back-formation.  The PIE mel was constructed with reference to the Ancient Greek mala (very, very much) and the Classical Latin multus (much, many) & melior (better).  It can be contrasted with the prefix mal- which was from the Old French mal- (bad; badly) from the Latin adverb male, from malus (bad, wicked).  In English the prefix was applied to create literally dozens of words variously with some denotation of the negative including (1) bad, badly (malinfluence), (1) unhealthy; harmful (malware), (3) unpleasant (malodorous) (4) incorrect (malformed), (5) incomplete (maldescent) & (6) deficiently (malnourished).  Having the homophonic elements mel & mal co-exist in English while operating an antonyms is one of the many obstacles for those learning English and the avoidance of such things was one of the parameters adopted during the development of Esperanto, a Lingvo Internacia (international language) intended to function as an “international auxiliary language”.  Despite that, Esperanto is not without inconsistencies.

In metaphysics, meliorism holds that people (and thus the world in general) tend towards improvement and are at least always capable of becoming better.  It’s manifestation as a political doctrine is essentially the idea of “the improvement of society by regulated practical means” but that is so lacking in what Kevin Rudd (b 1957; Australian prime-minister 2007-2010 & 2013) delighted in calling “programmatic specificity” that it could have been claimed by anyone from comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) to Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017).  The philosophers tended to be specific and the classic exponent of the melioristic view (which these days would be called a paradigm) was the French writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) who believed in the goodness of man with an earnest sincerity which was extraordinary given the way he’d been persecuted.

Exécution de Robespierre et de ses complices conspirateurs contre la liberté et l'égalité (Execution of Robespierre and his conspirators against freedom and equality, 28 July 1794), Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France, Paris).  The Terror was one legacy of the way the writings of Rousseau were used and illustrated the recurrent problem of philosophy: It matters less what the philosopher meant and more what his readers decided he meant.

Right to the end Rousseau thought it was only the evils of society which corrupted "basically good" mankind although that society was composed of the same mankind was a puzzle he never quite resolved.  Still, Rousseau had the good sense to drop dead before the French Revolution (1789), the events of which might have challenged even his faith and more than one historian has observed it was his spirit which “loomed over the worst excesses of the revolution”.  The English empiricist philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) laid out some of the groundwork of the Enlightenment and Rousseau acknowledged the debt but Locke’s view was that while all had the capacity for improvement, that shouldn’t be conflated with any sort of inherent goodness, self-interest a more likely motivation.  All of that which Locke held dear (liberation from the tyranny of religion, scepticism toward authority, productive property aimed at material increase, the rights to freedom of movement & association and a strong system of government which protects all rights associated with individual liberty) he thought would lead to progress but for him that was largely material: prosperity and life-spans will rise but we will remain selfish, blinkered creatures.

One historian recently brought controversy to meliorism.  In his book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011), Canadian-American cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker (b 1954) argued that over time just about all the things which scar civilized life (war, violent death, pogroms) have declined and because this trend-line has continued to assume a downward path despite the hardware and other mechanisms of killing becoming more effective, available and distributed, it must be that the “better angels of our nature” have increasingly prevailed over whatever it is in human nature which compels or at least inclines us towards violence.  Reflecting on the terrible twentieth century, the thesis seemed counterintuitive but Pinker’s book sold well although it was criticized by those who took issue with the statistical methods used and the rather (geographically and chronologically) selective use of data grabs.

Lindsay Lohan and her lawyer in court, Los Angeles, December 2011.

A more pragmatic (and perhaps the original) use of the word was that of British author George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans, 1819–1880) who, in a letter written in 1877 to the psychologist James Sully (1842–1923), explained she was neither optimist nor pessimist but a meliorist, which she thought an intermediate outlook between the two “…cheered by the hope and by the belief in gradual improvement of the mass” and the view “…each individual must find the better part of happiness in helping another.”  “I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the word "meliorist" except myself.  But I begin to think that there is no good invention or discovery that has not been made by more than one person. The only good reason for referring to the "source" would be, that you found it useful for the doctrine of meliorism to cite one unfashionable confessor of it in the face of the fashionable extremes”.

Macrocephalic

Macrocephalic (pronounced mak-roh-sef-a-lee)

The condition of having an abnormally large head or skull, the diagnostic criterion usually the circumference being beyond the normal range.

1851: From the Ancient Greek makrokephalos, the construct being māk ros (large, long), from the primitive Indo-European root māk- (long, thin) + the Ancient Greek κεφαλή (kephalḗ) (head).  English borrowed cephaly from the French -céphalie or the German -zephalie, from the Latin -cephalia, from the Ancient Greek kephalḗ.  The form macrocephalous (having a long head) dates from 1810.  The primitive Indo-European root māk (long, thin) forms part of emaciate, macro, macro-, macrobiotic, macron, meager & paramecium.  It’s thought to be the source of the Ancient Greek makros (long, large) & mēkos (length), the Latin macer (lean, thin), the Old Norse magr & the Old English mæger (lean, thin).  The less commonly used terms in pathology are megacephaly and megalocephaly and a related term is sub-macrocephaly.  Macrocephalic & macrocephalous are adjectives, macrocephalous and macrocephaly are nouns; the noun plural is macrocephalies

DPRK generals in their big hats, leaving the monthly hat ceremony, wearing the millinery badges they've been awarded.

There’s no evidence heads in the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) differ, on a population basis, from the those of the rest of the human race.  Even though the DPRK has to a high degree been physically isolated from the outside population since the early 1950s, the gene pool in the population is sufficiently diverse that most in the field expect there’d be no change to aggregate outcomes in human physiology.  Indeed, those changes which have been noted (stunting etc), are thought the consequence of nutritional deficiencies rather than anything genetic.

Suleiman I (Süleyman the Magnificent, 1494-1566, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1520-1566) (far left), Pius XII (1876-1958; pope 1939-1958) in the papal triple tiara (triple crown) at his coronation, 1939 (centre left), depiction of Süleyman the Magnificent in his retaliatory four tier helmet (centre right) and Officer of the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards (1826), watercolor by Richard Simkin (1850-1926) (far right).  The dragoons always had famously good hats.

Kim Jong-un, looking at DPRK generals in their big hats.

In military uniforms, ecclesiastical dress and fashion, big hats have been a thing for thousands of years, the earliest presumably a form of biomimicry, inspired by examples like the plumage of birds or the manes of lions.  In human society, the purpose would not have been dissimilar to that of the other animals: wishing to appear (1) larger and more threatening to deter attacks, (2) of a higher status than others or (3) more attractive to attract a mate and this procreate.  Some uses would of course have been for mere function, headwear serving as protection from the elements or impacts, modern examples including the wide-brimmed hats adopted to shade one from the sun, the Mexican sombrero emblematic of this.  In the modern era (and it's a trend noted since at least late antiquity), extravagant headwear exists for no purpose other than to attract whatever is the currency of the age, photographers at the fashion shows or clicks on the internet.  On the catwalks, some creations can hardly be described as functional or conventionally attractive so clickbait is the only explanation and whether some of that worn by figures such as Lady Gaga (b 1986) was inspired by the millinery of Süleyman the Magnificent isn't known but the thematic similarities can't be denied.  Of course, over thousands of years, there's going to be some stylistic overlap; there are only so many ways to adorn a head.

DPRKesque fashion: Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945, left) and Victor Emmanuel III (1869–1947; King of Italy 1900-1946, right) observing the Italian Navy conduct maneuvers, Gulf of Naples, 1938 (left) and Lindsay Lohan in a promotional image from her campaign for US hair and skin beauty care corporation Nexxus, 2024.

Celebrities like big hats for a number of reasons.  Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994; US First Lady 1961-1963) told Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1963-1969) she wore wide-brimmed hats to prevent him kissing her while the diminutive Victor Emmanuel III (1869–1947; King of Italy 1900-1946) had the royal milliners craft a number of unusually tall hats (including military caps) to add two inches (50 mm) odd to his  stature.  The elevation was especially obvious when he was standing with those wearing conventionally sized military headwear and it's doubtful anyone was fooled.  Technically, Victor Emmanuel didn’t fit the definition of dwarfism which sets a threshold of adult height at 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m), the king about 2 inches (50 mm) taller (or less short) and it’s thought the inbreeding not uncommon among European royalty might have been a factor, both his parents and grandparents being first cousins.  However, although not technically a dwarf, that didn’t stop his detractors in Italy’s fascist government calling him (behind his back) il nano (the dwarf), a habit soon picked up the Nazis as der Zwerg (the dwarf) (although Hermann Göring (1893–1946; leading Nazi 1922-1945, Hitler's designated successor & Reichsmarschall 1940-1945) was said to have preferred der Pygmäe (the pygmy)).  In court circles he was knows also (apparently affectionately) as la piccola sciabola (the little sabre) a nickname actually literal in origin because the royal swordsmith had to forge a ceremonial sabre with an unusually short blade for the diminutive sovereign to wear with his many military uniforms.  His French-speaking wife (Princess Elena of Montenegro (1873–1952; Queen of Italy 1900-1946)) stood a statuesque six feet (1.8 m) tall and always called him mon petit roi (my little king).  It was a long and happy marriage and genetically helpful too, his son and successor (who enjoyed only a brief reign) very much taller although his was to be a tortured existence.  Still, in his unhappiness the scion stood tall and that would have been appreciated by the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021) who initially approved of the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer (1960-1997) to the Prince of Wales (b 1948) on the basis that she “would breed some height into the line”.

Kim Jong-un at a military briefing, conducted by DPRK generals in their big hats.

The papal triple tiara is a crown which has been worn by popes of the Roman Catholic Church since the eighth century.  Traditionally it was worn for their coronation but no pontiff has been so crowned since Saint Paul VI (1897-1978; pope 1963-1978) in 1963 and he abandoned its use after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II, 1962-1965).  The name tiara refers to the entire headgear and it has used a three-tiered form since a third crown was added during the Avignon Papacy (1309–1378).  It's also referred to as the triregnum, triregno or Triple Crown.  In a piece of one- (or perhaps four-) upmanship, Süleyman the Magnificent commissioned from Venice a four tier helmet to show, in addition to the authority claimed by popes, he could add the symbol of his imperial power, his secular sovereignty.  Often put on display as the centrepiece of Ottoman regalia to impress visitors, there's no documentary evidence the sultan ever wore the four layer tiara, crowns not part of the tradition and, fashioned from gold and gemstones, it would anyway have been extraordinarily heavy and it may be it was worn only for brief, static, set piece ceremonies because an incautious movement could have risked neck injury.

A younger, more svelte Kim Jong-un at a military field conference, noting one general not issued with big hat.

A representation of the triregnum combined with two crossed keys of Saint Peter continues to be used as a symbol of the papacy and appears on papal documents, buildings and insignia.  Remarkably, there’s no certainty about what the three crowns symbolize.  Some modern historians link it to the threefold authority of the pope, (1) universal pastor, (2) universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction and (3) temporal power.  Others, including many biblical scholars, interpret the three tiers as meaning (1) father of princes and kings, (2) ruler of the world and (3) vicar of Christ on Earth, a theory lent credence by the words once used when popes were crowned:  Accipe tiaram tribus coronis ornatam, et scias te esse patrem principum et regum, rectorem orbis in terra vicarium Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum (Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art father of princes and kings, ruler of the world, vicar on earth of our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever).

Kim Jong-un on an afternoon stroll with DPRK generals, discussing the politics of big hair and big hats.

The preference in the DPRK armed forces for big hats is appears to be a matter of military fashion rather than physiological need and big hats are part of a military tradition which, although now restricted mostly to ceremonial use, were once functional in that they provided warmth, an impression of greater height and some degree of protection from attack.  Being made from animal fur, the hats are now controversial but, as a natural material, they have proved more durable and resistant to the weather than synthetic alternatives, factors which military authorities long cited as the reason for their retention.

Bearskin cap of the UK Foot Guards, made traditionally with the fur of Canadian bears (left) and model Lucy Clarkson (b 1982, right), fetchingly body-painted in the uniform of the Queen's Guards, in a demonstration organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to draw attention to the slaughter of the bears due to the use of real bearskins in the Guard's ceremonial headdress, Westminster Bridge, London 2010.  Whether the Ministry of Defence was persuaded by PETA's arguments, Ms Clarkson's charms or some analysis which revealed the exorbitant cost of purchasing and maintaining the bearskin hats isn't clear but recently it was announced the traditional ones will be "phased out" in favor of units made from “faux” bearskin.

Kim Jong-un discussing millinery ethics with DPRK generals wearing big hats.

The tall bearskin cap, usually associated with parade ground manoeuvres around Buckingham palace, was historically the headgear of the Grenadier Guards and, remarkably, it was sometime part of battlefield dress even in the twentieth century.  It remains part of the ceremonial uniforms in many armed forces and not just those once part of the British Empire.  That up to a hundred Canadian bears are each season slaughtered "just so men could wear big hats while marching around in circles" is claimed by the activists to be of "no obvious military value but merely a tourist attraction".  While there's merit in the argument there is a legitimate military purpose in the maintenance of traditions, extending that to fur hats does seem quite abstract.  

Kim Jong-un (right) looking at Jang Song-thaek's big hat (left).

In the DPRK, Jang Song-thaek (1946-2013) was married to Kim Kyong-hui (b 1946; believed still alive), only daughter Kim Il-sung (1912-1994; Great Leader of DPRK 1949-1994) and only sister of (1941-2011; Dear Leader of DPRK; 1994-2011). He was thus the uncle (by marriage) of Kim Jong-un (b circa 1983; Supreme Leader of DPRK since 2011).  Within the party, he had a mixed career but ups and downs within the structure were not unusual and later in the reign of the Dear Leader, he emerged as a important figure in both the political and military machines around which things in the DPRK revolve.  His position appeared to be strengthened when the Supreme Leader assumed power but in 2013 he was accused of being a counter-revolutionary, was expelled from the party, dismissed from his many posts and was un-personed by having his photograph and mention of his name digitally erased from all official records.  In December that year, the KCNA (Korean Central News Agency, the regime's energetic and highly productive state media organization) announced his execution.

Obviously guilty as sin: Jang Song-Thaek (left) being brought before the court (right).

On the basis of the official statement issued by the KCNA, he must have been guilty, highlights of the press release including confirmation he was “an anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional element and despicable political careerist and trickster…, a traitor to the nation for all ages who perpetrated anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts in a bid to overthrow the leadership of our party and state and the socialist system”.  It noted that despite receiving much trust and benevolence by the “peerlessly great men … The Great Leader, The Dear Leader and The Supreme Leader”, he behaved “worse than a dog, perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love”.  Of note was his subversion of interior decorating, preventing “the Taedonggang Tile Factory from erecting a mosaic…” as a monument to the Great Leader, not in its deserved place in the sun but “…in a shaded corner”.  Perhaps worse of all, he “let the decadent capitalist lifestyle find its way to our society by distributing all sorts of pornographic pictures among his confidants since 2009. He led a dissolute, depraved life, squandering money wherever he went.”  In summary, the release added Jang was a “thrice-cursed traitor without an equal in the world” and that “history will eternally record and never forget the shuddering crimes committed by Jang Song Thaek, the enemy of the party, revolution and people and heinous traitor to the nation”.

Details of such matters are hard to confirm so it’s not known if the rumors of him being executed by anti-aircraft gun fire or a flame-thrower are true.  Nor is it known if whatever remained of the corpse was thrown to a pack of wild dogs but the KCNA's press release did add: “…the revolutionary army will never pardon all those who disobey the order of the Supreme Commander and there will be no place for them to be buried even after their death” so the dog-food theory was at least plausible.

KCNA’s official photograph, commemorating the Supreme Leader’s tour of “inspection and field guidance” of the Taedonggang Tile Factory, September 2012.  Included in the Supreme Leader’s entourage was Jang Song-Thaek (in army uniform on top platform).

The Supreme Leader learned in detail about factory operations including the processes used in the microlite shop and artificial marble tile shop, the latter able to produce tiles in the same colors and patterns as those of natural marble.  Addressing the workers, the Supreme Leader underlined the need to continue directing big efforts to improving the quality of products, noting that the quality of tiles depends on plane and right angle tolerable numerical value, contraction rate, intensity and resistance to cold.  When seeing tiles of diverse colors and sizes, he expressed great satisfaction that, figuratively speaking, “all clothes and underwear are locally made”, a thoughtful observation which attracted much applause.  It was on this visit the Supreme Leader became aware of the subversive and treasonous order from Jang Song-Thaek that the mosaic erected as a monument to the Great Leader must be installed not in its deserved place in the sun but in a shaded corner.

Kim Jong-Un, looking through binoculars across the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), observing the “provocative maneuvers” of the South Korean Army.